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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a combination of cellulolytic enzymes with cationic and anionic polymers for use in enhancing the freeness of paper pulp.
2. Description of the Prior Art
More and more the papermaking industry uses recycled papers. For example, for the manufacture of corrugated cardboard, raw materials which are based on recycled fibers are being used more frequently and, at the same time, the number of recyclings is increased. With each recycling, the quality of the raw materials is lessened. To obtain a satisfactory level of raw material quality, refining of the pulps in aqueous suspension is generally carried out. This refining leads to difficulties in runnability of the paper sheet because of high concentrations of fines and other contaminants which may be found in the refined pulp.
The pulps in aqueous suspension which are ready to be used on a paper machine can be characterized by various parameters, one of which is particularly significant for predicting the draining capability of the pulp. A measure of the drainability of the pulp is frequently expressed in the term "freeness". Specifically, freeness is measured according to Canadian Standard Freeness, or CSF measurement. CSF measures the drainage of 3 grams (oven dried weight) of pulp suspended in one liter of water.
Use of cellulolytic enzymes, e.g. the cellulases and/or the hemicellulases for treating recycled paper pulps to improve freeness is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,565 the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The cellulase enzyme described in the '565 patent may be used in the practice of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,169,497, issued to Sarkar and Cosper discussed the effects of cellulases in combination with cationic flocculants of varying composition on the freeness of old corrugated containers (OCC) pulp. The '497 patent covers the use of a combination of enzyme and cationic polymers for enhancing the freeness of recycled fiber. In practice, dual polymer treatment programs are also used for retention.
In a dual polymer retention system, two synthetic polymers are mixed with the pulp sequentially to achieve better results than obtained with either polymer by itself. Usually, a low molecular weight, highly charged cationic polymer is added to the papermaking furnish first, and then at a later stage, a high molecular weight, anionic polymer is added. Dual polymers have found a place in paper and board manufacturing. Good retention has numerous economic benefits. As the use of recycled fiber increases in container board, fine paper, and newsprint grades, the opportunity to provide benefits through retention aids has also increased. If fines are not retained by a good retention aid or hydrolyzed by an enzyme, they will impede drainage, fill felts, and cause deposition problems. The key benefit of retention aids with enzyme is to prevent drainage reduction and subsequent loss of machine speed. Drainage can be maintained by preventing the build-up of fines in the white water loop.
While the present invention produces particularly good results when used to treat pulps which contain substantial quantities of recycled fibers, it also has applicability in treating pulps which contain little or no recycled fibers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A process for improving the freeness of paper pulp, which comprises the steps of adding to the pulp at least 0.05%, based on the dry weight of the pulp, of a cellulolytic enzyme, allowing the pulp to contact the cellulolytic enzyme for from about 40 minutes to about 60 minutes at a temperature of at least 40° C., adding at least 0.011%, based on the dry weight of the pulp, of a water soluble cationic polymer, adding at least 0.007%, based on the dry weight of the pulp, of a water soluble anionic polymer and forming the thus treated pulp into paper.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1, is a statistical analysis of the freeness changes of anionic polymer A.
FIG. 2, is a statistical analysis of the freeness changes of anionic polymer B.
FIG. 3, is a contour plot showing the increase in freeness that you use to buy an enzyme dosage of 0.1 percent.
FIG. 4, is a contour plot showing the increase in freeness that you use to buy enzyme of 0.25 percent.
FIG. 5, is a contour plot showing the increase in freeness that you use to buy enzyme of 0.4 percent.
FIG. 6, is a contour plot showing the increase in freeness achieved by a combination of Cationic A, Anionic B and liftase A40.
FIG. 7, is a contour plot showing freeness levels or combinations of Cationic B, Anionic B and Liftase A40.
FIG. 8, is a contour plot showing freeness levels or combination of Cationic C, Anionic B and Liftase A40.
FIG. 9, is a contour plot showing the freeness level achieved by a combination of Cationic A, Anionic B and Lifiase A40.
FIG. 10, is a contour plot showing the effect on the levels of freeness achieved by a combination of Cationic B, Anionic B and Liftase A40.
FIG. 11, is a contour plot showing the freeness achieved by a combination of Cationic C, Anionic B and Liftase A40.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
A variety of water soluble cationic coagulants may be used in the practice of the invention. Both condensation and vinyl addition polymers may be employed. For a list of water soluble cationic polymers, reference may be had to Canadian patent 731,212, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
A preferred group of cationic polymers are the cationic polymers of acrylamide which in a more preferred embodiment of the invention, contain form 40-60% by weight of acrylamide. Larger or smaller amounts of acrylamide in the polymers may be used, e.g., between 30-80%. Typical of the cationic monomers, polymerized with acrylamide are the monomers diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride, (DADMAC), dimethylaminoethyl/acrylate methyl chloride quaternary ammonium salt, (DMAEA.MCQ). When these cationic acrylamide polymers are used they should have a RSV (reduced specific viscosity) of at least 3 and preferably the RSV should be within the range of 5-20 or more. RSV was determined using a one molar sodium nitrate solution at 30° C. The concentration of the acrylamide polymer in this solution is 0.045%.
A preferred group of anionic polymers are polymers of acrylamide containing 20-95% acrylamide and 5 to 80% anionic monomer by weight of the polymer such as acrylic acid or methacrylic acid.
As indicated, the invention has utility in improving the drainage or the freeness of a wide variety of paper pulps, including Kraft and other types of pulp. The invention is particularly useful in treating pulps that contain recycled fibers. The effectiveness of the invention in improving drainage is most notable when the pulps contain at least 10 percent by weight of recycled fiber, with great improvements being evidenced when the recycled fiber content or the pulp being treated is at least 50% or more.
As indicated, the invention requires that the pulp first be treated with an enzyme, then with a cationic polymer and, finally, with an anionic polymer. It is also important to the successful practice of the invention, that the conditions under which the treatment with the enzyme occurs is such to provide optimum reaction time of the enzyme of the pulp.
The treatment of the pulp with the enzyme is preferably conducted for a period of time not greater than 60 minutes. The minimum treating time is about 30 minutes. A typical treating time would be about 40 minutes. The pH of the pulp to achieve optimum results should be between the ranges of 5 to 7.5. The temperature of the treatment should not be below 20° C., and usually should not exceed 60° C. A typical average reaction temperature is favorably conducted is 40° C.
The preferred dosage of the cationic polymer, as actives, is from 0.025% to 0.02% polymer based on the dry weight of the pulp. A general dosage which may be used to treat the pulp with the polymer is from 0.01% to 0.08% by weight of the polymer. The preferred dosage of anionic polymer, as actives, is 0.025%-0.075% polymer based on the dry weight of the pulp.
The enzyme dosage based on the dry weight of the pulp in a preferred embodiment ranges from about 0.05 to about 0.4 percent by weight. A general treatment range of the enzyme that may be used is from 0.01 to 0.5 percent by weight.
In order for the enzyme to have sufficient reaction time and mixing described above, it is necessary that they be added to the pulp at the point in the paper making system to allow sufficient time for the above conditions to occur. Thus, a typical addition point in paper making system would be the machine chest. Other places where suitable contact time would occur may also be used as additional points.
Since pulp slurry is not homogeneous, it is difficult to take an exact required weight of pulp equivalent to 3 grams. Therefore, at the time of freeness testing, with respect to the data hereafter presented, the consistency of pulp stock was determined by stirring well and then drained in a Buchner funnel. The pulp pad was dried at 105° C. to determine the exact weight of the pad. The CSF data hereafter, reported was corrected to a 0.3% consistency using the table of freeness corrections prepared by the pulp and paper Research Institute of Canada and has been described in TAPPI manual (T227). The CSF values were measured at 20° C.
The following examples are presented to describe preferred embodiments and utilities of the invention and are not meant to limit the invention unless otherwise stated in the claims appended hereto.
EXAMPLE 1
An 18 run response surface design (Table I), in which the effects of enzyme dose, polymer dose and polymer type (Artionic A and Anionic B) on the freeness of pulp were investigated. The pulp slurry consistency of 2.3% (3 g dry wt.), which had a pH 5.6, was first treated for 60 minutes at 40° C. under continuous agitation (250 rpm) with an enzyme solution containing Liftase-A40 (0 to 0.4% based on dry wt. of pulp), and then treated separately for 1 minute with different polymers. The freeness values using only Liftase A40 (0.2 and 0.4% wt./wt basis) were increased from 220 mL (untreated) to 320 and 376 mL, respectively. When Liftase A40 pretreated pulp was further treated with anionic polymers, the freeness of pulp decreased (Table I). Statistical analysis of the data revealed (FIGS. 1 and 2) that in the case of anionic flocculants (Anionic A and Anionic B), the decrease in freeness was almost linear with the increase in flocculant concentration. The freeness of pulp untreated with enzyme was decreased by anionic flocculants (Table I).
TABLE I__________________________________________________________________________EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN LIFTASE-ANIONIC POLYMERS FREENESSRUNS POLYMERS TESTED POLYMER DOSE* ENZYME DOSE** RUN ORDER ML (CSF)__________________________________________________________________________1 Anionic A Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 1 0 23 190 Copolymers2 Anionic A Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 3 0 25 150 Copolymers3 Anionic A Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 2 .2 14 200 Copolymers4 Anionic A Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 2 .2 18 205 Copolymers5 Anionic A Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 2 .2 13 207 Copolymers6 Anionic A Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 1 .4 6 271 Copolymers7 Anionic A Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 3 .4 21 255 Copolymers8 Anionic B Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 1 0 4 210 Copolymers9 Anionic B Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 3 0 22 195 Copolymers10 Anionic B Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 2 .2 12 242 Copolymers11 Anionic B Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 2 .2 16 240 Copolymers12 Anionic B Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 2 .2 19 240 Copolymers13 Anionic B Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 1 .4 2 308 Copolymers14 Anionic B Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 3 .4 2 249 Copolymers15 -- 0 0 7 22016 -- 0 .2 3 32017 -- 0 .2 11 32318 -- 0 .4 24 376__________________________________________________________________________ DOSE* = POUNDS PRODUCT/TON DRY PULP DOSE** = LIQUID PREPARATION ON DRY WEIGHT BASIS OF PULP
Results obtained using anionic flocculants are in contrast with previous results obtained using cationic flocculants. These results suggest that the anionic flocculants tested were not adsorbed on the fiber and they might have simply remained in the solution. Lack of adsorption of these flocculants on the fiber and consequent high viscosity of the pulp slurry, due to the presence of polymer, might be responsible for the decrease in freeness.
EXAMPLE 2
A 15 run response surface design (Table II) was performed in which the effect of a cationic (Cationic A) polymer followed by an anionic (Anionic B) polymer, in the presence and in the absence of Liftase A40, on the freeness of pulp was investigated. The pulp slurry of 2.3% consistency (3 g. dry weight) was first treated for 60 min. at 40° C. under continuous agitation (250 rpm) with an enzyme solution containing Liftase-A40 (0 to 0.4% based on dry weight of pulp), and then treated sequentially for 2.0 min. with different concentrations of Cationic A (0.2 to 2.0 pounds polymer as product actives/ton dry pulp) and Anionic B (0.28 0.84 pounds polymer as product actives/ton dry pulp). In many applications, 1 to 3 pounds of Cationic A as product are used. A higher dose (4.5 pounds) of Cationic A was tested since a colloid titration of the pulp revealed that 4.5×10 3 g of Cationic A polymer was required to satisfy the cationic demand of 3 g. (dry wt.) pulp used in this study. The freeness of the pulp decreased when treated with the anionic polymer alone, whereas the freeness increased when treated with the cationic polymer alone. It appears that the negative charges on the fiber prevent the adsorption of anionic polymers which remain solution.
Interestingly, with a sequential treatment of cationic and anionic polymers, the freeness of pulp was increased dramatically and a positive interaction between the two polymers has been found, particularly at high dosages of both polymers. Although a maximum increase in freeness may be achieved using high dosages of cationic and anionic polymers without enzyme, these unrealistically high dosages of polymers may be detrimental to the strength and the formation of the sheet.
TABLE II__________________________________________________________________________EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: LIFTASE TESTED WITH CATIONIC & ANIONIC POLYMERS CAT: CATIONIC A AN: ANIONIC FREENESS MLRUNS DOSE* DOSE** ENZYME DOSE *** RUN ORDER (CSF)__________________________________________________________________________1 0.5 1 .2 12 2682 4.5 1 .2 14 4353 0.5 3 .2 2 2734 4.5 3 .2 17 6085 0.5 1 .4 11 3386 4.5 1 .4 7 4757 0.5 3 .4 4 2858 4.5 3 .4 8 6239 2.5 2 .3 5 31710 2.5 2 .3 9 32211 2.5 2 .3 1 31812 0 0 0 6 22213 2.5 0 0 3 23614 0 2 0 10 19015 0 0 .3 15 342__________________________________________________________________________ * = CATIONIC A DOSE (POUNDS PRODUCT/TON DRY PULP ** = ANIONIC DOSE (POUNDS PRODUCT/TON DRY PULP *** = % LIFTASE DOSE ON DRY WT. BASIS OF PULP
EXAMPLE 3
In order to confirm the positive interaction of cationic and anionic polymers another experimental design was carried out, where the interactions between lower dosages of polymers in the presence and in the absence of enzyme were investigated.
A 10 run response surface design (Table III) was carried out.
TABLE III______________________________________LIFTASE TESTED WITH DUAL POLYMER CATI- AN- EN- ONIC A IONIC B ZYME RUN FREENESSRUNS DOSE* DOSE** DOSE** ORDER ML (CSF)______________________________________1 0.5 0.5 .10 3 2822 3.0 0.5 .10 4 4553 0.5 3.0 .10 8 2404 3.0 3.0 .10 6 5975 0.5 0.5 .40 7 3656 3.0 0.5 .40 1 4977 0.5 3.0 .40 10 3238 3.0 3.0 .40 2 6629 1.8 1.8 .25 9 40510 1.8 1.8 .25 5 410______________________________________ * = CATIONIC A AND ANIONIC B DOSE (POUNDS PRODUCT/TON DRY PULP) ** = LIFTASE DOSE (% BASED ON DRY WT. OF PULP) *** = LIFTASE DOSE ON DRY WT. BASIS OF PULP
In this experiment, the effects of cationic (Cationic A) and anionic (Anionic B) polymers ranging from 0.22-1.33 pounds active/ton dry pulp (Cationic) and 0.14-0.84 pounds active/ton dry pulp (Anionic) in the presence and in the absence of Liftase A40, on the freeness of pulp was investigated. The pulp slurry and all the experimental conditions were similar to those described in Examples 1 and 2. In this experiment, the main effects of cationic and anionic polymers and enzyme were separately calculated using their low and high dosages over the entire combinations used in this experimental design. The results show that the presence of high dose of cationic polymer played a more dominant role in the increase of freeness (553 ml) than played by enzyme (462 ml) and anionic polymer (455 ml). Interactions between cationic and annionic polymers, cationic polymer and enzyme, and anionic polymer and enzyme were also investigated. A positive strong interaction has been found between cationic and anionic polymers. As found earlier, the cationic polymer played an important role in enhancing the freeness of pulp. In contrast, anionic polymer alone decreased the freeness. It is therefore important to use either high dosages of both cationic and anionic polymers or, if a low dose of cationic polymer is required, then the anionic polymer dose should also be kept low. A weak interaction has been found between cationic polymer and enzyme. No interaction has been found between anionic polymer and enzyme.
TABLE IV__________________________________________________________________________Least Squares Coefficients, Response CSF, Model0 Term 1 Coeff. 2 Std. Error 3 T-Value 4 Signif.__________________________________________________________________________1 1 401.259615 4.442421 90.32 0.00012 ˜C 125.125000 2.216768 56.44 0.00033 ˜A 27.875000 2.216768 12.57 0.00634 ˜E 34.125000 2.216768 15.39 0.00425 ˜C*A 48.875000 2.216768 22.05 0.00216 ˜C*E -7.375000 2.216768 -3.33 0.07977 ˜A*E 2.875000 2.216768 1.30 0.32418 CURVATURE 26.365385 4.966378 5.31 0.0337__________________________________________________________________________0 Term 5 Transformed Term__________________________________________________________________________1 12 ˜C ((C-1.75)/1.25)3 ˜A ((A-1.75)/1.25)4 ˜E ((E-2.5e-01)/1.5e-01)5 ˜C*A ((C-1.75)/1.25)*((A-1.756 ˜C*E ((C-1.75)/1.25)*((E-2.5e7 ˜A*E ((A-1.75)/1.25)*((E-2.5e8 CURVA ((C-1.75)/1.25)**2__________________________________________________________________________ No. cases = 10 Rsq. = 0.9995 RMS Error = 6.27 Resid. df = 2 Rsq-adj. = 0.9978 Cond. No. = 4.246 ˜ indicates factors are transformed.
The experimental data given in Table V was used to develop a predictive equation which was used to generate contour plots (FIGS. 3, 4, and 5). It is clearly shown (FIGS. 3, 4, and 5) that by increasing the enzyme dose from 0.1 to 0.4% the freeness increased and the shape of the curves of response surface changed. A dual polymer program with enzyme may be beneficial if the dosages level of polymers are correctly determined.
EXAMPLE 4
In order to broaden the scope of this investigation other cationic polymers such as poly-DADMAC (poly-DADMAC cationics) EDC-ammonia (EDC-Anionic/cationics) with an anionic (Anionic B) polymer in the presence of Liftase-A40 were also examined.
Experiments of a six run and a twelve run response surface design were carried out (Tables V and VI).
TABLE V__________________________________________________________________________0 1 RUN ORDER 2 CATIONIC-TYPE 3 CATIONIC-DOSE 4 ANIONIC-DOSE 5 NET-FREENESS__________________________________________________________________________1 3 CATIONIC A 0.50 0.50 2662 4 CATIONIC A 1.75 1.75 3823 6 CATIONIC A 0.50 3.00 2264 11 CATIONIC A 3.00 0.50 4555 12 CATIONIC A 3.00 3.00 6426 17 CATIONIC A 1.75 1.75 387__________________________________________________________________________
TABLE VI__________________________________________________________________________0 1 ORD 2 CATIONIC-TYPE 3 CATIONIC-DOSE 4 ANIONIC-DOSE 5 NET-FREENESS__________________________________________________________________________1 1 CATIONIC B 1.75 1.75 2522 2 CATIONIC C 0.50 0.50 266 (EDC-AMMONIA)3 5 CATIONIC B 0.50 3.00 2274 7 CATIONIC B 3.00 0.50 2795 8 CATIONIC C 1.75 1.75 245 (EDC-AMMONIA)6 9 CATIONIC C 0.50 3.00 224 (EDC-AMMONIA)7 10 CATIONIC C 3.00 0.50 258 (EDC-AMMONIA)8 13 CATIONIC C 3.00 3.00 240 (EDC-AMMONIA)9 14 CATIONIC B 3.00 3.00 25010 15 CATIONIC C 1.75 1.75 248 (EDC-AMMONIA)11 16 CATIONIC B 0.50 0.50 28212 18 CATIONIC B 1.75 1.75 256__________________________________________________________________________
The effect of cationic polymer Cationic A, was studied in the six-run design. Cationic polymers, poly-DADMAC B and EDC - ammonia C were studied using the twelve run design. Both experiments were run with an anionic polymer (Anionic B) in the presence of Liftase-A40 and the pulp freeness was measured. In each case the pulp slurry was first treated under optimal conditions with Liftase-A40 (0.2% based on dry weight of pulp), and then treated sequentially for 2.0 min. at 20° C. with different dosages of cationic polymers (0.5 to 3 pounds polymer as product/ton dry pulp) and an anionic polymer (0.5 to 3.0 pounds polymer as product/ton dry pulp).
These equations were then used to generate contour plots (FIGS. 6, 7, and 8). FIG. 6 shows that when both Cationic A and Anionic B dosages increased beyond one pound product/ton dry pulp, the freeness of pulp began to increase dramatically. At high dosages of each cationic and anionic polymer (3.0 pounds each polymer as product/ton dry pulp) the freeness increased from 202 mL to 642 mL. FIGS. 7 and 8 show no significant increase in freeness when the dosages of each cationic polymer (B and C) and anionic polymer (Anionic B) increased to 3.0 pounds polymer as product/ton dry pulp.
These results could be due to either differences in the chemistries of cationic polymers or lower polymer actives (15%) in B and C respectively, versus 45% in A.
EXAMPLE 5
To explain the results of Example 4, a separate experiment as described below was carried out. In this experiment, the performance of these polymers was investigated at equal polymer active basis. An eighteen-run response surface design (Table VII) was performed in which the effect of varying the chemistry of the cationic polymers (A, B, and C) and Anionic polymer B in the presence of Liftase-A40, on the freeness of pulp was investigated. The pulp slurry was first treated under optimal conditions with Liftase-A40 (0.2% based on dry weight of pulp) and then treated sequentially for 2.0 min. at 20° C. with equal active dosages of cationic polymers (0.225 to 1.350 pounds polymer/ton dry pulp) and an anionic polymer (Anionic B, 0.225 to 1.35 pound/polymer/ton dry pulp). The experimental data given in Table VII was used to develop a predictive equation which was used to generate contour plots (FIGS. 9, 10, and 11).
TABLE VII__________________________________________________________________________Evaluation of Dual Polymer Program Using Equal Actives 2 Cationic 3 Cationic 4 Anionic0 1 Ord Type Dose As Active Dose As Active 5 CSF__________________________________________________________________________ 1 1 CATIONIC B 0.675 0.675 368 2 2 CATIONIC C (EDC-AMMONIA) 0.225 0.225 268 3 3 CATIONIC A 0.225 0.225 266 4 4 CATIONIC A 0.675 0.675 330 5 5 CATIONIC B 0.225 1.350 250 6 6 CATIONIC A 0.225 1.350 238 7 7 CATIONIC B 1.350 0.225 388 8 8 CATIONIC C (EDC-AMMONIA) 0.675 0.675 366 9 9 CATIONIC C (EDC-AMMONIA) 0.225 1.350 23110 10 CATIONIC C (EDC-AMMONIA) 1.350 0.225 41211 11 CATIONIC A 1.350 0.225 40812 12 CATIONIC A 1.350 1.350 60013 13 CATIONIC C (EDC-AMMONIA) 1.350 1.350 57514 14 CATIONIC B 1.350 1.350 55515 15 CATIONIC C (EDC-AMMONIA) 0.675 0.675 36316 16 CATIONIC B 0.225 0.225 26017 17 CATIONIC A 0.675 0.675 33518 18 CATIONIC B 0.675 0.675 365__________________________________________________________________________
It is shown (FIGS. 9, 10 and 11) that when both cationic and anionic polymer dosages increased beyond 0.45 pounds active polymer/ton dry pulp the freeness of pulp began to increase dramatically. At high dosages (1.35 pounds active polymer/ton dry pulp) of cationic polymers (A, B and C) and anionic polymer (Anionic B) the freeness increased from 202 ml (control) to 600, 555 and 575 ml respectively. The shape and the trends of contour plots generated for each cationic polymer with Anionic B were so similar that they could be easily superimposed. These results suggested that different dual polymer programs can be used with enzyme for achieving high freeness of recycled fiber. | A process for improving the freeness of paper pulp, which comprises the steps of adding to the pulp at least 0.05%, based on the dry weight of the pulp, of a cellulolytic enzyme, allowing the pulp to contact the cellulolytic enzyme for from about 40 minutes to about 60 minutes at a temperature of at least 40° C., adding at least 0.011%, based on the dry weight of the pulp, of a water soluble cationic polymer, adding at least 0.007%, based on the dry weight of the pulp, of a water soluble anionic or nonionic polymer and forming the thus treated pulp into paper. | Summarize the information, clearly outlining the challenges and proposed solutions. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention The invention relates to a combination of cellulolytic enzymes with cationic and anionic polymers for use in enhancing the freeness of paper pulp.",
"Description of the Prior Art More and more the papermaking industry uses recycled papers.",
"For example, for the manufacture of corrugated cardboard, raw materials which are based on recycled fibers are being used more frequently and, at the same time, the number of recyclings is increased.",
"With each recycling, the quality of the raw materials is lessened.",
"To obtain a satisfactory level of raw material quality, refining of the pulps in aqueous suspension is generally carried out.",
"This refining leads to difficulties in runnability of the paper sheet because of high concentrations of fines and other contaminants which may be found in the refined pulp.",
"The pulps in aqueous suspension which are ready to be used on a paper machine can be characterized by various parameters, one of which is particularly significant for predicting the draining capability of the pulp.",
"A measure of the drainability of the pulp is frequently expressed in the term "freeness".",
"Specifically, freeness is measured according to Canadian Standard Freeness, or CSF measurement.",
"CSF measures the drainage of 3 grams (oven dried weight) of pulp suspended in one liter of water.",
"Use of cellulolytic enzymes, e.g. the cellulases and/or the hemicellulases for treating recycled paper pulps to improve freeness is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,565 the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.",
"The cellulase enzyme described in the '565 patent may be used in the practice of the present invention.",
"U.S. Pat. No. 5,169,497, issued to Sarkar and Cosper discussed the effects of cellulases in combination with cationic flocculants of varying composition on the freeness of old corrugated containers (OCC) pulp.",
"The '497 patent covers the use of a combination of enzyme and cationic polymers for enhancing the freeness of recycled fiber.",
"In practice, dual polymer treatment programs are also used for retention.",
"In a dual polymer retention system, two synthetic polymers are mixed with the pulp sequentially to achieve better results than obtained with either polymer by itself.",
"Usually, a low molecular weight, highly charged cationic polymer is added to the papermaking furnish first, and then at a later stage, a high molecular weight, anionic polymer is added.",
"Dual polymers have found a place in paper and board manufacturing.",
"Good retention has numerous economic benefits.",
"As the use of recycled fiber increases in container board, fine paper, and newsprint grades, the opportunity to provide benefits through retention aids has also increased.",
"If fines are not retained by a good retention aid or hydrolyzed by an enzyme, they will impede drainage, fill felts, and cause deposition problems.",
"The key benefit of retention aids with enzyme is to prevent drainage reduction and subsequent loss of machine speed.",
"Drainage can be maintained by preventing the build-up of fines in the white water loop.",
"While the present invention produces particularly good results when used to treat pulps which contain substantial quantities of recycled fibers, it also has applicability in treating pulps which contain little or no recycled fibers.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A process for improving the freeness of paper pulp, which comprises the steps of adding to the pulp at least 0.05%, based on the dry weight of the pulp, of a cellulolytic enzyme, allowing the pulp to contact the cellulolytic enzyme for from about 40 minutes to about 60 minutes at a temperature of at least 40° C., adding at least 0.011%, based on the dry weight of the pulp, of a water soluble cationic polymer, adding at least 0.007%, based on the dry weight of the pulp, of a water soluble anionic polymer and forming the thus treated pulp into paper.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1, is a statistical analysis of the freeness changes of anionic polymer A. FIG. 2, is a statistical analysis of the freeness changes of anionic polymer B. FIG. 3, is a contour plot showing the increase in freeness that you use to buy an enzyme dosage of 0.1 percent.",
"FIG. 4, is a contour plot showing the increase in freeness that you use to buy enzyme of 0.25 percent.",
"FIG. 5, is a contour plot showing the increase in freeness that you use to buy enzyme of 0.4 percent.",
"FIG. 6, is a contour plot showing the increase in freeness achieved by a combination of Cationic A, Anionic B and liftase A40.",
"FIG. 7, is a contour plot showing freeness levels or combinations of Cationic B, Anionic B and Liftase A40.",
"FIG. 8, is a contour plot showing freeness levels or combination of Cationic C, Anionic B and Liftase A40.",
"FIG. 9, is a contour plot showing the freeness level achieved by a combination of Cationic A, Anionic B and Lifiase A40.",
"FIG. 10, is a contour plot showing the effect on the levels of freeness achieved by a combination of Cationic B, Anionic B and Liftase A40.",
"FIG. 11, is a contour plot showing the freeness achieved by a combination of Cationic C, Anionic B and Liftase A40.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A variety of water soluble cationic coagulants may be used in the practice of the invention.",
"Both condensation and vinyl addition polymers may be employed.",
"For a list of water soluble cationic polymers, reference may be had to Canadian patent 731,212, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.",
"A preferred group of cationic polymers are the cationic polymers of acrylamide which in a more preferred embodiment of the invention, contain form 40-60% by weight of acrylamide.",
"Larger or smaller amounts of acrylamide in the polymers may be used, e.g., between 30-80%.",
"Typical of the cationic monomers, polymerized with acrylamide are the monomers diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride, (DADMAC), dimethylaminoethyl/acrylate methyl chloride quaternary ammonium salt, (DMAEA.",
"MCQ).",
"When these cationic acrylamide polymers are used they should have a RSV (reduced specific viscosity) of at least 3 and preferably the RSV should be within the range of 5-20 or more.",
"RSV was determined using a one molar sodium nitrate solution at 30° C. The concentration of the acrylamide polymer in this solution is 0.045%.",
"A preferred group of anionic polymers are polymers of acrylamide containing 20-95% acrylamide and 5 to 80% anionic monomer by weight of the polymer such as acrylic acid or methacrylic acid.",
"As indicated, the invention has utility in improving the drainage or the freeness of a wide variety of paper pulps, including Kraft and other types of pulp.",
"The invention is particularly useful in treating pulps that contain recycled fibers.",
"The effectiveness of the invention in improving drainage is most notable when the pulps contain at least 10 percent by weight of recycled fiber, with great improvements being evidenced when the recycled fiber content or the pulp being treated is at least 50% or more.",
"As indicated, the invention requires that the pulp first be treated with an enzyme, then with a cationic polymer and, finally, with an anionic polymer.",
"It is also important to the successful practice of the invention, that the conditions under which the treatment with the enzyme occurs is such to provide optimum reaction time of the enzyme of the pulp.",
"The treatment of the pulp with the enzyme is preferably conducted for a period of time not greater than 60 minutes.",
"The minimum treating time is about 30 minutes.",
"A typical treating time would be about 40 minutes.",
"The pH of the pulp to achieve optimum results should be between the ranges of 5 to 7.5.",
"The temperature of the treatment should not be below 20° C., and usually should not exceed 60° C. A typical average reaction temperature is favorably conducted is 40° C. The preferred dosage of the cationic polymer, as actives, is from 0.025% to 0.02% polymer based on the dry weight of the pulp.",
"A general dosage which may be used to treat the pulp with the polymer is from 0.01% to 0.08% by weight of the polymer.",
"The preferred dosage of anionic polymer, as actives, is 0.025%-0.075% polymer based on the dry weight of the pulp.",
"The enzyme dosage based on the dry weight of the pulp in a preferred embodiment ranges from about 0.05 to about 0.4 percent by weight.",
"A general treatment range of the enzyme that may be used is from 0.01 to 0.5 percent by weight.",
"In order for the enzyme to have sufficient reaction time and mixing described above, it is necessary that they be added to the pulp at the point in the paper making system to allow sufficient time for the above conditions to occur.",
"Thus, a typical addition point in paper making system would be the machine chest.",
"Other places where suitable contact time would occur may also be used as additional points.",
"Since pulp slurry is not homogeneous, it is difficult to take an exact required weight of pulp equivalent to 3 grams.",
"Therefore, at the time of freeness testing, with respect to the data hereafter presented, the consistency of pulp stock was determined by stirring well and then drained in a Buchner funnel.",
"The pulp pad was dried at 105° C. to determine the exact weight of the pad.",
"The CSF data hereafter, reported was corrected to a 0.3% consistency using the table of freeness corrections prepared by the pulp and paper Research Institute of Canada and has been described in TAPPI manual (T227).",
"The CSF values were measured at 20° C. The following examples are presented to describe preferred embodiments and utilities of the invention and are not meant to limit the invention unless otherwise stated in the claims appended hereto.",
"EXAMPLE 1 An 18 run response surface design (Table I), in which the effects of enzyme dose, polymer dose and polymer type (Artionic A and Anionic B) on the freeness of pulp were investigated.",
"The pulp slurry consistency of 2.3% (3 g dry wt.), which had a pH 5.6, was first treated for 60 minutes at 40° C. under continuous agitation (250 rpm) with an enzyme solution containing Liftase-A40 (0 to 0.4% based on dry wt.",
"of pulp), and then treated separately for 1 minute with different polymers.",
"The freeness values using only Liftase A40 (0.2 and 0.4% wt.",
"/wt basis) were increased from 220 mL (untreated) to 320 and 376 mL, respectively.",
"When Liftase A40 pretreated pulp was further treated with anionic polymers, the freeness of pulp decreased (Table I).",
"Statistical analysis of the data revealed (FIGS.",
"1 and 2) that in the case of anionic flocculants (Anionic A and Anionic B), the decrease in freeness was almost linear with the increase in flocculant concentration.",
"The freeness of pulp untreated with enzyme was decreased by anionic flocculants (Table I).",
"TABLE I__________________________________________________________________________EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN LIFTASE-ANIONIC POLYMERS FREENESSRUNS POLYMERS TESTED POLYMER DOSE* ENZYME DOSE** RUN ORDER ML (CSF)__________________________________________________________________________1 Anionic A Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 1 0 23 190 Copolymers2 Anionic A Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 3 0 25 150 Copolymers3 Anionic A Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 2 [.",
"].2 14 200 Copolymers4 Anionic A Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 2 [.",
"].2 18 205 Copolymers5 Anionic A Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 2 [.",
"].2 13 207 Copolymers6 Anionic A Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 1 [.",
"].4 6 271 Copolymers7 Anionic A Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 3 [.",
"].4 21 255 Copolymers8 Anionic B Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 1 0 4 210 Copolymers9 Anionic B Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 3 0 22 195 Copolymers10 Anionic B Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 2 [.",
"].2 12 242 Copolymers11 Anionic B Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 2 [.",
"].2 16 240 Copolymers12 Anionic B Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 2 [.",
"].2 19 240 Copolymers13 Anionic B Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 1 [.",
"].4 2 308 Copolymers14 Anionic B Acrylamide/Acrylic Acid 3 [.",
"].4 2 249 Copolymers15 -- 0 0 7 22016 -- 0 [.",
"].2 3 32017 -- 0 [.",
"].2 11 32318 -- 0 [.",
"].4 24 376__________________________________________________________________________ DOSE* = POUNDS PRODUCT/TON DRY PULP DOSE** = LIQUID PREPARATION ON DRY WEIGHT BASIS OF PULP Results obtained using anionic flocculants are in contrast with previous results obtained using cationic flocculants.",
"These results suggest that the anionic flocculants tested were not adsorbed on the fiber and they might have simply remained in the solution.",
"Lack of adsorption of these flocculants on the fiber and consequent high viscosity of the pulp slurry, due to the presence of polymer, might be responsible for the decrease in freeness.",
"EXAMPLE 2 A 15 run response surface design (Table II) was performed in which the effect of a cationic (Cationic A) polymer followed by an anionic (Anionic B) polymer, in the presence and in the absence of Liftase A40, on the freeness of pulp was investigated.",
"The pulp slurry of 2.3% consistency (3 g. dry weight) was first treated for 60 min.",
"at 40° C. under continuous agitation (250 rpm) with an enzyme solution containing Liftase-A40 (0 to 0.4% based on dry weight of pulp), and then treated sequentially for 2.0 min.",
"with different concentrations of Cationic A (0.2 to 2.0 pounds polymer as product actives/ton dry pulp) and Anionic B (0.28 0.84 pounds polymer as product actives/ton dry pulp).",
"In many applications, 1 to 3 pounds of Cationic A as product are used.",
"A higher dose (4.5 pounds) of Cationic A was tested since a colloid titration of the pulp revealed that 4.5×10 3 g of Cationic A polymer was required to satisfy the cationic demand of 3 g. (dry wt.) pulp used in this study.",
"The freeness of the pulp decreased when treated with the anionic polymer alone, whereas the freeness increased when treated with the cationic polymer alone.",
"It appears that the negative charges on the fiber prevent the adsorption of anionic polymers which remain solution.",
"Interestingly, with a sequential treatment of cationic and anionic polymers, the freeness of pulp was increased dramatically and a positive interaction between the two polymers has been found, particularly at high dosages of both polymers.",
"Although a maximum increase in freeness may be achieved using high dosages of cationic and anionic polymers without enzyme, these unrealistically high dosages of polymers may be detrimental to the strength and the formation of the sheet.",
"TABLE II__________________________________________________________________________EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: LIFTASE TESTED WITH CATIONIC &",
"ANIONIC POLYMERS CAT: CATIONIC A AN: ANIONIC FREENESS MLRUNS DOSE* DOSE** ENZYME DOSE *** RUN ORDER (CSF)__________________________________________________________________________1 0.5 1 [.",
"].2 12 2682 4.5 1 [.",
"].2 14 4353 0.5 3 [.",
"].2 2 2734 4.5 3 [.",
"].2 17 6085 0.5 1 [.",
"].4 11 3386 4.5 1 [.",
"].4 7 4757 0.5 3 [.",
"].4 4 2858 4.5 3 [.",
"].4 8 6239 2.5 2 [.",
"].3 5 31710 2.5 2 [.",
"].3 9 32211 2.5 2 [.",
"].3 1 31812 0 0 0 6 22213 2.5 0 0 3 23614 0 2 0 10 19015 0 0 [.",
"].3 15 342__________________________________________________________________________ * = CATIONIC A DOSE (POUNDS PRODUCT/TON DRY PULP ** = ANIONIC DOSE (POUNDS PRODUCT/TON DRY PULP *** = % LIFTASE DOSE ON DRY WT.",
"BASIS OF PULP EXAMPLE 3 In order to confirm the positive interaction of cationic and anionic polymers another experimental design was carried out, where the interactions between lower dosages of polymers in the presence and in the absence of enzyme were investigated.",
"A 10 run response surface design (Table III) was carried out.",
"TABLE III______________________________________LIFTASE TESTED WITH DUAL POLYMER CATI- AN- EN- ONIC A IONIC B ZYME RUN FREENESSRUNS DOSE* DOSE** DOSE** ORDER ML (CSF)______________________________________1 0.5 0.5 [.",
"].10 3 2822 3.0 0.5 [.",
"].10 4 4553 0.5 3.0 [.",
"].10 8 2404 3.0 3.0 [.",
"].10 6 5975 0.5 0.5 [.",
"].40 7 3656 3.0 0.5 [.",
"].40 1 4977 0.5 3.0 [.",
"].40 10 3238 3.0 3.0 [.",
"].40 2 6629 1.8 1.8 [.",
"].25 9 40510 1.8 1.8 [.",
"].25 5 410______________________________________ * = CATIONIC A AND ANIONIC B DOSE (POUNDS PRODUCT/TON DRY PULP) ** = LIFTASE DOSE (% BASED ON DRY WT.",
"OF PULP) *** = LIFTASE DOSE ON DRY WT.",
"BASIS OF PULP In this experiment, the effects of cationic (Cationic A) and anionic (Anionic B) polymers ranging from 0.22-1.33 pounds active/ton dry pulp (Cationic) and 0.14-0.84 pounds active/ton dry pulp (Anionic) in the presence and in the absence of Liftase A40, on the freeness of pulp was investigated.",
"The pulp slurry and all the experimental conditions were similar to those described in Examples 1 and 2.",
"In this experiment, the main effects of cationic and anionic polymers and enzyme were separately calculated using their low and high dosages over the entire combinations used in this experimental design.",
"The results show that the presence of high dose of cationic polymer played a more dominant role in the increase of freeness (553 ml) than played by enzyme (462 ml) and anionic polymer (455 ml).",
"Interactions between cationic and annionic polymers, cationic polymer and enzyme, and anionic polymer and enzyme were also investigated.",
"A positive strong interaction has been found between cationic and anionic polymers.",
"As found earlier, the cationic polymer played an important role in enhancing the freeness of pulp.",
"In contrast, anionic polymer alone decreased the freeness.",
"It is therefore important to use either high dosages of both cationic and anionic polymers or, if a low dose of cationic polymer is required, then the anionic polymer dose should also be kept low.",
"A weak interaction has been found between cationic polymer and enzyme.",
"No interaction has been found between anionic polymer and enzyme.",
"TABLE IV__________________________________________________________________________Least Squares Coefficients, Response CSF, Model0 Term 1 Coeff.",
"2 Std.",
"Error 3 T-Value 4 Signif.",
"__________________________________________________________________________1 1 401.259615 4.442421 90.32 0.00012 ˜C 125.125000 2.216768 56.44 0.00033 ˜A 27.875000 2.216768 12.57 0.00634 ˜E 34.125000 2.216768 15.39 0.00425 ˜C*A 48.875000 2.216768 22.05 0.00216 ˜C*E -7.375000 2.216768 -3.33 0.07977 ˜A*E 2.875000 2.216768 1.30 0.32418 CURVATURE 26.365385 4.966378 5.31 0.0337__________________________________________________________________________0 Term 5 Transformed Term__________________________________________________________________________1 12 ˜C ((C-1.75)/1.25)3 ˜A ((A-1.75)/1.25)4 ˜E ((E-2.5e-01)/1.5e-01)5 ˜C*A ((C-1.75)/1.25)*((A-1.756 ˜C*E ((C-1.75)/1.25)*((E-2.5e7 ˜A*E ((A-1.75)/1.25)*((E-2.5e8 CURVA ((C-1.75)/1.25)**2__________________________________________________________________________ No. cases = 10 Rsq.",
"= 0.9995 RMS Error = 6.27 Resid.",
"df = 2 Rsq-adj.",
"= 0.9978 Cond.",
"No. = 4.246 ˜ indicates factors are transformed.",
"The experimental data given in Table V was used to develop a predictive equation which was used to generate contour plots (FIGS.",
"3, 4, and 5).",
"It is clearly shown (FIGS.",
"3, 4, and 5) that by increasing the enzyme dose from 0.1 to 0.4% the freeness increased and the shape of the curves of response surface changed.",
"A dual polymer program with enzyme may be beneficial if the dosages level of polymers are correctly determined.",
"EXAMPLE 4 In order to broaden the scope of this investigation other cationic polymers such as poly-DADMAC (poly-DADMAC cationics) EDC-ammonia (EDC-Anionic/cationics) with an anionic (Anionic B) polymer in the presence of Liftase-A40 were also examined.",
"Experiments of a six run and a twelve run response surface design were carried out (Tables V and VI).",
"TABLE V__________________________________________________________________________0 1 RUN ORDER 2 CATIONIC-TYPE 3 CATIONIC-DOSE 4 ANIONIC-DOSE 5 NET-FREENESS__________________________________________________________________________1 3 CATIONIC A 0.50 0.50 2662 4 CATIONIC A 1.75 1.75 3823 6 CATIONIC A 0.50 3.00 2264 11 CATIONIC A 3.00 0.50 4555 12 CATIONIC A 3.00 3.00 6426 17 CATIONIC A 1.75 1.75 387__________________________________________________________________________ TABLE VI__________________________________________________________________________0 1 ORD 2 CATIONIC-TYPE 3 CATIONIC-DOSE 4 ANIONIC-DOSE 5 NET-FREENESS__________________________________________________________________________1 1 CATIONIC B 1.75 1.75 2522 2 CATIONIC C 0.50 0.50 266 (EDC-AMMONIA)3 5 CATIONIC B 0.50 3.00 2274 7 CATIONIC B 3.00 0.50 2795 8 CATIONIC C 1.75 1.75 245 (EDC-AMMONIA)6 9 CATIONIC C 0.50 3.00 224 (EDC-AMMONIA)7 10 CATIONIC C 3.00 0.50 258 (EDC-AMMONIA)8 13 CATIONIC C 3.00 3.00 240 (EDC-AMMONIA)9 14 CATIONIC B 3.00 3.00 25010 15 CATIONIC C 1.75 1.75 248 (EDC-AMMONIA)11 16 CATIONIC B 0.50 0.50 28212 18 CATIONIC B 1.75 1.75 256__________________________________________________________________________ The effect of cationic polymer Cationic A, was studied in the six-run design.",
"Cationic polymers, poly-DADMAC B and EDC - ammonia C were studied using the twelve run design.",
"Both experiments were run with an anionic polymer (Anionic B) in the presence of Liftase-A40 and the pulp freeness was measured.",
"In each case the pulp slurry was first treated under optimal conditions with Liftase-A40 (0.2% based on dry weight of pulp), and then treated sequentially for 2.0 min.",
"at 20° C. with different dosages of cationic polymers (0.5 to 3 pounds polymer as product/ton dry pulp) and an anionic polymer (0.5 to 3.0 pounds polymer as product/ton dry pulp).",
"These equations were then used to generate contour plots (FIGS.",
"6, 7, and 8).",
"FIG. 6 shows that when both Cationic A and Anionic B dosages increased beyond one pound product/ton dry pulp, the freeness of pulp began to increase dramatically.",
"At high dosages of each cationic and anionic polymer (3.0 pounds each polymer as product/ton dry pulp) the freeness increased from 202 mL to 642 mL.",
"FIGS. 7 and 8 show no significant increase in freeness when the dosages of each cationic polymer (B and C) and anionic polymer (Anionic B) increased to 3.0 pounds polymer as product/ton dry pulp.",
"These results could be due to either differences in the chemistries of cationic polymers or lower polymer actives (15%) in B and C respectively, versus 45% in A. EXAMPLE 5 To explain the results of Example 4, a separate experiment as described below was carried out.",
"In this experiment, the performance of these polymers was investigated at equal polymer active basis.",
"An eighteen-run response surface design (Table VII) was performed in which the effect of varying the chemistry of the cationic polymers (A, B, and C) and Anionic polymer B in the presence of Liftase-A40, on the freeness of pulp was investigated.",
"The pulp slurry was first treated under optimal conditions with Liftase-A40 (0.2% based on dry weight of pulp) and then treated sequentially for 2.0 min.",
"at 20° C. with equal active dosages of cationic polymers (0.225 to 1.350 pounds polymer/ton dry pulp) and an anionic polymer (Anionic B, 0.225 to 1.35 pound/polymer/ton dry pulp).",
"The experimental data given in Table VII was used to develop a predictive equation which was used to generate contour plots (FIGS.",
"9, 10, and 11).",
"TABLE VII__________________________________________________________________________Evaluation of Dual Polymer Program Using Equal Actives 2 Cationic 3 Cationic 4 Anionic0 1 Ord Type Dose As Active Dose As Active 5 CSF__________________________________________________________________________ 1 1 CATIONIC B 0.675 0.675 368 2 2 CATIONIC C (EDC-AMMONIA) 0.225 0.225 268 3 3 CATIONIC A 0.225 0.225 266 4 4 CATIONIC A 0.675 0.675 330 5 5 CATIONIC B 0.225 1.350 250 6 6 CATIONIC A 0.225 1.350 238 7 7 CATIONIC B 1.350 0.225 388 8 8 CATIONIC C (EDC-AMMONIA) 0.675 0.675 366 9 9 CATIONIC C (EDC-AMMONIA) 0.225 1.350 23110 10 CATIONIC C (EDC-AMMONIA) 1.350 0.225 41211 11 CATIONIC A 1.350 0.225 40812 12 CATIONIC A 1.350 1.350 60013 13 CATIONIC C (EDC-AMMONIA) 1.350 1.350 57514 14 CATIONIC B 1.350 1.350 55515 15 CATIONIC C (EDC-AMMONIA) 0.675 0.675 36316 16 CATIONIC B 0.225 0.225 26017 17 CATIONIC A 0.675 0.675 33518 18 CATIONIC B 0.675 0.675 365__________________________________________________________________________ It is shown (FIGS.",
"9, 10 and 11) that when both cationic and anionic polymer dosages increased beyond 0.45 pounds active polymer/ton dry pulp the freeness of pulp began to increase dramatically.",
"At high dosages (1.35 pounds active polymer/ton dry pulp) of cationic polymers (A, B and C) and anionic polymer (Anionic B) the freeness increased from 202 ml (control) to 600, 555 and 575 ml respectively.",
"The shape and the trends of contour plots generated for each cationic polymer with Anionic B were so similar that they could be easily superimposed.",
"These results suggested that different dual polymer programs can be used with enzyme for achieving high freeness of recycled fiber."
] |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/906,134, filed on Mar. 9, 2007.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a hand free telephone system, and in particular relates to a telephone system with an ordinary analog telephone and a full-duplex speakerphone adapter.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hands-free speakerphone usages have become a common and important part of business conferences and daily telecommunications. Demand for good voice quality to facilitate efficient communications have increased, and the full-duplex feature for hands-free speakerphones has become highly desirable for business and home communications.
Conventionally, the most common speakerphones offer the ability to converse either in a handset mode or hands-free mode. FIG. 1A shows a conventional speakerphone 100 with a handset 72 , a microphone 50 and a loudspeaker 51 . A switch 191 on the speakerphone 100 determines whether the speakerphone 100 operates in the handset mode or hands-free mode. In the hands-free mode, users can be at a distance away from the speakerphone 100 . The loudspeaker 51 conducts a telephone conversation without users holding the handset 72 . Hands-free mode allows multiple participants to join the conversation in an audio-conference meeting, and also allows users to free up their hands for operating computer keyboards or other activities. FIG. 1B shows a conventional speakerphone 101 without a handset. In recent years, speakerphones 101 without handsets have become common, operating only in hands-free mode.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A detailed description is given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.
An embodiment of telephone system is provided. The telephone system comprises an analog telephone and a full-duplex speakerphone adapter. The analog telephone comprises an ordinary analog telephone subscriber circuit for transmitting and receiving analog signals and a handset for users. The full-duplex speakerphone adapter is coupled in between the analog telephone and a central office, uses a subscriber loop interface circuit through a first telephone line to couple to the ordinary analog telephone subscriber circuit of the analog telephone and uses a telephone hybrid interface circuit through a second telephone line to couple to a wall jack to communicate with the central office.
Another embodiment of a full-duplex speakerphone adapter is provided. The full-duplex speakerphone adapter comprises a subscriber loop interface circuit, a telephone hybrid interface circuit, and a telephone signal processing unit. The subscriber loop interface circuit through a first telephone line is coupled to an ordinary analog telephone subscriber circuit of an analog telephone. The telephone hybrid interface circuit through a second telephone line is coupled to a wall jack to communicate with a central office. The telephone signal processing unit processes digital signals to remove line echo and acoustic echo. The full-duplex speakerphone adapter can be switched to a hands-free speakerphone mode or an ordinary analog telephone mode.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1A shows a conventional speakerphone with a handset;
FIG. 1B shows a conventional speakerphone without a handset;
FIG. 2 shows a full-duplex speakerphone adapter connected to an ordinary analog telephone according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3A shows a block diagram of the full-duplex speakerphone as shown in FIG. 2 according to another embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3B shows a block diagram of the effective data path inside the full-duplex speakerphone adapter when the switch switches to the position S for hands-free speakerphone mode according to another embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3C shows a block diagram of the effective data path inside the full-duplex speakerphone adapter when the switch switches to the position T for ordinary analog telephone mode according to another embodiment of the invention; and
FIG. 4 shows a simplified block diagram of the full-duplex processing unit of the full-duplex speakerphone adapter.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carrying out the invention. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims.
FIG. 2 shows a full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 connected to an ordinary analog telephone 102 according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 2 , the ordinary analog telephone 102 does not directly connect to a wall jack 31 . The ordinary analog telephone 102 uses a telephone line 32 to plug into the telephone line jack 300 h of the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 . The full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 is connected to the wall jack 31 through another telephone line 32 b , and hence outwards to a telephone central office 30 .
The full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 is responsible for providing the proper impedance on the telephone line 32 b , both during an on-hook condition and an off-hook condition. The full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 is also responsible for providing the proper impedance and line voltages on the telephone line 32 , both during the on-hook condition and during the off-hook condition, such that the ordinary analog telephone 102 that plugs into the telephone line jack 300 h performs as if it is connected to the telephone wall jack 31 interfacing with an ordinary analog telephone subscriber circuit.
During the normal telephone on-hook and idle condition, the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 interfaces with the telephone line 32 b in an on-hook condition.
During an inbound call, the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 detects the ring condition the telephone line 32 b by using a telephone hybrid interface circuit 130 , and, using the subscriber loop interface circuit 132 to provide the ring generation to the telephone line 32 to ring the ordinary analog telephone 102 . As the user takes the ordinary analog telephone 102 off hook, the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 establishes a relay data signal path between the telephone line 32 b and the telephone line 32 such that voice data path is established between the ordinary analog telephone 102 and the wall jack 31 . The user can use the switch 270 to switch the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 to a hands-free speakerphone mode for hands-free conversation.
During an outbound call, the user takes the ordinary analog telephone 102 off hook. The subscriber loop interface circuit 132 on the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 detects the off-hook condition of the analog telephone 102 and puts the telephone line 32 b which is coupled to the telephone hybrid interface circuit 130 to an off-hook condition, and then establishes a relay data signal path between the telephone line 32 b and the telephone line 32 such that voice data path is established between the ordinary analog telephone 102 and the wall jack 31 . The dial tone from the central office 30 comes to the wall jack 31 and is relayed to the ordinary analog telephone 102 . The user can dial the outbound digits on the ordinary analog telephone 102 . Once the dialing is completed, the user can use the switch 270 to switch the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 to a hands-free speakerphone mode for hands-free conversation.
FIG. 3A shows a block diagram of the full-duplex speakerphone 300 as shown in FIG. 2 according to another embodiment of the invention. The full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 comprises a telephone hybrid interface circuit 130 through the telephone line 32 b to connect to the wall jack 31 . The telephone hybrid interface circuit 130 can be controlled by the telephone control logic unit 350 to switch to an off-hook condition or to an on-hook condition. The telephone hybrid interface circuit 130 can also detect the ring phone condition generated by the central office 30 and notify the telephone control logic unit 350 .
The full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 also comprises a subscriber loop interface circuit 132 which provides the proper impedance and line voltage on the telephone line 32 to the ordinary analog telephone 102 , both during the on-hook condition and during the off-hook condition. The ordinary analog telephone 102 that plugs into the telephone line jack 300 h performs as if it is connected onto the telephone wall jack 31 interfacing with an ordinary analog telephone subscriber circuit (not shown in FIG. 3A ). The subscriber loop interface circuit 132 can generate proper ring voltage and frequency and is controlled by the telephone control logic unit 350 to ring the ordinary analog telephone 102 . The subscriber loop interface circuit 132 also comprises the on-hook and off-hook detection circuit (not shown in FIG. 3A ) to detect the hook condition of the ordinary analog telephone 102 through the telephone line 32 .
During an inbound call, the telephone hybrid interface circuit 130 detects the ring condition on the telephone line 32 b , and notifies the telephone control logic unit 350 , which in turn controls the ring generation on the subscriber loop interface circuit 132 to ring the ordinary analog telephone 102 through the telephone line 32 . As the user takes the ordinary analog telephone 102 off hook, the subscriber loop interface circuit 132 detects the off-hook condition and notifies the telephone control logic unit 350 . The telephone control logic unit 350 then establishes a relay data signal path between the telephone line 32 b and the telephone line 32 such that the ordinary analog telephone 102 is virtually connected to the wall jack 31 . Then, users can use the switch 270 to switch the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 to the hands-free speakerphone mode for hands-free conversation.
During an outbound call, the user takes the ordinary analog telephone 102 off hook. The hybrid interface circuit 130 detects the off-hook condition of the analog telephone 102 and notifies the telephone control logic unit 350 , which in turn controls the hybrid interface circuit 130 to enter into an off-hook condition on the telephone line 32 b . The telephone control logic unit 350 then establishes a relay data signal path between the telephone line 32 b and the telephone line 32 such that the ordinary analog telephone 102 is virtually connected to the wall jack 31 . The dial tone from the central office 30 comes to the wall jack 31 and is relayed to the ordinary analog telephone 102 . Users can dial the outbound digits on the ordinary analog telephone 102 . Once dialing is completed, users can use the switch 270 to switch the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 to the hands-free speakerphone mode for hands-free conversation. The switch 270 comprises two switching positions S and T respectively for a hands-free speakerphone mode and an ordinary analog telephone mode.
As shown in FIG. 3A , the telephone signal processing unit 370 comprises a full-duplex processing unit 170 , a telephone control logic unit 350 , a line echo canceller 165 and the switch 270 . The telephone signal processing unit 370 can process signal data in digital domain. The telephone signal processing unit 370 can be implemented entirely in hardware, but is typically implemented as algorithms and control software running on a digital programmable processor. The programmable processor can also execute additional telephone signal processing algorithms or user interface controls. The processor itself could be a digital signal processor (DSP) device, a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) device, or any other programmable processing device capable of handling the tasks.
FIG. 3B shows a block diagram of the effective data path inside the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 when the switch 270 switches to the position S for a hands-free speakerphone mode according to another embodiment of the invention. The voice data flows between the telephone hybrid interface circuit 130 and the microphone 50 and loudspeaker 51 . The user speech signal is picked up by the microphone 50 and then amplified by a pre-amplifier 180 before going into an analog input of the CODEC 141 . The CODEC 141 outputs audio signals from its analog output to the amplifier 181 that drives the loudspeaker 51 to produce a loud enough audio for the hands-free speakerphone mode. When the switch 270 switches to the hands-free speakerphone mode, the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 functions as a full-duplex speakerphone connected through the telephone line 32 b to the wall jack 31 .
Noted that the digital signal path is established inside of the full-duplex processing unit 170 and the analog signal path is established outside of the full-duplex processing unit 170 . The full-duplex processing unit 170 comprises a line echo canceller 160 and an acoustic echo canceller 150 . The acoustic echo canceller 150 receives/transmits digital signals from/to the CODEC 141 and the line echo canceller 160 . The line echo canceller 160 also receives/transmits digital signals from/to the acoustic echo canceller 150 and the CODEC 140 . The line echo canceller 160 can remove line echo from the telephone hybrid interface circuit 130 . The acoustic echo canceller 150 removes acoustic echo from a loop through a loudspeaker 51 and a microphone 50 .
FIG. 3C shows a block diagram of the effective data path inside the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 when the switch 270 switches to the position T for ordinary analog telephone mode according to another embodiment of the invention. The voice data flows between the telephone hybrid interface circuit 130 and the subscriber loop interface circuit 132 . The full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 acts as a data path relay between the ordinary analog telephone 102 to the wall jack 31 .
The line echo canceller 160 removes line echo at the telephone hybrid interface circuit 130 and is coupled to the line echo canceller 165 . The line echo canceller 165 can attenuate line echo return signals generated at the subscriber loop interface circuit 132 which is coupled to the ordinary analog telephone 102 such that the line echo can not be transmitted to and heard by the far-end talker.
FIG. 4 shows a simplified block diagram of the full-duplex processing unit 170 of the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 . The line echo canceller 160 cancels the line echo signal E 1 caused by the telephone hybrid interface circuit 130 and the acoustic echo canceller 150 cancels the acoustic echo signal E 2 coupled from the loudspeaker 51 output to the microphone 50 . The feedback loop in the hands-free speakerphone mode is a signal loop path formed by the residual acoustic echo signal E A , the residual line echo signal E L , the line echo signal E 1 and the acoustic echo signal E 2 . Because the microphone 50 and the loudspeaker 51 are placed in the proximity of each other, when the microphone pre-amplifier 180 and the loudspeaker amplifier 181 provide sufficient gain for facilitating the hands-free speakerphone mode, the total feedback loop gain is likely to exceed the stability threshold and cause howling or singing. The feedback loop stability can be achieved by both the acoustic echo cancellation and the line echo cancellation working in conjunction with each other.
Both the acoustic echo canceller 150 and line echo canceller 160 have linear adaptive filters that adapt to the echo path impulse response such that, after adaptation, each will become effective in injecting attenuation against the echo signal at their respective echo removal node 151 and node 161 . If the residual line echo signal E L after the line echo cancellation echo removal node 161 is small compared to that before entering node 161 , signal attenuation is effectively injected in the feedback loop by the line echo canceller 160 . Similarly, if the residual acoustic echo signal E A after the acoustic echo cancellation node 151 is small compared to that before entering node 151 , signal attenuation is effectively injected in the feedback loop by the acoustic echo canceller 150 . In this manner, the feedback loop stability is achieved by the sum of the feedback loop signal attenuation achieved by the acoustic echo cancellation and the line echo cancellation in the full duplex processing module 170 .
While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to thereto. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements. | A telephone system comprising an analog telephone and a full-duplex speakerphone adapter is disclosed. The analog telephone comprises an ordinary analog telephone subscriber circuit for transmitting and receiving analog signals and a handset for users. The full-duplex speakerphone adapter is coupled between the analog telephone and a central office, uses a subscriber loop interface circuit through the first telephone line to couple to the ordinary analog telephone subscriber circuit of the analog telephone and uses a telephone hybrid interface circuit through the second telephone line to couple to a wall jack to communicate with the central office. | Summarize the key points of the given document. | [
"CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/906,134, filed on Mar. 9, 2007.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention The invention relates to a hand free telephone system, and in particular relates to a telephone system with an ordinary analog telephone and a full-duplex speakerphone adapter.",
"Description of the Related Art Hands-free speakerphone usages have become a common and important part of business conferences and daily telecommunications.",
"Demand for good voice quality to facilitate efficient communications have increased, and the full-duplex feature for hands-free speakerphones has become highly desirable for business and home communications.",
"Conventionally, the most common speakerphones offer the ability to converse either in a handset mode or hands-free mode.",
"FIG. 1A shows a conventional speakerphone 100 with a handset 72 , a microphone 50 and a loudspeaker 51 .",
"A switch 191 on the speakerphone 100 determines whether the speakerphone 100 operates in the handset mode or hands-free mode.",
"In the hands-free mode, users can be at a distance away from the speakerphone 100 .",
"The loudspeaker 51 conducts a telephone conversation without users holding the handset 72 .",
"Hands-free mode allows multiple participants to join the conversation in an audio-conference meeting, and also allows users to free up their hands for operating computer keyboards or other activities.",
"FIG. 1B shows a conventional speakerphone 101 without a handset.",
"In recent years, speakerphones 101 without handsets have become common, operating only in hands-free mode.",
"BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A detailed description is given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.",
"An embodiment of telephone system is provided.",
"The telephone system comprises an analog telephone and a full-duplex speakerphone adapter.",
"The analog telephone comprises an ordinary analog telephone subscriber circuit for transmitting and receiving analog signals and a handset for users.",
"The full-duplex speakerphone adapter is coupled in between the analog telephone and a central office, uses a subscriber loop interface circuit through a first telephone line to couple to the ordinary analog telephone subscriber circuit of the analog telephone and uses a telephone hybrid interface circuit through a second telephone line to couple to a wall jack to communicate with the central office.",
"Another embodiment of a full-duplex speakerphone adapter is provided.",
"The full-duplex speakerphone adapter comprises a subscriber loop interface circuit, a telephone hybrid interface circuit, and a telephone signal processing unit.",
"The subscriber loop interface circuit through a first telephone line is coupled to an ordinary analog telephone subscriber circuit of an analog telephone.",
"The telephone hybrid interface circuit through a second telephone line is coupled to a wall jack to communicate with a central office.",
"The telephone signal processing unit processes digital signals to remove line echo and acoustic echo.",
"The full-duplex speakerphone adapter can be switched to a hands-free speakerphone mode or an ordinary analog telephone mode.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIG. 1A shows a conventional speakerphone with a handset;",
"FIG. 1B shows a conventional speakerphone without a handset;",
"FIG. 2 shows a full-duplex speakerphone adapter connected to an ordinary analog telephone according to an embodiment of the invention;",
"FIG. 3A shows a block diagram of the full-duplex speakerphone as shown in FIG. 2 according to another embodiment of the invention;",
"FIG. 3B shows a block diagram of the effective data path inside the full-duplex speakerphone adapter when the switch switches to the position S for hands-free speakerphone mode according to another embodiment of the invention;",
"FIG. 3C shows a block diagram of the effective data path inside the full-duplex speakerphone adapter when the switch switches to the position T for ordinary analog telephone mode according to another embodiment of the invention;",
"and FIG. 4 shows a simplified block diagram of the full-duplex processing unit of the full-duplex speakerphone adapter.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carrying out the invention.",
"This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense.",
"The scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims.",
"FIG. 2 shows a full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 connected to an ordinary analog telephone 102 according to an embodiment of the invention.",
"As shown in FIG. 2 , the ordinary analog telephone 102 does not directly connect to a wall jack 31 .",
"The ordinary analog telephone 102 uses a telephone line 32 to plug into the telephone line jack 300 h of the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 .",
"The full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 is connected to the wall jack 31 through another telephone line 32 b , and hence outwards to a telephone central office 30 .",
"The full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 is responsible for providing the proper impedance on the telephone line 32 b , both during an on-hook condition and an off-hook condition.",
"The full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 is also responsible for providing the proper impedance and line voltages on the telephone line 32 , both during the on-hook condition and during the off-hook condition, such that the ordinary analog telephone 102 that plugs into the telephone line jack 300 h performs as if it is connected to the telephone wall jack 31 interfacing with an ordinary analog telephone subscriber circuit.",
"During the normal telephone on-hook and idle condition, the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 interfaces with the telephone line 32 b in an on-hook condition.",
"During an inbound call, the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 detects the ring condition the telephone line 32 b by using a telephone hybrid interface circuit 130 , and, using the subscriber loop interface circuit 132 to provide the ring generation to the telephone line 32 to ring the ordinary analog telephone 102 .",
"As the user takes the ordinary analog telephone 102 off hook, the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 establishes a relay data signal path between the telephone line 32 b and the telephone line 32 such that voice data path is established between the ordinary analog telephone 102 and the wall jack 31 .",
"The user can use the switch 270 to switch the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 to a hands-free speakerphone mode for hands-free conversation.",
"During an outbound call, the user takes the ordinary analog telephone 102 off hook.",
"The subscriber loop interface circuit 132 on the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 detects the off-hook condition of the analog telephone 102 and puts the telephone line 32 b which is coupled to the telephone hybrid interface circuit 130 to an off-hook condition, and then establishes a relay data signal path between the telephone line 32 b and the telephone line 32 such that voice data path is established between the ordinary analog telephone 102 and the wall jack 31 .",
"The dial tone from the central office 30 comes to the wall jack 31 and is relayed to the ordinary analog telephone 102 .",
"The user can dial the outbound digits on the ordinary analog telephone 102 .",
"Once the dialing is completed, the user can use the switch 270 to switch the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 to a hands-free speakerphone mode for hands-free conversation.",
"FIG. 3A shows a block diagram of the full-duplex speakerphone 300 as shown in FIG. 2 according to another embodiment of the invention.",
"The full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 comprises a telephone hybrid interface circuit 130 through the telephone line 32 b to connect to the wall jack 31 .",
"The telephone hybrid interface circuit 130 can be controlled by the telephone control logic unit 350 to switch to an off-hook condition or to an on-hook condition.",
"The telephone hybrid interface circuit 130 can also detect the ring phone condition generated by the central office 30 and notify the telephone control logic unit 350 .",
"The full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 also comprises a subscriber loop interface circuit 132 which provides the proper impedance and line voltage on the telephone line 32 to the ordinary analog telephone 102 , both during the on-hook condition and during the off-hook condition.",
"The ordinary analog telephone 102 that plugs into the telephone line jack 300 h performs as if it is connected onto the telephone wall jack 31 interfacing with an ordinary analog telephone subscriber circuit (not shown in FIG. 3A ).",
"The subscriber loop interface circuit 132 can generate proper ring voltage and frequency and is controlled by the telephone control logic unit 350 to ring the ordinary analog telephone 102 .",
"The subscriber loop interface circuit 132 also comprises the on-hook and off-hook detection circuit (not shown in FIG. 3A ) to detect the hook condition of the ordinary analog telephone 102 through the telephone line 32 .",
"During an inbound call, the telephone hybrid interface circuit 130 detects the ring condition on the telephone line 32 b , and notifies the telephone control logic unit 350 , which in turn controls the ring generation on the subscriber loop interface circuit 132 to ring the ordinary analog telephone 102 through the telephone line 32 .",
"As the user takes the ordinary analog telephone 102 off hook, the subscriber loop interface circuit 132 detects the off-hook condition and notifies the telephone control logic unit 350 .",
"The telephone control logic unit 350 then establishes a relay data signal path between the telephone line 32 b and the telephone line 32 such that the ordinary analog telephone 102 is virtually connected to the wall jack 31 .",
"Then, users can use the switch 270 to switch the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 to the hands-free speakerphone mode for hands-free conversation.",
"During an outbound call, the user takes the ordinary analog telephone 102 off hook.",
"The hybrid interface circuit 130 detects the off-hook condition of the analog telephone 102 and notifies the telephone control logic unit 350 , which in turn controls the hybrid interface circuit 130 to enter into an off-hook condition on the telephone line 32 b .",
"The telephone control logic unit 350 then establishes a relay data signal path between the telephone line 32 b and the telephone line 32 such that the ordinary analog telephone 102 is virtually connected to the wall jack 31 .",
"The dial tone from the central office 30 comes to the wall jack 31 and is relayed to the ordinary analog telephone 102 .",
"Users can dial the outbound digits on the ordinary analog telephone 102 .",
"Once dialing is completed, users can use the switch 270 to switch the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 to the hands-free speakerphone mode for hands-free conversation.",
"The switch 270 comprises two switching positions S and T respectively for a hands-free speakerphone mode and an ordinary analog telephone mode.",
"As shown in FIG. 3A , the telephone signal processing unit 370 comprises a full-duplex processing unit 170 , a telephone control logic unit 350 , a line echo canceller 165 and the switch 270 .",
"The telephone signal processing unit 370 can process signal data in digital domain.",
"The telephone signal processing unit 370 can be implemented entirely in hardware, but is typically implemented as algorithms and control software running on a digital programmable processor.",
"The programmable processor can also execute additional telephone signal processing algorithms or user interface controls.",
"The processor itself could be a digital signal processor (DSP) device, a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) device, or any other programmable processing device capable of handling the tasks.",
"FIG. 3B shows a block diagram of the effective data path inside the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 when the switch 270 switches to the position S for a hands-free speakerphone mode according to another embodiment of the invention.",
"The voice data flows between the telephone hybrid interface circuit 130 and the microphone 50 and loudspeaker 51 .",
"The user speech signal is picked up by the microphone 50 and then amplified by a pre-amplifier 180 before going into an analog input of the CODEC 141 .",
"The CODEC 141 outputs audio signals from its analog output to the amplifier 181 that drives the loudspeaker 51 to produce a loud enough audio for the hands-free speakerphone mode.",
"When the switch 270 switches to the hands-free speakerphone mode, the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 functions as a full-duplex speakerphone connected through the telephone line 32 b to the wall jack 31 .",
"Noted that the digital signal path is established inside of the full-duplex processing unit 170 and the analog signal path is established outside of the full-duplex processing unit 170 .",
"The full-duplex processing unit 170 comprises a line echo canceller 160 and an acoustic echo canceller 150 .",
"The acoustic echo canceller 150 receives/transmits digital signals from/to the CODEC 141 and the line echo canceller 160 .",
"The line echo canceller 160 also receives/transmits digital signals from/to the acoustic echo canceller 150 and the CODEC 140 .",
"The line echo canceller 160 can remove line echo from the telephone hybrid interface circuit 130 .",
"The acoustic echo canceller 150 removes acoustic echo from a loop through a loudspeaker 51 and a microphone 50 .",
"FIG. 3C shows a block diagram of the effective data path inside the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 when the switch 270 switches to the position T for ordinary analog telephone mode according to another embodiment of the invention.",
"The voice data flows between the telephone hybrid interface circuit 130 and the subscriber loop interface circuit 132 .",
"The full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 acts as a data path relay between the ordinary analog telephone 102 to the wall jack 31 .",
"The line echo canceller 160 removes line echo at the telephone hybrid interface circuit 130 and is coupled to the line echo canceller 165 .",
"The line echo canceller 165 can attenuate line echo return signals generated at the subscriber loop interface circuit 132 which is coupled to the ordinary analog telephone 102 such that the line echo can not be transmitted to and heard by the far-end talker.",
"FIG. 4 shows a simplified block diagram of the full-duplex processing unit 170 of the full-duplex speakerphone adapter 300 .",
"The line echo canceller 160 cancels the line echo signal E 1 caused by the telephone hybrid interface circuit 130 and the acoustic echo canceller 150 cancels the acoustic echo signal E 2 coupled from the loudspeaker 51 output to the microphone 50 .",
"The feedback loop in the hands-free speakerphone mode is a signal loop path formed by the residual acoustic echo signal E A , the residual line echo signal E L , the line echo signal E 1 and the acoustic echo signal E 2 .",
"Because the microphone 50 and the loudspeaker 51 are placed in the proximity of each other, when the microphone pre-amplifier 180 and the loudspeaker amplifier 181 provide sufficient gain for facilitating the hands-free speakerphone mode, the total feedback loop gain is likely to exceed the stability threshold and cause howling or singing.",
"The feedback loop stability can be achieved by both the acoustic echo cancellation and the line echo cancellation working in conjunction with each other.",
"Both the acoustic echo canceller 150 and line echo canceller 160 have linear adaptive filters that adapt to the echo path impulse response such that, after adaptation, each will become effective in injecting attenuation against the echo signal at their respective echo removal node 151 and node 161 .",
"If the residual line echo signal E L after the line echo cancellation echo removal node 161 is small compared to that before entering node 161 , signal attenuation is effectively injected in the feedback loop by the line echo canceller 160 .",
"Similarly, if the residual acoustic echo signal E A after the acoustic echo cancellation node 151 is small compared to that before entering node 151 , signal attenuation is effectively injected in the feedback loop by the acoustic echo canceller 150 .",
"In this manner, the feedback loop stability is achieved by the sum of the feedback loop signal attenuation achieved by the acoustic echo cancellation and the line echo cancellation in the full duplex processing module 170 .",
"While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to thereto.",
"To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art).",
"Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements."
] |
RELATED APPLICATION
The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/386,238, filed Sep. 24, 2010 and titled, “BIODEGRADABLE NOVELTY PACKAGE,” which is commonly assigned and incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present disclosure relates generally to biodegradable novelty packages and, in particular, in one or more embodiments, the present disclosure relates to compostable plastic eggs.
BACKGROUND
A common Easter tradition involves Easter egg hunts, where colored eggs are hidden for children to find. This tradition has generally evolved away from the use of real eggs, and has instead gravitated toward the use of colored plastic eggs. These petroleum-based plastic eggs are typically two-part packages, that can be filled with small toys, candy and the like. Similarly, in another Easter tradition, Easter baskets are often presented to children containing such colored plastic eggs, again typically filled with small toys, candy and the like. Such use generates a large amount of plastic waste, resulting in significant waste of petroleum resources. While people have looked to ways of repurposing these plastic eggs, such as using them in children's play kitchens, or in the creation of Easter wreaths using them as decorations, a significant portion of these plastic eggs are likely to end up in landfills or incinerators.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for alternatives to traditional plastic eggs.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1A is a view of a package in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.
FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the package of FIG. 1A in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.
FIG. 1C is an expanded view of a portion of the cross-sectional view of FIG. 1B in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1A depicts a package 100 . The package 100 is a novelty package. For example, the package 100 may be egg-shaped (e.g., an ellipsoid) as depicted, such as might be used to enclose small toys, candy or the like. Alternatively, the package 100 may be some other shape, such as a sphere, a polyhedron or some other three-dimensional regular or irregular shape. The package 100 includes two or more portions defining sidewalls of the package 100 , each configured to mate with at least one other of the two or more portions.
In the example of FIG. 1A , the package 100 includes a first portion 105 having sidewalls 115 . The package 100 further includes a second portion 110 having sidewalls 120 . The sidewalls may have, for example, a thickness of 0.05 inches (1.25 mm) to 0.1 inches (2.5 mm) or more. The package 100 has a height 125 , e.g., 2.97 inches (75 mm).
FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the package 100 taken along line A-A of FIG. 1A . The package 100 has a width 130 , e.g., 2.25 inches (57 mm). In the case of the example ellipsoid package 100 , or in the case of a spherical package or the like, the width 130 may also represent a diameter (e.g., a maximum exterior diameter) of the package 100 . The single layer sidewalls 115 and 120 of the first and second portions 105 and 110 , respectively, define a hollowed interior of the package 100 .
FIG. 1C is expanded view of cut-out B of FIG. 1B showing more detail of one example mating configuration for the first portion 105 to the second portion 110 . As shown in FIG. 1C , the sidewall 115 (of first portion 105 ) includes a rim 135 having an outwardly-facing (i.e., facing toward the exterior of the package 100 ) flange 140 , while the sidewall 120 (of second portion 110 ) includes a rim 145 having an inwardly-facing (i.e., facing toward the interior of the package 100 ) flange 150 . The flange 140 and the flange 150 are configured to snap together, such as through flexure of one or both of the rims 135 and 145 . This permits the package 100 to be opened (i.e., taken apart) and closed (i.e., reassembled) more than once. Other embodiments could utilize a simple pressure-fit connection, i.e., without snap-fit flanges as shown in FIG. 1C . For example, an inner diameter of rim 135 could be substantially equal (e.g., equal) to an outer diameter of rim 145 such that simple friction could be used to releasably hold the two portions 105 and 110 together. The flange 140 and 150 is most effectively placed at a joint in a circular cross section of the ellipsoid.
The package 100 is a biodegradable novelty package. The portions 105 and 110 of the package 100 are formed of a biodegradable resin, e.g., a biodegradable thermoplastic.
Applicant notes that a biodegradable resin should have sufficient rigidity to form a novelty package of the type described herein while being sufficiently flexible to form a self-closure, such as a snap-fit or pressure fit closure of the type described herein, and without being brittle to the point of raising safety concerns; sufficient strength to facilitate thin-walled construction of the package; sufficient stability to be warehoused and displayed on retail shelves for extended periods, as well as sufficient stability to contain candies and other foodstuffs and to endure environments in which the package may be likely to be placed in use; and the ability to incorporate colorants. As one example, Applicant has identified PLA (polylactic acid)-based resins as suitable biodegradable resins. PLA can be made from renewable resources, such as corn starch or sugars. PLA can be 100% compostable and it can be shelf stable until subjected to heat, moisture and microorganisms typically found in a compost. Applicant has further identified certain physical characteristics that appear to meet these criteria for PLA-based resins. For example, a PLA-based resin having a Crystalline Melt Temperature of approximately 160-170° C., a Glass Transition Temperature of approximately 55-65° C., a Tensile Yield Strength of approximately 7,000 psi (48 MPa), a Tensile Elongation of approximately 2.5%, a Notched Izod Impact of approximately 0.3 ft-lb/in (0.16 J/m), a Flexural Strength of approximately 12,000 psi (83 MPa), and a Flexural Modulus of approximately 555,000 psi (3828 MPa) appears to meet Applicant's criteria. Applicant notes that other physical characteristics may also meet the criteria.
One specific example of a PLA-based thermoplastic for use in the package 100 is Biopolymer 3251D, available through NatureWorks (Minnetonka, Minn., USA). The Biopolymer 3251D is a thermoplastic, capable of use for forming the package 100 using injection molding techniques. The Biopolymer 3251D is compostable, and has the rigidity, strength, flexibility and ability to incorporate colorants to form a novelty package, such as a plastic egg.
Applicant notes that a variety of biodegradable resins fail to meet these criteria established by Applicant. Not all biodegradable plastics are colorable or rigid enough to be used for items such as plastic eggs. Some biodegradable resins lack sufficient stability. For example, some biodegradable plastics break down merely upon contact with water or with excessive heat or may simply break down primarily based on its age.
In addition to PLA-based thermoplastic, the portions of the package 100 may contain additional chemical components that do not materially affect the basic and novel properties of the package 100 disclosed herein. For example intentional additions, such as colorants, or unintentional additions, such as low-level contaminants common in industrial environments, may be contained within its portions without materially affecting its basic and novel properties.
CONCLUSION
Biodegradable novelty packages are described herein. The biodegradable novelty packages are formed of a biodegradable resin. Such packages can be used, for example, as plastic Easter eggs or the like. These biodegradable novelty packages would not only reduce the use of petroleum resources, they would reduce the strain on landfills or incinerators, and the pollution associated therewith. | Biodegradable novelty packages, which can take the shape of eggs (i.e., ellipsoids), for example, are useful for containing small toys, candy or the like. Such small toys, candy and the like are often hidden in petroleum-based plastic eggs for children's amusement. Biodegradable novelty packages as described herein are formed of a biodegradable resin, such as a biodegradable thermoplastic. | Briefly describe the main idea outlined in the provided context. | [
"RELATED APPLICATION The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser.",
"No. 61/386,238, filed Sep. 24, 2010 and titled, “BIODEGRADABLE NOVELTY PACKAGE,” which is commonly assigned and incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.",
"TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates generally to biodegradable novelty packages and, in particular, in one or more embodiments, the present disclosure relates to compostable plastic eggs.",
"BACKGROUND A common Easter tradition involves Easter egg hunts, where colored eggs are hidden for children to find.",
"This tradition has generally evolved away from the use of real eggs, and has instead gravitated toward the use of colored plastic eggs.",
"These petroleum-based plastic eggs are typically two-part packages, that can be filled with small toys, candy and the like.",
"Similarly, in another Easter tradition, Easter baskets are often presented to children containing such colored plastic eggs, again typically filled with small toys, candy and the like.",
"Such use generates a large amount of plastic waste, resulting in significant waste of petroleum resources.",
"While people have looked to ways of repurposing these plastic eggs, such as using them in children's play kitchens, or in the creation of Easter wreaths using them as decorations, a significant portion of these plastic eggs are likely to end up in landfills or incinerators.",
"For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for alternatives to traditional plastic eggs.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1A is a view of a package in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.",
"FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the package of FIG. 1A in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.",
"FIG. 1C is an expanded view of a portion of the cross-sectional view of FIG. 1B in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG. 1A depicts a package 100 .",
"The package 100 is a novelty package.",
"For example, the package 100 may be egg-shaped (e.g., an ellipsoid) as depicted, such as might be used to enclose small toys, candy or the like.",
"Alternatively, the package 100 may be some other shape, such as a sphere, a polyhedron or some other three-dimensional regular or irregular shape.",
"The package 100 includes two or more portions defining sidewalls of the package 100 , each configured to mate with at least one other of the two or more portions.",
"In the example of FIG. 1A , the package 100 includes a first portion 105 having sidewalls 115 .",
"The package 100 further includes a second portion 110 having sidewalls 120 .",
"The sidewalls may have, for example, a thickness of 0.05 inches (1.25 mm) to 0.1 inches (2.5 mm) or more.",
"The package 100 has a height 125 , e.g., 2.97 inches (75 mm).",
"FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the package 100 taken along line A-A of FIG. 1A .",
"The package 100 has a width 130 , e.g., 2.25 inches (57 mm).",
"In the case of the example ellipsoid package 100 , or in the case of a spherical package or the like, the width 130 may also represent a diameter (e.g., a maximum exterior diameter) of the package 100 .",
"The single layer sidewalls 115 and 120 of the first and second portions 105 and 110 , respectively, define a hollowed interior of the package 100 .",
"FIG. 1C is expanded view of cut-out B of FIG. 1B showing more detail of one example mating configuration for the first portion 105 to the second portion 110 .",
"As shown in FIG. 1C , the sidewall 115 (of first portion 105 ) includes a rim 135 having an outwardly-facing (i.e., facing toward the exterior of the package 100 ) flange 140 , while the sidewall 120 (of second portion 110 ) includes a rim 145 having an inwardly-facing (i.e., facing toward the interior of the package 100 ) flange 150 .",
"The flange 140 and the flange 150 are configured to snap together, such as through flexure of one or both of the rims 135 and 145 .",
"This permits the package 100 to be opened (i.e., taken apart) and closed (i.e., reassembled) more than once.",
"Other embodiments could utilize a simple pressure-fit connection, i.e., without snap-fit flanges as shown in FIG. 1C .",
"For example, an inner diameter of rim 135 could be substantially equal (e.g., equal) to an outer diameter of rim 145 such that simple friction could be used to releasably hold the two portions 105 and 110 together.",
"The flange 140 and 150 is most effectively placed at a joint in a circular cross section of the ellipsoid.",
"The package 100 is a biodegradable novelty package.",
"The portions 105 and 110 of the package 100 are formed of a biodegradable resin, e.g., a biodegradable thermoplastic.",
"Applicant notes that a biodegradable resin should have sufficient rigidity to form a novelty package of the type described herein while being sufficiently flexible to form a self-closure, such as a snap-fit or pressure fit closure of the type described herein, and without being brittle to the point of raising safety concerns;",
"sufficient strength to facilitate thin-walled construction of the package;",
"sufficient stability to be warehoused and displayed on retail shelves for extended periods, as well as sufficient stability to contain candies and other foodstuffs and to endure environments in which the package may be likely to be placed in use;",
"and the ability to incorporate colorants.",
"As one example, Applicant has identified PLA (polylactic acid)-based resins as suitable biodegradable resins.",
"PLA can be made from renewable resources, such as corn starch or sugars.",
"PLA can be 100% compostable and it can be shelf stable until subjected to heat, moisture and microorganisms typically found in a compost.",
"Applicant has further identified certain physical characteristics that appear to meet these criteria for PLA-based resins.",
"For example, a PLA-based resin having a Crystalline Melt Temperature of approximately 160-170° C., a Glass Transition Temperature of approximately 55-65° C., a Tensile Yield Strength of approximately 7,000 psi (48 MPa), a Tensile Elongation of approximately 2.5%, a Notched Izod Impact of approximately 0.3 ft-lb/in (0.16 J/m), a Flexural Strength of approximately 12,000 psi (83 MPa), and a Flexural Modulus of approximately 555,000 psi (3828 MPa) appears to meet Applicant's criteria.",
"Applicant notes that other physical characteristics may also meet the criteria.",
"One specific example of a PLA-based thermoplastic for use in the package 100 is Biopolymer 3251D, available through NatureWorks (Minnetonka, Minn.",
", USA).",
"The Biopolymer 3251D is a thermoplastic, capable of use for forming the package 100 using injection molding techniques.",
"The Biopolymer 3251D is compostable, and has the rigidity, strength, flexibility and ability to incorporate colorants to form a novelty package, such as a plastic egg.",
"Applicant notes that a variety of biodegradable resins fail to meet these criteria established by Applicant.",
"Not all biodegradable plastics are colorable or rigid enough to be used for items such as plastic eggs.",
"Some biodegradable resins lack sufficient stability.",
"For example, some biodegradable plastics break down merely upon contact with water or with excessive heat or may simply break down primarily based on its age.",
"In addition to PLA-based thermoplastic, the portions of the package 100 may contain additional chemical components that do not materially affect the basic and novel properties of the package 100 disclosed herein.",
"For example intentional additions, such as colorants, or unintentional additions, such as low-level contaminants common in industrial environments, may be contained within its portions without materially affecting its basic and novel properties.",
"CONCLUSION Biodegradable novelty packages are described herein.",
"The biodegradable novelty packages are formed of a biodegradable resin.",
"Such packages can be used, for example, as plastic Easter eggs or the like.",
"These biodegradable novelty packages would not only reduce the use of petroleum resources, they would reduce the strain on landfills or incinerators, and the pollution associated therewith."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 13/767,987, filed Feb. 15, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,147,393.
BACKGROUND
Speech recognition technology converts words spoken by arbitrary speakers into written text. This technology has many uses, such as voice control applications including voice dialing, call routing and appliance control, and other applications, such as searching audio recordings, data entry, document preparation and speech-to-text processing.
Speech synthesis technology produces audible human speech by artificial means, such as a speech synthesizer. A variant of this technology, called a “text-to-speech system”, converts written normal language text into audible speech. Synthesized speech can be created by concatenating sound patterns, representations of which are stored in a database. The representations are retrieved from the database and combined in different patterns to drive a speaker system that produces the audible speech. Alternatively, a speech synthesizer can incorporate a model of the vocal tract and other human voice characteristics which can be driven by the stored representations to create a completely “synthetic” speech output.
Speech recognition and speech synthesis technologies are based on underlying models of human speech. Current prior art speech synthesis and speech recognition systems are built upon one of two theoretical models or an eclectic combination of the two models. In accordance with the first or “segmental” model, speech can be produced by linearly arranging short sound segments called “phones” or “phonemes” to form spoken words or sentences. Therefore, it should be possible to exhaustively pair a particular sound segment arrangement with a corresponding chain of alphabetic letters. However, this goal has proven to be elusive; when such sound segments are stored in a database and retrieved in accordance with alphabetic chains to synthesize speech, the resulting speech is often unclear and “artificial” sounding. Similarly, breaking speech into these segments and combining them to look for a corresponding word in a database produces many incorrect words. Accordingly, other approaches statistically exploit correlations of scattered features and interspersed (nonexhaustive) acoustic segments for speech recognition and synthesis.
In accordance with a prior art second or “articulatory phonology” model, speech is modeled as the result of a series of ongoing and simultaneous “gestures”. Each gesture is a modification of the human vocal tract produced by specific neuro-muscular systems and is classified by the anatomical structures that together produce that gesture. These structures are lips, tongue tip, tongue body, velum (together with nasal cavities) and glottis. Since these gestures may have different temporal spans, the challenge for this approach has been to systematically account for their synchronization. This is typically done by defining “phases” between gestures, but the exact determination of these phases has only been achieved on an ad hoc basis. Hence, “constellation” or “molecule” metaphors are used to bundle gestures together as a basis for speech synthesis.
None of the prior art approaches have provided a systematic and accurate model from which speech synthesis and speech recognition systems can be developed.
SUMMARY
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, speech is modeled as a cognitively-driven sensory-motor activity where the form of speech (the phonetic or phonological pole of language) is the result of categorization processes that any given subject (speaker or listener) recreates by focusing on linguistic activity with the goals of mastering the production of his or her own fine-tuned vocal tract gestures, and the recognition of such gestures produced by others. In particular, subjects focus on creating or replicating sound patterns that are represented by syllables. These syllables are then combined in characteristic patterns to form words, which are in turn, combined in characteristic patterns to form utterances.
A speech recognition process constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention first identifies syllables in an electronic waveform representing ongoing speech. The pattern of syllables is then deconstructed into a standard form that is used to identify words. The words are then concatenated to identify an utterance.
Similarly, a speech synthesis process constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention converts written words into patterns of syllables. The pattern of syllables is then processed to produce the characteristic rhythmic sound of naturally spoken words. The words are then assembled into an utterance which is also processed to produce a natural sounding speech.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1A is an oscillogram, a graph of intensity or amplitude and a sonogram of a speaker speaking the Spanish syllable [lu] versus time.
FIG. 1B is a chart of gestures showing the states of the coordinative structures during pronunciation of the syllable shown in FIG. 1A .
FIG. 2A is an oscillogram, a graph of intensity or amplitude and a sonogram of a speaker speaking the Spanish syllable [lo] versus time.
FIG. 2B shows the synsyllabic schema, syllabic nucleus, onset schema and syllable prominence scale for the syllable shown in FIG. 2A .
FIG. 3A is an oscillogram, a graph of intensity or amplitude and a sonogram of a speaker speaking the Spanish word injuria.
FIG. 3B is a chart of gestures showing the states of the coordinative structures during pronunciation of the word shown in FIG. 3A , the corresponding edge and synsyllabic schemata, a final three beat syllabic nucleus, the beat durations and the word and syllable scales.
FIG. 4 is an oscillogram representation of a speaker speaking the Spanish Syllable [lu] illustrating profiled waves.
FIG. 5 illustrates twenty-six spectrographic beats corresponding to postures represented by selected letters of twenty-six Spanish words and illustrating upper and lower bounding frequencies.
FIG. 6 shows the upper and lower bounding frequencies of eleven spectrographic beats that correspond to the postures represented by the Spanish syllable i in eleven words as uttered by a single Spanish speaking adult male
FIG. 7 shows the upper and lower bounding frequencies of eleven spectrographic beats that correspond to the postures represented by the Spanish syllable i in the same eleven words as shown in FIG. 6 as uttered by a single Spanish speaking adult female.
FIG. 8A is an oscillogram, a graph of intensity or amplitude and a sonogram of the transitional spectrum contained by the syllable [ria], extracted from the Spanish word injuria as instantiated in FIG. 3A .
FIG. 8B is a linguistic perception curve illustrating a deviation factor used to adjust the upper and lower bounding frequencies.
FIG. 9 is an oscillogram, a graph of intensity or amplitude and a sonogram showing a transitional spectrum between the characteristic initial and final postures of the syllable [ta], in an instantiation of the Spanish Word mota.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the steps in an illustrative method for processing an electronic speech waveform in a speech recognition method in accordance with the principles of the invention.
FIG. 11 is a graph illustrating the operation of a noise gate with hysteresis which is used to extract profiled waves from the electronic speech waveform.
FIGS. 12A and 12B , when placed together, form a flowchart showing the steps in an illustrative process for identifying syllables and words in an utterance.
FIGS. 13A and 13B , when placed together, form a flowchart showing the steps in an illustrative speech synthesis process in accordance with the principles of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In all languages, the processes of categorization are built around syllables, which are basic speech units that allow the autonomous sensory-motor complex routines in a subject's brain to divide ongoing speech into segments, and to determine correspondences amongst these segments. Although syllables are produced by these sensory-motor complex routines as interlocked gestures of variable durations, they can be segmented by laymen and analysts alike, in all languages. This is so, because, syllables are combinations of gestures that are precisely synchronized. More specifically, each syllable begins with a stable or unchanging gesture called a “posture” and ends with another posture.
Syllable timing is measured in “beats”. A beat is the conceived execution time of a complex synchronization of gestures, be it of postures or of a mixture of postures with changing gestures in between these postures. This timing is controlled by the central nervous system, which always integrates syllable beats with a characteristic rhythm called a “syllable scale” as described below. Some syllables, traditionally known as “one vowel” syllables, are composed of only one posture and therefore have only one postural beat. All other syllables must include at least one transitional beat, or “transition” between initial and final postures. This transitional beat is a time unit in which at least one gestural component undergoes change. Syllables may have up to fifteen beats, depending on the language, constituted by up to eight postural beats alternating with up to seven transitional beats. The segmentation of beats allows a systematic and exhaustive correlation of articulatory patterns with acoustic patterns where each gestural (articulatory) posture is correlated with stable acoustic properties called “postural spectra” and the properties of all transitions are explained and determined by their surrounding postural beats.
As mentioned above, “gestures” are defined in the prior art articulatory phonology model as a goal-oriented activity of coordinative structures produced by specific neuro-muscular systems working together to generate sound. This conventional model defines each gesture as an indivisible unit that can be modeled by a simple harmonic oscillator equation and that constitutes the goal of the aforementioned activity. In contrast, in the present invention, the goal of the activity is constituted by postures, and qualitatively different transitions, lead to, or away from, the goal. Further, in the prior art articulatory phonology model all gestures produce constrictions in the vocal tract, albeit in varying degrees: closed, critical, narrow, open. In contrast, in the present invention, gestural sequences or “gestural schemata” are functionally differentiated into gestural schemata that cover whole syllables and produce harmonic sound components and gestural schemata that are exclusively executed at syllable edges and are responsible for the production of inharmonic sound components and the attenuation of harmonic ones.
In order to enable the present invention to cover the articulatory possibilities of all languages, the conventional coordinative structures of lips, tongue tip, tongue body, velum (together with nasal cavities) and glottis have been extended to include the orbicularis oris, tongue root, and oral platform. The oral platform is defined as the parallel degree of lowering or raising of the jaw and the hyoid bone (based on Måns Eriksson definition) and is designated as a coordinative structure that produces only syllabic harmonic sound components.
A synsyllabic schema is defined as a set of stable postures and limited transitions that function as a matrix of passages and obstacles that, for the most part, filter harmonic sounds (for example, retracted or advanced tongue root, low, mid or high oral platform, rounded or extended orbicularis oris). The source of the harmonic sound is an oscillating glottis with a constant fundamental frequency, or pitch (in the case of tonal languages there are at most three separate pitches). The matrix of passages and obstacles functions as a set of diffraction factors that determine the acoustic spectral pattern that characterizes every syllable and that is called a “syllabic spectrum” as explained below.
Every synsyllabic schema continues for as long as the whole syllable in which it is instantiated. In other words, a synsyllabic schema must expand (or contract) to match the number of beats of the syllable in which it is instantiated. As a consequence, syllables and synsyllabic schemata have the same number of maximum beats, which in spoken languages, may only reach up to fifteen. To achieve this expandability/contractibility, the extension of simple gestures through time must be a recurrent property of synsyllabic schemata, that is, within a specific coordinative structure, a single posture expands through a variable number of beats, until the synsyllabic schema ends, or until such schema requires a change to another posture. This expansion is achieved through a cognitive process called “continued activation” (Mintz 2006 PhD dissertation) and is traditionally called “assimilation” or “coarticulation” of segments.
Additionally, a synsyllabic schema must occur by itself for at least one syllable beat, that is, with no concurrent syllable inharmonic sound producing gestures as defined below. The beats during which the synsyllabic schema occurs by itself constitute the “nucleus” of a syllable, and always instantiate a syllable diffracted frequency in its most purely harmonic manner (conventionally referred to as “vowel spectrographic formants”). Therefore, a syllabic nucleus is acoustically defined as the set of beats in a syllable during which the syllable frequency is maximally harmonic (these are conventionally referred to as “nucleic syllable segments” or “vowels”). In all spoken languages, one beat syllabic nuclei are very frequent (conventional called “monophthongs”), three beat nuclei follow in frequency (conventionally called “diphthongs”) and two beat nuclei are rather infrequent (conventionally these are non existent as a grammatical category and may consist of glides followed by rounded back vowels, or vice-versa).
FIGS. 1A and 1B show an exemplary synsyllabic schema and syllabic nucleus for the syllable [lu] as pronounced, for example, in the Spanish word lucha (which translates to “fights” in English). In FIG. 1A , the horizontal axis represents time in seconds. The upper portion 100 is an oscillogram of a speaker speaking the syllable and the vertical axis is intensity. The second section 102 is graph of intensity or amplitude where the vertical scale is decibels. The lower section 104 is a sonogram of the speaker where the vertical axis is frequency in Hertz. The amplitude of a particular frequency at a particular time is represented by the gray scale color of each point in the image.
FIG. 1B is a chart of gestures showing the states of the coordinative structures during pronunciation of the syllable. The chosen syllable has three beats indicated by the three rightmost columns in the chart (the first column represents the beginning of pronunciation and is not part of the syllable). Each row of the chart represents one coordinative structure. No symbol in a cell indicates that the coordinative structure of the corresponding row does not participate in the pronunciation of the syllable. In each cell in the chart a “<” symbol indicates that the coordinative structure represented by the row is progressing during the beat represented by the column from a rest state toward a state indicated in a following beat. A “>” symbol indicates that the coordinative structure is progressing from the state indicated in a preceding column to a rest state. A “><” symbol indicates a change in the coordinative structure, but not to a resting state. Finally, a “ . . . ” symbol indicates continued activation of the corresponding coordinative structure.
Using the definitions above, it can be seen that the synsyllabic schema of this syllable corresponds to the last four rows 106 since only the states in these rows continue for the entire duration of the syllable. However, the syllabic nucleus corresponds only to the last beat represented by the rightmost column 108 because only at this point does the synsyllabic schema occur by itself. The harmonic properties of the syllable can be observed throughout the graphic representations in FIG. 1A , the properties are stable in the first and third beats and change through the second beat.
Edge inharmonic gestures are defined as a conventional sequence of postures and transitions that add constrictions to the passages and obstacles determined by a concurrent synsyllabic schema. As a result one of the following occurs:
1. the added diffraction factors significantly attenuate the amplitude of the harmonic waves. For example, a closed oral cavity with open nasal cavities produces “m” or “n” sounds and a narrow tongue tip-palatal constriction produces the retroflex English “r”, 2. a wide range of acoustic frequencies is added through turbulence (tongue body-alveolar ridge critical constriction. This occurs, for example in the “s”, “z”, or “sh” postures, or 3. the source of harmonic waves is completely eliminated, be it by full closure of air passages as in the “p” or “t” postures, by abducting the glottis as in “s” or “sh” postures or by both means.
As a whole, the result is a mostly inharmonic and an attenuated fragment of syllabic emission, with a diminished or no harmonic output present. Each set of edge inharmonic gestures or “edge inharmonic schema” incorporates a conventional set of diffraction factors that, when added to the diffraction factors of the accompanying synsyllabic harmonic gestures, will produce a conventional and predictable edge spectral pattern. Further, every edge inharmonic schema instantiation must co-occur with a synsyllabic schema and every synsyllabic schema must expand beyond the scope of its accompanying edge inharmonic schema, and the edge inharmonic schema may never extend beyond six beats.
By definition, an edge inharmonic schema is aligned with one edge juncture of a syllable. Either the synsyllabic schema and the edge inharmonic schema begin on the same posture that the synsyllabic schema does, or the edge inharmonic schema ends at the synsyllabic schema final posture, but the edge inharmonic schema may never coincide with both the start and end of the cross-syllable schema. Therefore, there are two types of edge inharmonic schemas, each with slightly different constitutive properties.
An edge inharmonic schema that is synchronized with the beginning of a synsyllabic schema is defined as a syllable “onset schema” (commonly referred to as a set of “syllable initial consonants”). All the coordinative structures that are active on the first beat of a syllable onset schemata must have a given posture value, as part of a syllable-initial beat complex posture, and all these coordinative structures must come to a final transition before, or at the end of, their encompassing syllable onset schema. From an acoustic perceptual perspective, the combination of a particular syllable onset schema with a specific synsyllabic schema will be instantiated by a characteristic combination of syllabic and transitional spectra (discussed below).
FIGS. 2A and 2B show an exemplary synsyllabic schema, syllabic nucleus and onset schema for the syllable [lo] as pronounced, for example, in the Spanish word aloca (which translates to “gets crazy” in English). FIG. 2A shows the same representation as shown in FIG. 1A : the upper portion 200 is an oscillogram of a speaker speaking the syllable, the second section 202 is graph of intensity or amplitude versus time and the lower section 204 is a sonogram of the speaker. FIG. 2B , which is also similar to FIG. 1B , is a chart of gestures showing the states of the coordinative structures during pronunciation of the syllable. The chosen syllable has three beats indicated by the three rightmost columns in the chart and each row of the chart represents one coordinative structure.
As shown in FIG. 2B , the synsyllabic schema of the selected syllable corresponds to the last three rows 206 and the syllabic nucleus corresponds only to the last beat represented by the rightmost column 208 . The onset schema corresponds to the cells in the highlighted box 210 . Corresponding to the onset schema, the left bands of frequencies on the sonogram 204 are attenuated, as compared to the following darker nucleic stable bands of frequencies.
An edge inharmonic schema that is aligned with the end of a synsyllabic schema is defined as a syllable “coda schema” (commonly known as a set of “syllable final consonants”). All the coordinative structures participating in a coda schema must begin with their respective initial transitions, and all those that end at the syllable's final beat must end at a given posture, within a syllable-final one beat complex posture. From an acoustic perceptual perspective, the combination of a particular syllable coda schema with a specific synsyllabic schema will also be instantiated by a characteristic combination of syllabic and transitional spectra (discussed below).
The above categories can be combined so that speech gestural categories are modeled as sound diffraction factors, and their interaction is systematically correlated with speech spectrum categories by a technique called “speech spectroscopy”. This technique allows the cognitive integration of speech motor categories and speech sensory categories, in a holistic model. Speech spectroscopy is described below.
An obstacle to be overcome by this technique is the ongoing change of spectra produced by the word order and intonation caused by unfolding speech with a particular combination of words. The key to resolving this change is the adequate and exhaustive segmentation of syllable beats. During speech, postures occur as non-changing spectra, and therefore can be recognized by spectral analysis. However, transitions and their intrinsically changing properties are determined by their contiguous postures and thus differ depending on the exact speech pattern. Nevertheless, when transitions are properly segmented and contextualized, their relevant transient properties become understandable and identifiable.
The first step in this process is to determine the relevant postures and transitions. Postures and transitions can be recognized and determined from speech acoustic representations (such as oscillographic, numeric, or spectrographic representations) by applying the analytical categories that follow, and by following the corresponding procedures outlined after them.
As previously mentioned, a conceived time for each beat serves as a focal reference for the synchronization of the coordinative structures that produce that beat, with its specifically instantiated posture or transition. Due to its complexity, the unfolding of every complex posture or transition during a beat attracts the focused attention of the subject (speaker or hearer). Additionally, as a sequence of beats is produced, the beats compete for the subject's attention and, following a basic cognitive principle of perceptual organization, one beat will always attract more attention than the other.
Further, an integrated pair of beats, called a “beat complex”, will compete for attention with a following beat or beat complex, thus determining the next level in an increasingly complex pattern of attention management, hereafter referred to as a “prominence scale”. In other words, a prominence scale (or simply scale) represents a cognitive process of attention management through sensory-motor coordination and is capable of modeling the perception of rhythm in human natural languages.
In all human natural languages, prominence scales have three levels of complexity: syllable scales, word scales, and utterance scales. The units of these scales are observable and measurable, because conceived times run parallel to the degree of committed attention, and both determine the execution time of beats within syllables, syllables within words, and words within utterances.
Beat prominence (P b ) may be experimentally measured and is calculated as the multiplication of beat time duration (t) by beat mean intensity (i):
P b =t×i
With this definition, transitions leading from the final posture of one syllable to the initial posture of a following syllable, called “inter-syllabic transitional beats” are defined as having a zero prominence. Although these inter-syllabic transitional beats are indispensable in between syllables, they are always predictable by their syllabic context, and may be deleted from speech representations without perceptible consequences.
As subjects perceive, produce, and compare the syllables of a language, they internally categorize the corresponding onset, syllabic nucleus and coda schemata and the integration of these schemata determine the complex prominence scale of every instantiated syllable and account for its characteristic rhythmic pattern. The central beat of a syllable nucleus is always its most prominent one, the peak of the syllable prominence scale and the one with the highest P b value. When such nuclei are composed of three beats, the central transitional beat is usually the most prominent one (three beat nuclei are commonly referred to as diphthongs, with a heavy two syllable nucleus). An exemplary syllable prominence scale is represented by the numbers in line 212 of FIG. 2B .
Similarly, as subjects perceive and produce words, they also learn and categorize control patterns of syllable-focused attention through which the syllables forming the words are integrated. The syllables in a word are integrated with a prominence scale called a “word scale”. In a word scale, the prominence of each syllable (P s ) is calculated as the sum of the beat prominences of the component beats of the syllable (P b1 , P b2 . . . P bn ), divided by the total number of Beats in the syllable(n):
P s =( P b1 +P b2 + . . . +P bn )/ n
The stress patterns that characterize the integration of syllables in any word of any language, all abide by this prominence scale which in turn administers a subject's attention through syllable coordination. In addition to operating on a time dimension, this scale follows a set of language universal principles. Each word scale has a syllable that occupies the peak of the scale, having the highest P s within the word. There is a gradual ascent in syllable prominence towards stressed (peak prominence) syllables. In particular, the degree of syllabic prominence will go one level up with every consecutive syllable, gradually increasing until a syllable with a primary (figure) or secondary stress (figure) is reached. This principle implies that syllables in between two encompassing stressed syllables will always gradually increase towards the last one or gradually decrease until the end of the word or another conventionally located stress (primary or secondary) is encountered.
Similarly, there is a gradual descent in prominence levels following initial single primary stressed syllables. The degree of syllabic prominence will go one level down with every consecutive syllable, departing from an initial primary stress and gradually decreasing until the last syllable of the word is reached. Further, when a stressed syllable functions as the profile determinant of at least one preceding syllable, the syllable immediately following it will go down two levels and initiate a gradual descent until the word's final syllable.
In addition, words may have a second syllabic figure or stress. It is characterized by having a prominence one level below that of the primary stressed syllable and a placement that is not determined by the principle of gradual ascent towards the most prominent syllable.
This cognitively motivated principle seems to account for well documented cases of final syllable weakening and eventual coda or syllable loss. As proposed, this principle implies that the tendency to postpone syllabic profile determination towards the end of words might help to administer articulatory and perceptual attention in order to foster the preservation of the initial most informative sequence of syllables, but at the expense of decreased availability of attention for the syllables that follow the latter sequence. These principles can be incorporated in a process of word identification, through storing and searching of primary and secondary stresses, and their concomitant probabilities of prominence scale sequencing. In a word synthesis process these principles are indispensable for adequate algorithmic rhythm modeling.
Because each word has a characteristic rhythm for a given language, for each word, an array of the syllables included in the word together with the word scale and the written representation of the word can be stored in a word database and used, as discussed below, to identify words in an utterance. The word database can be accessed by the syllables and word scale (for speech recognition) of by the written word representation (for speech synthesis).
In a like manner, as subjects perceive and produce utterances, they also learn and categorize scales through which the words composing the utterance are integrated, following patterns for the control of word-focused attention. These scales are called “utterance scales” and account for the characteristic rhythm of utterances. In an utterance scale, word prominence (P w ) is calculated as the sum of the syllable prominences of the syllables (P s1 , P s2 . . . P sn ) composing a word, divided by the total number of syllables in the word (n):
P w =( P s1 +P s2 + . . . +P sn )/ n
Utterance scales always have one word that functions as a peak, with the highest P w value, constituting the utterance's primary figure. Additionally, utterances may have a secondary figure or degree of prominence in yet another word, which may not be contiguous to the primary figure, and will constitute a secondary figure, by virtue of having the second highest P w value. The rest of the words in an utterance will constitute a “ground” of the primary and secondary figures, and will gradually decrease in prominence as they depart from them, or vice-versa, will gradually increase in prominence as they approach them. Therefore, when a primary and a secondary figure concur in an utterance scale, the scale values in between the primary and secondary figure will predictably be shaped as a valley.
FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate syllable scales and word scales for the Spanish word injuria (which translates to “insult” in English). As with FIGS. 1A and 1B and 2A and 2B , in FIG. 3A , the upper portion 300 is an oscillogram of a speaker speaking the word, the second section 302 is graph of intensity or amplitude versus time and the lower section 304 is a sonogram of the speaker. FIG. 3B , which is also similar to FIGS. 1B and 2B , is a chart of gestures showing the states of the coordinative structures during pronunciation of the word. The corresponding edge schemata are shown in boxes 306 , 308 and 310 . The synsyllabic schemata and a final three beat syllabic nucleus (commonly referred to as a “diphthong”) are also shown. The beat durations (t) are shown in row 312 and the word scale and syllable scale are represented as the integers in rows 314 and 316 , respectively.
Although syllable scales, word scales, and utterance scales can account for the overall rhythm and flow of speech, the specifics of anatomical dimensions and functional potentials for every coordinative structure will vary by subject, and by every spoken utterance. Other conditioning factors, such as bodily posture and proportion, emotional states, etc. also affect speech patterns. In addition, as the prominence scale values change, their corresponding mean intensities modify the frequencies of the uttered waves. Therefore, a technique is needed to filter out these idiosyncrasies so that the linguistic arrangements of frequencies that constitute a normalized spectrum can be identified. This technique involves two steps: one for identifying the most prominent frequencies and a second to normalize these prominent frequencies as explained below.
Within every complex sound wave, the component sine waves will vary in amplitude and frequency. Some frequency waves will have a lower intensity as measured by smaller amplitudes, and will therefore remain in the perceptual base, as “base waves”. These background signals remain informative, revealing things such as the subject's probable age, sex, body size, identity, emotional state, surrounding noisy events, etc. but, more importantly, they facilitate the detection of louder and linguistically more important waves.
In particular, for the purpose of syllable identification, the acoustic waves with the larger amplitude will stand out and will attract most of the subject's attention by virtue of being systematically linked to the gestural schema that produces them. Therefore, for any given acoustic spectrum, the n waves with the highest intensity (as measured by the largest amplitude), called “profiled waves”, are designated as W n , and their amplitudes as A n . The n profiled waves (W n ) are those waves having amplitudes which exceed an amplitude threshold (T) that is defined by:
A n >T∀n
For example, one suitable threshold T is the mean amplitude of all of the waves in the acoustic spectrum.
Profiled waves are usually thought of as vowel formants, but they are likewise present as components of inharmonic spectra. This is shown in FIG. 4 , which is the oscillogram representation of the Spanish Syllable lu (from the word lucha) taken from section 102 of FIG. 1A . The profiled waves that are traditionally considered vowel formants correspond to the series of darkest sections of consecutive pulses within the rightmost column 400 only. However, profiled waves also correspond to synsyllabic schemata that run throughout the syllable, and change as such schemata intersect with specific edge schemata, as in the postural and transitional beats of the onset schema shown in FIG. 4 . Here they correspond to the “l” in the syllable “lu” and occur in the time period from 0.186 (line 402 ) to 0.278 milliseconds (line 404 ).
Profiled waves are always perceived as regions of coalescing waves in a given frequency band, rather than as a sum of pure tones. These acoustic regions of coalescing waves constitute a set of frequencies that may be referred to as “posture spectra”, and are cognitive categories spoken by all the speakers of a specific linguistic community. Every posture spectra corresponds to a specific postural schema and has three identifying attributes:
a) it is either harmonic or inharmonic, b) it has a typical bandwidth that is defined by a high bounding frequency and a low bounding frequency, and, c) it has a predictable deviation factor that allows posture spectra that correspond to the same postural schemata, but have different bounding frequencies, to be correlated.
The bounding frequencies of acoustic regions are obtained by comparing the highest and lowest frequencies shared by all the profiled waves of those acoustic regions, for example, by comparing the spectrographs of a sample of equivalent postural schemata. For example, the Mexican Spanish posture composed of a critical approach of the tongue body towards an alveolar loci, as accompanied by the abduction of the Glottis, is illustrated in FIG. 5 . The twenty-six spectrographic beats shown in the figure correspond to the postures roughly represented by the underlined letters of the following written Spanish words: 1) de s arrollemos, 2) juda s , 3) enla z a, 4) toda s , 5) naturale z a, 6) e s tá, 7) s ervicio, 8) labore s , 9) de s nuca, 10) s eguimos, 11) s emana, 12) come s , 13) servi c io, 14) análisi s , 15) e x igimos, 16) mú s ica, 17) abu s a, 18) comemo s , 19) desarrollamo s , 20) dejamo s , 21) fallamo s , 22) dolo s a, 23) fallemos, 24) hallamo s , 25) recibimo s and 26) dirigimo s .
As shown in FIG. 5 , the high bounding frequencies of all the illustrated onset and coda schemata is around the 9,000 Hz. However, the first fifteen postures correspond to onset and coda schemata instantiated within synsyllabic schemata usually represented by the letters a, e and i, and therefore have distinctive 6,000 Hz low bounding frequencies illustrated by line 502 , whereas the remaining onset and coda schemata are instantiated within synsyllabic schemata usually represented by the letters u and o and, as a consequence, have 4,250 Hz low bounding frequencies illustrated by line 504 . The low bounding frequencies illustrated by line 504 are caused by a widened resonating oral cavity, as configured by the scope of the instantiated synsyllabic schemata, with a retracted tongue root, as well as rounded and protruded lips (notice that the low bounding frequency of the “s” in música indicates that it has been unconventionally integrated as a coda schema of the stressed syllable mús).
The same procedure can be applied for the recognition of harmonic syllabic nuclei (vowels), as exemplified in FIGS. 6 and 7 , both corresponding to a synsyllabic schemata that is commonly represented, in Spanish, by the letter i. FIG. 6 shows spectrographic beats that correspond to the postures roughly represented by the underlined i in the following eleven words, as uttered by a single Spanish speaking adult male: 1) recib i mos, 2) serv i cio, 3) segu i mos, 4) all í está, 5) call i to, 6) gall i na, 7) sal i da, 8) am i go, 9) cam i no, 10) fam i lia and 11) conten i do. This harmonic posture spectrum is characterized by a well defined low bounding frequency at 2,000 Hz (illustrated as line 600 ) and a well-defined high bounding frequency at 4,500 Hz (illustrated as line 602 ).
FIG. 7 shows spectrographic beats that correspond to the postures roughly represented by the underlined i in the same words as in FIG. 6 , as uttered by a single Spanish speaking adult female: 1) recib i mos, 2) serv i cio, 3) segu i mos, 4) all í está, 5) call i to, 6) gall i na, 7) sal i da, 8) am i go, 9) cam i no, 10) fam i lia and 11) conten i do. FIG. 7 thus contains an equivalent posture spectrum, but has a low bounding frequency of 2,500 Hz (illustrated as line 700 ) and a high bounding frequency of 5,250 Hz (illustrated by line 702 ). Yet, most speakers (and analysts) would recognize both posture spectra as examples of an “i like” posture.
The differing bounding frequencies characterizing a single posture spectrum can be rescaled by a factor which depends on the perceived pitch of the speaker. The male uttering the sampled words of FIG. 6 has a mean pitch of 128 Hz, whereas the words uttered by the female in FIG. 7 have a mean pitch of 198 Hz. The division of the female bounding frequencies by their corresponding mean pitch gives the following rounded results:
5,250/198=26.5
2,500/198=12.6
and the division of the male bounding frequencies by their corresponding mean pitch gives the following rounded results:
4,500/128=35.1
2,000/128=15.6
These differing resealed bounding frequencies characterizing a single posture spectrum can be made comparable by resealing them by an additional deviation factor, which is predominantly determined by the body proportions of the speakers (as instantiated by their vocal and auditory organs). Since pitch and body proportions are generally highly correlated, this deviation factor can be determined from measurements of speech acoustic data. In particular, by determining the bounding frequencies outlined above with respect to FIGS. 6 and 7 for a variety of subjects, a set of deviation factors can be determined by regression analysis. This analysis results in a linguistic perception curve similar to that shown in FIG. 8B in which the vertical scale is mean pitch and the horizontal scale is the deviation factor.
Using this curve, it can be seen that it is necessary to rescale the male pitch by an additional deviation factor of 1.3:
4,500/(128*1.3)=27.0
2,000/(128*1.3)=12.0
This leads to quite similar proportional representations for the two sets of bounding frequencies, as part of a single posture spectrum that corresponds to the normal perception of their generic “i” identity:
Female i pitch proportion 26.5/12.6
Male i rescaled pitch proportion 27.0/12.0
Therefore, each posture schema for a particular language can be represented by the upper and lower bounding frequencies of profiled waves in the corresponding posture spectrum. The frequencies can be determined by examining, for example, spectrographs of different speakers, such as those shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 to determine the bounding frequencies. These frequencies are then “normalized” by dividing them by the mean pitch of the waves in each spectrographic beat and applying the deviation factor shown in FIG. 8B .
When postures change, one or more of the coordinative structures that participate in a transition must undergo conventionally significant changes, by definition, as determined by the adjacent postures, this causes the bounding frequencies to change leading from the bounding frequencies of one posture, to those of the following one. The directionality and predictability of the properties of these acoustic changes or transitional linguistic spectra vary, depending on the nature of the motor activity that produces them.
In some cases, the changes in motor activity occur gradually, as part of carefully controlled contractions of the speaker's agonist and antagonist muscles. As a consequence, the bounding frequencies will increase or decrease at a steady pace, as part of a characteristic linguistic shifting spectra. Although linguistic shifting spectra may occupy the lowest positions in syllabic scales, whenever a transition has a beat prominence larger than one or both of its neighboring postures it will necessarily be a shifting linguistic spectrum. This is illustrated in FIG. 8A which shows a transitional spectrum (between lines 800 and 802 ) at the centre of the diphthong syllable [ria], in an instantiation of the Spanish word injuria (illustrated in FIG. 3A ). Whereas the lowest and highest profiled waves slightly increase their frequencies (F 0 and F 3 ), in the mid range, the second and third profiled waves steadily go down (F 1 and F 2 ).
Other changes in motor activity also occur gradually, as part of carefully controlled contractions of the agonist and antagonist muscles. However, their changing bounding frequencies increase or decrease by steps, leading to characteristic linguistic scaffolded spectra. Unlike shifting spectra, scaffolded spectra may never function as syllabic nuclei, that is, they may never assume the peak of the syllabic prominence scale.
When changes in motor activity occur as fast as possible, they result in sudden muscular contractions, or “plosions”, with an internal timing that is perceived by a speaker or listener as punctual and practically instantaneous. As a consequence, only transient profiled waves and bounding frequencies may be identified, if any are identified at all. The actual duration of such transient spectra will tend to be minimal, and they will always occupy the lowest positions in the syllabic scale. This is illustrated in FIG. 9 which between lines 900 and 902 shows a transitional spectrum between the characteristic initial and final postures of the syllable [ta], in an instantiation of the Spanish Word mota, which translates to the English word “pot”.
These changing posture bounding frequencies along with the bounding frequencies for posture schemas are then used to construct syllable arrays. Each syllable array contains the normalized bounding frequencies corresponding to the onset schemata, the synsyllabic schemata and the coda schemata for the syllable along with the appropriate beat prominence scale. The syllable arrays are then stored in a syllable database. Also stored with each syllable array is an indication of with the corresponding language and a written representation of the syllable in that language (called a “tag”). The syllable database can be accessed either by the bounding frequencies (for speech recognition) or by the tag (for speech synthesis).
As syllables are instantiated, they are concatenated into words, and, in turn, into utterances, and their instantiations follow a process of rhythmic integration (similar, for example, to a musical reinterpretation), such that the fluency of the ongoing production is, at once, enhanced and simplified. In particular, correspondences are systematically established between the coda and onset schemata of contiguous syllables, and processes of reinterpretation are regularly triggered, such that the gestures of such syllables overlap. This overlap can take several forms:
1. some onset gestures are anticipated, and included within the preceding syllable coda (traditionally known as “regressive assimilation” of segments). 2. other coda gestures are expanded into the following syllable onset (traditionally known as “progressive assimilation” of segments). 3. The synsyllabic gestures of an onset-less syllable are anticipated and encompass the edge-syllabic gestures of a preceding syllable, thereby converting a schema that was originally a coda schema into a fused onset schema. 4. The synsyllabic gestures of a syllable may also be anticipated if neighboring coda and onset gestures are perceived as sufficiently similar, causing the coda and onset gestures to blend into a single onset schema.
In addition, if the nuclei of contiguous syllables lack any intervening coda or onset schemata, their rhythmic integration will regularly lead to full syllable blends. Correspondences are systematically established between the adjacent nuclei, and processes of reinterpretation are regularly triggered in a speaker, such that the synsyllabic schemata of these syllables blend in some of the following ways:
1. The inter-syllabic transition becomes very prominent (with an increased syllable prominence (P b ), and functions as the central beat of a three beat nuclei, at the center of a novel single blended syllable (with a two vowel “diphthong” nucleus). The previously separated synsyllabic schemata become components of a single compounded synsyllabic schema. 2. If the adjacent syllabic nuclei are not the same, one may swallow the other, or they may lead to the instantiation of a third synsyllabic schema, which results from a partial combination of both. 3. If the adjacent syllabic nuclei are the same, they will fuse and become indistinguishable.
In order to account for syllable blending, it is also necessary to store in the aforementioned syllable database an array for each spectrum produced by syllable blending. Each array includes the upper and lower bounding frequencies of either the onset spectrum or coda spectrum that results from the blending and the upper and lower bounding frequencies of the coda spectrum and onset spectrum that produce the blending. Similarly, to account for synsyllabic schemata blending, an array of the resulting bounding frequencies and the bounding frequencies of the corresponding two posture spectra that produce the blending is also stored.
When a syllable overlap occurs at the juncture of two words, a word blend occurs, and the canonical shape of the participating words becomes significantly blurred, since one word loses a syllable at its edge, and the other word assumes a more complex syllable. When such a syllable blend happens in between two mono-syllabic words, the result is a complete fusion of the adjacent words into a single one, or a word blend (often referred to as a “word contraction”—“you all” vis-à-vis “y'all”—).
In order to account for word blending, a word blending list of all the possible forms each modified word or contracted word may assume and the two words that produced the modification or contraction is also created and stored. In this list the modified or contracted word and the two original words that produced the contraction are stored along with each word represented by a corresponding array of syllables and a word scale.
These processes of syllable blending and word blending will be blocked when the attention of the speaker or listener is concentrated on either of the adjacent syllables or words, that is, when the pertinent prominence scale is manipulated, so that one of the neighboring syllable or word prominence scales (P s or P w ) is increased (by virtue of being “stressed” or a “focalized” intonation). As a consequence, the corresponding syllable or word will be fully and carefully articulated. Likewise, these prominence scale manipulations are willingly triggered, for more or less conventional reasons, but always for meaningful (semantic or pragmatic) purposes.
In accordance with one embodiment, the processes and techniques described above may be used in an illustrative speech recognition process that is shown in FIGS. 10, 12A and 12B . As an input this process receives an electronic analog waveform that represents the speech. The waveform is processed, utterance by utterance, by periodically sampling the electronic waveform for each utterance. The process begins in step 1000 and proceeds to step 1002 where a check is made to determine if the end of the utterance being processed has been reached. If not, the process proceeds to step 1006 in which the next sample of the acoustic waveform is obtained.
Then, in step 1008 , the sample is frequency processed to extract a set of sinusoidal waves from the sample. Next, in step 1010 , the mean amplitude of the sinusoidal waves is calculated.
In step 1012 , profiled waves are extracted from the set of sinusoidal waves by processing each sinusoidal wave with a well-known device, such as a noise gate with hysteresis implemented either in software or hardware. The operation of such a device is shown in FIG. 11 . An input waveform 1104 is provided to the device. The device output 1106 is initially zero. When the input waveform 1104 rises above an open threshold 1100 , the gate opens and the device output 1106 follows the input waveform 1104 . This continues until the input waveform 1104 falls below a close threshold 1102 at which point the output drops to zero. The close threshold 1102 is set here to the mean amplitude calculated in step 1010 and the open threshold 1100 is set slightly higher.
In step 1014 , the normalized bounding frequencies of the profiled waves are determined. As discussed above, the upper and lower bounding frequencies of the profiled waves are first determined from the set of profiled waves. Then, the mean pitch of the profiled waves is calculated. The upper and lower bounding frequencies are then divided by the mean pitch and corrected using the deviation factor shown in FIG. 8B .
In step 1016 , the normalized bounding frequencies and mean amplitude of the profiled waves in the sample being processed are stored in an array. The process then proceeds back to step 1002 where it is determined whether processing of the utterance is finished. If not, the next sample is obtained in step 1006 and the process is repeated. Alternatively, if in step 1002 , it is determined that the end of the utterance has been reached, then the process ends in step 1004 .
FIGS. 12A and 12B , when placed together, form a flow chart showing the further processing of the profiled wave arrays that are constructed by the process shown in FIG. 10 . This process begins in step 1200 and proceeds to step 1202 where the arrays are retrieved and arrays adjacent in time are compared. Contiguous arrays whose upper and lower bounding frequencies are substantially the same are grouped together in step 1204 and the group is designated as a posture spectrum.
Interspersed among the posture spectra identified in step 1204 , the remaining series of changing arrays are grouped in step 1206 . Based on the characteristics of the changing frequencies, each group is classified as a shifting spectrum, a scaffolded spectrum or a transient spectrum in accordance with the definitions above.
Next syllabic blends are taken into account in step 1208 . This is done by scanning the set of posture and changing spectra for characteristic spectra that indicate a syllabic blend has occurred and each of which was previously stored in the syllable database, as mentioned above. If a characteristic blending spectrum is located, the group corresponding to the blending spectrum is replaced in the set of spectra by the two posture spectra or changing spectra that resulted in the blend and that are stored in the syllable database along with the blended spectrum.
In step 1210 the beat prominences of the spectra groups are calculated by averaging the mean amplitudes stored in the contiguous arrays and using the average as the mean intensity. This processing produces a set of posture spectra interspersed with changing spectra with each posture spectrum and changing spectrum having a calculated beat prominence.
In step 1212 , the set of posture and changing spectra along with their beat prominences are matched to the syllable arrays stored in the syllable database as described above to identify syllables. For the first syllable, this process proceeds by selecting a minimum sequence (determined by the language) of posture and changing spectra from the set starting from the spectrum that begins the utterance. The bounding frequency values and beat prominences in this sequence are then compared against the equivalent values in the stored syllable arrays. This could be a direct comparison or the sequence could be used as a key into a database. If no match is found, the next changing spectrum (if present) and posture spectrum from the spectra set is added to the right end of the sequence and the matching process repeated. This routine is repeated until a syllable is identified, from its initial to its final posture spectrum and characteristic beat prominence scale. In some cases, after this process produces a match with a syllable that has a final nucleus, a following transitional spectrum is left stranded at the end of the utterance, or as un-attachable to a following syllable with an onset of its own. This transitional spectrum is re-examined and, if it is a coda spectrum it is added to the right end of the sequence and the process is repeated.
As a syllable is identified, its written tag (or in some cases where there is ambiguity, the written tag plus alternative tags) stored in the syllable database with the syllable array is appended to an utterance buffer, according to the conventions of the output required by the pertinent writing system. Also, the syllable prominence is calculated in accordance with the formula discussed above and added to the utterance buffer in association with the tag. Alternatively, if no syllable is identified during this process accurate onset, nucleus, and coda schemata are still obtained and may be used to update the syllable database.
The process then proceeds, via off-page connectors 1214 and 1218 to step 1222 where a check is then to determine whether the end of the spectra set has been reached.
If it is determined in step 1222 that the end of the spectra set has not been reached, then, in step 1224 , the changing spectrum following the posture spectrum ending the syllable is skipped and the process returns, via off-page connectors 1220 and 1216 to step 1212 to process the next syllable. For syllables following the first syllable, this process proceeds by again selecting a minimum sequence of posture and changing spectra from the set starting from the posture spectrum following the changing spectrum skipped in step 1224 .
Operation continues in this manner with steps 1212 , 1222 and 1224 being sequentially executed until the end of the spectra set is reached as determined in step 1222 . The process then proceeds to step 1226 where word blending is processed. In this process, the utterance buffer is scanned for modified and contracted words using the list of syllables and word scales previously stored for such words in the word blending list. If a modified or contracted word is located, the syllables and corresponding word scale associated with it are replaced by the syllables and corresponding scales of the two words that produced the modification or contraction.
Next, in step 1228 , the inventory of word syllable/word scale arrays previously stored in the word database is matched against the syllables and syllable prominence values in the utterance buffer. For the first word, this process proceeds by selecting a minimum sequence (determined by the language) of syllables from the utterance buffer starting from with the syllable that begins the utterance. The word scale is then computed from the syllable prominence values stored with the syllables and the syllables and word scale for this sequence are then compared against the equivalent values in the word arrays stored in the word database (as before either as a direct comparison or by using the sequence as a key). If no match is found, the next syllable from the utterance buffer is added to the right end of the sequence, the word prominence recalculated and the matching process repeated. This routine is repeated until a word is identified, from its syllables and characteristic word scale. When a match is found, the written word from the matching word array is appended to an output buffer along with the calculated word scale. Alternatively, if no word is identified during this process an accurate syllable sequence and prominence scale are still obtained and may be used to update the word database.
The process then proceeds to step 1230 where a determination is made whether the end of the utterance buffer has been reached. If it is determined in step 1230 that the end of the utterance buffer has not been reached, then the process returns to step 1228 to process the next word. For words following the first word, this process proceeds by again selecting a minimum sequence of syllables from the utterance buffer starting from the syllable following the last syllable in the previously-identified word.
Operation continues in this manner with steps 1228 and 1230 being sequentially executed until the end of the utterance buffer is reached as determined in step 1230 . The process then proceeds to step 1232 where the utterance scale of the identified words in the output buffer is calculated from the word scales stored in the output buffer in accordance with the formula set forth above. The calculated utterance scale is then matched against a matrix of intonational patterns, allowing an identification of the type of utterance (interrogative, imperative, etc.). Alternatively, if no utterance is identified during this process an accurate word sequence and prominence scale are still obtained and may be used to update the matrix. In step 1234 , the written words in the output buffer are adjusted accordingly, accompanied by the additional characters that may be pertinent, if any. The process then finishes in step 1236 .
An illustrative process for speech synthesis is shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B , when placed together. This process synthesizes speech from a text excerpt stored in a conventional electronic text file. The process begins in step 1300 and proceeds to step 1302 where parameters indicating the language and the writing system of the text excerpt are received by the system.
Next, in step 1304 , a determination is made whether the entire text excerpt has been processed. If it has not, the process proceeds to step 1308 where the next complete written utterance is selected from the text excerpt as determined by the conventions of the selected written language and stored in a text buffer. For example, the utterance might be a sentence as delineated by a punctuation character, such as a period.
Next, in step 1310 , the next written word is selected from the word buffer. This may be done in a conventional manner by examining the word buffer for “stop” characters, such as spaces, commas, colons and semicolons that delineate the words. The selected word is then used to access the aforementioned word blending list to determine if it is a modified or contracted word. If the word is not a modified or contracted word it is used to access the word database to retrieve its corresponding syllables and word scale. Alternatively, if the selected word is a modified or contracted word, the syllable schemata and word scales of the two associated words are retrieved from the word blending list. In step 1312 , the retrieved syllable schemata and word scale(s) are appended to the end of the utterance buffer.
A check is then made in step 1314 whether the end of the text buffer has been reached. If not, the process proceeds back to step 1310 where the next word in the text buffer is selected for processing. Processing proceeds in this manner with steps 1310 , 1312 and 1314 being repeated until it is determined in step 1314 that the end of the text buffer has been reached. The process then proceeds, via off-page connectors 1318 and 1322 to step 1324 where one or two words are identified with the primary and secondary figures of the utterance. The location within the utterance of these words may be inferred from text characters that identify an utterance type, or intonational pattern (such as question marks, interrogation marks, commas, etc.) or the utterance scale may be stipulated in advance.
Then, in step 1326 , the syllable schemata at the end of each word and the beginning of the next word are used to access the syllable database to determine whether syllabic blending is triggered. If the two syllabic schemata and accompanying word scales are found in the syllable database, they are replaced by the associated blended syllable schemata and word scale. The words identified in step 1324 as the primary and secondary figures above block or limit these blending processes, as described above.
In step 1328 , the resulting sequence of syllables is used to access the syllable database and retrieve the upper and lower bounding frequencies for each syllable and the corresponding syllable scale. The upper and lower bounding frequencies can be scaled as desired by changing the means pitch and using the deviation curve shown in FIG. 8B if the speech is to be identified with a desired gender, body type etc.
In step 1330 , a set of electronic waves are generated a frequency synthesizer for each harmonic posture. These electronic waves have frequencies that lie between upper and lower bounding frequencies and are generated with a pseudo-harmonic repetitive patterns. For each inharmonic posture, set of electronic waves are generated with a frequency synthesizer with frequencies that lie between upper and lower bounding frequencies and simulate white noise. For postures that correspond to voiced fricatives or nasals the synthesized waves can be a mixture of pseudo-harmonic repetitive patterns and noise.
In step 1332 , the relative amplitudes of the waves are adjusted for each syllable in accordance with the syllable scale retrieved for that syllable and, in step 1334 , the amplitudes are further adjusted in accordance with the retrieved word scales. Finally, processing of the utterance is completed in step 1336 by adjusting the electronic wave amplitudes in accordance with the utterance scale for the utterance. The process then returns via off-page connectors 1320 and 1316 to step 1304 to determine whether the entire text excerpt has been processed. If not then the process continues by selecting the next utterance in step 1308 and performing steps 1310 - 1336 on the newly selected utterance. When the entire text excerpt has been processed as determined in step 1304 , the process finishes in step 1306 . The resulting electronic waveform can then be played through a conventional sound reproduction system to generate the synthesized speech.
Both the speech recognition process illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 12A and 12B and the speech synthesis process illustrated in FIGS. 13A and 13B can be implemented by software in a conventional digital computer. Alternatively, these processes may be implemented in firmware or hardware in a convention fashion.
While the invention has been shown and described with reference to a number of embodiments thereof, it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. | Speech is modeled as a cognitively-driven sensory-motor activity where the form of speech is the result of categorization processes that any given subject recreates by focusing on creating sound patterns that are represented by syllables. These syllables are then combined in characteristic patterns to form words, which are in turn, combined in characteristic patterns to form utterances. A speech recognition process first identifies syllables in an electronic waveform representing ongoing speech. The pattern of syllables is then deconstructed into a standard form that is used to identify words. The words are then concatenated to identify an utterance. Similarly, a speech synthesis process converts written words into patterns of syllables. The pattern of syllables is then processed to produce the characteristic rhythmic sound of naturally spoken words. The words are then assembled into an utterance which is also processed to produce a natural sounding speech. | Identify the most important aspect in the document and summarize the concept accordingly. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of application Ser.",
"No. 13/767,987, filed Feb. 15, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,147,393.",
"BACKGROUND Speech recognition technology converts words spoken by arbitrary speakers into written text.",
"This technology has many uses, such as voice control applications including voice dialing, call routing and appliance control, and other applications, such as searching audio recordings, data entry, document preparation and speech-to-text processing.",
"Speech synthesis technology produces audible human speech by artificial means, such as a speech synthesizer.",
"A variant of this technology, called a “text-to-speech system”, converts written normal language text into audible speech.",
"Synthesized speech can be created by concatenating sound patterns, representations of which are stored in a database.",
"The representations are retrieved from the database and combined in different patterns to drive a speaker system that produces the audible speech.",
"Alternatively, a speech synthesizer can incorporate a model of the vocal tract and other human voice characteristics which can be driven by the stored representations to create a completely “synthetic”",
"speech output.",
"Speech recognition and speech synthesis technologies are based on underlying models of human speech.",
"Current prior art speech synthesis and speech recognition systems are built upon one of two theoretical models or an eclectic combination of the two models.",
"In accordance with the first or “segmental”",
"model, speech can be produced by linearly arranging short sound segments called “phones”",
"or “phonemes”",
"to form spoken words or sentences.",
"Therefore, it should be possible to exhaustively pair a particular sound segment arrangement with a corresponding chain of alphabetic letters.",
"However, this goal has proven to be elusive;",
"when such sound segments are stored in a database and retrieved in accordance with alphabetic chains to synthesize speech, the resulting speech is often unclear and “artificial”",
"sounding.",
"Similarly, breaking speech into these segments and combining them to look for a corresponding word in a database produces many incorrect words.",
"Accordingly, other approaches statistically exploit correlations of scattered features and interspersed (nonexhaustive) acoustic segments for speech recognition and synthesis.",
"In accordance with a prior art second or “articulatory phonology”",
"model, speech is modeled as the result of a series of ongoing and simultaneous “gestures.”",
"Each gesture is a modification of the human vocal tract produced by specific neuro-muscular systems and is classified by the anatomical structures that together produce that gesture.",
"These structures are lips, tongue tip, tongue body, velum (together with nasal cavities) and glottis.",
"Since these gestures may have different temporal spans, the challenge for this approach has been to systematically account for their synchronization.",
"This is typically done by defining “phases”",
"between gestures, but the exact determination of these phases has only been achieved on an ad hoc basis.",
"Hence, “constellation”",
"or “molecule”",
"metaphors are used to bundle gestures together as a basis for speech synthesis.",
"None of the prior art approaches have provided a systematic and accurate model from which speech synthesis and speech recognition systems can be developed.",
"SUMMARY In accordance with the principles of the present invention, speech is modeled as a cognitively-driven sensory-motor activity where the form of speech (the phonetic or phonological pole of language) is the result of categorization processes that any given subject (speaker or listener) recreates by focusing on linguistic activity with the goals of mastering the production of his or her own fine-tuned vocal tract gestures, and the recognition of such gestures produced by others.",
"In particular, subjects focus on creating or replicating sound patterns that are represented by syllables.",
"These syllables are then combined in characteristic patterns to form words, which are in turn, combined in characteristic patterns to form utterances.",
"A speech recognition process constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention first identifies syllables in an electronic waveform representing ongoing speech.",
"The pattern of syllables is then deconstructed into a standard form that is used to identify words.",
"The words are then concatenated to identify an utterance.",
"Similarly, a speech synthesis process constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention converts written words into patterns of syllables.",
"The pattern of syllables is then processed to produce the characteristic rhythmic sound of naturally spoken words.",
"The words are then assembled into an utterance which is also processed to produce a natural sounding speech.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1A is an oscillogram, a graph of intensity or amplitude and a sonogram of a speaker speaking the Spanish syllable [lu] versus time.",
"FIG. 1B is a chart of gestures showing the states of the coordinative structures during pronunciation of the syllable shown in FIG. 1A .",
"FIG. 2A is an oscillogram, a graph of intensity or amplitude and a sonogram of a speaker speaking the Spanish syllable [lo] versus time.",
"FIG. 2B shows the synsyllabic schema, syllabic nucleus, onset schema and syllable prominence scale for the syllable shown in FIG. 2A .",
"FIG. 3A is an oscillogram, a graph of intensity or amplitude and a sonogram of a speaker speaking the Spanish word injuria.",
"FIG. 3B is a chart of gestures showing the states of the coordinative structures during pronunciation of the word shown in FIG. 3A , the corresponding edge and synsyllabic schemata, a final three beat syllabic nucleus, the beat durations and the word and syllable scales.",
"FIG. 4 is an oscillogram representation of a speaker speaking the Spanish Syllable [lu] illustrating profiled waves.",
"FIG. 5 illustrates twenty-six spectrographic beats corresponding to postures represented by selected letters of twenty-six Spanish words and illustrating upper and lower bounding frequencies.",
"FIG. 6 shows the upper and lower bounding frequencies of eleven spectrographic beats that correspond to the postures represented by the Spanish syllable i in eleven words as uttered by a single Spanish speaking adult male FIG. 7 shows the upper and lower bounding frequencies of eleven spectrographic beats that correspond to the postures represented by the Spanish syllable i in the same eleven words as shown in FIG. 6 as uttered by a single Spanish speaking adult female.",
"FIG. 8A is an oscillogram, a graph of intensity or amplitude and a sonogram of the transitional spectrum contained by the syllable [ria], extracted from the Spanish word injuria as instantiated in FIG. 3A .",
"FIG. 8B is a linguistic perception curve illustrating a deviation factor used to adjust the upper and lower bounding frequencies.",
"FIG. 9 is an oscillogram, a graph of intensity or amplitude and a sonogram showing a transitional spectrum between the characteristic initial and final postures of the syllable [ta], in an instantiation of the Spanish Word mota.",
"FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the steps in an illustrative method for processing an electronic speech waveform in a speech recognition method in accordance with the principles of the invention.",
"FIG. 11 is a graph illustrating the operation of a noise gate with hysteresis which is used to extract profiled waves from the electronic speech waveform.",
"FIGS. 12A and 12B , when placed together, form a flowchart showing the steps in an illustrative process for identifying syllables and words in an utterance.",
"FIGS. 13A and 13B , when placed together, form a flowchart showing the steps in an illustrative speech synthesis process in accordance with the principles of the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION In all languages, the processes of categorization are built around syllables, which are basic speech units that allow the autonomous sensory-motor complex routines in a subject's brain to divide ongoing speech into segments, and to determine correspondences amongst these segments.",
"Although syllables are produced by these sensory-motor complex routines as interlocked gestures of variable durations, they can be segmented by laymen and analysts alike, in all languages.",
"This is so, because, syllables are combinations of gestures that are precisely synchronized.",
"More specifically, each syllable begins with a stable or unchanging gesture called a “posture”",
"and ends with another posture.",
"Syllable timing is measured in “beats.”",
"A beat is the conceived execution time of a complex synchronization of gestures, be it of postures or of a mixture of postures with changing gestures in between these postures.",
"This timing is controlled by the central nervous system, which always integrates syllable beats with a characteristic rhythm called a “syllable scale”",
"as described below.",
"Some syllables, traditionally known as “one vowel”",
"syllables, are composed of only one posture and therefore have only one postural beat.",
"All other syllables must include at least one transitional beat, or “transition”",
"between initial and final postures.",
"This transitional beat is a time unit in which at least one gestural component undergoes change.",
"Syllables may have up to fifteen beats, depending on the language, constituted by up to eight postural beats alternating with up to seven transitional beats.",
"The segmentation of beats allows a systematic and exhaustive correlation of articulatory patterns with acoustic patterns where each gestural (articulatory) posture is correlated with stable acoustic properties called “postural spectra”",
"and the properties of all transitions are explained and determined by their surrounding postural beats.",
"As mentioned above, “gestures”",
"are defined in the prior art articulatory phonology model as a goal-oriented activity of coordinative structures produced by specific neuro-muscular systems working together to generate sound.",
"This conventional model defines each gesture as an indivisible unit that can be modeled by a simple harmonic oscillator equation and that constitutes the goal of the aforementioned activity.",
"In contrast, in the present invention, the goal of the activity is constituted by postures, and qualitatively different transitions, lead to, or away from, the goal.",
"Further, in the prior art articulatory phonology model all gestures produce constrictions in the vocal tract, albeit in varying degrees: closed, critical, narrow, open.",
"In contrast, in the present invention, gestural sequences or “gestural schemata”",
"are functionally differentiated into gestural schemata that cover whole syllables and produce harmonic sound components and gestural schemata that are exclusively executed at syllable edges and are responsible for the production of inharmonic sound components and the attenuation of harmonic ones.",
"In order to enable the present invention to cover the articulatory possibilities of all languages, the conventional coordinative structures of lips, tongue tip, tongue body, velum (together with nasal cavities) and glottis have been extended to include the orbicularis oris, tongue root, and oral platform.",
"The oral platform is defined as the parallel degree of lowering or raising of the jaw and the hyoid bone (based on Måns Eriksson definition) and is designated as a coordinative structure that produces only syllabic harmonic sound components.",
"A synsyllabic schema is defined as a set of stable postures and limited transitions that function as a matrix of passages and obstacles that, for the most part, filter harmonic sounds (for example, retracted or advanced tongue root, low, mid or high oral platform, rounded or extended orbicularis oris).",
"The source of the harmonic sound is an oscillating glottis with a constant fundamental frequency, or pitch (in the case of tonal languages there are at most three separate pitches).",
"The matrix of passages and obstacles functions as a set of diffraction factors that determine the acoustic spectral pattern that characterizes every syllable and that is called a “syllabic spectrum”",
"as explained below.",
"Every synsyllabic schema continues for as long as the whole syllable in which it is instantiated.",
"In other words, a synsyllabic schema must expand (or contract) to match the number of beats of the syllable in which it is instantiated.",
"As a consequence, syllables and synsyllabic schemata have the same number of maximum beats, which in spoken languages, may only reach up to fifteen.",
"To achieve this expandability/contractibility, the extension of simple gestures through time must be a recurrent property of synsyllabic schemata, that is, within a specific coordinative structure, a single posture expands through a variable number of beats, until the synsyllabic schema ends, or until such schema requires a change to another posture.",
"This expansion is achieved through a cognitive process called “continued activation”",
"(Mintz 2006 PhD dissertation) and is traditionally called “assimilation”",
"or “coarticulation”",
"of segments.",
"Additionally, a synsyllabic schema must occur by itself for at least one syllable beat, that is, with no concurrent syllable inharmonic sound producing gestures as defined below.",
"The beats during which the synsyllabic schema occurs by itself constitute the “nucleus”",
"of a syllable, and always instantiate a syllable diffracted frequency in its most purely harmonic manner (conventionally referred to as “vowel spectrographic formants”).",
"Therefore, a syllabic nucleus is acoustically defined as the set of beats in a syllable during which the syllable frequency is maximally harmonic (these are conventionally referred to as “nucleic syllable segments”",
"or “vowels”).",
"In all spoken languages, one beat syllabic nuclei are very frequent (conventional called “monophthongs”), three beat nuclei follow in frequency (conventionally called “diphthongs”) and two beat nuclei are rather infrequent (conventionally these are non existent as a grammatical category and may consist of glides followed by rounded back vowels, or vice-versa).",
"FIGS. 1A and 1B show an exemplary synsyllabic schema and syllabic nucleus for the syllable [lu] as pronounced, for example, in the Spanish word lucha (which translates to “fights”",
"in English).",
"In FIG. 1A , the horizontal axis represents time in seconds.",
"The upper portion 100 is an oscillogram of a speaker speaking the syllable and the vertical axis is intensity.",
"The second section 102 is graph of intensity or amplitude where the vertical scale is decibels.",
"The lower section 104 is a sonogram of the speaker where the vertical axis is frequency in Hertz.",
"The amplitude of a particular frequency at a particular time is represented by the gray scale color of each point in the image.",
"FIG. 1B is a chart of gestures showing the states of the coordinative structures during pronunciation of the syllable.",
"The chosen syllable has three beats indicated by the three rightmost columns in the chart (the first column represents the beginning of pronunciation and is not part of the syllable).",
"Each row of the chart represents one coordinative structure.",
"No symbol in a cell indicates that the coordinative structure of the corresponding row does not participate in the pronunciation of the syllable.",
"In each cell in the chart a “<”",
"symbol indicates that the coordinative structure represented by the row is progressing during the beat represented by the column from a rest state toward a state indicated in a following beat.",
"A “>”",
"symbol indicates that the coordinative structure is progressing from the state indicated in a preceding column to a rest state.",
"A “><”",
"symbol indicates a change in the coordinative structure, but not to a resting state.",
"Finally, a “ . . . ”",
"symbol indicates continued activation of the corresponding coordinative structure.",
"Using the definitions above, it can be seen that the synsyllabic schema of this syllable corresponds to the last four rows 106 since only the states in these rows continue for the entire duration of the syllable.",
"However, the syllabic nucleus corresponds only to the last beat represented by the rightmost column 108 because only at this point does the synsyllabic schema occur by itself.",
"The harmonic properties of the syllable can be observed throughout the graphic representations in FIG. 1A , the properties are stable in the first and third beats and change through the second beat.",
"Edge inharmonic gestures are defined as a conventional sequence of postures and transitions that add constrictions to the passages and obstacles determined by a concurrent synsyllabic schema.",
"As a result one of the following occurs: 1.",
"the added diffraction factors significantly attenuate the amplitude of the harmonic waves.",
"For example, a closed oral cavity with open nasal cavities produces “m”",
"or “n”",
"sounds and a narrow tongue tip-palatal constriction produces the retroflex English “r”, 2.",
"a wide range of acoustic frequencies is added through turbulence (tongue body-alveolar ridge critical constriction.",
"This occurs, for example in the “s”, “z”, or “sh”",
"postures, or 3.",
"the source of harmonic waves is completely eliminated, be it by full closure of air passages as in the “p”",
"or “t”",
"postures, by abducting the glottis as in “s”",
"or “sh”",
"postures or by both means.",
"As a whole, the result is a mostly inharmonic and an attenuated fragment of syllabic emission, with a diminished or no harmonic output present.",
"Each set of edge inharmonic gestures or “edge inharmonic schema”",
"incorporates a conventional set of diffraction factors that, when added to the diffraction factors of the accompanying synsyllabic harmonic gestures, will produce a conventional and predictable edge spectral pattern.",
"Further, every edge inharmonic schema instantiation must co-occur with a synsyllabic schema and every synsyllabic schema must expand beyond the scope of its accompanying edge inharmonic schema, and the edge inharmonic schema may never extend beyond six beats.",
"By definition, an edge inharmonic schema is aligned with one edge juncture of a syllable.",
"Either the synsyllabic schema and the edge inharmonic schema begin on the same posture that the synsyllabic schema does, or the edge inharmonic schema ends at the synsyllabic schema final posture, but the edge inharmonic schema may never coincide with both the start and end of the cross-syllable schema.",
"Therefore, there are two types of edge inharmonic schemas, each with slightly different constitutive properties.",
"An edge inharmonic schema that is synchronized with the beginning of a synsyllabic schema is defined as a syllable “onset schema”",
"(commonly referred to as a set of “syllable initial consonants”).",
"All the coordinative structures that are active on the first beat of a syllable onset schemata must have a given posture value, as part of a syllable-initial beat complex posture, and all these coordinative structures must come to a final transition before, or at the end of, their encompassing syllable onset schema.",
"From an acoustic perceptual perspective, the combination of a particular syllable onset schema with a specific synsyllabic schema will be instantiated by a characteristic combination of syllabic and transitional spectra (discussed below).",
"FIGS. 2A and 2B show an exemplary synsyllabic schema, syllabic nucleus and onset schema for the syllable [lo] as pronounced, for example, in the Spanish word aloca (which translates to “gets crazy”",
"in English).",
"FIG. 2A shows the same representation as shown in FIG. 1A : the upper portion 200 is an oscillogram of a speaker speaking the syllable, the second section 202 is graph of intensity or amplitude versus time and the lower section 204 is a sonogram of the speaker.",
"FIG. 2B , which is also similar to FIG. 1B , is a chart of gestures showing the states of the coordinative structures during pronunciation of the syllable.",
"The chosen syllable has three beats indicated by the three rightmost columns in the chart and each row of the chart represents one coordinative structure.",
"As shown in FIG. 2B , the synsyllabic schema of the selected syllable corresponds to the last three rows 206 and the syllabic nucleus corresponds only to the last beat represented by the rightmost column 208 .",
"The onset schema corresponds to the cells in the highlighted box 210 .",
"Corresponding to the onset schema, the left bands of frequencies on the sonogram 204 are attenuated, as compared to the following darker nucleic stable bands of frequencies.",
"An edge inharmonic schema that is aligned with the end of a synsyllabic schema is defined as a syllable “coda schema”",
"(commonly known as a set of “syllable final consonants”).",
"All the coordinative structures participating in a coda schema must begin with their respective initial transitions, and all those that end at the syllable's final beat must end at a given posture, within a syllable-final one beat complex posture.",
"From an acoustic perceptual perspective, the combination of a particular syllable coda schema with a specific synsyllabic schema will also be instantiated by a characteristic combination of syllabic and transitional spectra (discussed below).",
"The above categories can be combined so that speech gestural categories are modeled as sound diffraction factors, and their interaction is systematically correlated with speech spectrum categories by a technique called “speech spectroscopy.”",
"This technique allows the cognitive integration of speech motor categories and speech sensory categories, in a holistic model.",
"Speech spectroscopy is described below.",
"An obstacle to be overcome by this technique is the ongoing change of spectra produced by the word order and intonation caused by unfolding speech with a particular combination of words.",
"The key to resolving this change is the adequate and exhaustive segmentation of syllable beats.",
"During speech, postures occur as non-changing spectra, and therefore can be recognized by spectral analysis.",
"However, transitions and their intrinsically changing properties are determined by their contiguous postures and thus differ depending on the exact speech pattern.",
"Nevertheless, when transitions are properly segmented and contextualized, their relevant transient properties become understandable and identifiable.",
"The first step in this process is to determine the relevant postures and transitions.",
"Postures and transitions can be recognized and determined from speech acoustic representations (such as oscillographic, numeric, or spectrographic representations) by applying the analytical categories that follow, and by following the corresponding procedures outlined after them.",
"As previously mentioned, a conceived time for each beat serves as a focal reference for the synchronization of the coordinative structures that produce that beat, with its specifically instantiated posture or transition.",
"Due to its complexity, the unfolding of every complex posture or transition during a beat attracts the focused attention of the subject (speaker or hearer).",
"Additionally, as a sequence of beats is produced, the beats compete for the subject's attention and, following a basic cognitive principle of perceptual organization, one beat will always attract more attention than the other.",
"Further, an integrated pair of beats, called a “beat complex”, will compete for attention with a following beat or beat complex, thus determining the next level in an increasingly complex pattern of attention management, hereafter referred to as a “prominence scale.”",
"In other words, a prominence scale (or simply scale) represents a cognitive process of attention management through sensory-motor coordination and is capable of modeling the perception of rhythm in human natural languages.",
"In all human natural languages, prominence scales have three levels of complexity: syllable scales, word scales, and utterance scales.",
"The units of these scales are observable and measurable, because conceived times run parallel to the degree of committed attention, and both determine the execution time of beats within syllables, syllables within words, and words within utterances.",
"Beat prominence (P b ) may be experimentally measured and is calculated as the multiplication of beat time duration (t) by beat mean intensity (i): P b =t×i With this definition, transitions leading from the final posture of one syllable to the initial posture of a following syllable, called “inter-syllabic transitional beats”",
"are defined as having a zero prominence.",
"Although these inter-syllabic transitional beats are indispensable in between syllables, they are always predictable by their syllabic context, and may be deleted from speech representations without perceptible consequences.",
"As subjects perceive, produce, and compare the syllables of a language, they internally categorize the corresponding onset, syllabic nucleus and coda schemata and the integration of these schemata determine the complex prominence scale of every instantiated syllable and account for its characteristic rhythmic pattern.",
"The central beat of a syllable nucleus is always its most prominent one, the peak of the syllable prominence scale and the one with the highest P b value.",
"When such nuclei are composed of three beats, the central transitional beat is usually the most prominent one (three beat nuclei are commonly referred to as diphthongs, with a heavy two syllable nucleus).",
"An exemplary syllable prominence scale is represented by the numbers in line 212 of FIG. 2B .",
"Similarly, as subjects perceive and produce words, they also learn and categorize control patterns of syllable-focused attention through which the syllables forming the words are integrated.",
"The syllables in a word are integrated with a prominence scale called a “word scale.”",
"In a word scale, the prominence of each syllable (P s ) is calculated as the sum of the beat prominences of the component beats of the syllable (P b1 , P b2 .",
"P bn ), divided by the total number of Beats in the syllable(n): P s =( P b1 +P b2 + .",
"+P bn )/ n The stress patterns that characterize the integration of syllables in any word of any language, all abide by this prominence scale which in turn administers a subject's attention through syllable coordination.",
"In addition to operating on a time dimension, this scale follows a set of language universal principles.",
"Each word scale has a syllable that occupies the peak of the scale, having the highest P s within the word.",
"There is a gradual ascent in syllable prominence towards stressed (peak prominence) syllables.",
"In particular, the degree of syllabic prominence will go one level up with every consecutive syllable, gradually increasing until a syllable with a primary (figure) or secondary stress (figure) is reached.",
"This principle implies that syllables in between two encompassing stressed syllables will always gradually increase towards the last one or gradually decrease until the end of the word or another conventionally located stress (primary or secondary) is encountered.",
"Similarly, there is a gradual descent in prominence levels following initial single primary stressed syllables.",
"The degree of syllabic prominence will go one level down with every consecutive syllable, departing from an initial primary stress and gradually decreasing until the last syllable of the word is reached.",
"Further, when a stressed syllable functions as the profile determinant of at least one preceding syllable, the syllable immediately following it will go down two levels and initiate a gradual descent until the word's final syllable.",
"In addition, words may have a second syllabic figure or stress.",
"It is characterized by having a prominence one level below that of the primary stressed syllable and a placement that is not determined by the principle of gradual ascent towards the most prominent syllable.",
"This cognitively motivated principle seems to account for well documented cases of final syllable weakening and eventual coda or syllable loss.",
"As proposed, this principle implies that the tendency to postpone syllabic profile determination towards the end of words might help to administer articulatory and perceptual attention in order to foster the preservation of the initial most informative sequence of syllables, but at the expense of decreased availability of attention for the syllables that follow the latter sequence.",
"These principles can be incorporated in a process of word identification, through storing and searching of primary and secondary stresses, and their concomitant probabilities of prominence scale sequencing.",
"In a word synthesis process these principles are indispensable for adequate algorithmic rhythm modeling.",
"Because each word has a characteristic rhythm for a given language, for each word, an array of the syllables included in the word together with the word scale and the written representation of the word can be stored in a word database and used, as discussed below, to identify words in an utterance.",
"The word database can be accessed by the syllables and word scale (for speech recognition) of by the written word representation (for speech synthesis).",
"In a like manner, as subjects perceive and produce utterances, they also learn and categorize scales through which the words composing the utterance are integrated, following patterns for the control of word-focused attention.",
"These scales are called “utterance scales”",
"and account for the characteristic rhythm of utterances.",
"In an utterance scale, word prominence (P w ) is calculated as the sum of the syllable prominences of the syllables (P s1 , P s2 .",
"P sn ) composing a word, divided by the total number of syllables in the word (n): P w =( P s1 +P s2 + .",
"+P sn )/ n Utterance scales always have one word that functions as a peak, with the highest P w value, constituting the utterance's primary figure.",
"Additionally, utterances may have a secondary figure or degree of prominence in yet another word, which may not be contiguous to the primary figure, and will constitute a secondary figure, by virtue of having the second highest P w value.",
"The rest of the words in an utterance will constitute a “ground”",
"of the primary and secondary figures, and will gradually decrease in prominence as they depart from them, or vice-versa, will gradually increase in prominence as they approach them.",
"Therefore, when a primary and a secondary figure concur in an utterance scale, the scale values in between the primary and secondary figure will predictably be shaped as a valley.",
"FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate syllable scales and word scales for the Spanish word injuria (which translates to “insult”",
"in English).",
"As with FIGS. 1A and 1B and 2A and 2B , in FIG. 3A , the upper portion 300 is an oscillogram of a speaker speaking the word, the second section 302 is graph of intensity or amplitude versus time and the lower section 304 is a sonogram of the speaker.",
"FIG. 3B , which is also similar to FIGS. 1B and 2B , is a chart of gestures showing the states of the coordinative structures during pronunciation of the word.",
"The corresponding edge schemata are shown in boxes 306 , 308 and 310 .",
"The synsyllabic schemata and a final three beat syllabic nucleus (commonly referred to as a “diphthong”) are also shown.",
"The beat durations (t) are shown in row 312 and the word scale and syllable scale are represented as the integers in rows 314 and 316 , respectively.",
"Although syllable scales, word scales, and utterance scales can account for the overall rhythm and flow of speech, the specifics of anatomical dimensions and functional potentials for every coordinative structure will vary by subject, and by every spoken utterance.",
"Other conditioning factors, such as bodily posture and proportion, emotional states, etc.",
"also affect speech patterns.",
"In addition, as the prominence scale values change, their corresponding mean intensities modify the frequencies of the uttered waves.",
"Therefore, a technique is needed to filter out these idiosyncrasies so that the linguistic arrangements of frequencies that constitute a normalized spectrum can be identified.",
"This technique involves two steps: one for identifying the most prominent frequencies and a second to normalize these prominent frequencies as explained below.",
"Within every complex sound wave, the component sine waves will vary in amplitude and frequency.",
"Some frequency waves will have a lower intensity as measured by smaller amplitudes, and will therefore remain in the perceptual base, as “base waves.”",
"These background signals remain informative, revealing things such as the subject's probable age, sex, body size, identity, emotional state, surrounding noisy events, etc.",
"but, more importantly, they facilitate the detection of louder and linguistically more important waves.",
"In particular, for the purpose of syllable identification, the acoustic waves with the larger amplitude will stand out and will attract most of the subject's attention by virtue of being systematically linked to the gestural schema that produces them.",
"Therefore, for any given acoustic spectrum, the n waves with the highest intensity (as measured by the largest amplitude), called “profiled waves”, are designated as W n , and their amplitudes as A n .",
"The n profiled waves (W n ) are those waves having amplitudes which exceed an amplitude threshold (T) that is defined by: A n >T∀n For example, one suitable threshold T is the mean amplitude of all of the waves in the acoustic spectrum.",
"Profiled waves are usually thought of as vowel formants, but they are likewise present as components of inharmonic spectra.",
"This is shown in FIG. 4 , which is the oscillogram representation of the Spanish Syllable lu (from the word lucha) taken from section 102 of FIG. 1A .",
"The profiled waves that are traditionally considered vowel formants correspond to the series of darkest sections of consecutive pulses within the rightmost column 400 only.",
"However, profiled waves also correspond to synsyllabic schemata that run throughout the syllable, and change as such schemata intersect with specific edge schemata, as in the postural and transitional beats of the onset schema shown in FIG. 4 .",
"Here they correspond to the “l”",
"in the syllable “lu”",
"and occur in the time period from 0.186 (line 402 ) to 0.278 milliseconds (line 404 ).",
"Profiled waves are always perceived as regions of coalescing waves in a given frequency band, rather than as a sum of pure tones.",
"These acoustic regions of coalescing waves constitute a set of frequencies that may be referred to as “posture spectra”, and are cognitive categories spoken by all the speakers of a specific linguistic community.",
"Every posture spectra corresponds to a specific postural schema and has three identifying attributes: a) it is either harmonic or inharmonic, b) it has a typical bandwidth that is defined by a high bounding frequency and a low bounding frequency, and, c) it has a predictable deviation factor that allows posture spectra that correspond to the same postural schemata, but have different bounding frequencies, to be correlated.",
"The bounding frequencies of acoustic regions are obtained by comparing the highest and lowest frequencies shared by all the profiled waves of those acoustic regions, for example, by comparing the spectrographs of a sample of equivalent postural schemata.",
"For example, the Mexican Spanish posture composed of a critical approach of the tongue body towards an alveolar loci, as accompanied by the abduction of the Glottis, is illustrated in FIG. 5 .",
"The twenty-six spectrographic beats shown in the figure correspond to the postures roughly represented by the underlined letters of the following written Spanish words: 1) de s arrollemos, 2) juda s , 3) enla z a, 4) toda s , 5) naturale z a, 6) e s tá, 7) s ervicio, 8) labore s , 9) de s nuca, 10) s eguimos, 11) s emana, 12) come s , 13) servi c io, 14) análisi s , 15) e x igimos, 16) mú s ica, 17) abu s a, 18) comemo s , 19) desarrollamo s , 20) dejamo s , 21) fallamo s , 22) dolo s a, 23) fallemos, 24) hallamo s , 25) recibimo s and 26) dirigimo s .",
"As shown in FIG. 5 , the high bounding frequencies of all the illustrated onset and coda schemata is around the 9,000 Hz.",
"However, the first fifteen postures correspond to onset and coda schemata instantiated within synsyllabic schemata usually represented by the letters a, e and i, and therefore have distinctive 6,000 Hz low bounding frequencies illustrated by line 502 , whereas the remaining onset and coda schemata are instantiated within synsyllabic schemata usually represented by the letters u and o and, as a consequence, have 4,250 Hz low bounding frequencies illustrated by line 504 .",
"The low bounding frequencies illustrated by line 504 are caused by a widened resonating oral cavity, as configured by the scope of the instantiated synsyllabic schemata, with a retracted tongue root, as well as rounded and protruded lips (notice that the low bounding frequency of the “s”",
"in música indicates that it has been unconventionally integrated as a coda schema of the stressed syllable mús).",
"The same procedure can be applied for the recognition of harmonic syllabic nuclei (vowels), as exemplified in FIGS. 6 and 7 , both corresponding to a synsyllabic schemata that is commonly represented, in Spanish, by the letter i. FIG. 6 shows spectrographic beats that correspond to the postures roughly represented by the underlined i in the following eleven words, as uttered by a single Spanish speaking adult male: 1) recib i mos, 2) serv i cio, 3) segu i mos, 4) all í está, 5) call i to, 6) gall i na, 7) sal i da, 8) am i go, 9) cam i no, 10) fam i lia and 11) conten i do.",
"This harmonic posture spectrum is characterized by a well defined low bounding frequency at 2,000 Hz (illustrated as line 600 ) and a well-defined high bounding frequency at 4,500 Hz (illustrated as line 602 ).",
"FIG. 7 shows spectrographic beats that correspond to the postures roughly represented by the underlined i in the same words as in FIG. 6 , as uttered by a single Spanish speaking adult female: 1) recib i mos, 2) serv i cio, 3) segu i mos, 4) all í está, 5) call i to, 6) gall i na, 7) sal i da, 8) am i go, 9) cam i no, 10) fam i lia and 11) conten i do.",
"FIG. 7 thus contains an equivalent posture spectrum, but has a low bounding frequency of 2,500 Hz (illustrated as line 700 ) and a high bounding frequency of 5,250 Hz (illustrated by line 702 ).",
"Yet, most speakers (and analysts) would recognize both posture spectra as examples of an “i like”",
"posture.",
"The differing bounding frequencies characterizing a single posture spectrum can be rescaled by a factor which depends on the perceived pitch of the speaker.",
"The male uttering the sampled words of FIG. 6 has a mean pitch of 128 Hz, whereas the words uttered by the female in FIG. 7 have a mean pitch of 198 Hz.",
"The division of the female bounding frequencies by their corresponding mean pitch gives the following rounded results: 5,250/198=26.5 2,500/198=12.6 and the division of the male bounding frequencies by their corresponding mean pitch gives the following rounded results: 4,500/128=35.1 2,000/128=15.6 These differing resealed bounding frequencies characterizing a single posture spectrum can be made comparable by resealing them by an additional deviation factor, which is predominantly determined by the body proportions of the speakers (as instantiated by their vocal and auditory organs).",
"Since pitch and body proportions are generally highly correlated, this deviation factor can be determined from measurements of speech acoustic data.",
"In particular, by determining the bounding frequencies outlined above with respect to FIGS. 6 and 7 for a variety of subjects, a set of deviation factors can be determined by regression analysis.",
"This analysis results in a linguistic perception curve similar to that shown in FIG. 8B in which the vertical scale is mean pitch and the horizontal scale is the deviation factor.",
"Using this curve, it can be seen that it is necessary to rescale the male pitch by an additional deviation factor of 1.3: 4,500/(128*1.3)=27.0 2,000/(128*1.3)=12.0 This leads to quite similar proportional representations for the two sets of bounding frequencies, as part of a single posture spectrum that corresponds to the normal perception of their generic “i”",
"identity: Female i pitch proportion 26.5/12.6 Male i rescaled pitch proportion 27.0/12.0 Therefore, each posture schema for a particular language can be represented by the upper and lower bounding frequencies of profiled waves in the corresponding posture spectrum.",
"The frequencies can be determined by examining, for example, spectrographs of different speakers, such as those shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 to determine the bounding frequencies.",
"These frequencies are then “normalized”",
"by dividing them by the mean pitch of the waves in each spectrographic beat and applying the deviation factor shown in FIG. 8B .",
"When postures change, one or more of the coordinative structures that participate in a transition must undergo conventionally significant changes, by definition, as determined by the adjacent postures, this causes the bounding frequencies to change leading from the bounding frequencies of one posture, to those of the following one.",
"The directionality and predictability of the properties of these acoustic changes or transitional linguistic spectra vary, depending on the nature of the motor activity that produces them.",
"In some cases, the changes in motor activity occur gradually, as part of carefully controlled contractions of the speaker's agonist and antagonist muscles.",
"As a consequence, the bounding frequencies will increase or decrease at a steady pace, as part of a characteristic linguistic shifting spectra.",
"Although linguistic shifting spectra may occupy the lowest positions in syllabic scales, whenever a transition has a beat prominence larger than one or both of its neighboring postures it will necessarily be a shifting linguistic spectrum.",
"This is illustrated in FIG. 8A which shows a transitional spectrum (between lines 800 and 802 ) at the centre of the diphthong syllable [ria], in an instantiation of the Spanish word injuria (illustrated in FIG. 3A ).",
"Whereas the lowest and highest profiled waves slightly increase their frequencies (F 0 and F 3 ), in the mid range, the second and third profiled waves steadily go down (F 1 and F 2 ).",
"Other changes in motor activity also occur gradually, as part of carefully controlled contractions of the agonist and antagonist muscles.",
"However, their changing bounding frequencies increase or decrease by steps, leading to characteristic linguistic scaffolded spectra.",
"Unlike shifting spectra, scaffolded spectra may never function as syllabic nuclei, that is, they may never assume the peak of the syllabic prominence scale.",
"When changes in motor activity occur as fast as possible, they result in sudden muscular contractions, or “plosions”, with an internal timing that is perceived by a speaker or listener as punctual and practically instantaneous.",
"As a consequence, only transient profiled waves and bounding frequencies may be identified, if any are identified at all.",
"The actual duration of such transient spectra will tend to be minimal, and they will always occupy the lowest positions in the syllabic scale.",
"This is illustrated in FIG. 9 which between lines 900 and 902 shows a transitional spectrum between the characteristic initial and final postures of the syllable [ta], in an instantiation of the Spanish Word mota, which translates to the English word “pot.”",
"These changing posture bounding frequencies along with the bounding frequencies for posture schemas are then used to construct syllable arrays.",
"Each syllable array contains the normalized bounding frequencies corresponding to the onset schemata, the synsyllabic schemata and the coda schemata for the syllable along with the appropriate beat prominence scale.",
"The syllable arrays are then stored in a syllable database.",
"Also stored with each syllable array is an indication of with the corresponding language and a written representation of the syllable in that language (called a “tag”).",
"The syllable database can be accessed either by the bounding frequencies (for speech recognition) or by the tag (for speech synthesis).",
"As syllables are instantiated, they are concatenated into words, and, in turn, into utterances, and their instantiations follow a process of rhythmic integration (similar, for example, to a musical reinterpretation), such that the fluency of the ongoing production is, at once, enhanced and simplified.",
"In particular, correspondences are systematically established between the coda and onset schemata of contiguous syllables, and processes of reinterpretation are regularly triggered, such that the gestures of such syllables overlap.",
"This overlap can take several forms: 1.",
"some onset gestures are anticipated, and included within the preceding syllable coda (traditionally known as “regressive assimilation”",
"of segments).",
"other coda gestures are expanded into the following syllable onset (traditionally known as “progressive assimilation”",
"of segments).",
"The synsyllabic gestures of an onset-less syllable are anticipated and encompass the edge-syllabic gestures of a preceding syllable, thereby converting a schema that was originally a coda schema into a fused onset schema.",
"The synsyllabic gestures of a syllable may also be anticipated if neighboring coda and onset gestures are perceived as sufficiently similar, causing the coda and onset gestures to blend into a single onset schema.",
"In addition, if the nuclei of contiguous syllables lack any intervening coda or onset schemata, their rhythmic integration will regularly lead to full syllable blends.",
"Correspondences are systematically established between the adjacent nuclei, and processes of reinterpretation are regularly triggered in a speaker, such that the synsyllabic schemata of these syllables blend in some of the following ways: 1.",
"The inter-syllabic transition becomes very prominent (with an increased syllable prominence (P b ), and functions as the central beat of a three beat nuclei, at the center of a novel single blended syllable (with a two vowel “diphthong”",
"nucleus).",
"The previously separated synsyllabic schemata become components of a single compounded synsyllabic schema.",
"If the adjacent syllabic nuclei are not the same, one may swallow the other, or they may lead to the instantiation of a third synsyllabic schema, which results from a partial combination of both.",
"If the adjacent syllabic nuclei are the same, they will fuse and become indistinguishable.",
"In order to account for syllable blending, it is also necessary to store in the aforementioned syllable database an array for each spectrum produced by syllable blending.",
"Each array includes the upper and lower bounding frequencies of either the onset spectrum or coda spectrum that results from the blending and the upper and lower bounding frequencies of the coda spectrum and onset spectrum that produce the blending.",
"Similarly, to account for synsyllabic schemata blending, an array of the resulting bounding frequencies and the bounding frequencies of the corresponding two posture spectra that produce the blending is also stored.",
"When a syllable overlap occurs at the juncture of two words, a word blend occurs, and the canonical shape of the participating words becomes significantly blurred, since one word loses a syllable at its edge, and the other word assumes a more complex syllable.",
"When such a syllable blend happens in between two mono-syllabic words, the result is a complete fusion of the adjacent words into a single one, or a word blend (often referred to as a “word contraction”—“you all”",
"vis-à-vis “y'all”—).",
"In order to account for word blending, a word blending list of all the possible forms each modified word or contracted word may assume and the two words that produced the modification or contraction is also created and stored.",
"In this list the modified or contracted word and the two original words that produced the contraction are stored along with each word represented by a corresponding array of syllables and a word scale.",
"These processes of syllable blending and word blending will be blocked when the attention of the speaker or listener is concentrated on either of the adjacent syllables or words, that is, when the pertinent prominence scale is manipulated, so that one of the neighboring syllable or word prominence scales (P s or P w ) is increased (by virtue of being “stressed”",
"or a “focalized”",
"intonation).",
"As a consequence, the corresponding syllable or word will be fully and carefully articulated.",
"Likewise, these prominence scale manipulations are willingly triggered, for more or less conventional reasons, but always for meaningful (semantic or pragmatic) purposes.",
"In accordance with one embodiment, the processes and techniques described above may be used in an illustrative speech recognition process that is shown in FIGS. 10, 12A and 12B .",
"As an input this process receives an electronic analog waveform that represents the speech.",
"The waveform is processed, utterance by utterance, by periodically sampling the electronic waveform for each utterance.",
"The process begins in step 1000 and proceeds to step 1002 where a check is made to determine if the end of the utterance being processed has been reached.",
"If not, the process proceeds to step 1006 in which the next sample of the acoustic waveform is obtained.",
"Then, in step 1008 , the sample is frequency processed to extract a set of sinusoidal waves from the sample.",
"Next, in step 1010 , the mean amplitude of the sinusoidal waves is calculated.",
"In step 1012 , profiled waves are extracted from the set of sinusoidal waves by processing each sinusoidal wave with a well-known device, such as a noise gate with hysteresis implemented either in software or hardware.",
"The operation of such a device is shown in FIG. 11 .",
"An input waveform 1104 is provided to the device.",
"The device output 1106 is initially zero.",
"When the input waveform 1104 rises above an open threshold 1100 , the gate opens and the device output 1106 follows the input waveform 1104 .",
"This continues until the input waveform 1104 falls below a close threshold 1102 at which point the output drops to zero.",
"The close threshold 1102 is set here to the mean amplitude calculated in step 1010 and the open threshold 1100 is set slightly higher.",
"In step 1014 , the normalized bounding frequencies of the profiled waves are determined.",
"As discussed above, the upper and lower bounding frequencies of the profiled waves are first determined from the set of profiled waves.",
"Then, the mean pitch of the profiled waves is calculated.",
"The upper and lower bounding frequencies are then divided by the mean pitch and corrected using the deviation factor shown in FIG. 8B .",
"In step 1016 , the normalized bounding frequencies and mean amplitude of the profiled waves in the sample being processed are stored in an array.",
"The process then proceeds back to step 1002 where it is determined whether processing of the utterance is finished.",
"If not, the next sample is obtained in step 1006 and the process is repeated.",
"Alternatively, if in step 1002 , it is determined that the end of the utterance has been reached, then the process ends in step 1004 .",
"FIGS. 12A and 12B , when placed together, form a flow chart showing the further processing of the profiled wave arrays that are constructed by the process shown in FIG. 10 .",
"This process begins in step 1200 and proceeds to step 1202 where the arrays are retrieved and arrays adjacent in time are compared.",
"Contiguous arrays whose upper and lower bounding frequencies are substantially the same are grouped together in step 1204 and the group is designated as a posture spectrum.",
"Interspersed among the posture spectra identified in step 1204 , the remaining series of changing arrays are grouped in step 1206 .",
"Based on the characteristics of the changing frequencies, each group is classified as a shifting spectrum, a scaffolded spectrum or a transient spectrum in accordance with the definitions above.",
"Next syllabic blends are taken into account in step 1208 .",
"This is done by scanning the set of posture and changing spectra for characteristic spectra that indicate a syllabic blend has occurred and each of which was previously stored in the syllable database, as mentioned above.",
"If a characteristic blending spectrum is located, the group corresponding to the blending spectrum is replaced in the set of spectra by the two posture spectra or changing spectra that resulted in the blend and that are stored in the syllable database along with the blended spectrum.",
"In step 1210 the beat prominences of the spectra groups are calculated by averaging the mean amplitudes stored in the contiguous arrays and using the average as the mean intensity.",
"This processing produces a set of posture spectra interspersed with changing spectra with each posture spectrum and changing spectrum having a calculated beat prominence.",
"In step 1212 , the set of posture and changing spectra along with their beat prominences are matched to the syllable arrays stored in the syllable database as described above to identify syllables.",
"For the first syllable, this process proceeds by selecting a minimum sequence (determined by the language) of posture and changing spectra from the set starting from the spectrum that begins the utterance.",
"The bounding frequency values and beat prominences in this sequence are then compared against the equivalent values in the stored syllable arrays.",
"This could be a direct comparison or the sequence could be used as a key into a database.",
"If no match is found, the next changing spectrum (if present) and posture spectrum from the spectra set is added to the right end of the sequence and the matching process repeated.",
"This routine is repeated until a syllable is identified, from its initial to its final posture spectrum and characteristic beat prominence scale.",
"In some cases, after this process produces a match with a syllable that has a final nucleus, a following transitional spectrum is left stranded at the end of the utterance, or as un-attachable to a following syllable with an onset of its own.",
"This transitional spectrum is re-examined and, if it is a coda spectrum it is added to the right end of the sequence and the process is repeated.",
"As a syllable is identified, its written tag (or in some cases where there is ambiguity, the written tag plus alternative tags) stored in the syllable database with the syllable array is appended to an utterance buffer, according to the conventions of the output required by the pertinent writing system.",
"Also, the syllable prominence is calculated in accordance with the formula discussed above and added to the utterance buffer in association with the tag.",
"Alternatively, if no syllable is identified during this process accurate onset, nucleus, and coda schemata are still obtained and may be used to update the syllable database.",
"The process then proceeds, via off-page connectors 1214 and 1218 to step 1222 where a check is then to determine whether the end of the spectra set has been reached.",
"If it is determined in step 1222 that the end of the spectra set has not been reached, then, in step 1224 , the changing spectrum following the posture spectrum ending the syllable is skipped and the process returns, via off-page connectors 1220 and 1216 to step 1212 to process the next syllable.",
"For syllables following the first syllable, this process proceeds by again selecting a minimum sequence of posture and changing spectra from the set starting from the posture spectrum following the changing spectrum skipped in step 1224 .",
"Operation continues in this manner with steps 1212 , 1222 and 1224 being sequentially executed until the end of the spectra set is reached as determined in step 1222 .",
"The process then proceeds to step 1226 where word blending is processed.",
"In this process, the utterance buffer is scanned for modified and contracted words using the list of syllables and word scales previously stored for such words in the word blending list.",
"If a modified or contracted word is located, the syllables and corresponding word scale associated with it are replaced by the syllables and corresponding scales of the two words that produced the modification or contraction.",
"Next, in step 1228 , the inventory of word syllable/word scale arrays previously stored in the word database is matched against the syllables and syllable prominence values in the utterance buffer.",
"For the first word, this process proceeds by selecting a minimum sequence (determined by the language) of syllables from the utterance buffer starting from with the syllable that begins the utterance.",
"The word scale is then computed from the syllable prominence values stored with the syllables and the syllables and word scale for this sequence are then compared against the equivalent values in the word arrays stored in the word database (as before either as a direct comparison or by using the sequence as a key).",
"If no match is found, the next syllable from the utterance buffer is added to the right end of the sequence, the word prominence recalculated and the matching process repeated.",
"This routine is repeated until a word is identified, from its syllables and characteristic word scale.",
"When a match is found, the written word from the matching word array is appended to an output buffer along with the calculated word scale.",
"Alternatively, if no word is identified during this process an accurate syllable sequence and prominence scale are still obtained and may be used to update the word database.",
"The process then proceeds to step 1230 where a determination is made whether the end of the utterance buffer has been reached.",
"If it is determined in step 1230 that the end of the utterance buffer has not been reached, then the process returns to step 1228 to process the next word.",
"For words following the first word, this process proceeds by again selecting a minimum sequence of syllables from the utterance buffer starting from the syllable following the last syllable in the previously-identified word.",
"Operation continues in this manner with steps 1228 and 1230 being sequentially executed until the end of the utterance buffer is reached as determined in step 1230 .",
"The process then proceeds to step 1232 where the utterance scale of the identified words in the output buffer is calculated from the word scales stored in the output buffer in accordance with the formula set forth above.",
"The calculated utterance scale is then matched against a matrix of intonational patterns, allowing an identification of the type of utterance (interrogative, imperative, etc.).",
"Alternatively, if no utterance is identified during this process an accurate word sequence and prominence scale are still obtained and may be used to update the matrix.",
"In step 1234 , the written words in the output buffer are adjusted accordingly, accompanied by the additional characters that may be pertinent, if any.",
"The process then finishes in step 1236 .",
"An illustrative process for speech synthesis is shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B , when placed together.",
"This process synthesizes speech from a text excerpt stored in a conventional electronic text file.",
"The process begins in step 1300 and proceeds to step 1302 where parameters indicating the language and the writing system of the text excerpt are received by the system.",
"Next, in step 1304 , a determination is made whether the entire text excerpt has been processed.",
"If it has not, the process proceeds to step 1308 where the next complete written utterance is selected from the text excerpt as determined by the conventions of the selected written language and stored in a text buffer.",
"For example, the utterance might be a sentence as delineated by a punctuation character, such as a period.",
"Next, in step 1310 , the next written word is selected from the word buffer.",
"This may be done in a conventional manner by examining the word buffer for “stop”",
"characters, such as spaces, commas, colons and semicolons that delineate the words.",
"The selected word is then used to access the aforementioned word blending list to determine if it is a modified or contracted word.",
"If the word is not a modified or contracted word it is used to access the word database to retrieve its corresponding syllables and word scale.",
"Alternatively, if the selected word is a modified or contracted word, the syllable schemata and word scales of the two associated words are retrieved from the word blending list.",
"In step 1312 , the retrieved syllable schemata and word scale(s) are appended to the end of the utterance buffer.",
"A check is then made in step 1314 whether the end of the text buffer has been reached.",
"If not, the process proceeds back to step 1310 where the next word in the text buffer is selected for processing.",
"Processing proceeds in this manner with steps 1310 , 1312 and 1314 being repeated until it is determined in step 1314 that the end of the text buffer has been reached.",
"The process then proceeds, via off-page connectors 1318 and 1322 to step 1324 where one or two words are identified with the primary and secondary figures of the utterance.",
"The location within the utterance of these words may be inferred from text characters that identify an utterance type, or intonational pattern (such as question marks, interrogation marks, commas, etc.) or the utterance scale may be stipulated in advance.",
"Then, in step 1326 , the syllable schemata at the end of each word and the beginning of the next word are used to access the syllable database to determine whether syllabic blending is triggered.",
"If the two syllabic schemata and accompanying word scales are found in the syllable database, they are replaced by the associated blended syllable schemata and word scale.",
"The words identified in step 1324 as the primary and secondary figures above block or limit these blending processes, as described above.",
"In step 1328 , the resulting sequence of syllables is used to access the syllable database and retrieve the upper and lower bounding frequencies for each syllable and the corresponding syllable scale.",
"The upper and lower bounding frequencies can be scaled as desired by changing the means pitch and using the deviation curve shown in FIG. 8B if the speech is to be identified with a desired gender, body type etc.",
"In step 1330 , a set of electronic waves are generated a frequency synthesizer for each harmonic posture.",
"These electronic waves have frequencies that lie between upper and lower bounding frequencies and are generated with a pseudo-harmonic repetitive patterns.",
"For each inharmonic posture, set of electronic waves are generated with a frequency synthesizer with frequencies that lie between upper and lower bounding frequencies and simulate white noise.",
"For postures that correspond to voiced fricatives or nasals the synthesized waves can be a mixture of pseudo-harmonic repetitive patterns and noise.",
"In step 1332 , the relative amplitudes of the waves are adjusted for each syllable in accordance with the syllable scale retrieved for that syllable and, in step 1334 , the amplitudes are further adjusted in accordance with the retrieved word scales.",
"Finally, processing of the utterance is completed in step 1336 by adjusting the electronic wave amplitudes in accordance with the utterance scale for the utterance.",
"The process then returns via off-page connectors 1320 and 1316 to step 1304 to determine whether the entire text excerpt has been processed.",
"If not then the process continues by selecting the next utterance in step 1308 and performing steps 1310 - 1336 on the newly selected utterance.",
"When the entire text excerpt has been processed as determined in step 1304 , the process finishes in step 1306 .",
"The resulting electronic waveform can then be played through a conventional sound reproduction system to generate the synthesized speech.",
"Both the speech recognition process illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 12A and 12B and the speech synthesis process illustrated in FIGS. 13A and 13B can be implemented by software in a conventional digital computer.",
"Alternatively, these processes may be implemented in firmware or hardware in a convention fashion.",
"While the invention has been shown and described with reference to a number of embodiments thereof, it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a cylindrical electrolysis cell assembly for producing simultaneously a diluted Sodium Hydroxide and diluted Hypochlorous Acid solution for usage as cleaning and sanitizing solutions by electrolysis of an aqueous saline solution. The method comprising a cathode chamber, an electrolyte chamber and an anode chamber separated by two cylindrical diaphragms to prevent presence of salt residues in the cleaning and sanitizing solutions and whereas pH and free available chlorine content of the sanitizing solution can be altered.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Electrolysis cells are used for the production of cleaning and sanitizing solutions from brine. Also, electrolysis cells are used to produce a sanitizing solution to disinfect water or other media. Many types of electrolysis cells exist for these purposes. The basic feature of these cells is two concentrically disposed cylindrical electrodes with a diaphragm separating the space between the two electrodes to define anode and cathode compartments. An electrolyte, such as brine, is passed through the anode and cathode compartments, separately or successively. When brine is electrolyzed in this way, under suitable conditions, it can produce a cleaning and sanitizing solution of high strength and long shelf life, which is ecologically and human friendly.
[0003] Typically an electrolyte solution is passed through the anode and cathode chambers separately to produce a diluted Hypochlorous Acid solution as a sanitizing solution and a diluted Sodium Hydroxide solution as a cleaning solution. Alternatively, neutral sanitizing solutions can be produced when an electrolyte is passed through the anode and cathode chambers successively.
[0004] The diaphragm is either made of a permeable ceramic or an ion-exchange membrane. The diaphragm permits the diffusion of electrolytes between the anode and cathode but retard the migration of electrolysis products at the anode and cathode from diffusing to each other reverting back to starting material or undesired side products.
[0005] Acidic sanitizing solutions are generated by passing saline through an electrolytic cell comprising an anode chamber, a cathode chamber, and a separator. The result contains free available chlorine (FAC) in the form of a mixture of oxidizing species, predominantly Hypochlorous Acid (HOCl) and sodium hypochlorite, and is characterized by its pH, FAC content, and redox level. Such reactive species have a finite life and so, while the pH of the solution will usually stay constant over time, its biocide efficacy will decrease with age. Electrolysis cells either comprise cylindrical electrodes plus one cylindrical ceramic diaphragm or electrolysis cells comprise plate electrodes plus one ion permeable sheet of membrane as separator.
[0006] Usage of insoluble ion permeable membranes or ceramic diaphragms between the electrodes have been described for more than 100 years as, for example, that described in U.S. Pat. No. 590,826. U.S. Pat. No. 914,856 describes a cell which permits the flow of electrolyte solutions separately through the anode and cathode compartments using concentric cylindrical electrodes with an ion permeable diaphragm.
[0007] The three-chamber cell has the following merits. Reductive species such as dissolved hydrogen gas produced in the cathode chamber are likely to migrate into the anode chamber through the diaphragm when utilizing a two chamber cell, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,374,645, U.S. Pat. No. 7,691,249 or in U.S. Pat. No. 7,828,942. However, the middle chamber in the three-chamber cell control the diffusion of reductive species from the cathode chamber to the anode chamber and then the more strongly oxidative anode water can be obtained.
[0008] In the cell shown in FIG. 1 , the following electrolysis reactions take place.
At the Anode:
[0009] 2H 2 O→2H + +O 2 +2 e − [1]
At the Cathode:
[0010] 2H++2 e − →H 2 [2]
[0011] These reactions increase the oxygen concentration in the anode solution and the hydrogen concentration in the cathode solution, while leaving the essential properties of electrolytic water unchanged. Further, migration of hydrogen ions formed on the anode toward the cathode is limited, and then the electrolysis reaction [3] takes place in addition to the reaction [1] and [2]:
[0000] H 2 O+2 e − →½H 2 +OH − [3]
[0012] This reaction suggests that the pH of cathode water tends to shift to the alkaline region. Hydrogen ions formed in the anode chamber in the reaction [1] remain partly in that chamber. In the two-chamber cell shown in FIG. 1 the anode solution, therefore, is likely to be charged with the hydrogen ions, while the cathode water is charged with hydroxide ions. In other words, the charged water produced using electrolysis cell shown in FIG. 1 may not be suitable for the surface cleaning such as glass, mirrors, metals or treatment of semiconductors or resins.
[0013] In order to enhance the cleaning or surface treatment efficacy, anode water is required to be more oxidative and/or acidic and cathode water is required to be more reductive and/or alkaline. However, the electrolysis cell shown in FIG. 1 is difficult to produce the effective solutions.
[0014] The three-chamber cell shown in FIG. 2 is designed to solve the problem mentioned above, where the middle chamber added between the anode chamber and the cathode chamber. Using the three-chamber cell easily electrolysis softened water.
[0015] Another merit of a three chamber cell is the fact that no electrolyte is fed into the anode and cathode chamber. Although efficiency of two chamber electrolysis cells has been significantly improved, not all electrolytes that pass the cathode chamber are conversed into Sodium Hydroxide. Likewise, not all electrolytes that pass the anode chamber are conversed into Hypochlorous Acid and/or Hypochlorite Ion.
[0016] As a result, both the cleaning and sanitizing solutions generated in a two cell electrolysis cell contain salt residues. Presence of salt in both the cleaning and sanitizing solutions limit its usage for surface treatment, as salt is corrosive, streaks the surface, and leaves deposits on the surface. As a result, most cleaning and sanitizing procedures include an extra rinse with potable water.
[0017] This invention resolves the deposits of salt and thus allows for cleaning and sanitation of surfaces without additional rinsing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0018] The invention is directed to a cylindrical dual diaphragm electrolysis cell assembly comprising a cathode chamber, electrolyte chamber, and an anode chamber. The present invention provides an insulating end piece for a cylindrical electrolysis cell of the type comprising at least two cylindrical electrodes arranged coaxially one within the other with two cylindrical diaphragms arranged coaxially between them.
[0019] Softened filtered water passed through the cathode chamber functions as cleaning agent for all surfaces, fabrics, textiles, and carpets. Softened filtered water passed through the anode chamber functions as sanitizing agent for all hard surfaces.
[0020] Anodic electrolysis of softened water produces hydrogen ions, where no anion is present as counter ion, unlike acidic solutions prepared by adding acid such as hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid. The anode water produced by electrolyzing softened water exhibits that the solution is charged. Moreover, the hydrogen ion by itself is an electron acceptor and so exhibits one of oxidizing species. So, the oxidation-reduction potential of anode water tends to shift to noble side. In other words, the redox sensor indicates a plus value. During cathodic electrolysis of softened water is reduced at the cathode. This occurs because water is more easily reduced than are sodium ions. Cathodic electrolysis alters the H+/OH− balance around the cathode making the solution more basic and the oxidation reduction potential of cathode becomes negative.
[0021] When the two-chamber cell depicted in FIG. 1 is used, the cathode water is not necessarily suitable for actual cleaning or a surface treatment without rinsing the surface with distilled, RO or tap water. The anode water is not necessarily suitable for sanitizing hard surfaces without rinsing the surface afterwards with distilled, RO or tap water. So improving the electrolysis cell is very important to apply to actual use.
[0022] More specifically, the important factors for producing effective cleaning and sanitizing agents are an apparent current density (current (A)/apparent area of whole electrode (cm.sup.2), a fluid velocity along the electrode surface, and a true current density (effective current density=current (A)/true area of the electrode (cm.sup.2)). As the fluid velocity increases, the hydrogen ions and other electrolytic species produced on the electrode surface migrate faster.
[0023] Various different sanitizing solutions can be produced in the electrolysis cells of the present invention, depending on the various flow patterns through the cell. For example, the softened water can be fed to the anode and cathode chambers and the electrolyzed solutions can then be collected from each of these chambers separately. Alternatively, the softened water can be fed through both the cathode and anode chambers successively. Other factors which can be used to vary the sanitizing solution include the voltage applied to the electrodes, the electrical power absorbed, the electrode coating and physical size of the electrode, the shape of the electrodes and distances between them and the spacing and material of the membrane. The membrane material is also an important feature since it affects the mobility of ions passing between the electrodes.
[0024] An objective of the invention is to provide a cylindrical electrolytic cell than can produce diluted Sodium Hydroxide and simultaneously diluted Hypochlorous Acid whereas the pH and the free chlorine content can be adjusted.
[0025] Another objective of the invention is to disclose a method and apparatus that can prevent the presence of salt residues in cleaning and sanitizing solutions whereas pH and free available chlorine content of the sanitizing solution can be altered.
[0026] Another objective of the invention is to improve cleanliness, as the cleaning solutions produced by the electrolytic cell are effective for cleaning all surfaces by removing fine particles or the like wherefrom and sanitizing solutions produced by the electrolytic cell are effective for sanitizing all hard surfaces by oxidation of micro-organism and viruses.
[0027] Yet another objective of the invention is to produce cleaning and sanitizing solutions that are also effective for cleaning and sanitizing resins or the like, in particular resins for beverage, dairy, and even medical devices.
[0028] Yet still another objective of the invention is to produce cleaning and sanitizing solutions wherein no special chemical remains after cleaning and sanitizing.
[0029] Other objectives and further advantages and benefits associated with this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the description, examples and claims which follow.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0030] FIG. 1 (prior art) is a view of a two chamber cylindrical electrolysis cell as described in e.g. in U.S. Pat. No. 7,374,645, U.S. Pat. No. 7,691,249, U.S. Pat. No. 7,828,942, or in U.S. Pat. No. 8,002,955.
[0031] FIG. 2 is a view of a three chamber cylindrical electrolysis cell assembly using two diaphragms to create a middle chamber whereas electrolyte is circulated.
[0032] FIG. 3 (prior art) is a view of a typical two chamber electrolysis cell assembly cut in a plane on the center axis between the port to one electrode compartment in one end cap and the port to the other electrode compartment in the other end cap.
[0033] FIG. 4 is a view of a three chamber electrolysis cell assembly cut in a plane on the center axis between the port to one electrode compartment in one end cap and the port to the other electrode compartment in the other end cap.
[0034] FIG. 5 (prior art) is a view of a one section end piece from the side into which the tubes of a two chamber electrolysis cell would be inserted.
[0035] FIG. 6 (prior art) is a view of a one section end plug with only the inserted tubes cut in a plane of the center axis.
[0036] FIG. 7 is a view of a multiple section end piece from the side into which the tubes of a three chamber electrolysis cell would be inserted.
[0037] FIG. 8 is a view of a multiple section end piece from the top of a three chamber electrolysis cell.
[0038] FIG. 9 (prior art) is a view of typical flow patterns in a two chamber electrolysis cell.
[0039] FIG. 10 is a view of typical flow patterns in a three chamber electrolysis cell.
[0040] FIG. 11 (prior art) is a view of alternative flow patterns in a two chamber electrolysis cell.
[0041] FIG. 12 is a view of alternative flow patterns in a three chamber electrolysis cell.
[0042] FIG. 13 is a view of the brine reservoir and peristaltic pump to circulate the electrolyte.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0043] The present invention is directed to the construction of an optimized cylindrical electrolysis cell that produces a cleaning solution and simultaneously a sanitizing solution. The diluted Sodium Hydroxide solution is more alkaline, contains no salt residues and, therefore, the solutions can be used to clean any surface without rinsing the surface afterwards with distilled, RO water or tap water. The diluted Hypochlorous Acid solution contains no salt residues and its free available chlorine content as well as pH can be adjusted. As a result, surfaces can be effectively sanitized using a sanitizing solution which pH and free available chlorine is ‘tailored’ to sanitize a certain surface taking into account chlorine consumption and in line with various sanitizing procedures as set by regulatory agencies such as the FDA, EPA, USDA and CDC. Certain surfaces require a more acidic sanitizer whereas other surfaces are damaged by the acid nature of the sanitizer. In these cases, a more neutral pH Hypochlorous Acid is preferred. Also, the absence of salt residues allows the use of the sanitizing solution on any surface without rinsing the surface with distilled, RO or tap water.
[0044] The three chamber electrolysis cell is illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 , where a cylindrical electrode [ 1 ] is positioned within a cylindrical diaphragm [ 2 ] which is positioned within a second cylindrical diaphragm [ 3 ], where the cylindrical diaphragm [ 3 ] is positioned within a second cylindrical electrode [ 4 ] by the use of two end pieces [ 99 ] which consist of a tube cap [ 6 ], port A cap [ 7 ], port B cap [ 8 ] and port C cap [ 9 ].
[0045] The design of the four sections of the end piece [ 99 ] permits the orientation and sealing of the entire assembly [ 100 ]. Tube cap [ 6 ] seals the outer electrode [ 4 ] with the end piece [ 99 ] using an O-ring [ 12 ]. The tube cap [ 6 ] is either glued or screwed on the outer electrode [ 4 ]. In case the tube cap [ 6 ] is screwed on the outer electrode [ 4 ], the outer electrode tube-ends have a male thread that fits a female thread manufactured in the tube cap [ 6 ].
[0046] Port A cap [ 7 ] features port A for direction of the flow of softened water through port A ending in fittings [ 17 ] into the chamber A defined by the spaces between the anode [ 4 ] and the diaphragm [ 3 ] and out of chamber A through port A ending in fittings [ 17 ] of the opposite port A cap [ 6 ].
[0047] Port B cap [ 8 ] features port B for direction of the flow of saturated brine through port B ending in fittings [ 17 ] into chamber B defined by the spaces between the diaphragm [ 2 ] and diaphragm [ 3 ] and out of chamber B through port B ending in fittings [ 17 ] of the opposite port B cap [ 8 ].
[0048] Port C cap [ 9 ] features port C for direction of the flow of softened water through port C ending in fittings [ 17 ] into chamber C defined by the spaces between the inner electrode [ 1 ] and the diaphragm [ 2 ] and out of chamber C through port C ending in fittings [ 17 ] of the opposite port C cap [ 9 ].
[0049] The four sections of end piece [ 99 ] are either glued on each other or compressed on each other using O-rings [ 13 ] to seal the section on each other.
[0050] The tube cap [ 6 ] is either glued or screwed on the outer electrode [ 4 ]. Port A cap [ 7 ] is either glued or pressed on the tube cap [ 6 ] whereas the tube cap [ 6 ] facilitated a groove for an O-ring [ 13 ] and whereas port A cap [ 7 ] is pressed on the tube cap [ 6 ]. Port B cap [ 8 ] is either glued or pressed on port A cap [ 7 ] whereas the port A cap [ 7 ] facilitated a groove for an O-ring [ 13 ] and whereas the Port B cap [ 8 ] is pressed on port A cap [ 7 ]. Port C cap [ 8 ] is either glued or pressed on port B cap [ 7 ] whereas port B cap [ 7 ] facilitated a groove for an O-ring [ 13 ] and whereas port C cap [ 8 ] is pressed on port B cap [ 7 ].
[0051] The tube cap [ 6 ], port A cap [ 7 ], port B cap [ 8 ] and port C cap [ 8 ] are bolted together using three stainless steel bolts [ 18 ], washers [ 19 ] and nuts [ 20 ]. In each section of the end piece [ 99 ], there are three holes [ 21 ] to facilitate the stainless steel bolts [ 18 ], washers [ 19 ] and nuts [ 20 ]. The seal between each section of the end piece [ 99 ] is achieved by compressing the sections of the end piece [ 99 ] onto each other, in a manner such that the compressive force can be applied slowly and smoothly without the introduction of torque such that a reliable seal is produced without damaging the ceramic diaphragms [ 2 ] and [ 3 ].
[0052] Either of the electrodes [ 1 ] and [ 4 ] can act as the anode with the other acting as the cathode. The choice can be made by considerations of the ease of manufacture or requirements of the nature of the electrolysis process to be performed which can favor the anode or cathode chamber preferentially being the outer chamber. These considerations include the desired spacing between the electrodes and the diaphragms, the desired space between diaphragm [ 2 ] and [ 3 ] and the relative volume requirements for the balance of flows of the electrolyte solution in chamber B and the softened water in chamber A and chamber C.
[0053] The inner electrode [ 1 ] and outer electrode [ 4 ] tubes are constructed of an electrically conductive material, preferably titanium.
[0054] The metal electrode tubes are coated with a mixed metal oxide on the face of the tube directed toward the diaphragms [ 2 ] and [ 3 ]. The metals of the two electrodes can be titanium or stainless steel. Both metals can be coated with a mixed metal oxide. The cathode can be an uncoated metal, but the anode has to be a mixed metal oxide coated metal. A preferred arrangement has the outside electrode tube [ 4 ] as the anode internally coated with a mixed metal oxide and the inner electrode tube [ 1 ] as the cathode and not coated.
[0055] The outer electrode [ 4 ] is shown in FIG. 2 with an electrical connector [ 10 ] welded to the outside of the outer electrode [ 4 ] tube. The inner electrode [ 1 ] has an electrical connector [ 11 ] on its end that is part of the inner electrode [ 1 ] and extends out of the outside of the upper end piece [ 99 ]. Although not necessary for the function of the assembly, the outside of the outer electrode [ 4 ] is insulated by a rubber sleeve [ 5 ] that is heat-shrinked over the outer electrode [ 4 ] and cut to length. Another option is to glue an insulating sheath [ 5 ] or tube on the outside of the outer electrode [ 4 ].
[0056] The anode and cathode are separated by two diaphragms [ 2 ] and [ 3 ]. Preferably, these diaphragms are made of alumina, zirconium containing ceramic. The thickness of the diaphragm can vary over a broad range depending on the application the electrolysis cell assembly [ 100 ] is to be used, the diaphragms [ 2 ] and [ 3 ] are relatively fragile and a wall thickness of 1.5 to 2 mm is preferred for most applications.
[0057] The relative diameter of the outer electrode [ 4 ], inner electrode [ 1 ], diaphragms [ 2 ] and [ 3 ] can vary within the single requirement that outer electrode [ 4 ] must be of greater diameter than diaphragm [ 3 ], the diameter of diaphragm [ 3 ] greater than diaphragm [ 2 ] and the diameter of diaphragm [ 3 ] greater than the inner electrode tube [ 4 ]. The actual diameters can vary depending upon the desired features of the electrolysis cell assembly [ 100 ]. To this end the diameters can be varied to optimize the rate of electrolysis, rate of flow through the cell assembly, and other needs of the system to which the assembly will be used. Likewise, the relative length of the electrodes [ 1 ] and [ 4 ] and diaphragms [ 2 ] and [ 3 ] can vary within the single requirement of this embodiment that the outer electrode tube [ 4 ] must be shorter than diaphragm [ 3 ], diaphragm [ 3 ] shorter than diaphragm [ 2 ] and diaphragm [ 2 ] shorter than inner electrode [ 1 ]. The lengths of the electrodes [ 1 ] and [ 4 ] and the length of the diaphragms [ 2 ] and [ 3 ] can be determined by factors such as ease of construction and geometries to optimize the performance of the electrolysis cell assembly in the system in which it is to perform.
[0058] The upper and lower end pieces [ 99 ] are interchangeable and constructed of an insulating material, preferably Polyvinyl Chloride. Each end piece [ 99 ] consist of four sections, the tube cap [ 6 ], Port A cap [ 7 ], Port B cap [ 8 ] and port C cap [ 9 ].
[0059] The four sections of the end piece [ 99 ] can be formed by molding or machining. Ports [ 17 ] are for introduction or exit of softened water to chamber A and to chamber C. Port [ 17 ] is for the introduction and exit of electrolyte to chamber B. All sections of the end piece [ 99 ] consist of three or more holes to accept three or more stainless steel bolts [ 18 ], washers [ 19 ] and nuts [ 20 ] by which the four sections of the end piece [ 99 ] are compressed together.
[0060] Three sections [ 6 ], [ 7 ] and [ 9 ] of the end piece [ 99 ] have a groove to facilitate O-ring [ 13 ] to form the seals between the end piece sections. When the tube cap [ 6 ] is screwed on the outer electrode [ 4 ] and stainless steel bolts [ 18 ], washers [ 19 ] and nuts [ 20 ] are used, then the three bolts provide the structural integrity of the assembly [ 100 ]. If the tube cap [ 6 ] is glued on the outer electrode [ 4 ], then the three sections of the end piece [ 99 ] are also glued together.
[0061] Two holes [ 22 ] with female thread are made in the tube cap [ 6 ] at both opposite sides. This allows mounting the assembly [ 100 ] on a plate or bracket. This plate or bracket may be a plastic or stainless steel as long as the metal is insulated from one or both of the electrodes. A preferred fabrication of a mounting plate or bracket is a machined sheet of Polyvinyl Chloride, which is commercially available as PVC.
[0062] One critical feature of the end piece [ 99 ] is that the inside diameter of all sections of the end piece [ 99 ] closely match the outside diameters of the four tubes [ 1 ], [ 2 ], [ 3 ] and [ 4 ] so that when using glue as a sealant, a good seal can be achieved. When screwing the tube cap [ 6 ] on the outer electrode [ 4 ] and when the other sections of the end piece [ 99 ] are compressed on each other, it is important that the O-rings [ 12 ], [ 14 ], [ 15 ] and [ 16 ] form a good seal between the tubes [ 1 ], [ 2 ], [ 3 ] and [ 4 ] and the four end caps [ 6 ], [ 7 ], [ 8 ] and [ 9 ] as well form a good seal between the four sections themselves using O-ring [ 13 ]. The relatively fragile diaphragms [ 2 ] and [ 3 ] require the use of O-rings [ 14 ] and [ 15 ] to form the seal such that whilst assembling, the diaphragms do not break. It is necessary that, upon assembly, the length of the cell assembly [ 100 ] is defined by the length imposed by the outer electrode tube [ 4 ]. The diaphragms [ 2 ] and [ 3 ] must be long enough to seal at both ends by O-rings [ 14 ] and [ 15 ] even if one end of the diaphragms [ 2 ] and [ 3 ] is resting on Port B cap [ 8 ] and Port C cap [ 9 ].
[0063] A second critical feature of the end caps [ 99 ] is the presence of three ports. Port A begins at fitting [ 17 ] on an outside surface of Port A [ 7 ] permits the flow of softened water through chamber A defined by the inside of the outer electrode tube [ 4 ] and the outside of diaphragm [ 3 ] as illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 . Port C begins at fitting [ 17 ] on an outside surface of Port C cap [ 9 ] and permits the flow of softened water through chamber C defined by the inside of diaphragm [ 2 ] and the outside of inner electrode [ 1 ] as illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 . Port B begins at the fitting [ 17 ] on an outside surface of port B cap [ 8 ] and permits the flow of an electrolyte solution through chamber B defined by the inside of diaphragm [ 3 ] and the outside diaphragm [ 2 ], as illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 . The outside of port A, port B and port C is a fitting [ 17 ] which accepts a tube for introduction or exit of a fluid to the cell assembly [ 100 ].
[0064] These fittings [ 17 ] can be a compression fitting, as is illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 , or it can be a hose barb or some other coupling which is appropriate for the system within which the electrolysis cell assembly [ 100 ] is to function. The orientation of the portsis necessarily to promote a tight spiral flow around the inner electrode tube [ 1 ], diaphragm [ 2 ] and [ 3 ] between the spaces in chamber A, chamber B and chamber C.
[0065] The end pieces [ 99 ] can have other configurations as long as the configuration permits for the sealing of the assembly where the compressive force is imposed upon the outer electrode [ 4 ] and no significant compressive force is imposed on the diaphragms [ 2 ] and [ 3 ]. The different types of end pieces [ 99 ] can be combined in any combination as long as the appropriate lengths of tubing are chosen and as long as the sections of the end piece [ 99 ] can be sealed together by compression or by using glue. While the preferred end piece [ 99 ] has been illustrated and described, it will be clear that the invention is not so limited. Modifications, changes, variations, substitutions and equivalents will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as described in the claims.
[0066] Another critical feature of this invention is the construction of the brine reservoir [ 98 ] and the usage of a pump [ 23 ] to circulate an electrolyte from the brine reservoir [ 98 ] through chamber B to the brine reservoir [ 98 ] as shown in FIG. 13 . The brine reservoir [ 98 ] is preferably manufactured from a transparent plastic tube [ 24 ] and two end pieces [ 25 ] and [ 26 ] made of Polyvinyl Chloride, which is commercially available as PVC. The transparent tube [ 24 ] is glued between end piece [ 25 ] and end piece [ 26 ]. End piece [ 25 ] has a male thread that allows screwing a cap [ 27 ] on top of end piece [ 25 ]. End piece [ 25 ] has also a port [ 28 ] whereas through fitting [ 17 ] a tube can be connected for the exit of the electrolyte to chamber B. End piece [ 26 ] has a port [ 29 ] on the bottom of end piece [ 26 ] whereas through fitting [ 17 ] a tube can be connected for the inlet of softened water. End piece [ 26 ] has another port [ 30 ] on the bottom of end piece [ 26 ] with valve [ 31 ]. Opening valve [ 31 ] allows drainage of the electrolyte from the brine reservoir [ 98 ]. Ports [ 29 ] and [ 30 ] have been constructed in such a way that the aperture of ports [ 29 ] and [ 30 ] is located above the brine fill line. This feature is important for two reasons. Firstly, when granular salt is added to the brine container [ 98 ] by opening cap [ 26 ], no salt can enter into ports [ 29 ] and [ 30 ] as the apertures are located at the side of these elevated ports [ 29 ] and [ 30 ]. Secondly, when opening valve [ 31 ], only the electrolyte is drained and the brine reservoir [ 98 ] remains filled with granular salt that is collected at the bottom of the brine reservoir [ 98 ] on top of end piece [ 26 ]. End piece [ 26 ] has a third port [ 32 ] on the bottom of end piece [ 26 ] whereas through a fitting [ 17 ] a tube can be connected for the inlet of electrolyte from the pump [ 23 ]. Port [ 32 ] has been constructed in such a way that the aperture of port [ 31 ] is located under the brine fill line. This feature is important for two reasons. Firstly, when granular salt is added to the brine container [ 98 ] by opening cap [ 27 ], no salt can enter into port [ 31 ] as the inlet is located at the side of the port [ 31 ]. Secondly, the electrolyte from the pump is circulated through a brine layer that saturates the electrolyte. The electrolyte is circulated through pump [ 23 ] which is preferably a peristaltic pump with a variable pump-speed and which has two fittings [ 17 ] to connect a tube from the brine reservoir [ 98 ] to the pump [ 23 ] and from the pump [ 23 ] to the cell assembly [ 100 ]. The brine concentration can be adjusted by adding granular salt and softened water into the brine reservoir [ 98 ]. The electrolyte is preferably made by adding granular sodium chloride into the brine reservoir [ 98 ] by opening cap [ 27 ]. Besides granular sodium chloride, granular potassium chloride can be used. The electrolyte is preferably a saturated aqueous brine solution. Saturation of the electrolyte is ensured by circulating the electrolyte through the brine reservoir [ 98 ] that is filled with a certain minimum amount of brine. The electrolyte is circulated from the bottom of the brine reservoir [ 98 ] through a layer of salt that is at the bottom of the brine reservoir [ 98 ].
[0067] This three chamber cylindrical electrolysis cell can be used with different flow patterns allowing changing the volume of the cleaning and sanitizing solution, as well the pH and free available chlorine content. A typical flow pattern permits approximately 30 to 70% of the softened water to pass the anode chamber and approximately 70 to 30% of the softened water to pass the cathode chamber. The volume of softened water that passes the anode chamber or cathode chamber can be restricted by closing a valve which is mounted in the outlet tube of the anode chamber and the volume of softened water that passes the cathode chamber can be restricted by closing a valve that is mounted in the outlet tube of the cathode chamber. An alternative flow pattern is a flow pattern whereas 100% of the softened water is passed through either the cathode chamber or anode chamber. Approximately 70 to 100% of the electrolyzed solution that either exits the cathode chamber or anode chamber is re-directed to the inlet of either the anode chamber or the cathode chamber whereas 0 to 30% of the electrolyzed liquid is collected in a Sodium Hydroxide storage container or drained as useful by-product. This alternative flow pattern whereas 70 to 100% of the electrolyzed solution is collected in a Hypochlorous Acid storage container is preferred when there is no or little usage of the by-product and whereas the volume of the main-product is maximized. A preferred alternative flow pattern is to pass softened water first through the cathode chamber, wherein the outlet tube is a tee mounted to allow approximately 20% of the diluted sodium hydroxide to flow to a storage tank and where approximately 80% of the diluted sodium hydroxide is re-entered in the anode chamber. The result of this preferred alternative flow pattern is that approximately 80% of the softened water has undergone cathodic electrolysis followed by anodic electrolysis to generate a neutral pH sanitizing solution. Re-entering more diluted Sodium Hydroxide into the anode chamber will increase the pH of the diluted Hypochlorous Acid and re-entering less diluted Sodium Hydroxide will reduce the pH of the diluted Hypochlorous Acid. The volume of the diluted Sodium Hydroxide that enters the anode chamber is regulated by a valve that is mounted in the outlet tube of the cathode chamber between the tee and the Sodium Hydroxide storage container.
[0068] One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objectives and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments, methods, procedures and techniques described herein are presently representative of the preferred embodiments, are intended to be exemplary and are not intended as limitations on the scope. Changes therein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined by the scope of the appended claims. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of the following claims. | An Electrolysis cell assembly to produce diluted Sodium Hydroxide solutions (NAOH) and diluted Hypochlorous Acid (HOCL) solutions having cleaning and sanitizing properties. The electrolysis cell consists of two insulating end pieces for a cylindrical electrolysis cell comprising at least two cylindrical electrodes with two cylindrical diaphragms arranged co-axially between them. The method of producing different volumes and concentrations of diluted NAOH solutions and diluted HOCL solutions comprises recirculating an aqueous sodium chloride or potassium chloride solution into the middle chamber of the cylindrical electrolytic cell and feeding softened filtered water into the cathode chamber and into the anode chamber of the cylindrical electrolysis cell. | Briefly summarize the invention's components and working principles as described in the document. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to a cylindrical electrolysis cell assembly for producing simultaneously a diluted Sodium Hydroxide and diluted Hypochlorous Acid solution for usage as cleaning and sanitizing solutions by electrolysis of an aqueous saline solution.",
"The method comprising a cathode chamber, an electrolyte chamber and an anode chamber separated by two cylindrical diaphragms to prevent presence of salt residues in the cleaning and sanitizing solutions and whereas pH and free available chlorine content of the sanitizing solution can be altered.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Electrolysis cells are used for the production of cleaning and sanitizing solutions from brine.",
"Also, electrolysis cells are used to produce a sanitizing solution to disinfect water or other media.",
"Many types of electrolysis cells exist for these purposes.",
"The basic feature of these cells is two concentrically disposed cylindrical electrodes with a diaphragm separating the space between the two electrodes to define anode and cathode compartments.",
"An electrolyte, such as brine, is passed through the anode and cathode compartments, separately or successively.",
"When brine is electrolyzed in this way, under suitable conditions, it can produce a cleaning and sanitizing solution of high strength and long shelf life, which is ecologically and human friendly.",
"[0003] Typically an electrolyte solution is passed through the anode and cathode chambers separately to produce a diluted Hypochlorous Acid solution as a sanitizing solution and a diluted Sodium Hydroxide solution as a cleaning solution.",
"Alternatively, neutral sanitizing solutions can be produced when an electrolyte is passed through the anode and cathode chambers successively.",
"[0004] The diaphragm is either made of a permeable ceramic or an ion-exchange membrane.",
"The diaphragm permits the diffusion of electrolytes between the anode and cathode but retard the migration of electrolysis products at the anode and cathode from diffusing to each other reverting back to starting material or undesired side products.",
"[0005] Acidic sanitizing solutions are generated by passing saline through an electrolytic cell comprising an anode chamber, a cathode chamber, and a separator.",
"The result contains free available chlorine (FAC) in the form of a mixture of oxidizing species, predominantly Hypochlorous Acid (HOCl) and sodium hypochlorite, and is characterized by its pH, FAC content, and redox level.",
"Such reactive species have a finite life and so, while the pH of the solution will usually stay constant over time, its biocide efficacy will decrease with age.",
"Electrolysis cells either comprise cylindrical electrodes plus one cylindrical ceramic diaphragm or electrolysis cells comprise plate electrodes plus one ion permeable sheet of membrane as separator.",
"[0006] Usage of insoluble ion permeable membranes or ceramic diaphragms between the electrodes have been described for more than 100 years as, for example, that described in U.S. Pat. No. 590,826.",
"U.S. Pat. No. 914,856 describes a cell which permits the flow of electrolyte solutions separately through the anode and cathode compartments using concentric cylindrical electrodes with an ion permeable diaphragm.",
"[0007] The three-chamber cell has the following merits.",
"Reductive species such as dissolved hydrogen gas produced in the cathode chamber are likely to migrate into the anode chamber through the diaphragm when utilizing a two chamber cell, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,374,645, U.S. Pat. No. 7,691,249 or in U.S. Pat. No. 7,828,942.",
"However, the middle chamber in the three-chamber cell control the diffusion of reductive species from the cathode chamber to the anode chamber and then the more strongly oxidative anode water can be obtained.",
"[0008] In the cell shown in FIG. 1 , the following electrolysis reactions take place.",
"At the Anode: [0009] 2H 2 O→2H + +O 2 +2 e − [1] At the Cathode: [0010] 2H++2 e − →H 2 [2] [0011] These reactions increase the oxygen concentration in the anode solution and the hydrogen concentration in the cathode solution, while leaving the essential properties of electrolytic water unchanged.",
"Further, migration of hydrogen ions formed on the anode toward the cathode is limited, and then the electrolysis reaction [3] takes place in addition to the reaction [1] and [2]: [0000] H 2 O+2 e − →½H 2 +OH − [3] [0012] This reaction suggests that the pH of cathode water tends to shift to the alkaline region.",
"Hydrogen ions formed in the anode chamber in the reaction [1] remain partly in that chamber.",
"In the two-chamber cell shown in FIG. 1 the anode solution, therefore, is likely to be charged with the hydrogen ions, while the cathode water is charged with hydroxide ions.",
"In other words, the charged water produced using electrolysis cell shown in FIG. 1 may not be suitable for the surface cleaning such as glass, mirrors, metals or treatment of semiconductors or resins.",
"[0013] In order to enhance the cleaning or surface treatment efficacy, anode water is required to be more oxidative and/or acidic and cathode water is required to be more reductive and/or alkaline.",
"However, the electrolysis cell shown in FIG. 1 is difficult to produce the effective solutions.",
"[0014] The three-chamber cell shown in FIG. 2 is designed to solve the problem mentioned above, where the middle chamber added between the anode chamber and the cathode chamber.",
"Using the three-chamber cell easily electrolysis softened water.",
"[0015] Another merit of a three chamber cell is the fact that no electrolyte is fed into the anode and cathode chamber.",
"Although efficiency of two chamber electrolysis cells has been significantly improved, not all electrolytes that pass the cathode chamber are conversed into Sodium Hydroxide.",
"Likewise, not all electrolytes that pass the anode chamber are conversed into Hypochlorous Acid and/or Hypochlorite Ion.",
"[0016] As a result, both the cleaning and sanitizing solutions generated in a two cell electrolysis cell contain salt residues.",
"Presence of salt in both the cleaning and sanitizing solutions limit its usage for surface treatment, as salt is corrosive, streaks the surface, and leaves deposits on the surface.",
"As a result, most cleaning and sanitizing procedures include an extra rinse with potable water.",
"[0017] This invention resolves the deposits of salt and thus allows for cleaning and sanitation of surfaces without additional rinsing.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0018] The invention is directed to a cylindrical dual diaphragm electrolysis cell assembly comprising a cathode chamber, electrolyte chamber, and an anode chamber.",
"The present invention provides an insulating end piece for a cylindrical electrolysis cell of the type comprising at least two cylindrical electrodes arranged coaxially one within the other with two cylindrical diaphragms arranged coaxially between them.",
"[0019] Softened filtered water passed through the cathode chamber functions as cleaning agent for all surfaces, fabrics, textiles, and carpets.",
"Softened filtered water passed through the anode chamber functions as sanitizing agent for all hard surfaces.",
"[0020] Anodic electrolysis of softened water produces hydrogen ions, where no anion is present as counter ion, unlike acidic solutions prepared by adding acid such as hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid.",
"The anode water produced by electrolyzing softened water exhibits that the solution is charged.",
"Moreover, the hydrogen ion by itself is an electron acceptor and so exhibits one of oxidizing species.",
"So, the oxidation-reduction potential of anode water tends to shift to noble side.",
"In other words, the redox sensor indicates a plus value.",
"During cathodic electrolysis of softened water is reduced at the cathode.",
"This occurs because water is more easily reduced than are sodium ions.",
"Cathodic electrolysis alters the H+/OH− balance around the cathode making the solution more basic and the oxidation reduction potential of cathode becomes negative.",
"[0021] When the two-chamber cell depicted in FIG. 1 is used, the cathode water is not necessarily suitable for actual cleaning or a surface treatment without rinsing the surface with distilled, RO or tap water.",
"The anode water is not necessarily suitable for sanitizing hard surfaces without rinsing the surface afterwards with distilled, RO or tap water.",
"So improving the electrolysis cell is very important to apply to actual use.",
"[0022] More specifically, the important factors for producing effective cleaning and sanitizing agents are an apparent current density (current (A)/apparent area of whole electrode (cm.",
"sup[.",
"].2), a fluid velocity along the electrode surface, and a true current density (effective current density=current (A)/true area of the electrode (cm.",
"sup[.",
"].2)).",
"As the fluid velocity increases, the hydrogen ions and other electrolytic species produced on the electrode surface migrate faster.",
"[0023] Various different sanitizing solutions can be produced in the electrolysis cells of the present invention, depending on the various flow patterns through the cell.",
"For example, the softened water can be fed to the anode and cathode chambers and the electrolyzed solutions can then be collected from each of these chambers separately.",
"Alternatively, the softened water can be fed through both the cathode and anode chambers successively.",
"Other factors which can be used to vary the sanitizing solution include the voltage applied to the electrodes, the electrical power absorbed, the electrode coating and physical size of the electrode, the shape of the electrodes and distances between them and the spacing and material of the membrane.",
"The membrane material is also an important feature since it affects the mobility of ions passing between the electrodes.",
"[0024] An objective of the invention is to provide a cylindrical electrolytic cell than can produce diluted Sodium Hydroxide and simultaneously diluted Hypochlorous Acid whereas the pH and the free chlorine content can be adjusted.",
"[0025] Another objective of the invention is to disclose a method and apparatus that can prevent the presence of salt residues in cleaning and sanitizing solutions whereas pH and free available chlorine content of the sanitizing solution can be altered.",
"[0026] Another objective of the invention is to improve cleanliness, as the cleaning solutions produced by the electrolytic cell are effective for cleaning all surfaces by removing fine particles or the like wherefrom and sanitizing solutions produced by the electrolytic cell are effective for sanitizing all hard surfaces by oxidation of micro-organism and viruses.",
"[0027] Yet another objective of the invention is to produce cleaning and sanitizing solutions that are also effective for cleaning and sanitizing resins or the like, in particular resins for beverage, dairy, and even medical devices.",
"[0028] Yet still another objective of the invention is to produce cleaning and sanitizing solutions wherein no special chemical remains after cleaning and sanitizing.",
"[0029] Other objectives and further advantages and benefits associated with this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the description, examples and claims which follow.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0030] FIG. 1 (prior art) is a view of a two chamber cylindrical electrolysis cell as described in e.g. in U.S. Pat. No. 7,374,645, U.S. Pat. No. 7,691,249, U.S. Pat. No. 7,828,942, or in U.S. Pat. No. 8,002,955.",
"[0031] FIG. 2 is a view of a three chamber cylindrical electrolysis cell assembly using two diaphragms to create a middle chamber whereas electrolyte is circulated.",
"[0032] FIG. 3 (prior art) is a view of a typical two chamber electrolysis cell assembly cut in a plane on the center axis between the port to one electrode compartment in one end cap and the port to the other electrode compartment in the other end cap.",
"[0033] FIG. 4 is a view of a three chamber electrolysis cell assembly cut in a plane on the center axis between the port to one electrode compartment in one end cap and the port to the other electrode compartment in the other end cap.",
"[0034] FIG. 5 (prior art) is a view of a one section end piece from the side into which the tubes of a two chamber electrolysis cell would be inserted.",
"[0035] FIG. 6 (prior art) is a view of a one section end plug with only the inserted tubes cut in a plane of the center axis.",
"[0036] FIG. 7 is a view of a multiple section end piece from the side into which the tubes of a three chamber electrolysis cell would be inserted.",
"[0037] FIG. 8 is a view of a multiple section end piece from the top of a three chamber electrolysis cell.",
"[0038] FIG. 9 (prior art) is a view of typical flow patterns in a two chamber electrolysis cell.",
"[0039] FIG. 10 is a view of typical flow patterns in a three chamber electrolysis cell.",
"[0040] FIG. 11 (prior art) is a view of alternative flow patterns in a two chamber electrolysis cell.",
"[0041] FIG. 12 is a view of alternative flow patterns in a three chamber electrolysis cell.",
"[0042] FIG. 13 is a view of the brine reservoir and peristaltic pump to circulate the electrolyte.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0043] The present invention is directed to the construction of an optimized cylindrical electrolysis cell that produces a cleaning solution and simultaneously a sanitizing solution.",
"The diluted Sodium Hydroxide solution is more alkaline, contains no salt residues and, therefore, the solutions can be used to clean any surface without rinsing the surface afterwards with distilled, RO water or tap water.",
"The diluted Hypochlorous Acid solution contains no salt residues and its free available chlorine content as well as pH can be adjusted.",
"As a result, surfaces can be effectively sanitized using a sanitizing solution which pH and free available chlorine is ‘tailored’ to sanitize a certain surface taking into account chlorine consumption and in line with various sanitizing procedures as set by regulatory agencies such as the FDA, EPA, USDA and CDC.",
"Certain surfaces require a more acidic sanitizer whereas other surfaces are damaged by the acid nature of the sanitizer.",
"In these cases, a more neutral pH Hypochlorous Acid is preferred.",
"Also, the absence of salt residues allows the use of the sanitizing solution on any surface without rinsing the surface with distilled, RO or tap water.",
"[0044] The three chamber electrolysis cell is illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 , where a cylindrical electrode [ 1 ] is positioned within a cylindrical diaphragm [ 2 ] which is positioned within a second cylindrical diaphragm [ 3 ], where the cylindrical diaphragm [ 3 ] is positioned within a second cylindrical electrode [ 4 ] by the use of two end pieces [ 99 ] which consist of a tube cap [ 6 ], port A cap [ 7 ], port B cap [ 8 ] and port C cap [ 9 ].",
"[0045] The design of the four sections of the end piece [ 99 ] permits the orientation and sealing of the entire assembly [ 100 ].",
"Tube cap [ 6 ] seals the outer electrode [ 4 ] with the end piece [ 99 ] using an O-ring [ 12 ].",
"The tube cap [ 6 ] is either glued or screwed on the outer electrode [ 4 ].",
"In case the tube cap [ 6 ] is screwed on the outer electrode [ 4 ], the outer electrode tube-ends have a male thread that fits a female thread manufactured in the tube cap [ 6 ].",
"[0046] Port A cap [ 7 ] features port A for direction of the flow of softened water through port A ending in fittings [ 17 ] into the chamber A defined by the spaces between the anode [ 4 ] and the diaphragm [ 3 ] and out of chamber A through port A ending in fittings [ 17 ] of the opposite port A cap [ 6 ].",
"[0047] Port B cap [ 8 ] features port B for direction of the flow of saturated brine through port B ending in fittings [ 17 ] into chamber B defined by the spaces between the diaphragm [ 2 ] and diaphragm [ 3 ] and out of chamber B through port B ending in fittings [ 17 ] of the opposite port B cap [ 8 ].",
"[0048] Port C cap [ 9 ] features port C for direction of the flow of softened water through port C ending in fittings [ 17 ] into chamber C defined by the spaces between the inner electrode [ 1 ] and the diaphragm [ 2 ] and out of chamber C through port C ending in fittings [ 17 ] of the opposite port C cap [ 9 ].",
"[0049] The four sections of end piece [ 99 ] are either glued on each other or compressed on each other using O-rings [ 13 ] to seal the section on each other.",
"[0050] The tube cap [ 6 ] is either glued or screwed on the outer electrode [ 4 ].",
"Port A cap [ 7 ] is either glued or pressed on the tube cap [ 6 ] whereas the tube cap [ 6 ] facilitated a groove for an O-ring [ 13 ] and whereas port A cap [ 7 ] is pressed on the tube cap [ 6 ].",
"Port B cap [ 8 ] is either glued or pressed on port A cap [ 7 ] whereas the port A cap [ 7 ] facilitated a groove for an O-ring [ 13 ] and whereas the Port B cap [ 8 ] is pressed on port A cap [ 7 ].",
"Port C cap [ 8 ] is either glued or pressed on port B cap [ 7 ] whereas port B cap [ 7 ] facilitated a groove for an O-ring [ 13 ] and whereas port C cap [ 8 ] is pressed on port B cap [ 7 ].",
"[0051] The tube cap [ 6 ], port A cap [ 7 ], port B cap [ 8 ] and port C cap [ 8 ] are bolted together using three stainless steel bolts [ 18 ], washers [ 19 ] and nuts [ 20 ].",
"In each section of the end piece [ 99 ], there are three holes [ 21 ] to facilitate the stainless steel bolts [ 18 ], washers [ 19 ] and nuts [ 20 ].",
"The seal between each section of the end piece [ 99 ] is achieved by compressing the sections of the end piece [ 99 ] onto each other, in a manner such that the compressive force can be applied slowly and smoothly without the introduction of torque such that a reliable seal is produced without damaging the ceramic diaphragms [ 2 ] and [ 3 ].",
"[0052] Either of the electrodes [ 1 ] and [ 4 ] can act as the anode with the other acting as the cathode.",
"The choice can be made by considerations of the ease of manufacture or requirements of the nature of the electrolysis process to be performed which can favor the anode or cathode chamber preferentially being the outer chamber.",
"These considerations include the desired spacing between the electrodes and the diaphragms, the desired space between diaphragm [ 2 ] and [ 3 ] and the relative volume requirements for the balance of flows of the electrolyte solution in chamber B and the softened water in chamber A and chamber C. [0053] The inner electrode [ 1 ] and outer electrode [ 4 ] tubes are constructed of an electrically conductive material, preferably titanium.",
"[0054] The metal electrode tubes are coated with a mixed metal oxide on the face of the tube directed toward the diaphragms [ 2 ] and [ 3 ].",
"The metals of the two electrodes can be titanium or stainless steel.",
"Both metals can be coated with a mixed metal oxide.",
"The cathode can be an uncoated metal, but the anode has to be a mixed metal oxide coated metal.",
"A preferred arrangement has the outside electrode tube [ 4 ] as the anode internally coated with a mixed metal oxide and the inner electrode tube [ 1 ] as the cathode and not coated.",
"[0055] The outer electrode [ 4 ] is shown in FIG. 2 with an electrical connector [ 10 ] welded to the outside of the outer electrode [ 4 ] tube.",
"The inner electrode [ 1 ] has an electrical connector [ 11 ] on its end that is part of the inner electrode [ 1 ] and extends out of the outside of the upper end piece [ 99 ].",
"Although not necessary for the function of the assembly, the outside of the outer electrode [ 4 ] is insulated by a rubber sleeve [ 5 ] that is heat-shrinked over the outer electrode [ 4 ] and cut to length.",
"Another option is to glue an insulating sheath [ 5 ] or tube on the outside of the outer electrode [ 4 ].",
"[0056] The anode and cathode are separated by two diaphragms [ 2 ] and [ 3 ].",
"Preferably, these diaphragms are made of alumina, zirconium containing ceramic.",
"The thickness of the diaphragm can vary over a broad range depending on the application the electrolysis cell assembly [ 100 ] is to be used, the diaphragms [ 2 ] and [ 3 ] are relatively fragile and a wall thickness of 1.5 to 2 mm is preferred for most applications.",
"[0057] The relative diameter of the outer electrode [ 4 ], inner electrode [ 1 ], diaphragms [ 2 ] and [ 3 ] can vary within the single requirement that outer electrode [ 4 ] must be of greater diameter than diaphragm [ 3 ], the diameter of diaphragm [ 3 ] greater than diaphragm [ 2 ] and the diameter of diaphragm [ 3 ] greater than the inner electrode tube [ 4 ].",
"The actual diameters can vary depending upon the desired features of the electrolysis cell assembly [ 100 ].",
"To this end the diameters can be varied to optimize the rate of electrolysis, rate of flow through the cell assembly, and other needs of the system to which the assembly will be used.",
"Likewise, the relative length of the electrodes [ 1 ] and [ 4 ] and diaphragms [ 2 ] and [ 3 ] can vary within the single requirement of this embodiment that the outer electrode tube [ 4 ] must be shorter than diaphragm [ 3 ], diaphragm [ 3 ] shorter than diaphragm [ 2 ] and diaphragm [ 2 ] shorter than inner electrode [ 1 ].",
"The lengths of the electrodes [ 1 ] and [ 4 ] and the length of the diaphragms [ 2 ] and [ 3 ] can be determined by factors such as ease of construction and geometries to optimize the performance of the electrolysis cell assembly in the system in which it is to perform.",
"[0058] The upper and lower end pieces [ 99 ] are interchangeable and constructed of an insulating material, preferably Polyvinyl Chloride.",
"Each end piece [ 99 ] consist of four sections, the tube cap [ 6 ], Port A cap [ 7 ], Port B cap [ 8 ] and port C cap [ 9 ].",
"[0059] The four sections of the end piece [ 99 ] can be formed by molding or machining.",
"Ports [ 17 ] are for introduction or exit of softened water to chamber A and to chamber C. Port [ 17 ] is for the introduction and exit of electrolyte to chamber B. All sections of the end piece [ 99 ] consist of three or more holes to accept three or more stainless steel bolts [ 18 ], washers [ 19 ] and nuts [ 20 ] by which the four sections of the end piece [ 99 ] are compressed together.",
"[0060] Three sections [ 6 ], [ 7 ] and [ 9 ] of the end piece [ 99 ] have a groove to facilitate O-ring [ 13 ] to form the seals between the end piece sections.",
"When the tube cap [ 6 ] is screwed on the outer electrode [ 4 ] and stainless steel bolts [ 18 ], washers [ 19 ] and nuts [ 20 ] are used, then the three bolts provide the structural integrity of the assembly [ 100 ].",
"If the tube cap [ 6 ] is glued on the outer electrode [ 4 ], then the three sections of the end piece [ 99 ] are also glued together.",
"[0061] Two holes [ 22 ] with female thread are made in the tube cap [ 6 ] at both opposite sides.",
"This allows mounting the assembly [ 100 ] on a plate or bracket.",
"This plate or bracket may be a plastic or stainless steel as long as the metal is insulated from one or both of the electrodes.",
"A preferred fabrication of a mounting plate or bracket is a machined sheet of Polyvinyl Chloride, which is commercially available as PVC.",
"[0062] One critical feature of the end piece [ 99 ] is that the inside diameter of all sections of the end piece [ 99 ] closely match the outside diameters of the four tubes [ 1 ], [ 2 ], [ 3 ] and [ 4 ] so that when using glue as a sealant, a good seal can be achieved.",
"When screwing the tube cap [ 6 ] on the outer electrode [ 4 ] and when the other sections of the end piece [ 99 ] are compressed on each other, it is important that the O-rings [ 12 ], [ 14 ], [ 15 ] and [ 16 ] form a good seal between the tubes [ 1 ], [ 2 ], [ 3 ] and [ 4 ] and the four end caps [ 6 ], [ 7 ], [ 8 ] and [ 9 ] as well form a good seal between the four sections themselves using O-ring [ 13 ].",
"The relatively fragile diaphragms [ 2 ] and [ 3 ] require the use of O-rings [ 14 ] and [ 15 ] to form the seal such that whilst assembling, the diaphragms do not break.",
"It is necessary that, upon assembly, the length of the cell assembly [ 100 ] is defined by the length imposed by the outer electrode tube [ 4 ].",
"The diaphragms [ 2 ] and [ 3 ] must be long enough to seal at both ends by O-rings [ 14 ] and [ 15 ] even if one end of the diaphragms [ 2 ] and [ 3 ] is resting on Port B cap [ 8 ] and Port C cap [ 9 ].",
"[0063] A second critical feature of the end caps [ 99 ] is the presence of three ports.",
"Port A begins at fitting [ 17 ] on an outside surface of Port A [ 7 ] permits the flow of softened water through chamber A defined by the inside of the outer electrode tube [ 4 ] and the outside of diaphragm [ 3 ] as illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 .",
"Port C begins at fitting [ 17 ] on an outside surface of Port C cap [ 9 ] and permits the flow of softened water through chamber C defined by the inside of diaphragm [ 2 ] and the outside of inner electrode [ 1 ] as illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 .",
"Port B begins at the fitting [ 17 ] on an outside surface of port B cap [ 8 ] and permits the flow of an electrolyte solution through chamber B defined by the inside of diaphragm [ 3 ] and the outside diaphragm [ 2 ], as illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 .",
"The outside of port A, port B and port C is a fitting [ 17 ] which accepts a tube for introduction or exit of a fluid to the cell assembly [ 100 ].",
"[0064] These fittings [ 17 ] can be a compression fitting, as is illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 , or it can be a hose barb or some other coupling which is appropriate for the system within which the electrolysis cell assembly [ 100 ] is to function.",
"The orientation of the portsis necessarily to promote a tight spiral flow around the inner electrode tube [ 1 ], diaphragm [ 2 ] and [ 3 ] between the spaces in chamber A, chamber B and chamber C. [0065] The end pieces [ 99 ] can have other configurations as long as the configuration permits for the sealing of the assembly where the compressive force is imposed upon the outer electrode [ 4 ] and no significant compressive force is imposed on the diaphragms [ 2 ] and [ 3 ].",
"The different types of end pieces [ 99 ] can be combined in any combination as long as the appropriate lengths of tubing are chosen and as long as the sections of the end piece [ 99 ] can be sealed together by compression or by using glue.",
"While the preferred end piece [ 99 ] has been illustrated and described, it will be clear that the invention is not so limited.",
"Modifications, changes, variations, substitutions and equivalents will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as described in the claims.",
"[0066] Another critical feature of this invention is the construction of the brine reservoir [ 98 ] and the usage of a pump [ 23 ] to circulate an electrolyte from the brine reservoir [ 98 ] through chamber B to the brine reservoir [ 98 ] as shown in FIG. 13 .",
"The brine reservoir [ 98 ] is preferably manufactured from a transparent plastic tube [ 24 ] and two end pieces [ 25 ] and [ 26 ] made of Polyvinyl Chloride, which is commercially available as PVC.",
"The transparent tube [ 24 ] is glued between end piece [ 25 ] and end piece [ 26 ].",
"End piece [ 25 ] has a male thread that allows screwing a cap [ 27 ] on top of end piece [ 25 ].",
"End piece [ 25 ] has also a port [ 28 ] whereas through fitting [ 17 ] a tube can be connected for the exit of the electrolyte to chamber B. End piece [ 26 ] has a port [ 29 ] on the bottom of end piece [ 26 ] whereas through fitting [ 17 ] a tube can be connected for the inlet of softened water.",
"End piece [ 26 ] has another port [ 30 ] on the bottom of end piece [ 26 ] with valve [ 31 ].",
"Opening valve [ 31 ] allows drainage of the electrolyte from the brine reservoir [ 98 ].",
"Ports [ 29 ] and [ 30 ] have been constructed in such a way that the aperture of ports [ 29 ] and [ 30 ] is located above the brine fill line.",
"This feature is important for two reasons.",
"Firstly, when granular salt is added to the brine container [ 98 ] by opening cap [ 26 ], no salt can enter into ports [ 29 ] and [ 30 ] as the apertures are located at the side of these elevated ports [ 29 ] and [ 30 ].",
"Secondly, when opening valve [ 31 ], only the electrolyte is drained and the brine reservoir [ 98 ] remains filled with granular salt that is collected at the bottom of the brine reservoir [ 98 ] on top of end piece [ 26 ].",
"End piece [ 26 ] has a third port [ 32 ] on the bottom of end piece [ 26 ] whereas through a fitting [ 17 ] a tube can be connected for the inlet of electrolyte from the pump [ 23 ].",
"Port [ 32 ] has been constructed in such a way that the aperture of port [ 31 ] is located under the brine fill line.",
"This feature is important for two reasons.",
"Firstly, when granular salt is added to the brine container [ 98 ] by opening cap [ 27 ], no salt can enter into port [ 31 ] as the inlet is located at the side of the port [ 31 ].",
"Secondly, the electrolyte from the pump is circulated through a brine layer that saturates the electrolyte.",
"The electrolyte is circulated through pump [ 23 ] which is preferably a peristaltic pump with a variable pump-speed and which has two fittings [ 17 ] to connect a tube from the brine reservoir [ 98 ] to the pump [ 23 ] and from the pump [ 23 ] to the cell assembly [ 100 ].",
"The brine concentration can be adjusted by adding granular salt and softened water into the brine reservoir [ 98 ].",
"The electrolyte is preferably made by adding granular sodium chloride into the brine reservoir [ 98 ] by opening cap [ 27 ].",
"Besides granular sodium chloride, granular potassium chloride can be used.",
"The electrolyte is preferably a saturated aqueous brine solution.",
"Saturation of the electrolyte is ensured by circulating the electrolyte through the brine reservoir [ 98 ] that is filled with a certain minimum amount of brine.",
"The electrolyte is circulated from the bottom of the brine reservoir [ 98 ] through a layer of salt that is at the bottom of the brine reservoir [ 98 ].",
"[0067] This three chamber cylindrical electrolysis cell can be used with different flow patterns allowing changing the volume of the cleaning and sanitizing solution, as well the pH and free available chlorine content.",
"A typical flow pattern permits approximately 30 to 70% of the softened water to pass the anode chamber and approximately 70 to 30% of the softened water to pass the cathode chamber.",
"The volume of softened water that passes the anode chamber or cathode chamber can be restricted by closing a valve which is mounted in the outlet tube of the anode chamber and the volume of softened water that passes the cathode chamber can be restricted by closing a valve that is mounted in the outlet tube of the cathode chamber.",
"An alternative flow pattern is a flow pattern whereas 100% of the softened water is passed through either the cathode chamber or anode chamber.",
"Approximately 70 to 100% of the electrolyzed solution that either exits the cathode chamber or anode chamber is re-directed to the inlet of either the anode chamber or the cathode chamber whereas 0 to 30% of the electrolyzed liquid is collected in a Sodium Hydroxide storage container or drained as useful by-product.",
"This alternative flow pattern whereas 70 to 100% of the electrolyzed solution is collected in a Hypochlorous Acid storage container is preferred when there is no or little usage of the by-product and whereas the volume of the main-product is maximized.",
"A preferred alternative flow pattern is to pass softened water first through the cathode chamber, wherein the outlet tube is a tee mounted to allow approximately 20% of the diluted sodium hydroxide to flow to a storage tank and where approximately 80% of the diluted sodium hydroxide is re-entered in the anode chamber.",
"The result of this preferred alternative flow pattern is that approximately 80% of the softened water has undergone cathodic electrolysis followed by anodic electrolysis to generate a neutral pH sanitizing solution.",
"Re-entering more diluted Sodium Hydroxide into the anode chamber will increase the pH of the diluted Hypochlorous Acid and re-entering less diluted Sodium Hydroxide will reduce the pH of the diluted Hypochlorous Acid.",
"The volume of the diluted Sodium Hydroxide that enters the anode chamber is regulated by a valve that is mounted in the outlet tube of the cathode chamber between the tee and the Sodium Hydroxide storage container.",
"[0068] One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objectives and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein.",
"The embodiments, methods, procedures and techniques described herein are presently representative of the preferred embodiments, are intended to be exemplary and are not intended as limitations on the scope.",
"Changes therein and other uses will occur to those skilled in the art which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention and are defined by the scope of the appended claims.",
"Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments.",
"Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in the art are intended to be within the scope of the following claims."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a heat shielding apparatus for an exhaust tube of an internal combustion engine vehicle and particularly to the apparatus for the exhaust tube arranged beneath a body portion of the vehicle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new heat shielding apparatus which is fixed around an exhaust tube of an internal combustion engine for effectively shielding heat radiation from the exhaust tube when the engine is running.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the apparatus which can prevent direct contact of inflammable such as dry grass on the road surface with the hot exhaust tube.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the apparatus which comprises a heat shielding cylindrical plate concentrically positioned and radially spaced apart from the exhaust tube by spacing means.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved arrangement of the heat shielding apparatus to the exhaust tube, in which longitudinal thermal expansion occurring in the exhaust tube hardly effects the mechanical properties of the heat shielding apparatus.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein;
FIG. 1A is a perspective view of elementary parts of a heat shielding apparatus of a first preferred embodiment, accompanying an exhaust tube, according to the present invention;
FIG. 1B is a perspective view of an assembled shielding apparatus of the first preferred embodiment;
FIG. 1C is a sectional view taken along line I--I of FIG. 1B;
FIGS. 2 and 3 are perspective views showing other arrangements of the parts, with the exhaust tube, employed in the apparatus of FIG. 1A;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a slightly modified heat shielding apparatus of the first preferred embodiment;
FIG. 5A is a perspective view of an assemblied heat shielding apparatus of a second preferred embodiment, accompanying an exhaust tube indicated in phantom lines, according to the present invention;
FIGS. 5B and 5C are sectional views taken along lines II--II and III--III of FIG. 5A;
FIGS. 5D and 5E are sectional views taken along lines IV--IV and V--V of FIG. 5A;
FIG. 6A is a sectional, partial view of an assemblied heat shielding apparatus of a third preferred embodiment, accompanying an exhaust tube indicated in phantom lines, according to the present invention; and
FIG. 6B is a sectional view taken along line VI--VI of FIG. 6A.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C of the appended drawings, there is shown the first preferred embodiment of the invention in which a heat shielding apparatus 10 is attached to a cylindrical exhaust tube 12 leading from an internal combustion engine (not shown).
As best seen from FIG. 1A, the heat shielding apparatus 10 comprises a generally rectangular heat shielding plate 14 formed with a concave recess 16 along the longitudinal center line portion thereof and a pair of upwardly extending flange portions 18 at the side edges thereof. As well shown in FIG. 1C, the radius of the concave recess 16 is suitably larger than that of the exhaust tube 12 so as to provide a certain thickness of an insulating layer of air between them as will be described hereinafter. Four corners of the heat insulating plate 14 are provided with holes 14a.
On both longitudinal ends of the heat shielding plate 14 are mounted two spacing or bridge members 20 each of which is bent at the generally middle portion thereof toward the bottom of the concave recess 16 and is provided with two holes 20a at both ends thereof, the holes 20a being arranged to align with the corresponding holes 14a of the heat shielding plate 14. As shown in FIG. 1C, each of the spacing members 20 has a round section 20b at the bent portion thereof to firmly receive a part of the exhaust tube 12. In this embodiment, the radius of the round section 20b is the same as that of the exhaust tube 12.
Two bracket members 22 having raised portions 24 at the generally middle portion thereof are used for connecting the heat shielding plate 14 and the spacing members 20 to the exhaust tube 12. Each bracket member 22 is formed at both ends thereof with respective holes 22a. On both ends of each bracket member 22 are connected respective nuts 26 each of which has a hole 26a aligning with the corresponding hole 22a of the bracket members 22.
These parts, such as the heat shielding plate 14, the spacing members 20 and the bracket members 22 are fastened to each other while enclosing the exhaust tube 12 by means of screw bolts 28 passing through the holes 14a, 20a, 22a and 26a, as well seen in FIGS. 1B and 1C.
FIG. 2 shows a slightly modified arrangement of the parts of the heat shielding apparatus to the exhaust tube 12, in which each unit consisting of the spacing member 20 and the bracket member 22 is located toward the center portion of the heat insulating plate 14.
FIG. 3 shows still another modified arrangement of the parts, in which the spacing members 20 and the bracket members 22 are positioned alternately along the exhaust tube 12.
If desired, the recess provided in the heatshielding plate 14 may be formed to have a rectangular cross section 16a, as shown in FIG. 4.
With the above described construction of the heat shielding apparatus 10, heat developed in the exhaust tube 12 is caused to transfer to the heat shielding plate 14 mainly through the small sized spacing members 20 which can not convey heat very well. Accordingly, the heat shielding plate 14 is prevented from being heated to an extremely elevated temperature.
Furthermore, when the exhaust tube 12 expands by the heat of the exhaust gases, the radial expansion of the exhaust tube 12 is preferably absorbed by the round section 20b of the spacing member 20. In this case, the round section 20b is moved downwardly toward the bottom portion of the concave recesss 16. Furthermore, in this condition, the longitudinal expansion of the exhaust tube 12 is achieved without affecting the arrangement of the parts of the apparatus 10 since the apparatus 10 is constructed to slidably receive therein the exhaust tube 12.
Furthermore, during running of the vehicle, the space defined between the exhaust tube 12 and the concave groove 16 is well ventilated by fresh air so that the heat shielding plate 14 is cooled well.
FIGS. 5A and 5E show the second preferred embodiment of the present invention.
In this embodiment, the heat shielding apparatus 10 comprises a generally cylindrical heat shielding plate 30 which has a radius suitably larger than that of the exhaust tube 12. At both longitudinal end portions of the heat shielding plate 30 are formed with first and second groups of embossed sections 32 and 34 which are projected inwardly so as to contact with the outer surface of the exhaust tube 12. Although, in this embodiment, each group has five embossed sections, it is also possible to provide more or fewer numbers of embossed sections to the heat shielding plate 30.
Embossed sections 32 of the first group are firmly connected at the inwardly projecting top ends thereof to the outer surface of the exhaust tube 12 by a suitable technique such as welding, while the embossed sections 34 of the second group are arranged to slidably contact, at the top ends thereof, with the exhaust tube 12.
Two clamping bands 36 and 38 are employed to firmly fasten the heat shielding plate 30 to the exhaust tube 12. Each of the clamping bands 36 and 38 has both ends connectable with each other by a bolt 36a (38a) and a nut 36b (38b). It should be noted that these clamping bands are arranged about the shielding plate 30 so as to enclose the recesses defined by the embossed sections 32 and 34, as shown in FIG. 5E.
In the construction of this second embodiment, the heat transfer between the exhaust tube 12 and the heat shielding plate 30 is mainly made through the embossed sections which are incapable of conveying large amounts of heat by their limited contacting area to the exhaust tube 12. Therefore, the heat insulating plate 30 is prevented from being over-heated.
In this second embodiment, it should be noted that there is almost no chance that some inflammable material, such as dry grass on a road, accidentally contacts the extremely heated portions of the recesses defined by the first and second embossed sections 32 and 34 to burn. This is because of the fact that all recesses are enclosed by the clamping bands 36 and 38, as mentioned before.
It is also to be noted that, in this embodiment, the longitudinal expansion of the exhaust tube 12 does hardly affect the shielding apparatus 10 since the second group of embossed sections 34 are not firmly connected to the exhaust tube 12 but arranged to slidingly contact with the exhaust tube 12.
Referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B, the third preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown, in which the heat shielding apparatus 10 of the exhaust tube 12 comprises a generally cylindrical heat shielding plate 40 having along one side portion thereof a flange section 42 with a suitable number of holes 40a and along the longitudinal inner surface thereof a suitable number of embossed sections 44. The embossed sections 44 are used for contacting with the exhaust tube 12 in such a manner that the heat shielding plate 40 is positioned concentrically and spaced apart from the exhaust tube 12.
Several clamping bands 46, though only one band is shown, are employed for connecting the heat shielding plate 40 to the exhaust tube 12. Each clamping band 46 has both ends formed into flange sections 48 and 50 which are respectively provided with holes 48a and 50a. The flange section 50 has at its sides downwardly bent sections 51 for increasing mechanical strength thereof.
In assembling these parts, a screw bolt 52, a nut 54 and a washer 56 are employed so as to not only fasten the heat insulating plate 40 to the flange section 50 of the clamping band 46, but also to firmly fasten the clamping band 46 onto the exhaust tube 12. Furthermore, the inwardly projecting top end of the embossed section 44 is firmly connected to the cylindrical outer surface of the exhaust tube 12 by means of welding.
Although, in this third embodiment, the heat shielding plate 40 is formed with a section of decreased diameter at one longitudinal end portion thereof, it is also possible to use a plate having generally the same diameter throughout the whole length thereof.
With the construction of this third embodiment, the longitudinal expansion of the exhaust tube 12 due to the heat in the tube 12 is made without damaging the arrangement of the heat shielding apparatus 10 by the same reasons stated hereinbefore.
Although, in the previous description, the heat shielding apparatus is stated to connect to the exhaust tube 12 having a generally circular cross section, it is also possible to use this type of heat shielding apparatus with the other members of the exhaust system such as a muffler and a catalytic converter.
It is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact construction shown and described and that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims. | A heat shield surrounds an exhaust tail pipe of an internal combustion engine so as to define a certain thickness of an insulating layer of air between the shield and the tail pipe. | Briefly outline the background technology and the problem the invention aims to solve. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to a heat shielding apparatus for an exhaust tube of an internal combustion engine vehicle and particularly to the apparatus for the exhaust tube arranged beneath a body portion of the vehicle.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a new heat shielding apparatus which is fixed around an exhaust tube of an internal combustion engine for effectively shielding heat radiation from the exhaust tube when the engine is running.",
"It is another object of the present invention to provide the apparatus which can prevent direct contact of inflammable such as dry grass on the road surface with the hot exhaust tube.",
"It is another object of the present invention to provide the apparatus which comprises a heat shielding cylindrical plate concentrically positioned and radially spaced apart from the exhaust tube by spacing means.",
"It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved arrangement of the heat shielding apparatus to the exhaust tube, in which longitudinal thermal expansion occurring in the exhaust tube hardly effects the mechanical properties of the heat shielding apparatus.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein;",
"FIG. 1A is a perspective view of elementary parts of a heat shielding apparatus of a first preferred embodiment, accompanying an exhaust tube, according to the present invention;",
"FIG. 1B is a perspective view of an assembled shielding apparatus of the first preferred embodiment;",
"FIG. 1C is a sectional view taken along line I--I of FIG. 1B;",
"FIGS. 2 and 3 are perspective views showing other arrangements of the parts, with the exhaust tube, employed in the apparatus of FIG. 1A;",
"FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a slightly modified heat shielding apparatus of the first preferred embodiment;",
"FIG. 5A is a perspective view of an assemblied heat shielding apparatus of a second preferred embodiment, accompanying an exhaust tube indicated in phantom lines, according to the present invention;",
"FIGS. 5B and 5C are sectional views taken along lines II--II and III--III of FIG. 5A;",
"FIGS. 5D and 5E are sectional views taken along lines IV--IV and V--V of FIG. 5A;",
"FIG. 6A is a sectional, partial view of an assemblied heat shielding apparatus of a third preferred embodiment, accompanying an exhaust tube indicated in phantom lines, according to the present invention;",
"and FIG. 6B is a sectional view taken along line VI--VI of FIG. 6A.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C of the appended drawings, there is shown the first preferred embodiment of the invention in which a heat shielding apparatus 10 is attached to a cylindrical exhaust tube 12 leading from an internal combustion engine (not shown).",
"As best seen from FIG. 1A, the heat shielding apparatus 10 comprises a generally rectangular heat shielding plate 14 formed with a concave recess 16 along the longitudinal center line portion thereof and a pair of upwardly extending flange portions 18 at the side edges thereof.",
"As well shown in FIG. 1C, the radius of the concave recess 16 is suitably larger than that of the exhaust tube 12 so as to provide a certain thickness of an insulating layer of air between them as will be described hereinafter.",
"Four corners of the heat insulating plate 14 are provided with holes 14a.",
"On both longitudinal ends of the heat shielding plate 14 are mounted two spacing or bridge members 20 each of which is bent at the generally middle portion thereof toward the bottom of the concave recess 16 and is provided with two holes 20a at both ends thereof, the holes 20a being arranged to align with the corresponding holes 14a of the heat shielding plate 14.",
"As shown in FIG. 1C, each of the spacing members 20 has a round section 20b at the bent portion thereof to firmly receive a part of the exhaust tube 12.",
"In this embodiment, the radius of the round section 20b is the same as that of the exhaust tube 12.",
"Two bracket members 22 having raised portions 24 at the generally middle portion thereof are used for connecting the heat shielding plate 14 and the spacing members 20 to the exhaust tube 12.",
"Each bracket member 22 is formed at both ends thereof with respective holes 22a.",
"On both ends of each bracket member 22 are connected respective nuts 26 each of which has a hole 26a aligning with the corresponding hole 22a of the bracket members 22.",
"These parts, such as the heat shielding plate 14, the spacing members 20 and the bracket members 22 are fastened to each other while enclosing the exhaust tube 12 by means of screw bolts 28 passing through the holes 14a, 20a, 22a and 26a, as well seen in FIGS. 1B and 1C.",
"FIG. 2 shows a slightly modified arrangement of the parts of the heat shielding apparatus to the exhaust tube 12, in which each unit consisting of the spacing member 20 and the bracket member 22 is located toward the center portion of the heat insulating plate 14.",
"FIG. 3 shows still another modified arrangement of the parts, in which the spacing members 20 and the bracket members 22 are positioned alternately along the exhaust tube 12.",
"If desired, the recess provided in the heatshielding plate 14 may be formed to have a rectangular cross section 16a, as shown in FIG. 4. With the above described construction of the heat shielding apparatus 10, heat developed in the exhaust tube 12 is caused to transfer to the heat shielding plate 14 mainly through the small sized spacing members 20 which can not convey heat very well.",
"Accordingly, the heat shielding plate 14 is prevented from being heated to an extremely elevated temperature.",
"Furthermore, when the exhaust tube 12 expands by the heat of the exhaust gases, the radial expansion of the exhaust tube 12 is preferably absorbed by the round section 20b of the spacing member 20.",
"In this case, the round section 20b is moved downwardly toward the bottom portion of the concave recesss 16.",
"Furthermore, in this condition, the longitudinal expansion of the exhaust tube 12 is achieved without affecting the arrangement of the parts of the apparatus 10 since the apparatus 10 is constructed to slidably receive therein the exhaust tube 12.",
"Furthermore, during running of the vehicle, the space defined between the exhaust tube 12 and the concave groove 16 is well ventilated by fresh air so that the heat shielding plate 14 is cooled well.",
"FIGS. 5A and 5E show the second preferred embodiment of the present invention.",
"In this embodiment, the heat shielding apparatus 10 comprises a generally cylindrical heat shielding plate 30 which has a radius suitably larger than that of the exhaust tube 12.",
"At both longitudinal end portions of the heat shielding plate 30 are formed with first and second groups of embossed sections 32 and 34 which are projected inwardly so as to contact with the outer surface of the exhaust tube 12.",
"Although, in this embodiment, each group has five embossed sections, it is also possible to provide more or fewer numbers of embossed sections to the heat shielding plate 30.",
"Embossed sections 32 of the first group are firmly connected at the inwardly projecting top ends thereof to the outer surface of the exhaust tube 12 by a suitable technique such as welding, while the embossed sections 34 of the second group are arranged to slidably contact, at the top ends thereof, with the exhaust tube 12.",
"Two clamping bands 36 and 38 are employed to firmly fasten the heat shielding plate 30 to the exhaust tube 12.",
"Each of the clamping bands 36 and 38 has both ends connectable with each other by a bolt 36a (38a) and a nut 36b (38b).",
"It should be noted that these clamping bands are arranged about the shielding plate 30 so as to enclose the recesses defined by the embossed sections 32 and 34, as shown in FIG. 5E.",
"In the construction of this second embodiment, the heat transfer between the exhaust tube 12 and the heat shielding plate 30 is mainly made through the embossed sections which are incapable of conveying large amounts of heat by their limited contacting area to the exhaust tube 12.",
"Therefore, the heat insulating plate 30 is prevented from being over-heated.",
"In this second embodiment, it should be noted that there is almost no chance that some inflammable material, such as dry grass on a road, accidentally contacts the extremely heated portions of the recesses defined by the first and second embossed sections 32 and 34 to burn.",
"This is because of the fact that all recesses are enclosed by the clamping bands 36 and 38, as mentioned before.",
"It is also to be noted that, in this embodiment, the longitudinal expansion of the exhaust tube 12 does hardly affect the shielding apparatus 10 since the second group of embossed sections 34 are not firmly connected to the exhaust tube 12 but arranged to slidingly contact with the exhaust tube 12.",
"Referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B, the third preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown, in which the heat shielding apparatus 10 of the exhaust tube 12 comprises a generally cylindrical heat shielding plate 40 having along one side portion thereof a flange section 42 with a suitable number of holes 40a and along the longitudinal inner surface thereof a suitable number of embossed sections 44.",
"The embossed sections 44 are used for contacting with the exhaust tube 12 in such a manner that the heat shielding plate 40 is positioned concentrically and spaced apart from the exhaust tube 12.",
"Several clamping bands 46, though only one band is shown, are employed for connecting the heat shielding plate 40 to the exhaust tube 12.",
"Each clamping band 46 has both ends formed into flange sections 48 and 50 which are respectively provided with holes 48a and 50a.",
"The flange section 50 has at its sides downwardly bent sections 51 for increasing mechanical strength thereof.",
"In assembling these parts, a screw bolt 52, a nut 54 and a washer 56 are employed so as to not only fasten the heat insulating plate 40 to the flange section 50 of the clamping band 46, but also to firmly fasten the clamping band 46 onto the exhaust tube 12.",
"Furthermore, the inwardly projecting top end of the embossed section 44 is firmly connected to the cylindrical outer surface of the exhaust tube 12 by means of welding.",
"Although, in this third embodiment, the heat shielding plate 40 is formed with a section of decreased diameter at one longitudinal end portion thereof, it is also possible to use a plate having generally the same diameter throughout the whole length thereof.",
"With the construction of this third embodiment, the longitudinal expansion of the exhaust tube 12 due to the heat in the tube 12 is made without damaging the arrangement of the heat shielding apparatus 10 by the same reasons stated hereinbefore.",
"Although, in the previous description, the heat shielding apparatus is stated to connect to the exhaust tube 12 having a generally circular cross section, it is also possible to use this type of heat shielding apparatus with the other members of the exhaust system such as a muffler and a catalytic converter.",
"It is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact construction shown and described and that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a gripper device for use in a clean room. Such devices are required to manipulate parts or perform some gripping function without contributing negatively to the clean room environment, i.e. without adding any dust or particles which may be created internally within the gripper unit during its operation.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Grippers for use in clean rooms of the type with which the invention is concerned have previously been provided with means to attempt to eliminate contaminants as shown for example in U.S. Pat. No. 3,135,396, issued June 2, 1964 to Grainger. As shown in that patent a "bellows" type plastic bag is used in combination with a pair of pivoting gripper jaws. In such a device the bag, usually of PVC material, is captured at its ends in grooves in the jaws themselves and extends to enclose the entire manipulating apparatus. Such devices fatigue and are not long lived, in addition to not being readily adaptable for use in sliding jaw grippers.
Sliding jaw grippers per se are also known, as shown for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,806, issued Feb. 9, 1988 to Yuda. That patent discloses a parallel robotic gripper having a vertically moveable member for opening and closing parallel gripping members which are carried on master jaws having lateral longitudinally extending slots therein for minimizing machining necessary to provide effective mounting for the slideable master jaws on longitudinally aligned horizontally spaced rails.
The cleanliness requirements for many processing and manufacturing tasks are becoming extremely strict. The environmental changes, and the type and amount of allowable contamination in each operation are monitored closely to ensure that quality products are made on a consistent basis. The principal users of clean rooms are advanced industries making use of thin film technology. The main products manufactured in ultraclean environments include VLSI semiconductors, compact discs, computer memory discs, magnetic and video tapes, precision mechanisms and pharmaceuticals.
Many of the processes which are performed in clean rooms are either partially or fully automated so that humans may be removed from the environment. It has been found that human beings are the single largest contributor to clean room particle contamination. Also, every piece of machinery which is used in a clean room must meet strict guidelines as to the size and amount of particles which it may release, and the materials used in its construction. These guidelines apply most strictly to the assembly machinery which will be situated near the products being produced, and to the manipulators used to handle and move the product.
Currently, the manipulators used to handle the products in a clean room are custom made or are modified to meet the cleanliness requirement. This is usually done at great expense and at a large sacrifice to the work envelope, and the performance of the automated workcell. The typical way of doing this is to enclose the entire manipulator inside of a bellows or enclosure as shown in the Grainger patent, and then to evacuate the entire set-up. The use of such "bellows" is a clumsy way of sealing because the bellows must be custom made in each case, and as already indicated does deteriorate at a rapid rate, adding to the particle contamination in the workcell. In most cases the standard production type grippers must also be modified to accept the bellows arrangement (as was true in the Grainger device which uses machined grooves to anchor the ends of the bellows). The necessary vacuum lines and porting used to evacuate the gripper inside the bellows are often set up awkwardly on the outer portions of the gripper, thus increasing the overall package size by 2-3 times.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is one object of the invention to provide a sealed automatic gripping device for use in clean room environments, whereby it allows for automated gripping, assembly, and material handling within an extremely clean environment.
A further object of the invention is to provide a gripper device having sliding jaws which incorporates roller bearing actuation, adjustable guide rails, and a plurality of sliding seals which enclose the mating surfaces of the gripper in an evacuated chamber so that no particles will escape from the unit during actuation to add to the contamination of the environment.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a sliding seal for mating contact surfaces in a gripper which are prone to create contaminating particles in a clean room environment. Such sliding seal configuration makes the gripper a self contained unit which reduces the package size and eliminates all additional cost and design needed to enclose the unit.
Another object of the invention is to provide a sealing configuration for a gripper which adds only a minimum amount of friction to the system, thereby allowing higher grip forces to be achieved.
Still another object of the invention is to provide means incorporated into a gripper unit to evacuate contaminating particles away from the work area which performs the gripping function.
An additional object is to provide roller bearing actuation for a gripper which reduces actuation force and increases available gripping force.
A further additional object of the invention is to provide adjustable guide rails for a slideable jaw gripper to control racking, and wear of gripper elements and to limit or reduce particle generation caused by the sliding members due to uneven wear.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view through a preferred embodiment of the gripper of the invention with one of the gripper elements omitted.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the gripper of FIG. 1 with a portion of the device removed for the sake of clarity.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view through the device of FIG. 1 illustrating the operation of the jaws to their outermost extremity of separation.
FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view through the lower portion of the gripper of FIG. 3 illustrating the positioning of the lower finger portions of the gripper of FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is a view taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view through the device of FIG. 1. illustrating the operation of the jaws to their innermost extremity of operation.
FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view through the lower portion of the gripper of FIG. 6 illustrating the positioning of the lower finger portions of the gripper of FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a view taken along line 8--8 of FIG. 7.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the gripper 1 of the invention comprises a housing 2 which has a series of bores centrally through it. At its upper end there is the bore 4, which bore is closed by a piston end cap 8, which is pressed against an O-ring seal 10 by a retaining ring 6. Below the bore 4 is a reduced diameter piston bore 12, which is intended to receive tee piston 14. The piston 14 consists of a piston head 16 and central piston shaft 32. The outer circumference of the piston head 16 is grooved as at 20 to receive a piston seal 18 to enable the piston to have a sliding sealed fit within the bore 12. At the bottom of the bore 12 is a raised boss 22, whose purpose is explained more fully hereinafter.
The positioning of the piston head 16 within the bore 12 divides the space in the bore into an upper chamber 26 and a lower chamber 24. Air passage 28 provides a passage for directing air into the lower chamber 24 to move the piston away from the boss 22. The passage 28 is located on the side of the gripper 1. If it is desired to provide air from the top of the gripper the interconnecting passage 25 is arranged to join the passage 28. Similarly, passage 30 enables air to enter the upper chamber 26 to move the piston towards the boss 22. The passage 30 is located on the side of the gripper 1. If it is desired to provide air from the top of the gripper the interconnecting passage 27 is provided to join the passage 30. End fittings 29 and 31 are provided to enable air hose connections to the passages leading to the respective upper and lower chambers (shown in FIG. 2 as connected to the top interconnecting passages 27 and 25, respectively).
The central part 54 of the housing 2 is provided with a recess 35 which receives a quad seal 34 to further guide the piston in its movement. The central piston shaft 32 is threaded as at 36 to receive the bolt 38 which fastens a cam plate 40 to the piston through a bore 39 within the cam plate. The lower surface of the cam plate is provided with a recessed slot 41 to receive the head of the bolt 38. The upper surface of the cam plate 4 is provided with a locating bore 43 to receive the central piston shaft 32.
Cam plate 40 is provided with the inclined slots 42, 44. Roller 46 is arranged to traverse within the slot 44, and roller 50 is arranged to traverse within the slot 42 (see FIG. 2). Dowel pin 48 carries tee roller 46, and dowel pin 52 carries the roller 50. The cam plate 40 moves within an enlarged cam plate chamber 60 in the lower portion of the housing 2. Evacuation ports 56 and 58 are arranged to allow for the removal of any debris from the chamber 60 that may be generated by the movement of the gripper jaws and the rollers within the slots. Two such ports are shown because a more even flow can be attained, however, it is to be understood that one or even more than two may be used.
A pair of inner finger blocks 62 and 64 are shown which are connected to the cam plate. Only one of such blocks will now be described, it being understood that they are similarly constructed. Block 62 is generally formed in a U-shape, having depending legs 66 and 68, each having a slot 70 (only one is shown in FIG. 2) on its outer surface. The slots 70 serve to enable the mounting of the finger block 62 on the guide rails 76 and 78. The legs 66 and 68 are also respectively provided with the bores 72 and 74 to receive the dowel pin 48, which carries the roller 46. The inner finger block 64 is similarly constructed to be mounted on the guide rails 76 and 78 and to receive the dowel pin 52 which carries the roller 50.
A series of screws such as 80, 82 are provided to fasten the rail 76 to the housing. The rail 78 is similarly fastened to the housing. A set screw 84 is provided (there may be a series of such set screws) to allow for the adjusting of the rail inwardly and outwardly of chamber 60 to obtain the optimum finger tracking.
The lower end of the chamber 60 is closed by a seal plate 86, which is fastened to the housing 2 by the bolts 87 (see FIG. 5). The plate 86 is provided with the circular openings 88 and 90. A sealant or gasket 92 is provided beneath the plate 86, which may be any clean room sealant such as Teflon.
The outer finger blocks 94 and 96 are shown as generally rectangular in shape, but may be any shape desired. The lower end of the inner finger blocks 62 and 64 are provided with reduced sections 63 and 65, respectively. The reduced section enables travel within the openings 90 and 88, respectively, in the plate 86. Although shown as being elliptical in form, any shape may be used. The lowermost portion of the inner finger blocks 62, 64 terminate in circular mounting pads 67 and 69, respectively. The size of the mounting pads is such as to reduce any tendency towards tipping of the outer finger blocks. The outer finger block 94 is provided with a groove 98 on its upper surface to receive the sliding seal 100. The finger block 96 similarly receives a sliding seal 102. The reduced sections 63 and 65 which connect with the respective outer finger blocks 94 and 96 pass through openings 90 and 88 in the housing plate 86. While the openings 90 and 88 are larger in size than the reduced sections 63 and 65, the respective sliding seal means 100 and 102 are of sufficient size to continually cover the respective openings throughout the movement of the reduced sections in the openings. These seals are preferably U-shaped, although any shape may be used. The material of the seal is Teflon or stainless steel, or any other well known clean room sealing material. The U-shape readily enables spring-loading or self loading of the seal. The lower end of the block 94 is provided with a central opening or slot 104 to accept the mounting bolts 106, 108 for fastening the outer finger block 94 to the inner finger block 62. The upper end of the block 94 is recessed as at 110 to locate the mounting pad 67 of the inner finger block 62. The block 96 is similarly constructed. Shims may be used between the inner and outer finger blocks to enable changing the pressure on the seal. The various parts such as the housing, cam plate and finger blocks may be made of stainless steel, or if of other material, it is preferably plated with a Teflon impregnated anodic hard coating or electrolytic nickel, or other well known clean room material or coating.
The operation of the gripper of the invention will now be described. With reference to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 the movement of the gripper outer finger blocks 94 and 96 to their outermost position is accomplished by air being introduced through passages 25 and 28 to bounce off of the boss 22 and move the piston upwardly in chamber 24. This movement carries the cam plate in the same direction and moves the slots 42 and 44 in the same direction, thus causing the rollers 50 and 46, respectively, to move their respective dowel pins and because of their interconnection as described above, move the inner and outer finger blocks 64,96 and 62,94 to their outermost position as shown. The openings 88 and 90 in the seal plate 86 are not uncovered, and the seals 100 and 102 wipe on the lower surface of the plate 86. Similarly, with reference to FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 the movement of the gripper outer finger blocks 94 and 96 to their innermost position is accomplished by air being introduced through passages 27 and 30 into chamber 26 to move the piston downwardly. This movement carries the cam plate in the same direction and moves the slots accordingly so that the rollers traverse the slots and carry the inner and outer finger blocks 64,96 and 62,94 towards one another. It is to be noted that both the inner and outer finger blocks move linearly because of the cam-slot arrangement. The meeting of the outer finger blocks determines the closed position and not the bottom of the slots as shown in FIG. 6. The difference in dimensioning is not shown in the drawings but it is to be understood that a slight dimensional difference is provided to enable this positioning. Many variations and modifications of the structure may be made while still coming within the spirit and scope of the invention as above described. For example, instead of strictly linear movement, the surface of the housing, or seal plate 86, may be arcuate to obtain a rotary movement of the gripper fingers instead of purely linear movement. | A clean room gripper having sliding jaws and including a pressurized piston cylinder and actuator section for moving the jaws towards and away from one another. The jaws are in the form of upper and lower finger sections, with the lower section being provided with a sliding seal located between it and a mating outer surface of an evacuated chamber, whereby no particles or dust created within the unit because of mechanical action will be allowed to escape from the gripper during operation to add to contamination of the environment in a clean room. | Provide a concise summary of the essential information conveyed in the given context. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a gripper device for use in a clean room.",
"Such devices are required to manipulate parts or perform some gripping function without contributing negatively to the clean room environment, i.e. without adding any dust or particles which may be created internally within the gripper unit during its operation.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Grippers for use in clean rooms of the type with which the invention is concerned have previously been provided with means to attempt to eliminate contaminants as shown for example in U.S. Pat. No. 3,135,396, issued June 2, 1964 to Grainger.",
"As shown in that patent a "bellows"",
"type plastic bag is used in combination with a pair of pivoting gripper jaws.",
"In such a device the bag, usually of PVC material, is captured at its ends in grooves in the jaws themselves and extends to enclose the entire manipulating apparatus.",
"Such devices fatigue and are not long lived, in addition to not being readily adaptable for use in sliding jaw grippers.",
"Sliding jaw grippers per se are also known, as shown for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,806, issued Feb. 9, 1988 to Yuda.",
"That patent discloses a parallel robotic gripper having a vertically moveable member for opening and closing parallel gripping members which are carried on master jaws having lateral longitudinally extending slots therein for minimizing machining necessary to provide effective mounting for the slideable master jaws on longitudinally aligned horizontally spaced rails.",
"The cleanliness requirements for many processing and manufacturing tasks are becoming extremely strict.",
"The environmental changes, and the type and amount of allowable contamination in each operation are monitored closely to ensure that quality products are made on a consistent basis.",
"The principal users of clean rooms are advanced industries making use of thin film technology.",
"The main products manufactured in ultraclean environments include VLSI semiconductors, compact discs, computer memory discs, magnetic and video tapes, precision mechanisms and pharmaceuticals.",
"Many of the processes which are performed in clean rooms are either partially or fully automated so that humans may be removed from the environment.",
"It has been found that human beings are the single largest contributor to clean room particle contamination.",
"Also, every piece of machinery which is used in a clean room must meet strict guidelines as to the size and amount of particles which it may release, and the materials used in its construction.",
"These guidelines apply most strictly to the assembly machinery which will be situated near the products being produced, and to the manipulators used to handle and move the product.",
"Currently, the manipulators used to handle the products in a clean room are custom made or are modified to meet the cleanliness requirement.",
"This is usually done at great expense and at a large sacrifice to the work envelope, and the performance of the automated workcell.",
"The typical way of doing this is to enclose the entire manipulator inside of a bellows or enclosure as shown in the Grainger patent, and then to evacuate the entire set-up.",
"The use of such "bellows"",
"is a clumsy way of sealing because the bellows must be custom made in each case, and as already indicated does deteriorate at a rapid rate, adding to the particle contamination in the workcell.",
"In most cases the standard production type grippers must also be modified to accept the bellows arrangement (as was true in the Grainger device which uses machined grooves to anchor the ends of the bellows).",
"The necessary vacuum lines and porting used to evacuate the gripper inside the bellows are often set up awkwardly on the outer portions of the gripper, thus increasing the overall package size by 2-3 times.",
"OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is one object of the invention to provide a sealed automatic gripping device for use in clean room environments, whereby it allows for automated gripping, assembly, and material handling within an extremely clean environment.",
"A further object of the invention is to provide a gripper device having sliding jaws which incorporates roller bearing actuation, adjustable guide rails, and a plurality of sliding seals which enclose the mating surfaces of the gripper in an evacuated chamber so that no particles will escape from the unit during actuation to add to the contamination of the environment.",
"A still further object of the invention is to provide a sliding seal for mating contact surfaces in a gripper which are prone to create contaminating particles in a clean room environment.",
"Such sliding seal configuration makes the gripper a self contained unit which reduces the package size and eliminates all additional cost and design needed to enclose the unit.",
"Another object of the invention is to provide a sealing configuration for a gripper which adds only a minimum amount of friction to the system, thereby allowing higher grip forces to be achieved.",
"Still another object of the invention is to provide means incorporated into a gripper unit to evacuate contaminating particles away from the work area which performs the gripping function.",
"An additional object is to provide roller bearing actuation for a gripper which reduces actuation force and increases available gripping force.",
"A further additional object of the invention is to provide adjustable guide rails for a slideable jaw gripper to control racking, and wear of gripper elements and to limit or reduce particle generation caused by the sliding members due to uneven wear.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view through a preferred embodiment of the gripper of the invention with one of the gripper elements omitted.",
"FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the gripper of FIG. 1 with a portion of the device removed for the sake of clarity.",
"FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view through the device of FIG. 1 illustrating the operation of the jaws to their outermost extremity of separation.",
"FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view through the lower portion of the gripper of FIG. 3 illustrating the positioning of the lower finger portions of the gripper of FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a view taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view through the device of FIG. 1. illustrating the operation of the jaws to their innermost extremity of operation.",
"FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view through the lower portion of the gripper of FIG. 6 illustrating the positioning of the lower finger portions of the gripper of FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a view taken along line 8--8 of FIG. 7. DETAILED DESCRIPTION As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the gripper 1 of the invention comprises a housing 2 which has a series of bores centrally through it.",
"At its upper end there is the bore 4, which bore is closed by a piston end cap 8, which is pressed against an O-ring seal 10 by a retaining ring 6.",
"Below the bore 4 is a reduced diameter piston bore 12, which is intended to receive tee piston 14.",
"The piston 14 consists of a piston head 16 and central piston shaft 32.",
"The outer circumference of the piston head 16 is grooved as at 20 to receive a piston seal 18 to enable the piston to have a sliding sealed fit within the bore 12.",
"At the bottom of the bore 12 is a raised boss 22, whose purpose is explained more fully hereinafter.",
"The positioning of the piston head 16 within the bore 12 divides the space in the bore into an upper chamber 26 and a lower chamber 24.",
"Air passage 28 provides a passage for directing air into the lower chamber 24 to move the piston away from the boss 22.",
"The passage 28 is located on the side of the gripper 1.",
"If it is desired to provide air from the top of the gripper the interconnecting passage 25 is arranged to join the passage 28.",
"Similarly, passage 30 enables air to enter the upper chamber 26 to move the piston towards the boss 22.",
"The passage 30 is located on the side of the gripper 1.",
"If it is desired to provide air from the top of the gripper the interconnecting passage 27 is provided to join the passage 30.",
"End fittings 29 and 31 are provided to enable air hose connections to the passages leading to the respective upper and lower chambers (shown in FIG. 2 as connected to the top interconnecting passages 27 and 25, respectively).",
"The central part 54 of the housing 2 is provided with a recess 35 which receives a quad seal 34 to further guide the piston in its movement.",
"The central piston shaft 32 is threaded as at 36 to receive the bolt 38 which fastens a cam plate 40 to the piston through a bore 39 within the cam plate.",
"The lower surface of the cam plate is provided with a recessed slot 41 to receive the head of the bolt 38.",
"The upper surface of the cam plate 4 is provided with a locating bore 43 to receive the central piston shaft 32.",
"Cam plate 40 is provided with the inclined slots 42, 44.",
"Roller 46 is arranged to traverse within the slot 44, and roller 50 is arranged to traverse within the slot 42 (see FIG. 2).",
"Dowel pin 48 carries tee roller 46, and dowel pin 52 carries the roller 50.",
"The cam plate 40 moves within an enlarged cam plate chamber 60 in the lower portion of the housing 2.",
"Evacuation ports 56 and 58 are arranged to allow for the removal of any debris from the chamber 60 that may be generated by the movement of the gripper jaws and the rollers within the slots.",
"Two such ports are shown because a more even flow can be attained, however, it is to be understood that one or even more than two may be used.",
"A pair of inner finger blocks 62 and 64 are shown which are connected to the cam plate.",
"Only one of such blocks will now be described, it being understood that they are similarly constructed.",
"Block 62 is generally formed in a U-shape, having depending legs 66 and 68, each having a slot 70 (only one is shown in FIG. 2) on its outer surface.",
"The slots 70 serve to enable the mounting of the finger block 62 on the guide rails 76 and 78.",
"The legs 66 and 68 are also respectively provided with the bores 72 and 74 to receive the dowel pin 48, which carries the roller 46.",
"The inner finger block 64 is similarly constructed to be mounted on the guide rails 76 and 78 and to receive the dowel pin 52 which carries the roller 50.",
"A series of screws such as 80, 82 are provided to fasten the rail 76 to the housing.",
"The rail 78 is similarly fastened to the housing.",
"A set screw 84 is provided (there may be a series of such set screws) to allow for the adjusting of the rail inwardly and outwardly of chamber 60 to obtain the optimum finger tracking.",
"The lower end of the chamber 60 is closed by a seal plate 86, which is fastened to the housing 2 by the bolts 87 (see FIG. 5).",
"The plate 86 is provided with the circular openings 88 and 90.",
"A sealant or gasket 92 is provided beneath the plate 86, which may be any clean room sealant such as Teflon.",
"The outer finger blocks 94 and 96 are shown as generally rectangular in shape, but may be any shape desired.",
"The lower end of the inner finger blocks 62 and 64 are provided with reduced sections 63 and 65, respectively.",
"The reduced section enables travel within the openings 90 and 88, respectively, in the plate 86.",
"Although shown as being elliptical in form, any shape may be used.",
"The lowermost portion of the inner finger blocks 62, 64 terminate in circular mounting pads 67 and 69, respectively.",
"The size of the mounting pads is such as to reduce any tendency towards tipping of the outer finger blocks.",
"The outer finger block 94 is provided with a groove 98 on its upper surface to receive the sliding seal 100.",
"The finger block 96 similarly receives a sliding seal 102.",
"The reduced sections 63 and 65 which connect with the respective outer finger blocks 94 and 96 pass through openings 90 and 88 in the housing plate 86.",
"While the openings 90 and 88 are larger in size than the reduced sections 63 and 65, the respective sliding seal means 100 and 102 are of sufficient size to continually cover the respective openings throughout the movement of the reduced sections in the openings.",
"These seals are preferably U-shaped, although any shape may be used.",
"The material of the seal is Teflon or stainless steel, or any other well known clean room sealing material.",
"The U-shape readily enables spring-loading or self loading of the seal.",
"The lower end of the block 94 is provided with a central opening or slot 104 to accept the mounting bolts 106, 108 for fastening the outer finger block 94 to the inner finger block 62.",
"The upper end of the block 94 is recessed as at 110 to locate the mounting pad 67 of the inner finger block 62.",
"The block 96 is similarly constructed.",
"Shims may be used between the inner and outer finger blocks to enable changing the pressure on the seal.",
"The various parts such as the housing, cam plate and finger blocks may be made of stainless steel, or if of other material, it is preferably plated with a Teflon impregnated anodic hard coating or electrolytic nickel, or other well known clean room material or coating.",
"The operation of the gripper of the invention will now be described.",
"With reference to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 the movement of the gripper outer finger blocks 94 and 96 to their outermost position is accomplished by air being introduced through passages 25 and 28 to bounce off of the boss 22 and move the piston upwardly in chamber 24.",
"This movement carries the cam plate in the same direction and moves the slots 42 and 44 in the same direction, thus causing the rollers 50 and 46, respectively, to move their respective dowel pins and because of their interconnection as described above, move the inner and outer finger blocks 64,96 and 62,94 to their outermost position as shown.",
"The openings 88 and 90 in the seal plate 86 are not uncovered, and the seals 100 and 102 wipe on the lower surface of the plate 86.",
"Similarly, with reference to FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 the movement of the gripper outer finger blocks 94 and 96 to their innermost position is accomplished by air being introduced through passages 27 and 30 into chamber 26 to move the piston downwardly.",
"This movement carries the cam plate in the same direction and moves the slots accordingly so that the rollers traverse the slots and carry the inner and outer finger blocks 64,96 and 62,94 towards one another.",
"It is to be noted that both the inner and outer finger blocks move linearly because of the cam-slot arrangement.",
"The meeting of the outer finger blocks determines the closed position and not the bottom of the slots as shown in FIG. 6. The difference in dimensioning is not shown in the drawings but it is to be understood that a slight dimensional difference is provided to enable this positioning.",
"Many variations and modifications of the structure may be made while still coming within the spirit and scope of the invention as above described.",
"For example, instead of strictly linear movement, the surface of the housing, or seal plate 86, may be arcuate to obtain a rotary movement of the gripper fingers instead of purely linear movement."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to the general field of high power field effect transistors.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Power MOSFETs have been widely applied to a variety of power electronics systems because of their inherent advantages such as high speed, low on-resistance, and excellent thermal stability. One of the most efficient methods to reduce on-resistance is to increase the packing density and the vertical (trench gate) MOSFET has been acknowledged to be the best device structure for achieving this.
A conventional device structure and the process flow for its manufacture are shown in FIG. 1 . Starting with FIG. 1 a, after P body 13 is diffused into an N+ N− epitaxial wafer 11 and 12 , thin SiO 2 and Si 3 N 4 films 14 and 15 respectively, are grown over the wafer. Rectangular trenches 116 are then formed by using RIE (reactive ion etching) followed by oxidation to form gate layer 114 (FIG. 1 b ). In-situ doped poly-Si 122 is then deposited to refill the trenches. After polysilicon etch back, the Si 3 N 4 and SiO 2 films are removed, as shown in FIG. 1 c ). Photolithography is then used to define the N+ source region 151 by means of photoresist maks 112 , followed by the N+ source implantation 110 (FIG.1 d ).
Another photolithography step is used to form P body contact region 181 . Finally, contact holes formation, through passivation layer 102 , and Al-metalization (layer 101 ) are performed to complete device fabrication (FIG. 1 e ).
The only way to further increase device density is to decrease device pitch. For the conventional process described in FIGS. 1 a - 1 e, the pitch is determined by the trench width, the N+ source width, and the P body contact width. Thus the pitch limit is set by the lithography technology. To reduce pitch still further implies a reduction of the design rules and this is a high cost approach.
Kim (see reference below) has proposed a self-aligned technique to reduce device pitch in which an oxide spacer is used as a hard mask to etch a trench. Because of the rounded corner of such as spacer, the trench profile is tapered so that the device pitch still exceeds 2 microns. The maximum device density is 110 Mcell/in 2 . Furthermore, the N+ region at the bottom of the trench will degrade the quality of gate oxide and result in a locally stronger electric field. Another drawback is the small contact area to the source.
The present invention discloses a fully self-aligned trench gate MOSFET technique which uses self-aligned source and drain contacts and also saves one photolithography step in the process. With this technique the device density can be greatly increased by altering photolithography process. An additional benefit of the technique is a lower gate resistance owing to silicidation at the gate.
A routine search of the prior art was performed with the following references of interest being found:
PUBLICATIONS
D. Ueda et al. “An ultra-low on-resistance power MOSFET fabricated by using a fully self-aligned process” IEEE Trans. El. Dev. vol. ED-34 no. 4, April 1987 pp. 926-930.
T. Syau et al. “Comparison of ultra-low specific on-resistance UMOSFET structures: The ACCUFET, EXTFET, INVFET, and conventional UMOSFETs” IEEE Trans. El. Dev. vol. ED41 no. 5, May 1994 pp. 800-808.
B. J. Baliga “Trends in power discrete devices” Proc. 1998 Intl. Symp. on power semiconductor devices and Ics” pp. 2-10.
J. Kim et al. “High-density low on-resistance trench MOSFETs employing oxide spacers and self-align technique for DC/DC Converter” ISPSD'May 22-25, 2000 Toulouse, France, pp. 381-384.
Patents
U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,180 (Hara et al.) shows a vertical trench gate power MOSFET. U.S. Pat. No. 6,015,737 (Tokura et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 6,096,608 (Williams), U.S. 5,714,781 (Yamamoto et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,343 (Mathew et al.) all show other vertical power MOSFETs. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,137,135, Kubo et al. disclose a vertical trench MOSFET.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It has been an object of at least one embodiment of the present invention to provide a process for manufacturing a vertical power MOSFET.
Another object of at least one embodiment of the present invention has been that said process result in an MOSFET that has, relative to the prior art, higher cell density, higher speed, easy scalability, and wide application.
A further object of at least one embodiment of the present invention has been that said process be fully compatible with existing processes used for the manufacture of vertical power MOSFETs.
These objects have been achieved by means of a sidewall doping process that effectively reduces the source width, and hence the device pitch. This sidewall doping process also eliminates the need for a source implantation mask while the sidewall spacer facilitates silicide formation at the source, the P body contact, and the polysilicon gate simultaneously. Since the source and P body are fully covered by silicide, the contact number and contact resistance can be minimized. The silicided polysilicon gate has a low sheet resistance of about 4-6 ohm/square, resulting in a higher operating frequency.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGS. 1 a - 1 e illustrate the prior art process for forming a vertical MOSFET.
FIG. 2 a shows trench formation in a three layer silicon wafer.
FIG. 2 b shows the trench after over-filling with polysilicon.
FIG. 3 shows part of said polysilicon removed.
FIG. 4 a shows the polysilicon fully encapsulated in oxide (first embodiment).
FIG. 4 b shows the polysilicon with an oxide free top surface (second embodiment).
FIG. 5 a shows how the source region is formed through ion implantation at an angle.
FIG. 5 b shows how the source region is formed through diffusion.
FIG. 5 c shows how the source region is formed using doped polysilicon as a diffusion source.
FIG. 6 shows the structure at the completion of source formation.
FIG. 7 shows the formation of insulating spacers on the trench wall.
FIG. 8 shows formation of the contact to the main P+ body of the device.
FIG. 9 shows the completed device including silicide contacts.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention provides an improved process for manufacturing a vertical power MOSFET. Although additional variations of our process could be introduced, it can be viewed as being divided into two general embodiments:
1 st Embodiment
Referring now to FIG. 2 a, the process begins with the provision of a silicon wafer having an N+ bottom layer 11 and an N− type middle layer 12 in a P body 13 . A layer of pad oxide 14 is then formed on the top surface, followed by of silicon nitride layer 15 . These layers are patterned so that they serve as a mask for the formation of trench 16 whose depth is sufficient for it to extend into middle layer 13 . As alternative option, these two layers may be replaced by a single layer of silicon oxide having a thickness between about 0.2 and 1 microns.
Next, silicon oxide layer 21 is formed on the floor and sidewalls of trench 16 , as shown in FIG. 2 b. The trench is then overfilled with polysilicon 22 , following which this polysilicon is etched back so that it now under-fills the trench, as shown in FIG. 3 . As an alternative to etching back the excess polysilicon, the excess polysilicon may be planarized until there is no polysilicon outside the trench and then some polysilicon in the trench can be removed by means of reactive ion etching or chemical etching in a HF/HNO 3 solution.
All exposed silicon oxide is then removed from the trench's sidewalls and thin silicon oxide layer 41 is grown on the top surface of polysilicon 22 as well as the exposed silicon sidewalls so that the latter becomes encapsulated in silicon oxide, as shown in FIG. 4 a.
Referring next to FIG. 5 a, as a key feature of the process N+ source area 51 is formed through ion implantation of donor ions (such as arsenic) by ion beam 52 . Typically, the arsenic ions have an energy between about 30 and 80 kilovolts, and are deposited so as to achieve a final concentration between about 5×10 19 and 5×10 20 ions per cc. The ion beam is directed at an angle that is between about 30 and 60 degrees from the vertical and at the same time the wafer is rotated. As can be seen in FIG. 5 a, the right outer part and the left inner part of 51 are being formed at any given time. In particular, polysilicon plug 22 acts as a mask to ensure that ions penetrate the uncovered sidewalls of the trench as well as a small amount of the trench wall that overlaps with the polysilicon. In other words, the process is self-aligning. Silicon nitride mask 15 is removed at the completion of the ion implantation step. This is illustrated in FIG. 6 .
As seen in FIG. 7, the next step is the formation of spacers 71 to protect the exposed portions of the trench's sidewalls. This is accomplished by depositing a conformal layer of a dielectric material (silicon oxide or silicon nitride) and then selectively removing it from horizontal surfaces only. Depending on the thickness given to the conformal dielectric coating and the etching time, the insulating spacers extend upwards from the polysilicon as far the upper surface of the wafer or they may extend only as far as a line that is between about 0.1 and 0.3 microns below the upper surface of the wafer.
This is followed by formation of contact area 81 to P body 13 by implanting acceptor ions (such as boron or BF 3 + ), to a concentration that is lower than that of the N+ source region so no mask is required, into the space between the two parts of source contact 51 , as shown in FIG. 8 .
The final step, as illustrated in FIG. 9, is the formation of silicide contacts 91 using the conventional SALICIDE (self-aligned silicide) process. A single contact to 51 and 81 is automatically achieved. Contact to the drain is made through bottom layer 11 which can be mounted on a heat sink. The silicide contacts may be titanium silicide, cobalt silicide, or nickel silicide.
This completes the process of the first embodiment. We note here that source to source spacing in the device could be further reduced by adding a punch through implantation after the spacers have been formed. This would involve additional P type implantation (B + or BF 3 + ions) to increase the surface concentration between the two adjacent N+ sources.
2 nd Embodiment
The second embodiment resembles the first embodiment for all process steps except the key one of how the N+ source contacts 51 are formed. Instead of ion implantation, diffusion is used. To prepare the structure for this, as shown in FIG. 4 b, layer 41 is not laid down (as was the case shown in FIG. 4 a for the first embodiment). Thus, in FIG. 5, instead of an ion beam as shown there, a gas phase diffusion source 53 is provided for forming the N+ source area 51 . After diffusion inwards through the sidewalls of the trench, 51 can be seen to extend away from the wall into the top P body 13 and to extend downwards as far as the edge of polysilicon plug 22 , again resulting in self-alignment.
Three different ways of incorporating a diffusion step as part of the process of the present invention are disclosed:
(1) The diffusion source is phosphorus oxychloride gas.
(2) The diffusion source is a layer of a glass such as phosphosilicate glass or arsenosilicate glass which is removed at the conclusion of the diffusion.
(3) The diffusion source is doped polysilicon. In this case, the trench is filled to the brim with thin N+ polysilicon layer 54 (about 500 Angstroms thick), as shown in FIG. 5 c, which then serves as the diffusion source. After diffusion, layer 54 is fully oxidized so that source 51 and polysilicon plug 22 just line up.
At the conclusion of the diffusion step described above silicon nitride is removed and the process of the second embodiment reverts to that of the first embodiment (see FIG. 6 .
The two embodiments described above offer the following advantages over processes currently being used to manufacture vertical MOS power devices:
(i) High Cell Density
(a) Trench to trench distance is determined only by 2×W(N+)+W(P+). Assuming W(N+)=0.3 μm, W(P+)=0.4 μm, Wt=0.5 μm (where Wt is trench width), then cell pitch=1.5 μm, corresponding to a cell density of 286 MCPSI (million cells per sq. inch) using 0.5 μm technology
(b) N+ source and P+ body contact are connected by silicide ( 91 ) so a butted contact forms automatically.
(c) Since the polysilicon gate is silicided, gate contact number (number of contact holes connecting metal to gate) can be minimized.
(ii) High Speed
(a) Since the source is silicided the source resistance is minimized.
(b) Since the gate is silicided the gate resistance is minimized, thereby minimizing gate RC delay.
(c) Since the N+ source and P body are connected by silicide metal can contact them through a contact hole without sacrificing cell density.
(d) Gate-source capacitance is also minimized because source implantation is self-aligned to the gate edge.
(iii) Easy to Scale Down
Only Wt depends on patterning technology. W(N+) can be scaled down by reducing implantation energy or thermal budget.
W(P+) can be scaled down by increasing P body concentration or by adding a punch through implantation, as discussed earlier.
(iv) Fewer masks
N+ source can be formed without a mask.
(v) Wide Application
This technology can be adapted to other devices that have a trenched gate structure as IGBT (insulated gate bipolar transistor) and all types of UMOSFET (where ‘U’ refers to the shape of the trench),
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. | Using current technology, the only way to further increase device density is to decrease device pitch. The present invention achieves this by introducing a sidewall doping process that effectively reduces the source width, and hence the pitch. This sidewall doping process also eliminates the need for a source implantation mask while the sidewall spacer facilitates silicide formation at the source, the P body contact, and the polysilicon gate simultaneously. Since the source and P body are fully covered by silicide, the contact number and contact resistance can be minimized. The silicided polysilicon gate has a low sheet resistance of about 4-6 ohm/square, resulting in a higher operating frequency. | Identify and summarize the most critical technical features from the given patent document. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to the general field of high power field effect transistors.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Power MOSFETs have been widely applied to a variety of power electronics systems because of their inherent advantages such as high speed, low on-resistance, and excellent thermal stability.",
"One of the most efficient methods to reduce on-resistance is to increase the packing density and the vertical (trench gate) MOSFET has been acknowledged to be the best device structure for achieving this.",
"A conventional device structure and the process flow for its manufacture are shown in FIG. 1 .",
"Starting with FIG. 1 a, after P body 13 is diffused into an N+ N− epitaxial wafer 11 and 12 , thin SiO 2 and Si 3 N 4 films 14 and 15 respectively, are grown over the wafer.",
"Rectangular trenches 116 are then formed by using RIE (reactive ion etching) followed by oxidation to form gate layer 114 (FIG.",
"1 b ).",
"In-situ doped poly-Si 122 is then deposited to refill the trenches.",
"After polysilicon etch back, the Si 3 N 4 and SiO 2 films are removed, as shown in FIG. 1 c ).",
"Photolithography is then used to define the N+ source region 151 by means of photoresist maks 112 , followed by the N+ source implantation 110 (FIG[.",
"].1 d ).",
"Another photolithography step is used to form P body contact region 181 .",
"Finally, contact holes formation, through passivation layer 102 , and Al-metalization (layer 101 ) are performed to complete device fabrication (FIG.",
"1 e ).",
"The only way to further increase device density is to decrease device pitch.",
"For the conventional process described in FIGS. 1 a - 1 e, the pitch is determined by the trench width, the N+ source width, and the P body contact width.",
"Thus the pitch limit is set by the lithography technology.",
"To reduce pitch still further implies a reduction of the design rules and this is a high cost approach.",
"Kim (see reference below) has proposed a self-aligned technique to reduce device pitch in which an oxide spacer is used as a hard mask to etch a trench.",
"Because of the rounded corner of such as spacer, the trench profile is tapered so that the device pitch still exceeds 2 microns.",
"The maximum device density is 110 Mcell/in 2 .",
"Furthermore, the N+ region at the bottom of the trench will degrade the quality of gate oxide and result in a locally stronger electric field.",
"Another drawback is the small contact area to the source.",
"The present invention discloses a fully self-aligned trench gate MOSFET technique which uses self-aligned source and drain contacts and also saves one photolithography step in the process.",
"With this technique the device density can be greatly increased by altering photolithography process.",
"An additional benefit of the technique is a lower gate resistance owing to silicidation at the gate.",
"A routine search of the prior art was performed with the following references of interest being found: PUBLICATIONS D. Ueda et al.",
"“An ultra-low on-resistance power MOSFET fabricated by using a fully self-aligned process”",
"IEEE Trans.",
"El.",
"Dev.",
"vol.",
"ED-34 no. 4, April 1987 pp. 926-930.",
"T. Syau et al.",
"“Comparison of ultra-low specific on-resistance UMOSFET structures: The ACCUFET, EXTFET, INVFET, and conventional UMOSFETs”",
"IEEE Trans.",
"El.",
"Dev.",
"vol.",
"ED41 no. 5, May 1994 pp. 800-808.",
"B. J. Baliga “Trends in power discrete devices”",
"Proc.",
"1998 Intl.",
"Symp.",
"on power semiconductor devices and Ics”",
"pp. 2-10.",
"J. Kim et al.",
"“High-density low on-resistance trench MOSFETs employing oxide spacers and self-align technique for DC/DC Converter”",
"ISPSD'May 22-25, 2000 Toulouse, France, pp. 381-384.",
"Patents U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,180 (Hara et al.) shows a vertical trench gate power MOSFET.",
"U.S. Pat. No. 6,015,737 (Tokura et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 6,096,608 (Williams), U.S. 5,714,781 (Yamamoto et al.",
", and U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,343 (Mathew et al.) all show other vertical power MOSFETs.",
"In U.S. Pat. No. 6,137,135, Kubo et al.",
"disclose a vertical trench MOSFET.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It has been an object of at least one embodiment of the present invention to provide a process for manufacturing a vertical power MOSFET.",
"Another object of at least one embodiment of the present invention has been that said process result in an MOSFET that has, relative to the prior art, higher cell density, higher speed, easy scalability, and wide application.",
"A further object of at least one embodiment of the present invention has been that said process be fully compatible with existing processes used for the manufacture of vertical power MOSFETs.",
"These objects have been achieved by means of a sidewall doping process that effectively reduces the source width, and hence the device pitch.",
"This sidewall doping process also eliminates the need for a source implantation mask while the sidewall spacer facilitates silicide formation at the source, the P body contact, and the polysilicon gate simultaneously.",
"Since the source and P body are fully covered by silicide, the contact number and contact resistance can be minimized.",
"The silicided polysilicon gate has a low sheet resistance of about 4-6 ohm/square, resulting in a higher operating frequency.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS. 1 a - 1 e illustrate the prior art process for forming a vertical MOSFET.",
"FIG. 2 a shows trench formation in a three layer silicon wafer.",
"FIG. 2 b shows the trench after over-filling with polysilicon.",
"FIG. 3 shows part of said polysilicon removed.",
"FIG. 4 a shows the polysilicon fully encapsulated in oxide (first embodiment).",
"FIG. 4 b shows the polysilicon with an oxide free top surface (second embodiment).",
"FIG. 5 a shows how the source region is formed through ion implantation at an angle.",
"FIG. 5 b shows how the source region is formed through diffusion.",
"FIG. 5 c shows how the source region is formed using doped polysilicon as a diffusion source.",
"FIG. 6 shows the structure at the completion of source formation.",
"FIG. 7 shows the formation of insulating spacers on the trench wall.",
"FIG. 8 shows formation of the contact to the main P+ body of the device.",
"FIG. 9 shows the completed device including silicide contacts.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention provides an improved process for manufacturing a vertical power MOSFET.",
"Although additional variations of our process could be introduced, it can be viewed as being divided into two general embodiments: 1 st Embodiment Referring now to FIG. 2 a, the process begins with the provision of a silicon wafer having an N+ bottom layer 11 and an N− type middle layer 12 in a P body 13 .",
"A layer of pad oxide 14 is then formed on the top surface, followed by of silicon nitride layer 15 .",
"These layers are patterned so that they serve as a mask for the formation of trench 16 whose depth is sufficient for it to extend into middle layer 13 .",
"As alternative option, these two layers may be replaced by a single layer of silicon oxide having a thickness between about 0.2 and 1 microns.",
"Next, silicon oxide layer 21 is formed on the floor and sidewalls of trench 16 , as shown in FIG. 2 b. The trench is then overfilled with polysilicon 22 , following which this polysilicon is etched back so that it now under-fills the trench, as shown in FIG. 3 .",
"As an alternative to etching back the excess polysilicon, the excess polysilicon may be planarized until there is no polysilicon outside the trench and then some polysilicon in the trench can be removed by means of reactive ion etching or chemical etching in a HF/HNO 3 solution.",
"All exposed silicon oxide is then removed from the trench's sidewalls and thin silicon oxide layer 41 is grown on the top surface of polysilicon 22 as well as the exposed silicon sidewalls so that the latter becomes encapsulated in silicon oxide, as shown in FIG. 4 a. Referring next to FIG. 5 a, as a key feature of the process N+ source area 51 is formed through ion implantation of donor ions (such as arsenic) by ion beam 52 .",
"Typically, the arsenic ions have an energy between about 30 and 80 kilovolts, and are deposited so as to achieve a final concentration between about 5×10 19 and 5×10 20 ions per cc.",
"The ion beam is directed at an angle that is between about 30 and 60 degrees from the vertical and at the same time the wafer is rotated.",
"As can be seen in FIG. 5 a, the right outer part and the left inner part of 51 are being formed at any given time.",
"In particular, polysilicon plug 22 acts as a mask to ensure that ions penetrate the uncovered sidewalls of the trench as well as a small amount of the trench wall that overlaps with the polysilicon.",
"In other words, the process is self-aligning.",
"Silicon nitride mask 15 is removed at the completion of the ion implantation step.",
"This is illustrated in FIG. 6 .",
"As seen in FIG. 7, the next step is the formation of spacers 71 to protect the exposed portions of the trench's sidewalls.",
"This is accomplished by depositing a conformal layer of a dielectric material (silicon oxide or silicon nitride) and then selectively removing it from horizontal surfaces only.",
"Depending on the thickness given to the conformal dielectric coating and the etching time, the insulating spacers extend upwards from the polysilicon as far the upper surface of the wafer or they may extend only as far as a line that is between about 0.1 and 0.3 microns below the upper surface of the wafer.",
"This is followed by formation of contact area 81 to P body 13 by implanting acceptor ions (such as boron or BF 3 + ), to a concentration that is lower than that of the N+ source region so no mask is required, into the space between the two parts of source contact 51 , as shown in FIG. 8 .",
"The final step, as illustrated in FIG. 9, is the formation of silicide contacts 91 using the conventional SALICIDE (self-aligned silicide) process.",
"A single contact to 51 and 81 is automatically achieved.",
"Contact to the drain is made through bottom layer 11 which can be mounted on a heat sink.",
"The silicide contacts may be titanium silicide, cobalt silicide, or nickel silicide.",
"This completes the process of the first embodiment.",
"We note here that source to source spacing in the device could be further reduced by adding a punch through implantation after the spacers have been formed.",
"This would involve additional P type implantation (B + or BF 3 + ions) to increase the surface concentration between the two adjacent N+ sources.",
"2 nd Embodiment The second embodiment resembles the first embodiment for all process steps except the key one of how the N+ source contacts 51 are formed.",
"Instead of ion implantation, diffusion is used.",
"To prepare the structure for this, as shown in FIG. 4 b, layer 41 is not laid down (as was the case shown in FIG. 4 a for the first embodiment).",
"Thus, in FIG. 5, instead of an ion beam as shown there, a gas phase diffusion source 53 is provided for forming the N+ source area 51 .",
"After diffusion inwards through the sidewalls of the trench, 51 can be seen to extend away from the wall into the top P body 13 and to extend downwards as far as the edge of polysilicon plug 22 , again resulting in self-alignment.",
"Three different ways of incorporating a diffusion step as part of the process of the present invention are disclosed: (1) The diffusion source is phosphorus oxychloride gas.",
"(2) The diffusion source is a layer of a glass such as phosphosilicate glass or arsenosilicate glass which is removed at the conclusion of the diffusion.",
"(3) The diffusion source is doped polysilicon.",
"In this case, the trench is filled to the brim with thin N+ polysilicon layer 54 (about 500 Angstroms thick), as shown in FIG. 5 c, which then serves as the diffusion source.",
"After diffusion, layer 54 is fully oxidized so that source 51 and polysilicon plug 22 just line up.",
"At the conclusion of the diffusion step described above silicon nitride is removed and the process of the second embodiment reverts to that of the first embodiment (see FIG. 6 .",
"The two embodiments described above offer the following advantages over processes currently being used to manufacture vertical MOS power devices: (i) High Cell Density (a) Trench to trench distance is determined only by 2×W(N+)+W(P+).",
"Assuming W(N+)=0.3 μm, W(P+)=0.4 μm, Wt=0.5 μm (where Wt is trench width), then cell pitch=1.5 μm, corresponding to a cell density of 286 MCPSI (million cells per sq.",
"inch) using 0.5 μm technology (b) N+ source and P+ body contact are connected by silicide ( 91 ) so a butted contact forms automatically.",
"(c) Since the polysilicon gate is silicided, gate contact number (number of contact holes connecting metal to gate) can be minimized.",
"(ii) High Speed (a) Since the source is silicided the source resistance is minimized.",
"(b) Since the gate is silicided the gate resistance is minimized, thereby minimizing gate RC delay.",
"(c) Since the N+ source and P body are connected by silicide metal can contact them through a contact hole without sacrificing cell density.",
"(d) Gate-source capacitance is also minimized because source implantation is self-aligned to the gate edge.",
"(iii) Easy to Scale Down Only Wt depends on patterning technology.",
"W(N+) can be scaled down by reducing implantation energy or thermal budget.",
"W(P+) can be scaled down by increasing P body concentration or by adding a punch through implantation, as discussed earlier.",
"(iv) Fewer masks N+ source can be formed without a mask.",
"(v) Wide Application This technology can be adapted to other devices that have a trenched gate structure as IGBT (insulated gate bipolar transistor) and all types of UMOSFET (where ‘U’ refers to the shape of the trench), While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention."
] |
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/326,769, filed Oct. 2, 2001.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This application relates generally to disc drives and more particularly to phase-advanced filtering of mechanical resonance.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Disc drives are data storage devices that store digital data in magnetic form on a rotating storage medium on a disc. Modern disc drives comprise one or more discs that are coated with a magnetizable medium and mounted on the hub of a spindle motor for rotation at a constant high speed. Information is stored on the discs in a plurality of concentric circular tracks typically by an array of transducers (“heads”) mounted to an actuator for radial movement of the heads relative to the discs. Each of the concentric tracks is generally divided into a plurality of separately addressable data sectors. The read/write transducer, e.g. a magnetoresistive read/inductive write head, is used to transfer data between a desired track and an external environment. During a write operation, data is written onto the disc track and during a read operation the head senses the data previously written on the disc track and transfers the information to the external environment. Critical to both of these operations is the accurate locating of the head over the center of the desired track.
A problem in disc drives that limits drive performance in general and head position accuracy specifically is component vibration or resonance. Components in the disc drive exhibit resonance modes that adversely affect the performance of disc drive components. For example, because of resonance in the actuator arm, the transducer heads may not be directly over the desired tracks indicated by the servo control of the disc drive. This problem is exacerbated by the recent push to increase the tracks-per-inch (TPI) on the disc surfaces. When TPI is increased, the room for margin in head placement becomes disproportionately smaller, and servo positioning errors more frequent.
Unfortunately, component resonance cannot be completely eliminated without extreme cost. Traditional approaches to the problem of component resonance have involved utilizing a filter to compensate for the component resonances. Typically, a filter is implemented in the signal path having filter parameters such as pass band and attenuation parameters associated with a known resonance mode of a component receiving the signal. The typical filter that is used is a notch filter exhibiting an attenuation band in a generally high frequency associated with the resonance mode of the component. However, every component in a disc drive exhibits resonance modes at different frequencies. Furthermore, the resonant frequency of a given component will vary with temperature. Thus, fine-tuning a notch filter to accommodate vibrations at these many frequencies is difficult, if not impossible. Traditional approaches have included widening the attenuation band in the notch filter to attenuate a wider range of frequencies. Unfortunately, as is well known, this approach leads to significant phase margin loss as the attenuation band is widened. Phase margin loss generally means phase loss occurring at the open loop gain crossover frequency (i.e., the frequency where the open loop gain is 0 decibels (dB)).
Further aggravating the problem, is the use of Mask Read Only Memory (ROM) for disc drive boot software. Mask ROM is a one-time burn-in ROM that is typically a lower cost than other types of ROM such as flash EPROM and is frequently used to store disc drive boot code. Disc drive manufacturers typically provide an integrated circuit (IC) vendor with boot code and the IC vendor burns the boot code into a Mask ROM. The boot code in Mask ROM is run on power up to perform basic initial power up operations of the disc drive servo controller, including seeks and track following to load code from the disc. During power up, reserve tracks are typically accessed to gather or load data and/or executable code stored on the reserve tracks. To precisely position the head over the reserve tracks, a filter is employed to filter out the resonance modes previously discussed. Filter parameters are stored in Mask ROM along with the boot code.
Due to time-to-market demands, sufficient time must be given to the IC vendor to burn the boot code into the Mask ROM. Typically, disc drive manufacturers provide the IC vendor with the boot code three to four months prior to final testing and manufacture of the disc drive. Between the time that the boot code is given to the IC vendor and the time for manufacture, changes are frequently made to components in the disc drive. Changes to components result in changes in resonance modes associated with those components. Thus, the filter parameters included in the boot code given to the IC vendor may not, and frequently do not, exactly correspond to the resonance modes of components that are ultimately used in the disc drive. Consequently, notch filters in boot code often do not adequately attenuate resonant frequencies. One suggested solution is to choose filter parameters in the boot code such that the notch filter or notch filters exhibit a wide attenuation band. However, as discussed above, a wider attenuation band leads to significant phase margin loss during disc drive operation. It is well known in the art that phase margin loss leads to deterioration in disc drive performance, including, but not limited to, increased run-out and reduced servo controller bandwidth.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method and system for effectively attenuating unwanted component resonance in a disc drive, while limiting or avoiding phase margin loss.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Against this backdrop the present invention has been developed. An embodiment of the present invention is a unique system for attenuating selected resonance modes due to component vibration in a disc drive. More specifically, an embodiment is a phase-advanced filter filtering a selected frequency corresponding to a resonance mode. Still further, an embodiment is a unique low-pass filter providing significant gain attenuation at selected resonance modes, while preventing significant phase margin loss.
Embodiments of the invention may be implemented as a computer process, a computing system or as an article of manufacture such as a computer program product or computer readable media. The computer program product may be a computer storage media readable by a computer system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process. The computer program product may also be a propagated signal on a carrier readable by a computing system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process.
These and various other features as well as advantages which characterize embodiments of the present invention will be apparent from a reading of the following detailed description and a review of the associated drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a disc drive incorporating a preferred embodiment of the present invention showing the primary internal components.
FIG. 2 is a simplified functional block diagram of a servo controller and a plant of the disc drive shown in FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 is a bode plot showing mechanical resonance in a disc drive.
FIG. 4 illustrates a portion of the servo controller and the plant shown in FIG. 2 .
FIG. 5 is a bode plot showing the effects of a phase-advanced filter on the mechanical resonance shown in FIG. 3 .
FIG. 6 is a bode plot showing the response of the phase-advanced filter to the control signal transmitted from the servo control module of FIG. 4 .
FIG. 7 is a process flow diagram illustrating exemplary operations employed by the portion of the servo loop illustrated in FIG. 4 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Embodiments of the invention are described in detail below with reference to the drawing figures. When referring to the figures, like structures and elements shown throughout are indicated with like reference numerals.
A disc drive 100 constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 . The disc drive 100 includes a base 102 to which various components of the disc drive 100 are mounted. A top cover 104 , shown partially cut away, cooperates with the base 102 to form an internal, sealed environment for the disc drive in a conventional manner. The components include a spindle motor 106 , which rotates one or more discs 108 at a constant high speed. Information is written to and read from tracks on the discs 108 through the use of an actuator assembly 110 , which rotates during a seek operation about a bearing shaft assembly 112 positioned adjacent the discs 108 . The actuator assembly 110 includes a plurality of actuator arms 114 which extend towards the discs 108 , with one or more flexures 116 extending from each of the actuator arms 114 . Mounted at the distal end of each of the flexures 116 is a head 118 , which includes an air bearing slider, enabling the head 118 to fly in close proximity above the corresponding surface of the associated disc 108 .
During a seek operation, the track position of the heads 118 is controlled through the use of a voice coil motor (VCM) 124 , which typically includes a coil 126 attached to the actuator assembly 110 , as well as one or more permanent magnets 128 which establish a magnetic field in which the coil 126 is immersed. The controlled application of current to the coil 126 causes magnetic interaction between the permanent magnets 128 and the coil 126 so that the coil 126 moves in accordance with the well-known Lorentz relationship. As the coil 126 moves, the actuator assembly 110 pivots about the bearing shaft assembly 112 , and the heads 118 are caused to move across the surfaces of the discs 108 .
The spindle motor 106 is typically de-energized when the disc drive 100 is not in use for extended periods of time. The heads 118 are typically moved over park zones 120 near the inner diameter of the discs 108 when the drive motor is de-energized. The heads 118 are secured over the park zones 120 through the use of an actuator latch arrangement, which prevents inadvertent rotation of the actuator assembly 110 when the heads are parked.
A flex assembly 130 provides the requisite electrical connection paths for the actuator assembly 110 while allowing pivotal movement of the actuator assembly 110 during operation. The flex assembly includes a printed circuit board 132 to which head wires (not shown) are connected; the head wires being routed along the actuator arms 114 and the flexures 116 to the heads 118 . The printed circuit board 132 typically includes circuitry for controlling the write currents applied to the heads 118 during a write operation and a preamplifier for amplifying read signals generated by the heads 118 during a read operation. The flex assembly terminates at a flex bracket 134 for communication through the base deck 102 to a disc drive printed circuit board (not shown) mounted to the bottom side of the disc drive 100 . The disc drive 100 further includes a drive controller 210 (FIG. 2 ), which is operable to be coupled to a host system or another controller that controls a plurality of drives. In an illustrative embodiment, the drive controller 210 is a microprocessor, or a digital signal processor. The drive controller 210 is either mountable within the disc drive 100 , or is located outside of the disc drive 100 with suitable connection to the actuator assembly 110 .
Shown in FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of what is commonly referred to as the servo loop 200 of the disc drive 100 . In general, the servo loop 200 includes a servo controller 202 (small dashed lines) and a plant 204 (large dashed lines). The servo controller 202 includes a disc drive microprocessor 210 having an associated memory 212 , a transconductance amplifier 216 , a read/write channel 218 , and a Mask Read Only Memory (ROM) 230 . The plant generally includes the actuator assembly 110 , the discs 108 , the VCM 124 , the heads 118 , and the spindle motor 106 . In operation, the microprocessor 210 typically receives a seek command from a host computer (not shown) or Mask ROM 230 that indicates that a particular track on the discs 108 is to be accessed. In response to the seek command, the microprocessor 210 determines an appropriate velocity or seek profile to move the head from its current position to the track that is to be accessed. The seek profile is then sent to the transconductance amplifier 216 for amplification. The transconductance amplifier 216 then provides a driving current corresponding to seek profile to the coil 126 . In response to the driving current, the actuator assembly 110 accelerates toward the target track and then decelerates and stops the actuator assembly 110 when the head 118 is over the target track and the seek operation is completed.
While reading or writing data from or to the target track, the servo loop 200 performs a track follow operation to keep the head 118 as close to the center of the target track as possible. During a track follow operation, the microprocessor 210 receives a position error signal (PES) from servo control wedges on the disc 108 . The PES indicates how far the head 118 is from the center of the target track. In response to receipt of the PES, the microprocessor 210 generates an adjustment signal to adjust the position of the head 118 to be closer to the center of the target track.
One or more reserve tracks 228 on the disc 108 contain data and software employed during runtime operation. The runtime software is copied from the reserve tracks 228 into a high-speed memory, such as the memory 212 , during power up, or boot up. Computer-executable instructions residing in a Mask ROM 230 are executed at power up and referred to as boot code. The boot code in Mask ROM 230 contains instructions for seeking to and track following the reserve tracks 228 during power up. Seek commands are embedded in the boot code to cause the transducer head 118 to be positioned over a reserve track 228 and follow the reserve track 228 . During seek and track follow operations, a digital phase-advanced filter in the boot code filters out mechanical resonance. Thus, the phase-advanced filter is particularly suitable for improving performance during track following over the reserve tracks 228 during power up. After the head 118 settles on a reserve track, the phase-advanced filter filters out unwanted resonance to keep the head 118 as close to the center of the track as possible, without substantial loss of phase-margin.
For a given seek command, the microprocessor 210 computes a seek profile comprising various steps, referred to herein as servo states. In this embodiment, the seek profile includes five servo states. A first “start move” state provides the appropriate signal to start the actuator moving towards the desired track. A second “constant acceleration” state provides the appropriate signal to drive the actuator through the constant acceleration portion of the seek. A third “velocity profile/square root” state provides the appropriate signal for controlling the actuator velocity to a predefined profile. A fourth “linear” state provides the appropriate signal to drive the actuator through the linear portion of the seek. Finally, a fifth “settle” state provides the appropriate signal for controlling the final “settling” of the actuator, and thus the head, in position over the desired track. That is, the settle state provides the appropriate signal to transition the actuator from track seeking to track following. It will be understood to one skilled in the art that the precise number, nomenclature, and/or function of each of the states in a seek profile may vary from one disc drive to another and/or from one manufacturer to another. As such, it will be understood that the five-state seek profile described herein is but one example of a possible seek profile that may be used in conjunction with the present invention.
Most relevant to the present invention is filtering unwanted resonance after the seek operation and during track following. The head 118 settles on the target track at the end of the seek operation. Then, the microprocessor 210 executes a track follow operation. During the track follow operation, the microprocessor 210 executes servo control code (e.g., servo control module 400 in FIG. 4) to hold the read or write element of the head 118 as close to the center of the target track as possible while data is read from and/or written to the target track. The microprocessor 210 senses servo control data from the target track. Servo control data on the track includes a position error signal (PES) that the microprocessor 210 uses to monitor how far the head 118 is from the center of the track. In response to a deviation from the center of the track, the microprocessor 210 sends a control signal to the VCM 124 (FIG. 1) to correct for the deviation. The control signal is filtered in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention before being sent to the VCM 124 . More particularly, before the VCM 124 receives the control signal, the microprocessor 210 executes phase-advanced filter code (e.g., phase-advance filter module 412 in FIG. 4) filtering frequencies out of the control signal that would otherwise excite resonance in the VCM 124 .
Each of the mechanical components of the disc drive 100 may have various resonant modes that, if excited by an external energy source, will cause the mechanical components to oscillate at the natural resonance frequencies of the component. FIG. 3 illustrates an open loop Bode plot 300 showing a mechanical resonance in a disc drive. For clarity, the phase information has been removed from the Bode plot 300 and the plot is not shown to scale. The x-axis 310 represents the frequency of the excitation energy, while the y-axis 312 represents the open loop system velocity gain in decibels (dB). The open loop system velocity gain 314 generally drops at the rate of 20 dBs per decade. However, as shown in FIG. 3, a mechanical resonance causes a sharp increase 316 in the system gain. The increase 316 in the system gain caused by the mechanical resonance depicted is centered at a center frequency 318 and has a peak amplitude 320 .
The memory 212 and the Mask ROM 230 of FIG. 2 include computer executable instructions for implementing a servo control module (e.g., servo control module 400 of FIG. 4) and a phase-advanced filter (e.g., phase advanced filter module 412 of FIG. 4 ). The computer executable instructions are executed by the microprocessor 210 to perform the seeking and track following operations necessary to accurately position the read or write element on the head 118 over a target track.
FIG. 4 illustrates a simplified block diagram of the operational environment of a phase-advanced filter module 412 according to an illustrative embodiment. In this embodiment, and other embodiments described herein, the logical operations of the phase-advanced filter module 412 and the servo control module 400 may be implemented as a sequence of computer implemented steps or program modules running on a microprocessor, such as, microprocessor 210 . It will be understood to those skilled in the art that the phase-advanced filter module 412 and the servo control module 400 may also be implemented as interconnected machine logic circuits or circuit modules within a computing system.
Additionally, the servo control module 400 and the phase-advanced filter 412 may be implemented in separate components of the disc drive 100 , such as a dedicated servo controller and a dedicated phase-advanced filter 412 , respectively. The implementation is a matter of choice dependent on the performance and design requirements of the disc drive 100 . As such, it will be understood that the operations, structural devices, acts, and/or modules described herein may be implemented in software, in firmware, in special purpose digital logic, and/or any combination thereof without deviating from the spirit and scope of the present invention as recited within the claims attached hereto. Furthermore, the various software routines or software modules described herein may be implemented by any means as is known in the art. For example, any number of computer programming languages, such as “C”, “C++”, Pascal, FORTRAN, assembly language, Java, etc., may be used. Furthermore, various programming approaches such as procedural, object oriented or artificial intelligence techniques may be employed.
In this embodiment, the computer implemented steps and corresponding digital data that comprise the operations of the phase-advanced filter 412 and the servo control module 400 are preferably stored on computer readable media. As used herein, the term computer-readable media may be any available media that can be accessed by a processor or component that is executing the functions, steps and/or data of the phase-advanced filter 412 . By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media might include computer storage media that includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired information and that can be accessed by the computer or processor which is executing the operating code. An embodiment of the phase-advanced filter 412 is particularly beneficial for, but not limited to, use in Mask ROM boot code. Boot code is employed to perform basic seek and track following operations to load code and data from the disc 108 during power up of a disc drive 100 .
Computer-readable media might include communication media that embodies computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. Computer-readable media may also be referred to as computer program product.
Processing of a typical seek or track follow operation is shown in FIG. 4 . The servo control module 400 receives a command 408 and generates, in response, a control signal 410 (during either a seek or track follow operation) composed of frequency components that range from direct current (DC) to multiple kilohertz or higher components. During a track follow operation, the control signal 410 is generally related to a position error signal (PES) detected on the disc. The PES indicates to the servo control module 400 how far the head 118 is from center of the track being followed. The servo control module 400 generates the control signal 410 designed to adjust the position of the head 118 closer to the track center. The control signal 410 is provided to a phase-advanced filter 412 , which reduces the frequency components in the signal that are at or near the resonance frequencies of the disc drive mechanical structure. The phase-advanced filter 412 then provides a filtered control signal 414 to the transconductance amplifier 216 which amplifies the filtered control signal 414 . The amplifier 216 then provides a driving current 416 to the coil 126 of the actuator VCM 124 to position the head 118 at the desired location over the disc 108 . The filtered control signal 414 reduces risk of exciting the disc drive mechanical structure into oscillation.
Various methods of implementing a phase-advanced filter 412 may be used with respect to this embodiment. One illustrative method of implementing a phase-advanced filter 412 is to employ the discrete-time domain transfer function shown in equation (1): H ( z ) = B 0 + B 1 z - 1 + B 2 z - 2 + B 3 z - 3 1 + A 1 z - 1 + A 2 z - 2 + A 3 z - 3 , ( 1 )
where A 1 , A 2 , A 3 , B 0 , B 1 , B 2 , and B 3 are low-pass filter constants describing the frequency, depth, and width of the band pass. These constants may be predetermined before the manufacture of the disc drive. Alternatively, these constants may be determined experimentally during the manufacture of the disc drive. The equation may be given by the more general form: H ( z ) = b 0 + b 1 z + ⋯ + b m z m a 0 + a 1 z + ⋯ + a n z n ( z + 1 ) n - m , ( 2 )
where n−m>=1. The exemplary transfer function H(z) is generally referred to as a low-pass filter. More specifically, it is a digital filter having a factor of (z+1) in the numerator. In an alternative embodiment, the factor (z+1) may be replaced with a factor 2z. Using the factor 2z advances the phase by ωT/2, where T is the sampling period, while the gain is almost unaffected. Thus, the degree of phase advancement is proportional to the frequency. For example, when ω=2π*f N , where f N is the Nyquist frequency, the phase of the signal output from the phase-advance filter is advanced by 90° compared to the phase of the input signal.
In the analog, or s-domain, the transfer function may be characterized generally as having more poles than zeros. An analog filter in an embodiment of the present invention would employ a transfer function of the form illustrated as follows in Equation 3: H ( s ) = b 0 + b 1 s + ⋯ + b m s m a 0 + a 1 s + ⋯ + a n s n ( 3 )
The phase-advanced filter 412 may be implemented in software. An exemplary portion of assembly code that implements a software phase-advance filter 412 in one embodiment is shown in Table 1.
TABLE 1
@*define PhaseAdvanceLowPassFilter(VarPointer,CoeffPointer,Order) @local(loop05)
movw
word ptr (@VarPointer+@Order*2),R3
movw
IDX0,#@VarPointer
movw
R2,#@CoeffPointer
comul
[IDX0+],[R2+]
movw
MRW,#(@Order*2-1)
@loop05:
-usr1
comacm [IDX0+],[R2+]
jmpa
cc_nusr1,@loop05
coshl
#(16-LP_QSCALE)
movw
R3,MAH
movw
word ptr (@VarPointer+@Order*4),R3
@endd
The software algorithm of Table 1 is a routine implementing a digital low-pass phase-advanced filter 412 . Generally, the routine accepts a list of input parameters, including a pointer to one or more variables (VarPointer), a pointer to one or more coefficients (CoeffPointer), and an order (Order), representing the order of the filter 412 . The routine processes the input data by iteratively multiplying each coefficient with its associated variable. The output of each iteration is saved for input to the next iteration. The values output by each iteration are used to develop a state matrix. The number of states in the state matrix depends on the order of the phase-advanced filter 412 . The code shown in Table 1 is executed by a fixed-point microprocessor, so the output is scaled in the “coshl” step. The exemplary software in Table 1 is assembly code but any software language known in the art may be used for implementing the phase-advanced filter 412 . The algorithm illustrated in Table 1 is one exemplary method of implementing the phase-advanced filter 412 , and it is envisioned that other algorithms may be utilized that fall within the scope of the present invention.
The effect of the phase-advanced filter 412 can be seen in the summation Bode plot of FIG. 5, which for clarity's sake does not show the phase response and is not shown to scale. The x-axis 510 represents the frequency of the driving energy, while the y-axis 512 represents the system gain in decibels (dB). FIG. 5 shows a mechanical resonance 502 (larger, dashed lines) centered at center frequency 504 . Also shown is the frequency response 506 (short, dashed lines) of the phase-advanced filter 412 . It can be seen that phase-advanced filter 412 appreciably attenuates the driving energy about the mechanical resonance 502 , with the maximum attenuation occurring at the center frequency 504 of the mechanical resonance. FIG. 5 further shows the open loop frequency response 514 with the phase-advanced filter 412 active. When the phase-advanced filter 412 is activated, the open loop response 514 is a summation of the original response and the phase-advanced filter 412 response. That is, the phase-advanced filter 412 works on the principle of superposition. It can be seen that the peak amplitude 512 at center frequency 504 is now well below 0 dB.
When the phase-advanced filter response 506 is properly located, as in FIG. 5, the driving force energy at the center frequency 504 of the mechanical resonance 502 can be reduced so that there will be little or no energy made available to excite the mechanical structure. It will be understood that one phase-advanced filter 412 may be used to eliminate a number of resonance modes in the disc drive 100 . Advantageously, and unlike when utilizing traditional notch filters, it is not necessary to center multiple phase-advanced filters 412 at multiple center frequencies corresponding to mechanical resonance modes. One phase-advanced filter 412 can guarantee attenuation substantially equal to −15 decibels (dB) above a selected frequency (e.g., center frequency 504 ).
FIG. 6 is a Bode plot 600 showing a closed-loop response of the phase-advanced filter 412 as compared to a closed-loop response of a typical notch filter. The Bode plot 600 includes a phase-advanced filter magnitude response 601 (upper solid line) and a phase-advanced filter phase response 602 (lower solid line). The phase-advanced responses 601 and 602 illustrated in the Bode plot 600 are responses exhibited by an exemplary embodiment of a phase-advanced filter 412 . For clarity, the Bode plot 600 is not shown to scale. As illustrated by the phase-advanced filter magnitude response 601 , the phase-advanced filter 412 applies substantial attenuation to the control signal 410 around the center frequency 504 to advantageously filter out the mechanical resonance 502 . Furthermore, the magnitude response 601 provides −20 dB of attenuation at frequencies substantially greater than the center frequency 504 . Experimentation has shown that the phase-advanced filter 412 can guarantee at least −15 dB gain attenuation above 10 KHz when the center frequency is located at 11 KHz. Thus, the phase-advanced filter 412 is robust above 10 KHz, in that only one phase-advanced filter 412 is generally required to attenuate multiple resonance modes above 10 KHz.
A traditional notch filter magnitude response 604 is shown in FIG. 6 for illustrative purposes. In contrast to the phase-advance filter magnitude response 601 , a traditional notch filter magnitude response 604 (dashed line) includes an attenuation notch around the center frequency 504 . Unlike a phase-advanced filter 412 , a traditional notch filter generally attenuates only around the center frequency 504 , but not at frequencies substantially above the center frequency 504 . Thus, utilizing notch filters, in order to attenuate resonant modes above the center frequency 504 , more notch filters are required; i.e., a notch filter for each unwanted resonant mode. As is known, the addition of notch filters undesirably reduces the phase margin. However, embodiments of the phase-advanced filter 412 substantially reduce or eliminate phase margin loss, as is shown by the phase-advanced filter phase response 602 .
The phase-advanced filter phase response 602 illustrates the difference in phase between the filtered control signal 414 and the control signal 410 with respect to frequency. It can be seen that the phase does not decrease substantially between 0 Hz and the open loop gain cross over frequency 630 . For comparison, a traditional notch filter phase response 606 (lower dashed line) is shown. The notch filter phase response 606 drops substantially at the open loop gain crossover frequency 630 . The difference in phase loss 610 is directly related to the difference in phase margin loss created by the phase-advanced filter 412 and the notch filter. The phase-advanced filter 412 substantially reduces or eliminates phase margin loss. The difference 610 (and thus the difference in phase margin loss) has been experimentally shown to be around 10°. Additionally, to achieve the same attenuation at frequencies above the center frequency 504 as the attenuation of the phase-advanced filter 412 , more than one notch filter would be required. Adding more notch filters will further increase the difference in phase loss 610 . Thus, one phase-advance filter 412 substantially attenuates resonant frequencies above the center frequency 504 , while simultaneously substantially reducing or eliminating any phase margin loss. Reduction of phase margin loss reduces the risk of run-out and reduces the loss in bandwidth of the servo loop 200 .
FIG. 7 is a process flow diagram 800 illustrating exemplary operations employed by the portion of the servo loop 200 illustrated in FIG. 4 . In a receiving operation 802 , the microprocessor 210 receives a seek command to position the head 118 at a target track. In response to receipt of the seek command, the microprocessor 210 performs a seeking operation 803 , wherein a seek profile signal is generated as discussed above, to accelerate the head 118 toward the target track. Control transfers to a generating operation 804 wherein a control signal 410 is generated to adhere to the seek profile signal of the seeking operation 803 . The generating operation 804 may be implemented by the microprocessor 210 executing a servo control module 400 shown in FIG. 4 .
Control then transfers to a filtering operation 806 wherein the control signal 410 is filtered by a phase-advanced filter 412 to generate a filtered control signal 414 . The filtering operation 806 substantially attenuates frequencies above a cut-off frequency and advances the phase of the control signal 410 so that phase margin loss is substantially reduced or avoided as discussed above. The transfer function associated with the filtering operation 806 is given in equations 1, 2 and/or 3. Control then transfers to an amplifying operation 808 wherein the filtered control signal 414 is amplified to create a driving signal 416 for driving the voice coil motor 124 . Control then transfers to a driving operation 810 wherein the driving signal 416 is transmitted to the voice coil motor 124 whereby the position of the actuator arm is adjusted in response to the voice coil motor being energized by the drive current. Control then transfers to a determining operation 812 wherein it is determined whether the head 118 is positioned over the target track. Typically the determination is made by detecting position signals read from the disc during the seek operation and feeding those position signals back to the microprocessor 210 . If the head 118 is not positioned over the target track, control transfers to the seeking operation 803 , wherein the seeking operation continues until the head 118 is positioned over the target track.
If, on the other hand, it is determined in the determining operation 812 that the head is positioned over the target track, control transfers to a track following operation 814 , wherein a track following mode is entered. Entering the track following mode, involves settling the head 118 over the target track. After settling over the target track, PES is read from the disc 108 and the head position is substantially continuously adjusted so that the head is as close to the center of the track as possible. Control then transfers to the generating operation 804 wherein a control signal 410 related to the PES is generated. The control signal 410 that is generated includes frequency components as described above. Control then transfers to a filtering operation 806 wherein the control signal 410 is filtered by a phase-advanced filter 412 . The filtering operation 806 substantially attenuates frequencies above a selected center frequency and advances the phase of the control signal so that phase margin loss is substantially reduced or avoided as described in embodiments above. The transfer function associated with the filtering operation 806 is given in equations 1, 2 and/or 3. Control then transfers to an amplifying operation 808 wherein the filtered signal is amplified to create a drive current for driving the voice coil motor. Control then transfers to a driving operation 810 wherein the drive current is transmitted to the voice coil motor to adjust the position of the actuator arm more closely to the center of the target track. Thus, the phase-advanced filter 412 may be used to perform filtering during either a seek operation or a track following operation.
In summary, an embodiment may be viewed as a disc drive (such as 100 ) that has a data disc (such as 108 ) with concentrically arranged data tracks (such as 228 ) and a voice coil motor (such as 124 ) for positioning a transducer head (such as 118 ) over a selected track (such as 228 ). The disc drive (such as 100 ) includes a servo control module (such as 400 ) that receives a seek command (such as 408 ) and transmits a control signal (such as 410 ) to the voice coil motor (such as 124 ). The embodiment further includes phase-advanced filter (such as 412 ) that filters the control signal (such as 410 ) such that a range of frequencies above a predetermined center frequency (such as 504 ) are substantially attenuated and phase margin loss is substantially avoided.
An embodiment may also be viewed as a method of reducing component resonance (such as 320 ) in a disc drive (such as 100 ) by receiving a seek command (such as 408 ) to seek to a target track (such as 228 ), generating (such as 320 ) a seek control signal (such as 410 ) to move the a head (such as 118 ) to the target track (such as 228 ), and filtering (such as 806 ) the seek control signal (such as 410 ) with a phase-advanced filter (such as 412 ) to generate a filtered seek control signal (such as 414 ). The method additionally includes driving a voice coil motor (such as 124 ) with a driving current (such as 416 ) based on the filtered seek control signal (such as 414 ) to position the head (such as 118 ) over the target track (such as 228 ).
The method may further include entering a track follow mode (such as 814 ). The track follow mode typically involves settling the head over the target track (such as 228 ) and detecting a position error signal (PES) from the target track (such as 228 ). During track follow mode, the method involves generating (such as 804 ) a track follow control signal (such as 410 ) based on the PES. Following the track further involves filtering (such as 806 ) the track follow control signal (such as 410 ) with a phase-advanced filter (such as 412 ) to generate a filtered track follow control signal (such as 414 ) before driving (such as 810 ) a voice coil motor (such as 124 ) with a driving current (such as 416 ) based on the filtered track follow control signal (such as 414 ).
The logical operations of the various embodiments of the present invention are implemented (1) as a sequence of computer implemented acts or program modules running on a computing system and/or (2) as interconnected machine logic circuits or circuit modules within the computing system. The implementation is a matter of choice dependent on the performance requirements of the computing system implementing the invention. Accordingly, the logical operations making up the embodiments of the present invention described herein are referred to variously as operations, structural devices, acts or modules. It will be recognized by one skilled in the art that these operations, structural devices, acts and modules may be implemented in software, in firmware, in special purpose digital logic, and any combination thereof without deviating from the spirit and scope of the present invention as recited within the claims attached hereto.
It will be clear that the present invention is well adapted to attain the ends and advantages mentioned as well as those inherent therein. While a presently preferred embodiment has been described for purposes of this disclosure, various changes and modifications may be made which are well within the scope of the present invention. For example, the phase-advanced filter could be employed in other (non-disc drive) environments where mechanical resonance modes arise and reduce performance of servo control. Additionally, analog versions of the phase-advanced filter may be suitable for analog environments and may be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Numerous other changes may be made which will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and which are encompassed in the spirit of the invention disclosed and as defined in the appended claims. | A filter for attenuating a resonance mode without substantial phase margin loss. The filter comprises a transfer function having an additional pole, such that the phase of the input signal is advanced. The phase-advanced filter substantially attenuates all frequencies above a selected center frequency while avoiding substantial phase margin loss. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the concept presented in the passage. | [
"RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority of U.S. provisional application Ser.",
"No. 60/326,769, filed Oct. 2, 2001.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION This application relates generally to disc drives and more particularly to phase-advanced filtering of mechanical resonance.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Disc drives are data storage devices that store digital data in magnetic form on a rotating storage medium on a disc.",
"Modern disc drives comprise one or more discs that are coated with a magnetizable medium and mounted on the hub of a spindle motor for rotation at a constant high speed.",
"Information is stored on the discs in a plurality of concentric circular tracks typically by an array of transducers (“heads”) mounted to an actuator for radial movement of the heads relative to the discs.",
"Each of the concentric tracks is generally divided into a plurality of separately addressable data sectors.",
"The read/write transducer, e.g. a magnetoresistive read/inductive write head, is used to transfer data between a desired track and an external environment.",
"During a write operation, data is written onto the disc track and during a read operation the head senses the data previously written on the disc track and transfers the information to the external environment.",
"Critical to both of these operations is the accurate locating of the head over the center of the desired track.",
"A problem in disc drives that limits drive performance in general and head position accuracy specifically is component vibration or resonance.",
"Components in the disc drive exhibit resonance modes that adversely affect the performance of disc drive components.",
"For example, because of resonance in the actuator arm, the transducer heads may not be directly over the desired tracks indicated by the servo control of the disc drive.",
"This problem is exacerbated by the recent push to increase the tracks-per-inch (TPI) on the disc surfaces.",
"When TPI is increased, the room for margin in head placement becomes disproportionately smaller, and servo positioning errors more frequent.",
"Unfortunately, component resonance cannot be completely eliminated without extreme cost.",
"Traditional approaches to the problem of component resonance have involved utilizing a filter to compensate for the component resonances.",
"Typically, a filter is implemented in the signal path having filter parameters such as pass band and attenuation parameters associated with a known resonance mode of a component receiving the signal.",
"The typical filter that is used is a notch filter exhibiting an attenuation band in a generally high frequency associated with the resonance mode of the component.",
"However, every component in a disc drive exhibits resonance modes at different frequencies.",
"Furthermore, the resonant frequency of a given component will vary with temperature.",
"Thus, fine-tuning a notch filter to accommodate vibrations at these many frequencies is difficult, if not impossible.",
"Traditional approaches have included widening the attenuation band in the notch filter to attenuate a wider range of frequencies.",
"Unfortunately, as is well known, this approach leads to significant phase margin loss as the attenuation band is widened.",
"Phase margin loss generally means phase loss occurring at the open loop gain crossover frequency (i.e., the frequency where the open loop gain is 0 decibels (dB)).",
"Further aggravating the problem, is the use of Mask Read Only Memory (ROM) for disc drive boot software.",
"Mask ROM is a one-time burn-in ROM that is typically a lower cost than other types of ROM such as flash EPROM and is frequently used to store disc drive boot code.",
"Disc drive manufacturers typically provide an integrated circuit (IC) vendor with boot code and the IC vendor burns the boot code into a Mask ROM.",
"The boot code in Mask ROM is run on power up to perform basic initial power up operations of the disc drive servo controller, including seeks and track following to load code from the disc.",
"During power up, reserve tracks are typically accessed to gather or load data and/or executable code stored on the reserve tracks.",
"To precisely position the head over the reserve tracks, a filter is employed to filter out the resonance modes previously discussed.",
"Filter parameters are stored in Mask ROM along with the boot code.",
"Due to time-to-market demands, sufficient time must be given to the IC vendor to burn the boot code into the Mask ROM.",
"Typically, disc drive manufacturers provide the IC vendor with the boot code three to four months prior to final testing and manufacture of the disc drive.",
"Between the time that the boot code is given to the IC vendor and the time for manufacture, changes are frequently made to components in the disc drive.",
"Changes to components result in changes in resonance modes associated with those components.",
"Thus, the filter parameters included in the boot code given to the IC vendor may not, and frequently do not, exactly correspond to the resonance modes of components that are ultimately used in the disc drive.",
"Consequently, notch filters in boot code often do not adequately attenuate resonant frequencies.",
"One suggested solution is to choose filter parameters in the boot code such that the notch filter or notch filters exhibit a wide attenuation band.",
"However, as discussed above, a wider attenuation band leads to significant phase margin loss during disc drive operation.",
"It is well known in the art that phase margin loss leads to deterioration in disc drive performance, including, but not limited to, increased run-out and reduced servo controller bandwidth.",
"Accordingly, there is a need for a method and system for effectively attenuating unwanted component resonance in a disc drive, while limiting or avoiding phase margin loss.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Against this backdrop the present invention has been developed.",
"An embodiment of the present invention is a unique system for attenuating selected resonance modes due to component vibration in a disc drive.",
"More specifically, an embodiment is a phase-advanced filter filtering a selected frequency corresponding to a resonance mode.",
"Still further, an embodiment is a unique low-pass filter providing significant gain attenuation at selected resonance modes, while preventing significant phase margin loss.",
"Embodiments of the invention may be implemented as a computer process, a computing system or as an article of manufacture such as a computer program product or computer readable media.",
"The computer program product may be a computer storage media readable by a computer system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process.",
"The computer program product may also be a propagated signal on a carrier readable by a computing system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process.",
"These and various other features as well as advantages which characterize embodiments of the present invention will be apparent from a reading of the following detailed description and a review of the associated drawings.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of a disc drive incorporating a preferred embodiment of the present invention showing the primary internal components.",
"FIG. 2 is a simplified functional block diagram of a servo controller and a plant of the disc drive shown in FIG. 1 .",
"FIG. 3 is a bode plot showing mechanical resonance in a disc drive.",
"FIG. 4 illustrates a portion of the servo controller and the plant shown in FIG. 2 .",
"FIG. 5 is a bode plot showing the effects of a phase-advanced filter on the mechanical resonance shown in FIG. 3 .",
"FIG. 6 is a bode plot showing the response of the phase-advanced filter to the control signal transmitted from the servo control module of FIG. 4 .",
"FIG. 7 is a process flow diagram illustrating exemplary operations employed by the portion of the servo loop illustrated in FIG. 4 .",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION Embodiments of the invention are described in detail below with reference to the drawing figures.",
"When referring to the figures, like structures and elements shown throughout are indicated with like reference numerals.",
"A disc drive 100 constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 .",
"The disc drive 100 includes a base 102 to which various components of the disc drive 100 are mounted.",
"A top cover 104 , shown partially cut away, cooperates with the base 102 to form an internal, sealed environment for the disc drive in a conventional manner.",
"The components include a spindle motor 106 , which rotates one or more discs 108 at a constant high speed.",
"Information is written to and read from tracks on the discs 108 through the use of an actuator assembly 110 , which rotates during a seek operation about a bearing shaft assembly 112 positioned adjacent the discs 108 .",
"The actuator assembly 110 includes a plurality of actuator arms 114 which extend towards the discs 108 , with one or more flexures 116 extending from each of the actuator arms 114 .",
"Mounted at the distal end of each of the flexures 116 is a head 118 , which includes an air bearing slider, enabling the head 118 to fly in close proximity above the corresponding surface of the associated disc 108 .",
"During a seek operation, the track position of the heads 118 is controlled through the use of a voice coil motor (VCM) 124 , which typically includes a coil 126 attached to the actuator assembly 110 , as well as one or more permanent magnets 128 which establish a magnetic field in which the coil 126 is immersed.",
"The controlled application of current to the coil 126 causes magnetic interaction between the permanent magnets 128 and the coil 126 so that the coil 126 moves in accordance with the well-known Lorentz relationship.",
"As the coil 126 moves, the actuator assembly 110 pivots about the bearing shaft assembly 112 , and the heads 118 are caused to move across the surfaces of the discs 108 .",
"The spindle motor 106 is typically de-energized when the disc drive 100 is not in use for extended periods of time.",
"The heads 118 are typically moved over park zones 120 near the inner diameter of the discs 108 when the drive motor is de-energized.",
"The heads 118 are secured over the park zones 120 through the use of an actuator latch arrangement, which prevents inadvertent rotation of the actuator assembly 110 when the heads are parked.",
"A flex assembly 130 provides the requisite electrical connection paths for the actuator assembly 110 while allowing pivotal movement of the actuator assembly 110 during operation.",
"The flex assembly includes a printed circuit board 132 to which head wires (not shown) are connected;",
"the head wires being routed along the actuator arms 114 and the flexures 116 to the heads 118 .",
"The printed circuit board 132 typically includes circuitry for controlling the write currents applied to the heads 118 during a write operation and a preamplifier for amplifying read signals generated by the heads 118 during a read operation.",
"The flex assembly terminates at a flex bracket 134 for communication through the base deck 102 to a disc drive printed circuit board (not shown) mounted to the bottom side of the disc drive 100 .",
"The disc drive 100 further includes a drive controller 210 (FIG.",
"2 ), which is operable to be coupled to a host system or another controller that controls a plurality of drives.",
"In an illustrative embodiment, the drive controller 210 is a microprocessor, or a digital signal processor.",
"The drive controller 210 is either mountable within the disc drive 100 , or is located outside of the disc drive 100 with suitable connection to the actuator assembly 110 .",
"Shown in FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of what is commonly referred to as the servo loop 200 of the disc drive 100 .",
"In general, the servo loop 200 includes a servo controller 202 (small dashed lines) and a plant 204 (large dashed lines).",
"The servo controller 202 includes a disc drive microprocessor 210 having an associated memory 212 , a transconductance amplifier 216 , a read/write channel 218 , and a Mask Read Only Memory (ROM) 230 .",
"The plant generally includes the actuator assembly 110 , the discs 108 , the VCM 124 , the heads 118 , and the spindle motor 106 .",
"In operation, the microprocessor 210 typically receives a seek command from a host computer (not shown) or Mask ROM 230 that indicates that a particular track on the discs 108 is to be accessed.",
"In response to the seek command, the microprocessor 210 determines an appropriate velocity or seek profile to move the head from its current position to the track that is to be accessed.",
"The seek profile is then sent to the transconductance amplifier 216 for amplification.",
"The transconductance amplifier 216 then provides a driving current corresponding to seek profile to the coil 126 .",
"In response to the driving current, the actuator assembly 110 accelerates toward the target track and then decelerates and stops the actuator assembly 110 when the head 118 is over the target track and the seek operation is completed.",
"While reading or writing data from or to the target track, the servo loop 200 performs a track follow operation to keep the head 118 as close to the center of the target track as possible.",
"During a track follow operation, the microprocessor 210 receives a position error signal (PES) from servo control wedges on the disc 108 .",
"The PES indicates how far the head 118 is from the center of the target track.",
"In response to receipt of the PES, the microprocessor 210 generates an adjustment signal to adjust the position of the head 118 to be closer to the center of the target track.",
"One or more reserve tracks 228 on the disc 108 contain data and software employed during runtime operation.",
"The runtime software is copied from the reserve tracks 228 into a high-speed memory, such as the memory 212 , during power up, or boot up.",
"Computer-executable instructions residing in a Mask ROM 230 are executed at power up and referred to as boot code.",
"The boot code in Mask ROM 230 contains instructions for seeking to and track following the reserve tracks 228 during power up.",
"Seek commands are embedded in the boot code to cause the transducer head 118 to be positioned over a reserve track 228 and follow the reserve track 228 .",
"During seek and track follow operations, a digital phase-advanced filter in the boot code filters out mechanical resonance.",
"Thus, the phase-advanced filter is particularly suitable for improving performance during track following over the reserve tracks 228 during power up.",
"After the head 118 settles on a reserve track, the phase-advanced filter filters out unwanted resonance to keep the head 118 as close to the center of the track as possible, without substantial loss of phase-margin.",
"For a given seek command, the microprocessor 210 computes a seek profile comprising various steps, referred to herein as servo states.",
"In this embodiment, the seek profile includes five servo states.",
"A first “start move”",
"state provides the appropriate signal to start the actuator moving towards the desired track.",
"A second “constant acceleration”",
"state provides the appropriate signal to drive the actuator through the constant acceleration portion of the seek.",
"A third “velocity profile/square root”",
"state provides the appropriate signal for controlling the actuator velocity to a predefined profile.",
"A fourth “linear”",
"state provides the appropriate signal to drive the actuator through the linear portion of the seek.",
"Finally, a fifth “settle”",
"state provides the appropriate signal for controlling the final “settling”",
"of the actuator, and thus the head, in position over the desired track.",
"That is, the settle state provides the appropriate signal to transition the actuator from track seeking to track following.",
"It will be understood to one skilled in the art that the precise number, nomenclature, and/or function of each of the states in a seek profile may vary from one disc drive to another and/or from one manufacturer to another.",
"As such, it will be understood that the five-state seek profile described herein is but one example of a possible seek profile that may be used in conjunction with the present invention.",
"Most relevant to the present invention is filtering unwanted resonance after the seek operation and during track following.",
"The head 118 settles on the target track at the end of the seek operation.",
"Then, the microprocessor 210 executes a track follow operation.",
"During the track follow operation, the microprocessor 210 executes servo control code (e.g., servo control module 400 in FIG. 4) to hold the read or write element of the head 118 as close to the center of the target track as possible while data is read from and/or written to the target track.",
"The microprocessor 210 senses servo control data from the target track.",
"Servo control data on the track includes a position error signal (PES) that the microprocessor 210 uses to monitor how far the head 118 is from the center of the track.",
"In response to a deviation from the center of the track, the microprocessor 210 sends a control signal to the VCM 124 (FIG.",
"1) to correct for the deviation.",
"The control signal is filtered in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention before being sent to the VCM 124 .",
"More particularly, before the VCM 124 receives the control signal, the microprocessor 210 executes phase-advanced filter code (e.g., phase-advance filter module 412 in FIG. 4) filtering frequencies out of the control signal that would otherwise excite resonance in the VCM 124 .",
"Each of the mechanical components of the disc drive 100 may have various resonant modes that, if excited by an external energy source, will cause the mechanical components to oscillate at the natural resonance frequencies of the component.",
"FIG. 3 illustrates an open loop Bode plot 300 showing a mechanical resonance in a disc drive.",
"For clarity, the phase information has been removed from the Bode plot 300 and the plot is not shown to scale.",
"The x-axis 310 represents the frequency of the excitation energy, while the y-axis 312 represents the open loop system velocity gain in decibels (dB).",
"The open loop system velocity gain 314 generally drops at the rate of 20 dBs per decade.",
"However, as shown in FIG. 3, a mechanical resonance causes a sharp increase 316 in the system gain.",
"The increase 316 in the system gain caused by the mechanical resonance depicted is centered at a center frequency 318 and has a peak amplitude 320 .",
"The memory 212 and the Mask ROM 230 of FIG. 2 include computer executable instructions for implementing a servo control module (e.g., servo control module 400 of FIG. 4) and a phase-advanced filter (e.g., phase advanced filter module 412 of FIG. 4 ).",
"The computer executable instructions are executed by the microprocessor 210 to perform the seeking and track following operations necessary to accurately position the read or write element on the head 118 over a target track.",
"FIG. 4 illustrates a simplified block diagram of the operational environment of a phase-advanced filter module 412 according to an illustrative embodiment.",
"In this embodiment, and other embodiments described herein, the logical operations of the phase-advanced filter module 412 and the servo control module 400 may be implemented as a sequence of computer implemented steps or program modules running on a microprocessor, such as, microprocessor 210 .",
"It will be understood to those skilled in the art that the phase-advanced filter module 412 and the servo control module 400 may also be implemented as interconnected machine logic circuits or circuit modules within a computing system.",
"Additionally, the servo control module 400 and the phase-advanced filter 412 may be implemented in separate components of the disc drive 100 , such as a dedicated servo controller and a dedicated phase-advanced filter 412 , respectively.",
"The implementation is a matter of choice dependent on the performance and design requirements of the disc drive 100 .",
"As such, it will be understood that the operations, structural devices, acts, and/or modules described herein may be implemented in software, in firmware, in special purpose digital logic, and/or any combination thereof without deviating from the spirit and scope of the present invention as recited within the claims attached hereto.",
"Furthermore, the various software routines or software modules described herein may be implemented by any means as is known in the art.",
"For example, any number of computer programming languages, such as “C”, “C++”, Pascal, FORTRAN, assembly language, Java, etc.",
", may be used.",
"Furthermore, various programming approaches such as procedural, object oriented or artificial intelligence techniques may be employed.",
"In this embodiment, the computer implemented steps and corresponding digital data that comprise the operations of the phase-advanced filter 412 and the servo control module 400 are preferably stored on computer readable media.",
"As used herein, the term computer-readable media may be any available media that can be accessed by a processor or component that is executing the functions, steps and/or data of the phase-advanced filter 412 .",
"By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media might include computer storage media that includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data.",
"Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired information and that can be accessed by the computer or processor which is executing the operating code.",
"An embodiment of the phase-advanced filter 412 is particularly beneficial for, but not limited to, use in Mask ROM boot code.",
"Boot code is employed to perform basic seek and track following operations to load code and data from the disc 108 during power up of a disc drive 100 .",
"Computer-readable media might include communication media that embodies computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media.",
"The term “modulated data signal”",
"means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal.",
"By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media.",
"Combinations of any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.",
"Computer-readable media may also be referred to as computer program product.",
"Processing of a typical seek or track follow operation is shown in FIG. 4 .",
"The servo control module 400 receives a command 408 and generates, in response, a control signal 410 (during either a seek or track follow operation) composed of frequency components that range from direct current (DC) to multiple kilohertz or higher components.",
"During a track follow operation, the control signal 410 is generally related to a position error signal (PES) detected on the disc.",
"The PES indicates to the servo control module 400 how far the head 118 is from center of the track being followed.",
"The servo control module 400 generates the control signal 410 designed to adjust the position of the head 118 closer to the track center.",
"The control signal 410 is provided to a phase-advanced filter 412 , which reduces the frequency components in the signal that are at or near the resonance frequencies of the disc drive mechanical structure.",
"The phase-advanced filter 412 then provides a filtered control signal 414 to the transconductance amplifier 216 which amplifies the filtered control signal 414 .",
"The amplifier 216 then provides a driving current 416 to the coil 126 of the actuator VCM 124 to position the head 118 at the desired location over the disc 108 .",
"The filtered control signal 414 reduces risk of exciting the disc drive mechanical structure into oscillation.",
"Various methods of implementing a phase-advanced filter 412 may be used with respect to this embodiment.",
"One illustrative method of implementing a phase-advanced filter 412 is to employ the discrete-time domain transfer function shown in equation (1): H ( z ) = B 0 + B 1 z - 1 + B 2 z - 2 + B 3 z - 3 1 + A 1 z - 1 + A 2 z - 2 + A 3 z - 3 , ( 1 ) where A 1 , A 2 , A 3 , B 0 , B 1 , B 2 , and B 3 are low-pass filter constants describing the frequency, depth, and width of the band pass.",
"These constants may be predetermined before the manufacture of the disc drive.",
"Alternatively, these constants may be determined experimentally during the manufacture of the disc drive.",
"The equation may be given by the more general form: H ( z ) = b 0 + b 1 z + ⋯ + b m z m a 0 + a 1 z + ⋯ + a n z n ( z + 1 ) n - m , ( 2 ) where n−m>=1.",
"The exemplary transfer function H(z) is generally referred to as a low-pass filter.",
"More specifically, it is a digital filter having a factor of (z+1) in the numerator.",
"In an alternative embodiment, the factor (z+1) may be replaced with a factor 2z.",
"Using the factor 2z advances the phase by ωT/2, where T is the sampling period, while the gain is almost unaffected.",
"Thus, the degree of phase advancement is proportional to the frequency.",
"For example, when ω=2π*f N , where f N is the Nyquist frequency, the phase of the signal output from the phase-advance filter is advanced by 90° compared to the phase of the input signal.",
"In the analog, or s-domain, the transfer function may be characterized generally as having more poles than zeros.",
"An analog filter in an embodiment of the present invention would employ a transfer function of the form illustrated as follows in Equation 3: H ( s ) = b 0 + b 1 s + ⋯ + b m s m a 0 + a 1 s + ⋯ + a n s n ( 3 ) The phase-advanced filter 412 may be implemented in software.",
"An exemplary portion of assembly code that implements a software phase-advance filter 412 in one embodiment is shown in Table 1.",
"TABLE 1 @*define PhaseAdvanceLowPassFilter(VarPointer,CoeffPointer,Order) @local(loop05) movw word ptr (@VarPointer+@Order*2),R3 movw IDX0,#@VarPointer movw R2,#@CoeffPointer comul [IDX0+],[R2+] movw MRW,#(@Order*2-1) @loop05: -usr1 comacm [IDX0+],[R2+] jmpa cc_nusr1,@loop05 coshl #(16-LP_QSCALE) movw R3,MAH movw word ptr (@VarPointer+@Order*4),R3 @endd The software algorithm of Table 1 is a routine implementing a digital low-pass phase-advanced filter 412 .",
"Generally, the routine accepts a list of input parameters, including a pointer to one or more variables (VarPointer), a pointer to one or more coefficients (CoeffPointer), and an order (Order), representing the order of the filter 412 .",
"The routine processes the input data by iteratively multiplying each coefficient with its associated variable.",
"The output of each iteration is saved for input to the next iteration.",
"The values output by each iteration are used to develop a state matrix.",
"The number of states in the state matrix depends on the order of the phase-advanced filter 412 .",
"The code shown in Table 1 is executed by a fixed-point microprocessor, so the output is scaled in the “coshl”",
"step.",
"The exemplary software in Table 1 is assembly code but any software language known in the art may be used for implementing the phase-advanced filter 412 .",
"The algorithm illustrated in Table 1 is one exemplary method of implementing the phase-advanced filter 412 , and it is envisioned that other algorithms may be utilized that fall within the scope of the present invention.",
"The effect of the phase-advanced filter 412 can be seen in the summation Bode plot of FIG. 5, which for clarity's sake does not show the phase response and is not shown to scale.",
"The x-axis 510 represents the frequency of the driving energy, while the y-axis 512 represents the system gain in decibels (dB).",
"FIG. 5 shows a mechanical resonance 502 (larger, dashed lines) centered at center frequency 504 .",
"Also shown is the frequency response 506 (short, dashed lines) of the phase-advanced filter 412 .",
"It can be seen that phase-advanced filter 412 appreciably attenuates the driving energy about the mechanical resonance 502 , with the maximum attenuation occurring at the center frequency 504 of the mechanical resonance.",
"FIG. 5 further shows the open loop frequency response 514 with the phase-advanced filter 412 active.",
"When the phase-advanced filter 412 is activated, the open loop response 514 is a summation of the original response and the phase-advanced filter 412 response.",
"That is, the phase-advanced filter 412 works on the principle of superposition.",
"It can be seen that the peak amplitude 512 at center frequency 504 is now well below 0 dB.",
"When the phase-advanced filter response 506 is properly located, as in FIG. 5, the driving force energy at the center frequency 504 of the mechanical resonance 502 can be reduced so that there will be little or no energy made available to excite the mechanical structure.",
"It will be understood that one phase-advanced filter 412 may be used to eliminate a number of resonance modes in the disc drive 100 .",
"Advantageously, and unlike when utilizing traditional notch filters, it is not necessary to center multiple phase-advanced filters 412 at multiple center frequencies corresponding to mechanical resonance modes.",
"One phase-advanced filter 412 can guarantee attenuation substantially equal to −15 decibels (dB) above a selected frequency (e.g., center frequency 504 ).",
"FIG. 6 is a Bode plot 600 showing a closed-loop response of the phase-advanced filter 412 as compared to a closed-loop response of a typical notch filter.",
"The Bode plot 600 includes a phase-advanced filter magnitude response 601 (upper solid line) and a phase-advanced filter phase response 602 (lower solid line).",
"The phase-advanced responses 601 and 602 illustrated in the Bode plot 600 are responses exhibited by an exemplary embodiment of a phase-advanced filter 412 .",
"For clarity, the Bode plot 600 is not shown to scale.",
"As illustrated by the phase-advanced filter magnitude response 601 , the phase-advanced filter 412 applies substantial attenuation to the control signal 410 around the center frequency 504 to advantageously filter out the mechanical resonance 502 .",
"Furthermore, the magnitude response 601 provides −20 dB of attenuation at frequencies substantially greater than the center frequency 504 .",
"Experimentation has shown that the phase-advanced filter 412 can guarantee at least −15 dB gain attenuation above 10 KHz when the center frequency is located at 11 KHz.",
"Thus, the phase-advanced filter 412 is robust above 10 KHz, in that only one phase-advanced filter 412 is generally required to attenuate multiple resonance modes above 10 KHz.",
"A traditional notch filter magnitude response 604 is shown in FIG. 6 for illustrative purposes.",
"In contrast to the phase-advance filter magnitude response 601 , a traditional notch filter magnitude response 604 (dashed line) includes an attenuation notch around the center frequency 504 .",
"Unlike a phase-advanced filter 412 , a traditional notch filter generally attenuates only around the center frequency 504 , but not at frequencies substantially above the center frequency 504 .",
"Thus, utilizing notch filters, in order to attenuate resonant modes above the center frequency 504 , more notch filters are required;",
"i.e., a notch filter for each unwanted resonant mode.",
"As is known, the addition of notch filters undesirably reduces the phase margin.",
"However, embodiments of the phase-advanced filter 412 substantially reduce or eliminate phase margin loss, as is shown by the phase-advanced filter phase response 602 .",
"The phase-advanced filter phase response 602 illustrates the difference in phase between the filtered control signal 414 and the control signal 410 with respect to frequency.",
"It can be seen that the phase does not decrease substantially between 0 Hz and the open loop gain cross over frequency 630 .",
"For comparison, a traditional notch filter phase response 606 (lower dashed line) is shown.",
"The notch filter phase response 606 drops substantially at the open loop gain crossover frequency 630 .",
"The difference in phase loss 610 is directly related to the difference in phase margin loss created by the phase-advanced filter 412 and the notch filter.",
"The phase-advanced filter 412 substantially reduces or eliminates phase margin loss.",
"The difference 610 (and thus the difference in phase margin loss) has been experimentally shown to be around 10°.",
"Additionally, to achieve the same attenuation at frequencies above the center frequency 504 as the attenuation of the phase-advanced filter 412 , more than one notch filter would be required.",
"Adding more notch filters will further increase the difference in phase loss 610 .",
"Thus, one phase-advance filter 412 substantially attenuates resonant frequencies above the center frequency 504 , while simultaneously substantially reducing or eliminating any phase margin loss.",
"Reduction of phase margin loss reduces the risk of run-out and reduces the loss in bandwidth of the servo loop 200 .",
"FIG. 7 is a process flow diagram 800 illustrating exemplary operations employed by the portion of the servo loop 200 illustrated in FIG. 4 .",
"In a receiving operation 802 , the microprocessor 210 receives a seek command to position the head 118 at a target track.",
"In response to receipt of the seek command, the microprocessor 210 performs a seeking operation 803 , wherein a seek profile signal is generated as discussed above, to accelerate the head 118 toward the target track.",
"Control transfers to a generating operation 804 wherein a control signal 410 is generated to adhere to the seek profile signal of the seeking operation 803 .",
"The generating operation 804 may be implemented by the microprocessor 210 executing a servo control module 400 shown in FIG. 4 .",
"Control then transfers to a filtering operation 806 wherein the control signal 410 is filtered by a phase-advanced filter 412 to generate a filtered control signal 414 .",
"The filtering operation 806 substantially attenuates frequencies above a cut-off frequency and advances the phase of the control signal 410 so that phase margin loss is substantially reduced or avoided as discussed above.",
"The transfer function associated with the filtering operation 806 is given in equations 1, 2 and/or 3.",
"Control then transfers to an amplifying operation 808 wherein the filtered control signal 414 is amplified to create a driving signal 416 for driving the voice coil motor 124 .",
"Control then transfers to a driving operation 810 wherein the driving signal 416 is transmitted to the voice coil motor 124 whereby the position of the actuator arm is adjusted in response to the voice coil motor being energized by the drive current.",
"Control then transfers to a determining operation 812 wherein it is determined whether the head 118 is positioned over the target track.",
"Typically the determination is made by detecting position signals read from the disc during the seek operation and feeding those position signals back to the microprocessor 210 .",
"If the head 118 is not positioned over the target track, control transfers to the seeking operation 803 , wherein the seeking operation continues until the head 118 is positioned over the target track.",
"If, on the other hand, it is determined in the determining operation 812 that the head is positioned over the target track, control transfers to a track following operation 814 , wherein a track following mode is entered.",
"Entering the track following mode, involves settling the head 118 over the target track.",
"After settling over the target track, PES is read from the disc 108 and the head position is substantially continuously adjusted so that the head is as close to the center of the track as possible.",
"Control then transfers to the generating operation 804 wherein a control signal 410 related to the PES is generated.",
"The control signal 410 that is generated includes frequency components as described above.",
"Control then transfers to a filtering operation 806 wherein the control signal 410 is filtered by a phase-advanced filter 412 .",
"The filtering operation 806 substantially attenuates frequencies above a selected center frequency and advances the phase of the control signal so that phase margin loss is substantially reduced or avoided as described in embodiments above.",
"The transfer function associated with the filtering operation 806 is given in equations 1, 2 and/or 3.",
"Control then transfers to an amplifying operation 808 wherein the filtered signal is amplified to create a drive current for driving the voice coil motor.",
"Control then transfers to a driving operation 810 wherein the drive current is transmitted to the voice coil motor to adjust the position of the actuator arm more closely to the center of the target track.",
"Thus, the phase-advanced filter 412 may be used to perform filtering during either a seek operation or a track following operation.",
"In summary, an embodiment may be viewed as a disc drive (such as 100 ) that has a data disc (such as 108 ) with concentrically arranged data tracks (such as 228 ) and a voice coil motor (such as 124 ) for positioning a transducer head (such as 118 ) over a selected track (such as 228 ).",
"The disc drive (such as 100 ) includes a servo control module (such as 400 ) that receives a seek command (such as 408 ) and transmits a control signal (such as 410 ) to the voice coil motor (such as 124 ).",
"The embodiment further includes phase-advanced filter (such as 412 ) that filters the control signal (such as 410 ) such that a range of frequencies above a predetermined center frequency (such as 504 ) are substantially attenuated and phase margin loss is substantially avoided.",
"An embodiment may also be viewed as a method of reducing component resonance (such as 320 ) in a disc drive (such as 100 ) by receiving a seek command (such as 408 ) to seek to a target track (such as 228 ), generating (such as 320 ) a seek control signal (such as 410 ) to move the a head (such as 118 ) to the target track (such as 228 ), and filtering (such as 806 ) the seek control signal (such as 410 ) with a phase-advanced filter (such as 412 ) to generate a filtered seek control signal (such as 414 ).",
"The method additionally includes driving a voice coil motor (such as 124 ) with a driving current (such as 416 ) based on the filtered seek control signal (such as 414 ) to position the head (such as 118 ) over the target track (such as 228 ).",
"The method may further include entering a track follow mode (such as 814 ).",
"The track follow mode typically involves settling the head over the target track (such as 228 ) and detecting a position error signal (PES) from the target track (such as 228 ).",
"During track follow mode, the method involves generating (such as 804 ) a track follow control signal (such as 410 ) based on the PES.",
"Following the track further involves filtering (such as 806 ) the track follow control signal (such as 410 ) with a phase-advanced filter (such as 412 ) to generate a filtered track follow control signal (such as 414 ) before driving (such as 810 ) a voice coil motor (such as 124 ) with a driving current (such as 416 ) based on the filtered track follow control signal (such as 414 ).",
"The logical operations of the various embodiments of the present invention are implemented (1) as a sequence of computer implemented acts or program modules running on a computing system and/or (2) as interconnected machine logic circuits or circuit modules within the computing system.",
"The implementation is a matter of choice dependent on the performance requirements of the computing system implementing the invention.",
"Accordingly, the logical operations making up the embodiments of the present invention described herein are referred to variously as operations, structural devices, acts or modules.",
"It will be recognized by one skilled in the art that these operations, structural devices, acts and modules may be implemented in software, in firmware, in special purpose digital logic, and any combination thereof without deviating from the spirit and scope of the present invention as recited within the claims attached hereto.",
"It will be clear that the present invention is well adapted to attain the ends and advantages mentioned as well as those inherent therein.",
"While a presently preferred embodiment has been described for purposes of this disclosure, various changes and modifications may be made which are well within the scope of the present invention.",
"For example, the phase-advanced filter could be employed in other (non-disc drive) environments where mechanical resonance modes arise and reduce performance of servo control.",
"Additionally, analog versions of the phase-advanced filter may be suitable for analog environments and may be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.",
"Numerous other changes may be made which will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and which are encompassed in the spirit of the invention disclosed and as defined in the appended claims."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for detecting the location of an event, in particular the presence of an impurity in a gaseous medium.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known, when a plurality of locations need to be protected against fire, to provide at each location a detector to detect smoke in the air. Each detector detects any smoke generated by a fire at the location which it protects. The disadvantage of this arrangement is that if, for example, sixteen rooms or machines need protecting against fire, then sixteen detectors are required, with the high cost that this entails.
Aspirating systems for detecting smoke or explosive or poisonous gas in air are known which enable the detectors to be remote from the locations to be protected. In such a known aspirating system, an air sampling smoke or gas detector monitors from several points along the length of a pipe, but is unable to distinguish between inlets to the pipe, so that, if a smoke or gas signal is generated by such a detector, then the particular location along its pipe must still be found. If unambiguous identification of the smoke or gas source is required, an air sampling pipe is taken to each possible source location. The sampled air is taken either to a dedicated detector or to a scanning valve arrangement, so that the pipe carrying the smoke or gas can be identified, and hence the source located; however, both the system with the dedicated detectors and the system with the scanning valve arrangement are relatively expensive. The scanning valve arrangement is a multiplexing arrangement. In some versions of this arrangement the pipe outlets enter a common chamber containing or communicating with a single detector and either a series of flap valves are provided at the respective outlets, or a rotary valve plate formed with a single port is provided at the outlets, as disclosed in, for example, GB-A-2243475. In another version disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,765,842 the sampling pipes extend through respective controlled valves to a common duct leading to a pump downstream of which is the single detector. In all versions the sampling pipes remain continuously open until smoke or gas is sensed by the detector when all except one pipe are closed in turn until the pipe carrying the smoke or gas is identified.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of determining at which of a plurality of locations an event is occurring, comprising providing a plurality of lines of communication communicating with and dedicated to the locations of respective groups of said locations, wherein each line of communication serves at least one location which is served by another of the lines of communication, and wherein the occurrence of an event at any one of the locations along any one of the lines of communication is detected in a manner which distinguishes between occurrences of the event along one of the lines of communication and occurrences of the event along any other of the lines of communication.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided apparatus for determining at which of a plurality of locations an event is occurring, comprising a plurality of lines of communication which are arranged to communicate with and be dedicated to the locations of respective groups of said locations, each line of communication being arranged to serve at least one location which is served by another of the lines of communication, and detecting means arranged to detect the occurrence of an event at any one of the locations along any one of the lines of communication in a manner which distinguishes between occurrence of the event along one of the lines of communication and occurrence of the event along any other of the lines of communication.
Owing to these aspects of the invention, it is possible to reduce greatly the amount of detecting means required to cover a given plurality of locations. Merely by way of example, if there are sixteen locations to be protected, then the minimum amount of detecting means could be obtained by using one series of four detectors (or a scanning valve arrangement with a single detector and four scanned outlets) and another series of three detectors (or a scanning valve arrangement with a single detector and three scanned outlets). An even greater economic advantage can be obtained with fifteen locations, where a minimum of two series each of three detectors (or two scanning valve arrangements each with three scanned outlets) can be employed.
Advantageously no one location is served by the same two lines of communication as any other location. Alternatively this could apply to a majority of the locations.
The event in question could be occurrence of a particular characteristic of a gaseous medium, e.g. the presence of an impurity, for example smoke or chlorine gas, in the gaseous medium at one of the locations, and in those circumstances the lines of communication could be sampling pipes of an aspirating system for the gaseous medium.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a plurality of cabinets protected by an aspirating smoke detection system including eight smoke detectors, and
FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of a modified version.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to FIG. 1 , the sixteen cabinets A to P each have the air inside them monitored by way of two different sampling pipes, one from the row pipes R 1 to R 4 and one from the column pipes C 1 to C 4 . Each row pipe and each column pipe receives, via sampling connections (not shown), samples of the air in four cabinets and each pipe is connected to a single detector contained in one of two series of detectors 10 (i.e. 10 . 1 ; 10 . 2 ; 10 . 3 and 10 . 4 ) and 11 (i.e. 11 . 1 ; 11 . 2 ; 11 . 3 and 11 . 4 ). By comparing the readings at the two series of detectors 10 and 11 , the location at which smoke has been detected can be immediately determined. For example, if smoke is detected in pipe R 3 (by detector 10 . 3 ) and pipe C 2 (by detector 11 . 2 ), the smoke source must be cabinet J. The detectors could be connected to computing means (not shown) that will process the signals received from the detectors and thereby automatically determine the location of the smoke. An appropriate alarm signal will then be produced.
The pipes R 1 to R 4 have downstream of their respective detectors 10 . 1 to 10 . 4 a common fan 12 and the pipes C 1 to C 4 have downstream of their respective detectors 11 . 1 to 11 . 4 a common fan 13 and these fans continually draw the air from the cabinets through the sampling pipes and the detectors. The processing of detection information received is known and is described in, for example, WO95/04338.
In an unillustrated version, the detectors 10 . 1 to 10 . 4 and 11 . 1 to 11 . 4 have respective dedicated fans upstream or downstream thereof. In a further unillustrated version a single detector 10 or 11 with a single fan 12 or 13 upstream or downstream thereof has its pipes R or C connected thereto via a scanning valve arrangement.
The system, in which each location has two sampling connections, is applicable to numbers smaller or larger than sixteen locations, but the advantage of a reduction in the number of detectors required compared with one detector for each location arises only if there are at least six locations.
To reduce the initial cost of the system it is possible to omit one row pipe, one column pipe, or one of each, the latter possibility being illustrated by the version shown in FIG. 2 , which differs from that shown in FIG. 1 chiefly in that the pipes R 4 and C 4 and their corresponding detectors 10 . 4 and 11 . 4 have been omitted, which necessitates omission of location P for detection purposes. Another difference is that the detectors are shown as having dedicated fans 12 . 1 to 12 . 3 and 13 . 1 to 13 . 3 , although of course, a common fan 12 or 13 could be provided or, again, there could be single detectors 10 and 11 with respective scanning valve arrangements. Thus one row and one column of locations are not covered by two pipes and yet detection is still specific for each of the fifteen locations A to O. For example, smoke detected from pipe C 2 but not detected from any of the row pipes would indicate the presence of smoke at location N.
Again, this version is applicable to numbers of locations smaller or larger than fifteen, and the advantage of a reduction in the number of detectors required compared with one detector for each location arises if there are at least three locations.
It is not necessary for the locations to be protected to be physically arranged in rows and columns, as the pipes can be arranged to suit virtually any physical layout of the locations. Moreover, the members of each series of pipes, detectors and fans can be arranged in any desired physical relationship to each other.
The arrangement of locations shown in FIG. 1 or 2 can be considered as a mathematical array.
The maximum number of an array of locations to be protected is determined by the maximum number of sampling holes feasible on each sampling pipe. In a case where the maximum legally permitted is 25 holes per pipe, this means that theoretically 625 cabinets could be monitored using 13 series of four detectors each. Using the currently known technique, 157 series of four detectors each would be required. If more locations need to be monitored, multiple arrays can be implemented.
It is also possible to use arrays in more than two dimensions. If a three-dimensional array were to be used, 64 locations could be monitored using 12 detectors (four rows, four columns and four stories).
The system is applicable to any situation where a plurality of different locations is required to be protected. For example, rather than enclosures such as cabinets, the detectors could be protecting individual rooms. | A method and apparatus for detecting the location of an event from amongst a plurality (A to P) of locations. Lines of communication (R 1 to R 4 , C 1 to C 4 ), commonly pipes of a smoke detection system, cover the locations in such a fashion that the location of an event can be determined uniquely but the number of pipes is minimized. | Summarize the document in concise, focusing on the main idea's functionality and advantages. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for detecting the location of an event, in particular the presence of an impurity in a gaseous medium.",
"Description of the Prior Art It is known, when a plurality of locations need to be protected against fire, to provide at each location a detector to detect smoke in the air.",
"Each detector detects any smoke generated by a fire at the location which it protects.",
"The disadvantage of this arrangement is that if, for example, sixteen rooms or machines need protecting against fire, then sixteen detectors are required, with the high cost that this entails.",
"Aspirating systems for detecting smoke or explosive or poisonous gas in air are known which enable the detectors to be remote from the locations to be protected.",
"In such a known aspirating system, an air sampling smoke or gas detector monitors from several points along the length of a pipe, but is unable to distinguish between inlets to the pipe, so that, if a smoke or gas signal is generated by such a detector, then the particular location along its pipe must still be found.",
"If unambiguous identification of the smoke or gas source is required, an air sampling pipe is taken to each possible source location.",
"The sampled air is taken either to a dedicated detector or to a scanning valve arrangement, so that the pipe carrying the smoke or gas can be identified, and hence the source located;",
"however, both the system with the dedicated detectors and the system with the scanning valve arrangement are relatively expensive.",
"The scanning valve arrangement is a multiplexing arrangement.",
"In some versions of this arrangement the pipe outlets enter a common chamber containing or communicating with a single detector and either a series of flap valves are provided at the respective outlets, or a rotary valve plate formed with a single port is provided at the outlets, as disclosed in, for example, GB-A-2243475.",
"In another version disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,765,842 the sampling pipes extend through respective controlled valves to a common duct leading to a pump downstream of which is the single detector.",
"In all versions the sampling pipes remain continuously open until smoke or gas is sensed by the detector when all except one pipe are closed in turn until the pipe carrying the smoke or gas is identified.",
"BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of determining at which of a plurality of locations an event is occurring, comprising providing a plurality of lines of communication communicating with and dedicated to the locations of respective groups of said locations, wherein each line of communication serves at least one location which is served by another of the lines of communication, and wherein the occurrence of an event at any one of the locations along any one of the lines of communication is detected in a manner which distinguishes between occurrences of the event along one of the lines of communication and occurrences of the event along any other of the lines of communication.",
"According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided apparatus for determining at which of a plurality of locations an event is occurring, comprising a plurality of lines of communication which are arranged to communicate with and be dedicated to the locations of respective groups of said locations, each line of communication being arranged to serve at least one location which is served by another of the lines of communication, and detecting means arranged to detect the occurrence of an event at any one of the locations along any one of the lines of communication in a manner which distinguishes between occurrence of the event along one of the lines of communication and occurrence of the event along any other of the lines of communication.",
"Owing to these aspects of the invention, it is possible to reduce greatly the amount of detecting means required to cover a given plurality of locations.",
"Merely by way of example, if there are sixteen locations to be protected, then the minimum amount of detecting means could be obtained by using one series of four detectors (or a scanning valve arrangement with a single detector and four scanned outlets) and another series of three detectors (or a scanning valve arrangement with a single detector and three scanned outlets).",
"An even greater economic advantage can be obtained with fifteen locations, where a minimum of two series each of three detectors (or two scanning valve arrangements each with three scanned outlets) can be employed.",
"Advantageously no one location is served by the same two lines of communication as any other location.",
"Alternatively this could apply to a majority of the locations.",
"The event in question could be occurrence of a particular characteristic of a gaseous medium, e.g. the presence of an impurity, for example smoke or chlorine gas, in the gaseous medium at one of the locations, and in those circumstances the lines of communication could be sampling pipes of an aspirating system for the gaseous medium.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a plurality of cabinets protected by an aspirating smoke detection system including eight smoke detectors, and FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of a modified version.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to FIG. 1 , the sixteen cabinets A to P each have the air inside them monitored by way of two different sampling pipes, one from the row pipes R 1 to R 4 and one from the column pipes C 1 to C 4 .",
"Each row pipe and each column pipe receives, via sampling connections (not shown), samples of the air in four cabinets and each pipe is connected to a single detector contained in one of two series of detectors 10 (i.e. 10 .",
"1 ;",
"10 .",
"2 ;",
"10 .",
"3 and 10 .",
"4 ) and 11 (i.e. 11 .",
"1 ;",
"11 .",
"2 ;",
"11 .",
"3 and 11 .",
"4 ).",
"By comparing the readings at the two series of detectors 10 and 11 , the location at which smoke has been detected can be immediately determined.",
"For example, if smoke is detected in pipe R 3 (by detector 10 .",
"3 ) and pipe C 2 (by detector 11 .",
"2 ), the smoke source must be cabinet J. The detectors could be connected to computing means (not shown) that will process the signals received from the detectors and thereby automatically determine the location of the smoke.",
"An appropriate alarm signal will then be produced.",
"The pipes R 1 to R 4 have downstream of their respective detectors 10 .",
"1 to 10 .",
"4 a common fan 12 and the pipes C 1 to C 4 have downstream of their respective detectors 11 .",
"1 to 11 .",
"4 a common fan 13 and these fans continually draw the air from the cabinets through the sampling pipes and the detectors.",
"The processing of detection information received is known and is described in, for example, WO95/04338.",
"In an unillustrated version, the detectors 10 .",
"1 to 10 .",
"4 and 11 .",
"1 to 11 .",
"4 have respective dedicated fans upstream or downstream thereof.",
"In a further unillustrated version a single detector 10 or 11 with a single fan 12 or 13 upstream or downstream thereof has its pipes R or C connected thereto via a scanning valve arrangement.",
"The system, in which each location has two sampling connections, is applicable to numbers smaller or larger than sixteen locations, but the advantage of a reduction in the number of detectors required compared with one detector for each location arises only if there are at least six locations.",
"To reduce the initial cost of the system it is possible to omit one row pipe, one column pipe, or one of each, the latter possibility being illustrated by the version shown in FIG. 2 , which differs from that shown in FIG. 1 chiefly in that the pipes R 4 and C 4 and their corresponding detectors 10 .",
"4 and 11 .",
"4 have been omitted, which necessitates omission of location P for detection purposes.",
"Another difference is that the detectors are shown as having dedicated fans 12 .",
"1 to 12 .",
"3 and 13 .",
"1 to 13 .",
"3 , although of course, a common fan 12 or 13 could be provided or, again, there could be single detectors 10 and 11 with respective scanning valve arrangements.",
"Thus one row and one column of locations are not covered by two pipes and yet detection is still specific for each of the fifteen locations A to O. For example, smoke detected from pipe C 2 but not detected from any of the row pipes would indicate the presence of smoke at location N. Again, this version is applicable to numbers of locations smaller or larger than fifteen, and the advantage of a reduction in the number of detectors required compared with one detector for each location arises if there are at least three locations.",
"It is not necessary for the locations to be protected to be physically arranged in rows and columns, as the pipes can be arranged to suit virtually any physical layout of the locations.",
"Moreover, the members of each series of pipes, detectors and fans can be arranged in any desired physical relationship to each other.",
"The arrangement of locations shown in FIG. 1 or 2 can be considered as a mathematical array.",
"The maximum number of an array of locations to be protected is determined by the maximum number of sampling holes feasible on each sampling pipe.",
"In a case where the maximum legally permitted is 25 holes per pipe, this means that theoretically 625 cabinets could be monitored using 13 series of four detectors each.",
"Using the currently known technique, 157 series of four detectors each would be required.",
"If more locations need to be monitored, multiple arrays can be implemented.",
"It is also possible to use arrays in more than two dimensions.",
"If a three-dimensional array were to be used, 64 locations could be monitored using 12 detectors (four rows, four columns and four stories).",
"The system is applicable to any situation where a plurality of different locations is required to be protected.",
"For example, rather than enclosures such as cabinets, the detectors could be protecting individual rooms."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to telecommunications and computer networks and more particularly to establishing a network combining a plurality of types of physical transmissions media available in the home.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The development of broadband network access devices such as cable and xDSL modems enable high-speed network access from the home. Presently, highest speed network access in the home generally occurs between a WAN (e.g. the Internet) and a single communication device in the home (e.g. a PC with a TCP/IP stack) by means of a cable modem via an 802.3 10BaseT Ethernet interface or a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface. The availability of high-speed network access combined with the ready availability of network-enabled devices to consumers, including printers, storage devices, and smart appliances as well as computers, has created a demand for home networks.
The home network, or any other small, non-professionally run network, presents special problems. First, the network desired by the user may require infrastructure that the user may not want, or may not be able, to install. Currently, the already-existing infrastructure of telephone lines or electrical wiring may be used as part of the transmissions media for the network. Alternatively, a wireless transmissions system may also be used as a transmissions medium. These transmissions media cannot currently be combined in a single network. Current art provides connectivity between an outside WAN and a single home LAN on either phone line or electrical wiring or by wireless transmission. The problem is that a seamless network from anywhere in the home is not always possible. For example, there is not always a phone jack in every room, or an electrical wire may not provide a reliable connection between certain places in the home. Consequently, the reach of the home LAN is limited to the reach of the particular physical medium used. It is desirable to increase the home network access by combining multiple transmissions media in a single network.
The second difficulty in home networks is the need for the home network to be easily operated and maintained by a user who is not a computer professional. The home network needs to be as simple as possible. It is desirable to have a network that requires a minimum of manipulation on the part of the user in order to set up, operate and maintain the network.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus that establishes a computer network on a combination of telephone line, electrical wiring and/or wireless transmissions media.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for a home computer network that requires a minimum of administrative tasks for the user.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The problems of establishing a far-reaching and easily operated home network are solved by the present invention of a home network in multiple physical layers.
A home networking architecture and a physical layer protocol is configured such that a communication device in the home can access a home network over any one of the available physical transmissions media, i.e. in-house telephone wiring or electrical wiring, or a wireless network. The proposed networking architecture utilizes a bridging concept of combining multiple LANs residing on the different physical mediums available in the home, or small office building, or any other situation where a network is desired but adding additional infrastructure is undesirable or not possible.
The bridging function resides in the home hub. With such a hub, a communication device connected to telephone wiring can seamlessly establish communication with another communication device connected to the electrical wiring or to a wireless medium.
The present invention together with the above and other advantages may best be understood from the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention illustrated in the drawings, wherein:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art home network;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a home network according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a communication stack of the home hub of the home network shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a communication stack used in a communications device according to principles of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a self-ID message according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an auto-select message according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an acknowledgment message according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; and
FIG. 8 is a first flow chart of the auto-sense/auto-select process of the home network shown in FIG. 2, showing the device registration process where only one medium is available;
FIG. 9 is a second flow chart of the auto-sense/auto-select process of the home network shown in FIG. 2, showing the device auto-select process where a priority configuration is in place; and
FIG. 10 is a third flow chart of the auto-sense/auto-select process of the home network shown in FIG. 2 showing a simple auto-select process and a comprehensive auto-select process used when multiple media are available but no priority configuration is in place.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows a prior art home network using a telephone wiring local area network (LAN) 10 with a connection to an outside wide area network (WAN) 15 , such as the Internet via a home hub 20 . The home hub 20 has a modem 25 to establish a connection to the WAN 15 . In the present invention, the modem 25 is a cable modem, an XDSL modem, or a V.90 modem, however the invention is not limited to these devices. The home hub 20 also provides a hub connection to the LAN 10 . The LAN 10 connects three devices, Computer A 30 , Computer B 35 , and a printer 40 . The home networking configuration shown in FIG. 1 does not provide seamless network access from all places in the home because telephone line connections may not be available at all locations where they are needed.
FIG. 2 shows the home networking architecture according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. The home hub 100 has a modem 25 as in FIG. 1 to establish a connection to the wide area network (WAN) 15 . The home hub 100 also provides a hub connection to the first LAN 10 , also shown in FIG. 1, here a telephone wire LAN, and a second LAN 110 , here an electrical wiring LAN. In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, either of the LANs 10 , 110 could be a wireless LAN. The first LAN 10 connects three devices, Computer A 30 , Computer B 35 , and a printer 40 . The second LAN 110 connects Computer C 115 , Computer D 120 and a second printer 125 . The home hub 100 combines two different physical media to provide greater access to the network from more places in the home.
FIG. 3 shows a communications stack 150 to be implemented in the home hub shown in FIG. 2, which in the present embodiment of the invention, already provides 802.3 10BaseT Ethernet connection to transparently combine the first LAN on telephone wiring and a second LAN on electrical wiring. A network layer 160 , using a protocol such as TCP/IP, connects the home hub to the WAN. The bridging layer 155 establishes a connection between a cable modem substack 162 , a 10BaseT connection substack 164 , a telephone line substack 166 , an electrical wiring substack 168 , and a wireless network substack 170 in the hub communications stack 150 . The bridging layer 155 enables devices connected on the different transmissions media to communicate with each other so that a device connected to the network, for example, via a power line can communicate with a device connected to the network via a telephone line. The home hub actively supports the various transmissions media while combining individual LANs together with a bridge at the Medium Access Control layer (MAC layer). The MAC layer is one of two sublayers that make up the Data Link Layer of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The MAC layer is responsible for moving data packets to and from one Network Interface Card (NIC) to another across a shared channel. The MAC sublayer uses MAC protocols to ensure that signals sent from different stations across the same channel do not collide. Different protocols are used for different shared networks, such as Ethernets, Token Rings, Token Buses, and WANs.
FIG. 4 shows an exemplary communication stack 200 of a communication device, such as a computer or a printer to be used in conjunction with the home hub shown in FIG. 2 . The home hub treats each separate physical medium, i.e. telephone wire, electrical wire, or wireless, as an individual LAN and combines them together with a bridge at the MAC layer, as described above in the discussion of FIG. 3 .
Referring again to FIG. 4, each communication device added to the network selects the desired transmissions medium from the available transmissions media by means of an auto-sense/auto-select layer 205 underneath a physical layer 210 as shown in the exemplary communication stack 200 . The auto-sense/auto-select layer 205 manages the procedure for the communications devices to join/register in the network. The auto-sense/auto-select process is handled below the MAC layer. As such, there is no change imposed on the MAC layer used, and no MAC layer address for a particular communication device is used for the purpose of auto-sense/auto-select process. All communications devices, however, may not be enabled for all available transmissions media. For example, a communications device may have only 10BaseT and telephone line capability or some other combination of transmissions media. Therefore, the communications stack in FIG. 4 is merely exemplary. Other configurations are possible within the scope of the present invention.
FIG. 5 shows a self-ID message 250 . The auto-sense process does not involve transmitting any signal onto the medium. Rather, it involves auto-sensing, i.e. checking, for the presence of self-ID messages sent by other communication devices already active on the medium. The self-ID message 250 has a first flag field 255 , a preamble field 260 , a device ID field 265 , a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) field 270 for error checking, and a second flag field 275 . The first flag field 255 and the second flag field 275 mark the beginning and end respectively of the data packet. The preamble field 260 contains data sequences to be used for general signal conditioning and to assist in timing recovery and possibly for detecting the collision of transmitted signals in the media. In the present invention, the data sequence is a predetermined pseudorandom sequence known to receiving devices on the network. The receiving devices determine qualities of transmission in the network from the condition of the preamble data. The device ID field 265 holds the identification of the device sending the self-ID message 250 . Each device on the network periodically sends out a self-ID message. When a new device is added to the network, the new device collects self-ID messages from the network in order to determine network population and configuration.
FIG. 6 shows an auto-select message 300 . The auto-select process involves a newly connected device transmitting special physical (PHY) layer messages and waiting for special acknowledgments from the existing communication devices in the network. The auto-select message 300 has a first flag field 305 , a PHY layer preamble 310 , a PHY layer ID field 315 , an auto-select field 320 , a CRC field 325 , and a second flag field 330 . The first flag field 305 and second flag field 330 mark the beginning and end respectively of the data packet. The PHY layer preamble 310 is used by the newly connected device to detect the presence of a signal and possible collisions of signals in the medium, and to set up necessary receiver parameters. The PHY layer ID field 315 contains the identity of the source of the auto-select message. A special data stream, which is a pseudo-random sequence contained in the auto-select field 320 , is used by the newly connected device to calculate signal quality measures.
FIG. 7 shows an acknowledgment message 350 that has a first flag field 355 , a PHY layer preamble field 360 , and PHY layer ID field 365 , an information field 370 , a CRC field 375 and a second flag field 380 . The first flag field 355 and second flag field 380 mark the beginning and the end respectively of the data packet. The PHY layer preamble 360 is used to detect the presence of a signal and possible collisions in the medium, and to set up necessary receiver parameters. The PHY layer ID field 365 contains the identity of the source of the acknowledgment message. The CRC field 375 is for error checking. The acknowledgment message 350 is sent in response to an auto-select message and has encoded signal quality information in the information field 370 on the received auto-select message. Signal quality information includes the mean squared error, i.e. the deviation of the signal's mean value which can be used to determine the quality of the network channel. The signal quality information also includes the received signal level. Either or both of these items may be included in the acknowledgment message 350 .
FIG. 8 is a first flow chart of the auto-sense/auto-select process. A communications device connected to a network may be connected to one or more data transmissions media, e.g. a 10baseT connection or electrical wires or phone lines. When the communications device connected to the network is first powered on, block 400 , it auto-senses the availability of each transmissions medium, block 405 . If the existence of only one active transmission medium is detected, block 410 , then the device listens to traffic and acquires the PHY layer identifications (IDs) from the self-ID messages of existing devices in the network, block 415 . The new device accomplishes this by listening for self-ID messages for a predetermined length of time after which it is presumed that all active devices on the network have been detected. The device then broadcasts an auto-select message and waits for acknowledgements, block 420 . If the new device does not receive a positive acknowledgment from all active devices in the network, block 425 , and the maximum transmission power has not yet been reached, the device resends the auto-select message with a higher power, block 435 . The join/register process ends after receiving an acknowledgment from every active device on the network, block 425 . The new device then joins regular LAN traffic, block 445 . In the event that acknowledgments from all devices on the medium have not been received, and maximum power has been reached, the process of registering the device on the network fails and ends, block 440 .
In the event that the new communication device auto-senses the availability of more than one transmission medium when it is first powered on, block 410 , the device checks whether it has a priority configuration for transmissions media, block 450 , (priority configuration can be done at the factory, or by the user). If there is a priority configuration in place, the device chooses a transmission medium accordingly, i.e. the device starts on the medium with the highest priority, block 451 . It then follows a prioritized auto-select process, block 452 , shown in FIG. 9 and described in detail below.
If the device is not pre-configured with a priority for any one of the transmissions media, it follows either a simple or a comprehensive auto-select process, block 500 , shown in FIG. 10 . Whether the simple or comprehensive process is followed depends on how a parameter called “auto-select type” is set.
FIG. 9 shows the prioritized auto-select process 452 , shown in FIG. 8 . The new device listens to traffic on the selected medium and acquires the PHY layer identifications (IDs) of existing devices in the network, block 455 . The new device then broadcasts an auto-select message and waits for acknowledgements, block 460 . If the new device receives acknowledgments from all the devices, block 465 , from whom it has IDs, i.e. from all active devices on the network, the new device joins the network over the selected medium, block 495 . If the new device does not receive a positive acknowledgment from all active devices in the network, block 465 , and the maximum transmission power has not yet been reached, block 470 , the device increases its broadcast power, block 475 and resends the auto-select message, block 460 . In the event that acknowledgments from all devices on the medium have not been received, block 465 , but maximum power has been reached, block 470 , the new device checks for other transmission media to try, block 480 . If all the media have been tried, the process ends, block 490 . If all the media have not been tried, the new device chooses the medium having the next highest priority in the priority configuration, block 485 and the process of collecting IDs, block 455 , etc. begins again until either the device is registered on one of the available media or all the choices of media are exhausted.
FIG. 10 shows the simple and comprehensive auto-select processes 500 which are used when a plurality of media is available and when no priority configuration is in place. First, the newly connected device chooses one of the available media in the network, block 505 . The new device then collects the IDs of all active devices on the chosen medium, block 510 , and broadcasts an auto-select message over the chosen medium, block 515 . If acknowledgments are not received from all active devices on the chosen medium, block 520 , and maximum transmission power has not been reached, block 525 , the new device increases its transmission power, block 530 and sends out another auto-select message 515 . If maximum transmission power has been reached, block 525 , the new device records the failure, block 535 . If either the maximum power has been reached, block 525 , or all acknowledgments have been received, block 520 , the new device checks the setting of the auto-select type variable, block 540 . If the auto-select type is “simple,” the new device stores the acknowledgments or records the failure for the medium to be used as data in selecting the transmissions medium, block 545 . The new device checks whether all available media on the network have been tried, block 550 . If all available media have not been tried, the new device chooses a next medium, block 555 , and begins the acknowledgment process on the new medium by returning to the step of collecting IDs of all active devices, block 510 .
If the auto-select type is “comprehensive,” the new device stores signal quality information calculated from data provided by other devices in the network in the acknowledgment messages, or the new device records the failure for the medium, block 570 . The signal quality information can include either the mean squared error or the signal power level as described above. The new device records whether the mean squared error is below a predetermined threshold that allows for reliable decoding of the signal in the specific modulation format of the network, and/or the signal power level is above a predetermined threshold. If the signal quality does not meet one or both of these thresholds, the new device records the failure of the medium instead. The new device then checks for other available media, block 580 . If all the media have not been tried, the new device chooses a next medium, block 575 , and begins the acknowledgment process on the new medium by returning to the step of collecting IDs of all active devices, block 510 . If all media have been tried, block 580 , the new device makes its auto-select decision based on stored signal quality information, block 585 . The new device then joins the network over the medium which has signal quality within acceptable parameters or the process fails and ends, block 590 .
It is to be understood that the above-described embodiments are simply illustrative of the principles of the invention. Various and other modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof. | A home networking architecture and a physical layer protocol is configured such that a communication device in the home can access a home network over any one of the available transmissions media, i.e. in-house telephone wiring or electrical wiring, or a wireless network. The proposed networking architecture utilizes a bridging concept of combining multiple LANs residing on the different physical mediums available in the home, or small office building, or any other situation where a network is desired but adding additional infrastructure is undesirable or not possible. | Identify the most important aspect in the document and summarize the concept accordingly. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to telecommunications and computer networks and more particularly to establishing a network combining a plurality of types of physical transmissions media available in the home.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The development of broadband network access devices such as cable and xDSL modems enable high-speed network access from the home.",
"Presently, highest speed network access in the home generally occurs between a WAN (e.g. the Internet) and a single communication device in the home (e.g. a PC with a TCP/IP stack) by means of a cable modem via an 802.3 10BaseT Ethernet interface or a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface.",
"The availability of high-speed network access combined with the ready availability of network-enabled devices to consumers, including printers, storage devices, and smart appliances as well as computers, has created a demand for home networks.",
"The home network, or any other small, non-professionally run network, presents special problems.",
"First, the network desired by the user may require infrastructure that the user may not want, or may not be able, to install.",
"Currently, the already-existing infrastructure of telephone lines or electrical wiring may be used as part of the transmissions media for the network.",
"Alternatively, a wireless transmissions system may also be used as a transmissions medium.",
"These transmissions media cannot currently be combined in a single network.",
"Current art provides connectivity between an outside WAN and a single home LAN on either phone line or electrical wiring or by wireless transmission.",
"The problem is that a seamless network from anywhere in the home is not always possible.",
"For example, there is not always a phone jack in every room, or an electrical wire may not provide a reliable connection between certain places in the home.",
"Consequently, the reach of the home LAN is limited to the reach of the particular physical medium used.",
"It is desirable to increase the home network access by combining multiple transmissions media in a single network.",
"The second difficulty in home networks is the need for the home network to be easily operated and maintained by a user who is not a computer professional.",
"The home network needs to be as simple as possible.",
"It is desirable to have a network that requires a minimum of manipulation on the part of the user in order to set up, operate and maintain the network.",
"It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus that establishes a computer network on a combination of telephone line, electrical wiring and/or wireless transmissions media.",
"It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for a home computer network that requires a minimum of administrative tasks for the user.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The problems of establishing a far-reaching and easily operated home network are solved by the present invention of a home network in multiple physical layers.",
"A home networking architecture and a physical layer protocol is configured such that a communication device in the home can access a home network over any one of the available physical transmissions media, i.e. in-house telephone wiring or electrical wiring, or a wireless network.",
"The proposed networking architecture utilizes a bridging concept of combining multiple LANs residing on the different physical mediums available in the home, or small office building, or any other situation where a network is desired but adding additional infrastructure is undesirable or not possible.",
"The bridging function resides in the home hub.",
"With such a hub, a communication device connected to telephone wiring can seamlessly establish communication with another communication device connected to the electrical wiring or to a wireless medium.",
"The present invention together with the above and other advantages may best be understood from the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention illustrated in the drawings, wherein: BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art home network;",
"FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a home network according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;",
"FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a communication stack of the home hub of the home network shown in FIG. 2;",
"FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a communication stack used in a communications device according to principles of the present invention;",
"FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a self-ID message according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;",
"FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an auto-select message according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;",
"FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an acknowledgment message according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;",
"and FIG. 8 is a first flow chart of the auto-sense/auto-select process of the home network shown in FIG. 2, showing the device registration process where only one medium is available;",
"FIG. 9 is a second flow chart of the auto-sense/auto-select process of the home network shown in FIG. 2, showing the device auto-select process where a priority configuration is in place;",
"and FIG. 10 is a third flow chart of the auto-sense/auto-select process of the home network shown in FIG. 2 showing a simple auto-select process and a comprehensive auto-select process used when multiple media are available but no priority configuration is in place.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a prior art home network using a telephone wiring local area network (LAN) 10 with a connection to an outside wide area network (WAN) 15 , such as the Internet via a home hub 20 .",
"The home hub 20 has a modem 25 to establish a connection to the WAN 15 .",
"In the present invention, the modem 25 is a cable modem, an XDSL modem, or a V[.",
"].90 modem, however the invention is not limited to these devices.",
"The home hub 20 also provides a hub connection to the LAN 10 .",
"The LAN 10 connects three devices, Computer A 30 , Computer B 35 , and a printer 40 .",
"The home networking configuration shown in FIG. 1 does not provide seamless network access from all places in the home because telephone line connections may not be available at all locations where they are needed.",
"FIG. 2 shows the home networking architecture according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.",
"The home hub 100 has a modem 25 as in FIG. 1 to establish a connection to the wide area network (WAN) 15 .",
"The home hub 100 also provides a hub connection to the first LAN 10 , also shown in FIG. 1, here a telephone wire LAN, and a second LAN 110 , here an electrical wiring LAN.",
"In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, either of the LANs 10 , 110 could be a wireless LAN.",
"The first LAN 10 connects three devices, Computer A 30 , Computer B 35 , and a printer 40 .",
"The second LAN 110 connects Computer C 115 , Computer D 120 and a second printer 125 .",
"The home hub 100 combines two different physical media to provide greater access to the network from more places in the home.",
"FIG. 3 shows a communications stack 150 to be implemented in the home hub shown in FIG. 2, which in the present embodiment of the invention, already provides 802.3 10BaseT Ethernet connection to transparently combine the first LAN on telephone wiring and a second LAN on electrical wiring.",
"A network layer 160 , using a protocol such as TCP/IP, connects the home hub to the WAN.",
"The bridging layer 155 establishes a connection between a cable modem substack 162 , a 10BaseT connection substack 164 , a telephone line substack 166 , an electrical wiring substack 168 , and a wireless network substack 170 in the hub communications stack 150 .",
"The bridging layer 155 enables devices connected on the different transmissions media to communicate with each other so that a device connected to the network, for example, via a power line can communicate with a device connected to the network via a telephone line.",
"The home hub actively supports the various transmissions media while combining individual LANs together with a bridge at the Medium Access Control layer (MAC layer).",
"The MAC layer is one of two sublayers that make up the Data Link Layer of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).",
"The MAC layer is responsible for moving data packets to and from one Network Interface Card (NIC) to another across a shared channel.",
"The MAC sublayer uses MAC protocols to ensure that signals sent from different stations across the same channel do not collide.",
"Different protocols are used for different shared networks, such as Ethernets, Token Rings, Token Buses, and WANs.",
"FIG. 4 shows an exemplary communication stack 200 of a communication device, such as a computer or a printer to be used in conjunction with the home hub shown in FIG. 2 .",
"The home hub treats each separate physical medium, i.e. telephone wire, electrical wire, or wireless, as an individual LAN and combines them together with a bridge at the MAC layer, as described above in the discussion of FIG. 3 .",
"Referring again to FIG. 4, each communication device added to the network selects the desired transmissions medium from the available transmissions media by means of an auto-sense/auto-select layer 205 underneath a physical layer 210 as shown in the exemplary communication stack 200 .",
"The auto-sense/auto-select layer 205 manages the procedure for the communications devices to join/register in the network.",
"The auto-sense/auto-select process is handled below the MAC layer.",
"As such, there is no change imposed on the MAC layer used, and no MAC layer address for a particular communication device is used for the purpose of auto-sense/auto-select process.",
"All communications devices, however, may not be enabled for all available transmissions media.",
"For example, a communications device may have only 10BaseT and telephone line capability or some other combination of transmissions media.",
"Therefore, the communications stack in FIG. 4 is merely exemplary.",
"Other configurations are possible within the scope of the present invention.",
"FIG. 5 shows a self-ID message 250 .",
"The auto-sense process does not involve transmitting any signal onto the medium.",
"Rather, it involves auto-sensing, i.e. checking, for the presence of self-ID messages sent by other communication devices already active on the medium.",
"The self-ID message 250 has a first flag field 255 , a preamble field 260 , a device ID field 265 , a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) field 270 for error checking, and a second flag field 275 .",
"The first flag field 255 and the second flag field 275 mark the beginning and end respectively of the data packet.",
"The preamble field 260 contains data sequences to be used for general signal conditioning and to assist in timing recovery and possibly for detecting the collision of transmitted signals in the media.",
"In the present invention, the data sequence is a predetermined pseudorandom sequence known to receiving devices on the network.",
"The receiving devices determine qualities of transmission in the network from the condition of the preamble data.",
"The device ID field 265 holds the identification of the device sending the self-ID message 250 .",
"Each device on the network periodically sends out a self-ID message.",
"When a new device is added to the network, the new device collects self-ID messages from the network in order to determine network population and configuration.",
"FIG. 6 shows an auto-select message 300 .",
"The auto-select process involves a newly connected device transmitting special physical (PHY) layer messages and waiting for special acknowledgments from the existing communication devices in the network.",
"The auto-select message 300 has a first flag field 305 , a PHY layer preamble 310 , a PHY layer ID field 315 , an auto-select field 320 , a CRC field 325 , and a second flag field 330 .",
"The first flag field 305 and second flag field 330 mark the beginning and end respectively of the data packet.",
"The PHY layer preamble 310 is used by the newly connected device to detect the presence of a signal and possible collisions of signals in the medium, and to set up necessary receiver parameters.",
"The PHY layer ID field 315 contains the identity of the source of the auto-select message.",
"A special data stream, which is a pseudo-random sequence contained in the auto-select field 320 , is used by the newly connected device to calculate signal quality measures.",
"FIG. 7 shows an acknowledgment message 350 that has a first flag field 355 , a PHY layer preamble field 360 , and PHY layer ID field 365 , an information field 370 , a CRC field 375 and a second flag field 380 .",
"The first flag field 355 and second flag field 380 mark the beginning and the end respectively of the data packet.",
"The PHY layer preamble 360 is used to detect the presence of a signal and possible collisions in the medium, and to set up necessary receiver parameters.",
"The PHY layer ID field 365 contains the identity of the source of the acknowledgment message.",
"The CRC field 375 is for error checking.",
"The acknowledgment message 350 is sent in response to an auto-select message and has encoded signal quality information in the information field 370 on the received auto-select message.",
"Signal quality information includes the mean squared error, i.e. the deviation of the signal's mean value which can be used to determine the quality of the network channel.",
"The signal quality information also includes the received signal level.",
"Either or both of these items may be included in the acknowledgment message 350 .",
"FIG. 8 is a first flow chart of the auto-sense/auto-select process.",
"A communications device connected to a network may be connected to one or more data transmissions media, e.g. a 10baseT connection or electrical wires or phone lines.",
"When the communications device connected to the network is first powered on, block 400 , it auto-senses the availability of each transmissions medium, block 405 .",
"If the existence of only one active transmission medium is detected, block 410 , then the device listens to traffic and acquires the PHY layer identifications (IDs) from the self-ID messages of existing devices in the network, block 415 .",
"The new device accomplishes this by listening for self-ID messages for a predetermined length of time after which it is presumed that all active devices on the network have been detected.",
"The device then broadcasts an auto-select message and waits for acknowledgements, block 420 .",
"If the new device does not receive a positive acknowledgment from all active devices in the network, block 425 , and the maximum transmission power has not yet been reached, the device resends the auto-select message with a higher power, block 435 .",
"The join/register process ends after receiving an acknowledgment from every active device on the network, block 425 .",
"The new device then joins regular LAN traffic, block 445 .",
"In the event that acknowledgments from all devices on the medium have not been received, and maximum power has been reached, the process of registering the device on the network fails and ends, block 440 .",
"In the event that the new communication device auto-senses the availability of more than one transmission medium when it is first powered on, block 410 , the device checks whether it has a priority configuration for transmissions media, block 450 , (priority configuration can be done at the factory, or by the user).",
"If there is a priority configuration in place, the device chooses a transmission medium accordingly, i.e. the device starts on the medium with the highest priority, block 451 .",
"It then follows a prioritized auto-select process, block 452 , shown in FIG. 9 and described in detail below.",
"If the device is not pre-configured with a priority for any one of the transmissions media, it follows either a simple or a comprehensive auto-select process, block 500 , shown in FIG. 10 .",
"Whether the simple or comprehensive process is followed depends on how a parameter called “auto-select type”",
"is set.",
"FIG. 9 shows the prioritized auto-select process 452 , shown in FIG. 8 .",
"The new device listens to traffic on the selected medium and acquires the PHY layer identifications (IDs) of existing devices in the network, block 455 .",
"The new device then broadcasts an auto-select message and waits for acknowledgements, block 460 .",
"If the new device receives acknowledgments from all the devices, block 465 , from whom it has IDs, i.e. from all active devices on the network, the new device joins the network over the selected medium, block 495 .",
"If the new device does not receive a positive acknowledgment from all active devices in the network, block 465 , and the maximum transmission power has not yet been reached, block 470 , the device increases its broadcast power, block 475 and resends the auto-select message, block 460 .",
"In the event that acknowledgments from all devices on the medium have not been received, block 465 , but maximum power has been reached, block 470 , the new device checks for other transmission media to try, block 480 .",
"If all the media have been tried, the process ends, block 490 .",
"If all the media have not been tried, the new device chooses the medium having the next highest priority in the priority configuration, block 485 and the process of collecting IDs, block 455 , etc.",
"begins again until either the device is registered on one of the available media or all the choices of media are exhausted.",
"FIG. 10 shows the simple and comprehensive auto-select processes 500 which are used when a plurality of media is available and when no priority configuration is in place.",
"First, the newly connected device chooses one of the available media in the network, block 505 .",
"The new device then collects the IDs of all active devices on the chosen medium, block 510 , and broadcasts an auto-select message over the chosen medium, block 515 .",
"If acknowledgments are not received from all active devices on the chosen medium, block 520 , and maximum transmission power has not been reached, block 525 , the new device increases its transmission power, block 530 and sends out another auto-select message 515 .",
"If maximum transmission power has been reached, block 525 , the new device records the failure, block 535 .",
"If either the maximum power has been reached, block 525 , or all acknowledgments have been received, block 520 , the new device checks the setting of the auto-select type variable, block 540 .",
"If the auto-select type is “simple,” the new device stores the acknowledgments or records the failure for the medium to be used as data in selecting the transmissions medium, block 545 .",
"The new device checks whether all available media on the network have been tried, block 550 .",
"If all available media have not been tried, the new device chooses a next medium, block 555 , and begins the acknowledgment process on the new medium by returning to the step of collecting IDs of all active devices, block 510 .",
"If the auto-select type is “comprehensive,” the new device stores signal quality information calculated from data provided by other devices in the network in the acknowledgment messages, or the new device records the failure for the medium, block 570 .",
"The signal quality information can include either the mean squared error or the signal power level as described above.",
"The new device records whether the mean squared error is below a predetermined threshold that allows for reliable decoding of the signal in the specific modulation format of the network, and/or the signal power level is above a predetermined threshold.",
"If the signal quality does not meet one or both of these thresholds, the new device records the failure of the medium instead.",
"The new device then checks for other available media, block 580 .",
"If all the media have not been tried, the new device chooses a next medium, block 575 , and begins the acknowledgment process on the new medium by returning to the step of collecting IDs of all active devices, block 510 .",
"If all media have been tried, block 580 , the new device makes its auto-select decision based on stored signal quality information, block 585 .",
"The new device then joins the network over the medium which has signal quality within acceptable parameters or the process fails and ends, block 590 .",
"It is to be understood that the above-described embodiments are simply illustrative of the principles of the invention.",
"Various and other modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof."
] |
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to novel pharmaceutical combinations with synergistic action of diacerein or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of diacerein and non-steroidal inflammatory drugs, having analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, and osteoarthritis-treating activities.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0002] Diacerein, having the chemical structure given below with Formula 1, is an interleukin-1 inhibitor having an anthraquinone structure and is used for treating osteoarthritis.
[0000]
[0003] Studies conducted on humans and animals have shown that diacerein alleviates the symptoms of osteoarthritis. It was further reported that diacerein reduces the osteoarthritis symptoms, particularly the pain, in a statistically significant manner and provides positive structural effects, when compared to placebo. The symptomatic effect of diacerein starts 30-45 days after the initiation of treatment. The structure modifying effect of diacerein was proposed based on the findings of the ECHODIAH study, a randomized double-blind study. Diacerein is accepted as a slow-acting drug against osteoarthritis.
[0004] Diacerein and more specifically rhein, which is an active metabolite thereof, is an IL-1 inhibitor. Rhein is an anthraquinone present in plants like the Cassia species and has moderate analgesic, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory effects. It has a weak laxative effect. Diacerein inhibits human monocytes in vitro. The increase in collagenase formation mediated by IL-1 in chondrocytes is actively inhibited by diacerein. Diacerein is administered orally. Following oral administration, diacerein undergoes deacetylation before it enters the systemic circulation, and is absorbed, metabolized and is excreted in the form of rhein and the conjugates thereof.
[0005] Various patent applications have been filed which relate to diacerein.
[0006] The patent documents U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,968 and EP0636602 mention on the use of diacerein in the treatment of arthritis.
[0007] The document EP1248608 makes mention on the use of diacerein in the treatment of psoriazis.
[0008] Non-steroidal inflammatory drugs (NSAID) have antipyretics, analgesic, anti-inflammatory activities. The main NSAID'S are flurbiprofen, loxoprofen, zaltoprofen, ibuprofen, naproxen, ketoprofen, dexketoprofen, fenoprofen, benoxaprofen, suprofen, ibuproxam, alminoprofen, dexibuprofen, indoprofen.
[0009] Flurbiprofen is a propionic acid derivative, also known as NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug), having analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities. Its chemical structure is illustrated with Formula 2 given below.
[0000]
[0010] Flurbiprofen is used for alleviating pain in the muscle-skeleton system and joint disorders such as ankylosing spondylitis, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis, in soft tissue injuries such as sprains and strains, in postoperative cases, and in painful and severe menstruation and migraine. Flurbiprofen is further used as a lozenge in the symptomatic amelioration of sore throats.
[0011] The document U.S. Pat. No. 3,755,427 describes the flurbiprofen molecule and the anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic and anti-toxic effects of flurbiprofen.
[0012] The document U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,993 discloses the use of flurbiprofen in platelet aggregation.
[0013] The document EP137668 discloses the use of flurbiprofen in the treatment of alveolar bone resorption.
[0014] The document EP1655026 discloses a combination of diacerein and meloxicam.
[0015] No orally-administrable pharmaceutical composition has been produced until today, which contains a combination of flurbiprofen and diacerein. Even if some medicaments comprising either of these active agents have been administered concomitantly in practice, this fact requires the patients to carry more than one drug and causes application-related difficulties. Additionally, administering and formulating a combination, in place of the individual use of each active agent, may provide improved treatment features.
[0016] In result, based on said drawbacks, a novelty is required in the art of pharmaceutical compositions having therapeutic effects against pain, inflammation, fewer, and osteoarthritis.
OBJECT AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
[0017] The present invention provides a composition with synergistic action of diacerein and least one agent selected from the group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents consisting of flurbiprofen, loxoprofen, zaltoprofen, ibuprofen, naproxen, ketoprofen, dexketoprofen, fenoprofen, benoxaprofen, suprofen, ibuproxam, alminoprofen, dexibuprofen, indoprofen, eliminating all aforesaid problems and brining additional advantages to the relevant prior art.
[0018] Accordingly, the main object of the present invention is to obtain a combination composition.
[0019] Another object of the present invention is to obtain a composition with synergistic action having analgesic activity.
[0020] Another object of the present invention is to obtain a composition with synergistic action having artritis-treating activity.
[0021] Another object of the present invention is to obtain a composition with synergistic action having inflammation-treating activity.
[0022] Another object of the present invention is to obtain a composition with synergistic action having antipyretic activity.
[0023] Another object of the present invention is to obtain a combination composition with synergistic action having therapeutic effects against inflammation, pain, fewer, and osteoarthritis.
[0024] A further object of the present invention is to obtain a combination composition having content uniformity and a desired level of compatibility.
[0025] In order to achieve the objects described above and to emerge in the following detailed description, a composition is developed for use in the treatment of pain, inflammation, fewer, and osteoarthritis.
[0026] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, said novelty comprises diacerein or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of diacerein and at least one agent selected from the group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents consisting of flurbiprofen, loxoprofen, zaltoprofen, ibuprofen, naproxen, ketoprofen, dexketoprofen, fenoprofen, benoxaprofen, suprofen, ibuproxam, alminoprofen, dexibuprofen, indoprofen.
[0027] In another preferred embodiment according to the present invention, said non-steroidal anti-inflammatory active agent is flurbiprofen.
[0028] In another preferred embodiment according to the present invention, said non-steroidal anti-inflammatory active agent is loxoprofen.
[0029] In another preferred embodiment according to the present invention, said non-steroidal anti-inflammatory active agent is zaltoprofen.
[0030] In another preferred embodiment according to the present invention, said non-steroidal anti-inflammatory active agent is ibuprofen.
[0031] In another preferred embodiment according to the present invention, said non-steroidal anti-inflammatory active agent is ketoprofen or dexketoprofen.
[0032] In another preferred embodiment according to the present invention, said non-steroidal anti-inflammatory active agent is naproxen.
[0033] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the amount of diacerein is 50-300 mg/day.
[0034] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the amount of flurbiprofen is 50-500 mg/day.
[0035] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the amount of loxoprofen is 50-400 mg/day.
[0036] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the amount of zaltoprofen is 50-500 mg/day.
[0037] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the amount of ibuprofen is 50-1000 mg/day.
[0038] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the amount of ketoprofen or dexketoprofen is 25-400 mg/day.
[0039] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the amount of naproxen is 200 -800 mg/day.
[0040] In another preferred embodiment according to the present invention, said proportion range of diacerein to the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents is 0.01-4.
[0041] Another preferred embodiment according to the present invention comprises one selected from nimesulide, s-etodolac, glucosamine, methylsulfonylmethane and chondroitin.
[0042] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the composition is a fixed dose or a kit.
[0043] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the composition is in the form of an oral solid or liquid or a topical liquid or gel.
[0044] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, said oral solid form is a tablet or capsule.
[0045] Another preferred embodiment of the present invention further comprises at least one or more excipient(s).
[0046] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, said excipient(s) comprise(s) one or more selected from the group consisting of diluents, binders, disintegrants, glidants, lubricants, solvents, pH regulators, gelling agents, and plasticizers.
[0047] Another embodiment according to the present invention is the use of each active agent in said composition simultaneously or in sequence in any order, separately or in a fixed combination.
[0048] A further embodiment according to the present invention is the use of said composition comprising diacerein or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of diacerein and at least one agent selected from the group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents consisting of flurbiprofen, ibuprofen, naproxen, ketoprofen, dexketoprofen, fenoprofen, benoxaprofen, suprofen, ibuproxam, alminoprofen, dexibuprofen, indoprofen for the treatment of pain, inflammation, and osteoarthritis.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
Example 1
Tablet or Capsule Formulation
[0049] a) Hot Melt Granulation Method
[0000]
Ingredients
Amount %
Formula 1
Formula 2
Formula 3
Formula 4
Formula 5
Formula 6
Flurbiprofen
7-70%
X
Loxoprofen
3-70%
X
Zaltoprofen
3-70%
X
Ibuprofen
7-70%
X
Ketoprofen or dexketoprofen
3-70%
X
Naproxen
7-70%
X
Diacerein
3-70%
X
X
X
X
Stearyl macrogolglycerides
0.5-40%
X
X
X
X
Croscarmellose sodium
0.5-25%
X
X
X
X
X
X
Colloidal silicon dioxide
0.1-10%
X
X
X
X
X
X
Magnesium stearate
0.1-10%
X
X
X
X
X
X
Plasticizer
0.1-10%
X
X
X
X
X
X
[0050] Each column defines the content of a formulation, wherein the active agents and excipients included to the formulation are used for granulation in the processes according to the prior art. The X sign corresponding to each column and line indicates the excipients contained in the formula of the respective column.
[0051] The formulation is produced as follows: at least one of the non-steroidal inflammation drugs, diacerein, plasticizer, and stearyl macrogolglycerides are mixed together and melted and then passed through an extruder or a sieve. Into the granules obtained above, first croscarmellose sodium and colloidal silicon dioxide, and then magnesium stearate are added and the resulting mixture is mixed. A compression step is performed on this powder mixture in a tablet machine, or this powder mixture is filled into capsules. The tablets are coated preferably with a humidity-barrier coating material, such as Opadry amb/Kollicoat IR.
[0052] b) Wet Granulation
[0000]
Ingredients
Amount %
Formula 1
Formula 2
Formula 3
Formula 4
Formula 5
Formula 6
Flurbiprofen
7-70%
X
Loxoprofen
3-70%
X
Zaltoprofen
3-70%
X
Ibuprofen
7-70%
X
Ketoprofen or dexketoprofen
3-70%
X
Naproxen
7-70%
X
Diacerein
3-70%
X
X
X
X
X
X
Lactose monohydrate
10-70%
X
X
X
X
X
X
Microcrystalline cellulose PH 101
5-50%
X
X
X
X
X
X
Croscarmellose sodium
1-10%
X
X
X
X
X
X
Hydroxypropyl cellulose LF
1-10%
X
X
X
X
X
X
Colloidal silicon dioxide
1-5%
X
X
X
X
X
X
Magnesium stearate
0.1-5%
X
X
X
X
X
X
[0053] Each column defines the content of a formulation, wherein the active agents and excipients included to the formulation are used for granulation in the processes according to the prior art. The X sign corresponding to each column and line indicates the excipients contained in the formula of the respective column.
[0054] At least one of the non-steroidal inflammation drugs, microcrystalline cellulose (PH101), lactose monohydrate, and some amount of hydroxypropyl cellulose are loaded to a fluidized bed dryer. An aqueous solution is prepared with the remaining amount of hydroxypropyl cellulose. It is granulated in the fluidized bed dryer, dried and ground and taken to a container. Croscarmellose sodium and colloidal silicon dioxide are added to the same container. The powder mixture in this container is mixed for ca. 10 minutes. Then, magnesium stearate is added to the resulting mixture and mixed for ca. 3 more minutes. A compression step is performed on the resulting mixture in a tablet machine, or this powder mixture is filled into capsules.
[0055] c) Direct Compression
[0000]
Ingredients
Amount %
Formula 1
Formula 2
Formula 3
Formula 4
Formula 5
Formula 6
Flurbiprofen
7-70%
X
Loxoprofen
3-70%
X
Zaltoprofen
3-70%
X
Ibuprofen
7-70%
X
Ketoprofen or dexketoprofen
3-70%
X
Naproxen
7-70%
X
Diacerein
3-70%
X
X
X
X
X
X
Lactose
5-50%
X
X
X
X
X
X
Microcrystalline cellulose PH 101
10-50%
X
X
X
X
X
X
Croscarmellose sodium
1-10%
X
X
X
X
X
X
Hydroxypropyl cellulose LF
1-10%
X
X
X
X
X
X
Colloidal silicon dioxide
1-5%
X
X
X
X
X
X
Magnesium stearate
0.1-5%
X
X
X
X
X
X
[0056] Each column defines the content of a formulation, wherein the active agents and excipients included to the formulation are used for granulation in the processes according to the prior art. The X sign corresponding to each column and line indicates the excipients contained in the formula of the respective column.
[0057] The active agents and excipients contained in the formulation are used for granulation in the processes according to the prior art.
Example 2
Granule Formulation for Oral Suspension
[0058]
[0000]
Formulation Ingredients amount
Formula
%
Formula 1
Formula 2
Formula 3
Formula 4
Formula 5
Formula 6
Formula 7
Formula 8
Formula 9
10
Flurbiprofen
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
0.5-5.0%
Diacerein
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
0.5-4.0%
Poloxamer
X
X
X
0.01-0.5%
Polysorbate
X
X
X
X
0.01-0.5%
Docusate sodium
X
X
X
0.001-0.5%
Polyvinylpyrrolidone
X
X
0.05-8.0%
Xanthan gum
X
0.1-10.0%
Guar gum
X
0.1-10.0%
Magnesium aluminum silicate
X
X
X
0.25-10.0%
Carboxymethyl cellulose
X
X
calcium
0.25-10.0%
Carboxymethyl cellulose
X
X
sodium 7
HF 0.25-10.0%
Aspartame
X
X
0.1-5.0%
Sucralose
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
0.1-5.0%
Acesulfame potassium
X
X
X
0.1-5.0%
Citric acid
X
X
X
X
X
X
0.01-2.0%
Sodium citrate dihydrate
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
0.01-2.0%
Sodium phosphate
X
X
X
0.01-2.0%
Flavoring agent
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
0.001-5.0%
Colloidal silicon dioxide
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
0.1-5.0%
Sucrose
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
(adequate amount)
[0059] Each column defines the content of a formulation, wherein the active agents and excipients included to the formulation are used for granulation in the processes according to the prior art. The X sign corresponding to each column and line indicates the excipients contained in the formula of the respective column.
[0060] Among the excipients indicated for the formulation, suspension agents (polyvinylpyrrolidone, xanthan gum, guar gum, magnesium aluminum silicate, carboxymethyl cellulose calcium and carboxymethyl cellulose sodium 7 HF), surface active agents (Poloxamer, Tween 80, docusate sodium) and buffering agents (citric acid, sodium citrate dihydrate and sodium phosphate) directly influence the product stability.
Example 3
Topical Formulation
[0061]
[0000]
FLURBIPROFEN DIACEREIN TOPICAL GEL
amount %
Flurbiprofen
0.5-5.0%
Diacerein
0.5-4.0%
Ethyl alcohol
2-25%
(96%)
Carbomer 940
0.25-5%
Polyethylene
2-30%
glycol 400
Polysorbate 80
0.1-5%
Triethanolamine
0.1-5%
Glycerin
2-30%
Dimethylsulfoxide
2-20%
Methylparaben
0.01-32%
Propylparaben
0.01-2%
Lavender essence
0.02-1%
Purified water
adequate amount
[0062] The active agents and excipients contained in the formulation are used for producing gel in the processes according to the prior art.
[0000]
FLURBIPROFEN DIACEREIN TOPICAL GEL
amount %
Flurbiprofen
0.5-5.0%
Diacerein
0.5-4.0%
Menthol
0.25-15%
Dimethyl sulfoxide
2-20%
Hydroxypropyl cellulose H
0.25-10%
Polyethylene glycol 400
2-30%
Polysorbate 80
0.1-5%
Glycerin
2-30%
Sorbitol 70
2-30%
Triethanolamine
0.1-5%
Ethyl alcohol
adequate amount
[0063] The active agents and excipients contained in the formulation are used for producing gel in the processes according to the prior art.
[0000]
FLURBIPROFEN DIACEREIN TOPICAL
CREAM
amount %
Flurbiprofen
0.5-5.0%
Diacerein
0.5-4.0%
Liquid paraffin
2-30%
Cetostearyl alcohol
1-15%
Methylparaben
0.01-2%
Propylparaben
0.01-2%
Glycerin
2-30%
Propylene glycol
2-50%
White beeswax
0.5-10%
Sodium metabisulfite
0.1-8%
Benzyl alcohol
0.1-5%
Lavender oil
0.01-1%
water
adequate amount
[0064] The active agents and excipients contained in the formulation are used for cream production in the processes according to the prior art.
[0065] With the present invention, a combination composition with synergistic action is surprisingly obtained, which has therapeutic effects against pain, inflammation, fewer, and osteoarthritis. Under normal conditions, the action of diacerein against osteoarthritis is slow. The action time, however, is reduced with the present invention.
[0066] Drugs of different action mechanisms can be combined. It is not possible, however, to state that a combination of drugs having different action mechanisms, but showing actions on similar targets, will have absolutely positive effects.
[0067] The term synergistic means that when drugs are administered together, a combined action is obtained which is larger than the sum of individual actions of the respective drugs when they are used separately. On the other hand, using a lower dose of each drug to be combined according to the present invention will reduce the total dosage. Put differently, the dosages have not to be relatively less in all cases, but the drugs can be dosed less frequently or this may be beneficial in reducing the recurrence rate of side effects. These are advantageous in terms of patients to be treated.
[0068] The preferred dosages of active agents included to the pharmaceutical combination according to the present invention are therapeutically active dosages, and particularly correspond to the dosage of those which are commercially available. Therapeutically active amount not only includes therapeutic doses, but also preventive/prophylactic doses.
[0069] The present invention further relates to a commercial package, comprising a combination of the present invention together with instructions for the use thereof in a simultaneous, separate, or sequential use.
[0070] These pharmaceutical preparations are for oral, topical, parenteral or rectal administrations and comprise the pharmacologically active agent either alone, or together with pharmaceutical excipients. Said pharmaceutical preparations comprise the active agents in an amount ranging from 0.1% to 90%.
[0071] Diacerein may be administered daily in 25, 50, or 100, or 200 mg doses.
[0072] Flurbiprofen may be administered daily in 50, 100, or 200, or 300 mg doses.
[0073] Loxoprofen may be administered daily in 1, 30, 60, 90 or 120 or 150 mg doses.
[0074] Zaltoprofen may be administered daily in 1, 80, 100, 160, 240 or 320 mg doses.
[0075] Ibuprofen may be administered daily in 50, 100 or 200, 400 or 600 mg doses.
[0076] Ketoprofen or dexketoprofen may be administered daily in 1, 25, 50, 100 or 150, 200 or 300 mg doses.
[0077] Naproxen may be administered daily in 200, 250 or 500 or 750 mg doses.
[0078] Thus, the present invention provides a synergistic composition, which achieves the objects referred to above and has therapeutic effect on pain, inflammation, fewer, and osteoarthritis.
[0079] The pharmaceutical compositions according to the present invention may also comprise one or more pharmaceutically acceptable excipient(s). Such pharmaceutically acceptable excipients include, but are not limited to fillers, glidants, lubricants, disintegrants, surface active agents etc. and the mixtures thereof.
[0080] The present invention is for use in mammalians and particularly in humans for the prevention or treatment of pain, arthralgia, toothache, myalgia, miosis inhibition, ankylosing spondylitis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and other muscle-skeleton system and joint disorders, soft tissue injuries such as sprains and strains, postoperative pains, painful and severe menstruation, migraine, and sore throat.
[0081] In this context, the term composition may both correspond to a composition, and to a combined meaning of the composition and the package or blister in which the composition is stored.
[0082] It is further possible to use the following additional excipients in the composition.
[0083] Diluents, e.g. at least one or a mixture of lactose, microcrystalline cellulose, starch, mannitol, calcium phosphate anhydrate, calcium phosphate dihydrate, calcium phosphate trihydrate, dibasic calcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, carboxymethyl cellulose calcium, powdered cellulose, cellulose acetate, pregelatinized starch, lactose monohydrate, corn starch.
[0084] Binders, e.g. at least one or a mixture of polymethacrylate, glyceryl behenate, polyvinylpyrrolidone (povidone), hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC), hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), methyl cellulose (MC), hydroxyethyl cellulose, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (Na CMC), carboxymethyl cellulose calcium, ethyl cellulose and other cellulose derivatives, polyethylene oxide, gelatin, starch, xanthan gum, guar gum, alginate, carrageen, pectin, carbomer, cellulose acetate phthalate, hydroxypropyl starch, hydroxyethyl methyl cellulose, polaxomer, polyethylene glycol (PEG).
[0085] Lubricants, e.g. at least one or a mixture of sodium stearyl fumarate, polyethylene glycol, stearic acid, metal stearates, boric acid, sodium chloride benzoate and acetate, sodium or magnesium lauryl sulfate, etc.
[0086] Preservatives, e.g. at least one or a mixture of methylparaben and propylparaben and salts thereof (e.g. sodium or potassium salts), sodium benzoate, citric acid, benzoic acid, butylated hydroxytoluene and butylated hydroxyanisole, etc.
[0087] Surface active agents, e.g. at least one or a mixture of sodium lauryl sulfate, dioctyl sulfosuccinate, polysorbates and polyoxyethylene alkyl esters and ethers thereof, glyceryl monolaurate saponins, sorbitan laurate, sodium lauryl sulfate, magnesium lauryl sulfate, etc.
[0088] The present invention is hereby disclosed by referring to exemplary embodiments hereinabove. Whilst these exemplary embodiments does not restrict the object of the present invention, it must be assessed under the light of the foregoing detailed description. | The present invention relates to novel pharmaceutical combinations with synergistic action of diacerein or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of diacerein and non-steroidal inflammatory drugs, having analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, and osteoarthritis-treating activities. | Briefly summarize the invention's components and working principles as described in the document. | [
"FIELD OF INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to novel pharmaceutical combinations with synergistic action of diacerein or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of diacerein and non-steroidal inflammatory drugs, having analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, and osteoarthritis-treating activities.",
"BACKGROUND OF INVENTION [0002] Diacerein, having the chemical structure given below with Formula 1, is an interleukin-1 inhibitor having an anthraquinone structure and is used for treating osteoarthritis.",
"[0000] [0003] Studies conducted on humans and animals have shown that diacerein alleviates the symptoms of osteoarthritis.",
"It was further reported that diacerein reduces the osteoarthritis symptoms, particularly the pain, in a statistically significant manner and provides positive structural effects, when compared to placebo.",
"The symptomatic effect of diacerein starts 30-45 days after the initiation of treatment.",
"The structure modifying effect of diacerein was proposed based on the findings of the ECHODIAH study, a randomized double-blind study.",
"Diacerein is accepted as a slow-acting drug against osteoarthritis.",
"[0004] Diacerein and more specifically rhein, which is an active metabolite thereof, is an IL-1 inhibitor.",
"Rhein is an anthraquinone present in plants like the Cassia species and has moderate analgesic, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory effects.",
"It has a weak laxative effect.",
"Diacerein inhibits human monocytes in vitro.",
"The increase in collagenase formation mediated by IL-1 in chondrocytes is actively inhibited by diacerein.",
"Diacerein is administered orally.",
"Following oral administration, diacerein undergoes deacetylation before it enters the systemic circulation, and is absorbed, metabolized and is excreted in the form of rhein and the conjugates thereof.",
"[0005] Various patent applications have been filed which relate to diacerein.",
"[0006] The patent documents U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,968 and EP0636602 mention on the use of diacerein in the treatment of arthritis.",
"[0007] The document EP1248608 makes mention on the use of diacerein in the treatment of psoriazis.",
"[0008] Non-steroidal inflammatory drugs (NSAID) have antipyretics, analgesic, anti-inflammatory activities.",
"The main NSAID'S are flurbiprofen, loxoprofen, zaltoprofen, ibuprofen, naproxen, ketoprofen, dexketoprofen, fenoprofen, benoxaprofen, suprofen, ibuproxam, alminoprofen, dexibuprofen, indoprofen.",
"[0009] Flurbiprofen is a propionic acid derivative, also known as NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug), having analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities.",
"Its chemical structure is illustrated with Formula 2 given below.",
"[0000] [0010] Flurbiprofen is used for alleviating pain in the muscle-skeleton system and joint disorders such as ankylosing spondylitis, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis, in soft tissue injuries such as sprains and strains, in postoperative cases, and in painful and severe menstruation and migraine.",
"Flurbiprofen is further used as a lozenge in the symptomatic amelioration of sore throats.",
"[0011] The document U.S. Pat. No. 3,755,427 describes the flurbiprofen molecule and the anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic and anti-toxic effects of flurbiprofen.",
"[0012] The document U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,993 discloses the use of flurbiprofen in platelet aggregation.",
"[0013] The document EP137668 discloses the use of flurbiprofen in the treatment of alveolar bone resorption.",
"[0014] The document EP1655026 discloses a combination of diacerein and meloxicam.",
"[0015] No orally-administrable pharmaceutical composition has been produced until today, which contains a combination of flurbiprofen and diacerein.",
"Even if some medicaments comprising either of these active agents have been administered concomitantly in practice, this fact requires the patients to carry more than one drug and causes application-related difficulties.",
"Additionally, administering and formulating a combination, in place of the individual use of each active agent, may provide improved treatment features.",
"[0016] In result, based on said drawbacks, a novelty is required in the art of pharmaceutical compositions having therapeutic effects against pain, inflammation, fewer, and osteoarthritis.",
"OBJECT AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION [0017] The present invention provides a composition with synergistic action of diacerein and least one agent selected from the group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents consisting of flurbiprofen, loxoprofen, zaltoprofen, ibuprofen, naproxen, ketoprofen, dexketoprofen, fenoprofen, benoxaprofen, suprofen, ibuproxam, alminoprofen, dexibuprofen, indoprofen, eliminating all aforesaid problems and brining additional advantages to the relevant prior art.",
"[0018] Accordingly, the main object of the present invention is to obtain a combination composition.",
"[0019] Another object of the present invention is to obtain a composition with synergistic action having analgesic activity.",
"[0020] Another object of the present invention is to obtain a composition with synergistic action having artritis-treating activity.",
"[0021] Another object of the present invention is to obtain a composition with synergistic action having inflammation-treating activity.",
"[0022] Another object of the present invention is to obtain a composition with synergistic action having antipyretic activity.",
"[0023] Another object of the present invention is to obtain a combination composition with synergistic action having therapeutic effects against inflammation, pain, fewer, and osteoarthritis.",
"[0024] A further object of the present invention is to obtain a combination composition having content uniformity and a desired level of compatibility.",
"[0025] In order to achieve the objects described above and to emerge in the following detailed description, a composition is developed for use in the treatment of pain, inflammation, fewer, and osteoarthritis.",
"[0026] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, said novelty comprises diacerein or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of diacerein and at least one agent selected from the group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents consisting of flurbiprofen, loxoprofen, zaltoprofen, ibuprofen, naproxen, ketoprofen, dexketoprofen, fenoprofen, benoxaprofen, suprofen, ibuproxam, alminoprofen, dexibuprofen, indoprofen.",
"[0027] In another preferred embodiment according to the present invention, said non-steroidal anti-inflammatory active agent is flurbiprofen.",
"[0028] In another preferred embodiment according to the present invention, said non-steroidal anti-inflammatory active agent is loxoprofen.",
"[0029] In another preferred embodiment according to the present invention, said non-steroidal anti-inflammatory active agent is zaltoprofen.",
"[0030] In another preferred embodiment according to the present invention, said non-steroidal anti-inflammatory active agent is ibuprofen.",
"[0031] In another preferred embodiment according to the present invention, said non-steroidal anti-inflammatory active agent is ketoprofen or dexketoprofen.",
"[0032] In another preferred embodiment according to the present invention, said non-steroidal anti-inflammatory active agent is naproxen.",
"[0033] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the amount of diacerein is 50-300 mg/day.",
"[0034] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the amount of flurbiprofen is 50-500 mg/day.",
"[0035] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the amount of loxoprofen is 50-400 mg/day.",
"[0036] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the amount of zaltoprofen is 50-500 mg/day.",
"[0037] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the amount of ibuprofen is 50-1000 mg/day.",
"[0038] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the amount of ketoprofen or dexketoprofen is 25-400 mg/day.",
"[0039] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the amount of naproxen is 200 -800 mg/day.",
"[0040] In another preferred embodiment according to the present invention, said proportion range of diacerein to the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents is 0.01-4.",
"[0041] Another preferred embodiment according to the present invention comprises one selected from nimesulide, s-etodolac, glucosamine, methylsulfonylmethane and chondroitin.",
"[0042] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the composition is a fixed dose or a kit.",
"[0043] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the composition is in the form of an oral solid or liquid or a topical liquid or gel.",
"[0044] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, said oral solid form is a tablet or capsule.",
"[0045] Another preferred embodiment of the present invention further comprises at least one or more excipient(s).",
"[0046] In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention, said excipient(s) comprise(s) one or more selected from the group consisting of diluents, binders, disintegrants, glidants, lubricants, solvents, pH regulators, gelling agents, and plasticizers.",
"[0047] Another embodiment according to the present invention is the use of each active agent in said composition simultaneously or in sequence in any order, separately or in a fixed combination.",
"[0048] A further embodiment according to the present invention is the use of said composition comprising diacerein or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of diacerein and at least one agent selected from the group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents consisting of flurbiprofen, ibuprofen, naproxen, ketoprofen, dexketoprofen, fenoprofen, benoxaprofen, suprofen, ibuproxam, alminoprofen, dexibuprofen, indoprofen for the treatment of pain, inflammation, and osteoarthritis.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION Example 1 Tablet or Capsule Formulation [0049] a) Hot Melt Granulation Method [0000] Ingredients Amount % Formula 1 Formula 2 Formula 3 Formula 4 Formula 5 Formula 6 Flurbiprofen 7-70% X Loxoprofen 3-70% X Zaltoprofen 3-70% X Ibuprofen 7-70% X Ketoprofen or dexketoprofen 3-70% X Naproxen 7-70% X Diacerein 3-70% X X X X Stearyl macrogolglycerides 0.5-40% X X X X Croscarmellose sodium 0.5-25% X X X X X X Colloidal silicon dioxide 0.1-10% X X X X X X Magnesium stearate 0.1-10% X X X X X X Plasticizer 0.1-10% X X X X X X [0050] Each column defines the content of a formulation, wherein the active agents and excipients included to the formulation are used for granulation in the processes according to the prior art.",
"The X sign corresponding to each column and line indicates the excipients contained in the formula of the respective column.",
"[0051] The formulation is produced as follows: at least one of the non-steroidal inflammation drugs, diacerein, plasticizer, and stearyl macrogolglycerides are mixed together and melted and then passed through an extruder or a sieve.",
"Into the granules obtained above, first croscarmellose sodium and colloidal silicon dioxide, and then magnesium stearate are added and the resulting mixture is mixed.",
"A compression step is performed on this powder mixture in a tablet machine, or this powder mixture is filled into capsules.",
"The tablets are coated preferably with a humidity-barrier coating material, such as Opadry amb/Kollicoat IR.",
"[0052] b) Wet Granulation [0000] Ingredients Amount % Formula 1 Formula 2 Formula 3 Formula 4 Formula 5 Formula 6 Flurbiprofen 7-70% X Loxoprofen 3-70% X Zaltoprofen 3-70% X Ibuprofen 7-70% X Ketoprofen or dexketoprofen 3-70% X Naproxen 7-70% X Diacerein 3-70% X X X X X X Lactose monohydrate 10-70% X X X X X X Microcrystalline cellulose PH 101 5-50% X X X X X X Croscarmellose sodium 1-10% X X X X X X Hydroxypropyl cellulose LF 1-10% X X X X X X Colloidal silicon dioxide 1-5% X X X X X X Magnesium stearate 0.1-5% X X X X X X [0053] Each column defines the content of a formulation, wherein the active agents and excipients included to the formulation are used for granulation in the processes according to the prior art.",
"The X sign corresponding to each column and line indicates the excipients contained in the formula of the respective column.",
"[0054] At least one of the non-steroidal inflammation drugs, microcrystalline cellulose (PH101), lactose monohydrate, and some amount of hydroxypropyl cellulose are loaded to a fluidized bed dryer.",
"An aqueous solution is prepared with the remaining amount of hydroxypropyl cellulose.",
"It is granulated in the fluidized bed dryer, dried and ground and taken to a container.",
"Croscarmellose sodium and colloidal silicon dioxide are added to the same container.",
"The powder mixture in this container is mixed for ca.",
"10 minutes.",
"Then, magnesium stearate is added to the resulting mixture and mixed for ca.",
"3 more minutes.",
"A compression step is performed on the resulting mixture in a tablet machine, or this powder mixture is filled into capsules.",
"[0055] c) Direct Compression [0000] Ingredients Amount % Formula 1 Formula 2 Formula 3 Formula 4 Formula 5 Formula 6 Flurbiprofen 7-70% X Loxoprofen 3-70% X Zaltoprofen 3-70% X Ibuprofen 7-70% X Ketoprofen or dexketoprofen 3-70% X Naproxen 7-70% X Diacerein 3-70% X X X X X X Lactose 5-50% X X X X X X Microcrystalline cellulose PH 101 10-50% X X X X X X Croscarmellose sodium 1-10% X X X X X X Hydroxypropyl cellulose LF 1-10% X X X X X X Colloidal silicon dioxide 1-5% X X X X X X Magnesium stearate 0.1-5% X X X X X X [0056] Each column defines the content of a formulation, wherein the active agents and excipients included to the formulation are used for granulation in the processes according to the prior art.",
"The X sign corresponding to each column and line indicates the excipients contained in the formula of the respective column.",
"[0057] The active agents and excipients contained in the formulation are used for granulation in the processes according to the prior art.",
"Example 2 Granule Formulation for Oral Suspension [0058] [0000] Formulation Ingredients amount Formula % Formula 1 Formula 2 Formula 3 Formula 4 Formula 5 Formula 6 Formula 7 Formula 8 Formula 9 10 Flurbiprofen X X X X X X X X X X 0.5-5.0% Diacerein X X X X X X X X X X 0.5-4.0% Poloxamer X X X 0.01-0.5% Polysorbate X X X X 0.01-0.5% Docusate sodium X X X 0.001-0.5% Polyvinylpyrrolidone X X 0.05-8.0% Xanthan gum X 0.1-10.0% Guar gum X 0.1-10.0% Magnesium aluminum silicate X X X 0.25-10.0% Carboxymethyl cellulose X X calcium 0.25-10.0% Carboxymethyl cellulose X X sodium 7 HF 0.25-10.0% Aspartame X X 0.1-5.0% Sucralose X X X X X X X 0.1-5.0% Acesulfame potassium X X X 0.1-5.0% Citric acid X X X X X X 0.01-2.0% Sodium citrate dihydrate X X X X X X X X 0.01-2.0% Sodium phosphate X X X 0.01-2.0% Flavoring agent X X X X X X X X X X 0.001-5.0% Colloidal silicon dioxide X X X X X X X X X X 0.1-5.0% Sucrose X X X X X X X X X X (adequate amount) [0059] Each column defines the content of a formulation, wherein the active agents and excipients included to the formulation are used for granulation in the processes according to the prior art.",
"The X sign corresponding to each column and line indicates the excipients contained in the formula of the respective column.",
"[0060] Among the excipients indicated for the formulation, suspension agents (polyvinylpyrrolidone, xanthan gum, guar gum, magnesium aluminum silicate, carboxymethyl cellulose calcium and carboxymethyl cellulose sodium 7 HF), surface active agents (Poloxamer, Tween 80, docusate sodium) and buffering agents (citric acid, sodium citrate dihydrate and sodium phosphate) directly influence the product stability.",
"Example 3 Topical Formulation [0061] [0000] FLURBIPROFEN DIACEREIN TOPICAL GEL amount % Flurbiprofen 0.5-5.0% Diacerein 0.5-4.0% Ethyl alcohol 2-25% (96%) Carbomer 940 0.25-5% Polyethylene 2-30% glycol 400 Polysorbate 80 0.1-5% Triethanolamine 0.1-5% Glycerin 2-30% Dimethylsulfoxide 2-20% Methylparaben 0.01-32% Propylparaben 0.01-2% Lavender essence 0.02-1% Purified water adequate amount [0062] The active agents and excipients contained in the formulation are used for producing gel in the processes according to the prior art.",
"[0000] FLURBIPROFEN DIACEREIN TOPICAL GEL amount % Flurbiprofen 0.5-5.0% Diacerein 0.5-4.0% Menthol 0.25-15% Dimethyl sulfoxide 2-20% Hydroxypropyl cellulose H 0.25-10% Polyethylene glycol 400 2-30% Polysorbate 80 0.1-5% Glycerin 2-30% Sorbitol 70 2-30% Triethanolamine 0.1-5% Ethyl alcohol adequate amount [0063] The active agents and excipients contained in the formulation are used for producing gel in the processes according to the prior art.",
"[0000] FLURBIPROFEN DIACEREIN TOPICAL CREAM amount % Flurbiprofen 0.5-5.0% Diacerein 0.5-4.0% Liquid paraffin 2-30% Cetostearyl alcohol 1-15% Methylparaben 0.01-2% Propylparaben 0.01-2% Glycerin 2-30% Propylene glycol 2-50% White beeswax 0.5-10% Sodium metabisulfite 0.1-8% Benzyl alcohol 0.1-5% Lavender oil 0.01-1% water adequate amount [0064] The active agents and excipients contained in the formulation are used for cream production in the processes according to the prior art.",
"[0065] With the present invention, a combination composition with synergistic action is surprisingly obtained, which has therapeutic effects against pain, inflammation, fewer, and osteoarthritis.",
"Under normal conditions, the action of diacerein against osteoarthritis is slow.",
"The action time, however, is reduced with the present invention.",
"[0066] Drugs of different action mechanisms can be combined.",
"It is not possible, however, to state that a combination of drugs having different action mechanisms, but showing actions on similar targets, will have absolutely positive effects.",
"[0067] The term synergistic means that when drugs are administered together, a combined action is obtained which is larger than the sum of individual actions of the respective drugs when they are used separately.",
"On the other hand, using a lower dose of each drug to be combined according to the present invention will reduce the total dosage.",
"Put differently, the dosages have not to be relatively less in all cases, but the drugs can be dosed less frequently or this may be beneficial in reducing the recurrence rate of side effects.",
"These are advantageous in terms of patients to be treated.",
"[0068] The preferred dosages of active agents included to the pharmaceutical combination according to the present invention are therapeutically active dosages, and particularly correspond to the dosage of those which are commercially available.",
"Therapeutically active amount not only includes therapeutic doses, but also preventive/prophylactic doses.",
"[0069] The present invention further relates to a commercial package, comprising a combination of the present invention together with instructions for the use thereof in a simultaneous, separate, or sequential use.",
"[0070] These pharmaceutical preparations are for oral, topical, parenteral or rectal administrations and comprise the pharmacologically active agent either alone, or together with pharmaceutical excipients.",
"Said pharmaceutical preparations comprise the active agents in an amount ranging from 0.1% to 90%.",
"[0071] Diacerein may be administered daily in 25, 50, or 100, or 200 mg doses.",
"[0072] Flurbiprofen may be administered daily in 50, 100, or 200, or 300 mg doses.",
"[0073] Loxoprofen may be administered daily in 1, 30, 60, 90 or 120 or 150 mg doses.",
"[0074] Zaltoprofen may be administered daily in 1, 80, 100, 160, 240 or 320 mg doses.",
"[0075] Ibuprofen may be administered daily in 50, 100 or 200, 400 or 600 mg doses.",
"[0076] Ketoprofen or dexketoprofen may be administered daily in 1, 25, 50, 100 or 150, 200 or 300 mg doses.",
"[0077] Naproxen may be administered daily in 200, 250 or 500 or 750 mg doses.",
"[0078] Thus, the present invention provides a synergistic composition, which achieves the objects referred to above and has therapeutic effect on pain, inflammation, fewer, and osteoarthritis.",
"[0079] The pharmaceutical compositions according to the present invention may also comprise one or more pharmaceutically acceptable excipient(s).",
"Such pharmaceutically acceptable excipients include, but are not limited to fillers, glidants, lubricants, disintegrants, surface active agents etc.",
"and the mixtures thereof.",
"[0080] The present invention is for use in mammalians and particularly in humans for the prevention or treatment of pain, arthralgia, toothache, myalgia, miosis inhibition, ankylosing spondylitis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and other muscle-skeleton system and joint disorders, soft tissue injuries such as sprains and strains, postoperative pains, painful and severe menstruation, migraine, and sore throat.",
"[0081] In this context, the term composition may both correspond to a composition, and to a combined meaning of the composition and the package or blister in which the composition is stored.",
"[0082] It is further possible to use the following additional excipients in the composition.",
"[0083] Diluents, e.g. at least one or a mixture of lactose, microcrystalline cellulose, starch, mannitol, calcium phosphate anhydrate, calcium phosphate dihydrate, calcium phosphate trihydrate, dibasic calcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate, carboxymethyl cellulose calcium, powdered cellulose, cellulose acetate, pregelatinized starch, lactose monohydrate, corn starch.",
"[0084] Binders, e.g. at least one or a mixture of polymethacrylate, glyceryl behenate, polyvinylpyrrolidone (povidone), hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC), hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), methyl cellulose (MC), hydroxyethyl cellulose, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (Na CMC), carboxymethyl cellulose calcium, ethyl cellulose and other cellulose derivatives, polyethylene oxide, gelatin, starch, xanthan gum, guar gum, alginate, carrageen, pectin, carbomer, cellulose acetate phthalate, hydroxypropyl starch, hydroxyethyl methyl cellulose, polaxomer, polyethylene glycol (PEG).",
"[0085] Lubricants, e.g. at least one or a mixture of sodium stearyl fumarate, polyethylene glycol, stearic acid, metal stearates, boric acid, sodium chloride benzoate and acetate, sodium or magnesium lauryl sulfate, etc.",
"[0086] Preservatives, e.g. at least one or a mixture of methylparaben and propylparaben and salts thereof (e.g. sodium or potassium salts), sodium benzoate, citric acid, benzoic acid, butylated hydroxytoluene and butylated hydroxyanisole, etc.",
"[0087] Surface active agents, e.g. at least one or a mixture of sodium lauryl sulfate, dioctyl sulfosuccinate, polysorbates and polyoxyethylene alkyl esters and ethers thereof, glyceryl monolaurate saponins, sorbitan laurate, sodium lauryl sulfate, magnesium lauryl sulfate, etc.",
"[0088] The present invention is hereby disclosed by referring to exemplary embodiments hereinabove.",
"Whilst these exemplary embodiments does not restrict the object of the present invention, it must be assessed under the light of the foregoing detailed description."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a pneumatic power brake system which permits the driver to easily brake vehicle by exerting only a little pressure on the brake pedal, and more particularly to a pressure control device of the pneumatic power brake system, by which the pressure applied to the work chamber of a brake booster is suitably controlled in accordance with a brake pedal force applied to an input means of the booster from the brake pedal by the driver.
2. Description of a Prior Art
Japanese Patent First Provisional Publication No. 58-188746 shows a pneumatic brake booster equipped with an electronic pressure control means by which the multiplied pressure produced by the booster is electronically controlled in accordance with a brake pedal force applied to an input means of the booster from the brake pedal by the driver. Since the output characteristic of the brake booster can be easily changed by adjusting only the pressure control means, the brake boosters of this type are widely applicable to various brake systems. That is, if desired, it is possible to adjust the output characteristic of the brake booster according to the preference of the driver. Furthermore, when information regarding vehicle weight and vehicle deceleration and the like are electronically communicated to the pressure control means, it becomes possible to obtain ideal brake pressure which is adjustable in accordance with the operational condition of the vehicle.
However, the above-mentioned conventional brake system is somewhat slowly in producing stable multiplied brake pressure due to the inherent construction of the pressure control means.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a pneumatic power brake system with an improved pressure control means by which a stable multiplied brake pressure is quickly produced by a brake booster in accordance with a brake pedal force applied to the input means of the booster by the driver.
According to the present invention, there is provided, for a pneumatic brake booster, a pressure control means which comprises an electromagnetically controlled valve means for assuring quick production of the multiplied brake pressure by the brake booster in response to depression of the brake pedal, and a servomotor type control means for assuring stable production of the multiplied brake pressure by the brake booster.
According to the present invention, there is provided a pressure control device for use with a pneumatic brake booster equipped with a brake pedal force detecting device by which a brake pedal force applied thereto is detected, the pressure control device comprising first means for producing a first controlled pressure which, under a given condition, is increased to a first value slightly lower than a target value determined in accordance with the brake pedal force, the first controlled pressure being unstable when increased to the first value and applied to a work chamber of the brake booster; second means for producing a second controlled pressure which, under a given condition, is increased to the target value, the second controlled pressure being stable when increased to the target value and applied to the work chamber of the brake booster; and third means for applying only the first controlled pressure to the work chamber when the first controlled pressure is higher than the second controlled pressure, and applying only the second controlled pressure to the work chamber when the second controlled pressure is higher than the first controlled pressure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a pneumatic power brake system according to the present invention, showing on a large scale an axial section of a pressure control valve employed in the system; and
FIG. 2 is a graph showing the characteristic pressure curve obtained by the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is shown a brake system according to the present invention.
In the drawing, is a brake pedal denoted by numeral 10, is pivotally mounted on a vehicle body (not shown), and is denoted by numeral 12, a pneumatic brake booster by which multiplied brake pressure is produced in response to operation of the brake pedal 10. The brake booster 12 comprises generally a housing 14, a diaphragm 16 dividing the interior of the housing 14 into first and second (or work) chambers 18 and 20, and a power piston 22 attached to the diaphragm 16 to move therewith.
A cylindrical body 24 is coaxially connected to the power piston 22 and projected outwardly from the housing 14. The body 24 is linked to the brake pedal 10 through an input rod 26 pivotally connected to the body 24. A return spring 28 is disposed in the first chamber 18 to bias the power piston 22 toward the rest position of the piston. An output rod 30 is connected to the power piston 22 and projected outwardly from the housing 14, as shown. Although not shown in the drawing, the output rod 30 is connected to a piston of a brake master cylinder. A brake pedal force detecting device 31, such as a device disclosed in Japanese patent application No. 60-177991 filed on Aug. 13, 1985 (which has a corresponding U.S. patent application Ser. No. 894,040, filed Aug. 7, 1986 is mounted in the brake booster 12 to detect a force practically applied to the input rod 26 of the booster 12 from the brake pedal 10.
The first chamber 18 of the housing 14 is constantly communicated with the atmosphere through an opening formed in the housing 14, while, the second chamber 20 is selectively communicated with a pressurized air source 32 and the atmosphere through a pressure control valve 34 which is controlled by a control unit 36 which comprises a microcomputer. Receiving information signals from the brake pedal force detecting device 31 and an after-mentioned pressure sensor 120, the control unit 36 operates the valve 34 in such a manner that when no pressure is exerted on the brake pedal 10, the second chamber 20 of the brake booster 12 is communicated with the atmosphere, and when some pressure is applied to the brake pedal 10, the second chamber 20 is applied with a corresponding degree of pressurized air from the air source 32.
In the following, the terms "upper", "lower", "right", "left", "upward", "downward" and the like should be taken to mean "upper", "lower" . . . and "downward", as viewed in FIG. 1.
The pressure control valve 34 comprises a cylindrical housing 38 which generally include coaxially arranged five parts (no numerals), as shown. The housing 38 has an axially extending stepped bore 40 formed therethrough, in which a valve mechanism 42 is installed in a manner as will be described hereinafter.
The valve mechanism 42 comprises a first valve seat 44 formed on an annular step defined in a lower portion of the bore 40. For defining the step, the bore 40 has a first enlarged portion (no numeral) below the step, as shown. A plunger 46 is slidably received in a generally middle portion of the bore 40, and has at its lower end a second valve seat 48. In the illustrated condition, the second valve seat 48 is concentrically arranged within the first valve seat 44 with an annular space (no numeral) defined therebetween.
A tubular valve body 50 is axially slidably received in the bore 40 at a position below the first valve seat 44. A coil spring 52 is compressed between the valve body 50 and a stepped portion of the bore 40 to bias the valve body 50 upward. With the force of the spring 52, an upper annular flat portion of the valve body 50 is biased to sealingly abut on both the first and second valve seats 44 and 48. The upper annular flat portion of the valve body 50 comprises a first sealing portion 54 which is sealingly contactable with the first valve seat 44, and a second sealing portion 56 which is sealingly contactable with the second valve seat 48.
A first port 58 is formed in the right portion of the housing 38, which leads to an annular groove (no numeral) formed about the plunger 46 above the second valve seat 48. The first port 58 in communication with the second chamber 20 of the brake booster 12 through a tube 60.
A second port 62 is formed in the left portion of the housing 38, which leads to the afore-mentioned first enlarged portion of the bore 40 defined below the first valve seat 44. The second port 62 communicates with a pressurized air source 32 through a tube 64. A third port 68 is formed in the lower portion of the housing 38, which leads to the interior 66 of the tubular valve body 50, and thus to the first enlarged portion of the bore 40. The third port 68 is exposed to the atmosphere.
The tubular valve body 50 has a smaller diameter lower portion defining a stepped portion 70 thereon. A diaphragm member 72 extends between the valve body 50 and the wall of the bore 40 to define a pressure chamber 74 to which said stepped portion 70 is exposed. An annular seal ring 76 is arranged to effect sealing between the tubular valve body 50 and the wall of the bore 40 thereby to isolate the pressure chamber 74 from the surrounding.
The pressure chamber 74 communicates with the first port 58 through two passages 78 and 80 formed in the housing 38. It is to be noted that the pressure receiving area of the stepped portion 70 of the valve body 50 is equal to that of the aforementioned annular space defined between the first and second valves seats 44 and 48. Thus, when equal pressure is applied to them, the positioning of the valve body 50 is balanced.
The plunger 46 is provided at its generally middle portion with a second piston 82. A diaphragm member 81 extends between the second piston 82 and the wall of a second enlarged portion of the bore 40 to define thereabove an atmospheric chamber 84 and therebelow a second pressure chamber 86. The atmospheric chamber 84 is in communication with the atmosphere through a passage 88 formed in the housing 88. While, the second pressure chamber 86 is in communication with the afore-mentioned first port 58 through a passage 90 formed in the housing 38.
A coil spring 92 is disposed in the second pressure chamber 86 and compressed between a flange portion of the plunger 46 and a recessed portion of the second enlarged portion of the bore 40 to bias the plunger 46 and thus the second piston 82 upwardly. Under a condition wherein the plunger 46 assumes its uppermost position, the second valve seat 48 of the plunger 46 is separated from the valve body 50 while the upper flat portion of the valve body 50 is in sealing contact with the first valve seat 44. Thus, under this condition, the second chamber 20 of the brake booster 12 communicates with the atmosphere through the tube 60, the first port 58, a clearance between the second valve seat 48 and the valve body 50, the interior 66 of the valve body 50 and the third port 68.
The plunger 46 has a coaxially extending rod 93 bolted thereto. The upper portion of the rod 93 is placed in the atmospheric chamber 84 defined above the second piston 82. An annular spring seat 94 is axially slidably disposed on the rod 93. The upper portion of the rod 93 is formed with an enlarged head 96 by which disengagement of the spring seat 94 from the rod 93 is prevented. A coil spring 98 is compressed between the second piston 82 and the annular spring seat 94 to press the spring seat 94 against the head 96.
As shown in FIG. 1, a first piston 100 is seated at its inner stepped portion on the annular spring seat 94. If desired, the first piston 100 may be secured to the spring seat 94 to move therewith. A diaphragm member 102 extends between the first piston 100 and the wall of the second enlarged portion of the bore 40 to define thereabove a first pressure chamber 104 and therebelow the afore-mentioned atmospheric chamber 84. The first piston 100 has an upper member 101 bolted thereto, which projects to the outside of the housing 38, as shown.
Slidably engaged with the top of the upper member 101 is an eccentric cam 106 which is secured to a drive shaft 108 of a servo-motor 110. The operation of the servo-motor 110 is controlled by the afore-mentioned control unit 36. When, due to energization of the servo-motor, the cam 106 rotates by a given angle, the first piston 100 is pushed downward compressing the coil spring 98 thereby varying or increasing the biasing force applied to the plunger 46.
The first pressure chamber 104 is communicated with the pressurized air source 32 through a fourth port 112, a tube 114 and a first electromagnetic valve 116. The tube 114 has a branch which leads to the atmosphere through a second electromagnetic valve 118. The first and second electromagnetic valves 116 and 118 are controlled by the control unit 36. A pressure sensor 120 is connected to the tube 114 to detect a pressure in the tube 114 that is, in the first pressure chamber 104. Information signals issued from the sensor 120 are fed to the control unit 36.
Now, operation of the pressure control device of the present invention will be described For ease of explanation, it will begin with the booster 12 in a rest condition wherein no brake pedal force is applied thereto by the brake pedal 10.
Absence of brake pedal force to the input rod 26 of the brake booster 12 is sensed by the input pressure detecting device 31 mounted in the brake booster 12. Upon sensing this, the control unit 36 causes the servo-motor 110 to assume its rest position and at the same time, causes the first and second electromagnetic valves 116 and 118 to assume the closed and open positions respectively. With this, the first pressure chamber 104 of the pressure control valve 34 communicates with the atmosphere. Under this condition, the plunger 46 assumes its uppermost position and thus, as has been described hereinafore, the second chamber 20 of the brake booster 12 is communicated with the atmosphere through the tube 60, the first port 58, the clearance between the second valve seat 48 and the valve body 50, the interior, 66 of the valve body 50 and the third port 68. Thus no pressure difference is produced between the first and second chambers 18 and 20 of the brake booster 12, and, the power piston 22 assumes its rightmost rest position due to the biasing force of the return spring 28.
When, upon depression of the brake pedal 10, a certain brake force is applied to the input rod 26 of the brake booster 12, the intensity of the force is detected by the pressure sensor 31. Upon this occurence, the control unit 36 produces a controlled pressure in chamber 20, in accordance with the intensity of the brake pedal force sensed by the brake pedal force detecting device 31, via two means. The first means includes closing the second electromagnetic valve 118 and the same time opening the first electromagnetic valve 116 thereby supplying the first pressure chamber 104 of the pressure control valve 34 with pressurized air from the air source 32. Simultaneously the, control unit 36 produces a controlled pressure in chamber 20 via a second means, controlling servo-motor 110, to allow the cam 106 to assume a corresponding angular position.
Since the first and second electromagnetic valves 116 and 118 of the first means make quicker response than the servo-motor 110 of the second means to instruction signals, the pressure applied to the first pressure chamber 104 quickly moves the first piston 100 and thus the spring seat 94 downward, compressing the coil spring 98. With this, the plunger 46 is quickly moved downward to such a position as to press the second valve seat 48 on the upper flat portion of the tubular valve body 50 blocking the communication between the second chamber 20 of the brake booster 12 and the atmosphere. The pressure application to the first pressure chamber 104 further moves the plunger 46 and the tubular valve body 50 downward against the force of the spring 52, and thus separates the upper flat portion of the valve body 50 from the first valve seat 44. With this, the pressurized air from the air source 32 is supplied to the second chamber 20 of the brake booster 12 through the tube 64, the second port 62, a clearance between the first valve seat 44 and the valve body 50, the first port 58 and the tube 60. Thus, the power piston 22 of the brake booster 12 is moved leftward against the force of the return spring 28.
The intensity of the pressure applied to the first pressure chamber 104 of the pressure control valve 34 is detected by the pressure sensor 120. When the pressure in the chamber 104 increases to a value "E" (see FIG. 2), smaller by a given degree than a target value "B", determined by the information signal from the brake pedal force detecting device 31 in the brake booster 12, the control unit 36 closes the first electromagnetic valve 116.
However, due to the nature of the electromagnetic valve 116, the pressure in the first pressure chamber 104 increases somewhat after application of a signal to the valve 116 to close the same. This increased pressure is detected by the pressure sensor 120. Upon receiving the information signal from the sensor 120, the control unit 36 opens the second electromagnetic valve 118 in order to reduce the pressure to the valve "E". Upon sensing the value "E" of the pressure in the first pressure chamber 104, the pressure sensor 120 issues a corresponding signal causing the control unit 36 to close the second electromangetic valve 118. Due to the nature of the electromagnetic valve 118, the pressure in the first pressure chamber 104 decreases somewhat after application of a signal to the valve 118 to close the same. As a result, as is shown by the broken line section of the curve line "A" in FIG. 2, the second chamber 20 of the brake booster 12 tends to be applied with an unstable first controlled pressure which pulses in response to the open and close operations of the first and second electromagnetic valves 116 and 118. The average intensity of the first controlled pressure produced by the first means thus becomes smaller by a given degree than the target value "B" which is determined by the information signal from the brake pedal force detecting device 31.
During the pneumatic operation as described hereinabove, the servo-motor 110 tends to move the first piston 100 downward by means of the cam 106. However, at the initial stage, the downward movement of the first piston 100 is carried out solely by the pressure applied to the first pressure chamber 104 due to the closing and opening of electromagnetic valves 118 and 116, respectively, of the first means because the pressure application to the chamber 104 is made quicker than rotation of the cam 106. Thus, during an initial stage, rotation of the cam 106 does not contribute to the downward movement of the first piston 100. This is shown by the broken line section of the curve C in FIG. 2. Later, at the time denoted by "D" in the graph, the downward movement of the first piston 100 is carried out by the cam 106 of servo-motor 110 of the second means of the pressure in the first pressure chamber 104 of the first means. This is because the downward displacement or the first piston 100 will be the greater of that determined by rotation of the cam 106 or the pressure in the first pressure chamber 104, and by the pressure in the first pressure chamber 104 is made smaller by a degree than that given corresponding to the information signal from the brake pedal force detecting device 31.
The downward displacement of the first piston 100 effected by the cam 106, and thus the force of the spring 98 for biasing the plunger 46 downward are kept constant so long as the brake pedal force applied to the input rod 26 of the brake booster 12 is constant.
During the operation as mentioned above, the second pressure chamber 86 is supplied with pressure equal to the pressure in the second chamber 20, so that the second piston 82 and thus the plunger 46 are lifted against the biasing force of the spring 98. This upward movement of the plunger 46 brings about a contact of the valve body 50 with the first valve seat 44 and a separation of the second valve seat 48 from the valve body 50, so that the pressurized air in the second chamber 20 of the brake booster 12 is discharged to the open air through the third port 68. When the pressure in the second chamber 20 is reduced to a certain value, the second piston 82 and thus the plunger 46 are moved down to again supply the second chamber 20 with pressurized air.
As a result, the pressure in the second chamber 20 (viz., the pressure in the second chamber 20, the tube 60, the first port 58 and the passage 90) is controlled at a value corresponding to the biasing force of the coil spring 98 determined by the downward displacement of the first piston 100 effected by the cam 106 of the servo-motor 110. That is, the pressure in the second chamber 20 of the brake booster 12 is controlled at a stable second controlled pressure in accordance with a brake pedal force applied to the input rod 26 of the brake booster 12 by the brake pedal 10. This will be understood from the horizontal solid section of the line "C" of the graph of FIG. 2. Thus, the output rod 30 of the brake booster 12 is moved leftward together with the power piston 22 with a force multiplied in accordance with the brake pedal force, so that the piston of the associated brake master cylinder is actuated for effecting a braking of the vehicle.
The following modifications are employable in the invention.
A first modification is that, in place of the cam 106, a rack and pinion unit may be used for moving the first piston 100 in response to the operation of the servo-motor 110. In this case, the pinion is secured to the drive shaft 108 of the servo-motor 110 and the rack is secured to the first piston 100. A second modification is that a stepping motor may be used in place of the servo-motor. | An electromagnetically operated mechanism produces an unstable first controlled pressure which, under a given condition, is saturated quickly to a degree slightly lower than a target value determined in accordance with an information signal issued from a brake pedal force detecting device. A servo-motor type actuator produces a stable second controlled pressure which, under a given condition, is saturated slowly to the target value. A control mechanism applies only the first controlled pressure to a work chamber of a pneumatic brake booster when the first controlled pressure is higher than the second controlled pressure, and applies only the second controlled pressure to the work chamber after the second controlled pressure becomes higher than the first controlled pressure. | Summarize the patent document, focusing on the invention's functionality and advantages. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention The present invention relates in general to a pneumatic power brake system which permits the driver to easily brake vehicle by exerting only a little pressure on the brake pedal, and more particularly to a pressure control device of the pneumatic power brake system, by which the pressure applied to the work chamber of a brake booster is suitably controlled in accordance with a brake pedal force applied to an input means of the booster from the brake pedal by the driver.",
"Description of a Prior Art Japanese Patent First Provisional Publication No. 58-188746 shows a pneumatic brake booster equipped with an electronic pressure control means by which the multiplied pressure produced by the booster is electronically controlled in accordance with a brake pedal force applied to an input means of the booster from the brake pedal by the driver.",
"Since the output characteristic of the brake booster can be easily changed by adjusting only the pressure control means, the brake boosters of this type are widely applicable to various brake systems.",
"That is, if desired, it is possible to adjust the output characteristic of the brake booster according to the preference of the driver.",
"Furthermore, when information regarding vehicle weight and vehicle deceleration and the like are electronically communicated to the pressure control means, it becomes possible to obtain ideal brake pressure which is adjustable in accordance with the operational condition of the vehicle.",
"However, the above-mentioned conventional brake system is somewhat slowly in producing stable multiplied brake pressure due to the inherent construction of the pressure control means.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a pneumatic power brake system with an improved pressure control means by which a stable multiplied brake pressure is quickly produced by a brake booster in accordance with a brake pedal force applied to the input means of the booster by the driver.",
"According to the present invention, there is provided, for a pneumatic brake booster, a pressure control means which comprises an electromagnetically controlled valve means for assuring quick production of the multiplied brake pressure by the brake booster in response to depression of the brake pedal, and a servomotor type control means for assuring stable production of the multiplied brake pressure by the brake booster.",
"According to the present invention, there is provided a pressure control device for use with a pneumatic brake booster equipped with a brake pedal force detecting device by which a brake pedal force applied thereto is detected, the pressure control device comprising first means for producing a first controlled pressure which, under a given condition, is increased to a first value slightly lower than a target value determined in accordance with the brake pedal force, the first controlled pressure being unstable when increased to the first value and applied to a work chamber of the brake booster;",
"second means for producing a second controlled pressure which, under a given condition, is increased to the target value, the second controlled pressure being stable when increased to the target value and applied to the work chamber of the brake booster;",
"and third means for applying only the first controlled pressure to the work chamber when the first controlled pressure is higher than the second controlled pressure, and applying only the second controlled pressure to the work chamber when the second controlled pressure is higher than the first controlled pressure.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a pneumatic power brake system according to the present invention, showing on a large scale an axial section of a pressure control valve employed in the system;",
"and FIG. 2 is a graph showing the characteristic pressure curve obtained by the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is shown a brake system according to the present invention.",
"In the drawing, is a brake pedal denoted by numeral 10, is pivotally mounted on a vehicle body (not shown), and is denoted by numeral 12, a pneumatic brake booster by which multiplied brake pressure is produced in response to operation of the brake pedal 10.",
"The brake booster 12 comprises generally a housing 14, a diaphragm 16 dividing the interior of the housing 14 into first and second (or work) chambers 18 and 20, and a power piston 22 attached to the diaphragm 16 to move therewith.",
"A cylindrical body 24 is coaxially connected to the power piston 22 and projected outwardly from the housing 14.",
"The body 24 is linked to the brake pedal 10 through an input rod 26 pivotally connected to the body 24.",
"A return spring 28 is disposed in the first chamber 18 to bias the power piston 22 toward the rest position of the piston.",
"An output rod 30 is connected to the power piston 22 and projected outwardly from the housing 14, as shown.",
"Although not shown in the drawing, the output rod 30 is connected to a piston of a brake master cylinder.",
"A brake pedal force detecting device 31, such as a device disclosed in Japanese patent application No. 60-177991 filed on Aug. 13, 1985 (which has a corresponding U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 894,040, filed Aug. 7, 1986 is mounted in the brake booster 12 to detect a force practically applied to the input rod 26 of the booster 12 from the brake pedal 10.",
"The first chamber 18 of the housing 14 is constantly communicated with the atmosphere through an opening formed in the housing 14, while, the second chamber 20 is selectively communicated with a pressurized air source 32 and the atmosphere through a pressure control valve 34 which is controlled by a control unit 36 which comprises a microcomputer.",
"Receiving information signals from the brake pedal force detecting device 31 and an after-mentioned pressure sensor 120, the control unit 36 operates the valve 34 in such a manner that when no pressure is exerted on the brake pedal 10, the second chamber 20 of the brake booster 12 is communicated with the atmosphere, and when some pressure is applied to the brake pedal 10, the second chamber 20 is applied with a corresponding degree of pressurized air from the air source 32.",
"In the following, the terms "upper", "lower", "right", "left", "upward", "downward"",
"and the like should be taken to mean "upper", "lower"",
"and "downward", as viewed in FIG. 1. The pressure control valve 34 comprises a cylindrical housing 38 which generally include coaxially arranged five parts (no numerals), as shown.",
"The housing 38 has an axially extending stepped bore 40 formed therethrough, in which a valve mechanism 42 is installed in a manner as will be described hereinafter.",
"The valve mechanism 42 comprises a first valve seat 44 formed on an annular step defined in a lower portion of the bore 40.",
"For defining the step, the bore 40 has a first enlarged portion (no numeral) below the step, as shown.",
"A plunger 46 is slidably received in a generally middle portion of the bore 40, and has at its lower end a second valve seat 48.",
"In the illustrated condition, the second valve seat 48 is concentrically arranged within the first valve seat 44 with an annular space (no numeral) defined therebetween.",
"A tubular valve body 50 is axially slidably received in the bore 40 at a position below the first valve seat 44.",
"A coil spring 52 is compressed between the valve body 50 and a stepped portion of the bore 40 to bias the valve body 50 upward.",
"With the force of the spring 52, an upper annular flat portion of the valve body 50 is biased to sealingly abut on both the first and second valve seats 44 and 48.",
"The upper annular flat portion of the valve body 50 comprises a first sealing portion 54 which is sealingly contactable with the first valve seat 44, and a second sealing portion 56 which is sealingly contactable with the second valve seat 48.",
"A first port 58 is formed in the right portion of the housing 38, which leads to an annular groove (no numeral) formed about the plunger 46 above the second valve seat 48.",
"The first port 58 in communication with the second chamber 20 of the brake booster 12 through a tube 60.",
"A second port 62 is formed in the left portion of the housing 38, which leads to the afore-mentioned first enlarged portion of the bore 40 defined below the first valve seat 44.",
"The second port 62 communicates with a pressurized air source 32 through a tube 64.",
"A third port 68 is formed in the lower portion of the housing 38, which leads to the interior 66 of the tubular valve body 50, and thus to the first enlarged portion of the bore 40.",
"The third port 68 is exposed to the atmosphere.",
"The tubular valve body 50 has a smaller diameter lower portion defining a stepped portion 70 thereon.",
"A diaphragm member 72 extends between the valve body 50 and the wall of the bore 40 to define a pressure chamber 74 to which said stepped portion 70 is exposed.",
"An annular seal ring 76 is arranged to effect sealing between the tubular valve body 50 and the wall of the bore 40 thereby to isolate the pressure chamber 74 from the surrounding.",
"The pressure chamber 74 communicates with the first port 58 through two passages 78 and 80 formed in the housing 38.",
"It is to be noted that the pressure receiving area of the stepped portion 70 of the valve body 50 is equal to that of the aforementioned annular space defined between the first and second valves seats 44 and 48.",
"Thus, when equal pressure is applied to them, the positioning of the valve body 50 is balanced.",
"The plunger 46 is provided at its generally middle portion with a second piston 82.",
"A diaphragm member 81 extends between the second piston 82 and the wall of a second enlarged portion of the bore 40 to define thereabove an atmospheric chamber 84 and therebelow a second pressure chamber 86.",
"The atmospheric chamber 84 is in communication with the atmosphere through a passage 88 formed in the housing 88.",
"While, the second pressure chamber 86 is in communication with the afore-mentioned first port 58 through a passage 90 formed in the housing 38.",
"A coil spring 92 is disposed in the second pressure chamber 86 and compressed between a flange portion of the plunger 46 and a recessed portion of the second enlarged portion of the bore 40 to bias the plunger 46 and thus the second piston 82 upwardly.",
"Under a condition wherein the plunger 46 assumes its uppermost position, the second valve seat 48 of the plunger 46 is separated from the valve body 50 while the upper flat portion of the valve body 50 is in sealing contact with the first valve seat 44.",
"Thus, under this condition, the second chamber 20 of the brake booster 12 communicates with the atmosphere through the tube 60, the first port 58, a clearance between the second valve seat 48 and the valve body 50, the interior 66 of the valve body 50 and the third port 68.",
"The plunger 46 has a coaxially extending rod 93 bolted thereto.",
"The upper portion of the rod 93 is placed in the atmospheric chamber 84 defined above the second piston 82.",
"An annular spring seat 94 is axially slidably disposed on the rod 93.",
"The upper portion of the rod 93 is formed with an enlarged head 96 by which disengagement of the spring seat 94 from the rod 93 is prevented.",
"A coil spring 98 is compressed between the second piston 82 and the annular spring seat 94 to press the spring seat 94 against the head 96.",
"As shown in FIG. 1, a first piston 100 is seated at its inner stepped portion on the annular spring seat 94.",
"If desired, the first piston 100 may be secured to the spring seat 94 to move therewith.",
"A diaphragm member 102 extends between the first piston 100 and the wall of the second enlarged portion of the bore 40 to define thereabove a first pressure chamber 104 and therebelow the afore-mentioned atmospheric chamber 84.",
"The first piston 100 has an upper member 101 bolted thereto, which projects to the outside of the housing 38, as shown.",
"Slidably engaged with the top of the upper member 101 is an eccentric cam 106 which is secured to a drive shaft 108 of a servo-motor 110.",
"The operation of the servo-motor 110 is controlled by the afore-mentioned control unit 36.",
"When, due to energization of the servo-motor, the cam 106 rotates by a given angle, the first piston 100 is pushed downward compressing the coil spring 98 thereby varying or increasing the biasing force applied to the plunger 46.",
"The first pressure chamber 104 is communicated with the pressurized air source 32 through a fourth port 112, a tube 114 and a first electromagnetic valve 116.",
"The tube 114 has a branch which leads to the atmosphere through a second electromagnetic valve 118.",
"The first and second electromagnetic valves 116 and 118 are controlled by the control unit 36.",
"A pressure sensor 120 is connected to the tube 114 to detect a pressure in the tube 114 that is, in the first pressure chamber 104.",
"Information signals issued from the sensor 120 are fed to the control unit 36.",
"Now, operation of the pressure control device of the present invention will be described For ease of explanation, it will begin with the booster 12 in a rest condition wherein no brake pedal force is applied thereto by the brake pedal 10.",
"Absence of brake pedal force to the input rod 26 of the brake booster 12 is sensed by the input pressure detecting device 31 mounted in the brake booster 12.",
"Upon sensing this, the control unit 36 causes the servo-motor 110 to assume its rest position and at the same time, causes the first and second electromagnetic valves 116 and 118 to assume the closed and open positions respectively.",
"With this, the first pressure chamber 104 of the pressure control valve 34 communicates with the atmosphere.",
"Under this condition, the plunger 46 assumes its uppermost position and thus, as has been described hereinafore, the second chamber 20 of the brake booster 12 is communicated with the atmosphere through the tube 60, the first port 58, the clearance between the second valve seat 48 and the valve body 50, the interior, 66 of the valve body 50 and the third port 68.",
"Thus no pressure difference is produced between the first and second chambers 18 and 20 of the brake booster 12, and, the power piston 22 assumes its rightmost rest position due to the biasing force of the return spring 28.",
"When, upon depression of the brake pedal 10, a certain brake force is applied to the input rod 26 of the brake booster 12, the intensity of the force is detected by the pressure sensor 31.",
"Upon this occurence, the control unit 36 produces a controlled pressure in chamber 20, in accordance with the intensity of the brake pedal force sensed by the brake pedal force detecting device 31, via two means.",
"The first means includes closing the second electromagnetic valve 118 and the same time opening the first electromagnetic valve 116 thereby supplying the first pressure chamber 104 of the pressure control valve 34 with pressurized air from the air source 32.",
"Simultaneously the, control unit 36 produces a controlled pressure in chamber 20 via a second means, controlling servo-motor 110, to allow the cam 106 to assume a corresponding angular position.",
"Since the first and second electromagnetic valves 116 and 118 of the first means make quicker response than the servo-motor 110 of the second means to instruction signals, the pressure applied to the first pressure chamber 104 quickly moves the first piston 100 and thus the spring seat 94 downward, compressing the coil spring 98.",
"With this, the plunger 46 is quickly moved downward to such a position as to press the second valve seat 48 on the upper flat portion of the tubular valve body 50 blocking the communication between the second chamber 20 of the brake booster 12 and the atmosphere.",
"The pressure application to the first pressure chamber 104 further moves the plunger 46 and the tubular valve body 50 downward against the force of the spring 52, and thus separates the upper flat portion of the valve body 50 from the first valve seat 44.",
"With this, the pressurized air from the air source 32 is supplied to the second chamber 20 of the brake booster 12 through the tube 64, the second port 62, a clearance between the first valve seat 44 and the valve body 50, the first port 58 and the tube 60.",
"Thus, the power piston 22 of the brake booster 12 is moved leftward against the force of the return spring 28.",
"The intensity of the pressure applied to the first pressure chamber 104 of the pressure control valve 34 is detected by the pressure sensor 120.",
"When the pressure in the chamber 104 increases to a value "E"",
"(see FIG. 2), smaller by a given degree than a target value "B", determined by the information signal from the brake pedal force detecting device 31 in the brake booster 12, the control unit 36 closes the first electromagnetic valve 116.",
"However, due to the nature of the electromagnetic valve 116, the pressure in the first pressure chamber 104 increases somewhat after application of a signal to the valve 116 to close the same.",
"This increased pressure is detected by the pressure sensor 120.",
"Upon receiving the information signal from the sensor 120, the control unit 36 opens the second electromagnetic valve 118 in order to reduce the pressure to the valve "E".",
"Upon sensing the value "E"",
"of the pressure in the first pressure chamber 104, the pressure sensor 120 issues a corresponding signal causing the control unit 36 to close the second electromangetic valve 118.",
"Due to the nature of the electromagnetic valve 118, the pressure in the first pressure chamber 104 decreases somewhat after application of a signal to the valve 118 to close the same.",
"As a result, as is shown by the broken line section of the curve line "A"",
"in FIG. 2, the second chamber 20 of the brake booster 12 tends to be applied with an unstable first controlled pressure which pulses in response to the open and close operations of the first and second electromagnetic valves 116 and 118.",
"The average intensity of the first controlled pressure produced by the first means thus becomes smaller by a given degree than the target value "B"",
"which is determined by the information signal from the brake pedal force detecting device 31.",
"During the pneumatic operation as described hereinabove, the servo-motor 110 tends to move the first piston 100 downward by means of the cam 106.",
"However, at the initial stage, the downward movement of the first piston 100 is carried out solely by the pressure applied to the first pressure chamber 104 due to the closing and opening of electromagnetic valves 118 and 116, respectively, of the first means because the pressure application to the chamber 104 is made quicker than rotation of the cam 106.",
"Thus, during an initial stage, rotation of the cam 106 does not contribute to the downward movement of the first piston 100.",
"This is shown by the broken line section of the curve C in FIG. 2. Later, at the time denoted by "D"",
"in the graph, the downward movement of the first piston 100 is carried out by the cam 106 of servo-motor 110 of the second means of the pressure in the first pressure chamber 104 of the first means.",
"This is because the downward displacement or the first piston 100 will be the greater of that determined by rotation of the cam 106 or the pressure in the first pressure chamber 104, and by the pressure in the first pressure chamber 104 is made smaller by a degree than that given corresponding to the information signal from the brake pedal force detecting device 31.",
"The downward displacement of the first piston 100 effected by the cam 106, and thus the force of the spring 98 for biasing the plunger 46 downward are kept constant so long as the brake pedal force applied to the input rod 26 of the brake booster 12 is constant.",
"During the operation as mentioned above, the second pressure chamber 86 is supplied with pressure equal to the pressure in the second chamber 20, so that the second piston 82 and thus the plunger 46 are lifted against the biasing force of the spring 98.",
"This upward movement of the plunger 46 brings about a contact of the valve body 50 with the first valve seat 44 and a separation of the second valve seat 48 from the valve body 50, so that the pressurized air in the second chamber 20 of the brake booster 12 is discharged to the open air through the third port 68.",
"When the pressure in the second chamber 20 is reduced to a certain value, the second piston 82 and thus the plunger 46 are moved down to again supply the second chamber 20 with pressurized air.",
"As a result, the pressure in the second chamber 20 (viz.",
", the pressure in the second chamber 20, the tube 60, the first port 58 and the passage 90) is controlled at a value corresponding to the biasing force of the coil spring 98 determined by the downward displacement of the first piston 100 effected by the cam 106 of the servo-motor 110.",
"That is, the pressure in the second chamber 20 of the brake booster 12 is controlled at a stable second controlled pressure in accordance with a brake pedal force applied to the input rod 26 of the brake booster 12 by the brake pedal 10.",
"This will be understood from the horizontal solid section of the line "C"",
"of the graph of FIG. 2. Thus, the output rod 30 of the brake booster 12 is moved leftward together with the power piston 22 with a force multiplied in accordance with the brake pedal force, so that the piston of the associated brake master cylinder is actuated for effecting a braking of the vehicle.",
"The following modifications are employable in the invention.",
"A first modification is that, in place of the cam 106, a rack and pinion unit may be used for moving the first piston 100 in response to the operation of the servo-motor 110.",
"In this case, the pinion is secured to the drive shaft 108 of the servo-motor 110 and the rack is secured to the first piston 100.",
"A second modification is that a stepping motor may be used in place of the servo-motor."
] |
The invention is a process for deacidification of gas containing H 2 S and/or C0 2 and mercaptans by absorption of said compounds by means of a regeneratable absorbent solution. The invention also comprises an apparatus for carrying out the process.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The elimination of acid compounds especially H 2 S and CO 2 , contained in a gas, also called deacidification of said gas, is generally carried out by contacting the gas with an absorbent solution that retains the acid compounds by simple physical dissolution and/or by dissolution after formation of a thermally unstable salt or complex by reaction of the acid compounds with a basic compound present in the absorbent solution.
In practice, the gas to be treated, which contains the acid compounds to be removed, is brought into contact, in a zone called an absorption zone, with the absorbent solution under pressure and temperature conditions such that the absorbent solution almost entirely fixes the acid compounds, the purified gas exiting at the head of the absorption zone. The absorbent solution, charged with the acid compounds, is recovered at the bottom of the absorption zone. The charged absorbent is subjected to a regeneration treatment which separates the acid compounds from the absorbent and restores its absorbing power with respect to the acid compounds. The regeneration is carried out by introducing the charged absorbent solution from the absorption zone into the upper portion of a regeneration zone. The absorbent solution to be regenerated is maintained in this zone under temperature and pressure conditions adequate for allowing a release and/or stripping of the absorbed acid compounds. Regeneration is effected by maintaining the absorbent solution boiling under pressure in the regeneration zone. The heat needed for boiling the absorbent solution is supplied by indirect heat exchange between a portion of the solution to be regenerated, which is in the lower half of the regeneration zone, and a hot fluid at an adequate temperature, generally of saturated steam. In the course of the regeneration, the acid compounds contained in the absorbent solution to be regenerated are released and stripped by the vapors of the absorbent solution and are removed at the head of the regeneration zone. At the bottom of the regeneration zone, the regenerated absorbent solution is recovered and recycled to the absorption zone. The regenerated absorbent can be cooled by indirect heat exchange with the solution to be regenerated and recovered from the absorption zone prior to introduction into the regeneration zone.
When the gas to be deacidified contains mercaptans in addition to H 2 S and/or CO 2 , the mercaptans are not substantially removed from the gas in the course of washing the gas with the absorbent solution. In fact, if the conditions are suitable for absorption of the mercaptans at the head of the absorption zone, the absorbent solution, when descending into the zone, is, on the one hand, charged with H 2 S and CO 2 by physical or chemical dissolution and on the other hand heated due to the exothermic nature of the dissolution reactions. The two phenomena cause the mercaptans that have been physically absorbed at the head of the absorption zone to be desorbed and escape for the most part into the treated gas emerging at the head of the absorption zone.
The object of the invention is to provide a process for deacidification of a gas containing H 2 S and/or CO 2 and also mercaptans by washing with a regeneratable absorbent solution which not only removes the H 2 S and CO 2 acid compounds contained in the gas but also a sufficient amount of mercaptans to provide a treated gas which can meet the specification for treated gas.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The process according to the invention for deacidification of a gas containing H 2 S and/or CO 2 and also mercaptans comprises contacting the gas to be treated with a regeneratable absorbent liquid circulating in a countercurrent primary absorption zone, to produce a gas having a predetermined extensively reduced content of H 2 S and CO 2 and a primary stream of absorbent liquid charged with H 2 S and CO 2 and subjecting said primary stream to regeneration in a regeneration zone for releasing the absorbed acid compounds which are discharged at the head of the regeneration zone and producing at the bottom of the regeneration zone a primary regenerated absorbent liquid that is recycled to the primary absorption zone, the process being characterized by removing a fraction of the primary regenerated absorbent liquid and introducing said fraction, after having brought it to a temperature below the temperature prevailing in the primary absorption zone, into the upper portion of a countercurrent secondary absorption zone, introducing into the bottom of the secondary absorption zone, the treated gas from the primary absorption zone, collecting the purified gas at the head of the secondary absorption zone and recovering at the bottom of the secondary absorption zone, a secondary stream of absorbent liquid charged with mercaptans, subjecting said secondary stream from the secondary absorption zone to a reduction of pressure in an expansion zone so as to deabsorb the mercaptans it contains and form a secondary regenerated absorbent liquid, substantially free of mercaptans, admixing the secondary regenerated absorbent with the primary regenerated absorbent liquid and removing from the mixture, the fraction introduced into the secondary absorption zone.
The process according to the invention can be used for deacidifying all types of gases containing H 2 S and/or CO 2 and also a proportion of mercaptans that can amount up to a few percents by volume and, for example, up to 4% by volume or more, which are available under pressures going from about 10 absolute bars to about 100 absolute bars. Such a process is in particular well adapted for the treatment of different gases containing H 2 S and/or CO 2 and mercaptans in order to produce purified gases having a fixed minimal total content of sulfur.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The Figure is a representation of the process and apparatus utilized for carrying out the process of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The absorbent liquid that can be used for carrying out the process according to the invention can be selected among the different absorbent liquids which, on the one hand, are capable of fixing H 2 S and CO 2 and then releasing said compounds under the action of heating and/or expansion and can dissolve the mercaptans and then release them under the action of an expansion optionally associated with a heating. The absorbent liquid is preferably an aqueous solution of one or more basic compounds and preferably an aqueous solution of one or more primary or secondary alkanolamines such as monoethanolamine, diethanolamine, diisopropanolamine, primary alkanolamine of the formula HO--C 2 H 4 --O--C 2 H 4 --NH 2 known by the name of DIGLYCOLAMINE® .
The absorbent liquid may comprise a mixture of an aqueous solution of one or more basic compounds and preferably of one or more primary or secondary alkanolamines such as mentioned above with one or more organic solvents such as sulfolane or methanol. Preferably the absorbent liquid used in the process according to the invention is an aqueous solution of one or more primary or secondary alkanolamines such as monoethanolamine, diethanolamine, diisopropanolamine or diglycolamine whose total concentration of alkanolamine is comprised between 1 N and 8 N, preferably between 3 N and 6 N.
The pressure prevailing in each one of the primary and secondary absorption zones corresponds, aside from the loss of charge, to that of the gas to be treated which is introduced in the primary absorption zone and is generally in the range of 10 bars absolute to about 100 bars absolute.
The temperature of the absorbent liquid introduced in the primary absorption zone depends on the nature of the absorbent liquid and on the dew point of the gas exiting at the head of the zone. For example, when the absorbent liquid comprises an alkanolamine aqueous solution, the temperature of the absorbent liquid introduced into the absorption zone comprises between about 10° C. and 80° C., preferably between about 20° C. and 60° C.
The supply of absorbent liquid that circulates in the primary absorption zone in countercurrent contact with the gas to be treated is related to the contents of H 2 S and CO 2 acid compounds of the gas to be treated and also to the total quantity of acid gases tolerated in the treated gas emerging at the head of the primary absorption zone. The supply of absorbent liquid introduced in the primary absorption zone is adjusted to extract substantially all the H 2 S and CO 2 acid compounds present in the gas being treated.
The pressure and temperature conditions in the regeneration zone for the primary absorbent liquid are selected to provide a regenerated absorbent liquid at the outlet of the regeneration zone be practically free of dissolved gaseous compounds. The absolute pressure at the head of the regeneration zone is generally comprised between 1 and 5 bars, most preferably between 1.3 and 2.5 bars. In the case of regeneration by re-boiling of the absorbent liquid laden with acid gas compounds, to maintain such a pressure requires a temperature at the bottom of the regeneration zone between about 100° C. and 150° C., which corresponds to a temperature at the head of the regeneration zone from about 80° C. to 125° C.
The temperature of the fraction of absorbent liquid introduced into the secondary absorption zone is equal to or sightly less than that of the absorbent liquid introduced into the primary absorption zone and such that the absorption of the mercaptans by said fraction be almost complete so that the treated gas discharged at the head of the secondary absorption zone has a total content of sulfur corresponding to the specifications required. The temperature of said fraction is preferably below 50° C. when the absorbent liquid is an aqueous solution of alkanolamine.
The amount of absorbent liquid introduced in the secondary absorption zone can vary widely and generally represents from about 20% to about 100%, preferably from about 30% to about 60%, of the supply of absorbent liquid introduced in the primary absorption zone.
In the expansion zone, the pressure on the secondary stream of absorbent liquid laden with mercaptans is reduced so that almost all the mercaptans dissolved can be released. At the bottom of the expansion zone, a regenerated secondary stream of absorbent liquid substantially free of mercaptans is produced. The regenerated secondary stream is admixed with the regenerated absorbent liquid from the regeneration zone. At the head of the expansion zone, a gas charged with mercaptans is evacuated. The secondary stream of absorbent liquid laden with mercaptan is preferably reheated prior to being introduced into the expansion zone. The reheating is preferably effected to increase the temperature of the secondary stream of absorbent liquid by about 10° to 50° C. before being introduced into the expansion zone.
Prior to introduction to the regeneration zone, the primary absorbent liquid, laden with H 2 S and CO 2 acid compounds, can be subjected to an expansion to release gases, and especially the hydrocarbons which have been physically dissolved during contact with the gas being treated. The gases released during the expansion can be used as combustible gases in heating installations or flared. The gas laden with mercaptans removed from the expansion zone that receives the secondary current of absorbent liquid can be mixed with gases released during the expansion of the primary current of absorbent liquid from the primary absorption zone.
An apparatus for carrying out the process according to the invention comprises a primary absorption column provided at the head with an outlet for the gases and at the bottom with an outlet for the liquids and equipped in its lower part, with a conduit for injection of the gas to be treated and, in its upper part, with an inlet of absorbent liquid, 2 regeneration column provided at the head with a discharge conduit for the gases and equipped at its upper part with an inlet of absorbent liquid connected to the outlet for the liquids at the bottom of the primary absorption column, at its lower part with a heating system and at the bottom with an outlet for the liquids, said outlet for the liquids being connected, via a recycling system, to the inlet of absorbent liquid of the primary absorption column, is characterized in that it also includes a secondary absorption column having at the head an outlet for the gases which extends by a conduit and at the bottom an outlet for the liquids, said secondary column being provided at its lower part with a gas inlet connected to the outlet for the gases at the head of the primary absorption column and at its upper part with an inlet of absorbent liquid fed by the recycling system, and an expansion vessel including at the top an outlet orifice for the gases connected to a discharge conduit and at the bottom an outlet orifice for the liquid connected to a drawing off conduit for transporting the liquid to the recycling system, said expansion vessel having in addition an inlet orifice for liquid connected by a conduit, provided with a pressure regulation valve to the outlet for the liquids from the secondary absorption column.
The primary absorption column and the secondary absorption column advantageously form two superposed sections of the same absorption column, the secondary absorption column constituting the upper section of said single absorption column, said sections communicating by a passage for the gases that empties into the upper section which comprises the secondary column above the outlet for the liquids situated at the bottom of said secondary column.
The system for recycling absorbent liquid preferably comprises a storage tank having one or more inlets connecting said tank to the outlet for the liquids at the bottom of the regeneration column via a conduit preferably equipped with a cooling system, to the draw off conduit associated with the expansion vessel and optionally to a conduit for feeding additional absorbent liquid and an outlet connected by a conduit to the inlet of absorbent liquid to the primary absorption column, said conduit carrying a shunt provided with a cooling system for indirect exchange of heat and connected to the inlet of absorbent liquid to the secondary absorption column, there being provided means in the conduits to the storage tank and leaving the latter for ensuring the circulation of the absorbent liquid.
The conduit that connects the outlet for the liquids of the secondary absorption column to the expansion vessel is preferably equipped with a heating system positioned either upstream or downstream of the valve for regulation of pressure mounted on said conduit. The heating system preferably comprises an indirect heat exchanger whose cold side is serially arranged on the conduit that connects the outlet for the liquids of the secondary absorption column to the expansion vessel and the hot side is serially arranged in the conduit that connects the outlet of the liquids at the bottom of the regeneration column to the storage tank forming the recycling system or on a shunt mounted on said conduit.
The connection between the outlet for the liquids at the bottom of the primary absorption column and the inlet of absorbent liquid present in the upper part of the regeneration column can be effected through an expansion vessel which includes at the top an outlet for the gases connected to a conduit for gas discharge and at the bottom an outlet for the liquids connected by a conduit to the inlet of liquid to the regeneration column, said expansion vessel having in addition an inlet for the liquids connected by a conduit to the outlet for the liquids at the bottom of the primary absorption column. In this case, the discharge conduit for gas associated with the expansion vessel is preferably connected to the discharge conduit for gas associated with the expansion vessel from the secondary absorption zone.
Each one of the absorption and regeneration columns that form part of the apparatus according to the invention can be of any type known that is usually employed for putting into contact a gas with a liquid and can consist, for example, of a column of plates or with packing.
The number of plates or the equivalent height of packing of the columns used is chosen so that in operation, each one of the columns correctly plays its part in order to obtain the desired degree of purification of the gas to be treated and the desired level of regeneration of the absorbent liquid charged with acid impurities.
The invention will be better understood by the description which follows of one embodiment illustrated by the figure of the enclosed drawing of an apparatus according to the invention which makes use of columns of plates.
Referring to the figure, the device for deacidifying a gas containing H 2 S and/or CO 2 and mercaptans includes two columns, namely, one absorption column 1 and one regeneration column 2, each one equipped with plates for gas/liquid contact. The column 1 is comprised of two superposed absorption sections, namely, one lower primary absorption section 3 and one upper secondary absorption section 4, said sections communicating by a passage 5 for the gases. One outlet 6 for the gases is provided at the top of the column 1, that is at the top of the secondary absorption section, said outlet being connected to a gas discharge conduit 7. One outlet 8 for the liquid is provided at the bottom of the column 1, that is, at the bottom of the primary absorption section. In its lower part, that is, in the lower part of the primary absorption section, the column 1 is equipped with a conduit 9 of injection of the gas to be treated. Said column 1 includes also, at the upper part of each one of the primary and secondary absorption sections, an inlet, respectively 10 and 11, for absorbent liquid while one outlet 12 for liquid is provided at the bottom of the secondary absorption section.
The regeneration column 2 is provided at the top with an outlet 13 for the gases connected to a gas discharge conduit 14 and at the bottom with an outlet 15 for the regenerated absorbent liquid. In its upper part, the regeneration column 2 is provided with an inlet 16 for absorbent liquid to be regenerated while in its lower part said column is associated by inlet and outlet pipes 17 and 18 with a re-boiler 19 heated by indirect exchange of heat by means of saturated steam flowing in a heat exchange line 20.
The outlet 8 for the liquids of the column 1 is connected by a conduit 21 provided with a pressure regulation valve 21a to the inlet 22 for the liquids of an expansion vessel 23. Said expansion vessel is provided with an outlet 24 for the gases connected to a gas discharge conduit 25 and with an outlet 26 for the liquids. The outlet 26 being connected by a conduit 27, via the cold side of an indirect heat exchanger 28, to the inlet 16 of the regeneration column 2.
The outlet 15 for the liquid of the regeneration column 2 is connected by a conduit 29, through the hot side of the heat exchanger 28 and then through a cooling system 30, to a first inlet 31 of a tank 32 for storage of absorbent liquid, said tank having a second inlet 33 and an outlet 34. Said outlet 34 is connected by a conduit 35 and a pump 36, to the inlet 10 of absorbent liquid to the primary absorption section 3 of the column 1. A conduit 37, connected to the conduit 35 downstream of the pump 36 is connected, through a cooling system 38, to the inlet 11 of absorbent liquid of the secondary absorption section 4 of the column 1. The outlet 12 for the liquid from said secondary absorption section 4 is connected to the inlet 40 for the liquid of an expansion vessel 41 by a conduit 39 equipped with a pressure regulation valve 46. The conduit 39 is serially connected to the cold side of an indirect heat exchanger 48 whose hot side is serially connected to a conduit 49 which is shunt connected to conduit 29 upstream of the cooling system 30. The expansion vessel 41 is in addition provided with outlet 42 for the gases which is connected to a conduit 43 for gas discharge connected to the conduit 25 and with an outlet 44 for the liquid connected by a conduit 45 equipped with a cooling system 47, to the second inlet 33 of the storage tank.
The operation of this device can be diagrammatically explained as follows:
The gas to be treated, such as a natural gas, which contains the acid compounds to be removed, namely, H 2 S and/or CO 2 and mercaptans is introduced under an elevated pressure, for example, in the range of from 40 to 80 absolute bars, by the conduit 9 into the primary absorption section 3 of the column 1 and is countercurrently contacted with the absorbent liquid, regeneratable by heating, which is introduced in said primary section 3 through the inlet 10 from the storage tank 32, and flows by gravity in the primary absorption section 3. In this absorption section the absorbent liquid fixes almost all the H 2 S and CO 2 acid compounds and only a small amount of the mercaptans present in the gas to be treated. Said gas, upon reaching the upper part of the primary absorption section 3, leaves through passage 5 and enters the secondary absorption section 4 where it comes into countercurrent contact with the fraction of the absorbent liquid that is conveyed by the conduit 37 through the cooling system 38 and is introduced into the secondary absorption section 4 through inlet 11. The temperature of this fraction of absorbent liquid is reduced, during its passage through the cooling system 38, to a value below the temperature of the stream of absorbent liquid entering the primary absorption section 3 and such that said cooled fraction of absorbent liquid, in the course of its descent by gravity in the secondary absorption section 4, fixes by dissolution the desired quantity of mercaptans present in the gas. At the top of the secondary absorption section 4, a purified gas that is discharged through outlet 6 and conduit 7, said gas having residual contents of H 2 S and CO 2 acid compounds and mercaptans that have been lowered to the required values.
The absorbent liquid laden with H 2 S and CO 2 acid gaseous compounds and with a small quantity of mercaptans absorbed in the primary absorption section 3 of column 1 issues from said column through the outlet 8 and reaches, by the conduit 21, the expansion vessel 23 wherein the pressure of said absorbent liquid is lowered and gaseous compounds are released from the absorbent, especially hydrocarbons and mercaptans, physically dissolved by the absorbent liquid, said gaseous compounds being discharged through the conduit 25. The current of absorbent liquid charged with H 2 S and CO 2 acid compounds whose pressure has been reduced in the expansion vessel 23 is then conveyed to the regeneration column 2, by the conduit 27 after reheating in the heat exchanger 28. In the regeneration column the absorbent liquid is kept boiling under a pressure above the atmospheric pressure and generally comprised between 1 and 5 absolute bars, so as to release the acid gaseous compounds absorbed and to strip them by the vapors of the absorbent liquid. The regenerated absorbent liquid is removed from the regeneration column 2 through outlet 15 at the bottom of the column and is recycled to the storage tank 32 through conduits 29 and 49 under the action of a pump (not shown), after having been cooled to the temperature appropriate for the primary absorption by passage through heat exchangers 28 and 48 for transferring the heat respectively to the absorbent liquid to be regenerated conveyed by the conduit 27 to the regeneration column and to the secondary stream of absorbent liquid laden with mercaptans, and then through cooling system 30. The calories needed for boiling the absorbent liquid in the regeneration column are supplied by passage of part of the regenerated liquid removed through outlet 15 into the re-boiler 19 heated by saturated steam passing into the pipe 20 and return of the hot absorbent liquid to the regeneration column by pipe 18.
The H 2 S and CO 2 gaseous compounds released in the regeneration column are stripped by the vapors of the absorbent liquid and exit at the top of said column through outlet 13 for discharge through conduit 14.
The secondary stream of absorbent liquid charged with mercaptans in the secondary absorption section 4 exits from the secondary section through outlet 12 at the bottom of the section. The absorbent liquid is then conveyed by the conduit 39 into the expansion vessel 41 after being reheated in heat exchanger 48. In vessel 41, the pressure of the liquid is sufficiently reduced so that substantially all the mercaptans dissolved in the absorbent liquid are released, said mercaptans being discharged from expansion vessel 41 through outlet 42 and conduit 43 and mixed with the discharged gases in conduit 25. The absorbent liquid substantially free of mercaptans is removed from the expansion vessel 41 through outlet 44 and returned by the conduit 45, after cooling in the cooling system 47, to the storage tank 32 wherein said absorbent liquid is mixed with the regenerated absorbent liquid from regeneration column 2.
An example of the process according to the invention, which example is not limiting, is given below.
EXAMPLE
A natural gas consisting mostly of methane and containing, by volume, 0.5% H 2 S and 5% CO 2 , and 200 mg/Nm 3 methyl mercaptan and ethyl mercaptan by way of impurities is treated by an apparatus and process analogous to the one described with reference to the figure of the enclosed drawing.
The absorption column included a primary absorption section and a secondary absorption section respectively containing 20 and 5 plates and the regeneration column included 21 plates.
The absorbent liquid consisted of a diethanolamine aqueous solution (abbreviated DEA) containing 3 moles DEA per liter.
The natural gas to be treated entered the primary absorption section 3 through conduit 9 at a rate of 62,000 Nm 3 /h, an absolute pressure of 75 bars and a temperature of about 35° C. The gas was countercurrently contacted with the DEA aqueous solution introduced into primary absorption section 3 through inlet 10 at a rate of 60 m 3 /h and a temperature of about 40° C. In the primary absorption section, almost all the H 2 S and CO 2 acid compounds are absorbed in the DEA aqueous solution, the solution absorbing in this section only a very small part of the mercaptans. Having reached the upper part of the primary absorption section 3, the gas, in the course of treatment, entered the secondary absorption section 4 and was countercurrently contacted by the fraction of DEA aqueous solution introduced into the secondary absorption section through inlet 11 at a rate of 30 m 3 /h and a temperature of about 37° C.
In this secondary absorption section, almost all the mercaptans were absorbed by the cooled DEA aqueous solution, and the residual quantities of H 2 S and CO 2 present in the gas were removed.
A deacidified natural gas containing, by volume, 2.5 ppm H 2 S and 100 ppm CO 2 and 80 mg/Nm 3 mercaptans was discharged through outlet 6 of column 1.
The DEA aqueous solution at the bottom of the regeneration column was raised to a temperature of about 125° C. by saturated steam under an absolute pressure of 4 bars through pipe 20 of the re-boiler 19 so as to maintain an absolute pressure of 2.2 bars at the top of the regeneration column.
Through outlet 13, at the top of the regeneration column 2, there was discharged 2,300 Nm 3 /h of an acid gas formed by the acid gases released in the course of the regeneration of the DEA solution containing by volume 14% H 2 S and 85% CO 2 , the rest consisting of water vapor.
The reduction of pressure of the DEA aqueous solution charged with H 2 S and CO 2 in the expansion vessel 23 released 50 Nm 3 /h of a gas consisting essentially of methane, said gas being discharged through conduit 25.
Through outlet 12 of the secondary absorption section 4, 30 m 3 /h of DEA solution charged with mercaptans were removed. The solution was at a temperature of about 37° C. and an absolute pressure of 74.5 bars. The solution was conveyed, after reheating to about 60° C., in heat exchanger 48, into the expansion vessel 41 wherein the pressure of the solution was lowered to about 2.5 bars absolute. The expansion of the solution released almost all the dissolved mercaptans which were discharged through outlet 42 of expansion vessel 41 and discharge conduit 43. The DEA aqueous solution, practically rid of the mercaptans, was drawn off through outlet 44 and conduit 45 and conveyed, at a rate of 30 m 3 /h, to storage tank 32. The solution was at a temperature of about 40° C. at the exit of cooling system 47.
In a comparison test, the natural gas having the above mentioned composition was treated by operating under conditions similar to those defined above, but replacing the absorption column 1 having two absorption sections, primary and secondary, by an absorption column having a single absorption section including 25 plates, single injection of the solution with a delivery of 90 m 3 /h and a temperature of about 40° C. and regeneration of the total DEA aqueous solution laden with absorbed acid compounds in the regeneration column 2 operating by re-boiling.
The treated gas at the top of the absorption column contained, by volume, 2.5 ppm H 2 S and 100 ppm CO 2 and 180 mg/Nm 3 mercaptans. | The invention is a process for removing H 2 S, CO 2 and mercaptans from a gas stream by liquid absorption using an absorbent wherein the mercaptans are absorbed at a high pressure and low temperature in a secondary absorption zone and separated from the absorbent by reduction of pressure after heating. The absorbent after reduction of pressure can be recycled to the absorpiton zone. The H 2 S and CO 2 are absorbed at a higher temperature than the mercaptans and are stripped from the absorbent in a regeneration zone after a reduction in pressure. The absorption zone requires two separate zones where the gas being treated passes from the high temeprature absorption zone to the low temperature zone where the mercaptans are removed. | Briefly describe the main invention outlined in the provided context. | [
"The invention is a process for deacidification of gas containing H 2 S and/or C0 2 and mercaptans by absorption of said compounds by means of a regeneratable absorbent solution.",
"The invention also comprises an apparatus for carrying out the process.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The elimination of acid compounds especially H 2 S and CO 2 , contained in a gas, also called deacidification of said gas, is generally carried out by contacting the gas with an absorbent solution that retains the acid compounds by simple physical dissolution and/or by dissolution after formation of a thermally unstable salt or complex by reaction of the acid compounds with a basic compound present in the absorbent solution.",
"In practice, the gas to be treated, which contains the acid compounds to be removed, is brought into contact, in a zone called an absorption zone, with the absorbent solution under pressure and temperature conditions such that the absorbent solution almost entirely fixes the acid compounds, the purified gas exiting at the head of the absorption zone.",
"The absorbent solution, charged with the acid compounds, is recovered at the bottom of the absorption zone.",
"The charged absorbent is subjected to a regeneration treatment which separates the acid compounds from the absorbent and restores its absorbing power with respect to the acid compounds.",
"The regeneration is carried out by introducing the charged absorbent solution from the absorption zone into the upper portion of a regeneration zone.",
"The absorbent solution to be regenerated is maintained in this zone under temperature and pressure conditions adequate for allowing a release and/or stripping of the absorbed acid compounds.",
"Regeneration is effected by maintaining the absorbent solution boiling under pressure in the regeneration zone.",
"The heat needed for boiling the absorbent solution is supplied by indirect heat exchange between a portion of the solution to be regenerated, which is in the lower half of the regeneration zone, and a hot fluid at an adequate temperature, generally of saturated steam.",
"In the course of the regeneration, the acid compounds contained in the absorbent solution to be regenerated are released and stripped by the vapors of the absorbent solution and are removed at the head of the regeneration zone.",
"At the bottom of the regeneration zone, the regenerated absorbent solution is recovered and recycled to the absorption zone.",
"The regenerated absorbent can be cooled by indirect heat exchange with the solution to be regenerated and recovered from the absorption zone prior to introduction into the regeneration zone.",
"When the gas to be deacidified contains mercaptans in addition to H 2 S and/or CO 2 , the mercaptans are not substantially removed from the gas in the course of washing the gas with the absorbent solution.",
"In fact, if the conditions are suitable for absorption of the mercaptans at the head of the absorption zone, the absorbent solution, when descending into the zone, is, on the one hand, charged with H 2 S and CO 2 by physical or chemical dissolution and on the other hand heated due to the exothermic nature of the dissolution reactions.",
"The two phenomena cause the mercaptans that have been physically absorbed at the head of the absorption zone to be desorbed and escape for the most part into the treated gas emerging at the head of the absorption zone.",
"The object of the invention is to provide a process for deacidification of a gas containing H 2 S and/or CO 2 and also mercaptans by washing with a regeneratable absorbent solution which not only removes the H 2 S and CO 2 acid compounds contained in the gas but also a sufficient amount of mercaptans to provide a treated gas which can meet the specification for treated gas.",
"BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The process according to the invention for deacidification of a gas containing H 2 S and/or CO 2 and also mercaptans comprises contacting the gas to be treated with a regeneratable absorbent liquid circulating in a countercurrent primary absorption zone, to produce a gas having a predetermined extensively reduced content of H 2 S and CO 2 and a primary stream of absorbent liquid charged with H 2 S and CO 2 and subjecting said primary stream to regeneration in a regeneration zone for releasing the absorbed acid compounds which are discharged at the head of the regeneration zone and producing at the bottom of the regeneration zone a primary regenerated absorbent liquid that is recycled to the primary absorption zone, the process being characterized by removing a fraction of the primary regenerated absorbent liquid and introducing said fraction, after having brought it to a temperature below the temperature prevailing in the primary absorption zone, into the upper portion of a countercurrent secondary absorption zone, introducing into the bottom of the secondary absorption zone, the treated gas from the primary absorption zone, collecting the purified gas at the head of the secondary absorption zone and recovering at the bottom of the secondary absorption zone, a secondary stream of absorbent liquid charged with mercaptans, subjecting said secondary stream from the secondary absorption zone to a reduction of pressure in an expansion zone so as to deabsorb the mercaptans it contains and form a secondary regenerated absorbent liquid, substantially free of mercaptans, admixing the secondary regenerated absorbent with the primary regenerated absorbent liquid and removing from the mixture, the fraction introduced into the secondary absorption zone.",
"The process according to the invention can be used for deacidifying all types of gases containing H 2 S and/or CO 2 and also a proportion of mercaptans that can amount up to a few percents by volume and, for example, up to 4% by volume or more, which are available under pressures going from about 10 absolute bars to about 100 absolute bars.",
"Such a process is in particular well adapted for the treatment of different gases containing H 2 S and/or CO 2 and mercaptans in order to produce purified gases having a fixed minimal total content of sulfur.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The Figure is a representation of the process and apparatus utilized for carrying out the process of the invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The absorbent liquid that can be used for carrying out the process according to the invention can be selected among the different absorbent liquids which, on the one hand, are capable of fixing H 2 S and CO 2 and then releasing said compounds under the action of heating and/or expansion and can dissolve the mercaptans and then release them under the action of an expansion optionally associated with a heating.",
"The absorbent liquid is preferably an aqueous solution of one or more basic compounds and preferably an aqueous solution of one or more primary or secondary alkanolamines such as monoethanolamine, diethanolamine, diisopropanolamine, primary alkanolamine of the formula HO--C 2 H 4 --O--C 2 H 4 --NH 2 known by the name of DIGLYCOLAMINE® .",
"The absorbent liquid may comprise a mixture of an aqueous solution of one or more basic compounds and preferably of one or more primary or secondary alkanolamines such as mentioned above with one or more organic solvents such as sulfolane or methanol.",
"Preferably the absorbent liquid used in the process according to the invention is an aqueous solution of one or more primary or secondary alkanolamines such as monoethanolamine, diethanolamine, diisopropanolamine or diglycolamine whose total concentration of alkanolamine is comprised between 1 N and 8 N, preferably between 3 N and 6 N. The pressure prevailing in each one of the primary and secondary absorption zones corresponds, aside from the loss of charge, to that of the gas to be treated which is introduced in the primary absorption zone and is generally in the range of 10 bars absolute to about 100 bars absolute.",
"The temperature of the absorbent liquid introduced in the primary absorption zone depends on the nature of the absorbent liquid and on the dew point of the gas exiting at the head of the zone.",
"For example, when the absorbent liquid comprises an alkanolamine aqueous solution, the temperature of the absorbent liquid introduced into the absorption zone comprises between about 10° C. and 80° C., preferably between about 20° C. and 60° C. The supply of absorbent liquid that circulates in the primary absorption zone in countercurrent contact with the gas to be treated is related to the contents of H 2 S and CO 2 acid compounds of the gas to be treated and also to the total quantity of acid gases tolerated in the treated gas emerging at the head of the primary absorption zone.",
"The supply of absorbent liquid introduced in the primary absorption zone is adjusted to extract substantially all the H 2 S and CO 2 acid compounds present in the gas being treated.",
"The pressure and temperature conditions in the regeneration zone for the primary absorbent liquid are selected to provide a regenerated absorbent liquid at the outlet of the regeneration zone be practically free of dissolved gaseous compounds.",
"The absolute pressure at the head of the regeneration zone is generally comprised between 1 and 5 bars, most preferably between 1.3 and 2.5 bars.",
"In the case of regeneration by re-boiling of the absorbent liquid laden with acid gas compounds, to maintain such a pressure requires a temperature at the bottom of the regeneration zone between about 100° C. and 150° C., which corresponds to a temperature at the head of the regeneration zone from about 80° C. to 125° C. The temperature of the fraction of absorbent liquid introduced into the secondary absorption zone is equal to or sightly less than that of the absorbent liquid introduced into the primary absorption zone and such that the absorption of the mercaptans by said fraction be almost complete so that the treated gas discharged at the head of the secondary absorption zone has a total content of sulfur corresponding to the specifications required.",
"The temperature of said fraction is preferably below 50° C. when the absorbent liquid is an aqueous solution of alkanolamine.",
"The amount of absorbent liquid introduced in the secondary absorption zone can vary widely and generally represents from about 20% to about 100%, preferably from about 30% to about 60%, of the supply of absorbent liquid introduced in the primary absorption zone.",
"In the expansion zone, the pressure on the secondary stream of absorbent liquid laden with mercaptans is reduced so that almost all the mercaptans dissolved can be released.",
"At the bottom of the expansion zone, a regenerated secondary stream of absorbent liquid substantially free of mercaptans is produced.",
"The regenerated secondary stream is admixed with the regenerated absorbent liquid from the regeneration zone.",
"At the head of the expansion zone, a gas charged with mercaptans is evacuated.",
"The secondary stream of absorbent liquid laden with mercaptan is preferably reheated prior to being introduced into the expansion zone.",
"The reheating is preferably effected to increase the temperature of the secondary stream of absorbent liquid by about 10° to 50° C. before being introduced into the expansion zone.",
"Prior to introduction to the regeneration zone, the primary absorbent liquid, laden with H 2 S and CO 2 acid compounds, can be subjected to an expansion to release gases, and especially the hydrocarbons which have been physically dissolved during contact with the gas being treated.",
"The gases released during the expansion can be used as combustible gases in heating installations or flared.",
"The gas laden with mercaptans removed from the expansion zone that receives the secondary current of absorbent liquid can be mixed with gases released during the expansion of the primary current of absorbent liquid from the primary absorption zone.",
"An apparatus for carrying out the process according to the invention comprises a primary absorption column provided at the head with an outlet for the gases and at the bottom with an outlet for the liquids and equipped in its lower part, with a conduit for injection of the gas to be treated and, in its upper part, with an inlet of absorbent liquid, 2 regeneration column provided at the head with a discharge conduit for the gases and equipped at its upper part with an inlet of absorbent liquid connected to the outlet for the liquids at the bottom of the primary absorption column, at its lower part with a heating system and at the bottom with an outlet for the liquids, said outlet for the liquids being connected, via a recycling system, to the inlet of absorbent liquid of the primary absorption column, is characterized in that it also includes a secondary absorption column having at the head an outlet for the gases which extends by a conduit and at the bottom an outlet for the liquids, said secondary column being provided at its lower part with a gas inlet connected to the outlet for the gases at the head of the primary absorption column and at its upper part with an inlet of absorbent liquid fed by the recycling system, and an expansion vessel including at the top an outlet orifice for the gases connected to a discharge conduit and at the bottom an outlet orifice for the liquid connected to a drawing off conduit for transporting the liquid to the recycling system, said expansion vessel having in addition an inlet orifice for liquid connected by a conduit, provided with a pressure regulation valve to the outlet for the liquids from the secondary absorption column.",
"The primary absorption column and the secondary absorption column advantageously form two superposed sections of the same absorption column, the secondary absorption column constituting the upper section of said single absorption column, said sections communicating by a passage for the gases that empties into the upper section which comprises the secondary column above the outlet for the liquids situated at the bottom of said secondary column.",
"The system for recycling absorbent liquid preferably comprises a storage tank having one or more inlets connecting said tank to the outlet for the liquids at the bottom of the regeneration column via a conduit preferably equipped with a cooling system, to the draw off conduit associated with the expansion vessel and optionally to a conduit for feeding additional absorbent liquid and an outlet connected by a conduit to the inlet of absorbent liquid to the primary absorption column, said conduit carrying a shunt provided with a cooling system for indirect exchange of heat and connected to the inlet of absorbent liquid to the secondary absorption column, there being provided means in the conduits to the storage tank and leaving the latter for ensuring the circulation of the absorbent liquid.",
"The conduit that connects the outlet for the liquids of the secondary absorption column to the expansion vessel is preferably equipped with a heating system positioned either upstream or downstream of the valve for regulation of pressure mounted on said conduit.",
"The heating system preferably comprises an indirect heat exchanger whose cold side is serially arranged on the conduit that connects the outlet for the liquids of the secondary absorption column to the expansion vessel and the hot side is serially arranged in the conduit that connects the outlet of the liquids at the bottom of the regeneration column to the storage tank forming the recycling system or on a shunt mounted on said conduit.",
"The connection between the outlet for the liquids at the bottom of the primary absorption column and the inlet of absorbent liquid present in the upper part of the regeneration column can be effected through an expansion vessel which includes at the top an outlet for the gases connected to a conduit for gas discharge and at the bottom an outlet for the liquids connected by a conduit to the inlet of liquid to the regeneration column, said expansion vessel having in addition an inlet for the liquids connected by a conduit to the outlet for the liquids at the bottom of the primary absorption column.",
"In this case, the discharge conduit for gas associated with the expansion vessel is preferably connected to the discharge conduit for gas associated with the expansion vessel from the secondary absorption zone.",
"Each one of the absorption and regeneration columns that form part of the apparatus according to the invention can be of any type known that is usually employed for putting into contact a gas with a liquid and can consist, for example, of a column of plates or with packing.",
"The number of plates or the equivalent height of packing of the columns used is chosen so that in operation, each one of the columns correctly plays its part in order to obtain the desired degree of purification of the gas to be treated and the desired level of regeneration of the absorbent liquid charged with acid impurities.",
"The invention will be better understood by the description which follows of one embodiment illustrated by the figure of the enclosed drawing of an apparatus according to the invention which makes use of columns of plates.",
"Referring to the figure, the device for deacidifying a gas containing H 2 S and/or CO 2 and mercaptans includes two columns, namely, one absorption column 1 and one regeneration column 2, each one equipped with plates for gas/liquid contact.",
"The column 1 is comprised of two superposed absorption sections, namely, one lower primary absorption section 3 and one upper secondary absorption section 4, said sections communicating by a passage 5 for the gases.",
"One outlet 6 for the gases is provided at the top of the column 1, that is at the top of the secondary absorption section, said outlet being connected to a gas discharge conduit 7.",
"One outlet 8 for the liquid is provided at the bottom of the column 1, that is, at the bottom of the primary absorption section.",
"In its lower part, that is, in the lower part of the primary absorption section, the column 1 is equipped with a conduit 9 of injection of the gas to be treated.",
"Said column 1 includes also, at the upper part of each one of the primary and secondary absorption sections, an inlet, respectively 10 and 11, for absorbent liquid while one outlet 12 for liquid is provided at the bottom of the secondary absorption section.",
"The regeneration column 2 is provided at the top with an outlet 13 for the gases connected to a gas discharge conduit 14 and at the bottom with an outlet 15 for the regenerated absorbent liquid.",
"In its upper part, the regeneration column 2 is provided with an inlet 16 for absorbent liquid to be regenerated while in its lower part said column is associated by inlet and outlet pipes 17 and 18 with a re-boiler 19 heated by indirect exchange of heat by means of saturated steam flowing in a heat exchange line 20.",
"The outlet 8 for the liquids of the column 1 is connected by a conduit 21 provided with a pressure regulation valve 21a to the inlet 22 for the liquids of an expansion vessel 23.",
"Said expansion vessel is provided with an outlet 24 for the gases connected to a gas discharge conduit 25 and with an outlet 26 for the liquids.",
"The outlet 26 being connected by a conduit 27, via the cold side of an indirect heat exchanger 28, to the inlet 16 of the regeneration column 2.",
"The outlet 15 for the liquid of the regeneration column 2 is connected by a conduit 29, through the hot side of the heat exchanger 28 and then through a cooling system 30, to a first inlet 31 of a tank 32 for storage of absorbent liquid, said tank having a second inlet 33 and an outlet 34.",
"Said outlet 34 is connected by a conduit 35 and a pump 36, to the inlet 10 of absorbent liquid to the primary absorption section 3 of the column 1.",
"A conduit 37, connected to the conduit 35 downstream of the pump 36 is connected, through a cooling system 38, to the inlet 11 of absorbent liquid of the secondary absorption section 4 of the column 1.",
"The outlet 12 for the liquid from said secondary absorption section 4 is connected to the inlet 40 for the liquid of an expansion vessel 41 by a conduit 39 equipped with a pressure regulation valve 46.",
"The conduit 39 is serially connected to the cold side of an indirect heat exchanger 48 whose hot side is serially connected to a conduit 49 which is shunt connected to conduit 29 upstream of the cooling system 30.",
"The expansion vessel 41 is in addition provided with outlet 42 for the gases which is connected to a conduit 43 for gas discharge connected to the conduit 25 and with an outlet 44 for the liquid connected by a conduit 45 equipped with a cooling system 47, to the second inlet 33 of the storage tank.",
"The operation of this device can be diagrammatically explained as follows: The gas to be treated, such as a natural gas, which contains the acid compounds to be removed, namely, H 2 S and/or CO 2 and mercaptans is introduced under an elevated pressure, for example, in the range of from 40 to 80 absolute bars, by the conduit 9 into the primary absorption section 3 of the column 1 and is countercurrently contacted with the absorbent liquid, regeneratable by heating, which is introduced in said primary section 3 through the inlet 10 from the storage tank 32, and flows by gravity in the primary absorption section 3.",
"In this absorption section the absorbent liquid fixes almost all the H 2 S and CO 2 acid compounds and only a small amount of the mercaptans present in the gas to be treated.",
"Said gas, upon reaching the upper part of the primary absorption section 3, leaves through passage 5 and enters the secondary absorption section 4 where it comes into countercurrent contact with the fraction of the absorbent liquid that is conveyed by the conduit 37 through the cooling system 38 and is introduced into the secondary absorption section 4 through inlet 11.",
"The temperature of this fraction of absorbent liquid is reduced, during its passage through the cooling system 38, to a value below the temperature of the stream of absorbent liquid entering the primary absorption section 3 and such that said cooled fraction of absorbent liquid, in the course of its descent by gravity in the secondary absorption section 4, fixes by dissolution the desired quantity of mercaptans present in the gas.",
"At the top of the secondary absorption section 4, a purified gas that is discharged through outlet 6 and conduit 7, said gas having residual contents of H 2 S and CO 2 acid compounds and mercaptans that have been lowered to the required values.",
"The absorbent liquid laden with H 2 S and CO 2 acid gaseous compounds and with a small quantity of mercaptans absorbed in the primary absorption section 3 of column 1 issues from said column through the outlet 8 and reaches, by the conduit 21, the expansion vessel 23 wherein the pressure of said absorbent liquid is lowered and gaseous compounds are released from the absorbent, especially hydrocarbons and mercaptans, physically dissolved by the absorbent liquid, said gaseous compounds being discharged through the conduit 25.",
"The current of absorbent liquid charged with H 2 S and CO 2 acid compounds whose pressure has been reduced in the expansion vessel 23 is then conveyed to the regeneration column 2, by the conduit 27 after reheating in the heat exchanger 28.",
"In the regeneration column the absorbent liquid is kept boiling under a pressure above the atmospheric pressure and generally comprised between 1 and 5 absolute bars, so as to release the acid gaseous compounds absorbed and to strip them by the vapors of the absorbent liquid.",
"The regenerated absorbent liquid is removed from the regeneration column 2 through outlet 15 at the bottom of the column and is recycled to the storage tank 32 through conduits 29 and 49 under the action of a pump (not shown), after having been cooled to the temperature appropriate for the primary absorption by passage through heat exchangers 28 and 48 for transferring the heat respectively to the absorbent liquid to be regenerated conveyed by the conduit 27 to the regeneration column and to the secondary stream of absorbent liquid laden with mercaptans, and then through cooling system 30.",
"The calories needed for boiling the absorbent liquid in the regeneration column are supplied by passage of part of the regenerated liquid removed through outlet 15 into the re-boiler 19 heated by saturated steam passing into the pipe 20 and return of the hot absorbent liquid to the regeneration column by pipe 18.",
"The H 2 S and CO 2 gaseous compounds released in the regeneration column are stripped by the vapors of the absorbent liquid and exit at the top of said column through outlet 13 for discharge through conduit 14.",
"The secondary stream of absorbent liquid charged with mercaptans in the secondary absorption section 4 exits from the secondary section through outlet 12 at the bottom of the section.",
"The absorbent liquid is then conveyed by the conduit 39 into the expansion vessel 41 after being reheated in heat exchanger 48.",
"In vessel 41, the pressure of the liquid is sufficiently reduced so that substantially all the mercaptans dissolved in the absorbent liquid are released, said mercaptans being discharged from expansion vessel 41 through outlet 42 and conduit 43 and mixed with the discharged gases in conduit 25.",
"The absorbent liquid substantially free of mercaptans is removed from the expansion vessel 41 through outlet 44 and returned by the conduit 45, after cooling in the cooling system 47, to the storage tank 32 wherein said absorbent liquid is mixed with the regenerated absorbent liquid from regeneration column 2.",
"An example of the process according to the invention, which example is not limiting, is given below.",
"EXAMPLE A natural gas consisting mostly of methane and containing, by volume, 0.5% H 2 S and 5% CO 2 , and 200 mg/Nm 3 methyl mercaptan and ethyl mercaptan by way of impurities is treated by an apparatus and process analogous to the one described with reference to the figure of the enclosed drawing.",
"The absorption column included a primary absorption section and a secondary absorption section respectively containing 20 and 5 plates and the regeneration column included 21 plates.",
"The absorbent liquid consisted of a diethanolamine aqueous solution (abbreviated DEA) containing 3 moles DEA per liter.",
"The natural gas to be treated entered the primary absorption section 3 through conduit 9 at a rate of 62,000 Nm 3 /h, an absolute pressure of 75 bars and a temperature of about 35° C. The gas was countercurrently contacted with the DEA aqueous solution introduced into primary absorption section 3 through inlet 10 at a rate of 60 m 3 /h and a temperature of about 40° C. In the primary absorption section, almost all the H 2 S and CO 2 acid compounds are absorbed in the DEA aqueous solution, the solution absorbing in this section only a very small part of the mercaptans.",
"Having reached the upper part of the primary absorption section 3, the gas, in the course of treatment, entered the secondary absorption section 4 and was countercurrently contacted by the fraction of DEA aqueous solution introduced into the secondary absorption section through inlet 11 at a rate of 30 m 3 /h and a temperature of about 37° C. In this secondary absorption section, almost all the mercaptans were absorbed by the cooled DEA aqueous solution, and the residual quantities of H 2 S and CO 2 present in the gas were removed.",
"A deacidified natural gas containing, by volume, 2.5 ppm H 2 S and 100 ppm CO 2 and 80 mg/Nm 3 mercaptans was discharged through outlet 6 of column 1.",
"The DEA aqueous solution at the bottom of the regeneration column was raised to a temperature of about 125° C. by saturated steam under an absolute pressure of 4 bars through pipe 20 of the re-boiler 19 so as to maintain an absolute pressure of 2.2 bars at the top of the regeneration column.",
"Through outlet 13, at the top of the regeneration column 2, there was discharged 2,300 Nm 3 /h of an acid gas formed by the acid gases released in the course of the regeneration of the DEA solution containing by volume 14% H 2 S and 85% CO 2 , the rest consisting of water vapor.",
"The reduction of pressure of the DEA aqueous solution charged with H 2 S and CO 2 in the expansion vessel 23 released 50 Nm 3 /h of a gas consisting essentially of methane, said gas being discharged through conduit 25.",
"Through outlet 12 of the secondary absorption section 4, 30 m 3 /h of DEA solution charged with mercaptans were removed.",
"The solution was at a temperature of about 37° C. and an absolute pressure of 74.5 bars.",
"The solution was conveyed, after reheating to about 60° C., in heat exchanger 48, into the expansion vessel 41 wherein the pressure of the solution was lowered to about 2.5 bars absolute.",
"The expansion of the solution released almost all the dissolved mercaptans which were discharged through outlet 42 of expansion vessel 41 and discharge conduit 43.",
"The DEA aqueous solution, practically rid of the mercaptans, was drawn off through outlet 44 and conduit 45 and conveyed, at a rate of 30 m 3 /h, to storage tank 32.",
"The solution was at a temperature of about 40° C. at the exit of cooling system 47.",
"In a comparison test, the natural gas having the above mentioned composition was treated by operating under conditions similar to those defined above, but replacing the absorption column 1 having two absorption sections, primary and secondary, by an absorption column having a single absorption section including 25 plates, single injection of the solution with a delivery of 90 m 3 /h and a temperature of about 40° C. and regeneration of the total DEA aqueous solution laden with absorbed acid compounds in the regeneration column 2 operating by re-boiling.",
"The treated gas at the top of the absorption column contained, by volume, 2.5 ppm H 2 S and 100 ppm CO 2 and 180 mg/Nm 3 mercaptans."
] |
.Iadd.This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/794,661, filed on Nov. 18, 1991, now abandoned., which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/425,310 filed on Oct. 20, 1989, now abandoned. .Iaddend.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention is concerned with a device for joining by calendering at least one sheet of glass and at least one film of plastic material. The device is composed of a series of pressure rollers mounted side-by-side in a flexible manner and cooperating with the pressure rollers, it being understood that the pressure rollers and the counterpressure rollers are each mounted at the extremity of a piston rod, the other extremity of which bears a pressure piston actuated by pneumatic pressure and moving in a pneumatic casing.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Calendering devices of this type are used particularly in the manufacture of automobile windows of laminated glass which are cylindrically or spherically curved, and serving to calender thicknesses of glass and plastic material to be joined or laminated in such a manner that the air occluded between these layers is expelled as far as possible and that a temporary reciprocal joining of the various layers is obtained. Thanks to their flexible mounting, the position of the individual pressure rollers adapts itself to the particular shape of the laminated window. The final joining together of these layers is effected, after a preliminary pressing operation, in the course of an autoclave process involving high temperature and high pressure.
In the case of a known calendering device of the aforementioned type (U.S. Pat. No. 2,983,635), the pressure required is produced by pneumatic jacks in which the pressure piston is in direct contact with the inside wall of the cylinder of the jack, and in this manner provides tightness for the cylinder chamber into which the pressure is introduced. In the case of this known arrangement, the mobility of the pressure rollers leaves much to be desired, due to the inevitably produced friction, and consequently the risk of breaking is increased during the calendering of the laminated window. Because of the friction of the pressure roller in the cylinder of the jack, it becomes necessary, during a change of the shape of the glass sheet, to first use a relatively great force, to wit, the so-called "tearing" force (difference of the frictional force between the static friction and the sliding friction), in such a manner that the piston overcomes the static friction at the level of the cylinder wall. The tearing force required for the individual pressure rollers may, in this case, assume values exceeding the bending stress permissible for a glass sheet, so that it results in breaking of the glass sheet.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention has as its object to improve a calendering device of the type specified in such a manner that the frictional forces acting in the guiding and securing system of the individual pressure rollers are reduced and the positioning forces thus necessary to change the position of the individual pressure rollers are markedly reduced.
This object is realized according to the invention by providing between each pressure roller and the inside wall of the pneumatic casing surrounding it, a spacing for preventing any direct contact between the piston and the inside wall of the pneumatic casing. Inside the pneumatic casing the space where the chamber may be subjected to pressure is isolated from the pressure piston by a very elastic diaphragm of rubbery material, which, under pressure, fits against the surface of the pressure piston's extremity and, by tightly closing the space between the piston and the inside wall of the pneumatic casing, transmits the pneumatic pressure to the piston.
The individual pressure pistons have no sealing function to perform with regard to the walls surrounding them. As a result, there is no friction loss between the surfaces of the piston and a wall of the cylinder tightly surrounding it. To the contrary, the walls of the piston do not contact the lateral sealing surfaces, but move freely in the pneumatic casing without lateral contact with other surfaces.
The pressure pistons do not necessarily have the shape of pistons in the strictest sense. It suffices if, for example, they have the shape of simple pressure plates which transmit the pressure applied by the diaphragm on the guide rods carrying the pressure rollers.
According to an embodiment of the invention, each individual pressure piston is arranged in its own pneumatic casing which is provided with a highly elastic diaphragm that acts only upon this pressure piston arranged in the pneumatic casing. An advantage of such an arrangement lies in the fact that the pressure applied by each piston rod can be regulated independent of the pressure applied by the neighboring piston rods. In this manner, it is possible, for example, to set a pressure curve by which the pairs of pressure rollers situated in the center of the system exert a stronger pressure than the pairs of lateral pressure rollers, which, if necessary, permits squeezing out the air occluded between the layers.
According to another embodiment of the invention the pressure pistons of several pressure rollers and counterpressure rollers arranged side-by-side can be mounted without mutual contact in a common pneumatic casing, the very elastic diaphragm of which, which closes the pressure fed chamber, acts simultaneously on all the pressure pistons arranged in the common pneumatic casing. In the light of this, the pressure pistons of all the pressure rollers arranged side-by-side, on the one hand, and the pressure pistons of all the counterpressure rollers arranged side-by-side, on the other hand, can be mounted in a common pneumatic casing, and a very elastic diaphragm can be provided inside the pneumatic casing acting simultaneously and jointly on all the pressure pistons of the respective pressure rollers or counterpressure rollers. Such an arrangement presents a simplified structure, on the one hand, while on the other hand it assures in a particularly simple manner that the same pressure will act upon all the pressure and counterpressure rollers. Moreover, this arrangement has the advantage that by virtue of the elimination of the individual pneumatic casings, the pressure pistons can be arranged at the shortest distance from one another in such a way that the pressure rollers can be of a narrower type, which means that for the same width of the calendering device, a larger number of pressure rollers can be provided.
The pressure rollers can be arranged indiscriminately in any spatial arrangement. If the pressure rollers, on the one hand, and the counterpressure rollers, on the other hand, are mounted relative to each other in such a manner that the piston rods carrying the pressure rollers are guided horizontally, a calendering system is obtained in which the laminated window to be joined by calendering traverses the system in a vertical position. Such a system is advantageous, for example, for calendering large and heavy sheets of glass for which, in the case of a horizontal calendering operation, difficulties can arise due to the heavy weight of the glass sheets themselves.
Smaller sheets of glass, for example, of the size of windshields of automotive vehicles, are advantageously calendered in a horizontal position in such a manner that the pressure rollers, on the one hand, and the counterpressure rollers, on the other hand, are mounted side-by-side, and that the piston rods run in an essentially vertical direction. In the case of such an arrangement of the pressure rollers, where the piston rods move in the vertical direction or in an essentially vertical direction, it is advantageously possible to compensate for the vertical force components produced by the weight of the guiding equipment of the pressure rollers and/or of the counterpressure rollers. In the case of an exact weight compensation, it is possible that the pressure rollers remain in the height position they respectively occupy, which markedly facilitates the operation of inserting a curved or bent sheet of glass between the pressure rollers, for example. Pneumatic springs with an essentially linear working curve are particularly suitable for the proper weight compensation of the pressure rollers and/or the counterpressure rollers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a calendering device of the invention having a common pneumatic casing for all the pressure rollers and another common pneumatic casing for all the counterpressure rollers;
FIG. 2 is a side elevation view in partial section of the calendering device illustrated in FIG. 1;
FIG. 2A is a detail of FIG. 2;
FIG. 3 is a front vertical section of the calendering device of the invention, in which each piston rod carrying a pressure roller at one extremity is individually fitted in a separate, adjustable pneumatic casing;
FIG. 3a is a view, on a larger scale, of a detail of FIG. 3;
FIG. 4 is a side elevation, in partial section, of the calendering device shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 4A is a detail of FIG. 4;
FIG. 5 is a front vertical section of another calendering device showing the same basic structure, but using an elastically deformable continuous cylindrical body arranged under the pressure rollers to uniformly distribute the pressure;
FIG. 6 is a side elevation in partial section of the calendering device shown in FIG. 5; and
FIG. 6A is a detail of FIG. 6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the calendering devices shown in the drawings, the axes of rotation of the rollers 1, 2 are in substances directed horizontally, and the pressure rollers 1 as well as the counterpressure rollers 2 cooperating with them are arranged one above the other. The product 3 to be laminated by compression is in this case inserted in an approximately horizontal position between the pressure rollers 1, 2. However, it is also possible to use a system in which the axes of rotation of the pressure rollers extend vertically or at another angle in such a manner that the product to be laminated by compression is inserted between the pressure rollers in a vertical position or in another angular position, if for any reason whatsoever this arrangement should prove advantageous.
In the case of the calendering device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper pressure rollers 1 are each mounted in pairs on an axis of rotation 4. The axis of rotation 4 is fixed in its center in a support strip 5 of a pressure roller 1. The support strip 5 is vertically oriented and is mounted on a vertical piston rod 6. At the upper extremity of piston rod 6 is mounted a pressure piston, which has the shape of a pressure plate 7. The counterpressure rollers 2 are mounted in an analogous manner on a short end of common spindle 9 which is fixed at its center in a support strip 10. The support strip 10 is fastened to a piston rod 11 which, at its lower extremity and in the manner of piston, carries a pressure plate 12.
The piston rods 6 and 11 are prevented from turning by, for example, a screw 32 and a slot 33, and are mounted for sliding very freely in ball guide-sleeves 14, 15. The ball guide-sleeve 14 for the piston rods 6 of the pressure rollers are mounted in a common casing 16. In an analogous manner, the ball guide-sleeves 15 for the piston rods 11 of the counterpressure rollers are mounted in a common casing 17. The two casings 16, 17 are fastened to common vertical pillars 18 which, in turn, are respectively provided with bases 19.
A pneumatic casing 22, closed by a closing plate 21, is connected to casing 16 holding the ball guides 14 and is bolted to this casing 16. The piston rods 6 of all the pressure rollers 2 movably extend into this pneumatic casing 22. Between the pressure plates 7 mounted on these piston rods 6 and the closing plate 21, a closed hollow body 23 is arranged inside the casing 22 in the form of a flexible hose and is formed of very elastic rubber. Instead of being formed by a flexible hose, the hollow body can also be formed by the closing plate 21 and a rubber diaphragm that is tightly squeezed between the casing 22 and the closing plate 21. The hollow body 23 is joined to a connecting pipe 24 for the admission of compressed air. Under the effect of the compressed air, the hollow body 23 expands, applies itself against all the pressure plates 7 arranged side-by-side and exerts the same pressure on all the pressure plates 7.
The counterpressure rollers 2 are also actuated by pressure in a manner similar to that for pressure rollers 1. The pneumatic casing 27, closed by plate 26, is joined to casing 17 which defines the ball guide-sleeves 15 for the piston rods 11 carrying the counterpressure rollers 2. The piston rods 11 provided with pressure plates 12 extend into this pneumatic casing 27. Between pressure plates 12 and plate 26, a closed hollow body 28 is arranged inside pneumatic casing 27 in the form of a flexible hose and is formed of very elastic rubber. The hollow body 28 is joined to hose coupling 29. A pipe 30 connects the two feeder couplings 24 and 29 and thus the two hollow bodies 23 and 28 to each other, so that an equalization of pressure is continually established between them. The pipe 30 is connected to an adjustable source of compressed air by means of conduit 31.
In the case of the calendering device illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the pressure rollers 41 are mounted for rotation around the axles 42 which in turn are each mounted in a pivoting piece 43. This pivoting piece 43 is, in turn, mounted for rotation around a pin 44. The pin 44 is mounted in a support yoke 45. The support yoke 45 is mounted at the lower extremity of piston rod 46. A piston 47 is mounted on the upper extremity of piston rod 46 and moves up and down inside pneumatic casing 48 which has the form of a pressure cylinder. The pneumatic casing 48 is formed of two parts 48' and 48" which are bolted to each other by means of a flanged joint 49. A rubber diaphragm 50 is squeezed between the two flanged joints 49. The pneumatic pressure introduced by pressure coupling 51 into the pneumatic casing 48 acts on the diaphragm 50 which transmits the pressure to piston 47.
As shown in FIG. 3a, in particular, it is also possible that in place of a taut diaphragm which expands under pressure action, a diaphragm 50 is used of very flexible rubbery material of a shape and dimension that fits the piston such that no stretching of the diaphragm is required, since this diaphragm 50 is in effect folded about itself. When the piston is moving, it unfolds between the piston and the inside wall of the pneumatic casing. In this case, the distance between the surface of the piston and the inside wall of the cylinder should be such that, during this unfolding operation, the surfaces of diaphragm 50 which move while facing each other do not touch each other. Thanks to this unfolding operation of diaphragm 50, there is also avoided any friction between the surfaces which move towards each other since the "folding" involves a rolling motion.
The pneumatic casing 48 is fastened to a console 53 which also forms the support for a ball guide-sleeve 54. The piston rod 46 glides inside this ball guide-sleeve 54 with a minimum loss due to friction. Means are provided for preventing piston rod 46 from turning around its axis. The individual consoles 53 are arranged side-by-side on a horizontal support crosspiece 55 which, together with the vertical pillars 56 and the lower horizontal support crosspiece 57, form the frame of the machine which is mounted for pivoting in its entirety on horizontal axles 58.
The counterpressure rollers 61 are mounted in a comparable manner. Their axles of rotation 62 are arranged in a pivoting piece 63 which, in turn, is mounted for revolving around pin 64 in yoke 65. The yoke 65 is fastened to the upper extremity of piston rod 66, the lower extremity of which carries the piston 67. Piston 67 moves in the vertical direction inside pneumatic casing 68 which again is in the form of a pressure cylinder and which is constituted of two parts 68' and 68" joined by a joint 69. A very elastic and greatly expandable diaphragm 70 is squeezed between the two flanges of joint 69 and transmits the pneumatic pressure into the pneumatic casing 68 through feed pipe 71. The diameter of piston 67 is again smaller than the inside diameter of pneumatic casing 68 to such an extent that despite the insertion of diaphragm 70 between the piston and the inside wall of pneumatic casing 68, a friction-free movement of piston 67 inside the pneumatic casing 68 will be possible. That is, the structure and operation of piston 67 and diaphragm 70 correspond to that of piston 47 and diaphragm 50. The pneumatic casing 68 is mounted on a console 73 which at the same time forms the assembly support for the ball guide-sleeve 74 in which the piston rod 68 slides in a friction-free manner and without being able to turn around its axis. The consoles 73 are mounted side-by-side on the horizontal support crosspiece 57 of the frame of the pivotable machine.
Due to their own weight, the equipment elements move in the vertical direction, so that the pressure roller 41 and the counterpressure roller 42 always occupy a position at the lower extremity so long as they are not lifted up into a higher position by the product 3 to be laminated by calendering. After the passage of a product 3 to be laminated, they therefore descend to their lowermost position and are partially raised by the rigid sheet of product 3 to be laminated. In this manner, supplementary curving forces act on the sheet of glass. To avoid submitting the sheet of glass to such stresses, a pneumatic spring 76 is arranged between the yoke 65 and the console 73, this spring being dimensioned or set in such a manner that the weight of the movable elements is compensated. Advantageously, a pneumatic spring 76 with a linear working curve is used. Thanks to the presence of pneumatic spring 76, the adjustment forces--in the case of a change of position of the pressure rollers--are extremely weak, so that the adaptation of the top position of the pressure rollers to the shape of the glass sheet is effected solely upon the intervention of the glass sheet that is introduced between the rollers, and requires no additional adjustment measure. After the passage of the glass sheet between the pairs of rollers, the pressure rollers remain in the top position which they occupy by virtue of the action of the raised glass sheet.
Certain ones of the counterpressure rollers 61, for example, two of them, are rotatably driven to transport the product 3 between the pressure rollers. Such a revolving carrying mechanism is illustrated in FIG. 4. A support plate 78 is mounted on yoke 65 and carries a drive motor 79. The toothed drive wheel 80 drives a drive chain 81 which transmits the movement of rotation to a toothed wheel 82 mounted coaxially on counterpressure roller 61 and rigidly joined to it. Thus the rotation of the drive motor 79 rotates the rollers 61 to advance a product 3.
The bearings 84 carrying the pivoting axes 58 of the frame of the machine are mounted on appropriate pedestals 85.
The pressure coupling 51 terminating in each pneumatic casing 48 is connected directly to a pressure coupling 71 which terminates at one pneumatic casing 68 so that the same pneumatic pressure always acts on pressure rollers 41 and on counterpressure rollers 61 cooperating therewith. A separate pressure coupling 86 feeds each set of the pressure couplings 51 and 71 with compressed air. A pressure reducing valve 87 is arranged in each pressure coupling 86, by means of which the pressure therein can be adjusted. Separate sets of pressure coupling pressure reducing valves are provided for each cooperating pair of pressure rollers and counterpressure rollers arranged side-by-side. In this manner, the pressure obtaining in each set of two rollers acting in opposite directions to each other can be regulated independent of the neighboring sets of pressure rollers, so that different compression pressures can be set along the width of the calendering device.
The calendering device illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 is constructed precisely as that illustrted in FIGS. 3 and 4, insofar as the arrangement and mounting of pressure rollers 41 and counterpressure rollers 61 are concerned, as well as the configuration of pistons 47 and 67, pneumatic casings 48 and 68, diaphragms 50 and 70, weight compensation pneumatic springs 76 and the revolving drive using drive motor 79. The supply of pressure to pneumatic casings 48 and 68 by the pressure couplings 86, 51 and 71 is also effected in the same manner, with the pneumatic pressure adjustable to the desired value in each set of two elements working in opposite directions, independent of the neighboring systems. This is done in each case by means of a pressure reducing valve 87.
Contrary to the embodiments described above, the pressure rollers 41 do not, however, act directly on the product 3, but rather, a continuous cylindrical body 90 is inserted between the pressure rollers 41 and the product 3. The cylindrical body 90 is made of an elastically deformable material, whose elastic deformation capacity is so great that it can appropriately adapt itself to the shape of the glass sheet. The cylindrical body 90 is supported at its two extremities by suitable thrust bearings 91 in such a manner as to be unable to slide laterally. It is so mounted without being secured and is held in its position by support rollers 92 which are mounted to revolve on support arms 93 behind the calendering device, which support arms in turn are mounted on the yokes 45 carrying the pressure rollers 41. The support rollers 92 are dimensioned and arranged in such a manner that the central axis of the cylindrical body 90 is set off by the distance A behind the plate determined by the axes of rotation of the pressure rollers and counterpressure rollers, respectively. A stable positioning of cylindrical body 90 is thusly obtained.
The cylindrical body 90 serves to uniformize the pressure forces exerted by the pressure rollers 41 on the product 3 in such a manner that a more uniform surface pressure is exerted on this product. This is particularly important when the product-to-be-laminated 3 is constituted by a sheet of glass or a film of plastic material on which a relatively soft layer of plastic material is to be applied as an anti-splintering coating or, in the case of a substrate of plastic material, as a covering layer to improve the resistance against scratches and scores.
Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. | A calendering device has a plurality of pressure rollers and an opposing plurality of counterpressure rollers, each rotatably mounted on a piston rod movable in a direction for permitting the pressure rollers and counterpressure rollers to approach one another to calender a product. The pistons of the piston rods are mounted within pneumatic casings and are moved by a diaphragm within the pneumatic casings. There is no contact between the pistons and the walls of the pneumatic casings, thereby reducing the frictional resistance to the movement of the rollers. Means are provided for equalizing the pressure applied to a roller and its corresponding counter roller. Separate pneumatic casings and diaphragms may be provided for each piston rod, or several of the pressure rollers or counterpressure rollers may be moved by a single diaphragm, which can be in the form of an elongated hose. In the case of the provision of individual pneumatic casings for each roller, pressure regulating means can be provided for each pair of a pressure roller and its corresponding counterpressure roller. | Summarize the key points of the given document. | [
"Iadd.",
"This application is a continuation of application Ser.",
"No. 07/794,661, filed on Nov. 18, 1991, now abandoned.",
", which is a continuation of application Ser.",
"No. 07/425,310 filed on Oct. 20, 1989, now abandoned.",
"Iaddend.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention This invention is concerned with a device for joining by calendering at least one sheet of glass and at least one film of plastic material.",
"The device is composed of a series of pressure rollers mounted side-by-side in a flexible manner and cooperating with the pressure rollers, it being understood that the pressure rollers and the counterpressure rollers are each mounted at the extremity of a piston rod, the other extremity of which bears a pressure piston actuated by pneumatic pressure and moving in a pneumatic casing.",
"Discussion of the Related Art Calendering devices of this type are used particularly in the manufacture of automobile windows of laminated glass which are cylindrically or spherically curved, and serving to calender thicknesses of glass and plastic material to be joined or laminated in such a manner that the air occluded between these layers is expelled as far as possible and that a temporary reciprocal joining of the various layers is obtained.",
"Thanks to their flexible mounting, the position of the individual pressure rollers adapts itself to the particular shape of the laminated window.",
"The final joining together of these layers is effected, after a preliminary pressing operation, in the course of an autoclave process involving high temperature and high pressure.",
"In the case of a known calendering device of the aforementioned type (U.S. Pat. No. 2,983,635), the pressure required is produced by pneumatic jacks in which the pressure piston is in direct contact with the inside wall of the cylinder of the jack, and in this manner provides tightness for the cylinder chamber into which the pressure is introduced.",
"In the case of this known arrangement, the mobility of the pressure rollers leaves much to be desired, due to the inevitably produced friction, and consequently the risk of breaking is increased during the calendering of the laminated window.",
"Because of the friction of the pressure roller in the cylinder of the jack, it becomes necessary, during a change of the shape of the glass sheet, to first use a relatively great force, to wit, the so-called "tearing"",
"force (difference of the frictional force between the static friction and the sliding friction), in such a manner that the piston overcomes the static friction at the level of the cylinder wall.",
"The tearing force required for the individual pressure rollers may, in this case, assume values exceeding the bending stress permissible for a glass sheet, so that it results in breaking of the glass sheet.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention has as its object to improve a calendering device of the type specified in such a manner that the frictional forces acting in the guiding and securing system of the individual pressure rollers are reduced and the positioning forces thus necessary to change the position of the individual pressure rollers are markedly reduced.",
"This object is realized according to the invention by providing between each pressure roller and the inside wall of the pneumatic casing surrounding it, a spacing for preventing any direct contact between the piston and the inside wall of the pneumatic casing.",
"Inside the pneumatic casing the space where the chamber may be subjected to pressure is isolated from the pressure piston by a very elastic diaphragm of rubbery material, which, under pressure, fits against the surface of the pressure piston's extremity and, by tightly closing the space between the piston and the inside wall of the pneumatic casing, transmits the pneumatic pressure to the piston.",
"The individual pressure pistons have no sealing function to perform with regard to the walls surrounding them.",
"As a result, there is no friction loss between the surfaces of the piston and a wall of the cylinder tightly surrounding it.",
"To the contrary, the walls of the piston do not contact the lateral sealing surfaces, but move freely in the pneumatic casing without lateral contact with other surfaces.",
"The pressure pistons do not necessarily have the shape of pistons in the strictest sense.",
"It suffices if, for example, they have the shape of simple pressure plates which transmit the pressure applied by the diaphragm on the guide rods carrying the pressure rollers.",
"According to an embodiment of the invention, each individual pressure piston is arranged in its own pneumatic casing which is provided with a highly elastic diaphragm that acts only upon this pressure piston arranged in the pneumatic casing.",
"An advantage of such an arrangement lies in the fact that the pressure applied by each piston rod can be regulated independent of the pressure applied by the neighboring piston rods.",
"In this manner, it is possible, for example, to set a pressure curve by which the pairs of pressure rollers situated in the center of the system exert a stronger pressure than the pairs of lateral pressure rollers, which, if necessary, permits squeezing out the air occluded between the layers.",
"According to another embodiment of the invention the pressure pistons of several pressure rollers and counterpressure rollers arranged side-by-side can be mounted without mutual contact in a common pneumatic casing, the very elastic diaphragm of which, which closes the pressure fed chamber, acts simultaneously on all the pressure pistons arranged in the common pneumatic casing.",
"In the light of this, the pressure pistons of all the pressure rollers arranged side-by-side, on the one hand, and the pressure pistons of all the counterpressure rollers arranged side-by-side, on the other hand, can be mounted in a common pneumatic casing, and a very elastic diaphragm can be provided inside the pneumatic casing acting simultaneously and jointly on all the pressure pistons of the respective pressure rollers or counterpressure rollers.",
"Such an arrangement presents a simplified structure, on the one hand, while on the other hand it assures in a particularly simple manner that the same pressure will act upon all the pressure and counterpressure rollers.",
"Moreover, this arrangement has the advantage that by virtue of the elimination of the individual pneumatic casings, the pressure pistons can be arranged at the shortest distance from one another in such a way that the pressure rollers can be of a narrower type, which means that for the same width of the calendering device, a larger number of pressure rollers can be provided.",
"The pressure rollers can be arranged indiscriminately in any spatial arrangement.",
"If the pressure rollers, on the one hand, and the counterpressure rollers, on the other hand, are mounted relative to each other in such a manner that the piston rods carrying the pressure rollers are guided horizontally, a calendering system is obtained in which the laminated window to be joined by calendering traverses the system in a vertical position.",
"Such a system is advantageous, for example, for calendering large and heavy sheets of glass for which, in the case of a horizontal calendering operation, difficulties can arise due to the heavy weight of the glass sheets themselves.",
"Smaller sheets of glass, for example, of the size of windshields of automotive vehicles, are advantageously calendered in a horizontal position in such a manner that the pressure rollers, on the one hand, and the counterpressure rollers, on the other hand, are mounted side-by-side, and that the piston rods run in an essentially vertical direction.",
"In the case of such an arrangement of the pressure rollers, where the piston rods move in the vertical direction or in an essentially vertical direction, it is advantageously possible to compensate for the vertical force components produced by the weight of the guiding equipment of the pressure rollers and/or of the counterpressure rollers.",
"In the case of an exact weight compensation, it is possible that the pressure rollers remain in the height position they respectively occupy, which markedly facilitates the operation of inserting a curved or bent sheet of glass between the pressure rollers, for example.",
"Pneumatic springs with an essentially linear working curve are particularly suitable for the proper weight compensation of the pressure rollers and/or the counterpressure rollers.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views and wherein: FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a calendering device of the invention having a common pneumatic casing for all the pressure rollers and another common pneumatic casing for all the counterpressure rollers;",
"FIG. 2 is a side elevation view in partial section of the calendering device illustrated in FIG. 1;",
"FIG. 2A is a detail of FIG. 2;",
"FIG. 3 is a front vertical section of the calendering device of the invention, in which each piston rod carrying a pressure roller at one extremity is individually fitted in a separate, adjustable pneumatic casing;",
"FIG. 3a is a view, on a larger scale, of a detail of FIG. 3;",
"FIG. 4 is a side elevation, in partial section, of the calendering device shown in FIG. 3;",
"FIG. 4A is a detail of FIG. 4;",
"FIG. 5 is a front vertical section of another calendering device showing the same basic structure, but using an elastically deformable continuous cylindrical body arranged under the pressure rollers to uniformly distribute the pressure;",
"FIG. 6 is a side elevation in partial section of the calendering device shown in FIG. 5;",
"and FIG. 6A is a detail of FIG. 6. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the calendering devices shown in the drawings, the axes of rotation of the rollers 1, 2 are in substances directed horizontally, and the pressure rollers 1 as well as the counterpressure rollers 2 cooperating with them are arranged one above the other.",
"The product 3 to be laminated by compression is in this case inserted in an approximately horizontal position between the pressure rollers 1, 2.",
"However, it is also possible to use a system in which the axes of rotation of the pressure rollers extend vertically or at another angle in such a manner that the product to be laminated by compression is inserted between the pressure rollers in a vertical position or in another angular position, if for any reason whatsoever this arrangement should prove advantageous.",
"In the case of the calendering device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper pressure rollers 1 are each mounted in pairs on an axis of rotation 4.",
"The axis of rotation 4 is fixed in its center in a support strip 5 of a pressure roller 1.",
"The support strip 5 is vertically oriented and is mounted on a vertical piston rod 6.",
"At the upper extremity of piston rod 6 is mounted a pressure piston, which has the shape of a pressure plate 7.",
"The counterpressure rollers 2 are mounted in an analogous manner on a short end of common spindle 9 which is fixed at its center in a support strip 10.",
"The support strip 10 is fastened to a piston rod 11 which, at its lower extremity and in the manner of piston, carries a pressure plate 12.",
"The piston rods 6 and 11 are prevented from turning by, for example, a screw 32 and a slot 33, and are mounted for sliding very freely in ball guide-sleeves 14, 15.",
"The ball guide-sleeve 14 for the piston rods 6 of the pressure rollers are mounted in a common casing 16.",
"In an analogous manner, the ball guide-sleeves 15 for the piston rods 11 of the counterpressure rollers are mounted in a common casing 17.",
"The two casings 16, 17 are fastened to common vertical pillars 18 which, in turn, are respectively provided with bases 19.",
"A pneumatic casing 22, closed by a closing plate 21, is connected to casing 16 holding the ball guides 14 and is bolted to this casing 16.",
"The piston rods 6 of all the pressure rollers 2 movably extend into this pneumatic casing 22.",
"Between the pressure plates 7 mounted on these piston rods 6 and the closing plate 21, a closed hollow body 23 is arranged inside the casing 22 in the form of a flexible hose and is formed of very elastic rubber.",
"Instead of being formed by a flexible hose, the hollow body can also be formed by the closing plate 21 and a rubber diaphragm that is tightly squeezed between the casing 22 and the closing plate 21.",
"The hollow body 23 is joined to a connecting pipe 24 for the admission of compressed air.",
"Under the effect of the compressed air, the hollow body 23 expands, applies itself against all the pressure plates 7 arranged side-by-side and exerts the same pressure on all the pressure plates 7.",
"The counterpressure rollers 2 are also actuated by pressure in a manner similar to that for pressure rollers 1.",
"The pneumatic casing 27, closed by plate 26, is joined to casing 17 which defines the ball guide-sleeves 15 for the piston rods 11 carrying the counterpressure rollers 2.",
"The piston rods 11 provided with pressure plates 12 extend into this pneumatic casing 27.",
"Between pressure plates 12 and plate 26, a closed hollow body 28 is arranged inside pneumatic casing 27 in the form of a flexible hose and is formed of very elastic rubber.",
"The hollow body 28 is joined to hose coupling 29.",
"A pipe 30 connects the two feeder couplings 24 and 29 and thus the two hollow bodies 23 and 28 to each other, so that an equalization of pressure is continually established between them.",
"The pipe 30 is connected to an adjustable source of compressed air by means of conduit 31.",
"In the case of the calendering device illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the pressure rollers 41 are mounted for rotation around the axles 42 which in turn are each mounted in a pivoting piece 43.",
"This pivoting piece 43 is, in turn, mounted for rotation around a pin 44.",
"The pin 44 is mounted in a support yoke 45.",
"The support yoke 45 is mounted at the lower extremity of piston rod 46.",
"A piston 47 is mounted on the upper extremity of piston rod 46 and moves up and down inside pneumatic casing 48 which has the form of a pressure cylinder.",
"The pneumatic casing 48 is formed of two parts 48'",
"and 48"",
"which are bolted to each other by means of a flanged joint 49.",
"A rubber diaphragm 50 is squeezed between the two flanged joints 49.",
"The pneumatic pressure introduced by pressure coupling 51 into the pneumatic casing 48 acts on the diaphragm 50 which transmits the pressure to piston 47.",
"As shown in FIG. 3a, in particular, it is also possible that in place of a taut diaphragm which expands under pressure action, a diaphragm 50 is used of very flexible rubbery material of a shape and dimension that fits the piston such that no stretching of the diaphragm is required, since this diaphragm 50 is in effect folded about itself.",
"When the piston is moving, it unfolds between the piston and the inside wall of the pneumatic casing.",
"In this case, the distance between the surface of the piston and the inside wall of the cylinder should be such that, during this unfolding operation, the surfaces of diaphragm 50 which move while facing each other do not touch each other.",
"Thanks to this unfolding operation of diaphragm 50, there is also avoided any friction between the surfaces which move towards each other since the "folding"",
"involves a rolling motion.",
"The pneumatic casing 48 is fastened to a console 53 which also forms the support for a ball guide-sleeve 54.",
"The piston rod 46 glides inside this ball guide-sleeve 54 with a minimum loss due to friction.",
"Means are provided for preventing piston rod 46 from turning around its axis.",
"The individual consoles 53 are arranged side-by-side on a horizontal support crosspiece 55 which, together with the vertical pillars 56 and the lower horizontal support crosspiece 57, form the frame of the machine which is mounted for pivoting in its entirety on horizontal axles 58.",
"The counterpressure rollers 61 are mounted in a comparable manner.",
"Their axles of rotation 62 are arranged in a pivoting piece 63 which, in turn, is mounted for revolving around pin 64 in yoke 65.",
"The yoke 65 is fastened to the upper extremity of piston rod 66, the lower extremity of which carries the piston 67.",
"Piston 67 moves in the vertical direction inside pneumatic casing 68 which again is in the form of a pressure cylinder and which is constituted of two parts 68'",
"and 68"",
"joined by a joint 69.",
"A very elastic and greatly expandable diaphragm 70 is squeezed between the two flanges of joint 69 and transmits the pneumatic pressure into the pneumatic casing 68 through feed pipe 71.",
"The diameter of piston 67 is again smaller than the inside diameter of pneumatic casing 68 to such an extent that despite the insertion of diaphragm 70 between the piston and the inside wall of pneumatic casing 68, a friction-free movement of piston 67 inside the pneumatic casing 68 will be possible.",
"That is, the structure and operation of piston 67 and diaphragm 70 correspond to that of piston 47 and diaphragm 50.",
"The pneumatic casing 68 is mounted on a console 73 which at the same time forms the assembly support for the ball guide-sleeve 74 in which the piston rod 68 slides in a friction-free manner and without being able to turn around its axis.",
"The consoles 73 are mounted side-by-side on the horizontal support crosspiece 57 of the frame of the pivotable machine.",
"Due to their own weight, the equipment elements move in the vertical direction, so that the pressure roller 41 and the counterpressure roller 42 always occupy a position at the lower extremity so long as they are not lifted up into a higher position by the product 3 to be laminated by calendering.",
"After the passage of a product 3 to be laminated, they therefore descend to their lowermost position and are partially raised by the rigid sheet of product 3 to be laminated.",
"In this manner, supplementary curving forces act on the sheet of glass.",
"To avoid submitting the sheet of glass to such stresses, a pneumatic spring 76 is arranged between the yoke 65 and the console 73, this spring being dimensioned or set in such a manner that the weight of the movable elements is compensated.",
"Advantageously, a pneumatic spring 76 with a linear working curve is used.",
"Thanks to the presence of pneumatic spring 76, the adjustment forces--in the case of a change of position of the pressure rollers--are extremely weak, so that the adaptation of the top position of the pressure rollers to the shape of the glass sheet is effected solely upon the intervention of the glass sheet that is introduced between the rollers, and requires no additional adjustment measure.",
"After the passage of the glass sheet between the pairs of rollers, the pressure rollers remain in the top position which they occupy by virtue of the action of the raised glass sheet.",
"Certain ones of the counterpressure rollers 61, for example, two of them, are rotatably driven to transport the product 3 between the pressure rollers.",
"Such a revolving carrying mechanism is illustrated in FIG. 4. A support plate 78 is mounted on yoke 65 and carries a drive motor 79.",
"The toothed drive wheel 80 drives a drive chain 81 which transmits the movement of rotation to a toothed wheel 82 mounted coaxially on counterpressure roller 61 and rigidly joined to it.",
"Thus the rotation of the drive motor 79 rotates the rollers 61 to advance a product 3.",
"The bearings 84 carrying the pivoting axes 58 of the frame of the machine are mounted on appropriate pedestals 85.",
"The pressure coupling 51 terminating in each pneumatic casing 48 is connected directly to a pressure coupling 71 which terminates at one pneumatic casing 68 so that the same pneumatic pressure always acts on pressure rollers 41 and on counterpressure rollers 61 cooperating therewith.",
"A separate pressure coupling 86 feeds each set of the pressure couplings 51 and 71 with compressed air.",
"A pressure reducing valve 87 is arranged in each pressure coupling 86, by means of which the pressure therein can be adjusted.",
"Separate sets of pressure coupling pressure reducing valves are provided for each cooperating pair of pressure rollers and counterpressure rollers arranged side-by-side.",
"In this manner, the pressure obtaining in each set of two rollers acting in opposite directions to each other can be regulated independent of the neighboring sets of pressure rollers, so that different compression pressures can be set along the width of the calendering device.",
"The calendering device illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 is constructed precisely as that illustrted in FIGS. 3 and 4, insofar as the arrangement and mounting of pressure rollers 41 and counterpressure rollers 61 are concerned, as well as the configuration of pistons 47 and 67, pneumatic casings 48 and 68, diaphragms 50 and 70, weight compensation pneumatic springs 76 and the revolving drive using drive motor 79.",
"The supply of pressure to pneumatic casings 48 and 68 by the pressure couplings 86, 51 and 71 is also effected in the same manner, with the pneumatic pressure adjustable to the desired value in each set of two elements working in opposite directions, independent of the neighboring systems.",
"This is done in each case by means of a pressure reducing valve 87.",
"Contrary to the embodiments described above, the pressure rollers 41 do not, however, act directly on the product 3, but rather, a continuous cylindrical body 90 is inserted between the pressure rollers 41 and the product 3.",
"The cylindrical body 90 is made of an elastically deformable material, whose elastic deformation capacity is so great that it can appropriately adapt itself to the shape of the glass sheet.",
"The cylindrical body 90 is supported at its two extremities by suitable thrust bearings 91 in such a manner as to be unable to slide laterally.",
"It is so mounted without being secured and is held in its position by support rollers 92 which are mounted to revolve on support arms 93 behind the calendering device, which support arms in turn are mounted on the yokes 45 carrying the pressure rollers 41.",
"The support rollers 92 are dimensioned and arranged in such a manner that the central axis of the cylindrical body 90 is set off by the distance A behind the plate determined by the axes of rotation of the pressure rollers and counterpressure rollers, respectively.",
"A stable positioning of cylindrical body 90 is thusly obtained.",
"The cylindrical body 90 serves to uniformize the pressure forces exerted by the pressure rollers 41 on the product 3 in such a manner that a more uniform surface pressure is exerted on this product.",
"This is particularly important when the product-to-be-laminated 3 is constituted by a sheet of glass or a film of plastic material on which a relatively soft layer of plastic material is to be applied as an anti-splintering coating or, in the case of a substrate of plastic material, as a covering layer to improve the resistance against scratches and scores.",
"Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings.",
"It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The field of the present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for determining a power generating capability of a power generating system.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Solar, wind and other sources have increasingly become an attractive source of electrical energy and have been recognized as clean, renewable and alternative forms of energy. Such renewable energy sources may include wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, biomass, and/or any other renewable energy sources.
[0003] Due to many factors, a power generating system may not be operating at full capacity (i.e., outputting 100% of the electrical power the power generating system is capable of generating). For example, environmental conditions, such as reduced irradiance (solar power) or low winds (wind power) and the like may cause the power generating system to operate below full capacity. Mechanical, electrical and software malfunctions may also cause a power generating system to operate below full capacity. Improper maintenance, soiled, dirty and iced-over components may also cause undesirable reductions in power output. Additionally, intentional curtailment of output power by a system operator may be initiated to reduce the power generating system to operate below full capacity. Combinations of such factors that reduce power output below full capacity are also possible.
[0004] When a power generating system operates below full capacity, revenue may be lost due to the loss of value of the energy not being produced. Due to contractual obligations between power producers and grid operators, the circumstances affecting below full capacity operation may affect financial liability of such lost revenue. For example, intentional curtailment to limit power output may obligate the party who curtailed the power output. In other situations, such as lack of maintenance, or malfunctioning equipment, one or more parties may be responsible for the lost revenues attributable to the below full capacity operation. Typical models used for determining full capacity of power generating systems are based upon ideal conditions and do not account for changing environmental conditions and degradation of components. Typical models may thus provide inaccurate determinations of the full capacity of a power generating system.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] FIG. 1 is an exemplary block diagram of a power generation capability system of the present disclosure.
[0006] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0007] In one aspect, a system for determining the output capacity of a power generating system comprises a power measuring device in communication with the power generating system that determines an instantaneous power output level of the power generating system. A sensor monitors at least one condition of the power generating system and outputs the monitored condition data and a power capability determination device dynamically determines a full capacity of the power generating system based upon the outputted environmental data from the electronic controller.
[0008] In another aspect, a method for determining an output capacity of a power generating comprises measuring an instantaneous power output level of the power generating system, monitoring at least one condition of the power generating system and outputting the monitored condition data and determining a full capacity of the power generating system based upon the monitored condition data.
[0009] In a further aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program comprising a method for determining the output capacity of a power generating system comprises measuring an instantaneous power output level of the power generating system. At least one condition of the power generating system is monitored and the monitored condition data is outputted. A full capacity of the power generating system is determined based upon the monitored condition data.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The systems and methods for determining a power generating capability of a power generating system according to the present disclosure are capable of providing information to an operator regarding the possible full capacity of the power generating system. Systems and methods described herein may employ adaptive models, which provide a learning and corrective ability to making the determination of power generating capability. Thus the systems and methods described herein are capable of providing the ability to, for example, account for degradation, environmental conditions, system anomalies and the like.
[0011] In the power generation industry, for example the photo-voltaic (PV) (e.g., solar power) generation industry, the power produced by the PV modules may be direct-current (DC) power. The DC power is converted through suitable electronics to alternating current (AC) for export to a power grid. One design feature of the converting electronics is their ability to modulate the DC voltage on which the PV modules act so as to maximize the instantaneous power output of the system. Operation of the system in this manner maximizes the conversion efficiency of the system and is the normal mode of operation.
[0012] However, in certain cases the system may not be operating in the manner that maximizes the conversion efficiency. For instance, any of the following reasons may lead to the system not operating at a maximum conversion efficiency: the system has been turned off intentionally by an operator; one or more devices in the system are malfunctioning; the system has been intentionally curtailed by an operator to limit the power being produced, and environmental factors such as temperature, wind conditions, soiled components, irradiance and the like.
[0013] In any of the above circumstances the operator of the system may have a desire to know how much power the system might have produced (i.e., the full capacity) if it had been operating normally and/or in ideal environmental conditions. The full capacity information may be used to generate certain quantifiable metrics that characterize operation of the system over a given time period as well as the environment the system is operating in. The information may also be used in conjunction with terms of a commercial agreement to adjust payments made by or to the system owner or operator.
[0014] The described embodiments of the present disclosure allow the system operator to determine, in real time, the amount of power that could have been generated vis-à-vis the instantaneous power that is being generated by the system. Such data facilitates timing of when to begin and end maintenance on the system. Further, the data may also be stored and aggregated over a time period to characterize performance of the system over time. Additionally, the data may also be used in conjunction with weather forecasting to estimate future power production from the facility, allowing grid operators the ability to better balance power demand with power generating capacity.
[0015] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a system for determining the output capacity of a power generating system according to the present disclosure. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , monitored equipment status data 200 is provided to a system state determination module 100 of the power capability determination device 102 at step 202 . Equipment status includes, for example, monitored data related to a condition of the power generating system components, as shown at step 200 of FIG. 2 . Such data may include an indication of whether components of the system are on-line, warming-up, operating normally, malfunctioning and the like. Further, environmental data is provided to power capability determination device 102 . Such environmental data includes, for example, operating conditions of one or more components of the power generating system. In one embodiment, temperature sensors (not shown) provide ambient air temperature readings of the PV modules. In other embodiments, additional data is provided by sensors, including but not limited to, an amount of cloud cover, irradiance levels, an amount of soil cover on power generating modules, rain data, humidity levels, barometric pressure and any other parameters that allow the systems and methods of the present disclosure to operate as described herein.
[0016] In one embodiment, as shown at steps 204 , 206 , and 208 , system state determination module 100 receives the equipment status data and processes, combines, analyzes, stores and/or provides one or more of the equipment status conditions to adaptive learning module 104 and/or adaptive model corrections module 106 . In another embodiment, the environmental data may is provided to adaptive learning module 104 .
[0017] In one embodiment, adaptive learning module 104 provides a learning function that facilitates making a determination on the full capacity power production of the system. In another embodiment, adaptive learning module 104 is configured to adapt to the physical traits of the system. For example, adaptive learning module 104 correlates the equipment status data and instantaneous power data to develop system power data over time. As another example, the adaptive learning module 104 correlates an environmental condition, such as 30% cloud cover, to a given instantaneous power (e.g., 30% reduction in output power). A further example is a correlation between the number of years of use of a PV cell with a percent degradation in performance (e.g., after 3 years of use, a PV module may generate only 95% of the power it generates when new). Adaptive learning module 104 thus is capable of providing degradation trends, instantaneously and over a time period. The learning capability and correlations, and the learning module are capable of correlating any given data in a manner that allows the systems and method disclosed herein to operate as described. Over time, a large database of information from adaptive learning module 104 may be stored, thus providing the ability to anticipate a future instantaneous power with anticipated environmental conditions.
[0018] In one embodiment, data provided by adaptive learning module 104 is used directly (e.g., output to a display or printed) or provided to a corrections module 106 . In another embodiment, corrections module 106 utilizes data output from the adaptive learning module 104 to calculate a corrections factor 210 for a theoretical full capacity of the power generating system. For example, corrections module 106 calculates a corrections factor based upon a look-up table, which compares given adaptive learning module output values to corrections factors. In yet another embodiment, the performance characteristics of individual modules (such as individual PV modules) of the power system are programmed into corrections module 106 along with additional system characteristics such as, for example, line losses, converter efficiency data at various operating points and/or correction factors for non-measured environmental data, such as component degradation and module soiling (e.g., dirt, ice, bugs and the like) accumulation data. In embodiments, the performance characteristics are associated with, for example in a look-up table, one or more corresponding corrections factors. Implementation of the corrections factors is further discussed below.
[0019] In one embodiment, power capability determination device 102 includes a theoretical power production module 108 . Theoretical power production module 108 calculates a theoretical full capacity of the power generating system for given environmental conditions. In one embodiment, theoretical power production module 108 calculates the theoretical full capacity based upon one or more of manufacturer provided specifications, experimental test data, ideal operating conditions data and the like.
[0020] In one embodiment, power capability determination device 102 combines, in a combination module 110 , the theoretical power output from theoretical power module 108 with a correction factor output from corrections module 106 . The corrections factor modifies 212 the theoretical power output values in a manner that provides a more realistic estimate of the possible power (full capacity) 214 that the power generating system could produce at a given time. Thus, the estimated full capacity value outputted from combination module 110 may be an adjusted value of the theoretical full capacity that takes into account the factors supplied to adaptive learning module 104 and corrections module 106 .
[0021] In one embodiment, a system operator or a comparison device 112 compares 216 the instantaneous measured power of the system with the estimated possible power (estimated full capacity) that the system could be producing. For example, this allows the operator to account for a variance in the instantaneous power to the theoretical full capacity. As another example, an operator gathers from the data, that due to system degradation, the PV modules are underproducing compared to a theoretical full capacity (i.e., which may not take into account module soiling and degradation), but are producing power in-line with the estimated full capacity provided by the combination module 110 (e.g., a corrected possible power estimate that takes into account the module soiling and degradation).
[0022] Such output from power capability determination device 102 , is capable of providing a system operator the ability to quantify the revenue lost due to the power generating system generating an instantaneous power below the estimated full capacity (e.g., due to operator curtailment or a component malfunction). Further, the operator may use the estimated full capacity to transiently curtail the power generating system during a grid event (e.g., a low voltage ride through (LVRT) event), or when the power grid cannot accept power.
[0023] In one embodiment, the estimated full capacity is used to automatically, or manually, disconnect portions of the power generating system (e.g., disconnect one or more PV modules) to reduce possible power output, for example during inclement weather, during high DC:AC ratios and/or during a grid event.
[0024] In one embodiment, the power generating system is configured to allow for a pre-emptive curtailment of the power generating system to allow for pseudo-stored energy for a controlled down ramp (e.g., during cloud passage). For example, the power generating system is configured to be preemptively curtailed in anticipation of cloud passage (i.e., a transient event) over a PV array or for a grid under frequency support (i.e., solar inertia), thus smoothing power production levels during transient events.
[0025] In certain situations, system operators may be required to use the capacity of a system's inverters to produce reactive power (VAR) in lieu of real power (kW) or the inverters may be commanded to temporarily reduce their real power output in response to an over frequency condition on the grid. In one embodiment, the power generating system includes a plurality of substantially identical arrays (i.e., arrays capable of producing a substantially similar power output) and power inverters are employed. The power generating system is configured to allow a portion of the inverters to run un-curtailed to determine the full capacity of the un-curtailed arrays and to export the power generated by the un-curtailed arrays. The remaining portion of the inverters are commanded to run at a curtailed level (e.g., a predetermined proportion of the full capacity of the un-curtailed arrays). Such operation allows for the possibility of facilitating a dynamic energy reserve (e.g., storage) of power without requiring the use of batteries or other storage devices. The reserved power is exported in the event of a grid under-frequency condition or the like.
[0026] In some embodiments, power capability determination device 102 is configured to signal or initiate a diagnostic evaluation if the measured power is not within a range when compared to the estimated full capacity. Alternatively, or in addition thereto, power capability determination device 102 is configured to provide the ability for incidental correlation. For example, adaptive learning module 104 is configured to account for anomalies, such as an instant increase/decrease in system performance. Such instant increase/decrease in performance are due, for example, to rain washing dirt off of PV modules, or PV module damage due to a hail storm or the like.
[0027] In some embodiments, adaptive learning module 102 is resettable. For example, after an event such as a maintenance event, the adaptive learning module 104 is reset to account for improved performance attributable to the maintenance event.
[0028] In embodiments, the systems and method disclosed herein may be incorporated into a computer or stored on a computer readable medium. Alternatively, or in addition thereto, the values output by any of the above modules and systems are output to a display device or printed for viewing by an operator. In one embodiment, a data storage device is connected to power capability determination device 102 to store one or more values provided by the power capability determination device 102 .
[0029] In one embodiment, power capability determination device 102 is configured to allow for overperforming components (e.g., overperforming inverters) to offset underperforming components (e.g., underperforming inverters) at the plant level.
[0030] In embodiments, the above systems and methods may be implemented for power generation modules for wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, biomass, and/or any other renewable or non-renewable energy sources, and the like.
[0031] The embodiments described herein are not limited to any particular system controller or processor for performing the processing tasks described herein. The term controller or processor, as used herein, is intended to denote any machine capable of performing the calculations, or computations, necessary to perform the tasks described herein. The terms controller and processor also are intended to denote any machine that is capable of accepting a structured input and of processing the input in accordance with prescribed rules to produce an output. It should also be noted that the phrase “configured to” as used herein means that the controller/processor is equipped with a combination of hardware and software for performing the tasks of embodiments of the invention, as will be understood by those skilled in the art. The term controller/processor, as used herein, refers to central processing units, microprocessors, microcontrollers, reduced instruction set circuits (RISC), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), logic circuits, and any other circuit or processor capable of executing the functions described herein.
[0032] The embodiments described herein embrace one or more computer readable media, including non-transitory computer readable storage media, wherein each medium may be configured to include or includes thereon data or computer executable instructions for manipulating data. The computer executable instructions include data structures, objects, programs, routines, or other program modules that may be accessed by a processing system, such as one associated with a general-purpose computer capable of performing various different functions or one associated with a special-purpose computer capable of performing a limited number of functions. Aspects of the disclosure transform a general-purpose computer into a special-purpose computing device when configured to execute the instructions described herein. Computer executable instructions cause the processing system to perform a particular function or group of functions and are examples of program code means for implementing steps for methods disclosed herein. Furthermore, a particular sequence of the executable instructions provides an example of corresponding acts that may be used to implement such steps. Examples of computer readable media include random-access memory (“RAM”), read-only memory (“ROM”), programmable read-only memory (“PROM”), erasable programmable read-only memory (“EPROM”), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (“EEPROM”), compact disk read-only memory (“CD-ROM”), or any other device or component that is capable of providing data or executable instructions that may be accessed by a processing system.
[0033] A computer or computing device such as described herein has one or more processors or processing units, system memory, and some form of computer readable media. By way of example and not limitation, computer readable media comprise computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Communication media typically embody computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and include any information delivery media. Combinations of any of the above are also included within the scope of computer readable media.
[0034] Any and all of the technical features described herein may translate into improved profitability of the power generating system. For example, the system owner may include terms in their commercial agreements to be compensated for power that wasn't produced due to grid constraints. The system owner or operator may also be able to manage commercial risk by requesting power guarantees from equipment suppliers and receiving compensation for unproduced power when equipment malfunctions.
[0035] This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims. | A system for determining the output capacity of a power generating system including a sensor that monitors at least one condition of the power generating system and outputs the monitored condition data, and a power capability determination device that dynamically determines a full capacity of the power generating system based upon the outputted environmental data from the electronic controller. | Identify and summarize the most critical features from the given passage. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] The field of the present disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for determining a power generating capability of a power generating system.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0002] Solar, wind and other sources have increasingly become an attractive source of electrical energy and have been recognized as clean, renewable and alternative forms of energy.",
"Such renewable energy sources may include wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, biomass, and/or any other renewable energy sources.",
"[0003] Due to many factors, a power generating system may not be operating at full capacity (i.e., outputting 100% of the electrical power the power generating system is capable of generating).",
"For example, environmental conditions, such as reduced irradiance (solar power) or low winds (wind power) and the like may cause the power generating system to operate below full capacity.",
"Mechanical, electrical and software malfunctions may also cause a power generating system to operate below full capacity.",
"Improper maintenance, soiled, dirty and iced-over components may also cause undesirable reductions in power output.",
"Additionally, intentional curtailment of output power by a system operator may be initiated to reduce the power generating system to operate below full capacity.",
"Combinations of such factors that reduce power output below full capacity are also possible.",
"[0004] When a power generating system operates below full capacity, revenue may be lost due to the loss of value of the energy not being produced.",
"Due to contractual obligations between power producers and grid operators, the circumstances affecting below full capacity operation may affect financial liability of such lost revenue.",
"For example, intentional curtailment to limit power output may obligate the party who curtailed the power output.",
"In other situations, such as lack of maintenance, or malfunctioning equipment, one or more parties may be responsible for the lost revenues attributable to the below full capacity operation.",
"Typical models used for determining full capacity of power generating systems are based upon ideal conditions and do not account for changing environmental conditions and degradation of components.",
"Typical models may thus provide inaccurate determinations of the full capacity of a power generating system.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0005] FIG. 1 is an exemplary block diagram of a power generation capability system of the present disclosure.",
"[0006] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0007] In one aspect, a system for determining the output capacity of a power generating system comprises a power measuring device in communication with the power generating system that determines an instantaneous power output level of the power generating system.",
"A sensor monitors at least one condition of the power generating system and outputs the monitored condition data and a power capability determination device dynamically determines a full capacity of the power generating system based upon the outputted environmental data from the electronic controller.",
"[0008] In another aspect, a method for determining an output capacity of a power generating comprises measuring an instantaneous power output level of the power generating system, monitoring at least one condition of the power generating system and outputting the monitored condition data and determining a full capacity of the power generating system based upon the monitored condition data.",
"[0009] In a further aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program comprising a method for determining the output capacity of a power generating system comprises measuring an instantaneous power output level of the power generating system.",
"At least one condition of the power generating system is monitored and the monitored condition data is outputted.",
"A full capacity of the power generating system is determined based upon the monitored condition data.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0010] The systems and methods for determining a power generating capability of a power generating system according to the present disclosure are capable of providing information to an operator regarding the possible full capacity of the power generating system.",
"Systems and methods described herein may employ adaptive models, which provide a learning and corrective ability to making the determination of power generating capability.",
"Thus the systems and methods described herein are capable of providing the ability to, for example, account for degradation, environmental conditions, system anomalies and the like.",
"[0011] In the power generation industry, for example the photo-voltaic (PV) (e.g., solar power) generation industry, the power produced by the PV modules may be direct-current (DC) power.",
"The DC power is converted through suitable electronics to alternating current (AC) for export to a power grid.",
"One design feature of the converting electronics is their ability to modulate the DC voltage on which the PV modules act so as to maximize the instantaneous power output of the system.",
"Operation of the system in this manner maximizes the conversion efficiency of the system and is the normal mode of operation.",
"[0012] However, in certain cases the system may not be operating in the manner that maximizes the conversion efficiency.",
"For instance, any of the following reasons may lead to the system not operating at a maximum conversion efficiency: the system has been turned off intentionally by an operator;",
"one or more devices in the system are malfunctioning;",
"the system has been intentionally curtailed by an operator to limit the power being produced, and environmental factors such as temperature, wind conditions, soiled components, irradiance and the like.",
"[0013] In any of the above circumstances the operator of the system may have a desire to know how much power the system might have produced (i.e., the full capacity) if it had been operating normally and/or in ideal environmental conditions.",
"The full capacity information may be used to generate certain quantifiable metrics that characterize operation of the system over a given time period as well as the environment the system is operating in.",
"The information may also be used in conjunction with terms of a commercial agreement to adjust payments made by or to the system owner or operator.",
"[0014] The described embodiments of the present disclosure allow the system operator to determine, in real time, the amount of power that could have been generated vis-à-vis the instantaneous power that is being generated by the system.",
"Such data facilitates timing of when to begin and end maintenance on the system.",
"Further, the data may also be stored and aggregated over a time period to characterize performance of the system over time.",
"Additionally, the data may also be used in conjunction with weather forecasting to estimate future power production from the facility, allowing grid operators the ability to better balance power demand with power generating capacity.",
"[0015] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a system for determining the output capacity of a power generating system according to the present disclosure.",
"As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , monitored equipment status data 200 is provided to a system state determination module 100 of the power capability determination device 102 at step 202 .",
"Equipment status includes, for example, monitored data related to a condition of the power generating system components, as shown at step 200 of FIG. 2 .",
"Such data may include an indication of whether components of the system are on-line, warming-up, operating normally, malfunctioning and the like.",
"Further, environmental data is provided to power capability determination device 102 .",
"Such environmental data includes, for example, operating conditions of one or more components of the power generating system.",
"In one embodiment, temperature sensors (not shown) provide ambient air temperature readings of the PV modules.",
"In other embodiments, additional data is provided by sensors, including but not limited to, an amount of cloud cover, irradiance levels, an amount of soil cover on power generating modules, rain data, humidity levels, barometric pressure and any other parameters that allow the systems and methods of the present disclosure to operate as described herein.",
"[0016] In one embodiment, as shown at steps 204 , 206 , and 208 , system state determination module 100 receives the equipment status data and processes, combines, analyzes, stores and/or provides one or more of the equipment status conditions to adaptive learning module 104 and/or adaptive model corrections module 106 .",
"In another embodiment, the environmental data may is provided to adaptive learning module 104 .",
"[0017] In one embodiment, adaptive learning module 104 provides a learning function that facilitates making a determination on the full capacity power production of the system.",
"In another embodiment, adaptive learning module 104 is configured to adapt to the physical traits of the system.",
"For example, adaptive learning module 104 correlates the equipment status data and instantaneous power data to develop system power data over time.",
"As another example, the adaptive learning module 104 correlates an environmental condition, such as 30% cloud cover, to a given instantaneous power (e.g., 30% reduction in output power).",
"A further example is a correlation between the number of years of use of a PV cell with a percent degradation in performance (e.g., after 3 years of use, a PV module may generate only 95% of the power it generates when new).",
"Adaptive learning module 104 thus is capable of providing degradation trends, instantaneously and over a time period.",
"The learning capability and correlations, and the learning module are capable of correlating any given data in a manner that allows the systems and method disclosed herein to operate as described.",
"Over time, a large database of information from adaptive learning module 104 may be stored, thus providing the ability to anticipate a future instantaneous power with anticipated environmental conditions.",
"[0018] In one embodiment, data provided by adaptive learning module 104 is used directly (e.g., output to a display or printed) or provided to a corrections module 106 .",
"In another embodiment, corrections module 106 utilizes data output from the adaptive learning module 104 to calculate a corrections factor 210 for a theoretical full capacity of the power generating system.",
"For example, corrections module 106 calculates a corrections factor based upon a look-up table, which compares given adaptive learning module output values to corrections factors.",
"In yet another embodiment, the performance characteristics of individual modules (such as individual PV modules) of the power system are programmed into corrections module 106 along with additional system characteristics such as, for example, line losses, converter efficiency data at various operating points and/or correction factors for non-measured environmental data, such as component degradation and module soiling (e.g., dirt, ice, bugs and the like) accumulation data.",
"In embodiments, the performance characteristics are associated with, for example in a look-up table, one or more corresponding corrections factors.",
"Implementation of the corrections factors is further discussed below.",
"[0019] In one embodiment, power capability determination device 102 includes a theoretical power production module 108 .",
"Theoretical power production module 108 calculates a theoretical full capacity of the power generating system for given environmental conditions.",
"In one embodiment, theoretical power production module 108 calculates the theoretical full capacity based upon one or more of manufacturer provided specifications, experimental test data, ideal operating conditions data and the like.",
"[0020] In one embodiment, power capability determination device 102 combines, in a combination module 110 , the theoretical power output from theoretical power module 108 with a correction factor output from corrections module 106 .",
"The corrections factor modifies 212 the theoretical power output values in a manner that provides a more realistic estimate of the possible power (full capacity) 214 that the power generating system could produce at a given time.",
"Thus, the estimated full capacity value outputted from combination module 110 may be an adjusted value of the theoretical full capacity that takes into account the factors supplied to adaptive learning module 104 and corrections module 106 .",
"[0021] In one embodiment, a system operator or a comparison device 112 compares 216 the instantaneous measured power of the system with the estimated possible power (estimated full capacity) that the system could be producing.",
"For example, this allows the operator to account for a variance in the instantaneous power to the theoretical full capacity.",
"As another example, an operator gathers from the data, that due to system degradation, the PV modules are underproducing compared to a theoretical full capacity (i.e., which may not take into account module soiling and degradation), but are producing power in-line with the estimated full capacity provided by the combination module 110 (e.g., a corrected possible power estimate that takes into account the module soiling and degradation).",
"[0022] Such output from power capability determination device 102 , is capable of providing a system operator the ability to quantify the revenue lost due to the power generating system generating an instantaneous power below the estimated full capacity (e.g., due to operator curtailment or a component malfunction).",
"Further, the operator may use the estimated full capacity to transiently curtail the power generating system during a grid event (e.g., a low voltage ride through (LVRT) event), or when the power grid cannot accept power.",
"[0023] In one embodiment, the estimated full capacity is used to automatically, or manually, disconnect portions of the power generating system (e.g., disconnect one or more PV modules) to reduce possible power output, for example during inclement weather, during high DC:AC ratios and/or during a grid event.",
"[0024] In one embodiment, the power generating system is configured to allow for a pre-emptive curtailment of the power generating system to allow for pseudo-stored energy for a controlled down ramp (e.g., during cloud passage).",
"For example, the power generating system is configured to be preemptively curtailed in anticipation of cloud passage (i.e., a transient event) over a PV array or for a grid under frequency support (i.e., solar inertia), thus smoothing power production levels during transient events.",
"[0025] In certain situations, system operators may be required to use the capacity of a system's inverters to produce reactive power (VAR) in lieu of real power (kW) or the inverters may be commanded to temporarily reduce their real power output in response to an over frequency condition on the grid.",
"In one embodiment, the power generating system includes a plurality of substantially identical arrays (i.e., arrays capable of producing a substantially similar power output) and power inverters are employed.",
"The power generating system is configured to allow a portion of the inverters to run un-curtailed to determine the full capacity of the un-curtailed arrays and to export the power generated by the un-curtailed arrays.",
"The remaining portion of the inverters are commanded to run at a curtailed level (e.g., a predetermined proportion of the full capacity of the un-curtailed arrays).",
"Such operation allows for the possibility of facilitating a dynamic energy reserve (e.g., storage) of power without requiring the use of batteries or other storage devices.",
"The reserved power is exported in the event of a grid under-frequency condition or the like.",
"[0026] In some embodiments, power capability determination device 102 is configured to signal or initiate a diagnostic evaluation if the measured power is not within a range when compared to the estimated full capacity.",
"Alternatively, or in addition thereto, power capability determination device 102 is configured to provide the ability for incidental correlation.",
"For example, adaptive learning module 104 is configured to account for anomalies, such as an instant increase/decrease in system performance.",
"Such instant increase/decrease in performance are due, for example, to rain washing dirt off of PV modules, or PV module damage due to a hail storm or the like.",
"[0027] In some embodiments, adaptive learning module 102 is resettable.",
"For example, after an event such as a maintenance event, the adaptive learning module 104 is reset to account for improved performance attributable to the maintenance event.",
"[0028] In embodiments, the systems and method disclosed herein may be incorporated into a computer or stored on a computer readable medium.",
"Alternatively, or in addition thereto, the values output by any of the above modules and systems are output to a display device or printed for viewing by an operator.",
"In one embodiment, a data storage device is connected to power capability determination device 102 to store one or more values provided by the power capability determination device 102 .",
"[0029] In one embodiment, power capability determination device 102 is configured to allow for overperforming components (e.g., overperforming inverters) to offset underperforming components (e.g., underperforming inverters) at the plant level.",
"[0030] In embodiments, the above systems and methods may be implemented for power generation modules for wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, biomass, and/or any other renewable or non-renewable energy sources, and the like.",
"[0031] The embodiments described herein are not limited to any particular system controller or processor for performing the processing tasks described herein.",
"The term controller or processor, as used herein, is intended to denote any machine capable of performing the calculations, or computations, necessary to perform the tasks described herein.",
"The terms controller and processor also are intended to denote any machine that is capable of accepting a structured input and of processing the input in accordance with prescribed rules to produce an output.",
"It should also be noted that the phrase “configured to”",
"as used herein means that the controller/processor is equipped with a combination of hardware and software for performing the tasks of embodiments of the invention, as will be understood by those skilled in the art.",
"The term controller/processor, as used herein, refers to central processing units, microprocessors, microcontrollers, reduced instruction set circuits (RISC), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), logic circuits, and any other circuit or processor capable of executing the functions described herein.",
"[0032] The embodiments described herein embrace one or more computer readable media, including non-transitory computer readable storage media, wherein each medium may be configured to include or includes thereon data or computer executable instructions for manipulating data.",
"The computer executable instructions include data structures, objects, programs, routines, or other program modules that may be accessed by a processing system, such as one associated with a general-purpose computer capable of performing various different functions or one associated with a special-purpose computer capable of performing a limited number of functions.",
"Aspects of the disclosure transform a general-purpose computer into a special-purpose computing device when configured to execute the instructions described herein.",
"Computer executable instructions cause the processing system to perform a particular function or group of functions and are examples of program code means for implementing steps for methods disclosed herein.",
"Furthermore, a particular sequence of the executable instructions provides an example of corresponding acts that may be used to implement such steps.",
"Examples of computer readable media include random-access memory (“RAM”), read-only memory (“ROM”), programmable read-only memory (“PROM”), erasable programmable read-only memory (“EPROM”), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (“EEPROM”), compact disk read-only memory (“CD-ROM”), or any other device or component that is capable of providing data or executable instructions that may be accessed by a processing system.",
"[0033] A computer or computing device such as described herein has one or more processors or processing units, system memory, and some form of computer readable media.",
"By way of example and not limitation, computer readable media comprise computer storage media and communication media.",
"Computer storage media include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data.",
"Communication media typically embody computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and include any information delivery media.",
"Combinations of any of the above are also included within the scope of computer readable media.",
"[0034] Any and all of the technical features described herein may translate into improved profitability of the power generating system.",
"For example, the system owner may include terms in their commercial agreements to be compensated for power that wasn't produced due to grid constraints.",
"The system owner or operator may also be able to manage commercial risk by requesting power guarantees from equipment suppliers and receiving compensation for unproduced power when equipment malfunctions.",
"[0035] This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods.",
"The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art.",
"Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims."
] |
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a radio relay station, a radio base station, a communication system, and a communication method that perform communication.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] In recent years, in order to substantially widen a cover area of a radio base station or to maintain an electric field strength of received signals at a communication terminal, a technology in which a radio relay station connected to a radio base station is provided and the radio relay station is caused to relay communications between the radio base station and a communication terminal has been considered.
[0003] FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating one form of a common radio communication system provided with a relay apparatus.
[0004] The radio communication system illustrated in FIG. 21 is composed of DeNBs (Donor evolved Node Bs) 1000 - 1 and 1000 - 2 that are radio base stations, an RN (Relay Node) 2000 that is a radio relay station, and UEs (User Equipments) 3000 - 1 and 3000 - 2 that are communication terminals.
[0005] The RN 2000 relays communication between the DeNB 1000 - 1 and the UE 3000 - 1 .
[0006] Furthermore, the RN 2000 relays communication between the DeNB 1000 - 2 and the UE 3000 - 2 .
[0007] Furthermore, a technology in which, when, in a radio relay station as described above, a downlink line control signal is sent from a radio base station to the radio relay station at a timing at which the radio relay station is sending a downlink line control signal to a communication terminal, the radio relay station allocates a resource region that can receive the downlink line control signal sent from the radio base station has been considered (refer to, e.g., PTL 1).
CITATION LIST
Patent Literature
[0008] [PTL 1] International Publication No. WO 2012/147295
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
Technical Problem
[0009] Hereinafter, processing in the radio communication system illustrated in FIG. 21 will be described.
[0010] FIG. 22 is a sequence chart for describing an example of uplink data transmission processing in the radio communication system illustrated in FIG. 21 .
[0011] Firstly, the UE 3000 - 1 sends, to the RN 2000 , an uplink scheduling request signal (SR_a) for sending uplink data to the DeNB 1000 - 1 . Then, the RN 2000 sends, as a response signal therefor, an uplink scheduling information signal (UL_Grant for SR_a) to the UE 3000 - 1 . Subsequently, the UE 3000 - 1 sends, to the RN 2000 , an uplink buffer status-reporting signal (BSR_a) indicating a storage status of a buffer that temporarily stores uplink data. Then, the RN 2000 sends a response signal (UL_Grant for BSR_a) therefor to the UE 3000 - 1 . When receiving the UL_Grant for BSR_a, the UE 3000 - 1 sends, to the RN 2000 , uplink data (UL_Data_a) that are to be sent to the DeNB 1000 - 1 . After receiving the UL_Data_a from the UE 3000 - 1 , the RN 2000 sends an SR_a to the DeNB 1000 - 1 .
[0012] Furthermore, the UE 3000 - 2 sends, to the RN 2000 , an uplink scheduling request signal (SR_b) for sending uplink data to the DeNB 1000 - 2 . Then, the RN 2000 sends, as a response signal therefor, an uplink scheduling information signal (UL_Grant for SR_b) to the UE 3000 - 2 . Subsequently, the UE 3000 - 2 sends, to the RN 2000 , an uplink buffer status-reporting signal (BSR_b) that indicates a storage status of a buffer that temporarily stores uplink data. Then, the RN 2000 sends a response signal (UL_Grant for BSR_b) therefor to the UE 3000 - 2 . When receiving the UL_Grant for BSR_b, the UE 3000 - 2 sends, to the RN 2000 , uplink data (UL_Data_b) that are to be sent to the DeNB 1000 - 2 . After receiving the UL_Data_b from the UE 3000 - 2 , the RN 2000 sends an SR_b to the DeNB 1000 - 2 .
[0013] After that, when, simultaneously with the DeNB 1000 - 1 sending the UL_Grant for SR_a to the RN 2000 , the DeNB 1000 - 2 sends the UL_Grant for SR_b to the RN 2000 , the RN 2000 can perform reception processing of only one of the uplink scheduling information signals. Furthermore, even when the RN 2000 attempts to simultaneously perform sending of the BSR_a to the DeNB 1000 - 1 and sending of the BSR_b to the DeNB 1000 - 2 , the RN 2000 can send the uplink buffer status-reporting signal for only one thereof.
[0014] Furthermore, when the DeNB 1000 - 2 sends the UL_Grant for BSR_b to the RN 2000 simultaneously with the DeNB 1000 - 1 sending the UL_Grant for BSR_a to the RN 2000 , the RN 2000 can only perform reception processing of only one thereof. Furthermore, even when the RN 2000 attempts to simultaneously perform transmission of the UL_Data_a to the DeNB 1000 - 1 and transmission of the UL_Data_b to the DeNB 1000 - 2 , the RN 2000 can send only the uplink data to one thereof.
[0015] Thus, in some cases, timings at which signals are sent to or received from a plurality of radio base stations are simultaneous. For example, when transmission/reception of such signals between the RN 2000 and the DeNB 1000 - 2 cannot be carried out, retransmission processing for these signals is performed with the DeNB 1000 - 2 , resulting in a problem of delayed uplink data transmission.
[0016] FIG. 23 is a sequence chart for describing another example of the uplink data transmission processing in the radio communication system illustrated in FIG. 21 . In FIG. 23 , a procedure until the RN 2000 attempts to perform simultaneously sending of the UL_Data_a to the DeNB 1000 - 1 and sending of the UL_Data_b to the DeNB 1000 - 2 is substantially the same as a procedure in FIG. 22 . In FIG. 23 , a case where a packet is subsequently discarded will be described.
[0017] FIG. 23 illustrates a case where, when timings at which signals are sent to or received from a plurality of radio base stations become simultaneous and, therefore, for example, the RN 2000 cannot perform transmission/reception of such signals to/from the DeNB 1000 - 2 , a packet (uplink data) related to delay is discarded. For example, when the RN 2000 cannot send uplink data to the DeNB 1000 - 2 and, therefore, an amount of time for which the uplink data are buffered within the RN 2000 runs out, the buffered uplink data are discarded. Then, transmission/reception of the signals are performed between the UE 3000 - 2 and the RN 2000 again, retransmission processing for these signals is performed between the RN 2000 and the DeNB 1000 - 2 , resulting in a problem of the uplink data transmission being delayed.
[0018] FIG. 24 is a sequence chart for describing an example of downlink data transmission processing performed by the radio communication system illustrated in FIG. 21 .
[0019] When the DeNB 1000 - 2 sends downlink data (DL_Data_b) to the RN 2000 simultaneously with the DeNB 1000 - 1 sending downlink data (DL_Data_a) to the RN 2000 , the RN 2000 can perform reception processing for the downlink data from only one of the DeNB 1000 - 2 and the DeNB 1000 - 1 . For example, when the RN 2000 has performed only reception processing of the DL_Data_a sent from the DeNB 1000 - 1 , the RN 2000 sends the DL_Data_a to the UE 3000 - 1 . Then, as a response to receiving the downlink data, the UE 3000 - 1 sends an Ack(HARQ)_a to the RN 2000 .
[0020] After receiving the Ack(HARQ)_a from the UE 3000 - 1 , the RN 2000 sends the Ack(HARQ)_a to the DeNB 1000 - 1 . On the other hand, since the RN 2000 has not received the downlink data from the DeNB 1000 - 2 , the RN 2000 sends, to the DeNB 1000 - 2 , a Nack(HARQ)_b that is a signal indicating that the RN 2000 has not received the downlink data from the DeNB 1000 - 2 .
[0021] Then, the DeNB 1000 - 2 resends, to the RN 2000 , the downlink data (DL_Data_b) to be sent to the UE 3000 - 2 . When receiving the DL_Data_b from the DeNB 1000 - 2 , the RN 2000 sends the DL_Data_b to the UE 3000 - 2 .
[0022] Thus, the downlink data transmission has a problem of being delayed by simultaneous transmission, as is the case with the uplink data transmission.
[0023] Furthermore, the technology described in PTL 1 is merely a technology that carries out allocation of resource regions and, as is the case with the foregoing configuration, has a problem of being incapable of preventing data transmission delay caused by simultaneous sending to or simultaneous reception from a plurality of nodes.
[0024] An object of the present invention is to provide a radio relay station, a radio base station, a communication system, and a communication method that solve the problems stated above.
Solution to Problem
[0025] A radio relay station according to the present invention includes
[0026] a transmission means for notifying a radio base station of a timing at which uplink data sent from a communication terminal are able to be sent to the radio base station and then sending the uplink data to the radio base station.
[0027] Furthermore, a radio base station according to the present invention includes
[0028] a transmission means for notifying a radio relay station that relays communication with a communication terminal of a timing at which downlink data are able to be sent to the radio relay station and then sending the downlink data to the radio relay station.
[0029] Furthermore, a communication system according to the present invention is a communication system that includes a radio base station and a radio relay station that relays communication between the radio base station and a communication terminal, wherein
[0030] the radio relay station includes a transmission means for notifying the radio base station of a timing at which uplink data sent from the communication terminal are able to be sent to the radio base station and then sending the uplink data to the radio base station.
[0031] Furthermore, a communication system according to the present invention is a communication system that includes a radio base station and a radio relay station that relays communication between the radio base station and a communication terminal, wherein
[0032] the radio base station includes a transmission means for notifying the radio relay station of a timing at which downlink data are able to be sent to the radio relay station and then sending the downlink data to the radio relay station.
[0033] Furthermore, a communication method according to the present invention includes
[0034] notifying a radio base station of a timing at which uplink data sent from a communication terminal are able to be sent to the radio base station and then sending the uplink data to the radio base station.
[0035] Furthermore, a communication method according to the present invention includes
[0036] notifying a radio relay station that relays communication with a communication terminal of a timing at which downlink data are able to be sent to the radio relay station and then sending the downlink data to the radio relay station.
[0037] Furthermore, a communication method according to the present invention
[0038] is a communication method in a communication system that includes a radio base station and a radio relay station that relays communication between the radio base station and a communication terminal, and
[0039] includes, by the radio relay station, notifying the radio base station of a timing at which uplink data sent from the communication terminal are able to be sent to the radio base station and then sending the uplink data to the radio base station.
[0040] Furthermore, a communication method according to the present invention
[0041] is a communication method in a communication system that includes a radio base station and a radio relay station that relays communication between the radio base station and a communication terminal, and
[0042] includes, by the radio base station, performing processing of notifying the radio relay station of a timing at which downlink data are able to be sent to the radio relay station and then sending the downlink data to the radio relay station.
Advantageous Effects of Invention
[0043] As described above, in the present invention, data transmission can be made more efficient.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0044] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a first example embodiment of the communication system of the present invention.
[0045] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of an RN illustrated in FIG. 1 .
[0046] FIG. 3 is a flowchart for describing an example of a communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 1 .
[0047] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a second example embodiment of the communication system of the present invention.
[0048] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of a DeNB illustrated in FIG. 4 .
[0049] FIG. 6 is a flowchart for describing an example of a communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 4 .
[0050] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a third example embodiment of the communication system of present invention.
[0051] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of an RN illustrated in FIG. 7 .
[0052] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of a DeNB illustrated in FIG. 7 .
[0053] FIG. 10 is a flowchart for describing an example of transmission processing of a UL SR/UL BSR in the RN illustrated in FIG. 7 , in a communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 7 .
[0054] FIG. 11 is a flowchart for describing an example of transmission processing of a UL Grant in a DeNB illustrated in FIG. 7 , in the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 7 .
[0055] FIG. 12 is a flowchart for describing an example of transmission processing of a UL Data in the RN illustrated in FIG. 7 , in the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 7 .
[0056] FIG. 13 is a sequence chart for describing an example of flow of data in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 7 .
[0057] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a fourth example embodiment of the communication system of the present invention.
[0058] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of an RN illustrated in FIG. 14 .
[0059] FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of a DeNB illustrated in FIG. 14 .
[0060] FIG. 17 is a flowchart for describing an example of transmission processing of DL SR/DL BSR in the DeNB illustrated in FIG. 14 , in the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 14 .
[0061] FIG. 18 is a flowchart for describing an example of transmission processing of a DL Grant in the RN illustrated in FIG. 14 , in the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 14 .
[0062] FIG. 19 is a flowchart for describing an example of transmission processing of a DL Data in the DeNB illustrated in FIG. 14 , in the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 14 .
[0063] FIG. 20 is a sequence chart for describing an example of flow of data in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 14 .
[0064] FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a form of a general radio communication system provided with a relay apparatus.
[0065] FIG. 22 is a sequence chart for describing an example of uplink data transmission processing in the radio communication system illustrated in FIG. 21 .
[0066] FIG. 23 is a sequence chart for describing another example of the uplink data transmission processing in the radio communication system illustrated in FIG. 21 .
[0067] FIG. 24 is a sequence chart for describing an example of downlink data transmission processing in the radio communication system illustrated in FIG. 21 .
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0068] Hereinafter, example embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First Example Embodiment
[0069] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a first example embodiment of the communication system of the present invention. A communication system in this example embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 1 , includes a DeNB 100 , an RN 200 , and a UE 300 . The DeNB 100 is a radio base station that communicates with the UE 300 via the RN 200 . The RN 200 is a radio relay station that relays communication between the DeNB 100 and the UE 300 . The UE 300 is a communication terminal that communicates with the DeNB 100 via the RN 200 .
[0070] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of the RN 200 illustrated in FIG. 1 . The RN 200 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a transmission unit 201 as illustrated in FIG. 2 . Note that FIG. 2 illustrates only structural elements concerning this example embodiment, of structural elements that the RN 200 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes.
[0071] The transmission unit 201 sends to the DeNB 100 uplink data sent from the UE 300 . At this time, the transmission unit 201 notifies the DeNB 100 of the timing at which the uplink data sent from the UE 300 can be sent to the DeNB 100 and then sends the uplink data to the DeNB 100 . Note that in each block diagram in the present application, an arrow provided for a block indicates only a propagating direction of a signal that corresponds to a description and does not limit the propagating directions of other signals.
[0072] Hereinafter, a communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for describing an example of the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 1 . First, when the RN 200 receives uplink data sent from the UE 300 (step S 1 ), the transmission unit 201 notifies the DeNB 100 of timing at which the transmission unit 201 can send the uplink data (step S 2 ). After that, at that timing, the transmission unit 201 sends the uplink data to the DeNB 100 (step S 3 ). In this manner, the radio relay station notifies the radio base station of the timing at which the radio relay station can send the uplink data, and then sends the uplink data to the radio base station at the timing. Therefore, the communication system of the first example embodiment can prevent failure in sending the uplink data and therefore can make the data transmission more efficient.
Second Example Embodiment
[0073] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a second example embodiment of the communication system of the present invention. The communication system in this example embodiment includes a DeNB 101 , an RN 202 , and a UE 300 as illustrated in FIG. 4 . The DeNB 101 is a radio base station that communicates with the UE 300 via the RN 202 . The RN 202 is a radio relay station that relays communication between the DeNB 101 and the UE 300 . The UE 300 is a communication terminal that communicates with the DeNB 101 via the RN 202 .
[0074] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of the DeNB 101 illustrated in FIG. 4 . The DeNB 101 illustrated in FIG. 4 includes a transmission unit 102 as illustrated in FIG. 5 . Note that FIG. 5 illustrates only structural elements concerning this example embodiment, of the structural elements that the DeNB 101 illustrated in FIG. 4 includes. The transmission unit 102 notifies the RN 202 of the timing at which downlink data can be sent to the RN 202 and then sends the downlink data to the RN 202 .
[0075] Hereinafter, a communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 4 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for describing an example of the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 4 . First, when the DeNB 101 receives downlink data sent from a higher-order apparatus (e.g., a SGW (Serving Gateway)) of the DeNB 101 (step S 11 ), the transmission unit 102 notifies the RN 202 of the timing at which downlink data can be sent (step S 12 ). After that, the transmission unit 102 , at that timing, sends the downlink data to the RN 202 (step S 13 ).
[0076] Thus, the radio base station notifies the radio relay station of the timing at which the station can send downlink data, and then, at that timing, sends the downlink data to the radio relay station. Therefore, the communication system of the second example embodiment can prevent failure in sending downlink data and therefore can make data transmission more efficient.
Third Example Embodiment
[0077] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a third example embodiment of the communication system of the present invention. The communication system in this example embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 7 , includes DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 , the RN 203 , and UEs 300 - 1 and 300 - 2 . The DeNB 103 - 1 is a radio base station that communicates with the UE 300 - 1 via the RN 203 . The DeNB 103 - 2 is a radio base station that communicates with the UE 300 - 2 via the RN 203 . The RN 203 is a radio relay station that relays communication between the DeNB 103 - 1 and the UE 300 - 1 and communication between the DeNB 103 - 2 and the UE 300 - 2 . Furthermore, the RN 203 sends uplink signals to the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 by using a communication method of SC-FDMA or TD-SCDMA. The SC-FDMA is an abbreviation of “Single Carrier-Frequency Division Multiple Access” and TD-SCDMA is an abbreviation of “Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access”. The UE 300 - 1 is a communication terminal that communicates with the DeNB 103 - 1 via the RN 203 . The UE 300 - 2 is a communication terminal that communicates with the DeNB 103 - 2 via the RN 203 .
[0078] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of the RN 203 illustrated in FIG. 7 .
[0079] The RN 203 illustrated in FIG. 7 includes a transmission unit 204 and a UL Data receiving unit 211 , as illustrated in FIG. 8 . Furthermore, the transmission unit 204 includes a UL Grant receiving unit 210 , a UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 , a UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 , a UL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 214 , a UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 215 , a UL opposing node determination unit 216 , a UL opposing node flag providing unit 217 , a UL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit 218 , a UL SR/BSR determination unit 219 , a UL BSR generating unit 220 , a UL BSR transmission unit 221 , a UL SR generating unit 222 , a UL SR transmission unit 223 , a UL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 224 , an SR/BSR retransmission processing unit 225 , and a UL Data transmission unit 226 . Note that FIG. 8 illustrates only structural elements concerning this example embodiment, of the structural elements that the RN 203 illustrated in FIG. 7 includes.
[0080] The UL Data receiving unit 211 receives uplink data sent from the UEs 300 - 1 and 300 - 2 and outputs the received uplink data to the UL opposing node determination unit 216 .
[0081] The UL Grant receiving unit 210 receives response signals (UL Grant), such as uplink scheduling information, that are sent from the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 , and outputs the signals to the UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 .
[0082] The UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 accumulates the UL Grant that have been output from the UL Grant receiving unit 210 .
[0083] The UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 accumulates reception timing information regarding UL Grant and send timing information regarding an uplink buffer status report (UL Buffer Status Report, referred to hereinafter as UL BSR) signal contained in an uplink scheduling request (UL Scheduling Request, referred to hereinafter as UL SR) signal that has already been sent from the UL SR transmission unit 223 . Furthermore, the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 accumulates the reception timing information regarding UL Grant and the send timing information regarding uplink data (UL Data) contained in the UL BSR that has already been sent from the UL BSR transmission unit 221 .
[0084] The UL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 214 extracts a send feasible timing candidate for UL BSR that is to be contained in UL SR, based on the UL Grant accumulated in the UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 . Furthermore, the UL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 214 extracts a send feasible timing candidate for UL Data that is to be contained in UL BSR, based on the UL Grant accumulated in the UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 .
[0085] The UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 215 refers to the reception timing for UL Grant and the transmission timing candidate for sending UL BSR contained in the UL SR accumulated in the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 . Furthermore, the UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 215 refers to the reception timing for the UL Grant and the send timing candidate for sending UL Data contained in the UL BSR accumulated in the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 . Then, the UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 215 extracts, from these timings referred to, a send timing candidate for next UL BSR/UL Data that can be sent by the UL SR/BSR and a reception timing candidate for receiving a UL Grant for sending the UL BSR/UL Data.
[0086] The UL opposing node determination unit 216 determines an opposing node. Concretely, the UL opposing node determination unit 216 determines whether the opposing node is the DeNB 103 - 1 or 103 - 2 or a higher-order apparatus such as a SGW. In this example embodiment, because the transmission unit 204 is packaged in the RN 203 , the UL opposing node determination unit 216 determines that the opposing node is the DeNB 103 - 1 or 103 - 2 . On the other hand, in the case where the transmission unit 204 is packaged in the DeNB 103 - 1 or the DeNB 103 - 2 , the UL opposing node determination unit 216 determines that the opposing node is an SGW that is a higher-order apparatus above the DeNBs 103 - 1 and the DeNB 103 - 2 .
[0087] The UL opposing node flag providing unit 217 provides a flag according to a result of determination by the UL opposing node determination unit 216 .
[0088] The UL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit 218 , based on information extracted by the UL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 214 and the UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 215 , provides a send feasible timing candidate for a UL BSR contained in the UL SR and a reception feasible timing candidate for the UL Grant. Furthermore, the UL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit 218 , based on information extracted by the UL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 214 and the UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 215 , provides a send feasible timing candidate for UL Data that is to be contained in the UL BSR and a reception feasible timing candidate for the UL Grant.
[0089] Based on the UL Grant, the UL SR/BSR determination unit 219 determines which one of the UL SR and the UL BSR is the signal that is to be sent next.
[0090] When the UL SR/BSR determination unit 219 has determined that the signal to be sent next is a UL BSR, the UL BSR generating unit 220 generates a UL BSR in which the timing information is contained.
[0091] The UL BSR transmission unit 221 is an uplink buffer status-reporting signal transmission unit that sends the UL BSR generated by the UL BSR generating unit 220 to the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 . In other words, the UL BSR transmission unit 221 , when sending the UL BSR to the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 , sends the UL BSR in which information indicating the timing at which a UL Grant for the UL BSR can be received and information indicating a timing at which the UL Data can be sent to the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 are contained.
[0092] The UL SR generating unit 222 generates a UL SR in which the timing information is contained, when the UL SR/BSR determination unit 219 has determined that the signal to be sent next is a UL SR.
[0093] The UL SR transmission unit 223 is an uplink scheduling request signal transmission unit that sends the UL SR generated by the UL SR generating unit 222 to the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 . In other words, the UL SR transmission unit 223 , when sending the UL SR to the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 , sends a UL SR in which information indicating the timing at which the UL Grant for the UL SR can be received and information indicating the timing at which the UL BSR can be sent to the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 are contained.
[0094] The UL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 224 determines whether the sending of the UL Data is feasible, based on the UL Grant accumulated in the UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 . Concretely, the UL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 224 determines whether the sending of the UL Data is feasible, based on the send timing notified by the UL Grant accumulated by the UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 .
[0095] The SR/BSR retransmission processing unit 225 performs retransmission processing for the UL SR and the UL BSR when the UL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 224 has determined that the UL Data cannot be sent.
[0096] The UL Data transmission unit 226 sends the UL Data to the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 when the UL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 224 has determined that the UL Data can be sent.
[0097] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of the DeNB 103 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 7 . The DeNB 103 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 7 includes, as illustrated in FIG. 9 , a UL SR/BSR receiving unit 110 , a UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 111 , a UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 112 , a UL Grant information accumulating unit 113 , a UL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit 114 , a UL opposing node determination unit 115 , a UL Grant establishment timing providing unit 116 , a UL Grant generation unit 117 , and a UL Grant transmission unit 118 . Note that FIG. 9 illustrates only structure elements concerning this example embodiment, of the structure elements that the DeNB 103 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 7 includes. Furthermore, the DeNB 103 - 2 illustrated in FIG. 7 also includes the structure elements illustrated in FIG. 9 .
[0098] The UL SR/BSR receiving unit 110 receives the UL SR and the UL BSR sent from the RN 203 and outputs the UL SR and the UL BSR to the UL opposing node determination unit 115 .
[0099] The UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 111 accumulates a send feasible timing candidate for the UL BSR and reception feasible timing candidate information regarding the UL Grant that are contained in the UL SR that the UL SR/BSR receiving unit 110 has output. Furthermore, the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 111 accumulates a send feasible timing candidate for the UL Data and reception feasible timing candidate information regarding the UL Grant that are contained in the UL BSR that the UL SR/BSR receiving unit 110 has output.
[0100] The UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 112 extracts the send feasible timing candidate for the UL BSR and the reception feasible timing candidate information regarding the UL Grant that are accumulated in the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 111 . Furthermore, the UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 112 extracts the send feasible timing candidate for the UL Data and the reception feasible timing candidate information regarding the UL Grant that are accumulated in the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 111 .
[0101] The UL Grant information accumulating unit 113 accumulates the send timing of the UL BSR/UL Data and the reception timing information regarding the UL Grant that have already been sent from the UL Grant transmission unit 118 .
[0102] The UL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit 114 extracts the send timing of the UL BSR/UL Data and the reception timing information regarding the UL Grant that are accumulated in the UL Grant information accumulating unit 113 .
[0103] The UL opposing node determination unit 115 performs determination regarding an opposing node. Concretely, the UL opposing node determination unit 115 determines whether the opposing node connected to a lower order is the UE 300 - 1 , 300 - 2 or the RN 203 . In this example embodiment, because the structure elements illustrated in FIG. 9 are packaged in the DeNB 103 - 1 , the UL opposing node determination unit 115 determines that the opposing node is the RN 203 . On the other hand, in the case where the structure elements illustrated in FIG. 9 are packaged in the RN 203 , the UL opposing node determination unit 115 determines that the opposing node is the UE 300 - 1 or 300 - 2 .
[0104] It is assumed here that the UL opposing node determination unit 115 has determined that the opposing node is the UE 300 - 1 or 300 - 2 . In this case, the UL Grant establishment timing providing unit 116 provides timings other than the timings extracted by the UL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit 114 as a reception timing of the UL Grant and a send timing of the UL BSR/UL Data.
[0105] Furthermore, it is assumed that the UL opposing node determination unit 115 has determined that the opposing node is the RN 203 . In this case, the UL Grant establishment timing providing unit 116 provides the timings extracted by the UL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit 114 and the UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 112 as a reception timing of the UL Grant and a send timing of the UL BSR/UL Data.
[0106] The UL Grant generation unit 117 , based on the information provided by the UL Grant establishment timing providing unit 116 , generates a UL Grant and outputs the UL Grant to the UL Grant transmission unit 118 .
[0107] The UL Grant transmission unit 118 sends to the RN 203 the UL Grant that the UL Grant generation unit 117 has output.
[0108] Hereinafter, a communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 7 will be described. Here, the communication method will be described with reference to an example case where communication between the DeNB 103 - 1 and the UE 300 - 1 is relayed by the RN 203 .
[0109] First, the transmission processing of the UL SR/UL BSR in the RN 203 illustrated in FIG. 7 will be described.
[0110] FIG. 10 is a flowchart for describing an example of the transmission processing of the UL SR/UL BSR in the RN 203 illustrated in FIG. 7 , in the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 7 .
[0111] First, after the RN 203 starts sending the UL SR or the UL BSR (step S 21 ), the UL opposing node determination unit 216 determines whether the opposing node is the DeNB 103 - 1 or a higher-order apparatus, such as SGW (step S 22 ). When the UL opposing node determination unit 216 determines that the opposing node is the DeNB 103 - 1 , the UL opposing node flag providing unit 217 provides a DeNB flag (step S 23 ).
[0112] Then, the UL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 214 determines whether the UL Grant receiving unit 210 has received the UL Grant, that is, whether the UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 has accumulated UL Grant (step S 24 ). When the UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 has accumulated the UL Grant, the UL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 214 removes the send timing of the Uplink that has already been allocated by the accumulated UL Grant (step S 25 ).
[0113] On the other hand, when in the step S 24 , the UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 has not accumulated the UL Grant, the processing in step S 25 is not performed.
[0114] Subsequently, the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 determines whether the UL SR transmission unit 223 has already sent the UL SR or whether the UL BSR transmission unit 221 has already sent the UL BSR (step S 26 ). This determination utilizes the determination carried out by the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 as to whether the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 has accumulated the send timing information on the UL BSR and the reception timing information on the UL Grant, or, the send timing information on the UL Data and the reception timing information on the UL Grant.
[0115] For example, when the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 has accumulated the send timing information on the UL BSR and the reception timing information on the UL Grant, the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 determines that the UL SR transmission unit 223 has already sent the UL SR. Furthermore, for example, when the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 has accumulated the send timing information on the UL Data and the reception timing information on the UL Grant, the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 determines that the UL BSR transmission unit 221 has already sent the UL BSR.
[0116] When the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 has determined that the UL SR transmission unit 223 has already sent the UL SR, the UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 215 , using the UL SR, removes the UL Grant reception feasible timing and the Uplink send feasible timing that have been already notified. Furthermore, when the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 has determined that the UL BSR transmission unit 221 has already sent the UL BSR, the UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 215 , using the UL BSR, removes the UL Grant reception feasible timing and the Uplink send feasible timing that have been already notified (step S 27 ).
[0117] On the other hand, when, in step S 26 , the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 has determined that the UL SR transmission unit 223 has not already sent the UL SR or the UL BSR transmission unit 221 has not already sent the UL BSR, the processing in step S 27 is not performed.
[0118] Subsequently, when the signal to be sent is the UL SR, the UL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit 218 , based on a result of the foregoing timing removal, provides a reception feasible timing candidate for the UL Grant and a send feasible timing candidate for the UL BSR that are to be contained in the UL SR. Then, the UL SR in which the provided timing information is contained is generated by the UL SR generating unit 222 and is sent to the DeNB 103 - 1 by the UL SR transmission unit 223 . Furthermore, when the signal to be sent is the UL BSR, the UL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit 218 , based on a result of the foregoing timing removal, provides a send feasible timing candidate for the UL Data and a reception feasible timing candidate for the UL Grant. Then, the UL BSR in which the provided timing information is contained is generated by the UL BSR generating unit 220 and sent to the DeNB 103 - 1 by the UL BSR transmission unit 221 (step S 28 ).
[0119] On the other hand, in the case where the transmission unit 204 is packaged in the DeNB 103 - 1 , the UL opposing node determination unit 216 determines in step S 22 that the opposing node is an SGW, so that the UL opposing node flag providing unit 217 provides an SGW flag (step S 29 ). Then, the DeNB 103 - 1 sends the UL Data to the SGW (step S 30 ).
[0120] Next, the transmission processing of the UL Grant in the DeNB 103 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 7 will be described.
[0121] FIG. 11 is a flowchart for describing an example of the transmission processing of the UL Grant in the DeNB 103 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 7 , in the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 7 .
[0122] First, when the UL SR/BSR receiving unit 110 receives the UL SR or the UL BSR (step S 41 ), it is determined whether the UL Grant transmission unit 118 has sent another UL Grant (step S 42 ). For example, it may be determined whether the UL Grant transmission unit 118 has sent another UL Grant, based on whether the UL Grant information accumulating unit 113 has accumulated the reception timing information on the UL Grant already sent from the UL Grant transmission unit 118 . Concretely, when the UL Grant information accumulating unit 113 has accumulated the reception timing information on the UL Grant already sent from the UL Grant transmission unit 118 , it may be determined that the UL Grant transmission unit 118 has sent another UL Grant.
[0123] When it is determined that the UL Grant transmission unit 118 has sent another UL Grant, the UL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit 114 removes the send timing of the Uplink and the reception timing of the UL Grant already allocated in the UL Grant accumulated in the UL Grant information accumulating unit 113 (step S 43 ).
[0124] On the other hand, when, in step S 42 , the UL Grant information accumulating unit 113 has not accumulated the UL Grant, the processing in step S 43 is not performed.
[0125] Subsequently, the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 111 determines whether the UL SR/UL BSR received by the UL SR/BSR receiving unit 110 contains the UL Grant reception feasible timing and the Uplink send feasible timing (step S 44 ). When the UL SR/UL BSR received by the UL SR/BSR receiving unit 110 contains the UL Grant reception feasible timing and the Uplink send feasible timing, the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 111 accumulates these timings. Then, the UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 112 extracts the UL Grant reception feasible timing and the Uplink send feasible timing accumulated in the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 111 (step S 45 ).
[0126] Subsequently, the UL Grant establishment timing providing unit 116 determines whether the UL Grant can be sent at the timings extracted by the UL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit 114 and the UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 112 (step S 46 ). When the UL Grant establishment timing providing unit 116 has determined that the UL Grant can be sent at the extracted timings, the UL Grant establishment timing providing unit 116 provides the timings as the reception timing of the UL Grant and the send timing of the UL BSR/UL Data. Then, the UL Grant generation unit 117 generates the UL Grant, based on information provided by the UL Grant establishment timing providing unit 116 . Subsequently, the UL Grant transmission unit 118 sends the UL Grant generated by the UL Grant generation unit 117 to the RN 203 (step S 47 ).
[0127] On the other hand, when, in step S 44 , the UL SR/UL BSR received by the UL SR/BSR receiving unit 110 does not contain the UL Grant reception feasible timing and the Uplink send feasible timing, the UL Grant generation unit 117 generates a UL Grant. Subsequently, the UL Grant transmission unit 118 sends the UL Grant generated by the UL Grant generation unit 117 to the RN 203 (step S 48 ).
[0128] Furthermore, it is assumed that, in step S 46 , the UL Grant establishment timing providing unit 116 determines that the UL Grant cannot be sent at the extracted timings. In this case, the UL Grant establishment timing providing unit 116 provides timings other than the aforementioned timings as a reception timing of the UL Grant and a send timing of the UL BSR/UL Data. Then, the UL Grant generation unit 117 generates a UL Grant based on information provided by the UL Grant establishment timing providing unit 116 . Subsequently, the UL Grant transmission unit 118 sends the UL Grant generated by the UL Grant generation unit 117 to the RN 203 (step S 49 ).
[0129] Next, transmission processing of the UL Data in the RN 203 illustrated in FIG. 7 will be described.
[0130] FIG. 12 is a flowchart for describing an example of the transmission processing of the UL Data in the RN 203 illustrated in FIG. 7 , in the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 7 .
[0131] First, when the UL Grant receiving unit 210 receives a UL Grant sent from the DeNB 103 - 1 (step S 51 ), the UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 accumulates timing information contained in the received UL Grant. Subsequently, the UL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 224 determines whether the UL Data can be sent, based on the timing information accumulated in the UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 (step S 52 ). For example, the UL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 224 determines that the UL Data cannot be sent, when the timing information accumulated in the UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 is used for sending to another DeNB. When the UL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 224 has determined that the UL Data can be sent at the timing received by the UL Grant receiving unit 210 , the UL Data transmission unit 226 sends the UL Data to the DeNB 103 - 1 at that timing (step S 53 ).
[0132] On the other hand, when, in step S 52 , the UL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 224 determines that the UL Data cannot be sent at the timing received by the UL Grant receiving unit 210 , the SR/BSR retransmission processing unit 225 performs the retransmission processing of the UL SR/BSR (step S 54 ).
[0133] Hereinafter, flow of data among the UEs 300 - 1 and 300 - 2 , the RN 203 , and the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 based on the foregoing processing will be described. FIG. 13 is a sequence chart for describing an example of the flow of data in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 7 .
[0134] First, the UE 300 - 1 sends to the RN 203 an uplink scheduling request signal (UL SR_a) for sending to the DeNB 103 - 1 UL Data that are uplink data (step S 61 ). Then, the RN 203 sends the response signal (UL Grant for SR_a) to the UE 300 - 1 (step S 62 ). Subsequently, the UE 300 - 1 sends to the RN 203 an uplink buffer status-reporting signal (UL BSR_a) that indicates the storage status of a buffer that temporarily stores the UL Data (step S 63 ). Then, the RN 203 sends the response signal (UL Grant for BSR_a) to the UE 300 - 1 (step S 64 ). The UE 300 - 1 , receiving the UL Grant for BSR_a, sends to the RN 203 the uplink data (UL Data_a) that is to be sent to the DeNB 103 - 1 (step S 65 ).
[0135] The RN 203 , after receiving the UL Data_a from the UE 300 - 1 , sends the UL SR_a to the DeNB 103 - 1 (step S 66 ). At this time, the RN 203 sends the UL SR_a in which a timing at which a UL Grant for SR_a that is a response signal to the UL SR_a can be received and a timing at which a UL BSR_a can be sent are contained.
[0136] Furthermore, the UE 300 - 2 sends to the RN 203 an uplink scheduling request signal (UL SR_b) for sending to the DeNB 103 - 2 UL Data that are uplink data (step S 67 ). Then, the RN 203 sends a response signal (UL Grant for SR_b) to the UE 300 - 2 (step S 68 ). Subsequently, the UE 300 - 2 sends to the RN 203 an uplink buffer status-reporting signal (UL BSR_b) that indicates the storage status of a buffer that temporarily stores the UL Data (step S 69 ). Then, the RN 203 sends a response signal (UL Grant for BSR_b) to the UE 300 - 2 (step S 70 ). Receiving the UL Grant for BSR_b, the UE 300 - 2 sends to the RN 203 uplink data (UL Data_b) that are to be sent to the DeNB 103 - 2 (step S 71 ).
[0137] The RN 203 , after receiving the UL Data_b from the UE 300 - 2 , sends the UL SR_b to the DeNB 103 - 2 (step S 72 ). At this time, the RN 203 sends the UL SR_b in which a timing at which a UL Grant for SR_b that is a response signal to the UL SR_b can be received and a timing at which a UL BSR_b can be sent are contained.
[0138] Note that the timing at which the UL Grant for SR_a can be received and which is sent in step S 66 and the timing at which the UL Grant for SR_b can be received and which is sent in step S 72 are timings such that the reception processing of one of the signals does not affect the reception processing of the other signal. This is just as stated above.
[0139] Furthermore, the timing at which the UL BSR_a can be sent and which is contained in the UL SR_a in step S 66 and the timing at which the UL BSR_b can be sent and which is contained in the UL SR_b in step S 72 are timings such that the transmission processing of one of the two signals does not affect the transmission processing of the other signal. This is also just as stated above.
[0140] Then, the DeNB 103 - 1 sends the UL Grant for SR_a to the RN 203 , based on the timing at which UL Grant for SR_a can be received and which is contained in the UL SR_a sent from the RN 203 (step S 73 ). Furthermore, the DeNB 103 - 2 sends the UL Grant for SR_b to the RN 203 , based on the timing at which the UL Grant for SR_b can be received and which is contained in the UL SR_b sent from the RN 203 (step S 74 ).
[0141] Subsequently, the RN 203 sends the UL BSR_a to the DeNB 103 - 1 at the timing notified to the DeNB 103 - 1 in step S 66 (step S 75 ). At this time, the RN 203 sends the UL BSR_a in which a timing at which the UL Grant for BSR_a, which is a response signal to the UL BSR_a, can be received and a timing at which the UL Data_a can be sent are contained. Furthermore, the RN 203 sends the UL BSR_b to the DeNB 103 - 2 at the timing notified to the DeNB 103 - 2 in step S 72 (step S 76 ). At this time, the RN 203 sends the UL BSR_b in which a timing at which the UL Grant for BSR_b, which is a response signal to the UL BSR_b, can be received and a timing at which the UL Data_b can be sent are contained.
[0142] Note that the timing at which the UL Grant for BSR_a can be received and which is contained in the UL BSR_a in step S 75 and the timing at which the UL Grant for BSR_b can be received and which is contained in the UL BSR_b in step S 76 are timings such that the reception processing of one of the two signals does not affect the reception processing of the other signal. This is just as stated above. Furthermore, the timing at which the UL Data_a can be sent and which is contained in the UL BSR_a in step S 75 and the timing at which the UL Data_b can be sent and which is contained in the UL BSR_b in step S 76 are timings such that the transmission processing of one of the two signals does not affect the transmission processing of the other signal. This is also just as stated above.
[0143] Then, the DeNB 103 - 1 sends the UL Grant for BSR_a to the RN 203 , based on the timing at which the UL Grant for BSR_a can be received and which is contained in the UL BSR_a sent from the RN 203 (step S 77 ). Furthermore, the DeNB 103 - 2 sends the UL Grant for BSR_b to the RN 203 , based on the timing at which the UL Grant for BSR_b can be received and which is contained in the UL BSR_b sent from the RN 203 (step S 78 ).
[0144] Subsequently, the RN 203 sends the UL Data_a to the DeNB 103 - 1 at the timing notified to the DeNB 103 - 1 in step S 75 (step S 79 ). Furthermore, the RN 203 sends the UL Data_b to the DeNB 103 - 2 at the timing notified to the DeNB 103 - 2 in step S 76 (step S 80 ).
[0145] Thus, the RN 203 notifies the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 of the timing at which the RN 203 can receive the response signal and the timing at which the RN 203 can send uplink data and then, at these timings, sends the request signal and the uplink data to the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 . Therefore, the communication system of the third example embodiment can prevent failure in the reception processing of the response signal and failure in the transmission processing of uplink data and therefore can made data transmission more efficient.
Fourth Example Embodiment
[0146] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a fourth example embodiment of the communication system of the present invention.
[0147] The communication system in this example embodiment includes DeNBs 104 - 1 and 104 - 2 , an RN 205 , and UEs 300 - 1 and 300 - 2 as illustrated in FIG. 14 .
[0148] The DeNB 104 - 1 is a radio base station that communicates with the UE 300 - 1 via the RN 205 . The DeNB 104 - 2 is a radio base station that communicates with the UE 300 - 2 via the RN 205 . The DeNBs 104 - 1 and 104 - 2 send downlink signals to the RN 205 , using an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing access method.
[0149] The RN 205 is a radio relay station that relays communication between the DeNB 104 - 1 and the UE 300 - 1 and communication between the DeNB 104 - 2 and the UE 300 - 2 .
[0150] The UE 300 - 1 is a communication terminal that communicates with the DeNB 104 - 1 via the RN 205 . The UE 300 - 2 is a communication terminal that communicates with the DeNB 104 - 2 via the RN 205 .
[0151] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of the RN 205 illustrated in FIG. 14 .
[0152] The RN 205 illustrated in FIG. 14 includes, as illustrated in FIG. 15 , a DL SR/BSR receiving unit 231 , a DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 232 , a DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 233 , a DL Grant information accumulating unit 234 , a DL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit 235 , a DL Grant establishment timing providing unit 236 , a DL Grant generation unit 237 , and a DL Grant transmission unit 238 . Note that FIG. 15 illustrates only structure elements concerning this example embodiment, of the structure elements that the RN 205 illustrated in FIG. 14 include.
[0153] The DL SR/BSR receiving unit 231 receives a downlink buffer status report (DL Buffer Status Report, referred to hereinafter as DL BSR) and a downlink scheduling information (DL Scheduling Request, referred to hereinafter as DL SR) sent from the DeNBs 104 - 1 and 104 - 2 . The DL SR/BSR receiving unit 231 outputs the DL SR and the DL BSR received to the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 232 .
[0154] The DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 232 accumulates a send feasible timing candidate for the DL BSR and reception feasible timing candidate information on a DL Grant that is a response signal to the DL SR which are contained in the DL SR output by the DL SR/BSR receiving unit 231 . The DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 232 accumulates a send feasible timing candidate for downlink data (DL Data) and reception feasible timing candidate information on the DL Grant that is a response signal to the DL BSR which are contained in the DL BSR output by the DL SR/BSR receiving unit 231 .
[0155] The DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 233 extracts from the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 232 the send feasible timing candidate for the DL BSR and the reception feasible timing candidate information for the DL Grant that is a response signal to the DL SR. Furthermore, the DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 233 extracts from the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 232 the send feasible timing candidate for the DL Data and the reception feasible timing candidate information on the DL Grant that is a response signal to the DL BSR.
[0156] The DL Grant information accumulating unit 234 accumulates the send timing of the DL BSR/DL Data and the reception timing information on the DL Grant that the DL Grant transmission unit 238 sends.
[0157] The DL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit 235 extracts the send timing of the DL SR/BSR and the reception timing information on the DL Grant from the DL Grant information accumulating unit 234 .
[0158] The DL Grant establishment timing providing unit 236 provides the reception timing of the DL Grant and the send timing of the DL BSR/DL Data, based on the timings extracted by the DL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit 235 and the DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 233 .
[0159] The DL Grant generation unit 237 generates the DL Grant based on the timing provided by the DL Grant establishment timing providing unit 236 .
[0160] The DL Grant transmission unit 238 sends the DL Grant generated by the DL Grant generation unit 237 to the DeNBs 104 - 1 and 104 - 2 .
[0161] FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of the DeNB 104 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 14 .
[0162] The DeNB 104 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 14 includes a transmission unit 105 and a DL Data receiving unit 131 as illustrated in FIG. 16 . Furthermore, the transmission unit 105 includes a DL Grant receiving unit 130 , a DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 , a DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 , a DL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 134 , a DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 135 , a DL opposing node determination unit 136 , a DL opposing node flag providing unit 137 , a DL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit 138 , a DL SR/BSR determination unit 139 , a DL BSR generating unit 140 , a DL BSR transmission unit 141 , a DL SR generating unit 142 , a DL SR transmission unit 143 , a DL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 144 , an SR/BSR retransmission processing unit 145 , and a DL Data transmission unit 146 . Note that FIG. 16 illustrates only structure elements concerning this example embodiment, of the structure element that the DeNB 104 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 14 includes. Furthermore, the DeNB 104 - 2 illustrated in FIG. 14 also include the structure elements illustrated in FIG. 16 .
[0163] The DL Data receiving unit 131 receives downlink data (DL Data) sent from a higher-order apparatus such as an SGW. The DL Data receiving unit 131 outputs the received DL Data to the DL opposing node determination unit 136 .
[0164] The DL Grant receiving unit 130 receives the DL Grant sent from the RN 205 . The DL Grant receiving unit 130 outputs the received DL Grant to the DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 .
[0165] The DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 accumulates the DL Grant output by the DL Grant receiving unit 130 .
[0166] The DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 accumulates send timing information on the DL BSR and reception timing information on the DL Grant that are contained in a DL SR already sent by the DL SR transmission unit 143 . Furthermore, the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 accumulates send timing information on the DL Data and reception timing information on the DL Grant that are contained in a DL BSR already sent from the DL BSR transmission unit 141 .
[0167] The DL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 134 extracts a send timing candidate for the DL BSR that is to be contained in the DL SR, by using the DL Grant accumulated in the DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 . Furthermore, the DL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 134 extracts a send feasible timing candidate for the DL Data that are to be contained in the DL BSR, by using the DL Grant accumulated in the DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 .
[0168] The DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 135 refers to the send timing candidate for the DL BSR and the reception timing for the DL Grant that are contained in the DL SR accumulated in the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 . Furthermore, the DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 135 refers to the send timing candidate for the DL Data and the reception timing of the DL Grant that are contained in the DL BSR accumulated in the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 . Then, the DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 135 extracts, from these timings referred to, the send timing candidates for the next DL BSR/DL Data that can be sent in the DL SR/BSR and the reception timing candidate for receiving the DL Grant for sending the DL BSR/DL Data.
[0169] The DL opposing node determination unit 136 determines an opposing node. Concretely, the DL opposing node determination unit 136 determines whether the opposing node is the RN 205 or the UE 300 - 1 or 300 - 2 . In this example embodiment, because the transmission unit 105 is packaged in the DeNB 104 - 1 , the DL opposing node determination unit 136 determines that the opposing node is the RN 205 . On the other hand, in the case where the transmission unit 105 is packaged in the RN 205 , the DL opposing node determination unit 136 determines that the opposing node is the UE 300 - 1 or 300 - 2 .
[0170] The DL opposing node flag providing unit 137 provides a flag according to a result of the determination performed by the DL opposing node determination unit 136 .
[0171] The DL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit 138 provides a send feasible timing candidate for the DL BSR and a reception feasible timing candidate for the DL Grant that are to be contained in the DL SR. These are accomplished based on the information extracted by the DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 135 and the DL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 134 .
[0172] Furthermore, the DL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit 138 provides a send feasible timing candidate for the DL Data and a reception feasible timing candidate for the DL Grant that are to be contained in the DL BSR. These are accomplished based on the information extracted by the DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 135 and the DL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 134 .
[0173] The DL SR/BSR determination unit 139 determines which one of the DL SR and the DL BSR is the next signal to be sent based on the DL Grant.
[0174] The DL BSR generating unit 140 generates the DL BSR in which the foregoing timing information is contained, when the DL SR/BSR determination unit 139 has determined that the next signal to be sent is the DL BSR.
[0175] The DL BSR transmission unit 141 is a downlink buffer status-reporting signal transmission unit that sends the DL BSR generated by the DL BSR generating unit 140 to the RN 205 . In other words, the DL BSR transmission unit 141 , when sending the DL BSR to the RN 205 , sends the DL BSR in which information that indicates a timing at which the DL Grant for the DL BSR can be received and information that indicates a timing at which the DL Data can be sent to the RN 205 are contained.
[0176] The DL SR generating unit 142 , when the DL SR/BSR determination unit 139 has determined that the next signal to be sent is the DL SR, generates the DL SR in which the foregoing timing information is contained.
[0177] The DL SR transmission unit 143 is a downlink scheduling request signal transmission unit that sends the DL SR generated by the DL SR generating unit 142 to the RN 205 . In other words, the DL SR transmission unit 143 , when sending the DL SR to the RN 205 , sends the DL SR in which information that indicates a timing at which the DL Grant for the DL SR can be received and information that indicates a timing at which the DL BSR can be sent to the RN 205 are contained.
[0178] The DL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 144 determines whether the sending of the DL Data is feasible, based on the DL Grant accumulated in the DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 . Concretely, the DL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 144 determines whether the sending of the DL Data is feasible based on the send timing notified in the DL Grant accumulated in the DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 .
[0179] The SR/BSR retransmission processing unit 145 performs the retransmission processing of the DL SR and the DL BSR when the DL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 144 has determined that the DL Data cannot be sent.
[0180] When the DL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 144 has determined that the DL Data can be sent, the DL Data transmission unit 146 sends the DL Data to the RN 205 .
[0181] Hereinafter, a communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 14 will be described. Here, the communication method will be described with reference to an example case where the RN 205 relays communication between the DeNB 104 - 1 and the UE 300 - 1 .
[0182] First, the transmission processing of the DL SR/DL BSR in the DeNB 104 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 14 will be described.
[0183] FIG. 17 is a flowchart for describing an example of the transmission processing of the DL SR/DL BSR in the DeNB 104 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 14 , in the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 14 .
[0184] First, when the DeNB 104 - 1 starts sending a DL SR or a DL BSR (step S 91 ), the DL opposing node determination unit 136 determines which one of the RN 205 and the UE 300 - 1 is the opposing node (step S 92 ). When the DL opposing node determination unit 136 has determined that the opposing node is the RN 205 , the DL opposing node flag providing unit 137 provides an RN flag (step S 93 ).
[0185] Then, it is determined whether the DL Grant receiving unit 130 has received the DL Grant, that is, whether the DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 has accumulated the DL Grant (step S 94 ). When the DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 has accumulated the DL Grant, the DL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 134 removes the send timing of the Downlink already allocated in the accumulated DL Grant (step S 95 ).
[0186] On the other hand, when, in step S 94 , the DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 has not accumulated the DL Grant, the processing in step S 95 is not performed.
[0187] Subsequently, the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 determines whether the DL SR transmission unit 143 has already sent the DL SR or whether the DL BSR transmission unit 141 has already sent the DL BSR (step S 96 ). This determination utilizes the determination carried out by the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 as to whether the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 has accumulated the send timing information on the DL BSR and the reception timing information on the DL Grant or the send timing information on the DL Data and the reception timing information on the DL Grant.
[0188] For example, when the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 has accumulated the send timing information on the DL BSR and the reception timing information on the DL Grant, the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 determines that the DL SR transmission unit 143 has already sent the DL SR.
[0189] Furthermore, for example, it is assumed that the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 has accumulated the send timing information on the DL Data and the reception timing information on the DL Grant. In this case, the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 determines that the DL BSR transmission unit 141 has already sent the DL BSR.
[0190] Furthermore, it is assumed that the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 has determined that the DL SR transmission unit 143 has already sent the DL SR. In this case, the DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 135 removes the DL Grant reception feasible timing and the Downlink send feasible timing that have been already notified by using the DL SR.
[0191] Furthermore, it is assumed that the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 has determined that the DL BSR transmission unit 141 has already sent the DL BSR. In this case, the DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 135 removes the DL Grant reception feasible timing and the Downlink send feasible timing that have been already notified by using the DL BSR (step S 97 ).
[0192] On the other hand, when, in step S 96 , the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 determines that the DL SR transmission unit 143 has not already sent the DL SR or the DL BSR transmission unit 141 has not already sent the DL BSR, the processing in step S 97 is not performed.
[0193] Subsequently, when the signal to be sent is the DL SR, the DL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit 138 , based on a result of the foregoing timing removal, provides a send feasible timing candidate for the DL BSR and a reception feasible timing candidate for the DL Grant that are to be contained in the DL SR. Then, the DL SR in which the provided timing information is contained is generated by the DL SR generating unit 142 and sent to the RN 205 by the DL SR transmission unit 143 . Furthermore, when the signal to be sent is the DL BSR, the DL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit 138 , based on a result of the foregoing timing removal, provides a send feasible timing candidate for the DL Data and a reception feasible timing candidate for the DL Grant. Then, the DL BSR in which the provided timing information is contained is generated by the DL BSR generating unit 140 and sent to the RN 205 by the DL BSR transmission unit 141 (step S 98 ).
[0194] On the other hand, in the case where the transmission unit 105 is packaged in the RN 205 , the DL opposing node determination unit 136 determines in step S 92 that the opposing node is the UE 300 - 1 . Therefore, the DL opposing node flag providing unit 137 provides a UE flag (step S 99 ). Then, the RN 205 sends the DL Data to the UE 300 - 1 (step S 100 ).
[0195] Next, transmission processing of the DL Grant in the RN 205 illustrated in FIG. 14 will be described.
[0196] FIG. 18 is a flowchart for describing an example of the transmission processing of the DL Grant in the RN 205 illustrated in FIG. 14 , in the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 14 .
[0197] First, when the DL SR/BSR receiving unit 231 receives a DL SR or a DL BSR (step S 111 ), it is determined whether the DL Grant transmission unit 238 has sent another DL Grant (step S 112 ). For example, the DL Grant information accumulating unit 234 may determine whether the DL Grant transmission unit 238 has sent another DL Grant, based on whether the DL Grant information accumulating unit 234 has accumulated the reception timing information on the DL Grant already sent from the DL Grant transmission unit 238 . Concretely, the DL Grant information accumulating unit 234 may determine that the DL Grant transmission unit 238 has sent another DL Grant, when the DL Grant information accumulating unit 234 has accumulated the reception timing information on the DL Grant already sent from the DL Grant transmission unit 238 .
[0198] It is assumed that, in step S 112 , it is determined that the DL Grant transmission unit 238 has sent another DL Grant. In this case, the DL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit 235 removes the reception timing for the DL Grant and the send timing for the Downlink that have been already allocated in the DL Grant accumulated in the DL Grant information accumulating unit 234 (step S 113 ).
[0199] On the other hand, when, in step S 112 , the DL Grant information accumulating unit 234 has not accumulated the DL Grant, the processing in step S 113 is not performed.
[0200] Subsequently, the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 232 determines whether the DL SR/DL BSR received by the DL SR/BSR receiving unit 231 contains the DL Grant reception feasible timing and the Downlink send feasible timing (step S 114 ). When the DL SR/DL BSR received by the DL SR/BSR receiving unit 231 contains the DL Grant reception feasible timing and the Downlink send feasible timing, the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 232 accumulates these timings. Then, the DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 233 extracts the DL Grant reception feasible timing and the Downlink send feasible timing accumulated in the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 232 (step S 115 ).
[0201] Subsequently, the DL Grant establishment timing providing unit 236 determines whether the DL Grant can be sent at the timings extracted by the DL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit 235 and the DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 233 (step S 116 ). When the DL Grant establishment timing providing unit 236 determines that the DL Grant can be sent at the extracted timings, the DL Grant establishment timing providing unit 236 provides these timings as the reception timing for the DL Grant and the send timing for the DL BSR/DL Data. Then, the DL Grant generation unit 237 generates the DL Grant based on the information provided by the DL Grant establishment timing providing unit 236 . Subsequently, the DL Grant transmission unit 238 sends the DL Grant generated by the DL Grant generation unit 237 to the DeNB 104 - 1 (step S 117 ).
[0202] On the other hand, it is assumed that, in step S 114 , the DL SR/DL BSR received by the DL SR/BSR receiving unit 231 does not contain the DL Grant reception feasible timing and the Downlink send feasible timing. In this case, the DL Grant generation unit 237 generates a DL Grant. Subsequently, the DL Grant transmission unit 238 sends the DL Grant generated by the DL Grant generation unit 237 to the DeNB 104 - 1 (step S 118 ).
[0203] Furthermore, it is assumed that, in step S 116 , the DL Grant establishment timing providing unit 236 determines that the DL Grant cannot be sent at the extracted timings. In this case, the DL Grant establishment timing providing unit 236 provides timings other than these timings as a reception timing for the DL Grant and a send timing for the DL BSR/DL Data. Then, the DL Grant generation unit 237 generates a DL Grant based on the information provided by the DL Grant establishment timing providing unit 236 . Subsequently, the DL Grant transmission unit 238 sends the DL Grant generated by the DL Grant generation unit 237 to the DeNB 104 - 1 (step S 119 ).
[0204] Next, transmission processing of the DL Data in the DeNB 104 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 14 will be described.
[0205] FIG. 19 is a flowchart for describing an example of the transmission processing of the DL Data in DeNB 104 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 14 , in the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 14 .
[0206] First, when the DL Grant receiving unit 130 receives a DL Grant sent from the RN 205 (step S 121 ), the DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 accumulates the timing information contained in the received DL Grant. Subsequently, the DL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 144 determines whether the DL Data can be sent, based on the timing information accumulated by the DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 (step S 122 ). For example, the DL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 144 determines that the DL Data cannot be sent, when the timing information accumulated in the DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 is used for sending to another RN. When the DL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 144 determines that the DL Data can be sent at the timing received by the DL Grant receiving unit 130 , the DL Data transmission unit 146 sends the DL Data to the RN 205 at that timing (step S 123 ).
[0207] On the other hand, when, in step S 122 , the DL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 144 determines that the DL Data cannot be sent at the timing received by the DL Grant receiving unit 130 , the SR/BSR retransmission processing unit 145 performs the retransmission processing of the DL SR/BSR (step S 124 ).
[0208] Hereinafter, flow of data among the UEs 300 - 1 and 300 - 2 , the RN 205 , and the DeNBs 104 - 1 and 104 - 2 based on the foregoing processing will be described.
[0209] FIG. 20 is a sequence chart for describing an example of the flow of data in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 14 .
[0210] First, the DeNB 104 - 1 , after receiving downlink data from a higher-order apparatus, such as an SGW, sends a DL SR_a to the RN 205 (step S 131 ). At this time, the DeNB 104 - 1 sends the DL SR_a in which a timing at which the DL Grant for SR_a that is a response signal to the DL SR_a can be received and a timing at which the DL BSR_a can be sent are contained.
[0211] Furthermore, the DeNB 104 - 2 , after receiving downlink data from a higher-order apparatus, such as SGW, sends a DL SR_b to the RN 205 (step S 132 ). At this time, the DeNB 104 - 2 sends the DL SR_b in which a timing at which the DL Grant for SR_b that is a response signal to the DL SR_b can be received and a timing at which the DL BSR_b can be sent are contained.
[0212] Then, the RN 205 sends the DL Grant for SR_a, which is a response signal to the DL SR_a, to the DeNB 104 - 1 at the reception feasible timing contained in the DL SR_a sent from the DeNB 104 - 1 (step S 133 ). Furthermore, the RN 205 sends the DL Grant for SR_b, which is a response signal to the DL SR_b, to the DeNB 104 - 2 at the reception feasible timing contained in the DL SR_b sent from the DeNB 104 - 2 (step S 134 ).
[0213] Note that when the send timings for the DL Grant for SR_a and the DL Grant for SR_b are simultaneous, the DL Grants cannot be sent at the timings contained in the DL SR_a and the DL SR_b. In this case, the RN 205 may change the reception timings for the DL Grant for SR_a and the DL Grant for SR_b to timings other than the timings contained in the DL SR_a and the DL SR_b. In this case, the RN 205 may also change the send timings for the DL BSR_a and the DL BSR_b to different timings. Then, the RN 205 may generate the DL Grant for SR_a and the DL Grant for SR_b and sent them to the DeNB 104 - 1 , based on these changed timings. These operations correspond to the processing in step S 119 in FIG. 18 .
[0214] Subsequently, the DeNB 104 - 1 sends the DL BSR_a to the RN 205 at the send feasible timing for the DL BSR_a that is contained in the DL SR_a that the DeNB 104 - 1 has sent (step S 135 ). At this time, the DeNB 104 - 1 sends the DL BSR_a in which a reception feasible timing for a DL Grant for BSR_a that is a response signal to the DL BSR_a and a send feasible timing for the DL Data_a are contained. Furthermore, the DeNB 104 - 2 sends the DL BSR_b to the RN 205 at the send feasible timing for the DL BSR b that is contained in the DL SR b that the DeNB 104 - 2 has sent (step S 136 ). At this time, the DeNB 104 - 2 sends the DL BSR_b in which a reception feasible timing for the DL Grant for BSR_b that is a response signal to the DL BSR_b and a send feasible timing for the DL Data_b are contained.
[0215] Then, the RN 205 sends the DL Grant for BSR_a, which is a response signal to the DL BSR_a, to the DeNB 104 - 1 at the reception feasible timing contained in the DL BSR_a sent from the DeNB 104 - 1 (step S 137 ). Furthermore, the RN 205 sends the DL Grant for BSR_b, which is a response signal to the DL BSR_b, to the DeNB 104 - 2 at the reception feasible timing contained in the DL BSR_b sent from the DeNB 104 - 2 (step S 138 ).
[0216] After that, the DeNB 104 - 1 sends the DL Data_a to the RN 205 at the send feasible timing for the DL Data_a contained in the DL BSR_a that has been sent (step S 139 ). The RN 205 , after receiving the DL Data_a sent from the DeNB 104 - 1 , sends the DL Data_a to the UE 300 - 1 (step S 140 ).
[0217] Furthermore, the DeNB 104 - 2 sends the DL Data_b to the RN 205 at the send feasible timing for the DL Data_b contained in the DL BSR_b that has been sent (step S 141 ). The RN 205 , after receiving the DL Data_b sent from the DeNB 104 - 2 , sends the DL Data_b to the UE 300 - 2 (step S 142 ).
[0218] Thus, each of the DeNBs 104 - 1 and 104 - 2 notifies the RN 205 of a timing at which the DeNB can receive a response signal and a timing at which the DeNB can send downlink data and then, at these timings, sends the request signal and the downlink data to the RN 205 . Therefore, the communication system of the fourth example embodiment can be prevent failure in the reception processing of the response signal and failure in the transmission processing of the downlink data and therefore can make data transmission more efficient.
[0219] Note that, as a modification, a system combining the third example embodiment and the fourth example embodiment is also permissible.
[0220] Advantageous effects of the example embodiments will be stated below.
[0221] A first advantageous effect is that because of having the functions of sending and receiving the DL SR, the DL BSR, and the DL Grant, the example embodiments can negotiate the timing to send DL Data not only with higher-order radio base station apparatuses but also with lower-order radio relay base station apparatuses. Furthermore, the DL SR and the DL BSR can be provided with a send feasible timing for the next Downlink communication (DL BSR and DL Data) and a reception timing for the DL Grant.
[0222] A reason for that is that the negotiation for the timing to send DL Data between nodes makes it possible to prevent DL Data from being received at the same timing.
[0223] A second advantageous effect is that the UL SR and the UL BSR are provided with a send feasible timing for the next Uplink communication (UL BSR and UL Data) and a reception timing for a UL Grant.
[0224] A reason for that is that the negotiation for the timing to send UL Data between nodes makes it possible to prevent UL Data from being received at the same timing.
[0225] A third advantageous effect is that, using the DL opposing node determination unit, it can be determined whether to perform a method of sending DL Data as in the related art or the sending of a DL SR or the like, according to an opposing node.
[0226] A reason for that is that because while a radio relay base station apparatus has a plurality of higher-order radio base station apparatuses, communication with a radio communication terminal involves a DeNB or a higher-order RN that is uniquely determined, an unnecessary radio scheduling function can be excluded.
[0227] A fourth advantageous effect is that, using the UL opposing node determination unit, it can be determined whether to perform a method of sending UL Data as in the related art or the sending of a UL SR or the like, according to an opposing node.
[0228] A reason for that is that because while a radio relay base station apparatus has a plurality of higher-order radio base station apparatuses, communication with an SGW or the like involves a high-order node that is uniquely determined, an unnecessary radio scheduling function can be excluded.
[0229] As an example of application of the present invention, the case of sharing a radio base station apparatus in an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) system or the like among a plurality of operators and performing the RAN (Radio Access Network) sharing including RNs will lead a better radio resource.
[0230] A part or the entirety of the foregoing example embodiments can be described as in the following supplementary notes but not limited to the following.
[0231] (Supplementary Note 1) A radio relay station that includes a transmission unit that notifies a radio base station of a timing at which uplink data sent from a communication terminal are able to be sent to the radio base station and then sends the uplink data to the radio base station.
[0232] (Supplementary Note 2) The radio relay station according to supplementary note 1, wherein the transmission unit includes
[0233] an uplink scheduling request signal transmission unit that sends to the radio base station an uplink scheduling request signal for sending to the radio base station the uplink data sent from the communication terminal, after containing, in the uplink scheduling request signal, information that indicates a timing at which a response signal to the uplink scheduling request signal is able to be received and information that indicates a timing at which an uplink buffer status-reporting signal is able to be sent to the radio base station, and
[0234] an uplink buffer status-reporting signal transmission unit that receives the response signal to the uplink scheduling request signal and then sends to the radio base station the uplink buffer status-reporting signal after containing, in the uplink buffer status-reporting signal, information that indicates a timing at which a response signal to the uplink buffer status-reporting signal is able to be received and information that indicates a timing at which the uplink data are able to be sent to the radio base station.
[0235] (Supplementary Note 3) A radio base station that includes a transmission unit that notifies a radio relay station that relays communication with communication terminals of a timing at which downlink data are able to be sent to the radio relay station and then sends the downlink data to the radio relay station.
[0236] (Supplementary Note 4) The radio base station according to supplementary note 3, wherein the transmission unit includes
[0237] a downlink scheduling request signal transmission unit that sends to the radio relay station a downlink scheduling request signal for sending the downlink data to the radio relay station, after containing, in the downlink scheduling request signal, information that indicates a timing at which a response signal to the downlink scheduling request signal is able to be received and information that indicates a timing at which a downlink buffer status-reporting signal is able to be sent to the radio relay station, and
[0238] a downlink buffer status-reporting signal transmission unit that receives the response signal to the downlink scheduling request signal and then sends the downlink buffer status-reporting signal to the radio relay station after containing, in the downlink buffer status-reporting signal, information that indicates a timing at which a response signal to the downlink buffer status-reporting signal is able to be received and information that indicates a timing at which the downlink data are able to be sent to the radio relay station.
[0239] (Supplementary Note 5) In a communication system that includes a radio base station and a radio relay station that relays communication between the radio base station and a communication terminal,
[0240] a communication system in which the radio relay station includes a transmission unit that notifies the radio base station of a timing at which uplink data sent from the communication terminal are able to be sent to the radio base station and then sends the uplink data to the radio base station.
[0241] (Supplementary Note 6) In a communication system that includes a radio base station and a radio relay station that relays communication between the radio base station and a communication terminal,
[0242] a communication system in which the radio base station includes a transmission unit that notifies the radio relay station of a timing at which downlink data are able to be sent to the radio relay station and then sends the downlink data to the radio relay station.
[0243] (Supplementary Note 7) A communication method that performs processing of notifying a radio base station of a timing at which uplink data sent from a communication terminal are able to be sent to the radio base station and then sending the uplink data to the radio base station.
[0244] (Supplementary Note 8) A communication method that performs processing of notifying a radio relay station that relays communication between communication terminals of a timing at which downlink data are able to be sent to the radio relay station and then sending the downlink data to the radio relay station.
[0245] (Supplementary Note 9) In a communication method in a communication system that includes a radio base station and a radio relay station that relays communication between the radio base station and a communication terminal,
[0246] a communication method in which the radio relay station performs processing of notifying the radio base station of a timing at which uplink data sent from the communication terminal are able to be sent to the radio base station and then sending the uplink data to the radio base station.
[0247] (Supplementary Note 10) In a communication method in a communication system that includes a radio base station and a radio relay station that relays communication between the radio base station and a communication terminal,
[0248] a communication method in which the radio base station performs processing of notifying the radio relay station of a timing at which downlink data are able to be sent to the radio relay station and then sending the downlink data to the radio relay station.
[0249] (Supplementary Note 11) The radio relay station according to supplementary note 2, which sends an uplink signal to the radio base station by using a communication method of a SC-FDMA (Single Carrier-Frequency Division Multiple Access) or a TD-SCDMA (Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access).
[0250] (Supplementary Note 12) The radio base station according to supplementary note 4, which sends downlink signal to the radio relay station by using an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing access method.
[0251] While the invention of the present application has been described above with reference to example embodiments, the invention of the present application is not limited to the foregoing example embodiments. The structure and details of the invention of the present application can be changed in various manner that can be understood within the scope of the invention of the present application by a person with ordinary skill in the art.
[0252] This application claims the benefit of the priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-210873 filed on Oct. 15, 2014, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety.
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST
[0253] 100 , 101 , 103 - 1 , 103 - 2 , 104 - 1 , 104 - 2 DeNB
[0254] 102 , 105 , 201 , 204 Transmission unit
[0255] 110 UL SR/BSR receiving unit
[0256] 111 UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit
[0257] 112 UL Transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit
[0258] 113 UL Grant information accumulating unit
[0259] 114 UL Transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit
[0260] 115 UL opposing node determination unit
[0261] 116 UL Grant establishment timing providing unit
[0262] 117 UL Grant generation unit
[0263] 118 UL Grant transmission unit
[0264] 130 DL Grant receiving unit
[0265] 131 DL Data receiving unit
[0266] 132 DL Grant information accumulating unit
[0267] 133 DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit
[0268] 134 DL Transmission establishment timing extracting unit
[0269] 135 DL Transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit
[0270] 136 DL opposing node determination unit
[0271] 137 DL opposing node flag providing unit
[0272] 138 DL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit
[0273] 139 DL SR/BSR determination unit
[0274] 140 DL BSR generating unit
[0275] 141 DL BSR transmission unit
[0276] 142 DL SR generating unit
[0277] 143 DL SR transmission unit
[0278] 144 DL Data transmission feasibility determination unit
[0279] 145 , 225 SR/BSR retransmission processing unit
[0280] 146 DL Data transmission unit
[0281] 200 , 202 , 203 , 205 RN
[0282] 210 UL Grant receiving unit
[0283] 211 UL Data receiving unit
[0284] 212 UL Grant information accumulating unit
[0285] 213 UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit
[0286] 214 UL transmission establishment timing extracting unit
[0287] 215 UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit
[0288] 216 UL opposing node determination unit
[0289] 217 UL opposing node flag providing unit
[0290] 218 UL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit
[0291] 219 UL SR/BSR determination unit
[0292] 220 UL BSR generating unit
[0293] 221 UL BSR transmission unit
[0294] 222 UL SR generating unit
[0295] 223 UL SR transmission unit
[0296] 224 UL Data transmission feasibility determination unit
[0297] 226 UL Data transmission unit
[0298] 231 DL SR/BSR receiving unit
[0299] 232 DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit
[0300] 233 DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit
[0301] 234 DL Grant information accumulating unit
[0302] 235 DL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit
[0303] 236 DL Grant establishment timing providing unit
[0304] 237 DL Grant generation unit
[0305] 238 DL Grant transmission unit
[0306] 300 , 300 - 1 , 300 - 2 UE | In order to achieve a more efficient data transmission, an RN 200, which is to relay communications between UE 300 and a DeNB 100, notifies, in advance, the DeNB 100 of a timing at which RN 200 can transmit, to the DeNB 100, upstream data received from the UE 300, and thereafter the RN 200 transmits the upstream data to the DeNB 100. | Summarize the patent information, clearly outlining the technical challenges and proposed solutions. | [
"TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a radio relay station, a radio base station, a communication system, and a communication method that perform communication.",
"BACKGROUND ART [0002] In recent years, in order to substantially widen a cover area of a radio base station or to maintain an electric field strength of received signals at a communication terminal, a technology in which a radio relay station connected to a radio base station is provided and the radio relay station is caused to relay communications between the radio base station and a communication terminal has been considered.",
"[0003] FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating one form of a common radio communication system provided with a relay apparatus.",
"[0004] The radio communication system illustrated in FIG. 21 is composed of DeNBs (Donor evolved Node Bs) 1000 - 1 and 1000 - 2 that are radio base stations, an RN (Relay Node) 2000 that is a radio relay station, and UEs (User Equipments) 3000 - 1 and 3000 - 2 that are communication terminals.",
"[0005] The RN 2000 relays communication between the DeNB 1000 - 1 and the UE 3000 - 1 .",
"[0006] Furthermore, the RN 2000 relays communication between the DeNB 1000 - 2 and the UE 3000 - 2 .",
"[0007] Furthermore, a technology in which, when, in a radio relay station as described above, a downlink line control signal is sent from a radio base station to the radio relay station at a timing at which the radio relay station is sending a downlink line control signal to a communication terminal, the radio relay station allocates a resource region that can receive the downlink line control signal sent from the radio base station has been considered (refer to, e.g., PTL 1).",
"CITATION LIST Patent Literature [0008] [PTL 1] International Publication No. WO 2012/147295 SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem [0009] Hereinafter, processing in the radio communication system illustrated in FIG. 21 will be described.",
"[0010] FIG. 22 is a sequence chart for describing an example of uplink data transmission processing in the radio communication system illustrated in FIG. 21 .",
"[0011] Firstly, the UE 3000 - 1 sends, to the RN 2000 , an uplink scheduling request signal (SR_a) for sending uplink data to the DeNB 1000 - 1 .",
"Then, the RN 2000 sends, as a response signal therefor, an uplink scheduling information signal (UL_Grant for SR_a) to the UE 3000 - 1 .",
"Subsequently, the UE 3000 - 1 sends, to the RN 2000 , an uplink buffer status-reporting signal (BSR_a) indicating a storage status of a buffer that temporarily stores uplink data.",
"Then, the RN 2000 sends a response signal (UL_Grant for BSR_a) therefor to the UE 3000 - 1 .",
"When receiving the UL_Grant for BSR_a, the UE 3000 - 1 sends, to the RN 2000 , uplink data (UL_Data_a) that are to be sent to the DeNB 1000 - 1 .",
"After receiving the UL_Data_a from the UE 3000 - 1 , the RN 2000 sends an SR_a to the DeNB 1000 - 1 .",
"[0012] Furthermore, the UE 3000 - 2 sends, to the RN 2000 , an uplink scheduling request signal (SR_b) for sending uplink data to the DeNB 1000 - 2 .",
"Then, the RN 2000 sends, as a response signal therefor, an uplink scheduling information signal (UL_Grant for SR_b) to the UE 3000 - 2 .",
"Subsequently, the UE 3000 - 2 sends, to the RN 2000 , an uplink buffer status-reporting signal (BSR_b) that indicates a storage status of a buffer that temporarily stores uplink data.",
"Then, the RN 2000 sends a response signal (UL_Grant for BSR_b) therefor to the UE 3000 - 2 .",
"When receiving the UL_Grant for BSR_b, the UE 3000 - 2 sends, to the RN 2000 , uplink data (UL_Data_b) that are to be sent to the DeNB 1000 - 2 .",
"After receiving the UL_Data_b from the UE 3000 - 2 , the RN 2000 sends an SR_b to the DeNB 1000 - 2 .",
"[0013] After that, when, simultaneously with the DeNB 1000 - 1 sending the UL_Grant for SR_a to the RN 2000 , the DeNB 1000 - 2 sends the UL_Grant for SR_b to the RN 2000 , the RN 2000 can perform reception processing of only one of the uplink scheduling information signals.",
"Furthermore, even when the RN 2000 attempts to simultaneously perform sending of the BSR_a to the DeNB 1000 - 1 and sending of the BSR_b to the DeNB 1000 - 2 , the RN 2000 can send the uplink buffer status-reporting signal for only one thereof.",
"[0014] Furthermore, when the DeNB 1000 - 2 sends the UL_Grant for BSR_b to the RN 2000 simultaneously with the DeNB 1000 - 1 sending the UL_Grant for BSR_a to the RN 2000 , the RN 2000 can only perform reception processing of only one thereof.",
"Furthermore, even when the RN 2000 attempts to simultaneously perform transmission of the UL_Data_a to the DeNB 1000 - 1 and transmission of the UL_Data_b to the DeNB 1000 - 2 , the RN 2000 can send only the uplink data to one thereof.",
"[0015] Thus, in some cases, timings at which signals are sent to or received from a plurality of radio base stations are simultaneous.",
"For example, when transmission/reception of such signals between the RN 2000 and the DeNB 1000 - 2 cannot be carried out, retransmission processing for these signals is performed with the DeNB 1000 - 2 , resulting in a problem of delayed uplink data transmission.",
"[0016] FIG. 23 is a sequence chart for describing another example of the uplink data transmission processing in the radio communication system illustrated in FIG. 21 .",
"In FIG. 23 , a procedure until the RN 2000 attempts to perform simultaneously sending of the UL_Data_a to the DeNB 1000 - 1 and sending of the UL_Data_b to the DeNB 1000 - 2 is substantially the same as a procedure in FIG. 22 .",
"In FIG. 23 , a case where a packet is subsequently discarded will be described.",
"[0017] FIG. 23 illustrates a case where, when timings at which signals are sent to or received from a plurality of radio base stations become simultaneous and, therefore, for example, the RN 2000 cannot perform transmission/reception of such signals to/from the DeNB 1000 - 2 , a packet (uplink data) related to delay is discarded.",
"For example, when the RN 2000 cannot send uplink data to the DeNB 1000 - 2 and, therefore, an amount of time for which the uplink data are buffered within the RN 2000 runs out, the buffered uplink data are discarded.",
"Then, transmission/reception of the signals are performed between the UE 3000 - 2 and the RN 2000 again, retransmission processing for these signals is performed between the RN 2000 and the DeNB 1000 - 2 , resulting in a problem of the uplink data transmission being delayed.",
"[0018] FIG. 24 is a sequence chart for describing an example of downlink data transmission processing performed by the radio communication system illustrated in FIG. 21 .",
"[0019] When the DeNB 1000 - 2 sends downlink data (DL_Data_b) to the RN 2000 simultaneously with the DeNB 1000 - 1 sending downlink data (DL_Data_a) to the RN 2000 , the RN 2000 can perform reception processing for the downlink data from only one of the DeNB 1000 - 2 and the DeNB 1000 - 1 .",
"For example, when the RN 2000 has performed only reception processing of the DL_Data_a sent from the DeNB 1000 - 1 , the RN 2000 sends the DL_Data_a to the UE 3000 - 1 .",
"Then, as a response to receiving the downlink data, the UE 3000 - 1 sends an Ack(HARQ)_a to the RN 2000 .",
"[0020] After receiving the Ack(HARQ)_a from the UE 3000 - 1 , the RN 2000 sends the Ack(HARQ)_a to the DeNB 1000 - 1 .",
"On the other hand, since the RN 2000 has not received the downlink data from the DeNB 1000 - 2 , the RN 2000 sends, to the DeNB 1000 - 2 , a Nack(HARQ)_b that is a signal indicating that the RN 2000 has not received the downlink data from the DeNB 1000 - 2 .",
"[0021] Then, the DeNB 1000 - 2 resends, to the RN 2000 , the downlink data (DL_Data_b) to be sent to the UE 3000 - 2 .",
"When receiving the DL_Data_b from the DeNB 1000 - 2 , the RN 2000 sends the DL_Data_b to the UE 3000 - 2 .",
"[0022] Thus, the downlink data transmission has a problem of being delayed by simultaneous transmission, as is the case with the uplink data transmission.",
"[0023] Furthermore, the technology described in PTL 1 is merely a technology that carries out allocation of resource regions and, as is the case with the foregoing configuration, has a problem of being incapable of preventing data transmission delay caused by simultaneous sending to or simultaneous reception from a plurality of nodes.",
"[0024] An object of the present invention is to provide a radio relay station, a radio base station, a communication system, and a communication method that solve the problems stated above.",
"Solution to Problem [0025] A radio relay station according to the present invention includes [0026] a transmission means for notifying a radio base station of a timing at which uplink data sent from a communication terminal are able to be sent to the radio base station and then sending the uplink data to the radio base station.",
"[0027] Furthermore, a radio base station according to the present invention includes [0028] a transmission means for notifying a radio relay station that relays communication with a communication terminal of a timing at which downlink data are able to be sent to the radio relay station and then sending the downlink data to the radio relay station.",
"[0029] Furthermore, a communication system according to the present invention is a communication system that includes a radio base station and a radio relay station that relays communication between the radio base station and a communication terminal, wherein [0030] the radio relay station includes a transmission means for notifying the radio base station of a timing at which uplink data sent from the communication terminal are able to be sent to the radio base station and then sending the uplink data to the radio base station.",
"[0031] Furthermore, a communication system according to the present invention is a communication system that includes a radio base station and a radio relay station that relays communication between the radio base station and a communication terminal, wherein [0032] the radio base station includes a transmission means for notifying the radio relay station of a timing at which downlink data are able to be sent to the radio relay station and then sending the downlink data to the radio relay station.",
"[0033] Furthermore, a communication method according to the present invention includes [0034] notifying a radio base station of a timing at which uplink data sent from a communication terminal are able to be sent to the radio base station and then sending the uplink data to the radio base station.",
"[0035] Furthermore, a communication method according to the present invention includes [0036] notifying a radio relay station that relays communication with a communication terminal of a timing at which downlink data are able to be sent to the radio relay station and then sending the downlink data to the radio relay station.",
"[0037] Furthermore, a communication method according to the present invention [0038] is a communication method in a communication system that includes a radio base station and a radio relay station that relays communication between the radio base station and a communication terminal, and [0039] includes, by the radio relay station, notifying the radio base station of a timing at which uplink data sent from the communication terminal are able to be sent to the radio base station and then sending the uplink data to the radio base station.",
"[0040] Furthermore, a communication method according to the present invention [0041] is a communication method in a communication system that includes a radio base station and a radio relay station that relays communication between the radio base station and a communication terminal, and [0042] includes, by the radio base station, performing processing of notifying the radio relay station of a timing at which downlink data are able to be sent to the radio relay station and then sending the downlink data to the radio relay station.",
"Advantageous Effects of Invention [0043] As described above, in the present invention, data transmission can be made more efficient.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS [0044] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a first example embodiment of the communication system of the present invention.",
"[0045] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of an RN illustrated in FIG. 1 .",
"[0046] FIG. 3 is a flowchart for describing an example of a communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 1 .",
"[0047] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a second example embodiment of the communication system of the present invention.",
"[0048] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of a DeNB illustrated in FIG. 4 .",
"[0049] FIG. 6 is a flowchart for describing an example of a communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 4 .",
"[0050] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a third example embodiment of the communication system of present invention.",
"[0051] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of an RN illustrated in FIG. 7 .",
"[0052] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of a DeNB illustrated in FIG. 7 .",
"[0053] FIG. 10 is a flowchart for describing an example of transmission processing of a UL SR/UL BSR in the RN illustrated in FIG. 7 , in a communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 7 .",
"[0054] FIG. 11 is a flowchart for describing an example of transmission processing of a UL Grant in a DeNB illustrated in FIG. 7 , in the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 7 .",
"[0055] FIG. 12 is a flowchart for describing an example of transmission processing of a UL Data in the RN illustrated in FIG. 7 , in the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 7 .",
"[0056] FIG. 13 is a sequence chart for describing an example of flow of data in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 7 .",
"[0057] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a fourth example embodiment of the communication system of the present invention.",
"[0058] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of an RN illustrated in FIG. 14 .",
"[0059] FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of a DeNB illustrated in FIG. 14 .",
"[0060] FIG. 17 is a flowchart for describing an example of transmission processing of DL SR/DL BSR in the DeNB illustrated in FIG. 14 , in the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 14 .",
"[0061] FIG. 18 is a flowchart for describing an example of transmission processing of a DL Grant in the RN illustrated in FIG. 14 , in the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 14 .",
"[0062] FIG. 19 is a flowchart for describing an example of transmission processing of a DL Data in the DeNB illustrated in FIG. 14 , in the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 14 .",
"[0063] FIG. 20 is a sequence chart for describing an example of flow of data in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 14 .",
"[0064] FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a form of a general radio communication system provided with a relay apparatus.",
"[0065] FIG. 22 is a sequence chart for describing an example of uplink data transmission processing in the radio communication system illustrated in FIG. 21 .",
"[0066] FIG. 23 is a sequence chart for describing another example of the uplink data transmission processing in the radio communication system illustrated in FIG. 21 .",
"[0067] FIG. 24 is a sequence chart for describing an example of downlink data transmission processing in the radio communication system illustrated in FIG. 21 .",
"DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS [0068] Hereinafter, example embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.",
"First Example Embodiment [0069] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a first example embodiment of the communication system of the present invention.",
"A communication system in this example embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 1 , includes a DeNB 100 , an RN 200 , and a UE 300 .",
"The DeNB 100 is a radio base station that communicates with the UE 300 via the RN 200 .",
"The RN 200 is a radio relay station that relays communication between the DeNB 100 and the UE 300 .",
"The UE 300 is a communication terminal that communicates with the DeNB 100 via the RN 200 .",
"[0070] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of the RN 200 illustrated in FIG. 1 .",
"The RN 200 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a transmission unit 201 as illustrated in FIG. 2 .",
"Note that FIG. 2 illustrates only structural elements concerning this example embodiment, of structural elements that the RN 200 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes.",
"[0071] The transmission unit 201 sends to the DeNB 100 uplink data sent from the UE 300 .",
"At this time, the transmission unit 201 notifies the DeNB 100 of the timing at which the uplink data sent from the UE 300 can be sent to the DeNB 100 and then sends the uplink data to the DeNB 100 .",
"Note that in each block diagram in the present application, an arrow provided for a block indicates only a propagating direction of a signal that corresponds to a description and does not limit the propagating directions of other signals.",
"[0072] Hereinafter, a communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 1 will be described.",
"FIG. 3 is a flowchart for describing an example of the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 1 .",
"First, when the RN 200 receives uplink data sent from the UE 300 (step S 1 ), the transmission unit 201 notifies the DeNB 100 of timing at which the transmission unit 201 can send the uplink data (step S 2 ).",
"After that, at that timing, the transmission unit 201 sends the uplink data to the DeNB 100 (step S 3 ).",
"In this manner, the radio relay station notifies the radio base station of the timing at which the radio relay station can send the uplink data, and then sends the uplink data to the radio base station at the timing.",
"Therefore, the communication system of the first example embodiment can prevent failure in sending the uplink data and therefore can make the data transmission more efficient.",
"Second Example Embodiment [0073] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a second example embodiment of the communication system of the present invention.",
"The communication system in this example embodiment includes a DeNB 101 , an RN 202 , and a UE 300 as illustrated in FIG. 4 .",
"The DeNB 101 is a radio base station that communicates with the UE 300 via the RN 202 .",
"The RN 202 is a radio relay station that relays communication between the DeNB 101 and the UE 300 .",
"The UE 300 is a communication terminal that communicates with the DeNB 101 via the RN 202 .",
"[0074] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of the DeNB 101 illustrated in FIG. 4 .",
"The DeNB 101 illustrated in FIG. 4 includes a transmission unit 102 as illustrated in FIG. 5 .",
"Note that FIG. 5 illustrates only structural elements concerning this example embodiment, of the structural elements that the DeNB 101 illustrated in FIG. 4 includes.",
"The transmission unit 102 notifies the RN 202 of the timing at which downlink data can be sent to the RN 202 and then sends the downlink data to the RN 202 .",
"[0075] Hereinafter, a communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 4 will be described.",
"FIG. 6 is a flowchart for describing an example of the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 4 .",
"First, when the DeNB 101 receives downlink data sent from a higher-order apparatus (e.g., a SGW (Serving Gateway)) of the DeNB 101 (step S 11 ), the transmission unit 102 notifies the RN 202 of the timing at which downlink data can be sent (step S 12 ).",
"After that, the transmission unit 102 , at that timing, sends the downlink data to the RN 202 (step S 13 ).",
"[0076] Thus, the radio base station notifies the radio relay station of the timing at which the station can send downlink data, and then, at that timing, sends the downlink data to the radio relay station.",
"Therefore, the communication system of the second example embodiment can prevent failure in sending downlink data and therefore can make data transmission more efficient.",
"Third Example Embodiment [0077] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a third example embodiment of the communication system of the present invention.",
"The communication system in this example embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 7 , includes DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 , the RN 203 , and UEs 300 - 1 and 300 - 2 .",
"The DeNB 103 - 1 is a radio base station that communicates with the UE 300 - 1 via the RN 203 .",
"The DeNB 103 - 2 is a radio base station that communicates with the UE 300 - 2 via the RN 203 .",
"The RN 203 is a radio relay station that relays communication between the DeNB 103 - 1 and the UE 300 - 1 and communication between the DeNB 103 - 2 and the UE 300 - 2 .",
"Furthermore, the RN 203 sends uplink signals to the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 by using a communication method of SC-FDMA or TD-SCDMA.",
"The SC-FDMA is an abbreviation of “Single Carrier-Frequency Division Multiple Access”",
"and TD-SCDMA is an abbreviation of “Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access.”",
"The UE 300 - 1 is a communication terminal that communicates with the DeNB 103 - 1 via the RN 203 .",
"The UE 300 - 2 is a communication terminal that communicates with the DeNB 103 - 2 via the RN 203 .",
"[0078] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of the RN 203 illustrated in FIG. 7 .",
"[0079] The RN 203 illustrated in FIG. 7 includes a transmission unit 204 and a UL Data receiving unit 211 , as illustrated in FIG. 8 .",
"Furthermore, the transmission unit 204 includes a UL Grant receiving unit 210 , a UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 , a UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 , a UL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 214 , a UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 215 , a UL opposing node determination unit 216 , a UL opposing node flag providing unit 217 , a UL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit 218 , a UL SR/BSR determination unit 219 , a UL BSR generating unit 220 , a UL BSR transmission unit 221 , a UL SR generating unit 222 , a UL SR transmission unit 223 , a UL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 224 , an SR/BSR retransmission processing unit 225 , and a UL Data transmission unit 226 .",
"Note that FIG. 8 illustrates only structural elements concerning this example embodiment, of the structural elements that the RN 203 illustrated in FIG. 7 includes.",
"[0080] The UL Data receiving unit 211 receives uplink data sent from the UEs 300 - 1 and 300 - 2 and outputs the received uplink data to the UL opposing node determination unit 216 .",
"[0081] The UL Grant receiving unit 210 receives response signals (UL Grant), such as uplink scheduling information, that are sent from the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 , and outputs the signals to the UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 .",
"[0082] The UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 accumulates the UL Grant that have been output from the UL Grant receiving unit 210 .",
"[0083] The UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 accumulates reception timing information regarding UL Grant and send timing information regarding an uplink buffer status report (UL Buffer Status Report, referred to hereinafter as UL BSR) signal contained in an uplink scheduling request (UL Scheduling Request, referred to hereinafter as UL SR) signal that has already been sent from the UL SR transmission unit 223 .",
"Furthermore, the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 accumulates the reception timing information regarding UL Grant and the send timing information regarding uplink data (UL Data) contained in the UL BSR that has already been sent from the UL BSR transmission unit 221 .",
"[0084] The UL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 214 extracts a send feasible timing candidate for UL BSR that is to be contained in UL SR, based on the UL Grant accumulated in the UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 .",
"Furthermore, the UL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 214 extracts a send feasible timing candidate for UL Data that is to be contained in UL BSR, based on the UL Grant accumulated in the UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 .",
"[0085] The UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 215 refers to the reception timing for UL Grant and the transmission timing candidate for sending UL BSR contained in the UL SR accumulated in the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 .",
"Furthermore, the UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 215 refers to the reception timing for the UL Grant and the send timing candidate for sending UL Data contained in the UL BSR accumulated in the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 .",
"Then, the UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 215 extracts, from these timings referred to, a send timing candidate for next UL BSR/UL Data that can be sent by the UL SR/BSR and a reception timing candidate for receiving a UL Grant for sending the UL BSR/UL Data.",
"[0086] The UL opposing node determination unit 216 determines an opposing node.",
"Concretely, the UL opposing node determination unit 216 determines whether the opposing node is the DeNB 103 - 1 or 103 - 2 or a higher-order apparatus such as a SGW.",
"In this example embodiment, because the transmission unit 204 is packaged in the RN 203 , the UL opposing node determination unit 216 determines that the opposing node is the DeNB 103 - 1 or 103 - 2 .",
"On the other hand, in the case where the transmission unit 204 is packaged in the DeNB 103 - 1 or the DeNB 103 - 2 , the UL opposing node determination unit 216 determines that the opposing node is an SGW that is a higher-order apparatus above the DeNBs 103 - 1 and the DeNB 103 - 2 .",
"[0087] The UL opposing node flag providing unit 217 provides a flag according to a result of determination by the UL opposing node determination unit 216 .",
"[0088] The UL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit 218 , based on information extracted by the UL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 214 and the UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 215 , provides a send feasible timing candidate for a UL BSR contained in the UL SR and a reception feasible timing candidate for the UL Grant.",
"Furthermore, the UL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit 218 , based on information extracted by the UL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 214 and the UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 215 , provides a send feasible timing candidate for UL Data that is to be contained in the UL BSR and a reception feasible timing candidate for the UL Grant.",
"[0089] Based on the UL Grant, the UL SR/BSR determination unit 219 determines which one of the UL SR and the UL BSR is the signal that is to be sent next.",
"[0090] When the UL SR/BSR determination unit 219 has determined that the signal to be sent next is a UL BSR, the UL BSR generating unit 220 generates a UL BSR in which the timing information is contained.",
"[0091] The UL BSR transmission unit 221 is an uplink buffer status-reporting signal transmission unit that sends the UL BSR generated by the UL BSR generating unit 220 to the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 .",
"In other words, the UL BSR transmission unit 221 , when sending the UL BSR to the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 , sends the UL BSR in which information indicating the timing at which a UL Grant for the UL BSR can be received and information indicating a timing at which the UL Data can be sent to the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 are contained.",
"[0092] The UL SR generating unit 222 generates a UL SR in which the timing information is contained, when the UL SR/BSR determination unit 219 has determined that the signal to be sent next is a UL SR.",
"[0093] The UL SR transmission unit 223 is an uplink scheduling request signal transmission unit that sends the UL SR generated by the UL SR generating unit 222 to the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 .",
"In other words, the UL SR transmission unit 223 , when sending the UL SR to the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 , sends a UL SR in which information indicating the timing at which the UL Grant for the UL SR can be received and information indicating the timing at which the UL BSR can be sent to the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 are contained.",
"[0094] The UL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 224 determines whether the sending of the UL Data is feasible, based on the UL Grant accumulated in the UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 .",
"Concretely, the UL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 224 determines whether the sending of the UL Data is feasible, based on the send timing notified by the UL Grant accumulated by the UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 .",
"[0095] The SR/BSR retransmission processing unit 225 performs retransmission processing for the UL SR and the UL BSR when the UL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 224 has determined that the UL Data cannot be sent.",
"[0096] The UL Data transmission unit 226 sends the UL Data to the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 when the UL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 224 has determined that the UL Data can be sent.",
"[0097] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of the DeNB 103 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 7 .",
"The DeNB 103 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 7 includes, as illustrated in FIG. 9 , a UL SR/BSR receiving unit 110 , a UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 111 , a UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 112 , a UL Grant information accumulating unit 113 , a UL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit 114 , a UL opposing node determination unit 115 , a UL Grant establishment timing providing unit 116 , a UL Grant generation unit 117 , and a UL Grant transmission unit 118 .",
"Note that FIG. 9 illustrates only structure elements concerning this example embodiment, of the structure elements that the DeNB 103 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 7 includes.",
"Furthermore, the DeNB 103 - 2 illustrated in FIG. 7 also includes the structure elements illustrated in FIG. 9 .",
"[0098] The UL SR/BSR receiving unit 110 receives the UL SR and the UL BSR sent from the RN 203 and outputs the UL SR and the UL BSR to the UL opposing node determination unit 115 .",
"[0099] The UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 111 accumulates a send feasible timing candidate for the UL BSR and reception feasible timing candidate information regarding the UL Grant that are contained in the UL SR that the UL SR/BSR receiving unit 110 has output.",
"Furthermore, the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 111 accumulates a send feasible timing candidate for the UL Data and reception feasible timing candidate information regarding the UL Grant that are contained in the UL BSR that the UL SR/BSR receiving unit 110 has output.",
"[0100] The UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 112 extracts the send feasible timing candidate for the UL BSR and the reception feasible timing candidate information regarding the UL Grant that are accumulated in the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 111 .",
"Furthermore, the UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 112 extracts the send feasible timing candidate for the UL Data and the reception feasible timing candidate information regarding the UL Grant that are accumulated in the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 111 .",
"[0101] The UL Grant information accumulating unit 113 accumulates the send timing of the UL BSR/UL Data and the reception timing information regarding the UL Grant that have already been sent from the UL Grant transmission unit 118 .",
"[0102] The UL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit 114 extracts the send timing of the UL BSR/UL Data and the reception timing information regarding the UL Grant that are accumulated in the UL Grant information accumulating unit 113 .",
"[0103] The UL opposing node determination unit 115 performs determination regarding an opposing node.",
"Concretely, the UL opposing node determination unit 115 determines whether the opposing node connected to a lower order is the UE 300 - 1 , 300 - 2 or the RN 203 .",
"In this example embodiment, because the structure elements illustrated in FIG. 9 are packaged in the DeNB 103 - 1 , the UL opposing node determination unit 115 determines that the opposing node is the RN 203 .",
"On the other hand, in the case where the structure elements illustrated in FIG. 9 are packaged in the RN 203 , the UL opposing node determination unit 115 determines that the opposing node is the UE 300 - 1 or 300 - 2 .",
"[0104] It is assumed here that the UL opposing node determination unit 115 has determined that the opposing node is the UE 300 - 1 or 300 - 2 .",
"In this case, the UL Grant establishment timing providing unit 116 provides timings other than the timings extracted by the UL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit 114 as a reception timing of the UL Grant and a send timing of the UL BSR/UL Data.",
"[0105] Furthermore, it is assumed that the UL opposing node determination unit 115 has determined that the opposing node is the RN 203 .",
"In this case, the UL Grant establishment timing providing unit 116 provides the timings extracted by the UL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit 114 and the UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 112 as a reception timing of the UL Grant and a send timing of the UL BSR/UL Data.",
"[0106] The UL Grant generation unit 117 , based on the information provided by the UL Grant establishment timing providing unit 116 , generates a UL Grant and outputs the UL Grant to the UL Grant transmission unit 118 .",
"[0107] The UL Grant transmission unit 118 sends to the RN 203 the UL Grant that the UL Grant generation unit 117 has output.",
"[0108] Hereinafter, a communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 7 will be described.",
"Here, the communication method will be described with reference to an example case where communication between the DeNB 103 - 1 and the UE 300 - 1 is relayed by the RN 203 .",
"[0109] First, the transmission processing of the UL SR/UL BSR in the RN 203 illustrated in FIG. 7 will be described.",
"[0110] FIG. 10 is a flowchart for describing an example of the transmission processing of the UL SR/UL BSR in the RN 203 illustrated in FIG. 7 , in the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 7 .",
"[0111] First, after the RN 203 starts sending the UL SR or the UL BSR (step S 21 ), the UL opposing node determination unit 216 determines whether the opposing node is the DeNB 103 - 1 or a higher-order apparatus, such as SGW (step S 22 ).",
"When the UL opposing node determination unit 216 determines that the opposing node is the DeNB 103 - 1 , the UL opposing node flag providing unit 217 provides a DeNB flag (step S 23 ).",
"[0112] Then, the UL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 214 determines whether the UL Grant receiving unit 210 has received the UL Grant, that is, whether the UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 has accumulated UL Grant (step S 24 ).",
"When the UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 has accumulated the UL Grant, the UL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 214 removes the send timing of the Uplink that has already been allocated by the accumulated UL Grant (step S 25 ).",
"[0113] On the other hand, when in the step S 24 , the UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 has not accumulated the UL Grant, the processing in step S 25 is not performed.",
"[0114] Subsequently, the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 determines whether the UL SR transmission unit 223 has already sent the UL SR or whether the UL BSR transmission unit 221 has already sent the UL BSR (step S 26 ).",
"This determination utilizes the determination carried out by the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 as to whether the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 has accumulated the send timing information on the UL BSR and the reception timing information on the UL Grant, or, the send timing information on the UL Data and the reception timing information on the UL Grant.",
"[0115] For example, when the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 has accumulated the send timing information on the UL BSR and the reception timing information on the UL Grant, the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 determines that the UL SR transmission unit 223 has already sent the UL SR.",
"Furthermore, for example, when the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 has accumulated the send timing information on the UL Data and the reception timing information on the UL Grant, the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 determines that the UL BSR transmission unit 221 has already sent the UL BSR.",
"[0116] When the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 has determined that the UL SR transmission unit 223 has already sent the UL SR, the UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 215 , using the UL SR, removes the UL Grant reception feasible timing and the Uplink send feasible timing that have been already notified.",
"Furthermore, when the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 has determined that the UL BSR transmission unit 221 has already sent the UL BSR, the UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 215 , using the UL BSR, removes the UL Grant reception feasible timing and the Uplink send feasible timing that have been already notified (step S 27 ).",
"[0117] On the other hand, when, in step S 26 , the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 213 has determined that the UL SR transmission unit 223 has not already sent the UL SR or the UL BSR transmission unit 221 has not already sent the UL BSR, the processing in step S 27 is not performed.",
"[0118] Subsequently, when the signal to be sent is the UL SR, the UL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit 218 , based on a result of the foregoing timing removal, provides a reception feasible timing candidate for the UL Grant and a send feasible timing candidate for the UL BSR that are to be contained in the UL SR.",
"Then, the UL SR in which the provided timing information is contained is generated by the UL SR generating unit 222 and is sent to the DeNB 103 - 1 by the UL SR transmission unit 223 .",
"Furthermore, when the signal to be sent is the UL BSR, the UL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit 218 , based on a result of the foregoing timing removal, provides a send feasible timing candidate for the UL Data and a reception feasible timing candidate for the UL Grant.",
"Then, the UL BSR in which the provided timing information is contained is generated by the UL BSR generating unit 220 and sent to the DeNB 103 - 1 by the UL BSR transmission unit 221 (step S 28 ).",
"[0119] On the other hand, in the case where the transmission unit 204 is packaged in the DeNB 103 - 1 , the UL opposing node determination unit 216 determines in step S 22 that the opposing node is an SGW, so that the UL opposing node flag providing unit 217 provides an SGW flag (step S 29 ).",
"Then, the DeNB 103 - 1 sends the UL Data to the SGW (step S 30 ).",
"[0120] Next, the transmission processing of the UL Grant in the DeNB 103 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 7 will be described.",
"[0121] FIG. 11 is a flowchart for describing an example of the transmission processing of the UL Grant in the DeNB 103 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 7 , in the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 7 .",
"[0122] First, when the UL SR/BSR receiving unit 110 receives the UL SR or the UL BSR (step S 41 ), it is determined whether the UL Grant transmission unit 118 has sent another UL Grant (step S 42 ).",
"For example, it may be determined whether the UL Grant transmission unit 118 has sent another UL Grant, based on whether the UL Grant information accumulating unit 113 has accumulated the reception timing information on the UL Grant already sent from the UL Grant transmission unit 118 .",
"Concretely, when the UL Grant information accumulating unit 113 has accumulated the reception timing information on the UL Grant already sent from the UL Grant transmission unit 118 , it may be determined that the UL Grant transmission unit 118 has sent another UL Grant.",
"[0123] When it is determined that the UL Grant transmission unit 118 has sent another UL Grant, the UL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit 114 removes the send timing of the Uplink and the reception timing of the UL Grant already allocated in the UL Grant accumulated in the UL Grant information accumulating unit 113 (step S 43 ).",
"[0124] On the other hand, when, in step S 42 , the UL Grant information accumulating unit 113 has not accumulated the UL Grant, the processing in step S 43 is not performed.",
"[0125] Subsequently, the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 111 determines whether the UL SR/UL BSR received by the UL SR/BSR receiving unit 110 contains the UL Grant reception feasible timing and the Uplink send feasible timing (step S 44 ).",
"When the UL SR/UL BSR received by the UL SR/BSR receiving unit 110 contains the UL Grant reception feasible timing and the Uplink send feasible timing, the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 111 accumulates these timings.",
"Then, the UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 112 extracts the UL Grant reception feasible timing and the Uplink send feasible timing accumulated in the UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 111 (step S 45 ).",
"[0126] Subsequently, the UL Grant establishment timing providing unit 116 determines whether the UL Grant can be sent at the timings extracted by the UL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit 114 and the UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 112 (step S 46 ).",
"When the UL Grant establishment timing providing unit 116 has determined that the UL Grant can be sent at the extracted timings, the UL Grant establishment timing providing unit 116 provides the timings as the reception timing of the UL Grant and the send timing of the UL BSR/UL Data.",
"Then, the UL Grant generation unit 117 generates the UL Grant, based on information provided by the UL Grant establishment timing providing unit 116 .",
"Subsequently, the UL Grant transmission unit 118 sends the UL Grant generated by the UL Grant generation unit 117 to the RN 203 (step S 47 ).",
"[0127] On the other hand, when, in step S 44 , the UL SR/UL BSR received by the UL SR/BSR receiving unit 110 does not contain the UL Grant reception feasible timing and the Uplink send feasible timing, the UL Grant generation unit 117 generates a UL Grant.",
"Subsequently, the UL Grant transmission unit 118 sends the UL Grant generated by the UL Grant generation unit 117 to the RN 203 (step S 48 ).",
"[0128] Furthermore, it is assumed that, in step S 46 , the UL Grant establishment timing providing unit 116 determines that the UL Grant cannot be sent at the extracted timings.",
"In this case, the UL Grant establishment timing providing unit 116 provides timings other than the aforementioned timings as a reception timing of the UL Grant and a send timing of the UL BSR/UL Data.",
"Then, the UL Grant generation unit 117 generates a UL Grant based on information provided by the UL Grant establishment timing providing unit 116 .",
"Subsequently, the UL Grant transmission unit 118 sends the UL Grant generated by the UL Grant generation unit 117 to the RN 203 (step S 49 ).",
"[0129] Next, transmission processing of the UL Data in the RN 203 illustrated in FIG. 7 will be described.",
"[0130] FIG. 12 is a flowchart for describing an example of the transmission processing of the UL Data in the RN 203 illustrated in FIG. 7 , in the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 7 .",
"[0131] First, when the UL Grant receiving unit 210 receives a UL Grant sent from the DeNB 103 - 1 (step S 51 ), the UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 accumulates timing information contained in the received UL Grant.",
"Subsequently, the UL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 224 determines whether the UL Data can be sent, based on the timing information accumulated in the UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 (step S 52 ).",
"For example, the UL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 224 determines that the UL Data cannot be sent, when the timing information accumulated in the UL Grant information accumulating unit 212 is used for sending to another DeNB.",
"When the UL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 224 has determined that the UL Data can be sent at the timing received by the UL Grant receiving unit 210 , the UL Data transmission unit 226 sends the UL Data to the DeNB 103 - 1 at that timing (step S 53 ).",
"[0132] On the other hand, when, in step S 52 , the UL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 224 determines that the UL Data cannot be sent at the timing received by the UL Grant receiving unit 210 , the SR/BSR retransmission processing unit 225 performs the retransmission processing of the UL SR/BSR (step S 54 ).",
"[0133] Hereinafter, flow of data among the UEs 300 - 1 and 300 - 2 , the RN 203 , and the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 based on the foregoing processing will be described.",
"FIG. 13 is a sequence chart for describing an example of the flow of data in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 7 .",
"[0134] First, the UE 300 - 1 sends to the RN 203 an uplink scheduling request signal (UL SR_a) for sending to the DeNB 103 - 1 UL Data that are uplink data (step S 61 ).",
"Then, the RN 203 sends the response signal (UL Grant for SR_a) to the UE 300 - 1 (step S 62 ).",
"Subsequently, the UE 300 - 1 sends to the RN 203 an uplink buffer status-reporting signal (UL BSR_a) that indicates the storage status of a buffer that temporarily stores the UL Data (step S 63 ).",
"Then, the RN 203 sends the response signal (UL Grant for BSR_a) to the UE 300 - 1 (step S 64 ).",
"The UE 300 - 1 , receiving the UL Grant for BSR_a, sends to the RN 203 the uplink data (UL Data_a) that is to be sent to the DeNB 103 - 1 (step S 65 ).",
"[0135] The RN 203 , after receiving the UL Data_a from the UE 300 - 1 , sends the UL SR_a to the DeNB 103 - 1 (step S 66 ).",
"At this time, the RN 203 sends the UL SR_a in which a timing at which a UL Grant for SR_a that is a response signal to the UL SR_a can be received and a timing at which a UL BSR_a can be sent are contained.",
"[0136] Furthermore, the UE 300 - 2 sends to the RN 203 an uplink scheduling request signal (UL SR_b) for sending to the DeNB 103 - 2 UL Data that are uplink data (step S 67 ).",
"Then, the RN 203 sends a response signal (UL Grant for SR_b) to the UE 300 - 2 (step S 68 ).",
"Subsequently, the UE 300 - 2 sends to the RN 203 an uplink buffer status-reporting signal (UL BSR_b) that indicates the storage status of a buffer that temporarily stores the UL Data (step S 69 ).",
"Then, the RN 203 sends a response signal (UL Grant for BSR_b) to the UE 300 - 2 (step S 70 ).",
"Receiving the UL Grant for BSR_b, the UE 300 - 2 sends to the RN 203 uplink data (UL Data_b) that are to be sent to the DeNB 103 - 2 (step S 71 ).",
"[0137] The RN 203 , after receiving the UL Data_b from the UE 300 - 2 , sends the UL SR_b to the DeNB 103 - 2 (step S 72 ).",
"At this time, the RN 203 sends the UL SR_b in which a timing at which a UL Grant for SR_b that is a response signal to the UL SR_b can be received and a timing at which a UL BSR_b can be sent are contained.",
"[0138] Note that the timing at which the UL Grant for SR_a can be received and which is sent in step S 66 and the timing at which the UL Grant for SR_b can be received and which is sent in step S 72 are timings such that the reception processing of one of the signals does not affect the reception processing of the other signal.",
"This is just as stated above.",
"[0139] Furthermore, the timing at which the UL BSR_a can be sent and which is contained in the UL SR_a in step S 66 and the timing at which the UL BSR_b can be sent and which is contained in the UL SR_b in step S 72 are timings such that the transmission processing of one of the two signals does not affect the transmission processing of the other signal.",
"This is also just as stated above.",
"[0140] Then, the DeNB 103 - 1 sends the UL Grant for SR_a to the RN 203 , based on the timing at which UL Grant for SR_a can be received and which is contained in the UL SR_a sent from the RN 203 (step S 73 ).",
"Furthermore, the DeNB 103 - 2 sends the UL Grant for SR_b to the RN 203 , based on the timing at which the UL Grant for SR_b can be received and which is contained in the UL SR_b sent from the RN 203 (step S 74 ).",
"[0141] Subsequently, the RN 203 sends the UL BSR_a to the DeNB 103 - 1 at the timing notified to the DeNB 103 - 1 in step S 66 (step S 75 ).",
"At this time, the RN 203 sends the UL BSR_a in which a timing at which the UL Grant for BSR_a, which is a response signal to the UL BSR_a, can be received and a timing at which the UL Data_a can be sent are contained.",
"Furthermore, the RN 203 sends the UL BSR_b to the DeNB 103 - 2 at the timing notified to the DeNB 103 - 2 in step S 72 (step S 76 ).",
"At this time, the RN 203 sends the UL BSR_b in which a timing at which the UL Grant for BSR_b, which is a response signal to the UL BSR_b, can be received and a timing at which the UL Data_b can be sent are contained.",
"[0142] Note that the timing at which the UL Grant for BSR_a can be received and which is contained in the UL BSR_a in step S 75 and the timing at which the UL Grant for BSR_b can be received and which is contained in the UL BSR_b in step S 76 are timings such that the reception processing of one of the two signals does not affect the reception processing of the other signal.",
"This is just as stated above.",
"Furthermore, the timing at which the UL Data_a can be sent and which is contained in the UL BSR_a in step S 75 and the timing at which the UL Data_b can be sent and which is contained in the UL BSR_b in step S 76 are timings such that the transmission processing of one of the two signals does not affect the transmission processing of the other signal.",
"This is also just as stated above.",
"[0143] Then, the DeNB 103 - 1 sends the UL Grant for BSR_a to the RN 203 , based on the timing at which the UL Grant for BSR_a can be received and which is contained in the UL BSR_a sent from the RN 203 (step S 77 ).",
"Furthermore, the DeNB 103 - 2 sends the UL Grant for BSR_b to the RN 203 , based on the timing at which the UL Grant for BSR_b can be received and which is contained in the UL BSR_b sent from the RN 203 (step S 78 ).",
"[0144] Subsequently, the RN 203 sends the UL Data_a to the DeNB 103 - 1 at the timing notified to the DeNB 103 - 1 in step S 75 (step S 79 ).",
"Furthermore, the RN 203 sends the UL Data_b to the DeNB 103 - 2 at the timing notified to the DeNB 103 - 2 in step S 76 (step S 80 ).",
"[0145] Thus, the RN 203 notifies the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 of the timing at which the RN 203 can receive the response signal and the timing at which the RN 203 can send uplink data and then, at these timings, sends the request signal and the uplink data to the DeNBs 103 - 1 and 103 - 2 .",
"Therefore, the communication system of the third example embodiment can prevent failure in the reception processing of the response signal and failure in the transmission processing of uplink data and therefore can made data transmission more efficient.",
"Fourth Example Embodiment [0146] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a fourth example embodiment of the communication system of the present invention.",
"[0147] The communication system in this example embodiment includes DeNBs 104 - 1 and 104 - 2 , an RN 205 , and UEs 300 - 1 and 300 - 2 as illustrated in FIG. 14 .",
"[0148] The DeNB 104 - 1 is a radio base station that communicates with the UE 300 - 1 via the RN 205 .",
"The DeNB 104 - 2 is a radio base station that communicates with the UE 300 - 2 via the RN 205 .",
"The DeNBs 104 - 1 and 104 - 2 send downlink signals to the RN 205 , using an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing access method.",
"[0149] The RN 205 is a radio relay station that relays communication between the DeNB 104 - 1 and the UE 300 - 1 and communication between the DeNB 104 - 2 and the UE 300 - 2 .",
"[0150] The UE 300 - 1 is a communication terminal that communicates with the DeNB 104 - 1 via the RN 205 .",
"The UE 300 - 2 is a communication terminal that communicates with the DeNB 104 - 2 via the RN 205 .",
"[0151] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of the RN 205 illustrated in FIG. 14 .",
"[0152] The RN 205 illustrated in FIG. 14 includes, as illustrated in FIG. 15 , a DL SR/BSR receiving unit 231 , a DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 232 , a DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 233 , a DL Grant information accumulating unit 234 , a DL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit 235 , a DL Grant establishment timing providing unit 236 , a DL Grant generation unit 237 , and a DL Grant transmission unit 238 .",
"Note that FIG. 15 illustrates only structure elements concerning this example embodiment, of the structure elements that the RN 205 illustrated in FIG. 14 include.",
"[0153] The DL SR/BSR receiving unit 231 receives a downlink buffer status report (DL Buffer Status Report, referred to hereinafter as DL BSR) and a downlink scheduling information (DL Scheduling Request, referred to hereinafter as DL SR) sent from the DeNBs 104 - 1 and 104 - 2 .",
"The DL SR/BSR receiving unit 231 outputs the DL SR and the DL BSR received to the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 232 .",
"[0154] The DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 232 accumulates a send feasible timing candidate for the DL BSR and reception feasible timing candidate information on a DL Grant that is a response signal to the DL SR which are contained in the DL SR output by the DL SR/BSR receiving unit 231 .",
"The DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 232 accumulates a send feasible timing candidate for downlink data (DL Data) and reception feasible timing candidate information on the DL Grant that is a response signal to the DL BSR which are contained in the DL BSR output by the DL SR/BSR receiving unit 231 .",
"[0155] The DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 233 extracts from the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 232 the send feasible timing candidate for the DL BSR and the reception feasible timing candidate information for the DL Grant that is a response signal to the DL SR.",
"Furthermore, the DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 233 extracts from the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 232 the send feasible timing candidate for the DL Data and the reception feasible timing candidate information on the DL Grant that is a response signal to the DL BSR.",
"[0156] The DL Grant information accumulating unit 234 accumulates the send timing of the DL BSR/DL Data and the reception timing information on the DL Grant that the DL Grant transmission unit 238 sends.",
"[0157] The DL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit 235 extracts the send timing of the DL SR/BSR and the reception timing information on the DL Grant from the DL Grant information accumulating unit 234 .",
"[0158] The DL Grant establishment timing providing unit 236 provides the reception timing of the DL Grant and the send timing of the DL BSR/DL Data, based on the timings extracted by the DL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit 235 and the DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 233 .",
"[0159] The DL Grant generation unit 237 generates the DL Grant based on the timing provided by the DL Grant establishment timing providing unit 236 .",
"[0160] The DL Grant transmission unit 238 sends the DL Grant generated by the DL Grant generation unit 237 to the DeNBs 104 - 1 and 104 - 2 .",
"[0161] FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal structure of the DeNB 104 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 14 .",
"[0162] The DeNB 104 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 14 includes a transmission unit 105 and a DL Data receiving unit 131 as illustrated in FIG. 16 .",
"Furthermore, the transmission unit 105 includes a DL Grant receiving unit 130 , a DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 , a DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 , a DL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 134 , a DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 135 , a DL opposing node determination unit 136 , a DL opposing node flag providing unit 137 , a DL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit 138 , a DL SR/BSR determination unit 139 , a DL BSR generating unit 140 , a DL BSR transmission unit 141 , a DL SR generating unit 142 , a DL SR transmission unit 143 , a DL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 144 , an SR/BSR retransmission processing unit 145 , and a DL Data transmission unit 146 .",
"Note that FIG. 16 illustrates only structure elements concerning this example embodiment, of the structure element that the DeNB 104 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 14 includes.",
"Furthermore, the DeNB 104 - 2 illustrated in FIG. 14 also include the structure elements illustrated in FIG. 16 .",
"[0163] The DL Data receiving unit 131 receives downlink data (DL Data) sent from a higher-order apparatus such as an SGW.",
"The DL Data receiving unit 131 outputs the received DL Data to the DL opposing node determination unit 136 .",
"[0164] The DL Grant receiving unit 130 receives the DL Grant sent from the RN 205 .",
"The DL Grant receiving unit 130 outputs the received DL Grant to the DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 .",
"[0165] The DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 accumulates the DL Grant output by the DL Grant receiving unit 130 .",
"[0166] The DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 accumulates send timing information on the DL BSR and reception timing information on the DL Grant that are contained in a DL SR already sent by the DL SR transmission unit 143 .",
"Furthermore, the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 accumulates send timing information on the DL Data and reception timing information on the DL Grant that are contained in a DL BSR already sent from the DL BSR transmission unit 141 .",
"[0167] The DL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 134 extracts a send timing candidate for the DL BSR that is to be contained in the DL SR, by using the DL Grant accumulated in the DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 .",
"Furthermore, the DL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 134 extracts a send feasible timing candidate for the DL Data that are to be contained in the DL BSR, by using the DL Grant accumulated in the DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 .",
"[0168] The DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 135 refers to the send timing candidate for the DL BSR and the reception timing for the DL Grant that are contained in the DL SR accumulated in the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 .",
"Furthermore, the DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 135 refers to the send timing candidate for the DL Data and the reception timing of the DL Grant that are contained in the DL BSR accumulated in the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 .",
"Then, the DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 135 extracts, from these timings referred to, the send timing candidates for the next DL BSR/DL Data that can be sent in the DL SR/BSR and the reception timing candidate for receiving the DL Grant for sending the DL BSR/DL Data.",
"[0169] The DL opposing node determination unit 136 determines an opposing node.",
"Concretely, the DL opposing node determination unit 136 determines whether the opposing node is the RN 205 or the UE 300 - 1 or 300 - 2 .",
"In this example embodiment, because the transmission unit 105 is packaged in the DeNB 104 - 1 , the DL opposing node determination unit 136 determines that the opposing node is the RN 205 .",
"On the other hand, in the case where the transmission unit 105 is packaged in the RN 205 , the DL opposing node determination unit 136 determines that the opposing node is the UE 300 - 1 or 300 - 2 .",
"[0170] The DL opposing node flag providing unit 137 provides a flag according to a result of the determination performed by the DL opposing node determination unit 136 .",
"[0171] The DL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit 138 provides a send feasible timing candidate for the DL BSR and a reception feasible timing candidate for the DL Grant that are to be contained in the DL SR.",
"These are accomplished based on the information extracted by the DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 135 and the DL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 134 .",
"[0172] Furthermore, the DL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit 138 provides a send feasible timing candidate for the DL Data and a reception feasible timing candidate for the DL Grant that are to be contained in the DL BSR.",
"These are accomplished based on the information extracted by the DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 135 and the DL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 134 .",
"[0173] The DL SR/BSR determination unit 139 determines which one of the DL SR and the DL BSR is the next signal to be sent based on the DL Grant.",
"[0174] The DL BSR generating unit 140 generates the DL BSR in which the foregoing timing information is contained, when the DL SR/BSR determination unit 139 has determined that the next signal to be sent is the DL BSR.",
"[0175] The DL BSR transmission unit 141 is a downlink buffer status-reporting signal transmission unit that sends the DL BSR generated by the DL BSR generating unit 140 to the RN 205 .",
"In other words, the DL BSR transmission unit 141 , when sending the DL BSR to the RN 205 , sends the DL BSR in which information that indicates a timing at which the DL Grant for the DL BSR can be received and information that indicates a timing at which the DL Data can be sent to the RN 205 are contained.",
"[0176] The DL SR generating unit 142 , when the DL SR/BSR determination unit 139 has determined that the next signal to be sent is the DL SR, generates the DL SR in which the foregoing timing information is contained.",
"[0177] The DL SR transmission unit 143 is a downlink scheduling request signal transmission unit that sends the DL SR generated by the DL SR generating unit 142 to the RN 205 .",
"In other words, the DL SR transmission unit 143 , when sending the DL SR to the RN 205 , sends the DL SR in which information that indicates a timing at which the DL Grant for the DL SR can be received and information that indicates a timing at which the DL BSR can be sent to the RN 205 are contained.",
"[0178] The DL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 144 determines whether the sending of the DL Data is feasible, based on the DL Grant accumulated in the DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 .",
"Concretely, the DL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 144 determines whether the sending of the DL Data is feasible based on the send timing notified in the DL Grant accumulated in the DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 .",
"[0179] The SR/BSR retransmission processing unit 145 performs the retransmission processing of the DL SR and the DL BSR when the DL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 144 has determined that the DL Data cannot be sent.",
"[0180] When the DL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 144 has determined that the DL Data can be sent, the DL Data transmission unit 146 sends the DL Data to the RN 205 .",
"[0181] Hereinafter, a communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 14 will be described.",
"Here, the communication method will be described with reference to an example case where the RN 205 relays communication between the DeNB 104 - 1 and the UE 300 - 1 .",
"[0182] First, the transmission processing of the DL SR/DL BSR in the DeNB 104 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 14 will be described.",
"[0183] FIG. 17 is a flowchart for describing an example of the transmission processing of the DL SR/DL BSR in the DeNB 104 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 14 , in the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 14 .",
"[0184] First, when the DeNB 104 - 1 starts sending a DL SR or a DL BSR (step S 91 ), the DL opposing node determination unit 136 determines which one of the RN 205 and the UE 300 - 1 is the opposing node (step S 92 ).",
"When the DL opposing node determination unit 136 has determined that the opposing node is the RN 205 , the DL opposing node flag providing unit 137 provides an RN flag (step S 93 ).",
"[0185] Then, it is determined whether the DL Grant receiving unit 130 has received the DL Grant, that is, whether the DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 has accumulated the DL Grant (step S 94 ).",
"When the DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 has accumulated the DL Grant, the DL transmission establishment timing extracting unit 134 removes the send timing of the Downlink already allocated in the accumulated DL Grant (step S 95 ).",
"[0186] On the other hand, when, in step S 94 , the DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 has not accumulated the DL Grant, the processing in step S 95 is not performed.",
"[0187] Subsequently, the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 determines whether the DL SR transmission unit 143 has already sent the DL SR or whether the DL BSR transmission unit 141 has already sent the DL BSR (step S 96 ).",
"This determination utilizes the determination carried out by the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 as to whether the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 has accumulated the send timing information on the DL BSR and the reception timing information on the DL Grant or the send timing information on the DL Data and the reception timing information on the DL Grant.",
"[0188] For example, when the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 has accumulated the send timing information on the DL BSR and the reception timing information on the DL Grant, the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 determines that the DL SR transmission unit 143 has already sent the DL SR.",
"[0189] Furthermore, for example, it is assumed that the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 has accumulated the send timing information on the DL Data and the reception timing information on the DL Grant.",
"In this case, the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 determines that the DL BSR transmission unit 141 has already sent the DL BSR.",
"[0190] Furthermore, it is assumed that the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 has determined that the DL SR transmission unit 143 has already sent the DL SR.",
"In this case, the DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 135 removes the DL Grant reception feasible timing and the Downlink send feasible timing that have been already notified by using the DL SR.",
"[0191] Furthermore, it is assumed that the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 has determined that the DL BSR transmission unit 141 has already sent the DL BSR.",
"In this case, the DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 135 removes the DL Grant reception feasible timing and the Downlink send feasible timing that have been already notified by using the DL BSR (step S 97 ).",
"[0192] On the other hand, when, in step S 96 , the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 133 determines that the DL SR transmission unit 143 has not already sent the DL SR or the DL BSR transmission unit 141 has not already sent the DL BSR, the processing in step S 97 is not performed.",
"[0193] Subsequently, when the signal to be sent is the DL SR, the DL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit 138 , based on a result of the foregoing timing removal, provides a send feasible timing candidate for the DL BSR and a reception feasible timing candidate for the DL Grant that are to be contained in the DL SR.",
"Then, the DL SR in which the provided timing information is contained is generated by the DL SR generating unit 142 and sent to the RN 205 by the DL SR transmission unit 143 .",
"Furthermore, when the signal to be sent is the DL BSR, the DL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit 138 , based on a result of the foregoing timing removal, provides a send feasible timing candidate for the DL Data and a reception feasible timing candidate for the DL Grant.",
"Then, the DL BSR in which the provided timing information is contained is generated by the DL BSR generating unit 140 and sent to the RN 205 by the DL BSR transmission unit 141 (step S 98 ).",
"[0194] On the other hand, in the case where the transmission unit 105 is packaged in the RN 205 , the DL opposing node determination unit 136 determines in step S 92 that the opposing node is the UE 300 - 1 .",
"Therefore, the DL opposing node flag providing unit 137 provides a UE flag (step S 99 ).",
"Then, the RN 205 sends the DL Data to the UE 300 - 1 (step S 100 ).",
"[0195] Next, transmission processing of the DL Grant in the RN 205 illustrated in FIG. 14 will be described.",
"[0196] FIG. 18 is a flowchart for describing an example of the transmission processing of the DL Grant in the RN 205 illustrated in FIG. 14 , in the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 14 .",
"[0197] First, when the DL SR/BSR receiving unit 231 receives a DL SR or a DL BSR (step S 111 ), it is determined whether the DL Grant transmission unit 238 has sent another DL Grant (step S 112 ).",
"For example, the DL Grant information accumulating unit 234 may determine whether the DL Grant transmission unit 238 has sent another DL Grant, based on whether the DL Grant information accumulating unit 234 has accumulated the reception timing information on the DL Grant already sent from the DL Grant transmission unit 238 .",
"Concretely, the DL Grant information accumulating unit 234 may determine that the DL Grant transmission unit 238 has sent another DL Grant, when the DL Grant information accumulating unit 234 has accumulated the reception timing information on the DL Grant already sent from the DL Grant transmission unit 238 .",
"[0198] It is assumed that, in step S 112 , it is determined that the DL Grant transmission unit 238 has sent another DL Grant.",
"In this case, the DL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit 235 removes the reception timing for the DL Grant and the send timing for the Downlink that have been already allocated in the DL Grant accumulated in the DL Grant information accumulating unit 234 (step S 113 ).",
"[0199] On the other hand, when, in step S 112 , the DL Grant information accumulating unit 234 has not accumulated the DL Grant, the processing in step S 113 is not performed.",
"[0200] Subsequently, the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 232 determines whether the DL SR/DL BSR received by the DL SR/BSR receiving unit 231 contains the DL Grant reception feasible timing and the Downlink send feasible timing (step S 114 ).",
"When the DL SR/DL BSR received by the DL SR/BSR receiving unit 231 contains the DL Grant reception feasible timing and the Downlink send feasible timing, the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 232 accumulates these timings.",
"Then, the DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 233 extracts the DL Grant reception feasible timing and the Downlink send feasible timing accumulated in the DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit 232 (step S 115 ).",
"[0201] Subsequently, the DL Grant establishment timing providing unit 236 determines whether the DL Grant can be sent at the timings extracted by the DL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit 235 and the DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit 233 (step S 116 ).",
"When the DL Grant establishment timing providing unit 236 determines that the DL Grant can be sent at the extracted timings, the DL Grant establishment timing providing unit 236 provides these timings as the reception timing for the DL Grant and the send timing for the DL BSR/DL Data.",
"Then, the DL Grant generation unit 237 generates the DL Grant based on the information provided by the DL Grant establishment timing providing unit 236 .",
"Subsequently, the DL Grant transmission unit 238 sends the DL Grant generated by the DL Grant generation unit 237 to the DeNB 104 - 1 (step S 117 ).",
"[0202] On the other hand, it is assumed that, in step S 114 , the DL SR/DL BSR received by the DL SR/BSR receiving unit 231 does not contain the DL Grant reception feasible timing and the Downlink send feasible timing.",
"In this case, the DL Grant generation unit 237 generates a DL Grant.",
"Subsequently, the DL Grant transmission unit 238 sends the DL Grant generated by the DL Grant generation unit 237 to the DeNB 104 - 1 (step S 118 ).",
"[0203] Furthermore, it is assumed that, in step S 116 , the DL Grant establishment timing providing unit 236 determines that the DL Grant cannot be sent at the extracted timings.",
"In this case, the DL Grant establishment timing providing unit 236 provides timings other than these timings as a reception timing for the DL Grant and a send timing for the DL BSR/DL Data.",
"Then, the DL Grant generation unit 237 generates a DL Grant based on the information provided by the DL Grant establishment timing providing unit 236 .",
"Subsequently, the DL Grant transmission unit 238 sends the DL Grant generated by the DL Grant generation unit 237 to the DeNB 104 - 1 (step S 119 ).",
"[0204] Next, transmission processing of the DL Data in the DeNB 104 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 14 will be described.",
"[0205] FIG. 19 is a flowchart for describing an example of the transmission processing of the DL Data in DeNB 104 - 1 illustrated in FIG. 14 , in the communication method in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 14 .",
"[0206] First, when the DL Grant receiving unit 130 receives a DL Grant sent from the RN 205 (step S 121 ), the DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 accumulates the timing information contained in the received DL Grant.",
"Subsequently, the DL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 144 determines whether the DL Data can be sent, based on the timing information accumulated by the DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 (step S 122 ).",
"For example, the DL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 144 determines that the DL Data cannot be sent, when the timing information accumulated in the DL Grant information accumulating unit 132 is used for sending to another RN.",
"When the DL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 144 determines that the DL Data can be sent at the timing received by the DL Grant receiving unit 130 , the DL Data transmission unit 146 sends the DL Data to the RN 205 at that timing (step S 123 ).",
"[0207] On the other hand, when, in step S 122 , the DL Data transmission feasibility determination unit 144 determines that the DL Data cannot be sent at the timing received by the DL Grant receiving unit 130 , the SR/BSR retransmission processing unit 145 performs the retransmission processing of the DL SR/BSR (step S 124 ).",
"[0208] Hereinafter, flow of data among the UEs 300 - 1 and 300 - 2 , the RN 205 , and the DeNBs 104 - 1 and 104 - 2 based on the foregoing processing will be described.",
"[0209] FIG. 20 is a sequence chart for describing an example of the flow of data in the communication system illustrated in FIG. 14 .",
"[0210] First, the DeNB 104 - 1 , after receiving downlink data from a higher-order apparatus, such as an SGW, sends a DL SR_a to the RN 205 (step S 131 ).",
"At this time, the DeNB 104 - 1 sends the DL SR_a in which a timing at which the DL Grant for SR_a that is a response signal to the DL SR_a can be received and a timing at which the DL BSR_a can be sent are contained.",
"[0211] Furthermore, the DeNB 104 - 2 , after receiving downlink data from a higher-order apparatus, such as SGW, sends a DL SR_b to the RN 205 (step S 132 ).",
"At this time, the DeNB 104 - 2 sends the DL SR_b in which a timing at which the DL Grant for SR_b that is a response signal to the DL SR_b can be received and a timing at which the DL BSR_b can be sent are contained.",
"[0212] Then, the RN 205 sends the DL Grant for SR_a, which is a response signal to the DL SR_a, to the DeNB 104 - 1 at the reception feasible timing contained in the DL SR_a sent from the DeNB 104 - 1 (step S 133 ).",
"Furthermore, the RN 205 sends the DL Grant for SR_b, which is a response signal to the DL SR_b, to the DeNB 104 - 2 at the reception feasible timing contained in the DL SR_b sent from the DeNB 104 - 2 (step S 134 ).",
"[0213] Note that when the send timings for the DL Grant for SR_a and the DL Grant for SR_b are simultaneous, the DL Grants cannot be sent at the timings contained in the DL SR_a and the DL SR_b.",
"In this case, the RN 205 may change the reception timings for the DL Grant for SR_a and the DL Grant for SR_b to timings other than the timings contained in the DL SR_a and the DL SR_b.",
"In this case, the RN 205 may also change the send timings for the DL BSR_a and the DL BSR_b to different timings.",
"Then, the RN 205 may generate the DL Grant for SR_a and the DL Grant for SR_b and sent them to the DeNB 104 - 1 , based on these changed timings.",
"These operations correspond to the processing in step S 119 in FIG. 18 .",
"[0214] Subsequently, the DeNB 104 - 1 sends the DL BSR_a to the RN 205 at the send feasible timing for the DL BSR_a that is contained in the DL SR_a that the DeNB 104 - 1 has sent (step S 135 ).",
"At this time, the DeNB 104 - 1 sends the DL BSR_a in which a reception feasible timing for a DL Grant for BSR_a that is a response signal to the DL BSR_a and a send feasible timing for the DL Data_a are contained.",
"Furthermore, the DeNB 104 - 2 sends the DL BSR_b to the RN 205 at the send feasible timing for the DL BSR b that is contained in the DL SR b that the DeNB 104 - 2 has sent (step S 136 ).",
"At this time, the DeNB 104 - 2 sends the DL BSR_b in which a reception feasible timing for the DL Grant for BSR_b that is a response signal to the DL BSR_b and a send feasible timing for the DL Data_b are contained.",
"[0215] Then, the RN 205 sends the DL Grant for BSR_a, which is a response signal to the DL BSR_a, to the DeNB 104 - 1 at the reception feasible timing contained in the DL BSR_a sent from the DeNB 104 - 1 (step S 137 ).",
"Furthermore, the RN 205 sends the DL Grant for BSR_b, which is a response signal to the DL BSR_b, to the DeNB 104 - 2 at the reception feasible timing contained in the DL BSR_b sent from the DeNB 104 - 2 (step S 138 ).",
"[0216] After that, the DeNB 104 - 1 sends the DL Data_a to the RN 205 at the send feasible timing for the DL Data_a contained in the DL BSR_a that has been sent (step S 139 ).",
"The RN 205 , after receiving the DL Data_a sent from the DeNB 104 - 1 , sends the DL Data_a to the UE 300 - 1 (step S 140 ).",
"[0217] Furthermore, the DeNB 104 - 2 sends the DL Data_b to the RN 205 at the send feasible timing for the DL Data_b contained in the DL BSR_b that has been sent (step S 141 ).",
"The RN 205 , after receiving the DL Data_b sent from the DeNB 104 - 2 , sends the DL Data_b to the UE 300 - 2 (step S 142 ).",
"[0218] Thus, each of the DeNBs 104 - 1 and 104 - 2 notifies the RN 205 of a timing at which the DeNB can receive a response signal and a timing at which the DeNB can send downlink data and then, at these timings, sends the request signal and the downlink data to the RN 205 .",
"Therefore, the communication system of the fourth example embodiment can be prevent failure in the reception processing of the response signal and failure in the transmission processing of the downlink data and therefore can make data transmission more efficient.",
"[0219] Note that, as a modification, a system combining the third example embodiment and the fourth example embodiment is also permissible.",
"[0220] Advantageous effects of the example embodiments will be stated below.",
"[0221] A first advantageous effect is that because of having the functions of sending and receiving the DL SR, the DL BSR, and the DL Grant, the example embodiments can negotiate the timing to send DL Data not only with higher-order radio base station apparatuses but also with lower-order radio relay base station apparatuses.",
"Furthermore, the DL SR and the DL BSR can be provided with a send feasible timing for the next Downlink communication (DL BSR and DL Data) and a reception timing for the DL Grant.",
"[0222] A reason for that is that the negotiation for the timing to send DL Data between nodes makes it possible to prevent DL Data from being received at the same timing.",
"[0223] A second advantageous effect is that the UL SR and the UL BSR are provided with a send feasible timing for the next Uplink communication (UL BSR and UL Data) and a reception timing for a UL Grant.",
"[0224] A reason for that is that the negotiation for the timing to send UL Data between nodes makes it possible to prevent UL Data from being received at the same timing.",
"[0225] A third advantageous effect is that, using the DL opposing node determination unit, it can be determined whether to perform a method of sending DL Data as in the related art or the sending of a DL SR or the like, according to an opposing node.",
"[0226] A reason for that is that because while a radio relay base station apparatus has a plurality of higher-order radio base station apparatuses, communication with a radio communication terminal involves a DeNB or a higher-order RN that is uniquely determined, an unnecessary radio scheduling function can be excluded.",
"[0227] A fourth advantageous effect is that, using the UL opposing node determination unit, it can be determined whether to perform a method of sending UL Data as in the related art or the sending of a UL SR or the like, according to an opposing node.",
"[0228] A reason for that is that because while a radio relay base station apparatus has a plurality of higher-order radio base station apparatuses, communication with an SGW or the like involves a high-order node that is uniquely determined, an unnecessary radio scheduling function can be excluded.",
"[0229] As an example of application of the present invention, the case of sharing a radio base station apparatus in an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) system or the like among a plurality of operators and performing the RAN (Radio Access Network) sharing including RNs will lead a better radio resource.",
"[0230] A part or the entirety of the foregoing example embodiments can be described as in the following supplementary notes but not limited to the following.",
"[0231] (Supplementary Note 1) A radio relay station that includes a transmission unit that notifies a radio base station of a timing at which uplink data sent from a communication terminal are able to be sent to the radio base station and then sends the uplink data to the radio base station.",
"[0232] (Supplementary Note 2) The radio relay station according to supplementary note 1, wherein the transmission unit includes [0233] an uplink scheduling request signal transmission unit that sends to the radio base station an uplink scheduling request signal for sending to the radio base station the uplink data sent from the communication terminal, after containing, in the uplink scheduling request signal, information that indicates a timing at which a response signal to the uplink scheduling request signal is able to be received and information that indicates a timing at which an uplink buffer status-reporting signal is able to be sent to the radio base station, and [0234] an uplink buffer status-reporting signal transmission unit that receives the response signal to the uplink scheduling request signal and then sends to the radio base station the uplink buffer status-reporting signal after containing, in the uplink buffer status-reporting signal, information that indicates a timing at which a response signal to the uplink buffer status-reporting signal is able to be received and information that indicates a timing at which the uplink data are able to be sent to the radio base station.",
"[0235] (Supplementary Note 3) A radio base station that includes a transmission unit that notifies a radio relay station that relays communication with communication terminals of a timing at which downlink data are able to be sent to the radio relay station and then sends the downlink data to the radio relay station.",
"[0236] (Supplementary Note 4) The radio base station according to supplementary note 3, wherein the transmission unit includes [0237] a downlink scheduling request signal transmission unit that sends to the radio relay station a downlink scheduling request signal for sending the downlink data to the radio relay station, after containing, in the downlink scheduling request signal, information that indicates a timing at which a response signal to the downlink scheduling request signal is able to be received and information that indicates a timing at which a downlink buffer status-reporting signal is able to be sent to the radio relay station, and [0238] a downlink buffer status-reporting signal transmission unit that receives the response signal to the downlink scheduling request signal and then sends the downlink buffer status-reporting signal to the radio relay station after containing, in the downlink buffer status-reporting signal, information that indicates a timing at which a response signal to the downlink buffer status-reporting signal is able to be received and information that indicates a timing at which the downlink data are able to be sent to the radio relay station.",
"[0239] (Supplementary Note 5) In a communication system that includes a radio base station and a radio relay station that relays communication between the radio base station and a communication terminal, [0240] a communication system in which the radio relay station includes a transmission unit that notifies the radio base station of a timing at which uplink data sent from the communication terminal are able to be sent to the radio base station and then sends the uplink data to the radio base station.",
"[0241] (Supplementary Note 6) In a communication system that includes a radio base station and a radio relay station that relays communication between the radio base station and a communication terminal, [0242] a communication system in which the radio base station includes a transmission unit that notifies the radio relay station of a timing at which downlink data are able to be sent to the radio relay station and then sends the downlink data to the radio relay station.",
"[0243] (Supplementary Note 7) A communication method that performs processing of notifying a radio base station of a timing at which uplink data sent from a communication terminal are able to be sent to the radio base station and then sending the uplink data to the radio base station.",
"[0244] (Supplementary Note 8) A communication method that performs processing of notifying a radio relay station that relays communication between communication terminals of a timing at which downlink data are able to be sent to the radio relay station and then sending the downlink data to the radio relay station.",
"[0245] (Supplementary Note 9) In a communication method in a communication system that includes a radio base station and a radio relay station that relays communication between the radio base station and a communication terminal, [0246] a communication method in which the radio relay station performs processing of notifying the radio base station of a timing at which uplink data sent from the communication terminal are able to be sent to the radio base station and then sending the uplink data to the radio base station.",
"[0247] (Supplementary Note 10) In a communication method in a communication system that includes a radio base station and a radio relay station that relays communication between the radio base station and a communication terminal, [0248] a communication method in which the radio base station performs processing of notifying the radio relay station of a timing at which downlink data are able to be sent to the radio relay station and then sending the downlink data to the radio relay station.",
"[0249] (Supplementary Note 11) The radio relay station according to supplementary note 2, which sends an uplink signal to the radio base station by using a communication method of a SC-FDMA (Single Carrier-Frequency Division Multiple Access) or a TD-SCDMA (Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access).",
"[0250] (Supplementary Note 12) The radio base station according to supplementary note 4, which sends downlink signal to the radio relay station by using an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing access method.",
"[0251] While the invention of the present application has been described above with reference to example embodiments, the invention of the present application is not limited to the foregoing example embodiments.",
"The structure and details of the invention of the present application can be changed in various manner that can be understood within the scope of the invention of the present application by a person with ordinary skill in the art.",
"[0252] This application claims the benefit of the priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-210873 filed on Oct. 15, 2014, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety.",
"REFERENCE SIGNS LIST [0253] 100 , 101 , 103 - 1 , 103 - 2 , 104 - 1 , 104 - 2 DeNB [0254] 102 , 105 , 201 , 204 Transmission unit [0255] 110 UL SR/BSR receiving unit [0256] 111 UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit [0257] 112 UL Transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit [0258] 113 UL Grant information accumulating unit [0259] 114 UL Transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit [0260] 115 UL opposing node determination unit [0261] 116 UL Grant establishment timing providing unit [0262] 117 UL Grant generation unit [0263] 118 UL Grant transmission unit [0264] 130 DL Grant receiving unit [0265] 131 DL Data receiving unit [0266] 132 DL Grant information accumulating unit [0267] 133 DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit [0268] 134 DL Transmission establishment timing extracting unit [0269] 135 DL Transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit [0270] 136 DL opposing node determination unit [0271] 137 DL opposing node flag providing unit [0272] 138 DL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit [0273] 139 DL SR/BSR determination unit [0274] 140 DL BSR generating unit [0275] 141 DL BSR transmission unit [0276] 142 DL SR generating unit [0277] 143 DL SR transmission unit [0278] 144 DL Data transmission feasibility determination unit [0279] 145 , 225 SR/BSR retransmission processing unit [0280] 146 DL Data transmission unit [0281] 200 , 202 , 203 , 205 RN [0282] 210 UL Grant receiving unit [0283] 211 UL Data receiving unit [0284] 212 UL Grant information accumulating unit [0285] 213 UL SR/BSR information accumulating unit [0286] 214 UL transmission establishment timing extracting unit [0287] 215 UL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit [0288] 216 UL opposing node determination unit [0289] 217 UL opposing node flag providing unit [0290] 218 UL transmission/reception feasible timing candidate providing unit [0291] 219 UL SR/BSR determination unit [0292] 220 UL BSR generating unit [0293] 221 UL BSR transmission unit [0294] 222 UL SR generating unit [0295] 223 UL SR transmission unit [0296] 224 UL Data transmission feasibility determination unit [0297] 226 UL Data transmission unit [0298] 231 DL SR/BSR receiving unit [0299] 232 DL SR/BSR information accumulating unit [0300] 233 DL transmission/reception candidate timing extracting unit [0301] 234 DL Grant information accumulating unit [0302] 235 DL transmission/reception establishment timing extracting unit [0303] 236 DL Grant establishment timing providing unit [0304] 237 DL Grant generation unit [0305] 238 DL Grant transmission unit [0306] 300 , 300 - 1 , 300 - 2 UE"
] |
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a semiconductor device having thin-film transistors (TFT) used in liquid crystal display devices, for example, on top of a glass substrate.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] Currently, low temperature polysilicon is mainstream for TFTs in mid-to small-sized liquid crystal display devices, but low temperature polysilicon has a small grain size, low mobility, and varies a lot in TFT characteristics. In order to improve TFT characteristics, single-crystal silicon (Si) with no crystal grain boundary may be formed, but it is difficult to form single-crystal silicon on top of a large substrate using a regular film forming method. A technology to transfer a single-crystal silicon wafer to a top of a glass substrate is being studied (see Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2).
[0003] Furthermore, while efforts have been made in improving TFT performance, the development of a flexible display that has a curved surface and flexible characteristics has also been taking place (see Non-Patent Document 3). In order to realize a flexible display, a plastic substrate such as PET can be used as a substrate that is flexible, but a regular plastic substrate only has an upper temperature limit of approximately 100° C., so the TFT characteristics decrease. Furthermore, if a polyimide (PI) or the like is used as a flexible substrate, then the upper temperature limit is approximately 400° C., so low temperature polysilicon can be formed, but it is still not enough to obtain high TFT performance.
[0004] Furthermore, if a single-crystal silicon film can be transferred to the top of the flexible substrate, then even higher performing flexible displays can be realized, but for transferring the single-crystal silicon wafer, heat treatment of over several hundred degrees Celsius is necessary. However, the coefficient of thermal expansion of a plastic substrate made of PET, PI, or the like and a silicon wafer is highly different, and the plastic substrate bends during heat treatment, and thus the single-crystal silicon wafer cannot be reliably transferred.
[0005] Recently, a thin film glass with a thickness of 100 um or less that can be bent has been reported (Non-Patent Document 4), but such a thin glass substrate is easy to break and is very difficult to wash or transport, and thus is difficult to use in the actual manufacturing process.
[0006] Patent Document 1 discloses a method (see FIG. 13 ) to bond a silicon wafer and a flexible substrate formed of glass, plastic, or the like having flexible characteristics, but even with this method, problems such as transferring being insufficient due to the substrate tearing off because of the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion, and damaging of the glass substrate, and the like may occur.
RELATED ART DOCUMENTS
Non-Patent Documents
[0000]
Non-Patent Document 1: SID06DIGEST p280-p282
Non-Patent Document 2: IDW09 p261-p264
Non-Patent Document 3: SID09DIGEST p866-p869
Non-Patent Document 4: SID11DIGEST p387-p388
Patent Document
[0000]
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2009-194400 (Published on Aug. 27, 2009)
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0012] When a plastic substrate is used as a substrate with flexible characteristics, the substrate comes off during heat treatment and transfer cannot take place properly due to the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion with the silicon wafer. Furthermore, in the case where a thin film glass substrate is used as a substrate with flexible characteristics, then there is a problem of being easily damaged during transportation and washing.
[0013] The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and the aim thereof is to improve the manufacturing yield of a high performing and flexible semiconductor device.
Means for Solving the Problems
[0014] To solve the above-mentioned problems, a first method of manufacturing a semiconductor device of the present invention includes: implanting ions into a single-crystal semiconductor substrate to form a separation layer at a prescribed depth therein; forming an insulating substrate that includes a first substrate, a third substrate, and a second substrate disposed therebetween, the first substrate and the third substrate having a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to a coefficient of thermal expansion of the single-crystal semiconductor substrate, the insulating substrate having flexible characteristics; bonding the single-crystal semiconductor substrate to the insulating substrate such that the single-crystal semiconductor substrate and the first substrate are joined together; and forming a single-crystal semiconductor layer on the insulating substrate by separating a portion of the single-crystal semiconductor substrate from the separation layer through heat treatment.
[0015] According to the method of manufacturing mentioned above, a single-crystal semiconductor layer can be formed on top of an insulating substrate that is flexible, and thus it is possible to realize a high performing and flexible semiconductor device. Furthermore, as the second substrate is sandwiched between the first substrate and the third substrate, the single-crystal semiconductor layer and the first substrate both have a coefficient of thermal expansion that is similar to each other and can be bonded reliably. Furthermore, by reinforcing the first substrate and the third substrate with the second substrate, handling the first substrate and the second substrate will be easier during the manufacturing process. Also, by sandwiching both sides of the second substrate with the first substrate and the third substrate, warping of a substrate during heat treatment can be prevented, and thus transferring can be realized in a desired manner.
[0016] Thus, a semiconductor device that is high performing and flexible can be realized with ease, and the manufacturing yield can also be increased.
[0017] To solve the above-mentioned problems, a second method of manufacturing a semiconductor device of the present invention includes: implanting ions into a single-crystal semiconductor substrate to form a separation layer at a prescribed depth therein; forming an insulating substrate that includes a first substrate having flexible characteristics, a second substrate disposed on the first substrate, and a third substrate that is thicker than the first and second substrates disposed on the second substrate, the first substrate and third substrates having a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to a coefficient of thermal expansion of the single-crystal semiconductor substrate; bonding the single-crystal semiconductor substrate to the insulating substrate such that the single-crystal semiconductor substrate and the first substrate are joined together; forming a single-crystal semiconductor layer on the insulating substrate by separating a portion of the single-crystal semiconductor substrate from the separation layer through heat treatment; and removing the third substrate after forming the single-crystal semiconductor layer.
[0018] According to the second method of manufacturing, the same effect as the first method of manufacturing can be obtained, and in addition, as a step of removing the third substrate is included, the flexibility of the semiconductor device can be further increased.
[0019] In the second method of manufacturing, it is preferable that the third substrate be removed by radiating a laser beam on the third substrate from a side of the third substrate opposite to where the single-crystal semiconductor layer is formed.
[0020] In the second method of manufacturing described above, the insulating substrate may be formed of a plurality of the first substrates arranged in a row, the second substrate may be large enough to cover all the first substrates, and the third substrate may be the same size as the second substrate, and a plurality of single-crystal semiconductor substrates may be bonded to the insulating substrate so as to correspond to the respective first substrates, and the single-crystal semiconductor layer may be formed on the insulating substrate on the respective single-crystal semiconductor substrates by separating a portion of the respective single-crystal semiconductor substrates from the separation layer by heat treatment.
[0021] According to the method of manufacturing above, a plurality of semiconductor devices can be manufactured simultaneously by using a large single substrate (second substrate, third substrate), and thus the manufacturing cost of the semiconductor device can be reduced and the manufacturing yield thereof can be improved.
[0022] It is preferable that the second method of manufacturing include cutting the second substrate so as to correspond to the respective first substrates.
[0023] In the first and second method of manufacturing, it is preferable that the first substrate and the third substrate be glass substrates having flexible characteristics and the same coefficient of thermal expansion as each other.
[0024] In the first and second method of manufacturing, it is preferable that the second substrate be a plastic substrate having flexible characteristics and a coefficient of thermal expansion that is different from the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate and the third substrate.
[0025] According to the method of manufacturing mentioned above, the first substrate and the third substrate are glass substrates, and in case the second substrate is a plastic substrate, then the plastic substrate is being sandwiched between the glass substrates, and thus the bending of the plastic substrate due to heat treatment can be suppressed.
[0026] In the first and second method of manufacturing mentioned above, it is preferable that the second substrate be formed of one or more layers of an organic material.
[0027] In the first and second method of manufacturing, it is preferable that the single-crystal semiconductor substrate be a single-crystal silicon wafer.
[0028] A semiconductor device according the present invention includes: an insulating substrate that includes a first substrate, a third substrate, and a second substrate disposed therebetween, the first substrate and the third substrate having a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to a coefficient of thermal expansion of the single-crystal semiconductor substrate, the insulating substrate having flexible characteristics; and a single-crystal semiconductor layer that is formed on the first substrate and that has a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate and the third substrate.
[0029] According to the configuration above, a semiconductor device that is high performing and flexible can be attained.
[0030] A semiconductor device according the present invention includes: an insulating substrate that includes a first substrate, a third substrate, and a second substrate having insulating characteristics disposed therebetween that has a different coefficient of thermal expansion from the first and third substrates, the first substrate and third substrates having a similar coefficient of thermal expansion, the insulating substrate having flexible characteristics; and a single-crystal semiconductor layer that is formed on the first substrate and that has a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate and the third substrate.
[0031] According to the configuration above, a semiconductor device that is high performing and flexible can be attained.
[0032] A display device of the present invention is provided with the semiconductor device mentioned above.
[0033] As a result, a high performing and flexible display device can be realized.
Effects of the Invention
[0034] As mentioned above, the method of manufacturing the semiconductor device of the present invention includes: forming an insulating substrate that is flexible and that includes a first substrate and a third substrate having a coefficient of thermal expansion that is similar to the coefficient of thermal expansion of the single-crystal semiconductor substrate, and a second substrate that is disposed between the first substrate and the third substrate; bonding the single-crystal semiconductor substrate and the insulating substrate so as to bond the single-crystal semiconductor substrate and the first substrate; bonding the single-crystal semiconductor substrate and the insulating substrate so as to bond the single-crystal semiconductor substrate and the first substrate; and forming a single-crystal semiconductor layer as a remaining portion of the single-crystal semiconductor substrate by separating a portion of the single-crystal semiconductor substrate from the separation layer through heat treatment.
[0035] As a result, the manufacturing yield of a semiconductor device that is high performing and flexible can be increased.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0036] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a semiconductor device related to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
[0037] FIGS. 2( a ) to 2 ( e ) show the manufacturing steps of the semiconductor device shown in FIG. 1 .
[0038] FIGS. 3( a ) to 3 ( d ) show a configuration example of the insulating substrate.
[0039] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a semiconductor device related to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
[0040] FIGS. 5( a ) to 5 ( f ) show the manufacturing steps of the semiconductor device shown in FIG. 4 .
[0041] FIGS. 6( a ) to 6 ( b ) show a configuration example of the insulating substrate.
[0042] FIG. 7 shows Modification Example 1 of method of manufacturing a semiconductor device related to Embodiment 2.
[0043] FIG. 8 shows Modification Example 1 of the method of manufacturing a semiconductor device related to Embodiment 2.
[0044] FIG. 9 shows Modification Example 2 of the method of manufacturing a semiconductor device related to Embodiment 2.
[0045] FIG. 10 shows Modification Example 2 of the method of manufacturing a semiconductor device related to Embodiment 2.
[0046] FIG. 11 shows Modification Example 3 of the method of manufacturing a semiconductor device related to Embodiment 2.
[0047] FIG. 12 shows Modification Example 3 of the method of manufacturing a semiconductor device related to Embodiment 2.
[0048] FIG. 13 shows a method of manufacturing a conventional semiconductor device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
Embodiment 1
Configuration of Semiconductor Device
[0049] A semiconductor device related to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be explained using drawings.
[0050] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a semiconductor device 1 related to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
[0051] The semiconductor device 1 includes an insulating substrate 10 having a first substrate 11 , a second substrate 12 , and a third substrate 13 , and a single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 formed on top of the insulating substrate 10 , thin-film transistors (TFTs) 15 formed on top of the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 , and a gate insulating film 16 and an interlayer insulating film 17 that cover the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 and the thin-film transistors 15 . The semiconductor device 1 is used as a display panel that is a part of an active matrix driving type display device, for example.
[0052] The insulating substrate 10 is formed of three layers, the first substrate 11 , the second substrate 12 , and the third substrate 13 , and as a whole has flexible characteristics.
[0053] The first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 are formed of a glass substrate, and are respectively formed to be thin so as to have flexible characteristics. The thickness of the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 is 100 μm or less, for example. Furthermore, the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 are both formed of the same material and have the same coefficient of thermal expansion (coefficient of thermal expansion for glass=3−4×10e-6). Furthermore, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 is similar to the coefficient of thermal expansion of the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 . The material used for the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 is not limited to glass as long as the coefficient of thermal expansion thereof is similar to the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 . Furthermore, the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 may use different materials. In other words, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 only needs to be similar to each other and also similar to the coefficient of thermal expansion of the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 .
[0054] The second substrate 12 is formed between the first substrate 11 and the third substrate, and is formed with a material having flexible characteristics. The second substrate 12 is formed of an organic material with one or more layers, and a plastic such as PI (polyimide), PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PES (polyether sulfone), or the like can be used. Furthermore, the second substrate 12 has a thickness of 50 um, for example, and the coefficient of thermal expansion is different from the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate 11 , the third substrate 13 , and the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 . If the first substrate 11 and the third substrate are glass and the second substrate 12 is plastic, then the coefficient of thermal expansion of the second substrate 12 is greater than the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 . The material of the second substrate 12 is not limited to plastic, and may use a metallic foil of stainless steel (coefficient of thermal expansion=10×10e-6), or the like.
[0055] In this manner, the insulating substrate 10 that is a part of the semiconductor device 1 is formed by stacking the third substrate 13 , the second substrate 12 , and the first substrate 11 in that order. In other words, the insulating substrate 10 has a sandwich structure in which the second substrate 12 that is a plastic substrate is housed between the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 that are glass substrates, the insulating substrate 10 being flexible as a whole.
[0056] The single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 is formed (transferred) on top of the first substrate 11 of the insulating substrate 10 , and is a single-crystal silicon (Si) layer, for example. As shown above, the coefficient of thermal expansion (the coefficient of thermal expansion of silicon (Si)=3.3×10e-6) of the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 is similar to the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 , and is different from the coefficient of thermal expansion of the second substrate 12 . The single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 is not limited to a single-crystal silicon layer, and may be a compound semiconductor (the coefficient of thermal expansion=5 to 6×10e-6) such as GaN, GaAs, or the like. A so-called SOI (silicon insulator) substrate is formed by the insulating substrate 10 and the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 .
[0057] The thin-film transistors 15 are formed on top of the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 . The thin-film transistor 15 has an ordinary structure having a gate electrode, a drain electrode, and a source electrode. The thin-film transistor 15 is a MOS type thin-film transistor (MOS transistor). The different kinds of MOS transistors include an N channel MOS transistor, a P channel MOS transistor, and a COMS transistor that combines the two. The COMS transistors are often used and have characteristics such as low power consumption and being able to operate with low voltage.
[0058] The gate insulating film 16 and the interlayer insulating film 17 are stacked in this order on top of the thin-film transistor 15 . The gate insulating film 16 and the interlayer insulating film 17 are known configurations and thus the descriptions thereof are omitted.
[0059] The semiconductor device 1 having the configuration mentioned above has the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 (single-crystal silicon thin film) formed on top of the insulating substrate 10 that is flexible, and can attain high performing thin film transistors, and thus can realize a high performing and flexible semiconductor device. Furthermore, by using this semiconductor device 1 for a display panel, a flexible display (flexible display device) can be realized.
[0060] (Method of Manufacturing Semiconductor Device)
[0061] Next, a method of manufacturing (first method of manufacturing) the semiconductor device 1 will be described using FIG. 2 as a reference. FIG. 2 shows a method of manufacturing the semiconductor device 1 . In the description given below, glass substrates are used for the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 , and a polyimide substrate is used for the second substrate 12 , as an example.
[0062] <1. Separation Layer Forming Process ( FIG. 2( a ))>
[0063] Hydrogen ions are injected into the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 (single-crystal semiconductor substrate), and a separation layer 21 (peeling layer) is formed at a prescribed depth (100 nm from the front surface, for example).
[0064] <2. Insulating Substrate Forming Process ( FIG. 2( b ))>
[0065] The insulating substrate 10 includes a glass substrate (first substrate 11 ) that is 50 um thick and a glass substrate (third substrate 13 ) that is 50 um thick having a coefficient of thermal expansion (3 to 4×10e-6) similar to the coefficient of thermal expansion (3.3×10e-6) of the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 , and the second substrate 12 that is formed of a 50 um thick polyimide that is disposed between the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 . Specifically, the second substrate 12 is formed on top of the third substrate 13 , and the first substrate 11 is formed on top of the second substrate 12 .
[0066] <3. Substrate Bonding Process ( FIG. 2( c ))>
[0067] In order to bond the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 with the first substrate 11 , the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 and the insulating substrate 10 are bonded to each other.
[0068] <4. Separation Process ( FIG. 2( d ))>
[0069] After the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 and the insulating substrate 10 are bonded to each other, by applying heat treatment at 450 C.°, for example, a portion of the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 is separated from the separation layer 21 where the hydrogen ions are injected, and a single-crystal silicon thin film 14 that is 150 nm thick is formed (transferred) on top of the first substrate 11 of the insulating substrate 10 as a remaining portion of the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 . As a result, an SOI substrate is formed.
[0070] <5. TFT Forming Process ( FIG. 2( e ))>
[0071] The thin-film transistors 15 , the gate insulating film 16 , and the interlayer insulating film 17 are formed on top of the separated substrate (SOI substrate). A known technology can be used for forming the thin-film transistors 15 . As a result, the high performing thin-film transistors 15 can be made on top of the flexible insulating substrate 10 .
[0072] Through the steps mentioned above, the semiconductor device 1 that is high performing and is flexible can be manufactured. Furthermore, with the above-mentioned steps, the single-crystal silicon thin film 14 can be formed at a low temperature (600° C. or less).
[0073] (Configuration of Insulating Substrate)
[0074] Next, the results of studying the configuration of the insulating substrate 10 will be described. FIGS. 3( a ) to 3 ( d ) are figures that show sample configurations of the insulating substrate, and each figure shows the single-crystal silicon wafer (including the single-crystal silicon thin film) that is transferred to the insulating substrate.
[0075] The insulating substrate shown in FIG. 3( a ) is only formed of plastic substrates. According to this configuration, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the plastic substrate and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the single-crystal silicon wafer are largely different (specifically, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the plastic substrate>the coefficient of thermal expansion of the single-crystal silicon wafer), and thus during the heat treatment in the <4. Separation Process ( FIG. 2( d ))>, it is difficult to reliably transfer the single-crystal silicon thin film, and there is a risk that the substrate may come off after transferring.
[0076] The insulating substrate shown in FIG. 3 ( b ) is only formed of glass substrates. According to this configuration, the coefficient of thermal expansion (3 to 4×10e-6) of the glass substrate and the coefficient of thermal expansion (3.3×10e-6) of the single-crystal silicon wafer are similar, and thus the substrate coming off and the like can be prevented. However, if the glass substrate is made so as to be flexible, the glass substrate becomes very easy to break, and the manufacturing yield decreases. Also, handling the glass substrate during the manufacturing process becomes difficult.
[0077] The insulating substrate shown in FIG. 3( c ) is formed of a plastic substrate and a glass substrate, and a single-crystal silicon wafer if transferred on top of the glass substrate. According to this configuration, even if the glass substrate is thin enough to be flexible, by reinforcing the rear side of the plastic substrate, the glass substrate can become harder to break. However, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the plastic substrate and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the glass substrate are largely different (specifically, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the plastic substrate >the coefficient of thermal expansion of the glass substrate), and there is a risk that the substrate may come off during the heat treatment in the <4. Separation Process ( FIG. 2( d ))>.
[0078] The insulating substrate shown in FIG. 3( d ) is equivalent to the insulating substrate 10 of the present embodiment, and has a sandwiching structure in which the plastic substrate is sandwiched between the two glass substrates, and the single-crystal silicon wafer is transferred to the top of the glass substrate. According to this configuration, the two glass substrates can be reinforced with the plastic substrate, and thus the glass substrates can be thin enough to be flexible. Furthermore, by having a sandwiching structure, during the heat treatment in the above-mentioned <4. Separation Process ( FIG. 2( d ))>, deformations such as the plastic substrate bending or the substrate coming off due to the different coefficient of thermal expansion can be prevented.
[0079] As mentioned above, the semiconductor device 1 related to the present Embodiment has a structure in which a plastic substrate is sandwiched by thin glass substrates, and thus the single-crystal silicon thin film (single-crystal silicon wafer) and the glass substrate that have similar coefficients of thermal expansion can be bonded in a desired manner. Furthermore, by reinforcing the glass substrate with a plastic substrate, handling the glass substrate during the manufacturing process becomes easier. Furthermore, by sandwiching both sides of the plastic substrate between the glass substrates using the same material, the substrate can be prevented from bending due to heat treatment, and thus transferring can be realized in a desired manner.
[0080] Thus, a semiconductor device and a display (display device) that are high performing and flexible can be realized with ease, and the manufacturing yield can also be increased.
Embodiment 2
[0081] (Configuration of Semiconductor Device)
[0082] A semiconductor device related to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be explained using drawings. In the descriptions below, the main differences between the semiconductor devices related to Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 will be described, and the respective constituting elements that have the same function will be given the same reference character and the description thereof will be omitted.
[0083] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a semiconductor device 2 related to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
[0084] The semiconductor device 2 includes: a first substrate 11 and a second substrate 12 that form an insulating substrate 30 ; a single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 formed on top of the insulating substrate 30 ; thin-film transistors 15 formed on top of the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 ; and a gate insulating film 16 and an interlayer insulating film 17 that cover the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 and the thin-film transistors 15 .
[0085] The insulating substrate 30 is formed of two layers, the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 , the insulating substrate 30 having flexible characteristics as a whole.
[0086] The first substrate 11 is a glass substrate that is formed thin enough to be flexible. The thickness of the first substrate 11 is 100 um or less, for example. Furthermore, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate 11 is similar to that of the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 . The material for the first substrate 11 is not limited to glass as long as the coefficient of thermal expansion is similar to that of the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 .
[0087] The second substrate 12 is formed on top of the first substrate 11 , and is formed with a material having flexible characteristics. The second substrate 12 has a thickness of 50 um, for example, and has a coefficient of thermal expansion that is different from the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate 11 and the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 . If the first substrate 11 is glass and the second substrate 12 is plastic, then the coefficient of thermal expansion of the second substrate 12 is greater than the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate 11 . The material used for the second substrate 12 is not limited to a plastic, and may be a metallic foil of stainless-steel and the like.
[0088] In this manner, the insulating substrate 30 that is a part of the semiconductor device 2 is formed by the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 being layered, and the insulating substrate 30 has flexible characteristics as a whole.
[0089] The single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 is formed (transferred) on top of the first substrate 11 of the insulating substrate 30 , and is a single-crystal silicon layer, for example. As mentioned above, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 is similar to the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate 11 , and is different from the coefficient of thermal expansion of the second substrate 12 . The single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 is not limited to a single-crystal silicon layer, and may be a compound semiconductor such as GaN, GaAs, or the like, for example. An SOI substrate is formed of the insulating substrate 30 and the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 .
[0090] The semiconductor device 2 having the configuration mentioned above has the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 (single-crystal silicon thin film) formed on top of the insulating substrate 30 that is flexible, and can attain high performing thin film transistors, and thus can realize a high performing and flexible semiconductor device. Furthermore, by using this semiconductor device 2 for a display panel, a flexible display (flexible display device) can be realized.
[0091] (Method of Manufacturing Semiconductor Device)
[0092] Next, a method of manufacturing (second method of manufacturing) the semiconductor device 2 will be described using FIG. 5 as a reference. FIG. 5 shows a method of manufacturing the semiconductor device 2 . In the description below, a case in which a glass substrate was used as the first substrate 11 , and a polyimide substrate was used as a second substrate 12 is used as an example.
[0093] <1. Separation Layer Forming Process ( FIG. 5( a ))>
[0094] Hydrogen ions are injected into the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 (single-crystal semiconductor substrate), and a separation layer 21 (peeling layer) is formed at a prescribed depth (100 nm from the front surface, for example).
[0095] <2. Insulating Substrate Forming Process ( FIG. 5( b ))>
[0096] An insulating substrate is formed, the insulating substrate including: a glass substrate (first substrate 11 ) that is 50 um thick and a glass substrate (third substrate 13 ) that is 700 um thick, the glass substrates having a coefficient of thermal expansion (3 to 4×10e-6) that is similar to a coefficient of thermal expansion (3.3×10e-6) of the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 ; and the second substrate 12 that is 50 um thick and made of a polyimide and that is disposed between the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 . Specifically, the second substrate 12 is formed on top of the third substrate 13 , and the first substrate 11 is formed on top of the second substrate 12 . The preferred thickness of the glass substrate (third substrate 13 ) is 500 to 700 um.
[0097] <3. Substrate Bonding Process ( FIG. 5( c ))>
[0098] In order to bond the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 with the first substrate 11 , the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 and the insulating substrate are bonded to each other.
[0099] <4. Separation Process ( FIG. 5( d ))>
[0100] After the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 and the insulating substrate are bonded to each other, by performing a heat treatment of 450 C.°, for example, a portion of the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 is separated from the separation layer 21 in which hydrogen ions are injected, and a single-crystal silicon thin film 14 that is 130 nm thick is formed (transferred) as a remaining portion of the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 on top of the first substrate 11 of the insulating substrate. As a result, an SOI substrate is formed. A film thickness of approximately 50-300 nm for the single-crystal silicon thin film 14 is preferable.
[0101] <5. TFT Forming Process ( FIG. 5( e ))>
[0102] The thin-film transistor 15 , the gate insulating film 16 , and the interlayer insulating film 17 are formed on top of the separated substrate (SOI substrate). A known technology can be used for forming the thin-film transistor 15 . As a result, the high-performance thin-film transistor 15 can be formed on top of the insulating substrate that is flexible.
[0103] <6. Separation Process of Glass Substrate ( FIG. 5( f ))>
[0104] After the thin-film transistor 15 is formed, a laser beam is radiated from the rear side of the insulating substrate, thus lowering the adhesion between the second substrate 12 and the third substrate 13 , and removing the third substrate 13 from the second substrate 12 . As a result, the insulating substrate 30 with two layers including the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 is formed.
[0105] Through the steps mentioned above, the semiconductor device 2 that is flexible can be manufactured. Furthermore, with the above-mentioned steps, the single-crystal silicon thin film 14 can be formed at a low temperature (600° C. or less).
[0106] (Configuration of Insulating Substrate)
[0107] Next, the results of studying the configuration of the insulating substrate 30 will be described. FIGS. 6( a ) and 6 ( b ) show a configuration example of the insulating substrate. The insulating substrate shown in FIG. 6 shows the insulating substrate that is formed in the <2. Insulating Substrate Forming Process ( FIG. 5( b ))>.
[0108] The insulating substrate shown in FIG. 6( a ) has a structure including two glass substrates that are approximately equally thin and that sandwich a plastic substrate. This structure can be used as a flexible semiconductor device with a three layers structure, but if the substrate size becomes large, then the substrate is easily warped by the weight thereof, and this may cause problems such as the substrate being damaged when being transported on a robot transfer arm and the like, for example.
[0109] The insulating substrate shown in FIG. 6( b ), which corresponds to the insulating substrate 30 of the present embodiment, is thick enough that the glass substrate on the side of the insulating substrate not in contact with the single-crystal silicon wafer will not be warped by the weight thereof when mounted on a robot transfer arm. As a result, problems during the transportation of the substrate can be avoided and the manufacturing yield of the semiconductor device can be improved.
[0110] Furthermore, flexibility cannot be obtained with this kind of three layer structure, and after the devices such as the thin-film transistors are formed, the glass substrate (third substrate) that is not in contact with the single-crystal silicon wafer is removed (<6. Glass Substrate Separation Process ( FIG. 5( f ))>).
[0111] Thus, flexibility can be attained by forming the insulating substrate so as to have two layers including the glass substrate (first substrate) and the plastic substrate (second substrate). As for a method to remove the glass substrate, a light such as a laser can be radiated to weaken the bonding strength of the glass substrate and the plastic substrate in order to remove the glass substrate, for example.
[0112] As mentioned above, the semiconductor device 2 related to the present embodiment can prevent transport failure due to the substrate warping. As a result, an even larger area of the substrate can be used, and in addition to improving the manufacturing yield of the semiconductor devices that are high performing and flexible, the semiconductor device and the display device using the semiconductor device can have reduced cost.
[0113] (Modification Examples of Method of Manufacturing Semiconductor Device)
[0114] Next, modification examples of a method of manufacturing (second method of manufacturing) the semiconductor device 2 will be described.
[0115] In order to further reduce the manufacturing cost of the semiconductor device 2 , it is preferable that a plurality of single-crystal silicon wafers be transferred to a large single substrate, and that a plurality of semiconductor devices 2 be manufactured simultaneously.
[0116] This kind of method of manufacturing includes: (i) a method (hereinafter, Modification Example 1) in which only the glass substrate (third substrate) that is not in contact with the single-crystal silicon wafer is made larger (larger area), (ii) a method (Modification Example 2) in which two layers, the glass substrate (third substrate) that is not in contact with the single-crystal silicon wafer and the plastic substrate (second substrate), are both made larger (larger area), (iii) a method (Modification Example 3) in which three layers, the glass substrate (third substrate) that is not in contact with the single-crystal silicon wafer, the plastic substrate (second substrate), and the glass substrate (first substrate) that is in contact with the single-crystal silicon wafer, are made larger (larger area).
[0117] FIGS. 7 and 8 are figures that show the method of manufacturing for Modification Example 1. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 , on top of the glass substrate 13 (third substrate) that has a large area and that is thick, a plurality of the plastic substrates 12 (second substrates), a plurality of thin glass substrates 11 (first substrates), and a plurality of single-crystal silicon wafers 20 are individually formed so as to correspond to the respective semiconductor devices 2 (in this case, nine).
[0118] FIGS. 9 and 10 are figures that show the method of manufacturing for Modification Example 2. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 , on top of the glass substrate 13 (third substrate) that has a large area and that is thick, the plastic substrate 12 (second substrate) that has the same area as the glass substrate 13 is formed, and on top of the plastic substrate 12 with a large area, a plurality of thin glass substrates 11 (first substrates), and a plurality of single-crystal silicon wafers 20 are individually formed so as to correspond with the respective semiconductor devices 2 (in this case, nine). In Modification Example 2, after the glass substrate (third substrate) is removed, a plurality of semiconductor devices 2 are manufactured by cutting the plastic substrate (second substrate) so as to correspond to the respective glass substrates (first substrates).
[0119] FIGS. 11 and 12 are figures that show the method of manufacturing for Modification Example 3. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 , on top of the glass substrate 13 (third substrate) that has a large area and that is thick, the plastic substrate 12 (second substrate) that has the same area as the glass substrate 13 and the glass substrate 11 (first substrate) that has the same area and that is thin are formed in this order. On top of the insulating substrate that is large in area and that has a three layer structure, a plurality of single-crystal silicon wafers 20 are individually formed so as to correspond to respective semiconductor devices 2 (in this case, nine).
[0120] Furthermore, in the Modification Examples 1 to 3, the large single substrate 13 (third substrate) is removed by radiating a laser beam to the rear surface during the <6. Separation Process of Glass Substrate ( FIG. 5( f ))>.
[0121] According to Modifications Examples 1 to 3 of the method of manufacturing, by using the large single substrate 13 , a plurality of the semiconductor devices 2 can be formed simultaneously, and thus the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the manufacturing yield can be improved.
[0122] Here, bonding the three substrates accurately becomes more difficult as the size of the substrate becomes larger. Furthermore, the thin glass substrate, in particular, becomes easier to be damaged as the size thereof increases. Thus, as shown in Modification Examples 1 and 2, it is preferable that the thick glass substrate 13 (third substrate) that will be the base have a large enough area so that a plurality of single-crystal silicon wafers 20 can be mounted, and the thin glass substrates 11 (first substrates 11 ) be similarly small as the single-crystal silicon wafers 20 . As a result, attaching the thin glass substrates 11 together becomes easier, and the manufacturing yield of the semiconductor device 2 can be improved. In this case, the size of the plastic substrate 12 (second substrate) can be larger than or similar to the single-crystal silicon wafer.
[0123] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the claims. That is, embodiments obtained by combining techniques modified without departing from the scope of the claims are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0124] The present invention is preferable for displays such as television.
DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS
[0000]
1 , 2 semiconductor device
10 insulating substrate
11 first substrate
12 second substrate
13 third substrate
14 single-crystal semiconductor layer (single-crystal silicon thin film)
15 thin film transistor (TFT)
16 gate insulating film
17 interlayer insulating film
20 single-crystal silicon (Si) wafer
21 separation layer (peeling layer)
30 insulating substrate | An objective of the present invention is to increase production efficiency of high-performance flexible semiconductor devices. A semiconductor device manufacturing method includes: a step of forming an insulating substrate ( 10 ) which is configured of glass substrates ( 11, 13 ) with a thermal expansion coefficient which approximates the thermal expansion coefficient of a single-crystal silicon substrate ( 20 ) and a plastic substrate ( 12 ) which is positioned between both of the glass substrates; and a step of, after bonding the insulating substrate ( 10 ) with the single-crystal silicon substrate ( 20 ), separating a portion of the single-crystal silicon substrate ( 20 ) with heat processing, and forming a single-crystal silicon layer ( 14 ) upon the glass substrate ( 11 ). | Summarize the patent document, focusing on the invention's functionality and advantages. | [
"TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a semiconductor device having thin-film transistors (TFT) used in liquid crystal display devices, for example, on top of a glass substrate.",
"BACKGROUND ART [0002] Currently, low temperature polysilicon is mainstream for TFTs in mid-to small-sized liquid crystal display devices, but low temperature polysilicon has a small grain size, low mobility, and varies a lot in TFT characteristics.",
"In order to improve TFT characteristics, single-crystal silicon (Si) with no crystal grain boundary may be formed, but it is difficult to form single-crystal silicon on top of a large substrate using a regular film forming method.",
"A technology to transfer a single-crystal silicon wafer to a top of a glass substrate is being studied (see Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2).",
"[0003] Furthermore, while efforts have been made in improving TFT performance, the development of a flexible display that has a curved surface and flexible characteristics has also been taking place (see Non-Patent Document 3).",
"In order to realize a flexible display, a plastic substrate such as PET can be used as a substrate that is flexible, but a regular plastic substrate only has an upper temperature limit of approximately 100° C., so the TFT characteristics decrease.",
"Furthermore, if a polyimide (PI) or the like is used as a flexible substrate, then the upper temperature limit is approximately 400° C., so low temperature polysilicon can be formed, but it is still not enough to obtain high TFT performance.",
"[0004] Furthermore, if a single-crystal silicon film can be transferred to the top of the flexible substrate, then even higher performing flexible displays can be realized, but for transferring the single-crystal silicon wafer, heat treatment of over several hundred degrees Celsius is necessary.",
"However, the coefficient of thermal expansion of a plastic substrate made of PET, PI, or the like and a silicon wafer is highly different, and the plastic substrate bends during heat treatment, and thus the single-crystal silicon wafer cannot be reliably transferred.",
"[0005] Recently, a thin film glass with a thickness of 100 um or less that can be bent has been reported (Non-Patent Document 4), but such a thin glass substrate is easy to break and is very difficult to wash or transport, and thus is difficult to use in the actual manufacturing process.",
"[0006] Patent Document 1 discloses a method (see FIG. 13 ) to bond a silicon wafer and a flexible substrate formed of glass, plastic, or the like having flexible characteristics, but even with this method, problems such as transferring being insufficient due to the substrate tearing off because of the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion, and damaging of the glass substrate, and the like may occur.",
"RELATED ART DOCUMENTS Non-Patent Documents [0000] Non-Patent Document 1: SID06DIGEST p280-p282 Non-Patent Document 2: IDW09 p261-p264 Non-Patent Document 3: SID09DIGEST p866-p869 Non-Patent Document 4: SID11DIGEST p387-p388 Patent Document [0000] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2009-194400 (Published on Aug. 27, 2009) SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention [0012] When a plastic substrate is used as a substrate with flexible characteristics, the substrate comes off during heat treatment and transfer cannot take place properly due to the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion with the silicon wafer.",
"Furthermore, in the case where a thin film glass substrate is used as a substrate with flexible characteristics, then there is a problem of being easily damaged during transportation and washing.",
"[0013] The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and the aim thereof is to improve the manufacturing yield of a high performing and flexible semiconductor device.",
"Means for Solving the Problems [0014] To solve the above-mentioned problems, a first method of manufacturing a semiconductor device of the present invention includes: implanting ions into a single-crystal semiconductor substrate to form a separation layer at a prescribed depth therein;",
"forming an insulating substrate that includes a first substrate, a third substrate, and a second substrate disposed therebetween, the first substrate and the third substrate having a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to a coefficient of thermal expansion of the single-crystal semiconductor substrate, the insulating substrate having flexible characteristics;",
"bonding the single-crystal semiconductor substrate to the insulating substrate such that the single-crystal semiconductor substrate and the first substrate are joined together;",
"and forming a single-crystal semiconductor layer on the insulating substrate by separating a portion of the single-crystal semiconductor substrate from the separation layer through heat treatment.",
"[0015] According to the method of manufacturing mentioned above, a single-crystal semiconductor layer can be formed on top of an insulating substrate that is flexible, and thus it is possible to realize a high performing and flexible semiconductor device.",
"Furthermore, as the second substrate is sandwiched between the first substrate and the third substrate, the single-crystal semiconductor layer and the first substrate both have a coefficient of thermal expansion that is similar to each other and can be bonded reliably.",
"Furthermore, by reinforcing the first substrate and the third substrate with the second substrate, handling the first substrate and the second substrate will be easier during the manufacturing process.",
"Also, by sandwiching both sides of the second substrate with the first substrate and the third substrate, warping of a substrate during heat treatment can be prevented, and thus transferring can be realized in a desired manner.",
"[0016] Thus, a semiconductor device that is high performing and flexible can be realized with ease, and the manufacturing yield can also be increased.",
"[0017] To solve the above-mentioned problems, a second method of manufacturing a semiconductor device of the present invention includes: implanting ions into a single-crystal semiconductor substrate to form a separation layer at a prescribed depth therein;",
"forming an insulating substrate that includes a first substrate having flexible characteristics, a second substrate disposed on the first substrate, and a third substrate that is thicker than the first and second substrates disposed on the second substrate, the first substrate and third substrates having a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to a coefficient of thermal expansion of the single-crystal semiconductor substrate;",
"bonding the single-crystal semiconductor substrate to the insulating substrate such that the single-crystal semiconductor substrate and the first substrate are joined together;",
"forming a single-crystal semiconductor layer on the insulating substrate by separating a portion of the single-crystal semiconductor substrate from the separation layer through heat treatment;",
"and removing the third substrate after forming the single-crystal semiconductor layer.",
"[0018] According to the second method of manufacturing, the same effect as the first method of manufacturing can be obtained, and in addition, as a step of removing the third substrate is included, the flexibility of the semiconductor device can be further increased.",
"[0019] In the second method of manufacturing, it is preferable that the third substrate be removed by radiating a laser beam on the third substrate from a side of the third substrate opposite to where the single-crystal semiconductor layer is formed.",
"[0020] In the second method of manufacturing described above, the insulating substrate may be formed of a plurality of the first substrates arranged in a row, the second substrate may be large enough to cover all the first substrates, and the third substrate may be the same size as the second substrate, and a plurality of single-crystal semiconductor substrates may be bonded to the insulating substrate so as to correspond to the respective first substrates, and the single-crystal semiconductor layer may be formed on the insulating substrate on the respective single-crystal semiconductor substrates by separating a portion of the respective single-crystal semiconductor substrates from the separation layer by heat treatment.",
"[0021] According to the method of manufacturing above, a plurality of semiconductor devices can be manufactured simultaneously by using a large single substrate (second substrate, third substrate), and thus the manufacturing cost of the semiconductor device can be reduced and the manufacturing yield thereof can be improved.",
"[0022] It is preferable that the second method of manufacturing include cutting the second substrate so as to correspond to the respective first substrates.",
"[0023] In the first and second method of manufacturing, it is preferable that the first substrate and the third substrate be glass substrates having flexible characteristics and the same coefficient of thermal expansion as each other.",
"[0024] In the first and second method of manufacturing, it is preferable that the second substrate be a plastic substrate having flexible characteristics and a coefficient of thermal expansion that is different from the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate and the third substrate.",
"[0025] According to the method of manufacturing mentioned above, the first substrate and the third substrate are glass substrates, and in case the second substrate is a plastic substrate, then the plastic substrate is being sandwiched between the glass substrates, and thus the bending of the plastic substrate due to heat treatment can be suppressed.",
"[0026] In the first and second method of manufacturing mentioned above, it is preferable that the second substrate be formed of one or more layers of an organic material.",
"[0027] In the first and second method of manufacturing, it is preferable that the single-crystal semiconductor substrate be a single-crystal silicon wafer.",
"[0028] A semiconductor device according the present invention includes: an insulating substrate that includes a first substrate, a third substrate, and a second substrate disposed therebetween, the first substrate and the third substrate having a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to a coefficient of thermal expansion of the single-crystal semiconductor substrate, the insulating substrate having flexible characteristics;",
"and a single-crystal semiconductor layer that is formed on the first substrate and that has a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate and the third substrate.",
"[0029] According to the configuration above, a semiconductor device that is high performing and flexible can be attained.",
"[0030] A semiconductor device according the present invention includes: an insulating substrate that includes a first substrate, a third substrate, and a second substrate having insulating characteristics disposed therebetween that has a different coefficient of thermal expansion from the first and third substrates, the first substrate and third substrates having a similar coefficient of thermal expansion, the insulating substrate having flexible characteristics;",
"and a single-crystal semiconductor layer that is formed on the first substrate and that has a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate and the third substrate.",
"[0031] According to the configuration above, a semiconductor device that is high performing and flexible can be attained.",
"[0032] A display device of the present invention is provided with the semiconductor device mentioned above.",
"[0033] As a result, a high performing and flexible display device can be realized.",
"Effects of the Invention [0034] As mentioned above, the method of manufacturing the semiconductor device of the present invention includes: forming an insulating substrate that is flexible and that includes a first substrate and a third substrate having a coefficient of thermal expansion that is similar to the coefficient of thermal expansion of the single-crystal semiconductor substrate, and a second substrate that is disposed between the first substrate and the third substrate;",
"bonding the single-crystal semiconductor substrate and the insulating substrate so as to bond the single-crystal semiconductor substrate and the first substrate;",
"bonding the single-crystal semiconductor substrate and the insulating substrate so as to bond the single-crystal semiconductor substrate and the first substrate;",
"and forming a single-crystal semiconductor layer as a remaining portion of the single-crystal semiconductor substrate by separating a portion of the single-crystal semiconductor substrate from the separation layer through heat treatment.",
"[0035] As a result, the manufacturing yield of a semiconductor device that is high performing and flexible can be increased.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0036] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a semiconductor device related to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.",
"[0037] FIGS. 2( a ) to 2 ( e ) show the manufacturing steps of the semiconductor device shown in FIG. 1 .",
"[0038] FIGS. 3( a ) to 3 ( d ) show a configuration example of the insulating substrate.",
"[0039] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a semiconductor device related to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.",
"[0040] FIGS. 5( a ) to 5 ( f ) show the manufacturing steps of the semiconductor device shown in FIG. 4 .",
"[0041] FIGS. 6( a ) to 6 ( b ) show a configuration example of the insulating substrate.",
"[0042] FIG. 7 shows Modification Example 1 of method of manufacturing a semiconductor device related to Embodiment 2.",
"[0043] FIG. 8 shows Modification Example 1 of the method of manufacturing a semiconductor device related to Embodiment 2.",
"[0044] FIG. 9 shows Modification Example 2 of the method of manufacturing a semiconductor device related to Embodiment 2.",
"[0045] FIG. 10 shows Modification Example 2 of the method of manufacturing a semiconductor device related to Embodiment 2.",
"[0046] FIG. 11 shows Modification Example 3 of the method of manufacturing a semiconductor device related to Embodiment 2.",
"[0047] FIG. 12 shows Modification Example 3 of the method of manufacturing a semiconductor device related to Embodiment 2.",
"[0048] FIG. 13 shows a method of manufacturing a conventional semiconductor device.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1 Configuration of Semiconductor Device [0049] A semiconductor device related to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be explained using drawings.",
"[0050] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a semiconductor device 1 related to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.",
"[0051] The semiconductor device 1 includes an insulating substrate 10 having a first substrate 11 , a second substrate 12 , and a third substrate 13 , and a single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 formed on top of the insulating substrate 10 , thin-film transistors (TFTs) 15 formed on top of the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 , and a gate insulating film 16 and an interlayer insulating film 17 that cover the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 and the thin-film transistors 15 .",
"The semiconductor device 1 is used as a display panel that is a part of an active matrix driving type display device, for example.",
"[0052] The insulating substrate 10 is formed of three layers, the first substrate 11 , the second substrate 12 , and the third substrate 13 , and as a whole has flexible characteristics.",
"[0053] The first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 are formed of a glass substrate, and are respectively formed to be thin so as to have flexible characteristics.",
"The thickness of the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 is 100 μm or less, for example.",
"Furthermore, the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 are both formed of the same material and have the same coefficient of thermal expansion (coefficient of thermal expansion for glass=3−4×10e-6).",
"Furthermore, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 is similar to the coefficient of thermal expansion of the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 .",
"The material used for the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 is not limited to glass as long as the coefficient of thermal expansion thereof is similar to the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 .",
"Furthermore, the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 may use different materials.",
"In other words, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 only needs to be similar to each other and also similar to the coefficient of thermal expansion of the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 .",
"[0054] The second substrate 12 is formed between the first substrate 11 and the third substrate, and is formed with a material having flexible characteristics.",
"The second substrate 12 is formed of an organic material with one or more layers, and a plastic such as PI (polyimide), PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PES (polyether sulfone), or the like can be used.",
"Furthermore, the second substrate 12 has a thickness of 50 um, for example, and the coefficient of thermal expansion is different from the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate 11 , the third substrate 13 , and the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 .",
"If the first substrate 11 and the third substrate are glass and the second substrate 12 is plastic, then the coefficient of thermal expansion of the second substrate 12 is greater than the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 .",
"The material of the second substrate 12 is not limited to plastic, and may use a metallic foil of stainless steel (coefficient of thermal expansion=10×10e-6), or the like.",
"[0055] In this manner, the insulating substrate 10 that is a part of the semiconductor device 1 is formed by stacking the third substrate 13 , the second substrate 12 , and the first substrate 11 in that order.",
"In other words, the insulating substrate 10 has a sandwich structure in which the second substrate 12 that is a plastic substrate is housed between the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 that are glass substrates, the insulating substrate 10 being flexible as a whole.",
"[0056] The single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 is formed (transferred) on top of the first substrate 11 of the insulating substrate 10 , and is a single-crystal silicon (Si) layer, for example.",
"As shown above, the coefficient of thermal expansion (the coefficient of thermal expansion of silicon (Si)=3.3×10e-6) of the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 is similar to the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 , and is different from the coefficient of thermal expansion of the second substrate 12 .",
"The single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 is not limited to a single-crystal silicon layer, and may be a compound semiconductor (the coefficient of thermal expansion=5 to 6×10e-6) such as GaN, GaAs, or the like.",
"A so-called SOI (silicon insulator) substrate is formed by the insulating substrate 10 and the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 .",
"[0057] The thin-film transistors 15 are formed on top of the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 .",
"The thin-film transistor 15 has an ordinary structure having a gate electrode, a drain electrode, and a source electrode.",
"The thin-film transistor 15 is a MOS type thin-film transistor (MOS transistor).",
"The different kinds of MOS transistors include an N channel MOS transistor, a P channel MOS transistor, and a COMS transistor that combines the two.",
"The COMS transistors are often used and have characteristics such as low power consumption and being able to operate with low voltage.",
"[0058] The gate insulating film 16 and the interlayer insulating film 17 are stacked in this order on top of the thin-film transistor 15 .",
"The gate insulating film 16 and the interlayer insulating film 17 are known configurations and thus the descriptions thereof are omitted.",
"[0059] The semiconductor device 1 having the configuration mentioned above has the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 (single-crystal silicon thin film) formed on top of the insulating substrate 10 that is flexible, and can attain high performing thin film transistors, and thus can realize a high performing and flexible semiconductor device.",
"Furthermore, by using this semiconductor device 1 for a display panel, a flexible display (flexible display device) can be realized.",
"[0060] (Method of Manufacturing Semiconductor Device) [0061] Next, a method of manufacturing (first method of manufacturing) the semiconductor device 1 will be described using FIG. 2 as a reference.",
"FIG. 2 shows a method of manufacturing the semiconductor device 1 .",
"In the description given below, glass substrates are used for the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 , and a polyimide substrate is used for the second substrate 12 , as an example.",
"[0062] <1.",
"Separation Layer Forming Process ( FIG. 2( a ))>",
"[0063] Hydrogen ions are injected into the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 (single-crystal semiconductor substrate), and a separation layer 21 (peeling layer) is formed at a prescribed depth (100 nm from the front surface, for example).",
"[0064] <2.",
"Insulating Substrate Forming Process ( FIG. 2( b ))>",
"[0065] The insulating substrate 10 includes a glass substrate (first substrate 11 ) that is 50 um thick and a glass substrate (third substrate 13 ) that is 50 um thick having a coefficient of thermal expansion (3 to 4×10e-6) similar to the coefficient of thermal expansion (3.3×10e-6) of the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 , and the second substrate 12 that is formed of a 50 um thick polyimide that is disposed between the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 .",
"Specifically, the second substrate 12 is formed on top of the third substrate 13 , and the first substrate 11 is formed on top of the second substrate 12 .",
"[0066] <3.",
"Substrate Bonding Process ( FIG. 2( c ))>",
"[0067] In order to bond the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 with the first substrate 11 , the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 and the insulating substrate 10 are bonded to each other.",
"[0068] <4.",
"Separation Process ( FIG. 2( d ))>",
"[0069] After the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 and the insulating substrate 10 are bonded to each other, by applying heat treatment at 450 C.°, for example, a portion of the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 is separated from the separation layer 21 where the hydrogen ions are injected, and a single-crystal silicon thin film 14 that is 150 nm thick is formed (transferred) on top of the first substrate 11 of the insulating substrate 10 as a remaining portion of the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 .",
"As a result, an SOI substrate is formed.",
"[0070] <5.",
"TFT Forming Process ( FIG. 2( e ))>",
"[0071] The thin-film transistors 15 , the gate insulating film 16 , and the interlayer insulating film 17 are formed on top of the separated substrate (SOI substrate).",
"A known technology can be used for forming the thin-film transistors 15 .",
"As a result, the high performing thin-film transistors 15 can be made on top of the flexible insulating substrate 10 .",
"[0072] Through the steps mentioned above, the semiconductor device 1 that is high performing and is flexible can be manufactured.",
"Furthermore, with the above-mentioned steps, the single-crystal silicon thin film 14 can be formed at a low temperature (600° C. or less).",
"[0073] (Configuration of Insulating Substrate) [0074] Next, the results of studying the configuration of the insulating substrate 10 will be described.",
"FIGS. 3( a ) to 3 ( d ) are figures that show sample configurations of the insulating substrate, and each figure shows the single-crystal silicon wafer (including the single-crystal silicon thin film) that is transferred to the insulating substrate.",
"[0075] The insulating substrate shown in FIG. 3( a ) is only formed of plastic substrates.",
"According to this configuration, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the plastic substrate and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the single-crystal silicon wafer are largely different (specifically, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the plastic substrate>the coefficient of thermal expansion of the single-crystal silicon wafer), and thus during the heat treatment in the <4.",
"Separation Process ( FIG. 2( d ))>, it is difficult to reliably transfer the single-crystal silicon thin film, and there is a risk that the substrate may come off after transferring.",
"[0076] The insulating substrate shown in FIG. 3 ( b ) is only formed of glass substrates.",
"According to this configuration, the coefficient of thermal expansion (3 to 4×10e-6) of the glass substrate and the coefficient of thermal expansion (3.3×10e-6) of the single-crystal silicon wafer are similar, and thus the substrate coming off and the like can be prevented.",
"However, if the glass substrate is made so as to be flexible, the glass substrate becomes very easy to break, and the manufacturing yield decreases.",
"Also, handling the glass substrate during the manufacturing process becomes difficult.",
"[0077] The insulating substrate shown in FIG. 3( c ) is formed of a plastic substrate and a glass substrate, and a single-crystal silicon wafer if transferred on top of the glass substrate.",
"According to this configuration, even if the glass substrate is thin enough to be flexible, by reinforcing the rear side of the plastic substrate, the glass substrate can become harder to break.",
"However, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the plastic substrate and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the glass substrate are largely different (specifically, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the plastic substrate >the coefficient of thermal expansion of the glass substrate), and there is a risk that the substrate may come off during the heat treatment in the <4.",
"Separation Process ( FIG. 2( d ))>.",
"[0078] The insulating substrate shown in FIG. 3( d ) is equivalent to the insulating substrate 10 of the present embodiment, and has a sandwiching structure in which the plastic substrate is sandwiched between the two glass substrates, and the single-crystal silicon wafer is transferred to the top of the glass substrate.",
"According to this configuration, the two glass substrates can be reinforced with the plastic substrate, and thus the glass substrates can be thin enough to be flexible.",
"Furthermore, by having a sandwiching structure, during the heat treatment in the above-mentioned <4.",
"Separation Process ( FIG. 2( d ))>, deformations such as the plastic substrate bending or the substrate coming off due to the different coefficient of thermal expansion can be prevented.",
"[0079] As mentioned above, the semiconductor device 1 related to the present Embodiment has a structure in which a plastic substrate is sandwiched by thin glass substrates, and thus the single-crystal silicon thin film (single-crystal silicon wafer) and the glass substrate that have similar coefficients of thermal expansion can be bonded in a desired manner.",
"Furthermore, by reinforcing the glass substrate with a plastic substrate, handling the glass substrate during the manufacturing process becomes easier.",
"Furthermore, by sandwiching both sides of the plastic substrate between the glass substrates using the same material, the substrate can be prevented from bending due to heat treatment, and thus transferring can be realized in a desired manner.",
"[0080] Thus, a semiconductor device and a display (display device) that are high performing and flexible can be realized with ease, and the manufacturing yield can also be increased.",
"Embodiment 2 [0081] (Configuration of Semiconductor Device) [0082] A semiconductor device related to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be explained using drawings.",
"In the descriptions below, the main differences between the semiconductor devices related to Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 will be described, and the respective constituting elements that have the same function will be given the same reference character and the description thereof will be omitted.",
"[0083] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a semiconductor device 2 related to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.",
"[0084] The semiconductor device 2 includes: a first substrate 11 and a second substrate 12 that form an insulating substrate 30 ;",
"a single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 formed on top of the insulating substrate 30 ;",
"thin-film transistors 15 formed on top of the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 ;",
"and a gate insulating film 16 and an interlayer insulating film 17 that cover the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 and the thin-film transistors 15 .",
"[0085] The insulating substrate 30 is formed of two layers, the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 , the insulating substrate 30 having flexible characteristics as a whole.",
"[0086] The first substrate 11 is a glass substrate that is formed thin enough to be flexible.",
"The thickness of the first substrate 11 is 100 um or less, for example.",
"Furthermore, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate 11 is similar to that of the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 .",
"The material for the first substrate 11 is not limited to glass as long as the coefficient of thermal expansion is similar to that of the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 .",
"[0087] The second substrate 12 is formed on top of the first substrate 11 , and is formed with a material having flexible characteristics.",
"The second substrate 12 has a thickness of 50 um, for example, and has a coefficient of thermal expansion that is different from the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate 11 and the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 .",
"If the first substrate 11 is glass and the second substrate 12 is plastic, then the coefficient of thermal expansion of the second substrate 12 is greater than the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate 11 .",
"The material used for the second substrate 12 is not limited to a plastic, and may be a metallic foil of stainless-steel and the like.",
"[0088] In this manner, the insulating substrate 30 that is a part of the semiconductor device 2 is formed by the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 being layered, and the insulating substrate 30 has flexible characteristics as a whole.",
"[0089] The single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 is formed (transferred) on top of the first substrate 11 of the insulating substrate 30 , and is a single-crystal silicon layer, for example.",
"As mentioned above, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 is similar to the coefficient of thermal expansion of the first substrate 11 , and is different from the coefficient of thermal expansion of the second substrate 12 .",
"The single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 is not limited to a single-crystal silicon layer, and may be a compound semiconductor such as GaN, GaAs, or the like, for example.",
"An SOI substrate is formed of the insulating substrate 30 and the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 .",
"[0090] The semiconductor device 2 having the configuration mentioned above has the single-crystal semiconductor layer 14 (single-crystal silicon thin film) formed on top of the insulating substrate 30 that is flexible, and can attain high performing thin film transistors, and thus can realize a high performing and flexible semiconductor device.",
"Furthermore, by using this semiconductor device 2 for a display panel, a flexible display (flexible display device) can be realized.",
"[0091] (Method of Manufacturing Semiconductor Device) [0092] Next, a method of manufacturing (second method of manufacturing) the semiconductor device 2 will be described using FIG. 5 as a reference.",
"FIG. 5 shows a method of manufacturing the semiconductor device 2 .",
"In the description below, a case in which a glass substrate was used as the first substrate 11 , and a polyimide substrate was used as a second substrate 12 is used as an example.",
"[0093] <1.",
"Separation Layer Forming Process ( FIG. 5( a ))>",
"[0094] Hydrogen ions are injected into the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 (single-crystal semiconductor substrate), and a separation layer 21 (peeling layer) is formed at a prescribed depth (100 nm from the front surface, for example).",
"[0095] <2.",
"Insulating Substrate Forming Process ( FIG. 5( b ))>",
"[0096] An insulating substrate is formed, the insulating substrate including: a glass substrate (first substrate 11 ) that is 50 um thick and a glass substrate (third substrate 13 ) that is 700 um thick, the glass substrates having a coefficient of thermal expansion (3 to 4×10e-6) that is similar to a coefficient of thermal expansion (3.3×10e-6) of the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 ;",
"and the second substrate 12 that is 50 um thick and made of a polyimide and that is disposed between the first substrate 11 and the third substrate 13 .",
"Specifically, the second substrate 12 is formed on top of the third substrate 13 , and the first substrate 11 is formed on top of the second substrate 12 .",
"The preferred thickness of the glass substrate (third substrate 13 ) is 500 to 700 um.",
"[0097] <3.",
"Substrate Bonding Process ( FIG. 5( c ))>",
"[0098] In order to bond the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 with the first substrate 11 , the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 and the insulating substrate are bonded to each other.",
"[0099] <4.",
"Separation Process ( FIG. 5( d ))>",
"[0100] After the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 and the insulating substrate are bonded to each other, by performing a heat treatment of 450 C.°, for example, a portion of the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 is separated from the separation layer 21 in which hydrogen ions are injected, and a single-crystal silicon thin film 14 that is 130 nm thick is formed (transferred) as a remaining portion of the single-crystal silicon wafer 20 on top of the first substrate 11 of the insulating substrate.",
"As a result, an SOI substrate is formed.",
"A film thickness of approximately 50-300 nm for the single-crystal silicon thin film 14 is preferable.",
"[0101] <5.",
"TFT Forming Process ( FIG. 5( e ))>",
"[0102] The thin-film transistor 15 , the gate insulating film 16 , and the interlayer insulating film 17 are formed on top of the separated substrate (SOI substrate).",
"A known technology can be used for forming the thin-film transistor 15 .",
"As a result, the high-performance thin-film transistor 15 can be formed on top of the insulating substrate that is flexible.",
"[0103] <6.",
"Separation Process of Glass Substrate ( FIG. 5( f ))>",
"[0104] After the thin-film transistor 15 is formed, a laser beam is radiated from the rear side of the insulating substrate, thus lowering the adhesion between the second substrate 12 and the third substrate 13 , and removing the third substrate 13 from the second substrate 12 .",
"As a result, the insulating substrate 30 with two layers including the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 is formed.",
"[0105] Through the steps mentioned above, the semiconductor device 2 that is flexible can be manufactured.",
"Furthermore, with the above-mentioned steps, the single-crystal silicon thin film 14 can be formed at a low temperature (600° C. or less).",
"[0106] (Configuration of Insulating Substrate) [0107] Next, the results of studying the configuration of the insulating substrate 30 will be described.",
"FIGS. 6( a ) and 6 ( b ) show a configuration example of the insulating substrate.",
"The insulating substrate shown in FIG. 6 shows the insulating substrate that is formed in the <2.",
"Insulating Substrate Forming Process ( FIG. 5( b ))>.",
"[0108] The insulating substrate shown in FIG. 6( a ) has a structure including two glass substrates that are approximately equally thin and that sandwich a plastic substrate.",
"This structure can be used as a flexible semiconductor device with a three layers structure, but if the substrate size becomes large, then the substrate is easily warped by the weight thereof, and this may cause problems such as the substrate being damaged when being transported on a robot transfer arm and the like, for example.",
"[0109] The insulating substrate shown in FIG. 6( b ), which corresponds to the insulating substrate 30 of the present embodiment, is thick enough that the glass substrate on the side of the insulating substrate not in contact with the single-crystal silicon wafer will not be warped by the weight thereof when mounted on a robot transfer arm.",
"As a result, problems during the transportation of the substrate can be avoided and the manufacturing yield of the semiconductor device can be improved.",
"[0110] Furthermore, flexibility cannot be obtained with this kind of three layer structure, and after the devices such as the thin-film transistors are formed, the glass substrate (third substrate) that is not in contact with the single-crystal silicon wafer is removed (<6.",
"Glass Substrate Separation Process ( FIG. 5( f ))>).",
"[0111] Thus, flexibility can be attained by forming the insulating substrate so as to have two layers including the glass substrate (first substrate) and the plastic substrate (second substrate).",
"As for a method to remove the glass substrate, a light such as a laser can be radiated to weaken the bonding strength of the glass substrate and the plastic substrate in order to remove the glass substrate, for example.",
"[0112] As mentioned above, the semiconductor device 2 related to the present embodiment can prevent transport failure due to the substrate warping.",
"As a result, an even larger area of the substrate can be used, and in addition to improving the manufacturing yield of the semiconductor devices that are high performing and flexible, the semiconductor device and the display device using the semiconductor device can have reduced cost.",
"[0113] (Modification Examples of Method of Manufacturing Semiconductor Device) [0114] Next, modification examples of a method of manufacturing (second method of manufacturing) the semiconductor device 2 will be described.",
"[0115] In order to further reduce the manufacturing cost of the semiconductor device 2 , it is preferable that a plurality of single-crystal silicon wafers be transferred to a large single substrate, and that a plurality of semiconductor devices 2 be manufactured simultaneously.",
"[0116] This kind of method of manufacturing includes: (i) a method (hereinafter, Modification Example 1) in which only the glass substrate (third substrate) that is not in contact with the single-crystal silicon wafer is made larger (larger area), (ii) a method (Modification Example 2) in which two layers, the glass substrate (third substrate) that is not in contact with the single-crystal silicon wafer and the plastic substrate (second substrate), are both made larger (larger area), (iii) a method (Modification Example 3) in which three layers, the glass substrate (third substrate) that is not in contact with the single-crystal silicon wafer, the plastic substrate (second substrate), and the glass substrate (first substrate) that is in contact with the single-crystal silicon wafer, are made larger (larger area).",
"[0117] FIGS. 7 and 8 are figures that show the method of manufacturing for Modification Example 1.",
"As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 , on top of the glass substrate 13 (third substrate) that has a large area and that is thick, a plurality of the plastic substrates 12 (second substrates), a plurality of thin glass substrates 11 (first substrates), and a plurality of single-crystal silicon wafers 20 are individually formed so as to correspond to the respective semiconductor devices 2 (in this case, nine).",
"[0118] FIGS. 9 and 10 are figures that show the method of manufacturing for Modification Example 2.",
"As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 , on top of the glass substrate 13 (third substrate) that has a large area and that is thick, the plastic substrate 12 (second substrate) that has the same area as the glass substrate 13 is formed, and on top of the plastic substrate 12 with a large area, a plurality of thin glass substrates 11 (first substrates), and a plurality of single-crystal silicon wafers 20 are individually formed so as to correspond with the respective semiconductor devices 2 (in this case, nine).",
"In Modification Example 2, after the glass substrate (third substrate) is removed, a plurality of semiconductor devices 2 are manufactured by cutting the plastic substrate (second substrate) so as to correspond to the respective glass substrates (first substrates).",
"[0119] FIGS. 11 and 12 are figures that show the method of manufacturing for Modification Example 3.",
"As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 , on top of the glass substrate 13 (third substrate) that has a large area and that is thick, the plastic substrate 12 (second substrate) that has the same area as the glass substrate 13 and the glass substrate 11 (first substrate) that has the same area and that is thin are formed in this order.",
"On top of the insulating substrate that is large in area and that has a three layer structure, a plurality of single-crystal silicon wafers 20 are individually formed so as to correspond to respective semiconductor devices 2 (in this case, nine).",
"[0120] Furthermore, in the Modification Examples 1 to 3, the large single substrate 13 (third substrate) is removed by radiating a laser beam to the rear surface during the <6.",
"Separation Process of Glass Substrate ( FIG. 5( f ))>.",
"[0121] According to Modifications Examples 1 to 3 of the method of manufacturing, by using the large single substrate 13 , a plurality of the semiconductor devices 2 can be formed simultaneously, and thus the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the manufacturing yield can be improved.",
"[0122] Here, bonding the three substrates accurately becomes more difficult as the size of the substrate becomes larger.",
"Furthermore, the thin glass substrate, in particular, becomes easier to be damaged as the size thereof increases.",
"Thus, as shown in Modification Examples 1 and 2, it is preferable that the thick glass substrate 13 (third substrate) that will be the base have a large enough area so that a plurality of single-crystal silicon wafers 20 can be mounted, and the thin glass substrates 11 (first substrates 11 ) be similarly small as the single-crystal silicon wafers 20 .",
"As a result, attaching the thin glass substrates 11 together becomes easier, and the manufacturing yield of the semiconductor device 2 can be improved.",
"In this case, the size of the plastic substrate 12 (second substrate) can be larger than or similar to the single-crystal silicon wafer.",
"[0123] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the claims.",
"That is, embodiments obtained by combining techniques modified without departing from the scope of the claims are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.",
"INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY [0124] The present invention is preferable for displays such as television.",
"DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS [0000] 1 , 2 semiconductor device 10 insulating substrate 11 first substrate 12 second substrate 13 third substrate 14 single-crystal semiconductor layer (single-crystal silicon thin film) 15 thin film transistor (TFT) 16 gate insulating film 17 interlayer insulating film 20 single-crystal silicon (Si) wafer 21 separation layer (peeling layer) 30 insulating substrate"
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and more particularly to a UPS capable of selectively outputting power with different waveforms and a method for controlling output waveforms of a UPS.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Regular UPSs are dedicated to circumstances running into abnormal mains power, such as power outage, over-voltage/under-voltage power or surge current, to provide backup power to power-consuming equipment so that the power-consuming equipment can receive an operating power in an uninterruptible fashion. Therefore, mission critical commercial equipment such as computers, telecommunication network, private branch exchange (PBX) and the like, can be prevented from losing data or control due to mains power failure. Conventional UPSs can be generally classified into on-line UPSs, off-line UPSs and line-interactive UPSs, and their characteristics are briefly described as follows.
[0005] An on-line UPS serves to separate a load from mains power. Instead of being directly supplied to the load, mains power is supplied to a UPS and is converted into DC power to charge a battery. Meanwhile, the DC power is converted back to AC power to supply the AC power to the load. In the event of an outage or irregularity of mains power, the on-line UPS is switched and operated under a battery mode to convert the DC power of the battery into AC power and continuously supply the AC power to the load. Furthermore, the waveforms outputted by the on-line UPSs are sinusoidal and identical to that of mains power. Since the output waveform is sinusoidal, the on-line UPSs are applicable to purely inductive loads, purely capacitive loads and mixed loads of both, and are thus advantageous in better output characteristics and lower noise.
[0006] An off-line UPS plays a role of backup power. During a normal state, mains power directly supplies power to a load and simultaneously charges a battery. In the event of an outage of mains power, a power supply loop of the UPS connected to mains power is automatically switched off and the off-line UPS enters a battery mode to convert the DC power of the battery into AC power and supply the AC power to the load. As the AC power converted from the DC power of the battery takes the form of a square wave, the power efficiency is high and green environment can be fulfilled. When identical batteries are equipped, the off-line UPSs have longer discharge time. However, the off-line UPSs can supply power purely capacitive loads.
[0007] A line-interactive UPS is equipped with a boost and buck compensation circuit, is operated basically the same as an off-line UPS, and does not intervene to supply power throughout entire operation thereof but instantaneously monitors the power supply condition of mains power. In the event of abnormal mains power, the line-interactive UPS is instantaneously calibrated (voltage boost or buck) or enters a battery mode to replace mains power in continuously supplying power to a load.
[0008] From the foregoing, each type of UPSs has its specific operational theories and is applicable to specific loads. However, under the battery mode, each UPS can output only one waveform, such as square wave or sinusoidal wave. The power efficiency of the square wave is higher compared with that of the sinusoidal wave, and batteries outputting power with square wave have longer discharge time, are not easy to cause battery loss and ensure more environmental protection. UPSs outputting power with sinusoidal waves have higher switching loss and lower power efficiency due to pulse width modulation (PWM) operation at high frequency but have lower noise and better output characteristics when applied to purely inductive loads, purely capacitive loads and mixed loads of both. Hence, no matter if the UPSs outputting power with square waves or the UPSs outputting power with square waves, each type of UPSs has its own pros and cons in operation. However, if each UPS can only output power with one waveform, manufacturers of UPSs must provide two types of UPSs to satisfy different needs of users, and once the load is changed, users must purchase new UPS again in compliance with the load characteristics. To manufacturers and users of UPSs, the issues associated with cost increase and unnecessary expenditure are inevitable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] A first objective of the present invention is to provide a method for controlling output waveforms of a UPS provides multiple types of output waveforms through a UPS for users to selectively switch to a waveform of output power. If a sinusoidal wave is selected, it is applicable to a purely inductive load, a purely capacitive load or a mixed load of both and is advantageous in better output characteristics and lower noise. If a square wave is selected, it is applicable to purely capacitive load and is advantageous in high efficiency, green environment and longer discharge time.
[0010] To achieve the foregoing objective, in the method the UPS has a controller and a full-bridge inverter, the full-bridge inverter has four power switches, and the controller has four driving signal output terminals respectively connected to the four power switches of the full-bridge inverter and is built in with an output waveform switching process, the output waveform switching process has steps of:
[0011] providing multiple waveform output modes for each waveform output mode to correspond to one kind of driving signal for outputting a corresponding waveform;
[0012] accepting an output waveform selection command to select one of the waveform output modes.
[0013] determining if entering a battery mode;
[0014] if entering the battery mode, according to the selected waveform output mode, outputting a corresponding driving signal to each of the four power switches of the full-bridge inverter to control a duty cycle of each power switch, and enable the UPS to output the corresponding waveform.
[0015] The waveform output modes may be a square wave output mode and a sinusoidal wave output mode. When the square wave output mode is selected, the controller generates a square wave driving signal and send it to each of the four power switches of the full-bridge inverter to control the duty cycle of the power switch so that the UPS outputs an AC power having a square waveform to a load. When the sinusoidal wave output mode is selected, the controller generates a sinusoidal wave driving signal and send it to each of the four power switches of the full-bridge inverter to control the duty cycle of the power switch so that the UPS outputs an AC power having a sinusoidal waveform to a load. The benefit of using the foregoing method lies in that single one UPS can provide AC power having a square waveform or a sinusoidal waveform to the load and users can select an output waveform of the UPS according to the load characteristics so as to effectively lower equipment cost and provide more operational flexibility.
[0016] A second objective of the present invention is to provide a UPS capable of generating different output waveforms.
[0017] To achieve the foregoing objective, the UPS has a full-bridge inverter, a battery set, a charger and a controller.
[0018] The full-bridge inverter has an input terminal and an output terminal and is composed of four power switches.
[0019] The battery set is connected to the input terminal of the full-bridge inverter.
[0020] The charger has an input terminal and an output terminal. The input terminal is adapted to connect to the AC mains through a rectifier. The output terminal is connected to the battery set.
[0021] The controller has a switch command input terminal, multiple driving signal output terminals and a charge control terminal. Each driving signal output terminal is connected to one of the four power switches of the full-bridge inverter to control a duty cycle of the power switch. The charge control terminal connected to the charger.
[0022] The controller is built in with an output waveform switching process selecting a driving signal with a waveform according to a switch command inputted through the switch command input terminal to control the duty cycle of each power switch.
[0023] Using the foregoing UPS can select one of multiple output waveforms of the UPS for users to conveniently select a proper output waveform according to load characteristics. When the UPS enters the battery mode, the UPS outputs AC power with the selected output waveform to the load.
[0024] Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0025] FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a first embodiment of a UPS in accordance with the present invention;
[0026] FIG. 2A is a circuit diagram partially showing a second embodiment of a UPS in accordance with the present invention;
[0027] FIG. 2B is a circuit diagram partially showing a third embodiment of a UPS in accordance with the present invention;
[0028] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method for controlling output waveforms of a UPS in accordance with the present invention;
[0029] FIG. 4 is a waveform diagram of driving signals when the method in FIG. 3 is executed to output a square wave;
[0030] FIG. 5A is a waveform diagram of driving signals when the method in FIG. 3 is executed to output a sinusoidal wave;
[0031] FIG. 5B is another waveform diagram of driving signals when the method in FIG. 3 is executed to output a sinusoidal wave;
[0032] FIG. 6A is a waveform diagram of driving signals when the method in FIG. 3 is executed to output a stepwise wave; and
[0033] FIG. 6B is another waveform diagram of driving signals when the method in FIG. 3 is executed to output a stepwise wave.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0034] With reference to FIG. 1 , a first embodiment of a UPS in accordance with the present invention has a full-bridge inverter 11 , a battery set 12 , a charger 13 , a controller 16 and a transformer 15 .
[0035] The full-bridge inverter 11 has an input terminal and an output terminal and is composed of four power switches S 1 ˜S 4 . In the present embodiment, each power switch S 1 ˜S 4 is a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET).
[0036] The battery set 12 is connected to the input terminal of the full-bridge inverter 11 .
[0037] The charger 13 has an input terminal and an output terminal. The input terminal of the charger 13 is connected to the AC mains (AC IN) through a rectifier 14 , and the output terminal of the charger 13 is connected to the battery set 12 .
[0038] The controller 16 has a switch command input terminal SW, multiple driving signal output terminals G 1 ˜G 4 and a charge control terminal CH. Each driving signal output terminal G 1 ˜G 4 is connected to the gate of one of the MOSFETs in the UPS to control a duty cycle of the MOSFET. The charge control terminal CH is connected to the charger 13 . The controller 16 is built in with an output waveform switching process selecting a driving signal with a waveform according to a switch command inputted through the switch command input terminal SW to control the duty cycle of each MOSFET.
[0039] The transformer 15 has a primary side and a secondary side. The primary side is connected to the output terminal of the full-bridge inverter 11 and the secondary side is connected to a power output terminal 0 /P for filtering.
[0040] A method for controlling output waveforms of a UPS in accordance with the present invention is applicable to each of an on-line UPS, an off-line UPS and a line-interactive UPS. In the present embodiment, the method is applicable to a line-interactive UPS. Hence, the foregoing power output terminal O/P is connected to the AC mains (AC IN) through two switches K 1 and K 2 . When the mains power (AC IN) is normal and the switches K 1 and K 2 are closed, the mains power not only supplies power to a load through the power output terminal O/P but also charges the battery set 12 through the charger 13 . When the mains power (AC IN) is abnormal, the switches K 1 and K 2 are opened, the charger 13 no longer charges the battery set 12 and enters a battery mode, the battery set 12 outputs DC power to the full-bridge inverter 11 , and the controller 16 drives the full-bridge inverter 11 to convert the DC power into AC power and supplies the AC power to the load.
[0041] With reference to FIG. 2A , a second embodiment of a UPS in accordance with the present invention is shown. The transformer 15 connected to the output terminal of the full-bridge inverter 11 further has an output capacitor Co parallelly connected to the secondary side thereof. With reference to FIG. 2B , a third embodiment of a UPS in accordance with the present invention is shown. Not only can the output terminal of the full-bridge inverter 11 be connected to the transformer 15 to serve as a filtering circuit, but also the filtering circuit can be composed of an inductor L and a capacitor C connected in series to each other.
[0042] With reference to FIG. 3 , a method for controlling output waveforms of a UPS in accordance with the present invention is executed by a UPS having a full-bridge inverter, corresponds to the built-in output waveform switching process embedded in the UPS, and has the following steps.
[0043] Step 301 : Provide multiple waveform output modes for each waveform output mode to correspond to one kind of driving signal for outputting a corresponding waveform. In the present embodiment, a square wave output mode and a sinusoidal wave output mode are provided. The square wave output mode and the sinusoidal wave output mode respectively correspond to a driving signal for outputting a square wave and a driving signal for outputting a sinusoidal wave.
[0044] Step 302 : Accept an output waveform selection command to select one of the waveform output modes.
[0045] Step 303 : Determine if entering a battery mode.
[0046] Step 304 : If entering the battery mode, according to the selected waveform output mode, output a corresponding driving signal to each of the four power switches S 1 ˜S 4 of the full-bridge inverter 11 to control a duty cycle of each power switch S 1 ˜S 4 , and enable the UPS to output the corresponding waveform.
[0047] As mentioned, the waveform output mode may be a square wave output mode and a sinusoidal wave output mode. When the switch command input terminal SW of the controller 16 receives a square wave selection command, the UPS is set up to output AC power with a square waveform. When the UPS enters the battery mode, the controller 16 generates a corresponding square wave driving signal to each of the four power switches S 1 ˜S 4 of the full-bridge inverter 11 to control its duty cycle. With reference to FIG. 4 , a square wave driving signal of each driving signal output terminal G 1 ˜G 4 of the controller 16 is shown. A low-frequency square signal is used to drive each power switch S 1 ˜S 4 of the full-bridge inverter 11 so that AC power with a square waveform is outputted from the power output terminal 0 /P of the UPS.
[0048] When the switch command input terminal SW of the controller 16 receives a sinusoidal wave selection command, the UPS is set up to output AC power with a sinusoidal waveform. When the UPS enters the battery mode, the controller 16 generates a corresponding sinusoidal wave driving signal to each of the four power switches S 1 ˜S 4 of the full-bridge inverter 11 to control its duty cycle. With reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B , a sinusoidal driving signal of each driving signal output terminal G 1 ˜G 4 of the controller 16 is shown. Alternately turn-on square wave signals of G 1 and G 4 together with complementary sinusoidal pulse width modulation signals (SPWM) of G 2 and G 3 are used to respectively drive the four power switches S 1 ˜S 4 of the full-bridge inverter 11 so that AC power with a sinusoidal waveform is outputted from the power output terminal O/P of the UPS.
[0049] Besides the square wave output mode and the sinusoidal wave output mode, the waveform output mode may output a stepwise wave, which pertains to a waveform between the square wave and the sinusoidal wave, has a higher output efficiency than the sinusoidal wave does and has a better output characteristics than the square wave does. To output AC power with stepwise waveform from the UPS, the controller 16 provides a first order stepwise wave output mode. When the switch command input terminal SW of the controller 16 receives a stepwise wave selection command, the UPS is set up to output AC power with a stepwise waveform. When the UPS enters the battery mode, the controller 16 generates a corresponding stepwise wave driving signal to each of the four power switches S 1 ˜S 4 of the full-bridge inverter 11 to control its duty cycle A so that AC power with a stepwise waveform is outputted from the power output terminal O/P of the UPS. With reference to FIG. 6A and 6B , a stepwise wave driving signal of each driving signal output terminal G 1 ˜G 4 of the controller 16 is shown.
[0050] As for the input means of the output waveform selection command, the input means includes but not limited to the following.
[0051] 1. A communication port is connected to the switch command input terminal SW of the controller 16 . The communication port may be a wired communication port or a wireless communication port for users to externally input the output waveform selection command through the wired or wireless communication port from outside the UPS.
[0052] 2. An operation panel is mounted on a body of the UPS. The operation panel has at least one selection key connected to the switch command input terminal SW of the controller 16 through a switch detection circuit, thereby outputting the output waveform selection command to the controller through the at least one selection key on the operation panel.
[0053] Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed. | A method for controlling output waveforms of an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) provides multiple types of output waveforms through a UPS for users to selectively switch to a waveform of output power after the UPS enters a battery mode. The output waveforms include square wave and sinusoidal wave. Based on load characteristics, users can choose either square wave or sinusoidal wave as the waveform of the output power. Accordingly, single UPS can meet the demand of high efficiency and longer discharge time or better output characteristics and low noise according to different load conditions. | Identify and summarize the most critical features from the given passage. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1.",
"Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and more particularly to a UPS capable of selectively outputting power with different waveforms and a method for controlling output waveforms of a UPS.",
"[0003] 2.",
"Description of the Related Art [0004] Regular UPSs are dedicated to circumstances running into abnormal mains power, such as power outage, over-voltage/under-voltage power or surge current, to provide backup power to power-consuming equipment so that the power-consuming equipment can receive an operating power in an uninterruptible fashion.",
"Therefore, mission critical commercial equipment such as computers, telecommunication network, private branch exchange (PBX) and the like, can be prevented from losing data or control due to mains power failure.",
"Conventional UPSs can be generally classified into on-line UPSs, off-line UPSs and line-interactive UPSs, and their characteristics are briefly described as follows.",
"[0005] An on-line UPS serves to separate a load from mains power.",
"Instead of being directly supplied to the load, mains power is supplied to a UPS and is converted into DC power to charge a battery.",
"Meanwhile, the DC power is converted back to AC power to supply the AC power to the load.",
"In the event of an outage or irregularity of mains power, the on-line UPS is switched and operated under a battery mode to convert the DC power of the battery into AC power and continuously supply the AC power to the load.",
"Furthermore, the waveforms outputted by the on-line UPSs are sinusoidal and identical to that of mains power.",
"Since the output waveform is sinusoidal, the on-line UPSs are applicable to purely inductive loads, purely capacitive loads and mixed loads of both, and are thus advantageous in better output characteristics and lower noise.",
"[0006] An off-line UPS plays a role of backup power.",
"During a normal state, mains power directly supplies power to a load and simultaneously charges a battery.",
"In the event of an outage of mains power, a power supply loop of the UPS connected to mains power is automatically switched off and the off-line UPS enters a battery mode to convert the DC power of the battery into AC power and supply the AC power to the load.",
"As the AC power converted from the DC power of the battery takes the form of a square wave, the power efficiency is high and green environment can be fulfilled.",
"When identical batteries are equipped, the off-line UPSs have longer discharge time.",
"However, the off-line UPSs can supply power purely capacitive loads.",
"[0007] A line-interactive UPS is equipped with a boost and buck compensation circuit, is operated basically the same as an off-line UPS, and does not intervene to supply power throughout entire operation thereof but instantaneously monitors the power supply condition of mains power.",
"In the event of abnormal mains power, the line-interactive UPS is instantaneously calibrated (voltage boost or buck) or enters a battery mode to replace mains power in continuously supplying power to a load.",
"[0008] From the foregoing, each type of UPSs has its specific operational theories and is applicable to specific loads.",
"However, under the battery mode, each UPS can output only one waveform, such as square wave or sinusoidal wave.",
"The power efficiency of the square wave is higher compared with that of the sinusoidal wave, and batteries outputting power with square wave have longer discharge time, are not easy to cause battery loss and ensure more environmental protection.",
"UPSs outputting power with sinusoidal waves have higher switching loss and lower power efficiency due to pulse width modulation (PWM) operation at high frequency but have lower noise and better output characteristics when applied to purely inductive loads, purely capacitive loads and mixed loads of both.",
"Hence, no matter if the UPSs outputting power with square waves or the UPSs outputting power with square waves, each type of UPSs has its own pros and cons in operation.",
"However, if each UPS can only output power with one waveform, manufacturers of UPSs must provide two types of UPSs to satisfy different needs of users, and once the load is changed, users must purchase new UPS again in compliance with the load characteristics.",
"To manufacturers and users of UPSs, the issues associated with cost increase and unnecessary expenditure are inevitable.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0009] A first objective of the present invention is to provide a method for controlling output waveforms of a UPS provides multiple types of output waveforms through a UPS for users to selectively switch to a waveform of output power.",
"If a sinusoidal wave is selected, it is applicable to a purely inductive load, a purely capacitive load or a mixed load of both and is advantageous in better output characteristics and lower noise.",
"If a square wave is selected, it is applicable to purely capacitive load and is advantageous in high efficiency, green environment and longer discharge time.",
"[0010] To achieve the foregoing objective, in the method the UPS has a controller and a full-bridge inverter, the full-bridge inverter has four power switches, and the controller has four driving signal output terminals respectively connected to the four power switches of the full-bridge inverter and is built in with an output waveform switching process, the output waveform switching process has steps of: [0011] providing multiple waveform output modes for each waveform output mode to correspond to one kind of driving signal for outputting a corresponding waveform;",
"[0012] accepting an output waveform selection command to select one of the waveform output modes.",
"[0013] determining if entering a battery mode;",
"[0014] if entering the battery mode, according to the selected waveform output mode, outputting a corresponding driving signal to each of the four power switches of the full-bridge inverter to control a duty cycle of each power switch, and enable the UPS to output the corresponding waveform.",
"[0015] The waveform output modes may be a square wave output mode and a sinusoidal wave output mode.",
"When the square wave output mode is selected, the controller generates a square wave driving signal and send it to each of the four power switches of the full-bridge inverter to control the duty cycle of the power switch so that the UPS outputs an AC power having a square waveform to a load.",
"When the sinusoidal wave output mode is selected, the controller generates a sinusoidal wave driving signal and send it to each of the four power switches of the full-bridge inverter to control the duty cycle of the power switch so that the UPS outputs an AC power having a sinusoidal waveform to a load.",
"The benefit of using the foregoing method lies in that single one UPS can provide AC power having a square waveform or a sinusoidal waveform to the load and users can select an output waveform of the UPS according to the load characteristics so as to effectively lower equipment cost and provide more operational flexibility.",
"[0016] A second objective of the present invention is to provide a UPS capable of generating different output waveforms.",
"[0017] To achieve the foregoing objective, the UPS has a full-bridge inverter, a battery set, a charger and a controller.",
"[0018] The full-bridge inverter has an input terminal and an output terminal and is composed of four power switches.",
"[0019] The battery set is connected to the input terminal of the full-bridge inverter.",
"[0020] The charger has an input terminal and an output terminal.",
"The input terminal is adapted to connect to the AC mains through a rectifier.",
"The output terminal is connected to the battery set.",
"[0021] The controller has a switch command input terminal, multiple driving signal output terminals and a charge control terminal.",
"Each driving signal output terminal is connected to one of the four power switches of the full-bridge inverter to control a duty cycle of the power switch.",
"The charge control terminal connected to the charger.",
"[0022] The controller is built in with an output waveform switching process selecting a driving signal with a waveform according to a switch command inputted through the switch command input terminal to control the duty cycle of each power switch.",
"[0023] Using the foregoing UPS can select one of multiple output waveforms of the UPS for users to conveniently select a proper output waveform according to load characteristics.",
"When the UPS enters the battery mode, the UPS outputs AC power with the selected output waveform to the load.",
"[0024] Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0025] FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a first embodiment of a UPS in accordance with the present invention;",
"[0026] FIG. 2A is a circuit diagram partially showing a second embodiment of a UPS in accordance with the present invention;",
"[0027] FIG. 2B is a circuit diagram partially showing a third embodiment of a UPS in accordance with the present invention;",
"[0028] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method for controlling output waveforms of a UPS in accordance with the present invention;",
"[0029] FIG. 4 is a waveform diagram of driving signals when the method in FIG. 3 is executed to output a square wave;",
"[0030] FIG. 5A is a waveform diagram of driving signals when the method in FIG. 3 is executed to output a sinusoidal wave;",
"[0031] FIG. 5B is another waveform diagram of driving signals when the method in FIG. 3 is executed to output a sinusoidal wave;",
"[0032] FIG. 6A is a waveform diagram of driving signals when the method in FIG. 3 is executed to output a stepwise wave;",
"and [0033] FIG. 6B is another waveform diagram of driving signals when the method in FIG. 3 is executed to output a stepwise wave.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0034] With reference to FIG. 1 , a first embodiment of a UPS in accordance with the present invention has a full-bridge inverter 11 , a battery set 12 , a charger 13 , a controller 16 and a transformer 15 .",
"[0035] The full-bridge inverter 11 has an input terminal and an output terminal and is composed of four power switches S 1 ˜S 4 .",
"In the present embodiment, each power switch S 1 ˜S 4 is a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET).",
"[0036] The battery set 12 is connected to the input terminal of the full-bridge inverter 11 .",
"[0037] The charger 13 has an input terminal and an output terminal.",
"The input terminal of the charger 13 is connected to the AC mains (AC IN) through a rectifier 14 , and the output terminal of the charger 13 is connected to the battery set 12 .",
"[0038] The controller 16 has a switch command input terminal SW, multiple driving signal output terminals G 1 ˜G 4 and a charge control terminal CH.",
"Each driving signal output terminal G 1 ˜G 4 is connected to the gate of one of the MOSFETs in the UPS to control a duty cycle of the MOSFET.",
"The charge control terminal CH is connected to the charger 13 .",
"The controller 16 is built in with an output waveform switching process selecting a driving signal with a waveform according to a switch command inputted through the switch command input terminal SW to control the duty cycle of each MOSFET.",
"[0039] The transformer 15 has a primary side and a secondary side.",
"The primary side is connected to the output terminal of the full-bridge inverter 11 and the secondary side is connected to a power output terminal 0 /P for filtering.",
"[0040] A method for controlling output waveforms of a UPS in accordance with the present invention is applicable to each of an on-line UPS, an off-line UPS and a line-interactive UPS.",
"In the present embodiment, the method is applicable to a line-interactive UPS.",
"Hence, the foregoing power output terminal O/P is connected to the AC mains (AC IN) through two switches K 1 and K 2 .",
"When the mains power (AC IN) is normal and the switches K 1 and K 2 are closed, the mains power not only supplies power to a load through the power output terminal O/P but also charges the battery set 12 through the charger 13 .",
"When the mains power (AC IN) is abnormal, the switches K 1 and K 2 are opened, the charger 13 no longer charges the battery set 12 and enters a battery mode, the battery set 12 outputs DC power to the full-bridge inverter 11 , and the controller 16 drives the full-bridge inverter 11 to convert the DC power into AC power and supplies the AC power to the load.",
"[0041] With reference to FIG. 2A , a second embodiment of a UPS in accordance with the present invention is shown.",
"The transformer 15 connected to the output terminal of the full-bridge inverter 11 further has an output capacitor Co parallelly connected to the secondary side thereof.",
"With reference to FIG. 2B , a third embodiment of a UPS in accordance with the present invention is shown.",
"Not only can the output terminal of the full-bridge inverter 11 be connected to the transformer 15 to serve as a filtering circuit, but also the filtering circuit can be composed of an inductor L and a capacitor C connected in series to each other.",
"[0042] With reference to FIG. 3 , a method for controlling output waveforms of a UPS in accordance with the present invention is executed by a UPS having a full-bridge inverter, corresponds to the built-in output waveform switching process embedded in the UPS, and has the following steps.",
"[0043] Step 301 : Provide multiple waveform output modes for each waveform output mode to correspond to one kind of driving signal for outputting a corresponding waveform.",
"In the present embodiment, a square wave output mode and a sinusoidal wave output mode are provided.",
"The square wave output mode and the sinusoidal wave output mode respectively correspond to a driving signal for outputting a square wave and a driving signal for outputting a sinusoidal wave.",
"[0044] Step 302 : Accept an output waveform selection command to select one of the waveform output modes.",
"[0045] Step 303 : Determine if entering a battery mode.",
"[0046] Step 304 : If entering the battery mode, according to the selected waveform output mode, output a corresponding driving signal to each of the four power switches S 1 ˜S 4 of the full-bridge inverter 11 to control a duty cycle of each power switch S 1 ˜S 4 , and enable the UPS to output the corresponding waveform.",
"[0047] As mentioned, the waveform output mode may be a square wave output mode and a sinusoidal wave output mode.",
"When the switch command input terminal SW of the controller 16 receives a square wave selection command, the UPS is set up to output AC power with a square waveform.",
"When the UPS enters the battery mode, the controller 16 generates a corresponding square wave driving signal to each of the four power switches S 1 ˜S 4 of the full-bridge inverter 11 to control its duty cycle.",
"With reference to FIG. 4 , a square wave driving signal of each driving signal output terminal G 1 ˜G 4 of the controller 16 is shown.",
"A low-frequency square signal is used to drive each power switch S 1 ˜S 4 of the full-bridge inverter 11 so that AC power with a square waveform is outputted from the power output terminal 0 /P of the UPS.",
"[0048] When the switch command input terminal SW of the controller 16 receives a sinusoidal wave selection command, the UPS is set up to output AC power with a sinusoidal waveform.",
"When the UPS enters the battery mode, the controller 16 generates a corresponding sinusoidal wave driving signal to each of the four power switches S 1 ˜S 4 of the full-bridge inverter 11 to control its duty cycle.",
"With reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B , a sinusoidal driving signal of each driving signal output terminal G 1 ˜G 4 of the controller 16 is shown.",
"Alternately turn-on square wave signals of G 1 and G 4 together with complementary sinusoidal pulse width modulation signals (SPWM) of G 2 and G 3 are used to respectively drive the four power switches S 1 ˜S 4 of the full-bridge inverter 11 so that AC power with a sinusoidal waveform is outputted from the power output terminal O/P of the UPS.",
"[0049] Besides the square wave output mode and the sinusoidal wave output mode, the waveform output mode may output a stepwise wave, which pertains to a waveform between the square wave and the sinusoidal wave, has a higher output efficiency than the sinusoidal wave does and has a better output characteristics than the square wave does.",
"To output AC power with stepwise waveform from the UPS, the controller 16 provides a first order stepwise wave output mode.",
"When the switch command input terminal SW of the controller 16 receives a stepwise wave selection command, the UPS is set up to output AC power with a stepwise waveform.",
"When the UPS enters the battery mode, the controller 16 generates a corresponding stepwise wave driving signal to each of the four power switches S 1 ˜S 4 of the full-bridge inverter 11 to control its duty cycle A so that AC power with a stepwise waveform is outputted from the power output terminal O/P of the UPS.",
"With reference to FIG. 6A and 6B , a stepwise wave driving signal of each driving signal output terminal G 1 ˜G 4 of the controller 16 is shown.",
"[0050] As for the input means of the output waveform selection command, the input means includes but not limited to the following.",
"[0051] 1.",
"A communication port is connected to the switch command input terminal SW of the controller 16 .",
"The communication port may be a wired communication port or a wireless communication port for users to externally input the output waveform selection command through the wired or wireless communication port from outside the UPS.",
"[0052] 2.",
"An operation panel is mounted on a body of the UPS.",
"The operation panel has at least one selection key connected to the switch command input terminal SW of the controller 16 through a switch detection circuit, thereby outputting the output waveform selection command to the controller through the at least one selection key on the operation panel.",
"[0053] Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only.",
"Changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The proposed utility is a cat scratching device with the replaceable fabric-covered pads and a universal base capable of attaching to various surfaces via a selection of different mounting components. Its design is fundamentally different from the traditional construction of this well-known utility. It offers better solution for protecting household surfaces from the claws of cats and kittens and at the same time providing animals with more comfortable habitat. Certain design features turn this combined scratching device into the best versatile utility for animal's motor activity development. Overall, proposed device owns the following distinctive design features: interchangeable pads, removable utility components and design elements and a series of standardized mounts for various interior surfaces of the dwellings.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] It is well known that cats need to sharpen their claws and that they do it by scratching various objects, mostly wooden or upholstered furniture. This process is largely unavoidable because it is a natural instinct that helps animals to stay healthy. Selecting a location of a scratching are by animals depends on the nature, temperament, age and gender of the pet, as well as on the interior of the room where it lives. Sometimes, a cat may select several places to sharpen its claws. And more often than not, the place where the cat sharpens its claws is not at all the place where the pet owner would like it to be. Traditional stationary scratching devices rarely help with such a problem. A cat chooses a place for clawing intuitively, instinctively, and it is very difficult to train it to use a scratching device if it has already chosen a location to sharpen its claws, for example, over the furniture or a door jamb. In such cases it is advisable to put a scratching device of the appropriate shape and size at the location “chosen” by the pet; that may protect the surface from the damage and also help to avoid the pet's forced migration to a different location. This was the main reason for designing this unique combined scratching device that offers multiple mounting methods for a variety of surfaces. Its major advantage is utilization of removable pads for scratching which can be easily and conveniently replaced once they become unusable. The design of this combined scratching device allows it to be blended into the interior of any room. With the use of a natural manila or Mexican fiber rope as the cover material of scratching pads they will be made light-weight and look attractive decoratively. An option of having the post installed on practically any surface this device should be enjoyed by both cats and their owners. Finally, the device has an option of replacing the clawing pads with variety of other components such as climbing runs, shelves, nests etc. An easy on a fly modification would convert the scratching post into an animal activity and play station.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The combined scratching device solves two major problems:
1. Creation of a comfortable habitat for cats by getting rid of the need for the owners to force their pets out from their chosen clawing locations. 2. Protection of virtually all household interior surfaces from clawing damage.
[0006] Structurally, the combined scratching device consists of two detachable parts: the clawing pad and the mounting base. The clawing pad is a rectangular plate made of a rigid material and wrapped with manila or Mexican-fiber rope or another durable material. At the ends of the clawing pad, plugs from a rigid material are mounted that prevent slippage of the rope; these plugs also perform a decorative function. In addition, the plugs cover the space from the clawing pad of the scratching posts to the fastening surface, which creates a perception of the integrity of the set design (the design decision). In addition to these functions, the plugs prevent rocking of the clawing pad on the mounting base by resting on the fastening surface. The backside of the clawing pad, which is attached to the mounting base, features attachment protrusions (screws with larger round head) with heads projecting over the upper edge of the clawing material to the thickness of the coupling bracket, which is made of metal or hard polymer, for engagement and for provision of the necessary contact of the clawing pad and the mounting base. The shape of the pad plate can be rectangular, triangular or of another geometric shape. Various shapes of pads provide freedom of choice for creating the most comfortable habitat for cats and more opportunities for surface protection. All types of clawing pads have unified mounting and are compatible with all types of mounting bases. A special type of connector has been designed for each type of a surface. The original design of the connector of the mounting base and upholstered parts of the furniture is allowing installation of the combined scratching device on any part of the upholstered parts of the furniture by pinning without damaging the surface. The fastening method is based on piercing of a material attached to the mounting base of the device to a fabric of the surface of upholstered furniture. It is being done with the use of a steel needle/pin with a spherical head, which prevents sliding of the needle after fixing the mounting base of the proposed device to the fastening surface. Connecting flaps of the material are fixed at opposite ends of the mounting base to provide reliable fastening to the surface. Two or more piercing needle/pins are being set per side. Clawing pads of variable geometric shapes are available for installing on a mounting base of the device. Mounting base can be made flat or L-shaped, which allows mounting of this scratching device on edges of the walls or furniture items. The L-shaped mounting bases are equipped with the same fastening connectors as the flat version. For door trims and other similar protruding surfaces, mounting bases can be attached using the surface connectors with the short angled brackets. In terms of crimping action, the door trim fastener is subdivided into the following two types: 1—with a tension spring, 2—without a tension spring. Fasteners with a tension spring have their clamping force produced by the tension spring mounted between the opposite brackets with the clamped surface being placed in between. Fasteners without a tension spring use the clamping method of tilting of one of the brackets to the chute using a special screw. At least four mounting base brackets minimum are needed for a reliable connection on the rung, i.e. is two brackets per side. The mounting base is equipped with any clawing pads selected from the above-mentioned options. A mounting base with a special crimping connector is offered for angular protruding surfaces (e.g. U-shaped walls). In this case, an L-shaped mounting base is used. An adjustable connector is attached to one edge of the mounting base with a screw; this connector is made either of metal or of a rigid material and is shaped as an elongated bracket (attached at an angle of 90°). The bend of the elongated bracket is made parallel to the adjacent edge of the mounting base. The flexible connection of the elongated bracket with the mounting base is necessary to eliminate inconsistencies of linear dimensions in the course of installation of the scratching device. A clamping device is installed on the edge of the mounting base that is opposite to the bending of the elongated bracket. The clamping device has retractable screws that are screwed into the edge of the mounting base. In order to prevent damage to the fastening surface, a movable protective spacer plate is installed against the ends of the screws, through which the screw ends are resting on the fastening surface and thus creating the clamping force. A clamped 3-way projection is placed between one edge of the mounting base with the clamping device and the curved elongated bracket. On the mounting base, provision is made for at least 2 brackets for secure mounting that are used as a connecting device. For flat surfaces, the mounting base with a connecting device in the shape of a 2-sided sticky tape (duct tape) is used. This type of fastening is used in those cases where it is difficult to use other types of fasteners. The mounting base with a connecting device is quickly and easily installed onto any type of smooth hard surfaces. A variety of devices for cats' development and creation of a favourable habitat can also be used instead of clawing pads. These devices can be shelf-like nests, climbing rungs, and other developing structures. All mounting bases and foundations of clawing pads and their plugs are to be made of hard wood or of hard plastic. Clutching brackets are to be made of metal or of rigid polymer. Brackets are to be made of metal.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0007] FIG. 1 General Diagram of Use of Combined Scratching Devices with Various Surfaces
[0008] FIG. 2 General Diagram of Mounting Bases of Combined Scratching Devices in Conjunction with a Variety of Additional Devices
[0009] FIG. 3 Schematic Design of Fastener of the Clawing Pads to the Mounting Base of Combined Scratching Devices
[0010] FIG. 4 Installation of the Clutching Bracket of the Mounting Base and the Catching Device for the Clawing Pads of Combined Scratching Devices
[0011] FIG. 5 Design of the Plug for the Clawing Pads of Combined Scratching Devices
[0012] FIG. 6 Types of Connecting Devices for Mounting Bases of Combined Scratching Devices
[0013] FIG. 7 Design of the Special Connecting Device for Upholstered Furniture Pieces with the Use of Pinning of Base-Connected Material with Needle/pins to Upholstered Surfaces
[0014] FIG. 8 Design of the Special Connecting Device with Elongated Crimping Brackets for Wide Rectangular Protruding Surfaces such as Jambs etc.
[0015] FIG. 9 Design of the Special Connecting Device with Crimping Short Brackets with a Tension Spring for Narrow Rectangular Protruding Surfaces, such as Door Trims etc.
[0016] FIG. 10 Design of the Special Connecting Device with Crimping Short Brackets with a Tension Screw for Narrow Rectangular Protruding Surfaces, such as Door Trims etc.
[0017] FIG. 11 Design of the Special Connecting Device for Rough Non-Flat Surfaces with the Use of Duct Tape.
[0018] FIG. 12 Some Shapes of Fastened Clawing Pads and Devices for the Comfort of Cats
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0019] FIG. 1 shows the general diagram of the use of standard options of the combined scratching device and its fastening to a variety of household surfaces. The clawing pads 1 of the combined scratching device (for example, straight and triangular) of an arbitrarily admissible geometric shape, linear dimensions, and material for clawing are united by a common universal mounting type and can be installed onto any universal mounting base. All types of mounting bases 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 have a standardized fastening for connection to pads 1 of any shape. The combined scratching device assembly is a clawing pad 1 installed on one of the mounting bases 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , and 12 . Mounting bases differ through connecting devices for the fastening surface, linear dimensions, and shape: straight and angled. They must be manufactured of a rigid material: wood, plastic etc. The mounting base 8 is used for fastening of the post to flat smooth surfaces 3 (furniture walls, door units etc.) with the use of a double-sided adhesive tape. The L-shaped mounting base 9 is used to fasten the scratching device to angled wall projections or other similar engineering structures 4 . In this case, the connecting device consists of elongated crimping brackets. The L-shaped mounting base 10 can also be fitted with a connecting device with adhesive tape and can be used for installation on furniture legs 5 or other angled surfaces. The mounting base 11 is designed to fasten it to the upholstered part. The connecting accessories here are the scraps of material at the ends of the plate of the mounting base that are pinned to the surface of the upholstered parts of furniture with needle/pins 6 . The mounting base 12 is designed for mounting on narrow and low rectangular protrusions (door trims etc.). 7 , with the use of short crimping brackets.
[0020] FIG. 2 shows, on the basis of a sample cat nest complete with a climbing rung 1 , the use of the mounting base of the combined scratching device in connection with the devices for improvement of living conditions and development of motor activity of cats. The device 1 can be installed onto the following types of mounting bases of the combined scratching device: 2 —the mounting base with a connecting device with elongated brackets, 3 —the mounting base with a connecting device with a double-sided adhesive tape, 4 —the mounting base with a connecting device with short brackets. View 10 —cat nest 7 complete with a climbing rung 8 mounted on the mounting base with elongated brackets 2 and fastened to the wall protrusion 5 . View 11 —cat nest 7 complete with a climbing rung 8 is mounted on the mounting base with the double-sided adhesive tape 3 and fastened onto the furniture wall 6 . View 12 —cat nest 7 complete with a climbing rung 8 mounted on the mounting base with short brackets 4 and fastened to the door trim 9 . The connecting device for improvement of the habitat and development of motor activity of cats that is fastened to the bottom of the mounting base must be equipped with the corresponding connecting protrusions, as do the clawing pads (see FIG. 3 ).
[0021] FIG. 3 shows the design of fastening of clawing pads and other possible accessories to the bottom of the mounting base of the combined scratching device on the basis of fastening of a sample straight mounting base and the connecting device (a double-sided adhesive tape). All other types have a similar standardized mounting base for fastening of the clawing pads. 1 —View of the clawing pad installed onto the mounting base, from the front of the clawing section. 2 —View of the back of the clawing pad of the scratching device from the side of the fastening protrusions. The design of the combined scratching device consists of two assembled parts: the clawing pad 1 (Rear View 2 ) or another device for cats and the mounting base 5 . All clawing pads 1 (Rear View 2 ), possible accessories for cats 3 (Side View 4 ), and the mounting bases 5 have the same universal type of fastening for connection with each other. With the use of a catching device (the connecting projections 6 ) the pad of the combined scratching device or another device for cats engages with the clutching brackets 7 serially mounted on the plate of the mounting base 5 vertically. The standardized mounting base options that are reviewed herein contain strictly vertical clutching brackets 7 . In terms of the shape, the mounting base 5 is made in the shape of a rectangular plate (other arbitrary shapes of the plates that are not considered here are also allowed) made of a rigid material with anchoring clutching brackets 7 , screws 8 , or other suitable fasteners on one side of the plate, and a connecting device for fastening to the surface on the other side of the plate. The clutching bracket 7 on the bar of the mounting base 5 is installed in the quantity of at least 2 pcs. All of them must be installed at a fixed distance on the universal mounting base in accordance with the location of attachment projections 6 on the clawing pads or in other devices for cats. Clawing pad 1 (Rear View 2 ) features plugs 9 at the ends of its length, which prevent the clawing material 10 from slipping; the clawing material can be manila or Mexican-fiber rope as well as other durable material. At the ends of the plugs 9 , the spacers 11 are installed that are made of soft material and that serve to prevent damage to the fastening surface. A more detailed design of the clutching bracket 7 is provided in FIG. 4 .
[0022] FIG. 4 shows the design of the clutching bracket and the catching device for the clawing pads. View 1 shows the clawing pad of the combined scratching device in conjunction with clutching brackets 3 from the mounting base of the combined scratching device. In View 2 , the round head of the attachment protrusion 5 of the catching device on the clawing pad 1 is extended above the surface of the material of the clawing pad 1 to the thickness of the clutching bracket 3 . View 4 —the fastening protrusion 5 of the clawing pad 1 at the moment of engagement with the clutching bracket 3 . The clutching bracket 3 of the mounting base is made of a rigid sheet material (presumably metal). The catching protrusion 5 of the clawing pad 1 enters the central opening 6 (View 3 ) between the two longitudinal slots 7 of the clutching bracket 3 , which can structurally be a screw with an increased flat head. For engagement with the clutching bracket 3 , the clawing pad 1 moves with the use of connecting projections 5 inside the slots 7 in either direction depending on the position of the mounting base until it clicks as shown in the View 1 . The enlarged View 4 also shows the principle of fastening the clawing pad to the clutching bracket 3 with the use of fastening protrusions 5 (at the moment of entry into the bracket). Holes 8 on the clutching bracket are used to connect it to the combined scratching device with the use of the fasteners 9 . The fit and the clamping force of the clawing pad to the mounting base can be adjusted through the height of the fastening protrusion 5 from the adhesive material of the clawing pad. The spacer 10 is provided in order to mitigate the vibration of the clawing pad and to prevent damage to the adjacent surface. The design of the clutching bracket 3 provides for its symmetrical installation, thereby the mounting base of the combined scratching device has no fixed up or down position.
[0023] FIG. 5 shows the design of the end plug of the clawing pad of the combined scratching device. View 1 shows the connection of the combined scratching device to the furniture wall surface using a double-side adhesion tape connecting device as an example. All major peculiar properties of the design of the plug 3 of the clawing pad that are described herein are used in all types of clawing pads 8 of combined scratching device. View 2 shows an enlarged view of the plug 3 mounted onto the combined scratching device attached to the fastening surface. As can be seen from View 1 and 2 , the end plug 3 of the clawing pad 8 is extended for the thickness of the elongated plate of the mounting base 4 so that when attached to the adjacent surface 5 , the scratching post assembly with the clawing pad 8 abuts against the plugs 3 fitted with spacers 6 made of soft material (in order to prevent damage to the fastening surface) in the fastening surface 5 at the same level 7 as the plate of the mounting base 4 . Thus the combined scratching device assembly rests against the fastening surface with all parts of its design when attached to the surface with all its planes, which prevents additional rocking and vibration of the pad while clawing.
[0024] FIG. 6 provides a general description of the types of the used connecting devices for the mounting base of the combined scratching device to be fastened to the fastening surface. A detailed review of each of the connecting devices is summarized in the corresponding sketches. 1 and 4 —the connecting device with the double-sided adhesive tape 5 , the bands of which are mounted onto the mounting base 6 . The types of connecting devices 1 and 4 are used for attachment to flat smooth surfaces. Type 1 is intended for angle-shaped surfaces only. Type 4 is designed for all forms of flat surfaces (for details, see FIG. 11 ). Type 2 and 5 of the connecting device are used to fasten the scratching device to upholstered parts of furniture and to fabric-covered surfaces. General design of the connecting device consists of the connecting device 7 , which is attached to the plate of the mounting base 6 . The connecting device 7 can be used both with the straight plate 5 of the mounting base and with the angular plate 2 of the mounting base. The connecting device consists of the original fixtures based on the method of pinning of flaps of material from the plate of the mounting base 6 to the fastening surface by means of needle/pins (for details, see FIG. 7 ). The corner mounting base with a connecting device with elongated brackets (View 3 ) is used to fasten to wide rectangular projections of walls and similar 3-way structures. The connecting device 8 consists of elongated brackets and clamping devices on one side of the mounting base (for details, see FIG. 8 ). The connecting device (View 6 ) is designed to fasten the mounting base to low-protruding narrow rectangular surfaces, such as door trims etc. The connecting device 9 consists of short clamping brackets that clasp the protrusion of the surface and are mounted on the plate of the mounting base 6 . The method of compression of brackets can be based on a tension spring or on a clamping screw (for details, see FIG. 9 , FIG. 10 ). The connecting device of this type is used with both flat and L-shaped mounting bases.
[0025] FIG. 7 describes the principle of action of the original connecting device of the mounting base of the combined scratching device to upholstered parts of furniture. View 1 —the mounting base with the connecting device attached to the surface. View 2 —enlarged front view of one side of the mounting base with a connecting device; View 3 —enlarged reverse view of one side of the mounting base with a connecting device. View 4 —Needle/pin. The connecting device consists of two flaps of material 5 on opposite sides of the plate of the mounting base 6 , needle/pins 7 , and the auxiliary ring of the opening 8 . The design of the needle/pin 7 provides for the round opening 7 and the head 9 with a larger diameter than the inner diameter of the opening of the ring 8 . The head plays a role of the stop in the ring 8 that prevents rupture of the material under load in the course of clawing. The length of the needle/pin is not regulated; however, it needs to be sufficient for secure fastening. The needle/pins must be manufactured of metal. The upper edge of the flaps of material 5 that is opposite from the plate of the mounting base 6 , features the rings 8 with the holes according to the diameter of the needle/pin 7 , which are mounted on the same horizontal level. Each flap, at the top edge, has at least two punched ringed holes 8 in order to provide for secure fastening. The flap of the material 5 is attached to the mounting base plate 6 by means of fastening screws 10 or punch-down brackets. For fastening to the surface of the upholstered part of furniture 11 , the plate of the mounting base 6 is set against the surface with the use of straightened flaps 5 to the sides along the entire length. Needle/pins 7 are inserted into ringed holes 8 in the direction of the plate of the mounting base 6 so that the tip of the needle/pin pierces throughout the length of the connecting material 11 when passing through the ring 8 and the spherical surface of the head 9 of the needle/pin 7 comes into contact with the ring of the hole 8 . To ensure secure fastening, the plate of the mounting base 6 is fitted with two vertical connecting devices—at the top and at the bottom.
[0026] FIG. 8 describes the principle of action of the connecting device of the mounting base of the combined scratching device with the use of long brackets for fastening to three-way rectangular protrusions of walls, furniture and other engineering structures. View 1 (from the inside)—the angled mounting base equipped with a connecting device with elongated brackets. View 2 —a fragmentary sectional view of the clamping screw 5 complete with the nut 6 . View 3 —the end view of the section of the mounting base fastened to the surface. View 4 —the mounting base fitted with a connecting device with elongated brackets (Front View). The connecting device consists of principal parts: the elongated brackets 7 and the clamping device, which in turn consists of the installation plate 8 , the guide pins 9 , the nuts 6 and the bolts 5 . The mounting base 10 in this option has an L-shape. The plates of the mounting bases are connected into an angled shape 10 with the use of screws 18 as seen from the View 4 . From inside of the angle, elongated brackets 7 are attached to one of the plates of the mounting base of the angled mounting base 10 ; and a clamping device is installed on the adjacent plate. The brackets are installed in slots 11 that have a depth equal to the thickness of the bracket 7 so that the inner plane of the bracket and the plane of the plate 10 of the mounting base are at the same level, which provides uniform contact with the fastening surface. The elongated bracket 7 is attached to the plate of the angled of the mounting base 10 by means of fastening screws 12 , which are placed in slots 13 and which have a small longitudinal shift for pressure adjustment during the installation of the mounting base onto the fastening surface. At one end, the elongated bracket 7 has a bend 14 of 90° to cover one side of the fastening surface. The inner side of the bend 14 of the bracket 7 features a spacer 15 made of soft material in order to prevent damage to the fastening surface. The fastening surface 16 is placed between the bends 14 of the brackets 7 and the cramping device on the plate of the mounting base 10 . The clamping device is composed of the nuts 6 in recessed slots 17 flush with the plate of the mounting base 10 . A clamping screw 5 in recessed grooves 19 flush with the plate of the mounting base 10 (2 pcs) is screwed into the nut and pushes its ends into the spacer plate 8 placed in front of them thus creating clamping force toward the fastening surface 16 . The spacer plate 8 is mounted on movable guide pins 9 (2 pcs) that are installed into the corresponding slots 18 on the mounting plate 10 and that serve to protect against damage of the fastening surface caused by screws. The spacer must be made of sheet metal or plastic. To ensure secure fastening, the plate of the mounting base 6 is vertically fitted with at least two elongated brackets 7 . The length of the bracket is selected on the basis of the width of the protrusion.
[0027] FIG. 9 describes the principle of action of the connecting device of the mounting base of combined scratching device using short brackets with the tension spring for fastening to low-protruding narrow rectangular surfaces such as door trims. View 1 —the front part of the mounting base from the side of the attachment of the clawing pads. Views 2 and 3 are showing the rear part of the assembly plate of the mounting base with a connecting device with a tension spring. View 4 —the end view of the section of the mounting base fastened to the surface. The connecting device consists of the following principal parts: short movable ( 5 ) and stationary ( 6 ) brackets, which are arranged pairwise opposite each other horizontally and which tighten the spring 7 attached to the respective opposite horizontal brackets; screws for mounting and stroke adjustment 8 ; mounting screws for stationary brackets 9 . Screws for mounting and stroke adjustment 8 are screwed into the threaded socket 10 and fasten a vertical part of the pairs of brackets 5 in a sliding way to the plate of the mounting base 11 ; moving along the horizontal slot 12 , they allow for horizontal movement of the respective bracket 5 to stretch the spring and to create the clamping force on the fastened surface 13 . The opposite vertical part of the pair of brackets 6 is attached fast to the plate 11 with the use of the screw 9 . The clamping force is developed by the tension spring 7 , which is attached to opposite brackets 5 and 6 mounted on the same horizontal level; this provides for uniform clamping of the mounting base 11 to the fastening surface with all of its 13 brackets. The maximum width of the surface depends on the maximum width of the plate of the mounting base 11 .
[0028] FIG. 10 describes the principle of action of the original connecting device of the mounting base of combined scratching device using short brackets with the tension screw for fastening to low-protruding narrow rectangular surfaces such as door trims. View 1 —the front part of the mounting base from the side of the attachment of clawing pads. Views 2 and 3 —are showing the shape of the plate of the mounting base from the side of the connecting device assembly. View 4 —edge view of the plate of the mounting base in section along the brackets of the connecting device. View 5 —the end view of the section of the mounting base fastened to the surface. The connecting device consists of the following principal parts: short mobile ( 6 ) and stationary ( 7 ) brackets, which are arranged pairwise opposite each other horizontally, tension screws for mounting and stroke adjustment 8 ; mounting screws 9 for stationary brackets that are screwed into the threaded holes 10 of stationary brackets 7 . Movable side brackets 6 that are crimped with the use of the screw 8 possess a design feature. On the plane of its base adjacent to the plate of the mounting base 11 , the movable bracket 6 has a narrow projection 12 , which serves as a stop during the clamping of the bracket 6 to an inclined surface 13 in order to prevent slippage and displacement. In each horizontal pair of brackets, one bracket 7 is attached fast to the plate 11 with the use of the screw 9 . The tightening screws for mounting and stroke adjustment 8 move in the slot 14 and attach one bracket 6 in a sliding way to the plate of the mounting base 11 in each pair of horizontal brackets, which allows for the movement and tilting of the movable bracket on the horizontal slope slot 13 in order to create clamping force on the fastened surface 15 . The clamping force is developed by the tension screw 8 , which presses the movable bracket 6 of each horizontal pair of brackets along the special sloping slot 13 on the plate 11 of the mounting base. As it is screwed into the threaded socket 16 of the base of the bracket 6 , the clamping screw 8 tilts it along the slope 13 . Horizontal tilt of the bracket 6 in the direction W depends on the distance Q of the angle deviation value 13 and is selected empirically. The clamped surface 15 is located between the opposite brackets 6 and 7 of each horizontal pair of brackets. At least, two vertical pairs of brackets are expected. The maximum girth of the fastening surface depends on the maximum width of the plate of the mounting base 11 .
[0029] FIG. 11 describes the principle of action of the connecting device of the mounting base of combined scratching device using double-sided adhesive tape for fastening to flat smooth surfaces (such as cabinets, drawers, kitchen furniture etc.). View 1 —a composite view of the mounting base of the combined scratching device as fastened to the fastening surface 6 . Views 2 and 3 —show the mounting base; the view is from the side of the connecting device. The connecting device consists of a double-sided adhesive tape 4 along the length of the plate 5 of the mounting base. If the plate of the mounting base has a substantial width, the use of multiple strips of adhesive tape 4 is allowed (View 3 ).
[0030] FIG. 12 . The combined scratching device is fitted with clawing pads of any geometric shape but with the required catching devices as shown in FIG. 4 for a tight connection to the plane of the mounting base. The sketch shows some options of the preferred shapes: the triangular shape 1 and the rectangular shape 2 . A device for development of the cat's physical activity and improvement of the habitat is the nest 3 complete with a climbing rung. All clawing pads of the scratching device and accessories are equipped with standardized catching devices as indicated in FIG. 4 to connect with all types of mounting bases of the scratching device. | The proposed utility is a cat scratching device with the replaceable clawing pads covered with fabric and a universal base capable of attaching to various surfaces via a selection of different mounting components. A key feature of the device is its interchangeable clawing pads that don't need any tooling for their replacement. Another key feature is the selection of various non-damaging mounts. The mounts are designed to safely attach the device to different pieces of furniture or directly to the walls. These two features are the main advantages of the device which guarantees the protection of furniture and dwelling surfaces from cat claw damage. The device can be easily relocated and can be applied to a scratching spot already chosen by the pet thereby creating a comfortable habitat for the animal. In addition, various devices for cat development can be installed on standardized mounting base converting the scratching post into an animal activity and play station. | Condense the core contents of the given document. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The proposed utility is a cat scratching device with the replaceable fabric-covered pads and a universal base capable of attaching to various surfaces via a selection of different mounting components.",
"Its design is fundamentally different from the traditional construction of this well-known utility.",
"It offers better solution for protecting household surfaces from the claws of cats and kittens and at the same time providing animals with more comfortable habitat.",
"Certain design features turn this combined scratching device into the best versatile utility for animal's motor activity development.",
"Overall, proposed device owns the following distinctive design features: interchangeable pads, removable utility components and design elements and a series of standardized mounts for various interior surfaces of the dwellings.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] It is well known that cats need to sharpen their claws and that they do it by scratching various objects, mostly wooden or upholstered furniture.",
"This process is largely unavoidable because it is a natural instinct that helps animals to stay healthy.",
"Selecting a location of a scratching are by animals depends on the nature, temperament, age and gender of the pet, as well as on the interior of the room where it lives.",
"Sometimes, a cat may select several places to sharpen its claws.",
"And more often than not, the place where the cat sharpens its claws is not at all the place where the pet owner would like it to be.",
"Traditional stationary scratching devices rarely help with such a problem.",
"A cat chooses a place for clawing intuitively, instinctively, and it is very difficult to train it to use a scratching device if it has already chosen a location to sharpen its claws, for example, over the furniture or a door jamb.",
"In such cases it is advisable to put a scratching device of the appropriate shape and size at the location “chosen”",
"by the pet;",
"that may protect the surface from the damage and also help to avoid the pet's forced migration to a different location.",
"This was the main reason for designing this unique combined scratching device that offers multiple mounting methods for a variety of surfaces.",
"Its major advantage is utilization of removable pads for scratching which can be easily and conveniently replaced once they become unusable.",
"The design of this combined scratching device allows it to be blended into the interior of any room.",
"With the use of a natural manila or Mexican fiber rope as the cover material of scratching pads they will be made light-weight and look attractive decoratively.",
"An option of having the post installed on practically any surface this device should be enjoyed by both cats and their owners.",
"Finally, the device has an option of replacing the clawing pads with variety of other components such as climbing runs, shelves, nests etc.",
"An easy on a fly modification would convert the scratching post into an animal activity and play station.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0003] The combined scratching device solves two major problems: 1.",
"Creation of a comfortable habitat for cats by getting rid of the need for the owners to force their pets out from their chosen clawing locations.",
"Protection of virtually all household interior surfaces from clawing damage.",
"[0006] Structurally, the combined scratching device consists of two detachable parts: the clawing pad and the mounting base.",
"The clawing pad is a rectangular plate made of a rigid material and wrapped with manila or Mexican-fiber rope or another durable material.",
"At the ends of the clawing pad, plugs from a rigid material are mounted that prevent slippage of the rope;",
"these plugs also perform a decorative function.",
"In addition, the plugs cover the space from the clawing pad of the scratching posts to the fastening surface, which creates a perception of the integrity of the set design (the design decision).",
"In addition to these functions, the plugs prevent rocking of the clawing pad on the mounting base by resting on the fastening surface.",
"The backside of the clawing pad, which is attached to the mounting base, features attachment protrusions (screws with larger round head) with heads projecting over the upper edge of the clawing material to the thickness of the coupling bracket, which is made of metal or hard polymer, for engagement and for provision of the necessary contact of the clawing pad and the mounting base.",
"The shape of the pad plate can be rectangular, triangular or of another geometric shape.",
"Various shapes of pads provide freedom of choice for creating the most comfortable habitat for cats and more opportunities for surface protection.",
"All types of clawing pads have unified mounting and are compatible with all types of mounting bases.",
"A special type of connector has been designed for each type of a surface.",
"The original design of the connector of the mounting base and upholstered parts of the furniture is allowing installation of the combined scratching device on any part of the upholstered parts of the furniture by pinning without damaging the surface.",
"The fastening method is based on piercing of a material attached to the mounting base of the device to a fabric of the surface of upholstered furniture.",
"It is being done with the use of a steel needle/pin with a spherical head, which prevents sliding of the needle after fixing the mounting base of the proposed device to the fastening surface.",
"Connecting flaps of the material are fixed at opposite ends of the mounting base to provide reliable fastening to the surface.",
"Two or more piercing needle/pins are being set per side.",
"Clawing pads of variable geometric shapes are available for installing on a mounting base of the device.",
"Mounting base can be made flat or L-shaped, which allows mounting of this scratching device on edges of the walls or furniture items.",
"The L-shaped mounting bases are equipped with the same fastening connectors as the flat version.",
"For door trims and other similar protruding surfaces, mounting bases can be attached using the surface connectors with the short angled brackets.",
"In terms of crimping action, the door trim fastener is subdivided into the following two types: 1—with a tension spring, 2—without a tension spring.",
"Fasteners with a tension spring have their clamping force produced by the tension spring mounted between the opposite brackets with the clamped surface being placed in between.",
"Fasteners without a tension spring use the clamping method of tilting of one of the brackets to the chute using a special screw.",
"At least four mounting base brackets minimum are needed for a reliable connection on the rung, i.e. is two brackets per side.",
"The mounting base is equipped with any clawing pads selected from the above-mentioned options.",
"A mounting base with a special crimping connector is offered for angular protruding surfaces (e.g. U-shaped walls).",
"In this case, an L-shaped mounting base is used.",
"An adjustable connector is attached to one edge of the mounting base with a screw;",
"this connector is made either of metal or of a rigid material and is shaped as an elongated bracket (attached at an angle of 90°).",
"The bend of the elongated bracket is made parallel to the adjacent edge of the mounting base.",
"The flexible connection of the elongated bracket with the mounting base is necessary to eliminate inconsistencies of linear dimensions in the course of installation of the scratching device.",
"A clamping device is installed on the edge of the mounting base that is opposite to the bending of the elongated bracket.",
"The clamping device has retractable screws that are screwed into the edge of the mounting base.",
"In order to prevent damage to the fastening surface, a movable protective spacer plate is installed against the ends of the screws, through which the screw ends are resting on the fastening surface and thus creating the clamping force.",
"A clamped 3-way projection is placed between one edge of the mounting base with the clamping device and the curved elongated bracket.",
"On the mounting base, provision is made for at least 2 brackets for secure mounting that are used as a connecting device.",
"For flat surfaces, the mounting base with a connecting device in the shape of a 2-sided sticky tape (duct tape) is used.",
"This type of fastening is used in those cases where it is difficult to use other types of fasteners.",
"The mounting base with a connecting device is quickly and easily installed onto any type of smooth hard surfaces.",
"A variety of devices for cats'",
"development and creation of a favourable habitat can also be used instead of clawing pads.",
"These devices can be shelf-like nests, climbing rungs, and other developing structures.",
"All mounting bases and foundations of clawing pads and their plugs are to be made of hard wood or of hard plastic.",
"Clutching brackets are to be made of metal or of rigid polymer.",
"Brackets are to be made of metal.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES [0007] FIG. 1 General Diagram of Use of Combined Scratching Devices with Various Surfaces [0008] FIG. 2 General Diagram of Mounting Bases of Combined Scratching Devices in Conjunction with a Variety of Additional Devices [0009] FIG. 3 Schematic Design of Fastener of the Clawing Pads to the Mounting Base of Combined Scratching Devices [0010] FIG. 4 Installation of the Clutching Bracket of the Mounting Base and the Catching Device for the Clawing Pads of Combined Scratching Devices [0011] FIG. 5 Design of the Plug for the Clawing Pads of Combined Scratching Devices [0012] FIG. 6 Types of Connecting Devices for Mounting Bases of Combined Scratching Devices [0013] FIG. 7 Design of the Special Connecting Device for Upholstered Furniture Pieces with the Use of Pinning of Base-Connected Material with Needle/pins to Upholstered Surfaces [0014] FIG. 8 Design of the Special Connecting Device with Elongated Crimping Brackets for Wide Rectangular Protruding Surfaces such as Jambs etc.",
"[0015] FIG. 9 Design of the Special Connecting Device with Crimping Short Brackets with a Tension Spring for Narrow Rectangular Protruding Surfaces, such as Door Trims etc.",
"[0016] FIG. 10 Design of the Special Connecting Device with Crimping Short Brackets with a Tension Screw for Narrow Rectangular Protruding Surfaces, such as Door Trims etc.",
"[0017] FIG. 11 Design of the Special Connecting Device for Rough Non-Flat Surfaces with the Use of Duct Tape.",
"[0018] FIG. 12 Some Shapes of Fastened Clawing Pads and Devices for the Comfort of Cats DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0019] FIG. 1 shows the general diagram of the use of standard options of the combined scratching device and its fastening to a variety of household surfaces.",
"The clawing pads 1 of the combined scratching device (for example, straight and triangular) of an arbitrarily admissible geometric shape, linear dimensions, and material for clawing are united by a common universal mounting type and can be installed onto any universal mounting base.",
"All types of mounting bases 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 have a standardized fastening for connection to pads 1 of any shape.",
"The combined scratching device assembly is a clawing pad 1 installed on one of the mounting bases 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , and 12 .",
"Mounting bases differ through connecting devices for the fastening surface, linear dimensions, and shape: straight and angled.",
"They must be manufactured of a rigid material: wood, plastic etc.",
"The mounting base 8 is used for fastening of the post to flat smooth surfaces 3 (furniture walls, door units etc.) with the use of a double-sided adhesive tape.",
"The L-shaped mounting base 9 is used to fasten the scratching device to angled wall projections or other similar engineering structures 4 .",
"In this case, the connecting device consists of elongated crimping brackets.",
"The L-shaped mounting base 10 can also be fitted with a connecting device with adhesive tape and can be used for installation on furniture legs 5 or other angled surfaces.",
"The mounting base 11 is designed to fasten it to the upholstered part.",
"The connecting accessories here are the scraps of material at the ends of the plate of the mounting base that are pinned to the surface of the upholstered parts of furniture with needle/pins 6 .",
"The mounting base 12 is designed for mounting on narrow and low rectangular protrusions (door trims etc.).",
"7 , with the use of short crimping brackets.",
"[0020] FIG. 2 shows, on the basis of a sample cat nest complete with a climbing rung 1 , the use of the mounting base of the combined scratching device in connection with the devices for improvement of living conditions and development of motor activity of cats.",
"The device 1 can be installed onto the following types of mounting bases of the combined scratching device: 2 —the mounting base with a connecting device with elongated brackets, 3 —the mounting base with a connecting device with a double-sided adhesive tape, 4 —the mounting base with a connecting device with short brackets.",
"View 10 —cat nest 7 complete with a climbing rung 8 mounted on the mounting base with elongated brackets 2 and fastened to the wall protrusion 5 .",
"View 11 —cat nest 7 complete with a climbing rung 8 is mounted on the mounting base with the double-sided adhesive tape 3 and fastened onto the furniture wall 6 .",
"View 12 —cat nest 7 complete with a climbing rung 8 mounted on the mounting base with short brackets 4 and fastened to the door trim 9 .",
"The connecting device for improvement of the habitat and development of motor activity of cats that is fastened to the bottom of the mounting base must be equipped with the corresponding connecting protrusions, as do the clawing pads (see FIG. 3 ).",
"[0021] FIG. 3 shows the design of fastening of clawing pads and other possible accessories to the bottom of the mounting base of the combined scratching device on the basis of fastening of a sample straight mounting base and the connecting device (a double-sided adhesive tape).",
"All other types have a similar standardized mounting base for fastening of the clawing pads.",
"1 —View of the clawing pad installed onto the mounting base, from the front of the clawing section.",
"2 —View of the back of the clawing pad of the scratching device from the side of the fastening protrusions.",
"The design of the combined scratching device consists of two assembled parts: the clawing pad 1 (Rear View 2 ) or another device for cats and the mounting base 5 .",
"All clawing pads 1 (Rear View 2 ), possible accessories for cats 3 (Side View 4 ), and the mounting bases 5 have the same universal type of fastening for connection with each other.",
"With the use of a catching device (the connecting projections 6 ) the pad of the combined scratching device or another device for cats engages with the clutching brackets 7 serially mounted on the plate of the mounting base 5 vertically.",
"The standardized mounting base options that are reviewed herein contain strictly vertical clutching brackets 7 .",
"In terms of the shape, the mounting base 5 is made in the shape of a rectangular plate (other arbitrary shapes of the plates that are not considered here are also allowed) made of a rigid material with anchoring clutching brackets 7 , screws 8 , or other suitable fasteners on one side of the plate, and a connecting device for fastening to the surface on the other side of the plate.",
"The clutching bracket 7 on the bar of the mounting base 5 is installed in the quantity of at least 2 pcs.",
"All of them must be installed at a fixed distance on the universal mounting base in accordance with the location of attachment projections 6 on the clawing pads or in other devices for cats.",
"Clawing pad 1 (Rear View 2 ) features plugs 9 at the ends of its length, which prevent the clawing material 10 from slipping;",
"the clawing material can be manila or Mexican-fiber rope as well as other durable material.",
"At the ends of the plugs 9 , the spacers 11 are installed that are made of soft material and that serve to prevent damage to the fastening surface.",
"A more detailed design of the clutching bracket 7 is provided in FIG. 4 .",
"[0022] FIG. 4 shows the design of the clutching bracket and the catching device for the clawing pads.",
"View 1 shows the clawing pad of the combined scratching device in conjunction with clutching brackets 3 from the mounting base of the combined scratching device.",
"In View 2 , the round head of the attachment protrusion 5 of the catching device on the clawing pad 1 is extended above the surface of the material of the clawing pad 1 to the thickness of the clutching bracket 3 .",
"View 4 —the fastening protrusion 5 of the clawing pad 1 at the moment of engagement with the clutching bracket 3 .",
"The clutching bracket 3 of the mounting base is made of a rigid sheet material (presumably metal).",
"The catching protrusion 5 of the clawing pad 1 enters the central opening 6 (View 3 ) between the two longitudinal slots 7 of the clutching bracket 3 , which can structurally be a screw with an increased flat head.",
"For engagement with the clutching bracket 3 , the clawing pad 1 moves with the use of connecting projections 5 inside the slots 7 in either direction depending on the position of the mounting base until it clicks as shown in the View 1 .",
"The enlarged View 4 also shows the principle of fastening the clawing pad to the clutching bracket 3 with the use of fastening protrusions 5 (at the moment of entry into the bracket).",
"Holes 8 on the clutching bracket are used to connect it to the combined scratching device with the use of the fasteners 9 .",
"The fit and the clamping force of the clawing pad to the mounting base can be adjusted through the height of the fastening protrusion 5 from the adhesive material of the clawing pad.",
"The spacer 10 is provided in order to mitigate the vibration of the clawing pad and to prevent damage to the adjacent surface.",
"The design of the clutching bracket 3 provides for its symmetrical installation, thereby the mounting base of the combined scratching device has no fixed up or down position.",
"[0023] FIG. 5 shows the design of the end plug of the clawing pad of the combined scratching device.",
"View 1 shows the connection of the combined scratching device to the furniture wall surface using a double-side adhesion tape connecting device as an example.",
"All major peculiar properties of the design of the plug 3 of the clawing pad that are described herein are used in all types of clawing pads 8 of combined scratching device.",
"View 2 shows an enlarged view of the plug 3 mounted onto the combined scratching device attached to the fastening surface.",
"As can be seen from View 1 and 2 , the end plug 3 of the clawing pad 8 is extended for the thickness of the elongated plate of the mounting base 4 so that when attached to the adjacent surface 5 , the scratching post assembly with the clawing pad 8 abuts against the plugs 3 fitted with spacers 6 made of soft material (in order to prevent damage to the fastening surface) in the fastening surface 5 at the same level 7 as the plate of the mounting base 4 .",
"Thus the combined scratching device assembly rests against the fastening surface with all parts of its design when attached to the surface with all its planes, which prevents additional rocking and vibration of the pad while clawing.",
"[0024] FIG. 6 provides a general description of the types of the used connecting devices for the mounting base of the combined scratching device to be fastened to the fastening surface.",
"A detailed review of each of the connecting devices is summarized in the corresponding sketches.",
"1 and 4 —the connecting device with the double-sided adhesive tape 5 , the bands of which are mounted onto the mounting base 6 .",
"The types of connecting devices 1 and 4 are used for attachment to flat smooth surfaces.",
"Type 1 is intended for angle-shaped surfaces only.",
"Type 4 is designed for all forms of flat surfaces (for details, see FIG. 11 ).",
"Type 2 and 5 of the connecting device are used to fasten the scratching device to upholstered parts of furniture and to fabric-covered surfaces.",
"General design of the connecting device consists of the connecting device 7 , which is attached to the plate of the mounting base 6 .",
"The connecting device 7 can be used both with the straight plate 5 of the mounting base and with the angular plate 2 of the mounting base.",
"The connecting device consists of the original fixtures based on the method of pinning of flaps of material from the plate of the mounting base 6 to the fastening surface by means of needle/pins (for details, see FIG. 7 ).",
"The corner mounting base with a connecting device with elongated brackets (View 3 ) is used to fasten to wide rectangular projections of walls and similar 3-way structures.",
"The connecting device 8 consists of elongated brackets and clamping devices on one side of the mounting base (for details, see FIG. 8 ).",
"The connecting device (View 6 ) is designed to fasten the mounting base to low-protruding narrow rectangular surfaces, such as door trims etc.",
"The connecting device 9 consists of short clamping brackets that clasp the protrusion of the surface and are mounted on the plate of the mounting base 6 .",
"The method of compression of brackets can be based on a tension spring or on a clamping screw (for details, see FIG. 9 , FIG. 10 ).",
"The connecting device of this type is used with both flat and L-shaped mounting bases.",
"[0025] FIG. 7 describes the principle of action of the original connecting device of the mounting base of the combined scratching device to upholstered parts of furniture.",
"View 1 —the mounting base with the connecting device attached to the surface.",
"View 2 —enlarged front view of one side of the mounting base with a connecting device;",
"View 3 —enlarged reverse view of one side of the mounting base with a connecting device.",
"View 4 —Needle/pin.",
"The connecting device consists of two flaps of material 5 on opposite sides of the plate of the mounting base 6 , needle/pins 7 , and the auxiliary ring of the opening 8 .",
"The design of the needle/pin 7 provides for the round opening 7 and the head 9 with a larger diameter than the inner diameter of the opening of the ring 8 .",
"The head plays a role of the stop in the ring 8 that prevents rupture of the material under load in the course of clawing.",
"The length of the needle/pin is not regulated;",
"however, it needs to be sufficient for secure fastening.",
"The needle/pins must be manufactured of metal.",
"The upper edge of the flaps of material 5 that is opposite from the plate of the mounting base 6 , features the rings 8 with the holes according to the diameter of the needle/pin 7 , which are mounted on the same horizontal level.",
"Each flap, at the top edge, has at least two punched ringed holes 8 in order to provide for secure fastening.",
"The flap of the material 5 is attached to the mounting base plate 6 by means of fastening screws 10 or punch-down brackets.",
"For fastening to the surface of the upholstered part of furniture 11 , the plate of the mounting base 6 is set against the surface with the use of straightened flaps 5 to the sides along the entire length.",
"Needle/pins 7 are inserted into ringed holes 8 in the direction of the plate of the mounting base 6 so that the tip of the needle/pin pierces throughout the length of the connecting material 11 when passing through the ring 8 and the spherical surface of the head 9 of the needle/pin 7 comes into contact with the ring of the hole 8 .",
"To ensure secure fastening, the plate of the mounting base 6 is fitted with two vertical connecting devices—at the top and at the bottom.",
"[0026] FIG. 8 describes the principle of action of the connecting device of the mounting base of the combined scratching device with the use of long brackets for fastening to three-way rectangular protrusions of walls, furniture and other engineering structures.",
"View 1 (from the inside)—the angled mounting base equipped with a connecting device with elongated brackets.",
"View 2 —a fragmentary sectional view of the clamping screw 5 complete with the nut 6 .",
"View 3 —the end view of the section of the mounting base fastened to the surface.",
"View 4 —the mounting base fitted with a connecting device with elongated brackets (Front View).",
"The connecting device consists of principal parts: the elongated brackets 7 and the clamping device, which in turn consists of the installation plate 8 , the guide pins 9 , the nuts 6 and the bolts 5 .",
"The mounting base 10 in this option has an L-shape.",
"The plates of the mounting bases are connected into an angled shape 10 with the use of screws 18 as seen from the View 4 .",
"From inside of the angle, elongated brackets 7 are attached to one of the plates of the mounting base of the angled mounting base 10 ;",
"and a clamping device is installed on the adjacent plate.",
"The brackets are installed in slots 11 that have a depth equal to the thickness of the bracket 7 so that the inner plane of the bracket and the plane of the plate 10 of the mounting base are at the same level, which provides uniform contact with the fastening surface.",
"The elongated bracket 7 is attached to the plate of the angled of the mounting base 10 by means of fastening screws 12 , which are placed in slots 13 and which have a small longitudinal shift for pressure adjustment during the installation of the mounting base onto the fastening surface.",
"At one end, the elongated bracket 7 has a bend 14 of 90° to cover one side of the fastening surface.",
"The inner side of the bend 14 of the bracket 7 features a spacer 15 made of soft material in order to prevent damage to the fastening surface.",
"The fastening surface 16 is placed between the bends 14 of the brackets 7 and the cramping device on the plate of the mounting base 10 .",
"The clamping device is composed of the nuts 6 in recessed slots 17 flush with the plate of the mounting base 10 .",
"A clamping screw 5 in recessed grooves 19 flush with the plate of the mounting base 10 (2 pcs) is screwed into the nut and pushes its ends into the spacer plate 8 placed in front of them thus creating clamping force toward the fastening surface 16 .",
"The spacer plate 8 is mounted on movable guide pins 9 (2 pcs) that are installed into the corresponding slots 18 on the mounting plate 10 and that serve to protect against damage of the fastening surface caused by screws.",
"The spacer must be made of sheet metal or plastic.",
"To ensure secure fastening, the plate of the mounting base 6 is vertically fitted with at least two elongated brackets 7 .",
"The length of the bracket is selected on the basis of the width of the protrusion.",
"[0027] FIG. 9 describes the principle of action of the connecting device of the mounting base of combined scratching device using short brackets with the tension spring for fastening to low-protruding narrow rectangular surfaces such as door trims.",
"View 1 —the front part of the mounting base from the side of the attachment of the clawing pads.",
"Views 2 and 3 are showing the rear part of the assembly plate of the mounting base with a connecting device with a tension spring.",
"View 4 —the end view of the section of the mounting base fastened to the surface.",
"The connecting device consists of the following principal parts: short movable ( 5 ) and stationary ( 6 ) brackets, which are arranged pairwise opposite each other horizontally and which tighten the spring 7 attached to the respective opposite horizontal brackets;",
"screws for mounting and stroke adjustment 8 ;",
"mounting screws for stationary brackets 9 .",
"Screws for mounting and stroke adjustment 8 are screwed into the threaded socket 10 and fasten a vertical part of the pairs of brackets 5 in a sliding way to the plate of the mounting base 11 ;",
"moving along the horizontal slot 12 , they allow for horizontal movement of the respective bracket 5 to stretch the spring and to create the clamping force on the fastened surface 13 .",
"The opposite vertical part of the pair of brackets 6 is attached fast to the plate 11 with the use of the screw 9 .",
"The clamping force is developed by the tension spring 7 , which is attached to opposite brackets 5 and 6 mounted on the same horizontal level;",
"this provides for uniform clamping of the mounting base 11 to the fastening surface with all of its 13 brackets.",
"The maximum width of the surface depends on the maximum width of the plate of the mounting base 11 .",
"[0028] FIG. 10 describes the principle of action of the original connecting device of the mounting base of combined scratching device using short brackets with the tension screw for fastening to low-protruding narrow rectangular surfaces such as door trims.",
"View 1 —the front part of the mounting base from the side of the attachment of clawing pads.",
"Views 2 and 3 —are showing the shape of the plate of the mounting base from the side of the connecting device assembly.",
"View 4 —edge view of the plate of the mounting base in section along the brackets of the connecting device.",
"View 5 —the end view of the section of the mounting base fastened to the surface.",
"The connecting device consists of the following principal parts: short mobile ( 6 ) and stationary ( 7 ) brackets, which are arranged pairwise opposite each other horizontally, tension screws for mounting and stroke adjustment 8 ;",
"mounting screws 9 for stationary brackets that are screwed into the threaded holes 10 of stationary brackets 7 .",
"Movable side brackets 6 that are crimped with the use of the screw 8 possess a design feature.",
"On the plane of its base adjacent to the plate of the mounting base 11 , the movable bracket 6 has a narrow projection 12 , which serves as a stop during the clamping of the bracket 6 to an inclined surface 13 in order to prevent slippage and displacement.",
"In each horizontal pair of brackets, one bracket 7 is attached fast to the plate 11 with the use of the screw 9 .",
"The tightening screws for mounting and stroke adjustment 8 move in the slot 14 and attach one bracket 6 in a sliding way to the plate of the mounting base 11 in each pair of horizontal brackets, which allows for the movement and tilting of the movable bracket on the horizontal slope slot 13 in order to create clamping force on the fastened surface 15 .",
"The clamping force is developed by the tension screw 8 , which presses the movable bracket 6 of each horizontal pair of brackets along the special sloping slot 13 on the plate 11 of the mounting base.",
"As it is screwed into the threaded socket 16 of the base of the bracket 6 , the clamping screw 8 tilts it along the slope 13 .",
"Horizontal tilt of the bracket 6 in the direction W depends on the distance Q of the angle deviation value 13 and is selected empirically.",
"The clamped surface 15 is located between the opposite brackets 6 and 7 of each horizontal pair of brackets.",
"At least, two vertical pairs of brackets are expected.",
"The maximum girth of the fastening surface depends on the maximum width of the plate of the mounting base 11 .",
"[0029] FIG. 11 describes the principle of action of the connecting device of the mounting base of combined scratching device using double-sided adhesive tape for fastening to flat smooth surfaces (such as cabinets, drawers, kitchen furniture etc.).",
"View 1 —a composite view of the mounting base of the combined scratching device as fastened to the fastening surface 6 .",
"Views 2 and 3 —show the mounting base;",
"the view is from the side of the connecting device.",
"The connecting device consists of a double-sided adhesive tape 4 along the length of the plate 5 of the mounting base.",
"If the plate of the mounting base has a substantial width, the use of multiple strips of adhesive tape 4 is allowed (View 3 ).",
"[0030] FIG. 12 .",
"The combined scratching device is fitted with clawing pads of any geometric shape but with the required catching devices as shown in FIG. 4 for a tight connection to the plane of the mounting base.",
"The sketch shows some options of the preferred shapes: the triangular shape 1 and the rectangular shape 2 .",
"A device for development of the cat's physical activity and improvement of the habitat is the nest 3 complete with a climbing rung.",
"All clawing pads of the scratching device and accessories are equipped with standardized catching devices as indicated in FIG. 4 to connect with all types of mounting bases of the scratching device."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a mechanism for supplying water to and refilling the portable storage supply of mobile plumbing systems as in boats and vehicles commonly known as recreational vehicles.
II. Description of the Prior Art
There are a variety of known means for providing water within a mobile unit such as a marine or other recreational vehicle. For example, when the mobile unit is secured at a mooring or parking place, a direct connection can be made to the common water supply of a municipality or other external source. Additionally, it is known to provide a storage tank in the mobile unit for storing water to be used when a connection to the external water supply is not available.
While automatic systems are utilized in stationary plumbing installations such as in homes and commercial businesses, there has been no known successful system to provide a demand source and automatic refill apparatus which operates safely and adequately in small mobile vehicles such as pleasure boats and recreational vehicles which have so recently become an American way of life. To begin with, some such known systems utilize pressurized systems whereas the types of systems to which this invention typically relates generally utilizes nonpressurized storage tanks, the water pressure being supplied by a pump.
The known prior art utilizes a hand operated valve at the connection to the external water supply which supplies water directly to the plumbing system at the pressure of the external supply. The portable storage tank on the mobile unit is isolated from the external supply by a one-directional flow check valve which prevents flow into the storage tank from the external supply source. Typically, the mobile water storage tank in this type of arrangement is not designed to withstand municipal water pressures and exposure to such a pressure may rupture the tank. To refill the water storage tank, a separate capped opening is used as an inlet and the refill operation is manual. When the external water supply is not used, the one-way check valve is opened and water is supplied to the plumbing system from the storage tank through a pump which provides the desired pressure. Additional disadvantages of this type of system is that the tank must be located for access to permit refill. Often, such access is extremely cramped making such refilling operation a difficult chore at best. Also, unless an additional remote readout mechanism is provided, it is difficult to ascertain when the storage tank needs refilling. Even during the refilling operation as described, without some type of remote readout as to the existing water level, it is very difficult to ascertain when the tank is full without some type of overflow which by itself is not desired. Thus, there is a need in this particular art for an improved arrangement for supplying water to mobile systems when attached to an external water supply which at the same time provides automatic refill of the portable storage tank. Such a need of course requires fulfilling within reasonable economic arrangements.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the invention, a portable plumbing system having a storage tank includes an inlet conduit detachably connectable to an external water supply. The inlet conduit is connected to a first conduit for supplying water to the storage tank and also is connected to a second conduit for providing water to the remainder of the plumbing system. A valve is provided in one of said inlet and first conduits to control the flow of water from the external supply to the storage tank. First means are provided for sensing a need for water in the storage tank while second means are provided for sensing the availability of water from the external supply. Third means electrically connected to the first and second means actuates the valve to permit filling of the storage tank when there is a need and availability of water for the tank.
In narrower aspects of the invention, a float rests on the surface of the water in the tank and has a rod extending therefrom externally of the tank with a magnet attached to the external end of the rod in close proximity to a magnetically operated electrical switch such that when a sufficiently high water level is not present in the storage tank, the switch is closed by magnetic action. A pressure switch in the inlet conduit having a diaphragm deflectable by the pressure of an external water supply is operable to close a second electrical switch indicating the presence of the external water supply thereby actuating a coil in series with the first switch to permit actuation of a third switch for opening the valve to permit flow to the storage tank. When either of the first or second switches are not closed, the water supply valve to the storage tank is closed.
A water storage refill system in accordance with an embodiment of this invention never overfills the water tank or causes the water tank to rupture. Furthermore, this system assures a full tank whenever the external water supply must be disconnected. That is, a full tank is assured when the mobile unit begins a transit. The water storage refill system operates automatically and does not require manually turning on or off the flow of external water into the water storage tank and does not require tending of the water storage tank during filling to determine when to turn off the flow of external water to the water storage tank. Further, such a system is particularly advantageous when access to the water storage tank is difficult such as when the water storage tank is in a low overhead compartment or in the engine compartment. Indeed, the tank can be located at a remote location thereby utilizing space which may otherwise go unused. The electrically operable valve is automatically and remotely controlled by permanently installed electrical switches which do not require manual attention. The plumbing connections to the water storage tank are also permanent and need not be accessible for filling of the tank. Only the water connection to the external water supply need advantageously be readily accessible.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a partly schematic, partly block diagram of a water storage refill system in accordance with an embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 2 is a partly schematic, partly block diagram of a water storage refill system in accordance with another embodiment of this invention;
FIG. 3 is an exploded frontal perspective view of a magnetically operated electrical switch for sensing water level in a water storage tank in accordance with an embodiment of this invention; and
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along section line IV--IV of FIG. 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to FIG. 1, an external water supply inlet 10, such as an inlet for city water, can be detachably connected to a plumbing distribution system inlet 12 through a pressure regulator 14 and a check valve 16. Additionally, a water storage tank 18 can be connected to plumbing distribution inlet 12 through a pump 20 and a check valve 22. As is known, pressure regulators prevent damaging surges of pressure and check valves permit only unidirectional water flow.
In accordance with an embodiment of this invention shown in FIG. 1, an electrically operated solenoid water valve 24 is connected between water storage tank 18 and external water supply inlet 10. As is known in connection with solenoid valves, a diaphragm blocks flow of water through valve 24 until an associated coil 38 produces a magnetic field which acts to deflect the diaphragm and allow the passage of water through valve 24. A diaphragm 24a is mechanically coupled to coil 38 and controls the flow of water through a passage 24b within valve 24. A typical valve is Model 545 manufactured by the Horton Company of 25th and Smallman Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Advantageously, installation of valve 24 can be made by connection of a first port of valve 24 to the third port of a T-fitting 26 having its other two ports connected between external water supply inlet 10 and pressure regulator 14. Valve 24 has its second port connected to the third port of a T-fitting 28 having its other two ports connected between pump 20 and water storage tank 18. By connecting valve 24 to T-fitting 28 it is not necessary to provide an additional opening in water storage tank 18 which is typically more difficult to do than the addition of a T-fitting in a plumbing connection. As a result, water is supplied to water storage tank 18 through the same connection through which water is drawn from water storage tank 18.
Coil 38 is electrically connected with a serial combination of a pressure operated electrical switch 36 for sensing the presence of pressure from the external water supply, a magnetically operated electrical switch 30 for sensing the water level in tank 18, a voltage source 64 and a panel on-off switch 42. A panel indicator lamp 48 is electrically connected in parallel across coil 38. Whenever current is flowing though coil 38, thereby opening valve 24 to the passage of water, lamp 48 is illuminated. The operation of pressure operated electrical switch 36 and magnetically operated electrical switch 30, which form part of the electrical circuit supplying current to activate coil 38, is described below.
Pressure operated electrical switch 36 is mechanically coupled to valve 24 to indicate the presence of external water supply pressure with a closed electrical circuit and the absence of external water supply pressure with an open electrical circuit. More specifically, an electrically conductive diaphragm 36a is deflected toward contacts 36b and 36c under the influence of water pressure at water supply inlet 10. An electrical circuit between contacts 36b and 36c is completed when diaphragm 36a is sufficiently deflected so it touches both contacts 36b and 36c. A typical pressure operated switch is Model 4000 Series manufactured by The Hobbs Division of Stewart-Warner Corporation, Yale Boulevard and Ash Street, Springfield, Illinois. Actuating coil 38 associated with valve 24 is electrically connected by a conductor 40 to a first terminal of pressure operated electrical switch 36. Actuating coil 38 is connected to magnetically operated electrical switch 30 by a conductor 34. Panel switch 42 is connected by a conductor 44 to a second terminal of pressure operated electrical switch 36. A voltage source 64 is connected to magnetically operated electrical switch 30 by a conductor 32 and to panel switch 42 by a conductor 46. Panel indicator lamp 48 is connected across coil 38 by conductors 50 and 52.
Magnetically operated electrical switch 30 is coupled to water storage tank 18 so changes in water level in tank 18 can be sensed. Typically, electrical switch 30 can be connected to tank 18 through the opening in a conventional water storage tank which would be used for manually filling the water tank. Referring to FIG. 3, a threaded fitting 43 screws into an inlet in water tank 18 and has a cylindrical central opening 60 along the axis of fitting 43 for passing an elongated rod 33 which connects to a float 31 inside tank 18 for following the level of the water in tank 18. Central opening 60 may have axial notches, or flutes, in its wall to reduce friction and prevent build-up of water deposited minerals. A permanent magnet 35 is attached to the top end of rod 33 outside tank 18 and is used to actuate a pair of reed magnetic contacts 37. Magnetic contacts 37 are encased in a block 39 mounted on fitting 43 and having a slotted opening 41 partially therethrough aligned to receive permanent magnet 35 when coupled to rod 33 which is vertically movable in opening 60 of fitting 43. Permanent magnet 35 fits slidably within slot 41 and is aligned to travel in a vertical direction. If desired, typically when tank 18 is not vented, magnetically operated electrical switch 30 can be self-vented through openings 61 in fitting 43 connecting the inside of tank 18 to the outside of tank 18 and does not pressurize water storage tank 18. Additional openings 62 in fitting 43 can connect the inside of tank 18 to the inside of slotted opening 41 thereby providing a drain for any moisture condensation which may take place in slotted opening 41. Electrical conductors 32 and 34 pass through block 39 and are connected to contacts 37 in magnetically operated electrical switch 30. Float 31 can be formed of an expanded plastic foam material and block 39 can be formed of a plastic resin material which is imperious to water and is electrically nonconductive.
Typically, contacts 37 are located near the base of block 39 and are sufficiently near slot 41 so contacts 37 can be activated by permanent magnet 35 when permanent magnet 35 is near the horizontal plane including contacts 37. When the water level in tank 18 is low enough to permit the connected assembly of float 31, rod 33 and permanet magnet 35 to be low enough so the magnetic field from permanent magnet 35 can close contacts 37, an electrical circuit is completed thereby permitting valve 24 to pass water and fill tank 18. As water enters tank 18, the rising water level in tank 18 causes float 31 to rise and pushes permanent magnet 35 out of the horizontal plane of contacts 37. When the magnetic field of permanent magnet 35 can no longer keep contacts 37 closed, the electrical circuit to valve 24 opens, closes valve 24 to the passage of water and water stops entering tank 18. It can be appreciated that the vertical length of slot 41 must be sufficient to remove the magnetic field of permanent magnet 35 sufficiently far from contacts 37 to prevent closing of contacts 37. Also, slot 41 must be sufficiently large to readily accommodate permanent magnet 35 without hindering its vertical travel. FIG. 4 shows a cross section of block 39 taken along section line IV--IV of FIG. 3. It can be seen that contacts 37 are completely encased in the material of block 39. Typically, contacts 37 are first encased in a sealed glass envelope which is then encased in block 39 rendering operation of contacts 37 safe even in an explosive atmosphere. Further, contacts 37 are spaced from slotted opening 41. Electrical conductors 32 and 34 pass through block 39 and are each connected to one of contacts 37.
Magnetically operated electrical switch 30 is advantageously installed near the center line of water storage tank 18. Should there be rocking of the mobile unit, for example a boat, there is a minimum water level change along the center line of tank 18. This is advantageous to prevent on-off cycling of the water refilling system in response to water level changes caused by rocking when float 31 is resting on the water surface. Excessive cycling could, of course, result in undesirable wear. Of course, magnetically operated electrical switch 30 allows for some rocking of the mobile unit without activating refill because of the travel of permanent magnet 35 within slotted opening 41 beyond contacts 37.
FIG. 2 shows an alternative embodiment of an automatic water refill system in accordance with this invention. The connection is similar to the one shown in FIG. 1 but pressure regulator 14, check valve 16 and check valve 22 have been disconnected. Plumbing distribution system inlet 12 is connected to pump 20 and there is no direct connection between plumbing distribution system inlet 12 and external water supply inlet 10 except through pump 20. Since all water to plumbing distribution system inlet 12 from external water supply inlet 10 passes through valve 24, it is advantageous to adopt valve 24 to reduce pressure changes by having a water passage in valve 24 which is smaller in diameter than the pipe delivering water from valve 24. The numbering of elements common to both FIGS. 1 and 2 is the same. The electrical control system for valve 24 is as recited in connection with FIG. 1. That is, coil 38 is serially connected to voltage source 64 through pressure operated electrical switch 36, magnetically operated electrical switch 30 and panel switch 42. The connection of pump 20 to plumbing system inlet 12 means that pump 20 must operate whenever water is desired. Advantageously, all parts of the system exposed to water are constructed of noncorrosive material. For example, the plumbing connection of valve 24 is advantageously of copper or steel.
OPERATION
In the embodiment of the water refill system shown in FIG. 1, water flows through either check valve 16 or check valve 22 to plumbing distribution inlet 12. Typically, pump 20 is only used when there is no water available at external water supply inlet 10. When water is available at external water supply inlet 10, plumbing distribution system inlet 12 receives water flowing from external water supply inlet 10 through T-fitting 26, pressure regulator 14 and check valve 16. Additionally, water can flow from T-fitting 26 to valve 24. Pressure operated electrical switch 36 senses the presence of external water supply pressure and closes to indicate the presence of the water pressure. Contacts 37 in magnetically operated electrical switch 30 close to indicate the presence of a low water level in tank 18. If panel switch 42 has been turned on to permit automatic filling of tank 18, a complete circuit is made from voltage source 64 to coil 38 through contacts 37, pressure operated electrical switch 36 and panel switch 42. Current flows through this complete electrical circuit to coil 38 thereby opening valve 24 and permitting water to flow through valve 24 to T-fitting 28. Panel indicator lamp 48 illuminates to alert the user of the filling process and operation of the system. Pump 20 is not operational and, accordingly, water flows from T-fitting 28 to water storage tank 18. This flow continues until the water level in water storage tank 18 is high enough to open contacts 37 in magnetically operated electrical switch 30. When contacts 37 are open the circuit providing current to coil 38 is opened and valve 24 closes to stop flow of water to water storage tank 18.
As a result, there has been an automatic filling of water storage tank 18. The proper water level in tank 18 will be automatically maintained as long as there is a connection to an external water supply. It is particularly advantageous that the proper level is available in water storage tank 18 just prior to disconnection from an external water supply thereby assuring a full tank when leaving the availability of the external water supply. For example, maximum supply of water in a boat may even be considered to be a safety feature with life saving value. Panel switch 42 provides the option of disconnecting the storage refill system by opening the electrical circuit which is used to provide current to coil 38 for opening valve 24 to the passage of water. Thus, if switch 42 is open, even the availability of an external water supply and the need for water in water storage tank 18 will not actuate coil 38 to open valve 24 thereby permitting flow of water to tank 18. The water storage refill system draws current from voltage source 64 only when water storage tank 18 is filling. It is only at this time that coil 38 must be actuated to open valve 24 and permit the flow of water. An example of power consumption for valve 24 is about 10 watts. Typically, with a 12 volt battery a current of only about 0.9 amperes is drawn.
An alternate installation of the water refill system shown in FIG. 2 requires that pump 20 always operate when water is supplied to the plumbing distribution system. This is in contrast to the system in FIG. 1 which had a direct connection to the external water supply, by-passing pump 20, and utilized the pressure of the external water supply. To fill any demand for water in the system shown in FIG. 2, pump 20 operates and draws water from water tank 18. Accordingly, the water level in tank 18 drops and continued water usage will eventually drop it to a level where permanent magnet 35 will act to close contacts 37. If pressure operated electrical switch 36 indicates a presence of external water supply pressure and if panel switch 42 is in "on" position, valve 24 passes water. The water goes to T-fitting 28 and then to tank 18 causing the water level in tank 18 to rise. If pump 20 is still operating in response to a demand for water, some of the water may directly be passed through pump 20. If pump 20 is not operating, all water from the external water supply flowing through valve 24 enters tank 18. When the water level in tank 18 is sufficiently high and contacts 37 open, valve 24 closes to the passage of water. It can be appreciated that in this system the water in tank 18 is recycled even during extended periods of availability of an external supply of water. In contrast, in the system of FIG. 1, when an external supply of water is available, the water in tank 18 is not recycled and remains stored while water from the external source is used to meet any demand for water. Although pump 20 must operate whenever water is desired in the system shown in FIG. 2, there are generally available low power pumps which can consume an advantageously small amount of power. Further, an external power supply is typically available when there is an external water supply available.
Various modifications and variations will no doubt occur to those skilled in the various arts to which this invention pertains. For example, the particular connection of the pressure operated electrical switch and the valve controlling the flow of water to the water storage tank can be accomplished in a manner different from that disclosed here. Solid state components such as transistors, rectifying diodes and light emitting diodes may be used as components of the water storage refill system. These and all other variations which basically rely on the teachings through which this disclosure has advanced the art are properly considered within the scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims. | A water system for a mobile vehicle has an intermittent external source of water and uses water from an internal storage tank to provide a continuous supply of water. A water storage refill system automatically refills the internal storage tank whenever there is an external source of water. An inlet conduit is detachably connectable to an external water supply and in communication with the internal storage tank and the remainder of a plumbing system. An electrically actuated valve in the inlet conduit controls the flow of water from the external source of water to the internal storage tank in response to sensing devices indicating the need for water in the storage tank and the availability of water from the external water source. | Summarize the information, clearly outlining the challenges and proposed solutions. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION I. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a mechanism for supplying water to and refilling the portable storage supply of mobile plumbing systems as in boats and vehicles commonly known as recreational vehicles.",
"II.",
"Description of the Prior Art There are a variety of known means for providing water within a mobile unit such as a marine or other recreational vehicle.",
"For example, when the mobile unit is secured at a mooring or parking place, a direct connection can be made to the common water supply of a municipality or other external source.",
"Additionally, it is known to provide a storage tank in the mobile unit for storing water to be used when a connection to the external water supply is not available.",
"While automatic systems are utilized in stationary plumbing installations such as in homes and commercial businesses, there has been no known successful system to provide a demand source and automatic refill apparatus which operates safely and adequately in small mobile vehicles such as pleasure boats and recreational vehicles which have so recently become an American way of life.",
"To begin with, some such known systems utilize pressurized systems whereas the types of systems to which this invention typically relates generally utilizes nonpressurized storage tanks, the water pressure being supplied by a pump.",
"The known prior art utilizes a hand operated valve at the connection to the external water supply which supplies water directly to the plumbing system at the pressure of the external supply.",
"The portable storage tank on the mobile unit is isolated from the external supply by a one-directional flow check valve which prevents flow into the storage tank from the external supply source.",
"Typically, the mobile water storage tank in this type of arrangement is not designed to withstand municipal water pressures and exposure to such a pressure may rupture the tank.",
"To refill the water storage tank, a separate capped opening is used as an inlet and the refill operation is manual.",
"When the external water supply is not used, the one-way check valve is opened and water is supplied to the plumbing system from the storage tank through a pump which provides the desired pressure.",
"Additional disadvantages of this type of system is that the tank must be located for access to permit refill.",
"Often, such access is extremely cramped making such refilling operation a difficult chore at best.",
"Also, unless an additional remote readout mechanism is provided, it is difficult to ascertain when the storage tank needs refilling.",
"Even during the refilling operation as described, without some type of remote readout as to the existing water level, it is very difficult to ascertain when the tank is full without some type of overflow which by itself is not desired.",
"Thus, there is a need in this particular art for an improved arrangement for supplying water to mobile systems when attached to an external water supply which at the same time provides automatic refill of the portable storage tank.",
"Such a need of course requires fulfilling within reasonable economic arrangements.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention, a portable plumbing system having a storage tank includes an inlet conduit detachably connectable to an external water supply.",
"The inlet conduit is connected to a first conduit for supplying water to the storage tank and also is connected to a second conduit for providing water to the remainder of the plumbing system.",
"A valve is provided in one of said inlet and first conduits to control the flow of water from the external supply to the storage tank.",
"First means are provided for sensing a need for water in the storage tank while second means are provided for sensing the availability of water from the external supply.",
"Third means electrically connected to the first and second means actuates the valve to permit filling of the storage tank when there is a need and availability of water for the tank.",
"In narrower aspects of the invention, a float rests on the surface of the water in the tank and has a rod extending therefrom externally of the tank with a magnet attached to the external end of the rod in close proximity to a magnetically operated electrical switch such that when a sufficiently high water level is not present in the storage tank, the switch is closed by magnetic action.",
"A pressure switch in the inlet conduit having a diaphragm deflectable by the pressure of an external water supply is operable to close a second electrical switch indicating the presence of the external water supply thereby actuating a coil in series with the first switch to permit actuation of a third switch for opening the valve to permit flow to the storage tank.",
"When either of the first or second switches are not closed, the water supply valve to the storage tank is closed.",
"A water storage refill system in accordance with an embodiment of this invention never overfills the water tank or causes the water tank to rupture.",
"Furthermore, this system assures a full tank whenever the external water supply must be disconnected.",
"That is, a full tank is assured when the mobile unit begins a transit.",
"The water storage refill system operates automatically and does not require manually turning on or off the flow of external water into the water storage tank and does not require tending of the water storage tank during filling to determine when to turn off the flow of external water to the water storage tank.",
"Further, such a system is particularly advantageous when access to the water storage tank is difficult such as when the water storage tank is in a low overhead compartment or in the engine compartment.",
"Indeed, the tank can be located at a remote location thereby utilizing space which may otherwise go unused.",
"The electrically operable valve is automatically and remotely controlled by permanently installed electrical switches which do not require manual attention.",
"The plumbing connections to the water storage tank are also permanent and need not be accessible for filling of the tank.",
"Only the water connection to the external water supply need advantageously be readily accessible.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partly schematic, partly block diagram of a water storage refill system in accordance with an embodiment of this invention;",
"FIG. 2 is a partly schematic, partly block diagram of a water storage refill system in accordance with another embodiment of this invention;",
"FIG. 3 is an exploded frontal perspective view of a magnetically operated electrical switch for sensing water level in a water storage tank in accordance with an embodiment of this invention;",
"and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along section line IV--IV of FIG. 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIG. 1, an external water supply inlet 10, such as an inlet for city water, can be detachably connected to a plumbing distribution system inlet 12 through a pressure regulator 14 and a check valve 16.",
"Additionally, a water storage tank 18 can be connected to plumbing distribution inlet 12 through a pump 20 and a check valve 22.",
"As is known, pressure regulators prevent damaging surges of pressure and check valves permit only unidirectional water flow.",
"In accordance with an embodiment of this invention shown in FIG. 1, an electrically operated solenoid water valve 24 is connected between water storage tank 18 and external water supply inlet 10.",
"As is known in connection with solenoid valves, a diaphragm blocks flow of water through valve 24 until an associated coil 38 produces a magnetic field which acts to deflect the diaphragm and allow the passage of water through valve 24.",
"A diaphragm 24a is mechanically coupled to coil 38 and controls the flow of water through a passage 24b within valve 24.",
"A typical valve is Model 545 manufactured by the Horton Company of 25th and Smallman Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.",
"Advantageously, installation of valve 24 can be made by connection of a first port of valve 24 to the third port of a T-fitting 26 having its other two ports connected between external water supply inlet 10 and pressure regulator 14.",
"Valve 24 has its second port connected to the third port of a T-fitting 28 having its other two ports connected between pump 20 and water storage tank 18.",
"By connecting valve 24 to T-fitting 28 it is not necessary to provide an additional opening in water storage tank 18 which is typically more difficult to do than the addition of a T-fitting in a plumbing connection.",
"As a result, water is supplied to water storage tank 18 through the same connection through which water is drawn from water storage tank 18.",
"Coil 38 is electrically connected with a serial combination of a pressure operated electrical switch 36 for sensing the presence of pressure from the external water supply, a magnetically operated electrical switch 30 for sensing the water level in tank 18, a voltage source 64 and a panel on-off switch 42.",
"A panel indicator lamp 48 is electrically connected in parallel across coil 38.",
"Whenever current is flowing though coil 38, thereby opening valve 24 to the passage of water, lamp 48 is illuminated.",
"The operation of pressure operated electrical switch 36 and magnetically operated electrical switch 30, which form part of the electrical circuit supplying current to activate coil 38, is described below.",
"Pressure operated electrical switch 36 is mechanically coupled to valve 24 to indicate the presence of external water supply pressure with a closed electrical circuit and the absence of external water supply pressure with an open electrical circuit.",
"More specifically, an electrically conductive diaphragm 36a is deflected toward contacts 36b and 36c under the influence of water pressure at water supply inlet 10.",
"An electrical circuit between contacts 36b and 36c is completed when diaphragm 36a is sufficiently deflected so it touches both contacts 36b and 36c.",
"A typical pressure operated switch is Model 4000 Series manufactured by The Hobbs Division of Stewart-Warner Corporation, Yale Boulevard and Ash Street, Springfield, Illinois.",
"Actuating coil 38 associated with valve 24 is electrically connected by a conductor 40 to a first terminal of pressure operated electrical switch 36.",
"Actuating coil 38 is connected to magnetically operated electrical switch 30 by a conductor 34.",
"Panel switch 42 is connected by a conductor 44 to a second terminal of pressure operated electrical switch 36.",
"A voltage source 64 is connected to magnetically operated electrical switch 30 by a conductor 32 and to panel switch 42 by a conductor 46.",
"Panel indicator lamp 48 is connected across coil 38 by conductors 50 and 52.",
"Magnetically operated electrical switch 30 is coupled to water storage tank 18 so changes in water level in tank 18 can be sensed.",
"Typically, electrical switch 30 can be connected to tank 18 through the opening in a conventional water storage tank which would be used for manually filling the water tank.",
"Referring to FIG. 3, a threaded fitting 43 screws into an inlet in water tank 18 and has a cylindrical central opening 60 along the axis of fitting 43 for passing an elongated rod 33 which connects to a float 31 inside tank 18 for following the level of the water in tank 18.",
"Central opening 60 may have axial notches, or flutes, in its wall to reduce friction and prevent build-up of water deposited minerals.",
"A permanent magnet 35 is attached to the top end of rod 33 outside tank 18 and is used to actuate a pair of reed magnetic contacts 37.",
"Magnetic contacts 37 are encased in a block 39 mounted on fitting 43 and having a slotted opening 41 partially therethrough aligned to receive permanent magnet 35 when coupled to rod 33 which is vertically movable in opening 60 of fitting 43.",
"Permanent magnet 35 fits slidably within slot 41 and is aligned to travel in a vertical direction.",
"If desired, typically when tank 18 is not vented, magnetically operated electrical switch 30 can be self-vented through openings 61 in fitting 43 connecting the inside of tank 18 to the outside of tank 18 and does not pressurize water storage tank 18.",
"Additional openings 62 in fitting 43 can connect the inside of tank 18 to the inside of slotted opening 41 thereby providing a drain for any moisture condensation which may take place in slotted opening 41.",
"Electrical conductors 32 and 34 pass through block 39 and are connected to contacts 37 in magnetically operated electrical switch 30.",
"Float 31 can be formed of an expanded plastic foam material and block 39 can be formed of a plastic resin material which is imperious to water and is electrically nonconductive.",
"Typically, contacts 37 are located near the base of block 39 and are sufficiently near slot 41 so contacts 37 can be activated by permanent magnet 35 when permanent magnet 35 is near the horizontal plane including contacts 37.",
"When the water level in tank 18 is low enough to permit the connected assembly of float 31, rod 33 and permanet magnet 35 to be low enough so the magnetic field from permanent magnet 35 can close contacts 37, an electrical circuit is completed thereby permitting valve 24 to pass water and fill tank 18.",
"As water enters tank 18, the rising water level in tank 18 causes float 31 to rise and pushes permanent magnet 35 out of the horizontal plane of contacts 37.",
"When the magnetic field of permanent magnet 35 can no longer keep contacts 37 closed, the electrical circuit to valve 24 opens, closes valve 24 to the passage of water and water stops entering tank 18.",
"It can be appreciated that the vertical length of slot 41 must be sufficient to remove the magnetic field of permanent magnet 35 sufficiently far from contacts 37 to prevent closing of contacts 37.",
"Also, slot 41 must be sufficiently large to readily accommodate permanent magnet 35 without hindering its vertical travel.",
"FIG. 4 shows a cross section of block 39 taken along section line IV--IV of FIG. 3. It can be seen that contacts 37 are completely encased in the material of block 39.",
"Typically, contacts 37 are first encased in a sealed glass envelope which is then encased in block 39 rendering operation of contacts 37 safe even in an explosive atmosphere.",
"Further, contacts 37 are spaced from slotted opening 41.",
"Electrical conductors 32 and 34 pass through block 39 and are each connected to one of contacts 37.",
"Magnetically operated electrical switch 30 is advantageously installed near the center line of water storage tank 18.",
"Should there be rocking of the mobile unit, for example a boat, there is a minimum water level change along the center line of tank 18.",
"This is advantageous to prevent on-off cycling of the water refilling system in response to water level changes caused by rocking when float 31 is resting on the water surface.",
"Excessive cycling could, of course, result in undesirable wear.",
"Of course, magnetically operated electrical switch 30 allows for some rocking of the mobile unit without activating refill because of the travel of permanent magnet 35 within slotted opening 41 beyond contacts 37.",
"FIG. 2 shows an alternative embodiment of an automatic water refill system in accordance with this invention.",
"The connection is similar to the one shown in FIG. 1 but pressure regulator 14, check valve 16 and check valve 22 have been disconnected.",
"Plumbing distribution system inlet 12 is connected to pump 20 and there is no direct connection between plumbing distribution system inlet 12 and external water supply inlet 10 except through pump 20.",
"Since all water to plumbing distribution system inlet 12 from external water supply inlet 10 passes through valve 24, it is advantageous to adopt valve 24 to reduce pressure changes by having a water passage in valve 24 which is smaller in diameter than the pipe delivering water from valve 24.",
"The numbering of elements common to both FIGS. 1 and 2 is the same.",
"The electrical control system for valve 24 is as recited in connection with FIG. 1. That is, coil 38 is serially connected to voltage source 64 through pressure operated electrical switch 36, magnetically operated electrical switch 30 and panel switch 42.",
"The connection of pump 20 to plumbing system inlet 12 means that pump 20 must operate whenever water is desired.",
"Advantageously, all parts of the system exposed to water are constructed of noncorrosive material.",
"For example, the plumbing connection of valve 24 is advantageously of copper or steel.",
"OPERATION In the embodiment of the water refill system shown in FIG. 1, water flows through either check valve 16 or check valve 22 to plumbing distribution inlet 12.",
"Typically, pump 20 is only used when there is no water available at external water supply inlet 10.",
"When water is available at external water supply inlet 10, plumbing distribution system inlet 12 receives water flowing from external water supply inlet 10 through T-fitting 26, pressure regulator 14 and check valve 16.",
"Additionally, water can flow from T-fitting 26 to valve 24.",
"Pressure operated electrical switch 36 senses the presence of external water supply pressure and closes to indicate the presence of the water pressure.",
"Contacts 37 in magnetically operated electrical switch 30 close to indicate the presence of a low water level in tank 18.",
"If panel switch 42 has been turned on to permit automatic filling of tank 18, a complete circuit is made from voltage source 64 to coil 38 through contacts 37, pressure operated electrical switch 36 and panel switch 42.",
"Current flows through this complete electrical circuit to coil 38 thereby opening valve 24 and permitting water to flow through valve 24 to T-fitting 28.",
"Panel indicator lamp 48 illuminates to alert the user of the filling process and operation of the system.",
"Pump 20 is not operational and, accordingly, water flows from T-fitting 28 to water storage tank 18.",
"This flow continues until the water level in water storage tank 18 is high enough to open contacts 37 in magnetically operated electrical switch 30.",
"When contacts 37 are open the circuit providing current to coil 38 is opened and valve 24 closes to stop flow of water to water storage tank 18.",
"As a result, there has been an automatic filling of water storage tank 18.",
"The proper water level in tank 18 will be automatically maintained as long as there is a connection to an external water supply.",
"It is particularly advantageous that the proper level is available in water storage tank 18 just prior to disconnection from an external water supply thereby assuring a full tank when leaving the availability of the external water supply.",
"For example, maximum supply of water in a boat may even be considered to be a safety feature with life saving value.",
"Panel switch 42 provides the option of disconnecting the storage refill system by opening the electrical circuit which is used to provide current to coil 38 for opening valve 24 to the passage of water.",
"Thus, if switch 42 is open, even the availability of an external water supply and the need for water in water storage tank 18 will not actuate coil 38 to open valve 24 thereby permitting flow of water to tank 18.",
"The water storage refill system draws current from voltage source 64 only when water storage tank 18 is filling.",
"It is only at this time that coil 38 must be actuated to open valve 24 and permit the flow of water.",
"An example of power consumption for valve 24 is about 10 watts.",
"Typically, with a 12 volt battery a current of only about 0.9 amperes is drawn.",
"An alternate installation of the water refill system shown in FIG. 2 requires that pump 20 always operate when water is supplied to the plumbing distribution system.",
"This is in contrast to the system in FIG. 1 which had a direct connection to the external water supply, by-passing pump 20, and utilized the pressure of the external water supply.",
"To fill any demand for water in the system shown in FIG. 2, pump 20 operates and draws water from water tank 18.",
"Accordingly, the water level in tank 18 drops and continued water usage will eventually drop it to a level where permanent magnet 35 will act to close contacts 37.",
"If pressure operated electrical switch 36 indicates a presence of external water supply pressure and if panel switch 42 is in "on"",
"position, valve 24 passes water.",
"The water goes to T-fitting 28 and then to tank 18 causing the water level in tank 18 to rise.",
"If pump 20 is still operating in response to a demand for water, some of the water may directly be passed through pump 20.",
"If pump 20 is not operating, all water from the external water supply flowing through valve 24 enters tank 18.",
"When the water level in tank 18 is sufficiently high and contacts 37 open, valve 24 closes to the passage of water.",
"It can be appreciated that in this system the water in tank 18 is recycled even during extended periods of availability of an external supply of water.",
"In contrast, in the system of FIG. 1, when an external supply of water is available, the water in tank 18 is not recycled and remains stored while water from the external source is used to meet any demand for water.",
"Although pump 20 must operate whenever water is desired in the system shown in FIG. 2, there are generally available low power pumps which can consume an advantageously small amount of power.",
"Further, an external power supply is typically available when there is an external water supply available.",
"Various modifications and variations will no doubt occur to those skilled in the various arts to which this invention pertains.",
"For example, the particular connection of the pressure operated electrical switch and the valve controlling the flow of water to the water storage tank can be accomplished in a manner different from that disclosed here.",
"Solid state components such as transistors, rectifying diodes and light emitting diodes may be used as components of the water storage refill system.",
"These and all other variations which basically rely on the teachings through which this disclosure has advanced the art are properly considered within the scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims."
] |
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
RELATED APPLICATIONS
There are no applications related hereto heretofore filed in this or any foreign country.
FIELD OF INVENTION
My invention relates to adjustable wheel chocks having opposed wheel blocks carried between tandem wheels of vehicles to prevent relative tandem wheel rotation for positional maintenance of the vehicle.
BACKGROUND AND DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART
It is often desirable to immobilize a vehicle having tandem wheels, especially in the case of a vehicle not having an internal braking system. It may be desired to immobilize the wheels for positional maintenance of the vehicle on a supporting surface, such as in the case of trailers that are to be maintained on a sloping surface. It may also be desirable to immobilize such vehicles to prevent theft or other unauthorized use. The problem has long been recognized and various mechanical devices have become known to resolve it.
Undoubtedly the most commonly used device for positional maintenance of wheels on a supporting surface is the traditional wedge-shaped wheel chock which is positioned immediately adjacent one or both sides of a vehicle wheel while supported on the surface supporting the wheel. This type of wheel chock is usable with either single or tandem wheels. Lineally adjacent tandem wheels, however, by reason of their structure offer a configuration that allows the use of chocks that fit between the wheels to prevent relative rotation and such chocks need not necessarily be associated with the surface supporting the wheels. The instant invention provides a new and improved set of locking wheel chocks of this latter nature.
Prior wheel chocks that have been designed for use with lineally adjacent tandem wheels have provided at least one element that extends between the tandem wheels and is positionally maintained with sufficient frictional force to prevent their relative motion. Most such chocks have provided two similar members that are adjustably interconnected and fit between adjacent tandem wheels with one member above and the other member below a line between the wheel centers. Such two member chocks have become popular because they tend to provide greater security in positional maintenance of tandem wheels and tend to provide the same positional maintenance of the wheels no matter which way a potential rotational force is applied to them. The two-member type of tandem wheel chock is readily distinguished from the single chock, whether the single chock is positioned between the tandem wheels or on one or both sides of the wheels, with support on the ground beneath the wheels or from the vehicle.
For an opposed two block tandem wheel chock to be effective, the wheel blocks must engage the adjacent wheel treads with sufficient frictional force that the contacting surfaces are relatively immovable. Some prior devices have used wedge-shaped elements of a unitary nature to fastenably engage the opposed surfaces of adjacent tandem wheels, but such frictional engagement has not been completely effective to accommodate various vehicles having tandem wheels of different sizes and different spacing. Generally, the greatest friction between a wheel block and adjacent wheel is attained if the wheel contacting surface exerts force on the wheel in a direction substantially normal to the area of tangency of the wheel block surface on the wheel's circular periphery. The instant invention in its first species accomplishes this end by providing opposed pivotally mounted flat wheel blocks on both the upper and lower block members of the wheel chock, in distinguishment from prior devices that have not pivotally mounted the wheel block elements at a pivot point spaced from the middle of the wheel chock so that the force on a wheel is applied by the blocks in a normal direction at the point of tangency of the wheel block on the adjacent wheel.
For a wheel block to provide appropriate frictional contact with the surface of an adjacent wheel, the block itself must have a friction generating surface. The wheel blocks of the instant chock provide such a surface by using a plurality of protuberances arrayed in friction maximizing configuration. In one sub-species the protuberances are formed of resiliently deformable material and in others they are formed with sufficient relief to create appropriate frictional force, but yet not harm the structure of a tire tread or other wheel surface that they engage. Prior wheel chocks have often provided smooth or relatively smooth tire contacting surfaces and have depended largely upon substantial force on a tire surface to cause deformation and a consequent larger contact area to create sufficient frictional force to allow the device to accomplish its purpose. My wheel blocks may be applied with such force as creates tire deformation as in prior devices, but this is not necessary and when a higher deforming force is used, my blocks still create more friction than prior devices under the same force because of the nature of their tire contacting surfaces and the directional orientation of the applied force.
For a tandem wheel fastening chock with vertically opposed blocks to be effective, it must have mechanism to move the blocks toward each other with appropriate fastening force, but yet to have practical convenience the chock must be simply and easily operable. In general, the amount of force involved to cause appropriate frictional engagement of wheel block elements on an adjacent tire requires some type of advantaged mechanical linkage and to provide adjustment, the mechanical linkage has had to allow block motion through substantial distance. This in the prior chocks commonly has been accomplished by a screw or a compound lever. Screw devices, however, are time consuming and difficult of operation and compound levers have been mechanically complex and required excessive force for operation. The instant chock resolves this problem by providing a telescoping linkage between the opposed wheel block members that is moved by a ratchet carried on one telescopic element and a pinion defined at one end of a lever arm with the pinion teeth defined about only a portion of the pinion periphery to give the advantages of both a rack and pinion linkage and an over-center lever, which may be easily positionally maintained to aid the locking function of the chock. The adjustability of my chock is accommodated by adjustment of the relatively movable body portions rather than by the locking mechanism so that no great amount of motion of the locking mechanism is required.
A tandem wheel chock to be commercially viable must be adaptable to accommodate a substantial number of varying tandem wheel configurations. The tandem wheels themselves vary in diameter from some few inches in the case of light utility type trailers intended to be propelled by automobiles to several feet in over-the-road freight transport trailers. The spacing between the peripheries of adjacent tandem wheels also varies substantially from an inch or two to a foot or more. Prior tandem wheel chocks have not well addressed, this problem and have either been usable only with a particular predetermined tandem wheel configurations or have allowed only limited adjustment accomplished by moving the vertically opposed wheel blocks toward or away from each other. The instant chock in its first species resolves this problem by mounting the opposed block elements of a pair on adjustably extensible arms so that the two elements of a pair may be variably spaced relative to each other in a horizontal plane. Pivotal mounting of each block element on this support still maintains contact of each element in a tangential orientation with an adjacent tire tread as previously described, without reference to the amount of extension of the horizontal arms carrying the elements. Additionally in all species the body connecting the wheel blocks is adjustable as to length by releasing the fastening lever pinion from its associated rack and manually moving the body elements to appropriate position, without engaging the rack and pinion in fastening mode or interfering with their operation.
If a tandem wheel chock is to be used as a security device, it must be fastenable in some manner that prevents its release by an unauthorized person. Commonly in prior devices, such fastening has been accomplished, if at all, by some type of padlock device that generally fastens a lever in a fastening position. Padlock devices have not been completely satisfactory to fulfill this purpose, however, as a padlock may be easily and simply removable by an unauthorized third person by cutting the shackle with readily available devices such as a saw, welding torch, bolt cutter or the like. The instant chock in contradistinction provides a structurally carried tumbler lock having an extensible bolt that contacts the fastening lever of the ratchet mechanism to prevent the pinion fastening lever from moving from the fastened position to make any unauthorized forcible release difficult and less probable than with a padlock.
The instant invention resides not in any one of these features individually, but rather in the synergistic combination of all of the structures of my wheel chock that necessarily give rise to the functions flowing therefrom as herein specified and claimed.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
My invention provides an adjustable locking wheel chock for adjacent tandem wheels carried by spaced axles of a vehicle. The chock provides wheel blocks separated by an interconnecting telescopically Movable body. One telescoping body member supports an elongate axially aligned rack and the other body member supports a bracket pivotally carrying a fastening lever defining a partial pinion at an inner end to engage the rack to cause rack motion responsive to pivotal motion of the lever to move the wheel blocks from or into frictional engagement with the tandem.
The tire contacting faces of each wheel block define a surface that creates substantial friction when engaged with an adjacent wheel periphery to prevent relative tire motion and chock removal when fastened between tandem wheels for use. Each wheel block is independently pivoted to maintain the block element face tangential to an adjacent tire tread at a medial point within the contact area. A key operated lock provides a bolt that extends to contact the fastening lever to prevent movement of that lever when in fastening mode. In providing such a device, it is:
A primary object to provide an improved locking wheel chock that has a compound adjustable body interconnecting opposed wheel blocks for releasable fastening between aligned tandem wheels carried on spaced axles.
Another object is to provide such a wheel chock that provides the mechanical advantages of both lever and rack and pinion mechanisms to create force between spaced wheel blocks to releasably fasten between tandem wheels to prevent relative motion.
Another object is to provide such a chock with spaced wheel blocks that pivot to engage an adjacent wheel peripheral surface in a tangential orientation at the point of force application to maximize frictional force between the block and wheels.
Another object is to provide such a chock that in one species has opposed pairs of wheel block elements that are positionable at different distances from each other provide adjustability for use of the chock on a wide variety of tandem wheels and wheel configurations.
Yet another object is to provide individual wheel block elements with an improved wheel contacting surface that increases the friction between the block and wheel, but yet cause no damage to a pneumatic tire carried by a wheel.
Still another object is to provide such a chock that has a bolt type lock that is carried in the fastening structure to secure the wheel chock against unauthorized users by preventing release of the fastening arm when locked in fastening position.
Other and further objects of my invention will appear from the accompanying drawings and the following specification. In carrying out the objects of my invention, however, it is to be understood that its accidental features are susceptible of change in design and structural arrangement with only preferred and practical embodiments of the best known mode being illustrated in the accompanying drawings as required.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and in which the same numbers refer to the same parts in all views:
FIG. 1 is an orthographic side view of my wheel chock mounted between two lineally spaced tandem wheels of a vehicle.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged isometric view of the chock of FIG. 1 showing its parts, their configuration and relationship in more detail.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view through the upper wheel block structure of FIG. 1, taken on the line 3--3 thereon in the direction indicated by the arrows.
FIG. 4 is an orthographic front view, taken from the left side of the wheel chock of FIG. 2, with the fastening lever in fastening position
FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-section of the wheel chock of FIG. 2, taken on the line 5--5 on that Figure in the direction indicated by the arrows.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the wheel block of FIG. 4, taken on the line 6--6 thereon in the direction indicated by the arrows.
FIG. 7 is an isometric view of the lock assembly seen in FIG. 4.
FIG. 8 is an isometric view of the first species of wheel block element shown in FIG. 4.
FIG. 9 is an isometric view of a second species of wheel block element having serrated side edges to frictionally engage a tire tread.
FIG. 10 is a partially cross-sectional view of the wheel block element of FIG. 9, taken on the line 10--10 thereon on that Figure in the direction indicated by the arrows thereon.
FIG. 11 is an orthographic end view of a third species of unitary wedge-shaped wheel block having arcuately configured sides.
FIG. 12 is an expanded medial vertical cross-sectional view through the wheel block of FIG. 11, taken on the line 12--12 in the direction indicated by the arrows thereon.
FIG. 13 is an enlarged partial cut-away view of the fastening mechanism showing its catch structure in detail.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
My tandem wheel chock comprises similar upper and lower wheel blocks 11 interconnected by telescopically articulating body 12 which carries fastening mechanism 13 that is maintainable in fastening position by lock 14.
As seen in FIG. 1, lineally aligned tandem wheels 15 rest on underlying supporting surface 16. The tandem wheels each have hubs 17 that are carried on vehicle axles 18 by lugs 19 structurally carried by the axle and extending through the wheel which is fastened thereon by lug nuts 20 in traditional fashion. My wheel chock is shown in fastening position between tandem wheels 15.
Body 12, as seen particularly in FIG. 5, provides outer body tube 21 defining internal channel 22 that is incrementally larger than inner body tube 23 which defines internal channel 24, so that the inner body tube may be slidably carried in channel 22 of the outer body tube. The outer end portions of both body tubes 21, 23 is formed with an appropriate transition configuration 25 to conformably interfit with the perpendicular tubular body of opposed wheel blocks which are interconnected by the body assembly.
Fastening mechanism 13 provides a fastening bracket having body 26 defining cylindrical channel 27 to fit about the inner end portion of outer body tube 21, with similar opposed legs 28 extending away from the body 26 to define channel 29 therebetween. Elongate relatively thin rack 30 defining teeth 31 on its side distal from the body 12 is carried by upper fastening dog 32 which in turn is structurally supported on the outer portion of inner body tube 23 in a position that maintains the rack within channel 29 defined by the fastening bracket. The fastening dog 32 carries rack 30 spacedly distant from the adjacent surface of inner body tube 23 and parallel thereto so that the inner surface of the rack is immediately adjacent and slidably supported on body 26.
The lower portion of legs 28 define opposed cooperating lever pin holes 33 to carry lever pin 34 extending therebetween to pivotally mount fastening lever 35. The fastening lever 35 is an elongate element defining outer handle portion 35a, angulated somewhat away from rack 30 to aid grasping without interference from the rack. The inner portion of the fastening lever defines partial pinion 36 having only a few teeth 37 defined about its periphery to operably engage the teeth 3l of rack 30. The pinion defines axle hole 38 for pivotal mounting on lever pin 34. The teeth 37 are configured and arrayed to engage the rack through an angle of rotation of fastening lever 35 of approximately sixty to ninety degrees and otherwise the pinion peripheral surface allows free motion of the rack relative thereto when the toothed portion is not engaged with the rack. This mechanism allows manual adjustment of the axial positioning of the body tubes 21, 23 relative to each other, but provides an over-center lever fastening means for positive motion of the tubes when the pinion teeth 37 contact the rack teeth 31.
One leg 28a of the fastening bracket is thicker in its end portion proximate the inner body tube to define fastening protuberance 39 with outwardly facing fastening surface 39a and internal chamber 39b. The chamber 39b extends inwardly from fastening dog orifice 40 defined in surface 39a to allow passage of L-shaped fastening dog 41 defining fastening hook 42 in its outer end to extend spacedly above surface 39a of the fastening structure with the fastening hook extending toward the inner body tube 23. The fastening dog 41 is pivotally mounted by pin 43 carried by the fastening protuberance 39 and is biased in the direction of the fastening hook extension by compression spring 44 carried in chamber 39b. The medial portion of fastening lever 35, adjacent handle structure 35a, defines laterally extending fastening catch 45 that extends under fastening hook 42 and adjacent to fastening surface 39a of the fastening structure when the fastening lever is in fastening position.
With this structure, fastening dog 41 may be manually moved to release fastening catch 45 of the fastening lever and allow motion of that lever to open the chock. When the fastening lever is moved to a fastening position, the fastening catch 45 will move along the upper angulated surface 46 of the fastening hook 42 to move the fastening dog 41 against its spring bias to allow the fastening catch to move into immediate adjacency with fastening surface 39a of the fastening structure. When this position is attained, the fastening dog will no longer be prevented from moving against its bias and hook 42 will move over the fastening catch 45, as illustrated in FIG. 13, to positionally maintain the fastening lever and thusly the fastened mode of the chock.
Lock mechanisms 14 are carried by the fastening bracket 26. As seen in FIGS. 4 and 7, the lock mechanism provides tumbler lock 47 operated by a key (not shown) insertable in key slot 48. The tumbler lock provides perpendicularly extending lock bar 49 that is movable inward and outwardly from the lock tumbler responsive to lock operation by an appropriate key. The entire lock structure is carried by base 50 having fastening means 51, in the instance illustrated rivets.
Lock base 50 is structurally carried by fastening means 51 on the rearward surface of leg 28a of the fastening bracket in such position that lock bar 49 is extendable toward fastening dog 41 to maintain that dog in its fastened position, but is movable to a retracted position to allow motion of the fastening dog to release the fastening lever. When the lock bar 49 is extended to prevent motion of fastening dog 41, that dog will positionally maintain fastening lever 35 in a fastening position and will not allow it to move from that position until the fastening dog is released by the lock bar and manually moved.
Wheel blocks 11 are carried at each end of body assembly 12. Transition portions 25 at the outer end portions of both outer body tube 21 and inner body tube 23 structurally interconnect similar, perpendicularly extending tubular wheel block supports 52, each defining an internal channel to slidably receive similar opposed wheel block support arms 53. The wheel block support arms 53 are tubular elements having truncated outer end portions 53a to allow appropriate pivotal motion of wheel block elements carried thereby, The fastening tube supports define spaced holes 54 and the support arms define similar spaced holes 55 so arrayed that both sets of holes 54, 55 may be aligned in cooperating pairs to receive fastening pins 56 therebetween to provide selectively variable lateral extension for each block support arm 53,
The first species of wheel, block illustrated in FIGS. 1-6 and 8 provides rectilinear body 57 structurally supporting tubular connecting arm 58, The tubular connecting arm 58 preferably communicates with the body in an asymmetrical position as illustrated to create fastening force in the outer portion of the wheel block to cause a better and higher frictional interconnection with an adjacent wheel, The inner end portion of each tubular connecting arm 58 defines hole 59 which cooperates with hole 60 defined in the outer portion of the tubular connecting arm to receive double-headed fastening pin 61 to interconnect the wheel block elements and wheel block arms in pivotal fashion,
Body 57 of the first species of wheel block element carries friction pad 62 defining inwardly extending lip 63 to fit about the sides and a peripheral portion of the back of body 57 for positional maintenance, The outer face of friction pad 62 defines a plurality of spaced protuberances 64 to increase frictional contact with the circumferential face or tread of a tire carried by a wheel to be immobilized by my chock, This species of pad is formed from a resiliently deformable material such as rubber or an elastomeric polymer to allow placement on body 57 and to increase and provide appropriate frictional contact with an adjacent tire. If material from which the frictional pad is formed does not allow placement by use of lip 63, it is in the ambit and scope of my invention to fasten the frictional pad to the body by other known means such as adhesion, riveting bolting or the like
A second species of wheel block element is illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10 where it is seen to provide rectilinear back plate 65 carrying structurally joined peripheral side elements 66 and end elements 67. The medial portion of this back plate carries a network of cross supports 68, and the outer edges of both side elements define a series of teeth 69. Preferably the outwardly projecting edges of the side elements 66 are of somewhat arcuately convex configuration with their medial portions being more distal from back 65 than the ends and preferably the outer surfaces of the ends, network elements and end portions of sides are substantially coplanar to provide a high frictional contact with an adjacent tire tread. This species of wheel block structurally provides a connecting arm 58 of the same nature as the first species.
A third species of wheel block element that has no fastening tube supports or support arms, but rather provides a unitary, peripherally defined structure pivotally carried directly by the end portions of body tubes 21, 23 is shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. This wheel block element provides a body peripherally defined by similar planar sides 70 structurally joining arcuate ends 71 at the adjacent edges of these structures. The structure is so formed that the outer edges 72 of the sides are longer than inner edges 73 to provide the truncated curvilinear wedge shape illustrated. The two sides 70 are spaced apart a distance sufficient to provide end surfaces with desired area. The wedge base and truncated apex carry structurally joined base plate 79 and apex plate 80 respectively. The interior chamber of the fastening block carries a network of cross supports 77 that provide strength and rigidity. The outer surface of arcuate ends 71 carry a plurality of spaced protuberances 78 to provide greater frictional contact with an adjacent tire tread. A medial outer portion of each side defines paired opposed cooperating fastener holes 74. Nut-bolt combination 75 extends through fastener holes 74 and through body tube holes 76 to pivotally interconnect the wheel block to the outer ends of both outer body tube 21 and inner body tube 23, as illustrated.
The various elements of my wheel chock are formed of some rigid durable material of appropriate strength to allow the function of the device, preferably a metal such as mild steel, except for the frictional pad of the first species of wheel block element which is formed of a resiliently deformable material such as rubber or elastomeric plastic. It is possible that the rigid elements may be formed of some of the harder, more dense polymeric or resinous plastics and those materials are within the scope and ambit of my invention. If the device is formed of metal, preferably the various elements that are structurally joined are joined by welding, if not otherwise specified. In the case of plastics, the various elements are joined by known methods such as adhesion or the thermal welding. The absolute dimensioning of my wheel chock is not critical and is adapted to fulfill particular needs. The relative configuration of elements, however, is required as specified for functionality.
Having described the structure of my wheel chock, its operation may be understood.
A wheel chock, of a size compatible with the configuration of tandem wheels to be locked, is constructed and assembled according to the foregoing specification. The fastening lever 35 is released and pivoted upwardly to allow the inner and outer body tubes to be manually moved relative to each other, and those tubes are so moved until the wheel block elements are in appropriate position so that each individual wheel block element will contract an adjacent tire tread in an angulated fashion as illustrated. The chock is manually positioned between the tandem wheels as seen FIG. 1, with the upper wheel block resting on the tread of each tandem tire above their centers, and the lower wheel block pair resting on the tires below their centers. The wheel block arms 53 are adjusted forwardly and rearwardly with reference to the vehicle as necessary.
The fastening lever 35 is then moved pivotally downwardly so that the teeth of partial pinion 36 operatively engage the teeth 31 of rack 30 and the downwardly motion is continued. The rack and pinion mechanism will continue to move the two body members, and consequently the wheel blocks, toward each other so that those wheel blocks engage the tandem wheels with some force, the amount of which may be adjusted within limits by the design of the rack and pinion teeth. As the downward motion of fastening lever 35 continues, the fastening catch 45 of the fastening lever will engage the sloping surface 46 of fastening dog hook 42 and move the fastening dog 41 against its spring bias and away from the fastening catch 45. This motion will continue until the fastening catch is immediately adjacent fastening surface 39a when fastening hook 42 will pass over the surface of the fastening catch by reason of the spring bias of the fastening dog. The fastening mechanism will then be maintained in this fastened position until manually changed.
If it be desired to lock the fastening lever in its fastened position, tumbler lock 47 is operated by an appropriate key (not shown) to cause lock bar 49 to extend to engage fastening dog 41 to prevent its motion away from fastening catch 45 and thusly maintain the locked position of fastening lever 35. The lock key is then removed and the fastening mechanism is secured.
In locked condition, the chock device will be secured between a set of tandem wheels. The device cannot be removed by lengthening the inner and outer body tubes relative to each other because they are locked in a predetermined position by the fastening mechanism. The wheel blocks may not be moved laterally in the direction of the axes of the tandem wheels by reason of their frictional engagement with the associated wheels. In this fastened position then, the wheel chock prevents relative motion of the tandem wheels to positionally maintain a vehicle and unauthorized removal of the chock can be accomplished only by physical destruction.
The operation of the chock with the second and third species of wheel locks is substantially the same as the operation with the first species of block. In the case of the third species, there is no forward and rearward adjustment of the wheel blocks since the wheel block structure is unitary, but the adjustment and fastening of the chock by moving inner and outer body tubes is the same as described with the first species.
The foregoing description of my invention is necessarily of a detailed nature so that a specific embodiment of it might be set forth as required, but it is to be understood that various modifications of detail, rearrangement and multiplication of parts might be resorted to without departing from its spirit, essence or scope.
Having thusly described my invention, what I desire to protect by Letters Patent, and | A locking wheel chock, for positioning between adjacent tandem wheels on spaced axles of a vehicle having no independent braking system provides upper and lower pairs of wheel contacting blocks connected in spaced relationship by a telescoping body assembly. The telescoping body assembly carries a rack on one portion and a fastening lever with a partial pinion on the other portion to engage the rack to adjust the length of the body assembly to move the wheel blocks into and out of fastening engagement with the tandem wheels for preventing relative rotation. Each wheel block is independently pivoted to allow tangential contact with the adjacent tire tread. A lock prevents movement of the fastening lever to maintain positioning and prevent tampering with the wheel chock when the fastening lever is in fastening position. A first species of wheel block provides paired adjustably spaced blocks on each side of the center line of tandem wheels. A second species of wheel block provides a unitary, pivotally mounted wedge-shaped block with curvilinear wedge surfaces for wheel contact. | Summarize the patent information, clearly outlining the technical challenges and proposed solutions. | [
"BACKGROUND OF INVENTION RELATED APPLICATIONS There are no applications related hereto heretofore filed in this or any foreign country.",
"FIELD OF INVENTION My invention relates to adjustable wheel chocks having opposed wheel blocks carried between tandem wheels of vehicles to prevent relative tandem wheel rotation for positional maintenance of the vehicle.",
"BACKGROUND AND DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART It is often desirable to immobilize a vehicle having tandem wheels, especially in the case of a vehicle not having an internal braking system.",
"It may be desired to immobilize the wheels for positional maintenance of the vehicle on a supporting surface, such as in the case of trailers that are to be maintained on a sloping surface.",
"It may also be desirable to immobilize such vehicles to prevent theft or other unauthorized use.",
"The problem has long been recognized and various mechanical devices have become known to resolve it.",
"Undoubtedly the most commonly used device for positional maintenance of wheels on a supporting surface is the traditional wedge-shaped wheel chock which is positioned immediately adjacent one or both sides of a vehicle wheel while supported on the surface supporting the wheel.",
"This type of wheel chock is usable with either single or tandem wheels.",
"Lineally adjacent tandem wheels, however, by reason of their structure offer a configuration that allows the use of chocks that fit between the wheels to prevent relative rotation and such chocks need not necessarily be associated with the surface supporting the wheels.",
"The instant invention provides a new and improved set of locking wheel chocks of this latter nature.",
"Prior wheel chocks that have been designed for use with lineally adjacent tandem wheels have provided at least one element that extends between the tandem wheels and is positionally maintained with sufficient frictional force to prevent their relative motion.",
"Most such chocks have provided two similar members that are adjustably interconnected and fit between adjacent tandem wheels with one member above and the other member below a line between the wheel centers.",
"Such two member chocks have become popular because they tend to provide greater security in positional maintenance of tandem wheels and tend to provide the same positional maintenance of the wheels no matter which way a potential rotational force is applied to them.",
"The two-member type of tandem wheel chock is readily distinguished from the single chock, whether the single chock is positioned between the tandem wheels or on one or both sides of the wheels, with support on the ground beneath the wheels or from the vehicle.",
"For an opposed two block tandem wheel chock to be effective, the wheel blocks must engage the adjacent wheel treads with sufficient frictional force that the contacting surfaces are relatively immovable.",
"Some prior devices have used wedge-shaped elements of a unitary nature to fastenably engage the opposed surfaces of adjacent tandem wheels, but such frictional engagement has not been completely effective to accommodate various vehicles having tandem wheels of different sizes and different spacing.",
"Generally, the greatest friction between a wheel block and adjacent wheel is attained if the wheel contacting surface exerts force on the wheel in a direction substantially normal to the area of tangency of the wheel block surface on the wheel's circular periphery.",
"The instant invention in its first species accomplishes this end by providing opposed pivotally mounted flat wheel blocks on both the upper and lower block members of the wheel chock, in distinguishment from prior devices that have not pivotally mounted the wheel block elements at a pivot point spaced from the middle of the wheel chock so that the force on a wheel is applied by the blocks in a normal direction at the point of tangency of the wheel block on the adjacent wheel.",
"For a wheel block to provide appropriate frictional contact with the surface of an adjacent wheel, the block itself must have a friction generating surface.",
"The wheel blocks of the instant chock provide such a surface by using a plurality of protuberances arrayed in friction maximizing configuration.",
"In one sub-species the protuberances are formed of resiliently deformable material and in others they are formed with sufficient relief to create appropriate frictional force, but yet not harm the structure of a tire tread or other wheel surface that they engage.",
"Prior wheel chocks have often provided smooth or relatively smooth tire contacting surfaces and have depended largely upon substantial force on a tire surface to cause deformation and a consequent larger contact area to create sufficient frictional force to allow the device to accomplish its purpose.",
"My wheel blocks may be applied with such force as creates tire deformation as in prior devices, but this is not necessary and when a higher deforming force is used, my blocks still create more friction than prior devices under the same force because of the nature of their tire contacting surfaces and the directional orientation of the applied force.",
"For a tandem wheel fastening chock with vertically opposed blocks to be effective, it must have mechanism to move the blocks toward each other with appropriate fastening force, but yet to have practical convenience the chock must be simply and easily operable.",
"In general, the amount of force involved to cause appropriate frictional engagement of wheel block elements on an adjacent tire requires some type of advantaged mechanical linkage and to provide adjustment, the mechanical linkage has had to allow block motion through substantial distance.",
"This in the prior chocks commonly has been accomplished by a screw or a compound lever.",
"Screw devices, however, are time consuming and difficult of operation and compound levers have been mechanically complex and required excessive force for operation.",
"The instant chock resolves this problem by providing a telescoping linkage between the opposed wheel block members that is moved by a ratchet carried on one telescopic element and a pinion defined at one end of a lever arm with the pinion teeth defined about only a portion of the pinion periphery to give the advantages of both a rack and pinion linkage and an over-center lever, which may be easily positionally maintained to aid the locking function of the chock.",
"The adjustability of my chock is accommodated by adjustment of the relatively movable body portions rather than by the locking mechanism so that no great amount of motion of the locking mechanism is required.",
"A tandem wheel chock to be commercially viable must be adaptable to accommodate a substantial number of varying tandem wheel configurations.",
"The tandem wheels themselves vary in diameter from some few inches in the case of light utility type trailers intended to be propelled by automobiles to several feet in over-the-road freight transport trailers.",
"The spacing between the peripheries of adjacent tandem wheels also varies substantially from an inch or two to a foot or more.",
"Prior tandem wheel chocks have not well addressed, this problem and have either been usable only with a particular predetermined tandem wheel configurations or have allowed only limited adjustment accomplished by moving the vertically opposed wheel blocks toward or away from each other.",
"The instant chock in its first species resolves this problem by mounting the opposed block elements of a pair on adjustably extensible arms so that the two elements of a pair may be variably spaced relative to each other in a horizontal plane.",
"Pivotal mounting of each block element on this support still maintains contact of each element in a tangential orientation with an adjacent tire tread as previously described, without reference to the amount of extension of the horizontal arms carrying the elements.",
"Additionally in all species the body connecting the wheel blocks is adjustable as to length by releasing the fastening lever pinion from its associated rack and manually moving the body elements to appropriate position, without engaging the rack and pinion in fastening mode or interfering with their operation.",
"If a tandem wheel chock is to be used as a security device, it must be fastenable in some manner that prevents its release by an unauthorized person.",
"Commonly in prior devices, such fastening has been accomplished, if at all, by some type of padlock device that generally fastens a lever in a fastening position.",
"Padlock devices have not been completely satisfactory to fulfill this purpose, however, as a padlock may be easily and simply removable by an unauthorized third person by cutting the shackle with readily available devices such as a saw, welding torch, bolt cutter or the like.",
"The instant chock in contradistinction provides a structurally carried tumbler lock having an extensible bolt that contacts the fastening lever of the ratchet mechanism to prevent the pinion fastening lever from moving from the fastened position to make any unauthorized forcible release difficult and less probable than with a padlock.",
"The instant invention resides not in any one of these features individually, but rather in the synergistic combination of all of the structures of my wheel chock that necessarily give rise to the functions flowing therefrom as herein specified and claimed.",
"SUMMARY OF INVENTION My invention provides an adjustable locking wheel chock for adjacent tandem wheels carried by spaced axles of a vehicle.",
"The chock provides wheel blocks separated by an interconnecting telescopically Movable body.",
"One telescoping body member supports an elongate axially aligned rack and the other body member supports a bracket pivotally carrying a fastening lever defining a partial pinion at an inner end to engage the rack to cause rack motion responsive to pivotal motion of the lever to move the wheel blocks from or into frictional engagement with the tandem.",
"The tire contacting faces of each wheel block define a surface that creates substantial friction when engaged with an adjacent wheel periphery to prevent relative tire motion and chock removal when fastened between tandem wheels for use.",
"Each wheel block is independently pivoted to maintain the block element face tangential to an adjacent tire tread at a medial point within the contact area.",
"A key operated lock provides a bolt that extends to contact the fastening lever to prevent movement of that lever when in fastening mode.",
"In providing such a device, it is: A primary object to provide an improved locking wheel chock that has a compound adjustable body interconnecting opposed wheel blocks for releasable fastening between aligned tandem wheels carried on spaced axles.",
"Another object is to provide such a wheel chock that provides the mechanical advantages of both lever and rack and pinion mechanisms to create force between spaced wheel blocks to releasably fasten between tandem wheels to prevent relative motion.",
"Another object is to provide such a chock with spaced wheel blocks that pivot to engage an adjacent wheel peripheral surface in a tangential orientation at the point of force application to maximize frictional force between the block and wheels.",
"Another object is to provide such a chock that in one species has opposed pairs of wheel block elements that are positionable at different distances from each other provide adjustability for use of the chock on a wide variety of tandem wheels and wheel configurations.",
"Yet another object is to provide individual wheel block elements with an improved wheel contacting surface that increases the friction between the block and wheel, but yet cause no damage to a pneumatic tire carried by a wheel.",
"Still another object is to provide such a chock that has a bolt type lock that is carried in the fastening structure to secure the wheel chock against unauthorized users by preventing release of the fastening arm when locked in fastening position.",
"Other and further objects of my invention will appear from the accompanying drawings and the following specification.",
"In carrying out the objects of my invention, however, it is to be understood that its accidental features are susceptible of change in design and structural arrangement with only preferred and practical embodiments of the best known mode being illustrated in the accompanying drawings as required.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and in which the same numbers refer to the same parts in all views: FIG. 1 is an orthographic side view of my wheel chock mounted between two lineally spaced tandem wheels of a vehicle.",
"FIG. 2 is an enlarged isometric view of the chock of FIG. 1 showing its parts, their configuration and relationship in more detail.",
"FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view through the upper wheel block structure of FIG. 1, taken on the line 3--3 thereon in the direction indicated by the arrows.",
"FIG. 4 is an orthographic front view, taken from the left side of the wheel chock of FIG. 2, with the fastening lever in fastening position FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-section of the wheel chock of FIG. 2, taken on the line 5--5 on that Figure in the direction indicated by the arrows.",
"FIG. 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the wheel block of FIG. 4, taken on the line 6--6 thereon in the direction indicated by the arrows.",
"FIG. 7 is an isometric view of the lock assembly seen in FIG. 4. FIG. 8 is an isometric view of the first species of wheel block element shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 9 is an isometric view of a second species of wheel block element having serrated side edges to frictionally engage a tire tread.",
"FIG. 10 is a partially cross-sectional view of the wheel block element of FIG. 9, taken on the line 10--10 thereon on that Figure in the direction indicated by the arrows thereon.",
"FIG. 11 is an orthographic end view of a third species of unitary wedge-shaped wheel block having arcuately configured sides.",
"FIG. 12 is an expanded medial vertical cross-sectional view through the wheel block of FIG. 11, taken on the line 12--12 in the direction indicated by the arrows thereon.",
"FIG. 13 is an enlarged partial cut-away view of the fastening mechanism showing its catch structure in detail.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT My tandem wheel chock comprises similar upper and lower wheel blocks 11 interconnected by telescopically articulating body 12 which carries fastening mechanism 13 that is maintainable in fastening position by lock 14.",
"As seen in FIG. 1, lineally aligned tandem wheels 15 rest on underlying supporting surface 16.",
"The tandem wheels each have hubs 17 that are carried on vehicle axles 18 by lugs 19 structurally carried by the axle and extending through the wheel which is fastened thereon by lug nuts 20 in traditional fashion.",
"My wheel chock is shown in fastening position between tandem wheels 15.",
"Body 12, as seen particularly in FIG. 5, provides outer body tube 21 defining internal channel 22 that is incrementally larger than inner body tube 23 which defines internal channel 24, so that the inner body tube may be slidably carried in channel 22 of the outer body tube.",
"The outer end portions of both body tubes 21, 23 is formed with an appropriate transition configuration 25 to conformably interfit with the perpendicular tubular body of opposed wheel blocks which are interconnected by the body assembly.",
"Fastening mechanism 13 provides a fastening bracket having body 26 defining cylindrical channel 27 to fit about the inner end portion of outer body tube 21, with similar opposed legs 28 extending away from the body 26 to define channel 29 therebetween.",
"Elongate relatively thin rack 30 defining teeth 31 on its side distal from the body 12 is carried by upper fastening dog 32 which in turn is structurally supported on the outer portion of inner body tube 23 in a position that maintains the rack within channel 29 defined by the fastening bracket.",
"The fastening dog 32 carries rack 30 spacedly distant from the adjacent surface of inner body tube 23 and parallel thereto so that the inner surface of the rack is immediately adjacent and slidably supported on body 26.",
"The lower portion of legs 28 define opposed cooperating lever pin holes 33 to carry lever pin 34 extending therebetween to pivotally mount fastening lever 35.",
"The fastening lever 35 is an elongate element defining outer handle portion 35a, angulated somewhat away from rack 30 to aid grasping without interference from the rack.",
"The inner portion of the fastening lever defines partial pinion 36 having only a few teeth 37 defined about its periphery to operably engage the teeth 3l of rack 30.",
"The pinion defines axle hole 38 for pivotal mounting on lever pin 34.",
"The teeth 37 are configured and arrayed to engage the rack through an angle of rotation of fastening lever 35 of approximately sixty to ninety degrees and otherwise the pinion peripheral surface allows free motion of the rack relative thereto when the toothed portion is not engaged with the rack.",
"This mechanism allows manual adjustment of the axial positioning of the body tubes 21, 23 relative to each other, but provides an over-center lever fastening means for positive motion of the tubes when the pinion teeth 37 contact the rack teeth 31.",
"One leg 28a of the fastening bracket is thicker in its end portion proximate the inner body tube to define fastening protuberance 39 with outwardly facing fastening surface 39a and internal chamber 39b.",
"The chamber 39b extends inwardly from fastening dog orifice 40 defined in surface 39a to allow passage of L-shaped fastening dog 41 defining fastening hook 42 in its outer end to extend spacedly above surface 39a of the fastening structure with the fastening hook extending toward the inner body tube 23.",
"The fastening dog 41 is pivotally mounted by pin 43 carried by the fastening protuberance 39 and is biased in the direction of the fastening hook extension by compression spring 44 carried in chamber 39b.",
"The medial portion of fastening lever 35, adjacent handle structure 35a, defines laterally extending fastening catch 45 that extends under fastening hook 42 and adjacent to fastening surface 39a of the fastening structure when the fastening lever is in fastening position.",
"With this structure, fastening dog 41 may be manually moved to release fastening catch 45 of the fastening lever and allow motion of that lever to open the chock.",
"When the fastening lever is moved to a fastening position, the fastening catch 45 will move along the upper angulated surface 46 of the fastening hook 42 to move the fastening dog 41 against its spring bias to allow the fastening catch to move into immediate adjacency with fastening surface 39a of the fastening structure.",
"When this position is attained, the fastening dog will no longer be prevented from moving against its bias and hook 42 will move over the fastening catch 45, as illustrated in FIG. 13, to positionally maintain the fastening lever and thusly the fastened mode of the chock.",
"Lock mechanisms 14 are carried by the fastening bracket 26.",
"As seen in FIGS. 4 and 7, the lock mechanism provides tumbler lock 47 operated by a key (not shown) insertable in key slot 48.",
"The tumbler lock provides perpendicularly extending lock bar 49 that is movable inward and outwardly from the lock tumbler responsive to lock operation by an appropriate key.",
"The entire lock structure is carried by base 50 having fastening means 51, in the instance illustrated rivets.",
"Lock base 50 is structurally carried by fastening means 51 on the rearward surface of leg 28a of the fastening bracket in such position that lock bar 49 is extendable toward fastening dog 41 to maintain that dog in its fastened position, but is movable to a retracted position to allow motion of the fastening dog to release the fastening lever.",
"When the lock bar 49 is extended to prevent motion of fastening dog 41, that dog will positionally maintain fastening lever 35 in a fastening position and will not allow it to move from that position until the fastening dog is released by the lock bar and manually moved.",
"Wheel blocks 11 are carried at each end of body assembly 12.",
"Transition portions 25 at the outer end portions of both outer body tube 21 and inner body tube 23 structurally interconnect similar, perpendicularly extending tubular wheel block supports 52, each defining an internal channel to slidably receive similar opposed wheel block support arms 53.",
"The wheel block support arms 53 are tubular elements having truncated outer end portions 53a to allow appropriate pivotal motion of wheel block elements carried thereby, The fastening tube supports define spaced holes 54 and the support arms define similar spaced holes 55 so arrayed that both sets of holes 54, 55 may be aligned in cooperating pairs to receive fastening pins 56 therebetween to provide selectively variable lateral extension for each block support arm 53, The first species of wheel, block illustrated in FIGS. 1-6 and 8 provides rectilinear body 57 structurally supporting tubular connecting arm 58, The tubular connecting arm 58 preferably communicates with the body in an asymmetrical position as illustrated to create fastening force in the outer portion of the wheel block to cause a better and higher frictional interconnection with an adjacent wheel, The inner end portion of each tubular connecting arm 58 defines hole 59 which cooperates with hole 60 defined in the outer portion of the tubular connecting arm to receive double-headed fastening pin 61 to interconnect the wheel block elements and wheel block arms in pivotal fashion, Body 57 of the first species of wheel block element carries friction pad 62 defining inwardly extending lip 63 to fit about the sides and a peripheral portion of the back of body 57 for positional maintenance, The outer face of friction pad 62 defines a plurality of spaced protuberances 64 to increase frictional contact with the circumferential face or tread of a tire carried by a wheel to be immobilized by my chock, This species of pad is formed from a resiliently deformable material such as rubber or an elastomeric polymer to allow placement on body 57 and to increase and provide appropriate frictional contact with an adjacent tire.",
"If material from which the frictional pad is formed does not allow placement by use of lip 63, it is in the ambit and scope of my invention to fasten the frictional pad to the body by other known means such as adhesion, riveting bolting or the like A second species of wheel block element is illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10 where it is seen to provide rectilinear back plate 65 carrying structurally joined peripheral side elements 66 and end elements 67.",
"The medial portion of this back plate carries a network of cross supports 68, and the outer edges of both side elements define a series of teeth 69.",
"Preferably the outwardly projecting edges of the side elements 66 are of somewhat arcuately convex configuration with their medial portions being more distal from back 65 than the ends and preferably the outer surfaces of the ends, network elements and end portions of sides are substantially coplanar to provide a high frictional contact with an adjacent tire tread.",
"This species of wheel block structurally provides a connecting arm 58 of the same nature as the first species.",
"A third species of wheel block element that has no fastening tube supports or support arms, but rather provides a unitary, peripherally defined structure pivotally carried directly by the end portions of body tubes 21, 23 is shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.",
"This wheel block element provides a body peripherally defined by similar planar sides 70 structurally joining arcuate ends 71 at the adjacent edges of these structures.",
"The structure is so formed that the outer edges 72 of the sides are longer than inner edges 73 to provide the truncated curvilinear wedge shape illustrated.",
"The two sides 70 are spaced apart a distance sufficient to provide end surfaces with desired area.",
"The wedge base and truncated apex carry structurally joined base plate 79 and apex plate 80 respectively.",
"The interior chamber of the fastening block carries a network of cross supports 77 that provide strength and rigidity.",
"The outer surface of arcuate ends 71 carry a plurality of spaced protuberances 78 to provide greater frictional contact with an adjacent tire tread.",
"A medial outer portion of each side defines paired opposed cooperating fastener holes 74.",
"Nut-bolt combination 75 extends through fastener holes 74 and through body tube holes 76 to pivotally interconnect the wheel block to the outer ends of both outer body tube 21 and inner body tube 23, as illustrated.",
"The various elements of my wheel chock are formed of some rigid durable material of appropriate strength to allow the function of the device, preferably a metal such as mild steel, except for the frictional pad of the first species of wheel block element which is formed of a resiliently deformable material such as rubber or elastomeric plastic.",
"It is possible that the rigid elements may be formed of some of the harder, more dense polymeric or resinous plastics and those materials are within the scope and ambit of my invention.",
"If the device is formed of metal, preferably the various elements that are structurally joined are joined by welding, if not otherwise specified.",
"In the case of plastics, the various elements are joined by known methods such as adhesion or the thermal welding.",
"The absolute dimensioning of my wheel chock is not critical and is adapted to fulfill particular needs.",
"The relative configuration of elements, however, is required as specified for functionality.",
"Having described the structure of my wheel chock, its operation may be understood.",
"A wheel chock, of a size compatible with the configuration of tandem wheels to be locked, is constructed and assembled according to the foregoing specification.",
"The fastening lever 35 is released and pivoted upwardly to allow the inner and outer body tubes to be manually moved relative to each other, and those tubes are so moved until the wheel block elements are in appropriate position so that each individual wheel block element will contract an adjacent tire tread in an angulated fashion as illustrated.",
"The chock is manually positioned between the tandem wheels as seen FIG. 1, with the upper wheel block resting on the tread of each tandem tire above their centers, and the lower wheel block pair resting on the tires below their centers.",
"The wheel block arms 53 are adjusted forwardly and rearwardly with reference to the vehicle as necessary.",
"The fastening lever 35 is then moved pivotally downwardly so that the teeth of partial pinion 36 operatively engage the teeth 31 of rack 30 and the downwardly motion is continued.",
"The rack and pinion mechanism will continue to move the two body members, and consequently the wheel blocks, toward each other so that those wheel blocks engage the tandem wheels with some force, the amount of which may be adjusted within limits by the design of the rack and pinion teeth.",
"As the downward motion of fastening lever 35 continues, the fastening catch 45 of the fastening lever will engage the sloping surface 46 of fastening dog hook 42 and move the fastening dog 41 against its spring bias and away from the fastening catch 45.",
"This motion will continue until the fastening catch is immediately adjacent fastening surface 39a when fastening hook 42 will pass over the surface of the fastening catch by reason of the spring bias of the fastening dog.",
"The fastening mechanism will then be maintained in this fastened position until manually changed.",
"If it be desired to lock the fastening lever in its fastened position, tumbler lock 47 is operated by an appropriate key (not shown) to cause lock bar 49 to extend to engage fastening dog 41 to prevent its motion away from fastening catch 45 and thusly maintain the locked position of fastening lever 35.",
"The lock key is then removed and the fastening mechanism is secured.",
"In locked condition, the chock device will be secured between a set of tandem wheels.",
"The device cannot be removed by lengthening the inner and outer body tubes relative to each other because they are locked in a predetermined position by the fastening mechanism.",
"The wheel blocks may not be moved laterally in the direction of the axes of the tandem wheels by reason of their frictional engagement with the associated wheels.",
"In this fastened position then, the wheel chock prevents relative motion of the tandem wheels to positionally maintain a vehicle and unauthorized removal of the chock can be accomplished only by physical destruction.",
"The operation of the chock with the second and third species of wheel locks is substantially the same as the operation with the first species of block.",
"In the case of the third species, there is no forward and rearward adjustment of the wheel blocks since the wheel block structure is unitary, but the adjustment and fastening of the chock by moving inner and outer body tubes is the same as described with the first species.",
"The foregoing description of my invention is necessarily of a detailed nature so that a specific embodiment of it might be set forth as required, but it is to be understood that various modifications of detail, rearrangement and multiplication of parts might be resorted to without departing from its spirit, essence or scope.",
"Having thusly described my invention, what I desire to protect by Letters Patent, and"
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a device for controlling the power supply of an electric starter motor of a motor vehicle, and of an automobile in particular.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Traditionally, the power supply for an electric starter motor is controlled by an electromechanical power contact (coil relay) which is actuated as a function of the status of the vehicle circuit breaker, either directly or by way of an electronic management device, integrated or not integrated in the starter.
In any event, the power contacts of automobile starters may be the cause of excessive voltage drop at the terminals of the electric starter motor. There may be various reasons for such a voltage drop, including contact corrosion, oxidation caused by arcing, short-circuit caused by deposits of copper dust engendered by the arcing, chatter when the contact closes, premature closing of the contacts even before the pinion has engaged sufficiently in the starter crown wheel, etc.
One of the objects of the invention is to address these problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a device for controlling the power supply of the electric starter motor of the vehicle, and of an automobile in particular, comprising a power switch connected in series with said electric motor to control the power supply to said motor, wherein the power switch comprises a controllable electronic power component.
Advantageous features include the following, considered alone or according to all their technically possible combinations:
The electronic component is a power transistor;
The electronic component is controlled by a management unit;
The movement of the starter pinion is controlled by an electro-magnet, the coil of which is connected in series with a second electronic component the power of which can be controlled, which is itself controlled by the management unit and which controls the power supply of said coil.
The second electronic power component is a power transistor.
The second power component is controlled by a cyclic pulse-width-modulated signal.
The management unit receives the voltage at the input at the terminals of the coil, and comprises means to detect the stabilisation of this voltage, as well as means for modifying the cyclic ratio of said pulse-width-modulated signal when this stabilisation is detected.
The management unit comprises means to control the transition to the passing state of the power component, which controls the power feed to the electric motor when this voltage stabilisation is detected.
The power transistors may be of the MOSFET type.
According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a starter unit for a motor vehicle, and for an automobile in particular, comprising an electric motor, a pinion intended to be started by said motor, media to move said pinion from a position of rest to a position in which it engages with a crown wheel of the internal combustion engine, and a device to control the power supply of its electric motor, wherein the device is in accordance with the first aspect.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other characteristics and advantages of the invention can be derived from the description which follows. It should be read in conjunction with the single FIGURE appended, which is a schematic representation of a device conforming to a possible embodiment of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to the FIGURE, a motor M of a starter D is connected with a circuit-breaker T 2 between a ground and a terminal B+of the voltage feed from the vehicle battery.
The circuit-breaker T 2 does not consist of an electromechanical contact but a power transistor which is actuated by a management unit 2 .
This management unit 2 is, for example, a micro-controller of which one input e 1 is connected to the voltage terminal B+by way of the vehicle circuit-breaker (key-actuated circuit-breaker or other type, indicated by reference 1 in the FIGURE), and of which an output s 2 controls the circuit-breaker T 2 . The micro-controller 2 is, in addition, also connected directly to the terminal B+by a power supply input e 2 .
The power transistor T 2 is, for example, a transistor of the MOSFET type, of which the gate is subjected to a voltage generated by said micro-controller 2 at the level of its aforesaid output s 2 .
The management unit which comprises this micro-controller 2 likewise controls the power supply of a coil B of an electro-magnet, which in turn controls the movement of the pinion of the starter.
To this end, the coil B is connected between the ground and the terminal B+of the voltage supply from the battery, with a power transistor T 1 controlled by the management unit 2 .
The transistor T 1 is, for example, a MOSFET transistor, of which the gate is subjected to a voltage generated by the management unit 2 at one of its outputs (indicated by the reference FIG. 1 in the FIGURE).
This management unit 2 likewise receives, at its two inputs e 3 , e 4 , on the one hand the voltage at a point between the coil B and the circuit-breaker T 1 , and, on the other, the voltage at a point between the motor M and the transistor T 2 .
The power supply sequence for the coil B and the motor M is as follows:
The closing of the circuit-breaker 1 puts the micro-controller 2 into a state of activation.
This initiates several different initialization operations, such as verification that the armature of the motor M is not in rotation (absence of induced voltage at the terminals of the motor M), that the coil B is not being supplied with power, or such as a check on the temperature of the starter.
Once these operations have been carried out, the micro-controller 2 controls the transistor T 1 in such a way that the coil B is supplied by a pulse width modulated (PWM) current. To this end, the PWM modulation may itself be generated by the micro-controller 2 on the command voltage of the gate of the transistor T 1 . Other arrangements are possible (in particular, the PWM modulation of the supply current of the coil B could be generated by a specific assembly arranged in the supply circuit of said coil B).
The control which is thus exercised on the transistor T 1 allows for the engagement at reduced speed of the starter pinion with the crown wheel of the combustion engine.
The voltage which is received at the input e 3 allows for the development of the voltage to be monitored at the terminals of the coil B. As the movable core of the electro-magnet controlled by the coil B moves, so the voltage at the terminals of said coil varies. It only stabilises when the core has travelled its course.
Once this stabilisation is detected by the micro-controller 2 , the voltage at the output s 2 passes into the high state, and unblocks the power transistor T 2 which supplies the electric motor M.
At the same time, the cyclic ratio of the PWM voltage controlling the transistor T 1 changes in value in such a way that the supply current of the coil B passes to a sustained value.
This value is chosen to be sufficiently high to keep the electro-magnet closed, but likewise sufficiently low as not to incur excessive heating of the coil B or the transistor T 1 .
As a variant, the transistor T 1 can be fed in accordance with a predetermined voltage law as a function of time. At the end of a predetermined time period, the output 2 passes into the high state and unblocks the power transistor T 2 .
At the end of the unblocking process, i.e. when the contact key is released, or when the micro-controller 2 issues the automatic ending of the starting process, the micro-controller 2 causes the voltages at the outputs s 1 and s 2 to switch to low state, in order to block the transistors T 1 and T 2 .
Control of the power in this way for an electric starter motor presents numerous advantages.
It brings about static switching, avoiding all the known phenomena such as contact oxidation, wear, corrosion, contact chatter, etc.
It also allows for costs, dimensions, and weights to be reduced, the contactor no longer having any force to be exerted when the power contacts close. | In a device for controlling the power supply of the electric motor of a starter of a motor vehicle, and of an automobile in particular, a power switch is connected in series with the electric motor to control the motor power. The switch consists of an electronic power unit capable of being controlled. | Provide a concise summary of the essential information conveyed in the given context. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a device for controlling the power supply of an electric starter motor of a motor vehicle, and of an automobile in particular.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Traditionally, the power supply for an electric starter motor is controlled by an electromechanical power contact (coil relay) which is actuated as a function of the status of the vehicle circuit breaker, either directly or by way of an electronic management device, integrated or not integrated in the starter.",
"In any event, the power contacts of automobile starters may be the cause of excessive voltage drop at the terminals of the electric starter motor.",
"There may be various reasons for such a voltage drop, including contact corrosion, oxidation caused by arcing, short-circuit caused by deposits of copper dust engendered by the arcing, chatter when the contact closes, premature closing of the contacts even before the pinion has engaged sufficiently in the starter crown wheel, etc.",
"One of the objects of the invention is to address these problems.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a device for controlling the power supply of the electric starter motor of the vehicle, and of an automobile in particular, comprising a power switch connected in series with said electric motor to control the power supply to said motor, wherein the power switch comprises a controllable electronic power component.",
"Advantageous features include the following, considered alone or according to all their technically possible combinations: The electronic component is a power transistor;",
"The electronic component is controlled by a management unit;",
"The movement of the starter pinion is controlled by an electro-magnet, the coil of which is connected in series with a second electronic component the power of which can be controlled, which is itself controlled by the management unit and which controls the power supply of said coil.",
"The second electronic power component is a power transistor.",
"The second power component is controlled by a cyclic pulse-width-modulated signal.",
"The management unit receives the voltage at the input at the terminals of the coil, and comprises means to detect the stabilisation of this voltage, as well as means for modifying the cyclic ratio of said pulse-width-modulated signal when this stabilisation is detected.",
"The management unit comprises means to control the transition to the passing state of the power component, which controls the power feed to the electric motor when this voltage stabilisation is detected.",
"The power transistors may be of the MOSFET type.",
"According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a starter unit for a motor vehicle, and for an automobile in particular, comprising an electric motor, a pinion intended to be started by said motor, media to move said pinion from a position of rest to a position in which it engages with a crown wheel of the internal combustion engine, and a device to control the power supply of its electric motor, wherein the device is in accordance with the first aspect.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other characteristics and advantages of the invention can be derived from the description which follows.",
"It should be read in conjunction with the single FIGURE appended, which is a schematic representation of a device conforming to a possible embodiment of the invention.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the FIGURE, a motor M of a starter D is connected with a circuit-breaker T 2 between a ground and a terminal B+of the voltage feed from the vehicle battery.",
"The circuit-breaker T 2 does not consist of an electromechanical contact but a power transistor which is actuated by a management unit 2 .",
"This management unit 2 is, for example, a micro-controller of which one input e 1 is connected to the voltage terminal B+by way of the vehicle circuit-breaker (key-actuated circuit-breaker or other type, indicated by reference 1 in the FIGURE), and of which an output s 2 controls the circuit-breaker T 2 .",
"The micro-controller 2 is, in addition, also connected directly to the terminal B+by a power supply input e 2 .",
"The power transistor T 2 is, for example, a transistor of the MOSFET type, of which the gate is subjected to a voltage generated by said micro-controller 2 at the level of its aforesaid output s 2 .",
"The management unit which comprises this micro-controller 2 likewise controls the power supply of a coil B of an electro-magnet, which in turn controls the movement of the pinion of the starter.",
"To this end, the coil B is connected between the ground and the terminal B+of the voltage supply from the battery, with a power transistor T 1 controlled by the management unit 2 .",
"The transistor T 1 is, for example, a MOSFET transistor, of which the gate is subjected to a voltage generated by the management unit 2 at one of its outputs (indicated by the reference FIG. 1 in the FIGURE).",
"This management unit 2 likewise receives, at its two inputs e 3 , e 4 , on the one hand the voltage at a point between the coil B and the circuit-breaker T 1 , and, on the other, the voltage at a point between the motor M and the transistor T 2 .",
"The power supply sequence for the coil B and the motor M is as follows: The closing of the circuit-breaker 1 puts the micro-controller 2 into a state of activation.",
"This initiates several different initialization operations, such as verification that the armature of the motor M is not in rotation (absence of induced voltage at the terminals of the motor M), that the coil B is not being supplied with power, or such as a check on the temperature of the starter.",
"Once these operations have been carried out, the micro-controller 2 controls the transistor T 1 in such a way that the coil B is supplied by a pulse width modulated (PWM) current.",
"To this end, the PWM modulation may itself be generated by the micro-controller 2 on the command voltage of the gate of the transistor T 1 .",
"Other arrangements are possible (in particular, the PWM modulation of the supply current of the coil B could be generated by a specific assembly arranged in the supply circuit of said coil B).",
"The control which is thus exercised on the transistor T 1 allows for the engagement at reduced speed of the starter pinion with the crown wheel of the combustion engine.",
"The voltage which is received at the input e 3 allows for the development of the voltage to be monitored at the terminals of the coil B. As the movable core of the electro-magnet controlled by the coil B moves, so the voltage at the terminals of said coil varies.",
"It only stabilises when the core has travelled its course.",
"Once this stabilisation is detected by the micro-controller 2 , the voltage at the output s 2 passes into the high state, and unblocks the power transistor T 2 which supplies the electric motor M. At the same time, the cyclic ratio of the PWM voltage controlling the transistor T 1 changes in value in such a way that the supply current of the coil B passes to a sustained value.",
"This value is chosen to be sufficiently high to keep the electro-magnet closed, but likewise sufficiently low as not to incur excessive heating of the coil B or the transistor T 1 .",
"As a variant, the transistor T 1 can be fed in accordance with a predetermined voltage law as a function of time.",
"At the end of a predetermined time period, the output 2 passes into the high state and unblocks the power transistor T 2 .",
"At the end of the unblocking process, i.e. when the contact key is released, or when the micro-controller 2 issues the automatic ending of the starting process, the micro-controller 2 causes the voltages at the outputs s 1 and s 2 to switch to low state, in order to block the transistors T 1 and T 2 .",
"Control of the power in this way for an electric starter motor presents numerous advantages.",
"It brings about static switching, avoiding all the known phenomena such as contact oxidation, wear, corrosion, contact chatter, etc.",
"It also allows for costs, dimensions, and weights to be reduced, the contactor no longer having any force to be exerted when the power contacts close."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the field of decoding motion compensated non-intra coded compressed image data. An example of such data is non-intra coded portions of an MPEG data stream.
Conventional hardware based MPEG decoders operate on a block-by-block basis to decode the data stream. More particularly, for a non-intra coded block, predictive coding is used whereby reference needs to be made to previous image data (within a reference picture) together with the compressed data to reconstruct the block presently being decoded (within a generated picture). Typically, an area of picture data in the reference picture that matches (within limits) the block being decoded was identified during the compression process and can be referenced using a motion vector pointing to the area of previously decoded data during decompression. Once the present block has been decompressed, the hardware can start decompressing the next block.
Whilst the above described techniques yield a high degree of compression, a problem that arises is the disadvantageously frequent need to make memory accesses to reference picture data as part of the decompression process. In modem memory systems, such as SDRAM, there is a relatively high degree of latency associated with each new burst mode memory access. For example, it may take seven memory clock cycles to recover the first data word in a burst with each remaining data word then being returned in every further memory clock cycle. Accordingly, a memory access to five data words would take eleven memory clock cycles (7+4). This represents an efficiency of less than 50% relative to the peak bandwidth of the memory system. Measures that can improve the efficiency of operation of memory access within such decoding systems are advantageous as they reduce the time taken to perform the decoding and release memory bandwidth that can be usefully employed elsewhere.
Viewed from one aspect the present invention provides apparatus for decoding blocks of motion compensated non-intra coded compressed image data, said apparatus comprising:
a memory for storing previously decoded image data;
a decoding processor responsive to a motion vector of a block being decoded for fetching previously decoded image data from said memory for use in decoding said block; wherein
decoding of a motion vector for a block being decoded takes place before a fetch is made for decoding of a preceding block; and
said decoding processor concatenates fetches for at least one line of previously decoded data for different blocks being decoded into burst mode fetches.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention recognizes that whilst the decoding may take place on a block-by-block basis, the fetching of previously decoded image data need not be broken down into such a block-by-block process. Furthermore, the invention recognizes that in many cases there will be a strong correlation between the previously decoded image data fetched for the preceding block and the previously decoded image data fetched for the current block. In these circumstances it is possible to concatenate at least one of the memory fetches (which may be a burst for each line of each area in the reference picture) thereby greatly increasing the efficiency of use of the memory access channels.
Whilst memory fetches might be concatenated only in the circumstances where they exactly abutted, a net overall gain can be made even when there are spaces between the memory fetches provided these spaces are not so large as to negate the avoidance of an additional memory latency cycle. The fetches can also be combined when they overlap to even greater advantage since duplicated fetches are eliminated, or when they are in reversed order. Accordingly, in preferred embodiments of the invention said processor concatenates fetches to memory addresses within a predetermined range of each other.
It will be appreciated that the block being decoded could have an individual motion vector and be completely independent of all other blocks. However, improved compression of the source data can be achieved when the individual blocks are processed as parts of a macroblock sharing a common motion vector or motion vectors (e.g. as in MPEG data). In this case the block of data being decoded could be a macroblock or a section of a macroblock composed of several smaller blocks.
A convenient way for determining whether fetches can be concatenated in preferred embodiments is one in which if said motion vectors decoded for successive blocks are within a predetermined range of one another then said fetches are concatenated.
Whilst the invention can be usefully employed in many different types of memory system, it is particularly useful when the memory is a memory having a first access time for a first access in a burst and a subsequent access time for each subsequent accesses within said burst, said first access time being greater than said subsequent access time. SDRAM memory is a common example of such a memory which has a high latency for the first access and yet is highly efficient for subsequent accesses within a burst. Accordingly, decoder implementations employing this type of memory particularly benefit from the use of the present invention.
Whilst the invention could be embodied purely in hardware, the invention is particularly suitable for systems in which software decoding of the compressed image data occurs. Software decoding generally allows a greater degree of flexibility in the ordering of the operations to be performed and so allows motion vector identification, comparison and fetching to be performed for a subsequent block before the preceding block is finally dealt with. Software embodiments also make the dynamic alteration of the processing parameters (e.g. the range over which fetches are concatenated) easier to achieve. For example, software can be made to automatically adjust itself to the surrounding hardware environment.
The image data that is decompressed could have many different formats. However, the invention is particularly useful when the image data is compressed HDTV image data. Such HDTV image data typically contains a high number of blocks sharing very similar motion vectors for which the fetches can be concatenated.
The invention is also well suited to systems in which the reference picture data is accessed at reduced resolution to produce the generated picture. Examples of this are producing a standard resolution (SDTV) picture from HDTV data or a PIP (picture-in-picture) scaled-down display from full screen resolution (SDTV or HDTV) data. In such reduced resolution memory accesses, the bursts scaled-down for an individual block are shorter and less efficient making the invention more useful.
The splitting of the various tasks to be performed in the decomposition of a block of compressed data may be efficiently performed in preferred embodiments in which a data stream parsing processor parses said compressed image data to extract parsed data including a required fetch and other data representing each block and transfers said parsed data to said decode processor which decompresses each block. The parsing processor and the decoding processor could be the same hardware at different stages of the operation.
A pre-fetch buffer between the main memory and the decode processor may be used to further improve the efficiency of operation of the system.
Viewed from another aspect the present invention provides a method of decoding blocks of motion compensated non-intra coded compressed image data, said method comprising the steps of:
storing previously decoded image data in a memory;
in response to a motion vector of a block being decoded, fetching previously decoded image data from said memory for use in decoding said block; wherein
decoding of a motion vector for a block being decoded takes place before a fetch is made for decoding of a preceding block; and
fetches for at least one line of previously decoded data for different blocks being decoded are concatenated into burst mode fetches.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates frames of image data containing blocks of pixels that have been or are to be decompressed together with associated portions of a memory storing the previously decoded image data needed for decompression of those blocks, from a previously decoded image frame;
FIG. 2 shows the lines making up the previously decoded areas of a reference image;
FIG. 3 schematically illustrates an apparatus for performing image data decompression; and
FIGS. 4 and 5 are flow diagrams illustrating the concatenation of burst mode fetches.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 shows a frame 2 of image data identified as frame N- 1 . This frame 2 has already been decompressed. The next frame of image data 4 identified as frame N is composed of a plurality of blocks of pixels 6 that each have associated with them a motion vector indicating a substantially matching area within the preceding image frame 2 . Depending upon the motion of the different portions of the image, different blocks will have different associated motion vectors. In the example illustrated, the four blocks in the upper portion of the image frame 4 are substantially matched (via slightly different motion vectors) to the blocks a, b, c and d from the image frame 2 . The blocks a, b, c and d in image frame 2 are abutting or close to one another and the memory addresses storing individual lines within these areas of image data are abutting or close to one another as illustrated in the portion of memory 8 . In practice differences in the vertical motion vector component have a greater effect in spreading out the reference picture data in the memory as some of the data may move onto different scanning lines which are not adjacent. The present invention recognizes that a gain in efficiency may be made by concatenating the burst mode fetches for the data representing the lines within the areas a, b, c and d into respective single bursts. A portion of the data from each single burst can be used for decompressing lines of each of the corresponding blocks within the image frame 4 .
In the case of the three blocks illustrated in the bottom portion of the image frame 4 , these are abutting but one has a significantly different motion vector. The lines corresponding to the previously decoded area g are too far from the memory locations of the lines for the areas e, f for it to be a gain in efficiency to concatenate these burst mode fetches into the burst mode fetches with the others. The unused data in the gap between the desired data would take longer to retrieve from memory than would the latency associated with starting a separate burst mode request just to fetch the data of the lines of the area g.
It will be seen from the above that concatenating burst mode memory requests does not produce an increase in efficiency in every case. Accordingly, the statistics of the memory fetches for a given implementation need to be examined and an appropriate threshold set for the maximum distance between desired data within the memory for which it is worth concatenating the burst mode fetches. A further parameter would be the number of blocks over which it was worth seeking to concatenate memory requests. Generally speaking concatenating memory requests over two or three blocks is likely to gain the majority of the efficiency improvements without causing undue timing difficulties or requiring excessive amounts of data buffering due to uncompleted decompression of pending blocks.
FIG. 2 illustrates the relationship between the lines forming previously decoded image data and blocks within data to be decoded. The motion vectors identified for the blocks h, i and j point to matching areas within the previously decoded data. The previously decoded data is stored in a raster line form within a memory and so line portions adjacent in the raster line direction in the previously decoded image will also be adjacent within the memory locations of the memory. Such adjacent line portions are suitable for concatenation with burst mode fetches. Even if two vectors have different components perpendicular to the raster direction (e.g. the vectors for blocks h and i) some of the lines of data values needed for decoding each block may still be adjacent (or sufficiently close) in the memory address space to be worthwhile concatenating. This region is shown cross-hatched in FIG. 2 . The lines of data values for block j are too far away to be worthwhile concatenating even though they are in the same raster lines as the data for block i.
FIG. 3 illustrates a data decompression apparatus formed of a microprocessor 10 that serves the role of a data stream parsing processor amongst other functions. This microprocessor 10 is linked to a media processor 12 that performs the function of the decode processor. The media processor 12 is a special purpose processor optimized to perform motion-compensated IDCT decompression amongst other functions. One mode of use relating to scaled-down reproduction would be to decompress the data to reduced resolution, e.g. producing a 4×4 decoded block for each compressed block representing an 8×8 image. The microprocessor 10 parses the received MPEG data stream and splits out of it the macroblock type (e.g. inter or intra), the IDCT coefficients, the associated motion vector and the burst mode fetch requirements for previously decoded data. The media processor 12 contains four job storage locations where four pending block decompressions may be specified prior to being actioned by the media processor 12 (fewer or more job storage locations could also be used). Each of these block decompressions includes the data extracted by the microprocessor 10 from the data stream. The media processor 12 executes each decompression in turn in a repeating cycle. The data fetched by the media processor 12 from the main memory 14 is stored in a pre-fetch buffer 16 to which rapid access may be gained.
The microprocessor 10 sets up the jobs within the media processor 12 and in many circumstances can get well ahead of the processing being performed by the media processor 12 . In these circumstances, when a subsequent block is parsed the opportunity arises for the information gained from parsing this subsequent block to be used to modify the preceding job in a way that will improve overall efficiency. FIG. 4 illustrates an example of this.
At step 18 the microprocessor 10 (a StrongARM microprocessor) creates a new job for the media processor (AMP) 12 . At step 20 the microprocessor 10 checks to see if the preceding job within the media processor 12 is still pending, i.e. has not yet been started. If the preceding job is still pending, then at step 22 a check is made to determine whether the burst fetch for the preceding job is within a predetermined range of memory addresses to that of the present job. This determination could take place by comparing the motion vectors or could take place by directly comparing the derived memory addresses storing the previously decoded data required.
If the previously decoded data required by the new job is within a relatively small address-distance of the burst fetch for the preceding job, then at step 24 the microprocessor 10 modifies the burst fetch specifying data within the preceding job to concatenate within it the new job fetch and marks the new job fetch as done. Accordingly, when the preceding job is eventually executed by the media processor 12 , the previously decoded data required for both blocks will be fetched in a single burst and placed in the pre-fetch buffer 16 where it will be available for use by the media processor 12 in combination with the IDCT coefficients. If the determination at either step 20 or step 22 is negative and after execution of step 24 , the processor returns to step 18 .
It will be appreciated that the microprocessor 10 performs many other functions and the process illustrated in FIG. 4 is only one of the various tasks that it interleaves.
Whilst in the above embodiment the microprocessor 10 has been illustrated as modifying the jobs set up within the media processor 12 to concatenate burst mode fetches, an alternative embodiment might employ the media processor 12 itself to examine succeeding jobs when executing a current job to determine if the burst mode fetch could be concatenated into the currently executing job.
Another alternative and one that in some circumstances may be beneficial is to have the microprocessor 10 delay issuing a processing job to the media processor 12 until it has determined whether or not the fetch for the succeeding block can be usefully concatenated with that of the pending processing job. If the fetch is to memory locations within a predetermining range, then the fetch is concatenated. This process continues until a maximum number of fetches have been concatenated or a fetch out of range to be concatenated is encountered. At this point the pending job is issued to the media processor 12 . This processing is illustrated in FIG. 5 . | An image data decompression apparatus for decoding blocks of motion compensated non-intra coded data uses a memory ( 14 ) storing reference picture data. A decoding processor ( 12 ) decodes a current block of a generated picture using lines of previously decoded image data from the memory ( 14 ) that are selected in dependence upon a motion vector (V 1 ) for the current block. In order to improve access efficiency to the memory ( 14 ) the decoding processor ( 12 ) concatenates fetches into bursts for different sections of lines of previously decoded data that lie within a predetermined range within the memory addresses of the memory ( 14 ). | Condense the core contents of the given document. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the field of decoding motion compensated non-intra coded compressed image data.",
"An example of such data is non-intra coded portions of an MPEG data stream.",
"Conventional hardware based MPEG decoders operate on a block-by-block basis to decode the data stream.",
"More particularly, for a non-intra coded block, predictive coding is used whereby reference needs to be made to previous image data (within a reference picture) together with the compressed data to reconstruct the block presently being decoded (within a generated picture).",
"Typically, an area of picture data in the reference picture that matches (within limits) the block being decoded was identified during the compression process and can be referenced using a motion vector pointing to the area of previously decoded data during decompression.",
"Once the present block has been decompressed, the hardware can start decompressing the next block.",
"Whilst the above described techniques yield a high degree of compression, a problem that arises is the disadvantageously frequent need to make memory accesses to reference picture data as part of the decompression process.",
"In modem memory systems, such as SDRAM, there is a relatively high degree of latency associated with each new burst mode memory access.",
"For example, it may take seven memory clock cycles to recover the first data word in a burst with each remaining data word then being returned in every further memory clock cycle.",
"Accordingly, a memory access to five data words would take eleven memory clock cycles (7+4).",
"This represents an efficiency of less than 50% relative to the peak bandwidth of the memory system.",
"Measures that can improve the efficiency of operation of memory access within such decoding systems are advantageous as they reduce the time taken to perform the decoding and release memory bandwidth that can be usefully employed elsewhere.",
"Viewed from one aspect the present invention provides apparatus for decoding blocks of motion compensated non-intra coded compressed image data, said apparatus comprising: a memory for storing previously decoded image data;",
"a decoding processor responsive to a motion vector of a block being decoded for fetching previously decoded image data from said memory for use in decoding said block;",
"wherein decoding of a motion vector for a block being decoded takes place before a fetch is made for decoding of a preceding block;",
"and said decoding processor concatenates fetches for at least one line of previously decoded data for different blocks being decoded into burst mode fetches.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention recognizes that whilst the decoding may take place on a block-by-block basis, the fetching of previously decoded image data need not be broken down into such a block-by-block process.",
"Furthermore, the invention recognizes that in many cases there will be a strong correlation between the previously decoded image data fetched for the preceding block and the previously decoded image data fetched for the current block.",
"In these circumstances it is possible to concatenate at least one of the memory fetches (which may be a burst for each line of each area in the reference picture) thereby greatly increasing the efficiency of use of the memory access channels.",
"Whilst memory fetches might be concatenated only in the circumstances where they exactly abutted, a net overall gain can be made even when there are spaces between the memory fetches provided these spaces are not so large as to negate the avoidance of an additional memory latency cycle.",
"The fetches can also be combined when they overlap to even greater advantage since duplicated fetches are eliminated, or when they are in reversed order.",
"Accordingly, in preferred embodiments of the invention said processor concatenates fetches to memory addresses within a predetermined range of each other.",
"It will be appreciated that the block being decoded could have an individual motion vector and be completely independent of all other blocks.",
"However, improved compression of the source data can be achieved when the individual blocks are processed as parts of a macroblock sharing a common motion vector or motion vectors (e.g. as in MPEG data).",
"In this case the block of data being decoded could be a macroblock or a section of a macroblock composed of several smaller blocks.",
"A convenient way for determining whether fetches can be concatenated in preferred embodiments is one in which if said motion vectors decoded for successive blocks are within a predetermined range of one another then said fetches are concatenated.",
"Whilst the invention can be usefully employed in many different types of memory system, it is particularly useful when the memory is a memory having a first access time for a first access in a burst and a subsequent access time for each subsequent accesses within said burst, said first access time being greater than said subsequent access time.",
"SDRAM memory is a common example of such a memory which has a high latency for the first access and yet is highly efficient for subsequent accesses within a burst.",
"Accordingly, decoder implementations employing this type of memory particularly benefit from the use of the present invention.",
"Whilst the invention could be embodied purely in hardware, the invention is particularly suitable for systems in which software decoding of the compressed image data occurs.",
"Software decoding generally allows a greater degree of flexibility in the ordering of the operations to be performed and so allows motion vector identification, comparison and fetching to be performed for a subsequent block before the preceding block is finally dealt with.",
"Software embodiments also make the dynamic alteration of the processing parameters (e.g. the range over which fetches are concatenated) easier to achieve.",
"For example, software can be made to automatically adjust itself to the surrounding hardware environment.",
"The image data that is decompressed could have many different formats.",
"However, the invention is particularly useful when the image data is compressed HDTV image data.",
"Such HDTV image data typically contains a high number of blocks sharing very similar motion vectors for which the fetches can be concatenated.",
"The invention is also well suited to systems in which the reference picture data is accessed at reduced resolution to produce the generated picture.",
"Examples of this are producing a standard resolution (SDTV) picture from HDTV data or a PIP (picture-in-picture) scaled-down display from full screen resolution (SDTV or HDTV) data.",
"In such reduced resolution memory accesses, the bursts scaled-down for an individual block are shorter and less efficient making the invention more useful.",
"The splitting of the various tasks to be performed in the decomposition of a block of compressed data may be efficiently performed in preferred embodiments in which a data stream parsing processor parses said compressed image data to extract parsed data including a required fetch and other data representing each block and transfers said parsed data to said decode processor which decompresses each block.",
"The parsing processor and the decoding processor could be the same hardware at different stages of the operation.",
"A pre-fetch buffer between the main memory and the decode processor may be used to further improve the efficiency of operation of the system.",
"Viewed from another aspect the present invention provides a method of decoding blocks of motion compensated non-intra coded compressed image data, said method comprising the steps of: storing previously decoded image data in a memory;",
"in response to a motion vector of a block being decoded, fetching previously decoded image data from said memory for use in decoding said block;",
"wherein decoding of a motion vector for a block being decoded takes place before a fetch is made for decoding of a preceding block;",
"and fetches for at least one line of previously decoded data for different blocks being decoded are concatenated into burst mode fetches.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 illustrates frames of image data containing blocks of pixels that have been or are to be decompressed together with associated portions of a memory storing the previously decoded image data needed for decompression of those blocks, from a previously decoded image frame;",
"FIG. 2 shows the lines making up the previously decoded areas of a reference image;",
"FIG. 3 schematically illustrates an apparatus for performing image data decompression;",
"and FIGS. 4 and 5 are flow diagrams illustrating the concatenation of burst mode fetches.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 shows a frame 2 of image data identified as frame N- 1 .",
"This frame 2 has already been decompressed.",
"The next frame of image data 4 identified as frame N is composed of a plurality of blocks of pixels 6 that each have associated with them a motion vector indicating a substantially matching area within the preceding image frame 2 .",
"Depending upon the motion of the different portions of the image, different blocks will have different associated motion vectors.",
"In the example illustrated, the four blocks in the upper portion of the image frame 4 are substantially matched (via slightly different motion vectors) to the blocks a, b, c and d from the image frame 2 .",
"The blocks a, b, c and d in image frame 2 are abutting or close to one another and the memory addresses storing individual lines within these areas of image data are abutting or close to one another as illustrated in the portion of memory 8 .",
"In practice differences in the vertical motion vector component have a greater effect in spreading out the reference picture data in the memory as some of the data may move onto different scanning lines which are not adjacent.",
"The present invention recognizes that a gain in efficiency may be made by concatenating the burst mode fetches for the data representing the lines within the areas a, b, c and d into respective single bursts.",
"A portion of the data from each single burst can be used for decompressing lines of each of the corresponding blocks within the image frame 4 .",
"In the case of the three blocks illustrated in the bottom portion of the image frame 4 , these are abutting but one has a significantly different motion vector.",
"The lines corresponding to the previously decoded area g are too far from the memory locations of the lines for the areas e, f for it to be a gain in efficiency to concatenate these burst mode fetches into the burst mode fetches with the others.",
"The unused data in the gap between the desired data would take longer to retrieve from memory than would the latency associated with starting a separate burst mode request just to fetch the data of the lines of the area g. It will be seen from the above that concatenating burst mode memory requests does not produce an increase in efficiency in every case.",
"Accordingly, the statistics of the memory fetches for a given implementation need to be examined and an appropriate threshold set for the maximum distance between desired data within the memory for which it is worth concatenating the burst mode fetches.",
"A further parameter would be the number of blocks over which it was worth seeking to concatenate memory requests.",
"Generally speaking concatenating memory requests over two or three blocks is likely to gain the majority of the efficiency improvements without causing undue timing difficulties or requiring excessive amounts of data buffering due to uncompleted decompression of pending blocks.",
"FIG. 2 illustrates the relationship between the lines forming previously decoded image data and blocks within data to be decoded.",
"The motion vectors identified for the blocks h, i and j point to matching areas within the previously decoded data.",
"The previously decoded data is stored in a raster line form within a memory and so line portions adjacent in the raster line direction in the previously decoded image will also be adjacent within the memory locations of the memory.",
"Such adjacent line portions are suitable for concatenation with burst mode fetches.",
"Even if two vectors have different components perpendicular to the raster direction (e.g. the vectors for blocks h and i) some of the lines of data values needed for decoding each block may still be adjacent (or sufficiently close) in the memory address space to be worthwhile concatenating.",
"This region is shown cross-hatched in FIG. 2 .",
"The lines of data values for block j are too far away to be worthwhile concatenating even though they are in the same raster lines as the data for block i. FIG. 3 illustrates a data decompression apparatus formed of a microprocessor 10 that serves the role of a data stream parsing processor amongst other functions.",
"This microprocessor 10 is linked to a media processor 12 that performs the function of the decode processor.",
"The media processor 12 is a special purpose processor optimized to perform motion-compensated IDCT decompression amongst other functions.",
"One mode of use relating to scaled-down reproduction would be to decompress the data to reduced resolution, e.g. producing a 4×4 decoded block for each compressed block representing an 8×8 image.",
"The microprocessor 10 parses the received MPEG data stream and splits out of it the macroblock type (e.g. inter or intra), the IDCT coefficients, the associated motion vector and the burst mode fetch requirements for previously decoded data.",
"The media processor 12 contains four job storage locations where four pending block decompressions may be specified prior to being actioned by the media processor 12 (fewer or more job storage locations could also be used).",
"Each of these block decompressions includes the data extracted by the microprocessor 10 from the data stream.",
"The media processor 12 executes each decompression in turn in a repeating cycle.",
"The data fetched by the media processor 12 from the main memory 14 is stored in a pre-fetch buffer 16 to which rapid access may be gained.",
"The microprocessor 10 sets up the jobs within the media processor 12 and in many circumstances can get well ahead of the processing being performed by the media processor 12 .",
"In these circumstances, when a subsequent block is parsed the opportunity arises for the information gained from parsing this subsequent block to be used to modify the preceding job in a way that will improve overall efficiency.",
"FIG. 4 illustrates an example of this.",
"At step 18 the microprocessor 10 (a StrongARM microprocessor) creates a new job for the media processor (AMP) 12 .",
"At step 20 the microprocessor 10 checks to see if the preceding job within the media processor 12 is still pending, i.e. has not yet been started.",
"If the preceding job is still pending, then at step 22 a check is made to determine whether the burst fetch for the preceding job is within a predetermined range of memory addresses to that of the present job.",
"This determination could take place by comparing the motion vectors or could take place by directly comparing the derived memory addresses storing the previously decoded data required.",
"If the previously decoded data required by the new job is within a relatively small address-distance of the burst fetch for the preceding job, then at step 24 the microprocessor 10 modifies the burst fetch specifying data within the preceding job to concatenate within it the new job fetch and marks the new job fetch as done.",
"Accordingly, when the preceding job is eventually executed by the media processor 12 , the previously decoded data required for both blocks will be fetched in a single burst and placed in the pre-fetch buffer 16 where it will be available for use by the media processor 12 in combination with the IDCT coefficients.",
"If the determination at either step 20 or step 22 is negative and after execution of step 24 , the processor returns to step 18 .",
"It will be appreciated that the microprocessor 10 performs many other functions and the process illustrated in FIG. 4 is only one of the various tasks that it interleaves.",
"Whilst in the above embodiment the microprocessor 10 has been illustrated as modifying the jobs set up within the media processor 12 to concatenate burst mode fetches, an alternative embodiment might employ the media processor 12 itself to examine succeeding jobs when executing a current job to determine if the burst mode fetch could be concatenated into the currently executing job.",
"Another alternative and one that in some circumstances may be beneficial is to have the microprocessor 10 delay issuing a processing job to the media processor 12 until it has determined whether or not the fetch for the succeeding block can be usefully concatenated with that of the pending processing job.",
"If the fetch is to memory locations within a predetermining range, then the fetch is concatenated.",
"This process continues until a maximum number of fetches have been concatenated or a fetch out of range to be concatenated is encountered.",
"At this point the pending job is issued to the media processor 12 .",
"This processing is illustrated in FIG. 5 ."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of co-pending U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/129,695, filed 6 Mar. 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein as though fully set forth.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates generally to pulse monitoring and, more particularly, to a device, system, method, and program product for monitoring a user's pulse, transmitting data related to the pulse to a communication device, and, in the case that the user's heart rate and/or heart beat is determined to be outside a predetermined parameter, alert the user and/or initiate a communication using the communication device.
SUMMARY
[0003] In one embodiment, the invention provides a pulse monitoring system comprising: a monitoring device for monitoring a pulse of an individual, the device being operable to detect a pulse and transmit data related to the detected pulse; a communication device operable to receive data from the monitoring device and initiate a communication; and a program product which, when executed, is operable to carry out a method comprising: receiving data related to the detected pulse; analyzing the data related to the detected pulse and determining either or both of a heart rate or a heart beat regularity; determining whether the data are indicative of a heart rate or heart beat outside a predetermined parameter; and in the case that the data are indicative of a heart rate or heart beat being outside a predetermined parameter, initiating at least one of the following events: an alert to the individual, a communication, a transmission of data, or a storing of data.
[0004] In another embodiment, the invention provides a method of monitoring a pulse of an individual, the method comprising: receiving data related to a detected pulse of an individual; analyzing the data related to the detected pulse and determining either or both of a heart rate or a heart beat regularity; determining whether the data are indicative of a heart rate or heart beat being outside a predetermined parameter; and in the case that the data is indicative of a heart rate or heart beat outside a predetermined parameter, initiating at least one of the following events: an alert to the individual, a communication, a transmission of data, or a storing of data.
[0005] In still another embodiment, the invention provides a pulse monitoring device comprising: a device for detecting a pulse of an individual; and a transmission device for transmitting data related to the detected pulse.
[0006] In still yet another embodiment, the invention provides a program product stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, which when executed, is operable to carry out a method, the method comprising: receiving data related to a detected pulse of an individual; analyzing data related to a detected pulse; determining whether the data are indicative of a heart rate or a heart beat outside a predetermined parameter; and initiating at least one of the following events: an alert to an individual, a communication, a transmission of data, or a storing of data.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] These and other features of this invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of the various aspects of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings that depict various embodiments of the invention, in which:
[0008] FIGS. 1 and 2 show perspective views of a pulse monitoring device according to one embodiment of the invention;
[0009] FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of a pulse monitoring system according to an embodiment of the invention;
[0010] FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of a method according to an embodiment of the invention;
[0011] FIG. 5 shows a communication device used in accordance with an aspect of the method of FIG. 4 ;
[0012] FIG. 6 shows a detailed view of a portion of the flow diagram of FIG. 4 ;
[0013] FIG. 7 shows a communication device used in accordance with another aspect of the method of FIG. 4 ;
[0014] FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram of a method according to another embodiment of the invention;
[0015] FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram of a method according to yet another embodiment of the invention;
[0016] FIG. 10 shows a communication device used in accordance with an aspect of the method of FIG. 9 ;
[0017] FIG. 11 shows a flow diagram of a method according to still yet another embodiment of the invention;
[0018] FIG. 12 shows a communication device used in accordance with an aspect of the method of FIG. 11 ;
[0019] FIG. 13 shows a flow diagram of a method according to another embodiment of the invention;
[0020] FIG. 14 shows a communication device used in accordance with an aspect of the method of FIG. 13 ;
[0021] FIG. 15 shows a flow diagram of a method according to yet another embodiment of the invention; and
[0022] FIG. 16 shows a schematic view of a system according to an embodiment of the invention.
[0023] It is noted that the drawings of the invention are not to scale. The drawings are intended to depict only typical aspects of the invention, and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention. In the drawings, like numbering typically represents like elements between and among the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0024] Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a device 100 according to an embodiment of the invention. Device 100 includes an elongate body 110 at either end of which is disposed a pulse sensor 120 , 122 , as may be known in the art. As will be described in greater detail below, elongate body 110 is, in some embodiments of the invention, deformable such that it may be formed into a substantially circular or ovoid shape along its length, as shown, for example, in FIG. 2 . One skilled in the art will recognize that, once so formed, pulse sensors 120 , 122 may be placed in contact with a wearer's wrist, thereby enabling sensing of the wearer's pulse. Although a pair of pulse sensors 120 , 122 are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , and are shown disposed adjacent ends of elongate body 110 , this is neither necessary nor essential. Any number of pulse sensors may be employed and may be employed at any number of locations along elongate body 110 . In some embodiments of the invention, for example, device 100 may include a circular or ovoid body without ends and a plurality of pulse sensors disposed along its interior. Other variations and modifications will be apparent to one skilled in the art in view of this disclosure and are within the scope of the invention.
[0025] Returning to FIG. 1 , device 100 may include a number of additional features. For example, body 110 may include a Bluetooth device 130 or similar device for pairing device 100 with an electronic device, such as a mobile telephone. In some embodiments of the invention, body 110 may include an alert mechanism 132 , such as, for example, a mechanism capable of providing a vibratory signal, a visual signal, and/or an auditory signal to a wearer or to those nearby the wearer. Some embodiments of the invention may include a USB or similar port 136 for charging a battery providing electrical power to device 100 and/or transferring data to or from device 100 . In other embodiments of the invention, device 100 may include a chamber (not shown) for housing a removable battery device.
[0026] In still other embodiments of the invention, device 100 may include a display device (not shown) for projecting a display onto a surface, such as, for example, a wearer's skin. In particular, such a display may be projected onto a wearer's forearm. As will be explained in greater detail below, such an embodiment may be useful for displaying or presenting an alert to a wearer. In some embodiments of the invention, a display such as that described may include functionality such as communication between device 100 and the wearer. In still other embodiments of the invention, such a display may facilitate communication as may be made using a mobile telephone, etc., in the case that device 100 further includes such functionality.
[0027] While device 100 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 as a bracelet-like device to be worn about a wearer's wrist, this is neither necessary nor essential. Other devices may be employed to monitor an individual's pulse. For example, such devices may include clothing items (e.g., shirts, socks, undergarments, hats, headbands, watches, rings, etc.) or other wearable devices (e.g., chest straps, etc.) with one or more pulse sensors incorporated therein. In still other embodiments of the invention, the functionality of such devices may be incorporated into an implantable device, such as a pacemaker, defibrillator, or similar device. In such an embodiment, the implantable device may be operable to indicate whether the pulse monitoring device has been activated. For purposes of simplicity and illustration only, device 100 will be shown and described as a bracelet-like device to be worn about a wearer's wrist.
[0028] In any event, HR sensors 120 , 122 are operable to detect and/or measure a pulse of a wearer and communicate such detection and/or measurement to an electronic device, such as a mobile telephone. As one skilled in the art will recognize, a detected and/or measured pulse may be employed to determine either or both of a corresponding heart rate or a heart beat regularity.
[0029] FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of device 100 and a mobile telephone 200 , with communication 180 therebetween. As noted above, such communication 180 may be by way of, for example, Bluetooth communication. Other methods, mechanisms, means, or protocols for communication between device 100 and mobile telephone 200 may be employed, as will be recognized by one skilled in the art. Similarly, mobile telephone 200 is but one example of an electronic device with which device 100 may communicate. Other electronic devices include, for example, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a wearable electronic device, etc. For purposes of simplicity and illustration only, the communications device with which device 100 communicates will be described hereafter as a mobile telephone 200 .
[0030] As shown in FIG. 3 , mobile telephone 200 is configured for use with a mobile or satellite communications system 300 . Mobile telephone 200 may communicate 280 with communications system 300 via, for example, a cellular or satellite system, a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) system, a short message system (SMS) component of a cellular phone network, etc. In still other embodiments of the invention, device 100 and/or mobile telephone 200 may be configured for communication 182 , 282 , respectively, with or via a wireless Internet network 400 . Wireless Internet network 400 may include or have connected to it a storage device 410 for storing and/or retrieving data collected by or from device 100 and/or mobile telephone 200 . According to some embodiments, storage device 410 may include a cloud storage device (e.g., a remotely-located storage device to which data may be stored and/or retrieved).
[0031] As will be explained in greater detail below, upon detection of a pulse of a wearer that is outside a normal or predetermined parameter, device 100 may communicate 180 data regarding such pulse to mobile telephone 200 and/or communicate 182 such data to or via wireless Internet network 400 . In the event that such data are communicated to mobile telephone 200 , mobile telephone 200 may, according to some embodiments of the invention, initiate a communication 380 , 382 via communications system 300 with an emergency services provider 310 and/or one or more predetermined emergency contacts 320 , respectively.
[0032] FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of a method according to one embodiment of the invention. At S 1 , a wearer's pulse is monitored using a device 100 according to the invention. At S 2 it is determined whether the pulse monitored at S 1 is outside a parameter. Such a parameter may include, for example, a minimum heart rate (below which would indicate a low heart rate), a maximum heart rate (above which would indicate a high heart rate), a heart beat regularity (outside which would indicate an irregular heart beat), or the absence of a pulse. Such a parameter may be predetermined or may be calibrated to a particular individual during a “learning” period, which will be described in greater detail below. Regardless, if a monitored pulse is determined not to be outside a parameter (i.e., No at S 2 ), flow reverts to S 1 and pulse monitoring continues.
[0033] If, instead, a monitored pulse is determined at S 2 to be outside a parameter (i.e., Yes at S 2 ), the individual whose pulse is being monitored is alerted at S 3 . Such an alert may be made using, for example, the alert mechanism 132 ( FIG. 1 ) of device 100 and/or mobile telephone 200 ( FIG. 3 ) and may include, for example, a visual, a tactile (e.g., vibratory) signal and/or an audible signal capable of alerting the individual and those nearby the individual. For example, FIG. 5 shows a detailed view of mobile telephone 200 , in which the screen 210 includes an alert 220 according to one embodiment of the invention. Here, screen 210 includes a visual alert 220 regarding the monitored pulse and further includes a first button 222 for an individual to indicate that they are not experiencing a medical emergency and a second button 224 for the individual to indicate that they are experiencing a medical emergency.
[0034] Returning to FIG. 4 , it is determined whether a response from the individual is received within a predetermined period. Such a period may be preset or configured according to the individual's preferences. Such a period may be, for example, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds, or the like. According to some embodiments of the invention, different periods for response may be set depending on the parameter that the monitored pulse is determined to be outside at S 2 .
[0035] For example, a high heart rate may be the result of the individual exercising or have some other cause that is not necessarily indicative of a medical emergency. In such case, the period for response by the individual may be longer than, for example, if the monitored pulse is determined to be irregular or if a pulse is not detected. Such instances may be more indicative of a medical emergency, in which case the period for response may be shorter. One skilled in the art will recognize that heart rates can vary greatly between and among individuals and that the applicable period(s) for response may similarly vary between and among individuals.
[0036] If a response is received from the individual within the requisite period (i.e., Yes at S 4 ), it is determined at S 5 whether the individual's response indicates that they are experiencing a medical emergency. If not (i.e., No at S 5 ), data regarding the monitored pulse may optionally be stored at S 6 and flow returns to S 1 . Data stored at S 6 may be stored, for example, on device 100 itself, on mobile telephone 200 , or on a storage device 410 ( FIG. 3 ). According to some embodiments of the invention, storing data at, for example, S 6 , may include tagging or otherwise identifying such data for use in establishing or revising a pulse parameter, as will be explained in greater detail below.
[0037] If, on the other hand, it is determined that the individual's response indicates that they are experiencing a medical emergency (i.e., Yes at S 5 ), data regarding the monitored pulse may again optionally be stored at S 7 . In addition, an audible alert may optionally be activated at S 8 to alert bystanders, etc. to the wearer's situation. Similarly, if it is determined at S 4 that the individual did not respond within the requisite period (i.e., No at S 4 ), flow passes to S 7 and S 8 as noted above.
[0038] In either case, and whether or not data are stored at S 7 or an alert provided at S 8 , flow then passes to S 9 , where a communication is initiated. As noted above, such communication may include a communication with an emergency services provider 310 ( FIG. 3 ) and/or one or more emergency contacts 320 ( FIG. 3 ) such as a spouse, other family member, or physician. Similarly, the communication itself may take any number of forms, including, for example, a telephone call, an SMS message, etc. According to some embodiments of the invention, a GPS location, determined using device 100 and/or mobile telephone 200 may be included in such a communication. According to other embodiments of the invention, data regarding the monitored pulse may also be provided as part of such a communication.
[0039] FIG. 6 shows an expanded view of S 9 of FIG. 4 . As can be seen in FIG. 6 , communications initiated at S 9 may include calling an emergency services provider, providing the emergency services provider with a GPS location of the individual, and providing data regarding the monitored pulse. Similar steps may be taken when contacting emergency contact(s) or when sending an SMS message.
[0040] In the case that a voice call to an emergency services provider and/or emergency contact is made as part of the communication initiated at S 9 , GPS location data and pulse data may be provided in any number of ways. For example, such data may be provided electronically or converted to an audible signal as part of the voice call. In the case that an SMS message is sent as part of the communication initiated at S 9 , such data are provided electronically and may optionally be converted to speech according to any number of methods known in the art.
[0041] Returning to FIG. 4 , at S 10 , a persistent display may be forced on mobile telephone 200 in response to a determination that the individual either did not respond within the requisite period at S 4 or responded that the individual was experiencing a medical emergency at S 5 . A persistent display on mobile telephone is not subject to a sleep period or other time out period that may be set on the mobile telephone and will continue to be displayed until acted upon by a user.
[0042] It should be noted that although S 7 -S 10 are shown are shown in FIG. 4 as occurring in a particular order, this is neither necessary nor essential. For example, these steps may be carried out in a different order than that shown in FIG. 4 or may be carried out substantially simultaneously, as will be recognized by one skilled in the art.
[0043] FIG. 7 shows an example of such a persistent display on mobile telephone 200 . Here, display 210 includes pulse data 252 , allergy information regarding the individual 254 , medications currently prescribed to the individual 256 , and contact information for the individual's physician 258 , any of which may be of critical importance to emergency services personnel responding to the communication initiated at S 7 .
[0044] FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram of a method according to another embodiment of the invention. Here, an individual's pulse is monitored at S 11 , as described above. At S 12 , it is determined whether no pulse (asystole) is detected. If so (i.e., Yes at S 12 ), the individual and others around the individual may be alerted at S 13 as described above. It is determined at S 14 whether a response from the individual was received within a requisite period, also as described above. If so (i.e., Yes at S 14 ), it is determined at S 15 whether the response indicates that the individual is experiencing a medical emergency. If not (i.e., No at S 15 ), flow returns to S 11 . If the response does indicate that the individual is experiencing a medical emergency (i.e., Yes at S 15 ), a communication is initiated at S 16 , as described above, and a persistent display may optionally be forced on the mobile telephone or other electronic device at S 17 , also as described above. In any case, data regarding the monitored pulse may optionally be stored at any point in the flow of FIG. 8 , as described above, and as should be apparent from the description provided herein.
[0045] If, on the other hand, a pulse is detected (i.e., No at S 12 ), it may then be determined at S 18 whether the monitored pulse is consistent with being a low heart rate. If so (i.e., Yes at S 18 ), flow passes to S 13 as described above. If the monitored pulse is not consistent with being a low heart rate (i.e., No at S 18 ), it may then be determined at S 19 whether the monitored pulse is consistent with a high heart rate. If so (i.e., Yes at S 19 ), flow again passes to S 13 as described above. If the monitored pulse is not consistent with a high heart rate (i.e., No at S 19 ), it may then be determined at S 20 whether the monitored pulse is consistent with an irregular heart beat. If so (i.e., Yes at S 20 ), flow again passes to S 13 as described above. If the monitored pulse is not consistent with an irregular heart beat (i.e., No at S 20 ), flow returns to S 11 .
[0046] One skilled in the art will recognize that the method shown in the flow diagram of FIG. 8 is subject to any number of modifications, all of which are within the scope of the invention. For example, the position of each of S 12 , S 18 , S 19 , and S 20 may be exchanged with any other of this group. In addition, the step of storing data related to the monitored pulse, as noted above and shown at S 6 of FIG. 4 , may optionally be incorporated at any position within the flow diagram of FIG. 8 . Similarly, upon indication that a communication should be initiated, an audible alert, as shown, for example, at S 8 of FIG. 4 , may also be incorporated into the flow of FIG. 8 . One skilled in the art will recognize any number of other additions or modifications to the method described, all of which are intended to be within the scope of the invention.
[0047] Similarly, various components of the method shown in FIG. 8 may be omitted for one reason or another. For example, an individual may desire to continue wearing device 100 while exercising. It is quite likely, however, that such exercise will increase the individual's heart rate to the extent that a high heart rate alert would be detected. FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram according to another embodiment of the invention in which the high heart rate determination has been omitted. FIG. 10 shows display 210 of mobile telephone 200 with a high heart rate bypass 230 in place.
[0048] Other components of the method shown in FIG. 8 may similarly be omitted. For example, an individual may desire to continue wearing device 100 while sleeping. It is possible, however, that the individual's heart rate, during sleep, will decrease to the extent that a low heart rate alert would be detected. FIG. 11 shows a flow diagram according to another embodiment of the invention in which the low heart rate determination has been omitted. FIG. 12 shows display 210 of mobile telephone 200 with a low heart rate bypass 232 in place.
[0049] In other cases, an individual may desire not to be notified if no pulse is detected, but to be notified if a high, low, or irregular heart beat is detected. This may be the case, for example, where the individual intends to repeatedly remove device 100 . FIG. 13 shows a flow diagram according to another embodiment of the invention in which the no pulse (asystole) determination has been omitted. FIG. 14 shows a display 210 of a mobile telephone 200 with a no pulse (asystole) bypass 234 in place.
[0050] With respect to the methods shown in FIGS. 9,11, and 13 , it should be noted that the step of storing data related to the monitored pulse, as described above and shown at S 6 of FIG. 4 , may optionally be incorporated at any position within the flow diagram of any of FIG. 9,11 , or 13 . Similarly, upon indication that a communication should be initiated, an audible alert, as shown, for example, at S 8 of FIG. 4 , may also be incorporated into the flow of any of FIG. 9,11 , or 13 .
[0051] As noted above, the various parameters described herein (no pulse, high heart rate, low heart rate, irregular heart beat) may be preset using known average parameters or may be established with respect to each individual. To this extent, one embodiment of the invention includes a “learning mode” in which an individual's pulse is monitored and, optionally, alerts provided to the individual, but no communications are initiated.
[0052] For example, FIG. 15 shows a flow diagram of such a method. Here, it is determined at S 51 whether device 100 and/or mobile telephone 200 are in a learning mode. If not (i.e., No at S 51 ), flow passes to one of, for example, FIG. 8,9,11 , or 13 . If the device and/or mobile telephone 200 are in learning mode (i.e. Yes at S 51 ), the individual's pulse is monitored at S 52 , as described above. At S 53 , it is determined whether the monitored pulse is outside one or more parameter (e.g., no pulse, high heart rate, low heart rate, irregular heart beat), where such parameter is preset or based on default or average parameters. If not (i.e., No at S 53 ), flow returns to S 52 .
[0053] If the monitored pulse is determined to be outside one or more parameter (i.e., Yes at S 53 ), the individual can optionally be alerted to this at S 54 . The individual can then be prompted at S 55 to indicate whether a reason exists for the pulse to be outside a parameter (e.g., exercising, sleeping, device not worn, etc.). If a reason exists (i.e., Yes at S 55 ), flow may return to S 52 . The monitored pulse data would not want to be employed in calibrating the parameters to the individual, since a reason exists for the monitored pulse to be outside at least one parameter.
[0054] If a reason does not exist (i.e., No at S 55 ), the monitored pulse data may optionally be stored at S 56 . At S 57 , the monitored pulse data are used to recalibrate the one or more parameter that the monitored pulse was determined at S 53 to be outside. Flow may then return to S 52 and the recalibrated parameter employed at S 53 . The steps shown in FIG. 15 may then be iterated any number of times in order to calibrate the parameters to the individual. According to some embodiments of the invention, such steps may be iterated until the monitored pulse is determined not to be outside one or more parameter (i.e., No at S 53 ) for some predetermined period of time (e.g., 60 minutes, four hours, one day, one week, etc.).
[0055] FIG. 16 shows an illustrative system 910 for monitoring a pulse. To this extent, system 910 includes a computer infrastructure 912 that can perform the various process steps described herein for monitoring a pulse. In particular, computer infrastructure 912 is shown including a computer system 914 that comprises pulse monitoring system 940 , which enables computer system 914 to monitor a pulse by performing the process steps of the invention.
[0056] Computer system 914 is shown including a processing unit 920 , a memory 922 , input/output (I/O) interfaces 926 , and a bus 924 . Further, computer system 914 is shown in communication with external devices 928 and a storage system 930 . As is known in the art, in general, processing unit 920 executes computer program code, such as pulse monitoring system 940 , that is stored in memory 922 and/or storage system 930 . While executing computer program code, processing unit 920 can read and/or write data from/to memory 922 , storage system 930 , and/or I/O interface 926 . Bus 924 provides a communication link between each of the components in computer system 914 . External devices 928 can comprise any device that enables a user (not shown) to interact with computer system 914 or any device that enables computer system 914 to communicate with one or more other computer systems.
[0057] In any event, computer system 914 can comprise any general purpose computing article of manufacture capable of executing computer program code installed by a user (e.g., a personal computer, server, mobile telephone, tablet computer, handheld device, etc.). However, it is understood that computer system 914 and pulse monitoring system 940 are only representative of various possible computer systems that may perform the various process steps of the invention. To this extent, in other embodiments, computer system 914 can comprise any specific purpose computing article of manufacture comprising hardware and/or computer program code for performing specific functions, any computing article of manufacture that comprises a combination of specific purpose and general purpose hardware/software, or the like. In each case, the program code and hardware can be created using standard programming and engineering techniques, respectively.
[0058] Similarly, computer infrastructure 912 is only illustrative of various types of computer infrastructures for implementing the invention. For example, in one embodiment, computer infrastructure 912 comprises two or more computer systems (e.g., a server cluster) that communicate over any type of wired and/or wireless communications link, such as a network, a shared memory, or the like, to perform the various process steps of the invention. When the communications link comprises a network, the network can comprise any combination of one or more types of networks (e.g., the Internet, a wide area network, a local area network, a virtual private network, etc.). Regardless, communications between the computer systems may utilize any combination of various types of transmission techniques.
[0059] As previously mentioned, the pulse monitoring system 940 enables the computer system 914 to monitor a pulse. To this extent, the pulse monitoring system 940 is shown including a pulse detection system 942 , pulse analysis system 944 , pulse alert system 946 , response system 948 , communication system 950 , and persistent display system 952 . Operation of each of these systems is discussed above. The pulse monitoring system 940 may further include other system components 954 to provide additional or improved functionality to the pulse monitoring system 940 . It is understood that some of the various systems shown in FIG. 16 can be implemented independently, combined, and/or stored in memory for one or more separate computer systems 914 that communicate over a network. Further, it is understood that some of the systems and/or functionality may not be implemented, or additional systems and/or functionality may be included as part of system 910 .
[0060] While shown and described herein as a method, system, and device for monitoring a pulse, it is understood that the invention further provides various alternative embodiments. For example, in one embodiment, the invention provides a computer-readable medium that includes computer program code to enable a computer infrastructure to monitor a pulse. To this extent, the computer-readable medium includes program code, such as pulse monitoring system 940 , that implements each of the various process steps of the invention. It is understood that the term “computer-readable medium” comprises one or more of any type of physical embodiment of the program code. In particular, the computer-readable medium can comprise program code embodied on one or more portable storage articles of manufacture (e.g., a compact disc, a magnetic disk, a tape, etc.), on one or more data storage portions of a computer system, such as memory 922 and/or storage system 930 (e.g., a fixed disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a cache memory, etc.), and/or as a transitory data signal traveling over a network (e.g., during a wired/wireless electronic distribution of the program code).
[0061] In another embodiment, the invention provides a business method that performs the process steps of the invention on a subscription, advertising, and/or fee basis. That is, a service provider could offer to monitor a pulse, as described above. In this case, the service provider can create, maintain, support, etc., a computer infrastructure, such as computer infrastructure 912 , that performs the process steps of the invention for one or more customers. In return, the service provider can receive payment from the customer(s) under a subscription and/or fee agreement and/or the service provider can receive payment from the sale of advertising space to one or more third parties.
[0062] In still another embodiment, the invention provides a method of generating a system for monitoring a pulse. In this case, a computer infrastructure, such as computer infrastructure 912 , can be obtained (e.g., created, maintained, having made available to, etc.) and one or more systems for performing the process steps of the invention can be obtained (e.g., created, purchased, used, modified, etc.) and deployed to the computer infrastructure. To this extent, the deployment of each system can comprise one or more of (1) installing program code on a computer system, such as computer system 914 , from a computer-readable medium; (2) adding one or more computer systems to the computer infrastructure; and (3) incorporating and/or modifying one or more existing systems of the computer infrastructure, to enable the computer infrastructure to perform the process steps of the invention.
[0063] As used herein, it is understood that the terms “program code” and “computer program code” are synonymous and mean any expression, in any language, code or notation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a computer system having an information processing capability to perform a particular function either directly or after either or both of the following: (a) conversion to another language, code or notation; and (b) reproduction in a different material form. To this extent, program code can be embodied as one or more types of program products, such as an application/software program, component software/a library of functions, an operating system, a basic I/O system/driver for a particular computing and/or I/O device, and the like.
[0064] The foregoing description of various aspects of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and obviously, many modifications and variations are possible. Such modifications and variations that may be apparent to a person skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims. | The present invention relates generally to pulse monitoring and, more particularly, to a device, system, method, and program product for monitoring a user's pulse. In one embodiment, the invention provides a pulse monitoring device comprising: a device for detecting a pulse of an individual; and a transmission device for transmitting data related to the detected pulse. | Identify and summarize the most critical technical features from the given patent document. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims the benefit of co-pending U.S. provisional patent application Ser.",
"No. 62/129,695, filed 6 Mar. 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein as though fully set forth.",
"TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] The present invention relates generally to pulse monitoring and, more particularly, to a device, system, method, and program product for monitoring a user's pulse, transmitting data related to the pulse to a communication device, and, in the case that the user's heart rate and/or heart beat is determined to be outside a predetermined parameter, alert the user and/or initiate a communication using the communication device.",
"SUMMARY [0003] In one embodiment, the invention provides a pulse monitoring system comprising: a monitoring device for monitoring a pulse of an individual, the device being operable to detect a pulse and transmit data related to the detected pulse;",
"a communication device operable to receive data from the monitoring device and initiate a communication;",
"and a program product which, when executed, is operable to carry out a method comprising: receiving data related to the detected pulse;",
"analyzing the data related to the detected pulse and determining either or both of a heart rate or a heart beat regularity;",
"determining whether the data are indicative of a heart rate or heart beat outside a predetermined parameter;",
"and in the case that the data are indicative of a heart rate or heart beat being outside a predetermined parameter, initiating at least one of the following events: an alert to the individual, a communication, a transmission of data, or a storing of data.",
"[0004] In another embodiment, the invention provides a method of monitoring a pulse of an individual, the method comprising: receiving data related to a detected pulse of an individual;",
"analyzing the data related to the detected pulse and determining either or both of a heart rate or a heart beat regularity;",
"determining whether the data are indicative of a heart rate or heart beat being outside a predetermined parameter;",
"and in the case that the data is indicative of a heart rate or heart beat outside a predetermined parameter, initiating at least one of the following events: an alert to the individual, a communication, a transmission of data, or a storing of data.",
"[0005] In still another embodiment, the invention provides a pulse monitoring device comprising: a device for detecting a pulse of an individual;",
"and a transmission device for transmitting data related to the detected pulse.",
"[0006] In still yet another embodiment, the invention provides a program product stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, which when executed, is operable to carry out a method, the method comprising: receiving data related to a detected pulse of an individual;",
"analyzing data related to a detected pulse;",
"determining whether the data are indicative of a heart rate or a heart beat outside a predetermined parameter;",
"and initiating at least one of the following events: an alert to an individual, a communication, a transmission of data, or a storing of data.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0007] These and other features of this invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of the various aspects of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings that depict various embodiments of the invention, in which: [0008] FIGS. 1 and 2 show perspective views of a pulse monitoring device according to one embodiment of the invention;",
"[0009] FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of a pulse monitoring system according to an embodiment of the invention;",
"[0010] FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of a method according to an embodiment of the invention;",
"[0011] FIG. 5 shows a communication device used in accordance with an aspect of the method of FIG. 4 ;",
"[0012] FIG. 6 shows a detailed view of a portion of the flow diagram of FIG. 4 ;",
"[0013] FIG. 7 shows a communication device used in accordance with another aspect of the method of FIG. 4 ;",
"[0014] FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram of a method according to another embodiment of the invention;",
"[0015] FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram of a method according to yet another embodiment of the invention;",
"[0016] FIG. 10 shows a communication device used in accordance with an aspect of the method of FIG. 9 ;",
"[0017] FIG. 11 shows a flow diagram of a method according to still yet another embodiment of the invention;",
"[0018] FIG. 12 shows a communication device used in accordance with an aspect of the method of FIG. 11 ;",
"[0019] FIG. 13 shows a flow diagram of a method according to another embodiment of the invention;",
"[0020] FIG. 14 shows a communication device used in accordance with an aspect of the method of FIG. 13 ;",
"[0021] FIG. 15 shows a flow diagram of a method according to yet another embodiment of the invention;",
"and [0022] FIG. 16 shows a schematic view of a system according to an embodiment of the invention.",
"[0023] It is noted that the drawings of the invention are not to scale.",
"The drawings are intended to depict only typical aspects of the invention, and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention.",
"In the drawings, like numbering typically represents like elements between and among the drawings.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0024] Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a device 100 according to an embodiment of the invention.",
"Device 100 includes an elongate body 110 at either end of which is disposed a pulse sensor 120 , 122 , as may be known in the art.",
"As will be described in greater detail below, elongate body 110 is, in some embodiments of the invention, deformable such that it may be formed into a substantially circular or ovoid shape along its length, as shown, for example, in FIG. 2 .",
"One skilled in the art will recognize that, once so formed, pulse sensors 120 , 122 may be placed in contact with a wearer's wrist, thereby enabling sensing of the wearer's pulse.",
"Although a pair of pulse sensors 120 , 122 are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , and are shown disposed adjacent ends of elongate body 110 , this is neither necessary nor essential.",
"Any number of pulse sensors may be employed and may be employed at any number of locations along elongate body 110 .",
"In some embodiments of the invention, for example, device 100 may include a circular or ovoid body without ends and a plurality of pulse sensors disposed along its interior.",
"Other variations and modifications will be apparent to one skilled in the art in view of this disclosure and are within the scope of the invention.",
"[0025] Returning to FIG. 1 , device 100 may include a number of additional features.",
"For example, body 110 may include a Bluetooth device 130 or similar device for pairing device 100 with an electronic device, such as a mobile telephone.",
"In some embodiments of the invention, body 110 may include an alert mechanism 132 , such as, for example, a mechanism capable of providing a vibratory signal, a visual signal, and/or an auditory signal to a wearer or to those nearby the wearer.",
"Some embodiments of the invention may include a USB or similar port 136 for charging a battery providing electrical power to device 100 and/or transferring data to or from device 100 .",
"In other embodiments of the invention, device 100 may include a chamber (not shown) for housing a removable battery device.",
"[0026] In still other embodiments of the invention, device 100 may include a display device (not shown) for projecting a display onto a surface, such as, for example, a wearer's skin.",
"In particular, such a display may be projected onto a wearer's forearm.",
"As will be explained in greater detail below, such an embodiment may be useful for displaying or presenting an alert to a wearer.",
"In some embodiments of the invention, a display such as that described may include functionality such as communication between device 100 and the wearer.",
"In still other embodiments of the invention, such a display may facilitate communication as may be made using a mobile telephone, etc.",
", in the case that device 100 further includes such functionality.",
"[0027] While device 100 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 as a bracelet-like device to be worn about a wearer's wrist, this is neither necessary nor essential.",
"Other devices may be employed to monitor an individual's pulse.",
"For example, such devices may include clothing items (e.g., shirts, socks, undergarments, hats, headbands, watches, rings, etc.) or other wearable devices (e.g., chest straps, etc.) with one or more pulse sensors incorporated therein.",
"In still other embodiments of the invention, the functionality of such devices may be incorporated into an implantable device, such as a pacemaker, defibrillator, or similar device.",
"In such an embodiment, the implantable device may be operable to indicate whether the pulse monitoring device has been activated.",
"For purposes of simplicity and illustration only, device 100 will be shown and described as a bracelet-like device to be worn about a wearer's wrist.",
"[0028] In any event, HR sensors 120 , 122 are operable to detect and/or measure a pulse of a wearer and communicate such detection and/or measurement to an electronic device, such as a mobile telephone.",
"As one skilled in the art will recognize, a detected and/or measured pulse may be employed to determine either or both of a corresponding heart rate or a heart beat regularity.",
"[0029] FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of device 100 and a mobile telephone 200 , with communication 180 therebetween.",
"As noted above, such communication 180 may be by way of, for example, Bluetooth communication.",
"Other methods, mechanisms, means, or protocols for communication between device 100 and mobile telephone 200 may be employed, as will be recognized by one skilled in the art.",
"Similarly, mobile telephone 200 is but one example of an electronic device with which device 100 may communicate.",
"Other electronic devices include, for example, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a wearable electronic device, etc.",
"For purposes of simplicity and illustration only, the communications device with which device 100 communicates will be described hereafter as a mobile telephone 200 .",
"[0030] As shown in FIG. 3 , mobile telephone 200 is configured for use with a mobile or satellite communications system 300 .",
"Mobile telephone 200 may communicate 280 with communications system 300 via, for example, a cellular or satellite system, a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) system, a short message system (SMS) component of a cellular phone network, etc.",
"In still other embodiments of the invention, device 100 and/or mobile telephone 200 may be configured for communication 182 , 282 , respectively, with or via a wireless Internet network 400 .",
"Wireless Internet network 400 may include or have connected to it a storage device 410 for storing and/or retrieving data collected by or from device 100 and/or mobile telephone 200 .",
"According to some embodiments, storage device 410 may include a cloud storage device (e.g., a remotely-located storage device to which data may be stored and/or retrieved).",
"[0031] As will be explained in greater detail below, upon detection of a pulse of a wearer that is outside a normal or predetermined parameter, device 100 may communicate 180 data regarding such pulse to mobile telephone 200 and/or communicate 182 such data to or via wireless Internet network 400 .",
"In the event that such data are communicated to mobile telephone 200 , mobile telephone 200 may, according to some embodiments of the invention, initiate a communication 380 , 382 via communications system 300 with an emergency services provider 310 and/or one or more predetermined emergency contacts 320 , respectively.",
"[0032] FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of a method according to one embodiment of the invention.",
"At S 1 , a wearer's pulse is monitored using a device 100 according to the invention.",
"At S 2 it is determined whether the pulse monitored at S 1 is outside a parameter.",
"Such a parameter may include, for example, a minimum heart rate (below which would indicate a low heart rate), a maximum heart rate (above which would indicate a high heart rate), a heart beat regularity (outside which would indicate an irregular heart beat), or the absence of a pulse.",
"Such a parameter may be predetermined or may be calibrated to a particular individual during a “learning”",
"period, which will be described in greater detail below.",
"Regardless, if a monitored pulse is determined not to be outside a parameter (i.e., No at S 2 ), flow reverts to S 1 and pulse monitoring continues.",
"[0033] If, instead, a monitored pulse is determined at S 2 to be outside a parameter (i.e., Yes at S 2 ), the individual whose pulse is being monitored is alerted at S 3 .",
"Such an alert may be made using, for example, the alert mechanism 132 ( FIG. 1 ) of device 100 and/or mobile telephone 200 ( FIG. 3 ) and may include, for example, a visual, a tactile (e.g., vibratory) signal and/or an audible signal capable of alerting the individual and those nearby the individual.",
"For example, FIG. 5 shows a detailed view of mobile telephone 200 , in which the screen 210 includes an alert 220 according to one embodiment of the invention.",
"Here, screen 210 includes a visual alert 220 regarding the monitored pulse and further includes a first button 222 for an individual to indicate that they are not experiencing a medical emergency and a second button 224 for the individual to indicate that they are experiencing a medical emergency.",
"[0034] Returning to FIG. 4 , it is determined whether a response from the individual is received within a predetermined period.",
"Such a period may be preset or configured according to the individual's preferences.",
"Such a period may be, for example, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds, or the like.",
"According to some embodiments of the invention, different periods for response may be set depending on the parameter that the monitored pulse is determined to be outside at S 2 .",
"[0035] For example, a high heart rate may be the result of the individual exercising or have some other cause that is not necessarily indicative of a medical emergency.",
"In such case, the period for response by the individual may be longer than, for example, if the monitored pulse is determined to be irregular or if a pulse is not detected.",
"Such instances may be more indicative of a medical emergency, in which case the period for response may be shorter.",
"One skilled in the art will recognize that heart rates can vary greatly between and among individuals and that the applicable period(s) for response may similarly vary between and among individuals.",
"[0036] If a response is received from the individual within the requisite period (i.e., Yes at S 4 ), it is determined at S 5 whether the individual's response indicates that they are experiencing a medical emergency.",
"If not (i.e., No at S 5 ), data regarding the monitored pulse may optionally be stored at S 6 and flow returns to S 1 .",
"Data stored at S 6 may be stored, for example, on device 100 itself, on mobile telephone 200 , or on a storage device 410 ( FIG. 3 ).",
"According to some embodiments of the invention, storing data at, for example, S 6 , may include tagging or otherwise identifying such data for use in establishing or revising a pulse parameter, as will be explained in greater detail below.",
"[0037] If, on the other hand, it is determined that the individual's response indicates that they are experiencing a medical emergency (i.e., Yes at S 5 ), data regarding the monitored pulse may again optionally be stored at S 7 .",
"In addition, an audible alert may optionally be activated at S 8 to alert bystanders, etc.",
"to the wearer's situation.",
"Similarly, if it is determined at S 4 that the individual did not respond within the requisite period (i.e., No at S 4 ), flow passes to S 7 and S 8 as noted above.",
"[0038] In either case, and whether or not data are stored at S 7 or an alert provided at S 8 , flow then passes to S 9 , where a communication is initiated.",
"As noted above, such communication may include a communication with an emergency services provider 310 ( FIG. 3 ) and/or one or more emergency contacts 320 ( FIG. 3 ) such as a spouse, other family member, or physician.",
"Similarly, the communication itself may take any number of forms, including, for example, a telephone call, an SMS message, etc.",
"According to some embodiments of the invention, a GPS location, determined using device 100 and/or mobile telephone 200 may be included in such a communication.",
"According to other embodiments of the invention, data regarding the monitored pulse may also be provided as part of such a communication.",
"[0039] FIG. 6 shows an expanded view of S 9 of FIG. 4 .",
"As can be seen in FIG. 6 , communications initiated at S 9 may include calling an emergency services provider, providing the emergency services provider with a GPS location of the individual, and providing data regarding the monitored pulse.",
"Similar steps may be taken when contacting emergency contact(s) or when sending an SMS message.",
"[0040] In the case that a voice call to an emergency services provider and/or emergency contact is made as part of the communication initiated at S 9 , GPS location data and pulse data may be provided in any number of ways.",
"For example, such data may be provided electronically or converted to an audible signal as part of the voice call.",
"In the case that an SMS message is sent as part of the communication initiated at S 9 , such data are provided electronically and may optionally be converted to speech according to any number of methods known in the art.",
"[0041] Returning to FIG. 4 , at S 10 , a persistent display may be forced on mobile telephone 200 in response to a determination that the individual either did not respond within the requisite period at S 4 or responded that the individual was experiencing a medical emergency at S 5 .",
"A persistent display on mobile telephone is not subject to a sleep period or other time out period that may be set on the mobile telephone and will continue to be displayed until acted upon by a user.",
"[0042] It should be noted that although S 7 -S 10 are shown are shown in FIG. 4 as occurring in a particular order, this is neither necessary nor essential.",
"For example, these steps may be carried out in a different order than that shown in FIG. 4 or may be carried out substantially simultaneously, as will be recognized by one skilled in the art.",
"[0043] FIG. 7 shows an example of such a persistent display on mobile telephone 200 .",
"Here, display 210 includes pulse data 252 , allergy information regarding the individual 254 , medications currently prescribed to the individual 256 , and contact information for the individual's physician 258 , any of which may be of critical importance to emergency services personnel responding to the communication initiated at S 7 .",
"[0044] FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram of a method according to another embodiment of the invention.",
"Here, an individual's pulse is monitored at S 11 , as described above.",
"At S 12 , it is determined whether no pulse (asystole) is detected.",
"If so (i.e., Yes at S 12 ), the individual and others around the individual may be alerted at S 13 as described above.",
"It is determined at S 14 whether a response from the individual was received within a requisite period, also as described above.",
"If so (i.e., Yes at S 14 ), it is determined at S 15 whether the response indicates that the individual is experiencing a medical emergency.",
"If not (i.e., No at S 15 ), flow returns to S 11 .",
"If the response does indicate that the individual is experiencing a medical emergency (i.e., Yes at S 15 ), a communication is initiated at S 16 , as described above, and a persistent display may optionally be forced on the mobile telephone or other electronic device at S 17 , also as described above.",
"In any case, data regarding the monitored pulse may optionally be stored at any point in the flow of FIG. 8 , as described above, and as should be apparent from the description provided herein.",
"[0045] If, on the other hand, a pulse is detected (i.e., No at S 12 ), it may then be determined at S 18 whether the monitored pulse is consistent with being a low heart rate.",
"If so (i.e., Yes at S 18 ), flow passes to S 13 as described above.",
"If the monitored pulse is not consistent with being a low heart rate (i.e., No at S 18 ), it may then be determined at S 19 whether the monitored pulse is consistent with a high heart rate.",
"If so (i.e., Yes at S 19 ), flow again passes to S 13 as described above.",
"If the monitored pulse is not consistent with a high heart rate (i.e., No at S 19 ), it may then be determined at S 20 whether the monitored pulse is consistent with an irregular heart beat.",
"If so (i.e., Yes at S 20 ), flow again passes to S 13 as described above.",
"If the monitored pulse is not consistent with an irregular heart beat (i.e., No at S 20 ), flow returns to S 11 .",
"[0046] One skilled in the art will recognize that the method shown in the flow diagram of FIG. 8 is subject to any number of modifications, all of which are within the scope of the invention.",
"For example, the position of each of S 12 , S 18 , S 19 , and S 20 may be exchanged with any other of this group.",
"In addition, the step of storing data related to the monitored pulse, as noted above and shown at S 6 of FIG. 4 , may optionally be incorporated at any position within the flow diagram of FIG. 8 .",
"Similarly, upon indication that a communication should be initiated, an audible alert, as shown, for example, at S 8 of FIG. 4 , may also be incorporated into the flow of FIG. 8 .",
"One skilled in the art will recognize any number of other additions or modifications to the method described, all of which are intended to be within the scope of the invention.",
"[0047] Similarly, various components of the method shown in FIG. 8 may be omitted for one reason or another.",
"For example, an individual may desire to continue wearing device 100 while exercising.",
"It is quite likely, however, that such exercise will increase the individual's heart rate to the extent that a high heart rate alert would be detected.",
"FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram according to another embodiment of the invention in which the high heart rate determination has been omitted.",
"FIG. 10 shows display 210 of mobile telephone 200 with a high heart rate bypass 230 in place.",
"[0048] Other components of the method shown in FIG. 8 may similarly be omitted.",
"For example, an individual may desire to continue wearing device 100 while sleeping.",
"It is possible, however, that the individual's heart rate, during sleep, will decrease to the extent that a low heart rate alert would be detected.",
"FIG. 11 shows a flow diagram according to another embodiment of the invention in which the low heart rate determination has been omitted.",
"FIG. 12 shows display 210 of mobile telephone 200 with a low heart rate bypass 232 in place.",
"[0049] In other cases, an individual may desire not to be notified if no pulse is detected, but to be notified if a high, low, or irregular heart beat is detected.",
"This may be the case, for example, where the individual intends to repeatedly remove device 100 .",
"FIG. 13 shows a flow diagram according to another embodiment of the invention in which the no pulse (asystole) determination has been omitted.",
"FIG. 14 shows a display 210 of a mobile telephone 200 with a no pulse (asystole) bypass 234 in place.",
"[0050] With respect to the methods shown in FIGS. 9,11, and 13 , it should be noted that the step of storing data related to the monitored pulse, as described above and shown at S 6 of FIG. 4 , may optionally be incorporated at any position within the flow diagram of any of FIG. 9,11 , or 13 .",
"Similarly, upon indication that a communication should be initiated, an audible alert, as shown, for example, at S 8 of FIG. 4 , may also be incorporated into the flow of any of FIG. 9,11 , or 13 .",
"[0051] As noted above, the various parameters described herein (no pulse, high heart rate, low heart rate, irregular heart beat) may be preset using known average parameters or may be established with respect to each individual.",
"To this extent, one embodiment of the invention includes a “learning mode”",
"in which an individual's pulse is monitored and, optionally, alerts provided to the individual, but no communications are initiated.",
"[0052] For example, FIG. 15 shows a flow diagram of such a method.",
"Here, it is determined at S 51 whether device 100 and/or mobile telephone 200 are in a learning mode.",
"If not (i.e., No at S 51 ), flow passes to one of, for example, FIG. 8,9,11 , or 13 .",
"If the device and/or mobile telephone 200 are in learning mode (i.e. Yes at S 51 ), the individual's pulse is monitored at S 52 , as described above.",
"At S 53 , it is determined whether the monitored pulse is outside one or more parameter (e.g., no pulse, high heart rate, low heart rate, irregular heart beat), where such parameter is preset or based on default or average parameters.",
"If not (i.e., No at S 53 ), flow returns to S 52 .",
"[0053] If the monitored pulse is determined to be outside one or more parameter (i.e., Yes at S 53 ), the individual can optionally be alerted to this at S 54 .",
"The individual can then be prompted at S 55 to indicate whether a reason exists for the pulse to be outside a parameter (e.g., exercising, sleeping, device not worn, etc.).",
"If a reason exists (i.e., Yes at S 55 ), flow may return to S 52 .",
"The monitored pulse data would not want to be employed in calibrating the parameters to the individual, since a reason exists for the monitored pulse to be outside at least one parameter.",
"[0054] If a reason does not exist (i.e., No at S 55 ), the monitored pulse data may optionally be stored at S 56 .",
"At S 57 , the monitored pulse data are used to recalibrate the one or more parameter that the monitored pulse was determined at S 53 to be outside.",
"Flow may then return to S 52 and the recalibrated parameter employed at S 53 .",
"The steps shown in FIG. 15 may then be iterated any number of times in order to calibrate the parameters to the individual.",
"According to some embodiments of the invention, such steps may be iterated until the monitored pulse is determined not to be outside one or more parameter (i.e., No at S 53 ) for some predetermined period of time (e.g., 60 minutes, four hours, one day, one week, etc.).",
"[0055] FIG. 16 shows an illustrative system 910 for monitoring a pulse.",
"To this extent, system 910 includes a computer infrastructure 912 that can perform the various process steps described herein for monitoring a pulse.",
"In particular, computer infrastructure 912 is shown including a computer system 914 that comprises pulse monitoring system 940 , which enables computer system 914 to monitor a pulse by performing the process steps of the invention.",
"[0056] Computer system 914 is shown including a processing unit 920 , a memory 922 , input/output (I/O) interfaces 926 , and a bus 924 .",
"Further, computer system 914 is shown in communication with external devices 928 and a storage system 930 .",
"As is known in the art, in general, processing unit 920 executes computer program code, such as pulse monitoring system 940 , that is stored in memory 922 and/or storage system 930 .",
"While executing computer program code, processing unit 920 can read and/or write data from/to memory 922 , storage system 930 , and/or I/O interface 926 .",
"Bus 924 provides a communication link between each of the components in computer system 914 .",
"External devices 928 can comprise any device that enables a user (not shown) to interact with computer system 914 or any device that enables computer system 914 to communicate with one or more other computer systems.",
"[0057] In any event, computer system 914 can comprise any general purpose computing article of manufacture capable of executing computer program code installed by a user (e.g., a personal computer, server, mobile telephone, tablet computer, handheld device, etc.).",
"However, it is understood that computer system 914 and pulse monitoring system 940 are only representative of various possible computer systems that may perform the various process steps of the invention.",
"To this extent, in other embodiments, computer system 914 can comprise any specific purpose computing article of manufacture comprising hardware and/or computer program code for performing specific functions, any computing article of manufacture that comprises a combination of specific purpose and general purpose hardware/software, or the like.",
"In each case, the program code and hardware can be created using standard programming and engineering techniques, respectively.",
"[0058] Similarly, computer infrastructure 912 is only illustrative of various types of computer infrastructures for implementing the invention.",
"For example, in one embodiment, computer infrastructure 912 comprises two or more computer systems (e.g., a server cluster) that communicate over any type of wired and/or wireless communications link, such as a network, a shared memory, or the like, to perform the various process steps of the invention.",
"When the communications link comprises a network, the network can comprise any combination of one or more types of networks (e.g., the Internet, a wide area network, a local area network, a virtual private network, etc.).",
"Regardless, communications between the computer systems may utilize any combination of various types of transmission techniques.",
"[0059] As previously mentioned, the pulse monitoring system 940 enables the computer system 914 to monitor a pulse.",
"To this extent, the pulse monitoring system 940 is shown including a pulse detection system 942 , pulse analysis system 944 , pulse alert system 946 , response system 948 , communication system 950 , and persistent display system 952 .",
"Operation of each of these systems is discussed above.",
"The pulse monitoring system 940 may further include other system components 954 to provide additional or improved functionality to the pulse monitoring system 940 .",
"It is understood that some of the various systems shown in FIG. 16 can be implemented independently, combined, and/or stored in memory for one or more separate computer systems 914 that communicate over a network.",
"Further, it is understood that some of the systems and/or functionality may not be implemented, or additional systems and/or functionality may be included as part of system 910 .",
"[0060] While shown and described herein as a method, system, and device for monitoring a pulse, it is understood that the invention further provides various alternative embodiments.",
"For example, in one embodiment, the invention provides a computer-readable medium that includes computer program code to enable a computer infrastructure to monitor a pulse.",
"To this extent, the computer-readable medium includes program code, such as pulse monitoring system 940 , that implements each of the various process steps of the invention.",
"It is understood that the term “computer-readable medium”",
"comprises one or more of any type of physical embodiment of the program code.",
"In particular, the computer-readable medium can comprise program code embodied on one or more portable storage articles of manufacture (e.g., a compact disc, a magnetic disk, a tape, etc.), on one or more data storage portions of a computer system, such as memory 922 and/or storage system 930 (e.g., a fixed disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a cache memory, etc.), and/or as a transitory data signal traveling over a network (e.g., during a wired/wireless electronic distribution of the program code).",
"[0061] In another embodiment, the invention provides a business method that performs the process steps of the invention on a subscription, advertising, and/or fee basis.",
"That is, a service provider could offer to monitor a pulse, as described above.",
"In this case, the service provider can create, maintain, support, etc.",
", a computer infrastructure, such as computer infrastructure 912 , that performs the process steps of the invention for one or more customers.",
"In return, the service provider can receive payment from the customer(s) under a subscription and/or fee agreement and/or the service provider can receive payment from the sale of advertising space to one or more third parties.",
"[0062] In still another embodiment, the invention provides a method of generating a system for monitoring a pulse.",
"In this case, a computer infrastructure, such as computer infrastructure 912 , can be obtained (e.g., created, maintained, having made available to, etc.) and one or more systems for performing the process steps of the invention can be obtained (e.g., created, purchased, used, modified, etc.) and deployed to the computer infrastructure.",
"To this extent, the deployment of each system can comprise one or more of (1) installing program code on a computer system, such as computer system 914 , from a computer-readable medium;",
"(2) adding one or more computer systems to the computer infrastructure;",
"and (3) incorporating and/or modifying one or more existing systems of the computer infrastructure, to enable the computer infrastructure to perform the process steps of the invention.",
"[0063] As used herein, it is understood that the terms “program code”",
"and “computer program code”",
"are synonymous and mean any expression, in any language, code or notation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a computer system having an information processing capability to perform a particular function either directly or after either or both of the following: (a) conversion to another language, code or notation;",
"and (b) reproduction in a different material form.",
"To this extent, program code can be embodied as one or more types of program products, such as an application/software program, component software/a library of functions, an operating system, a basic I/O system/driver for a particular computing and/or I/O device, and the like.",
"[0064] The foregoing description of various aspects of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description.",
"It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and obviously, many modifications and variations are possible.",
"Such modifications and variations that may be apparent to a person skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims."
] |
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/241,752 filed May 12, 1994 now abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for controlling hydraulic construction equipment, and more particularly to an apparatus and a method for controlling a moving speed of each bucket and a moving speed ratio between each bucket to be proportional to a degree of operation of each operation indicator and an operation ratio between each operation indicator regardless of changes in various working conditions or load pressures.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, hydraulic construction equipment such as excavators, loaders and dozers have the buckets moved by using a plurality of variable displacement pumps and a plurality of hydraulic cylinders, and these buckets are operated by various operation indicators such as joystick, pedal, lever, etc.
The design of such equipment is attempted so that the moving speed of each bucket and the moving speed ratio between each bucket can be proportional to the degree of operation of each operation indicator and the operation ratio between each operation indicator, and the oil amount supplied from the pump is proportional to the degree of operation of each operation indicator in order to produce the moving speed required by each bucket.
However, since the pump has a limit value of the mechanical maximum discharge amount of oil, and the load pressure varies depending on the working conditions such as excavation, dumping and ground leveling, there have been problems that the sum of the oil amounts required to produce the moving speed of the bucket corresponding to the degree of operation required by the operation indicator often exceeds the maximum dischargeable amount of oil for a given load pressure. Moreover, in case of the combined moving of the buckets, the actual speed ratio of each bucket does not accurately correspond to the operation ratio of the operation indicator.
In other words, since the moving speed of each bucket and the moving speed ratio between of each bucket are not accurately proportional to the degree of operation of each operation indicator and the operation ratio between each operation indicator, there has been drawback of lowering the work efficiency.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for controlling a moving speed of each bucket and a moving speed ratio between each bucket to be accurately proportional to a degree of operation of each operation indicator and an operation ratio between each operation indicator regardless of changes in various working conditions and load pressures in a hydraulic construction equipment.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for controlling hydraulic construction equipment, comprising: means for receiving an operation command from an input portion and converting said operation command into an operation signal; means for calculating a required discharge oil amount of a pump which is proportional to said operation signal and a required moving speed of an actuator which is proportional to the degree of operation and the operation ratio of said operation signal; means for adjusting said required discharge oil amount and said required moving speed based on a maximum dischargeable oil amount of said pump; means for subtracting a real discharge oil amount and a real moving speed from said adjusted discharge oil amount and said adjusted moving speed; means for controlling the discharge oil amount of said pump according to the control signal from said subtracting means; and means for controlling the moving speed of said actuator according to the control signal from said substracting means.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a hydraulic construction equipment, comprising the steps of: (1) calculating a necessary discharge oil amount required for the moving of actuators according to a reference input signal for controlling an oil amount of pumps with a left-hand and a right-hand sides, another reference input signal for controlling a moving speed of said actuators, and maximum dischargeable oil amount signal of said pumps; (2) determining a required discharge oil amount for the left-hand side pump according to a comparison between a sum of a necessary oil amounts required for the moving of the actuators corresponding to the left-hand side pump and a maximum dischargeable oil amount of the left-hand side pump; (3) determining a required discharge oil amount for the right-hand side pump according to a comparison between a sum of a necessary oil amounts required for the moving of the actuators corresponding to the right-hand side pump and a maximum dischargeable oil amount of the right-hand side pump; and (4) generating a reference input signal for controlling the oil amount of said pumps and another reference input signal for controlling the moving speed of said actuators according to said required discharge oil amounts of said second and third steps.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic hydraulic circuit diagram illustrating an overall hydraulic system of an excavator
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the control unit of the present invention
FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of the control unit of the present invention
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the calculation of Vref of the actuating device as being set proportional to the actuating amount of the operation indicator signals.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the calculation of Qref of the actuating device as being set proportional to the actuating amount of the operation indicator signals.
FIG. 6(a) is a diagram illustrating the calculation of Qmax, total as detected by pressure detectors in the case where oil amount individually flow through the proportion valves.
FIG. 6(b) is a diagram illustrating the calculation of Qmax, left/right as detected by pressure detectors in the case where oil amount mixedly flow through the proportion valves.
FIG. 7(a) is a diagram illustrating the length "d" of the boom cylinder as calculated by the signal generated by the boom angle detector.
FIG. 7(b) is a diagram illustrating the inner structure of the boom cylinder.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the following, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic hydraulic circuit diagram illustrating an overall hydraulic system of an excavator which represents one of the typical hydraulic construction equipment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the hydraulic system of the present invention has an engine 25 as a power source, a first and a second variable displacement pumps 35a, 35b operated by the engine 25, a first and a second pump regulation valves 45a, 45b for controlling the discharge oil of the first and second pumps 35a, 35b respectively, a first and a second pressure detectors 55a, 55b for detecting the discharge pressures from the first and the second pumps 35a, 35b, a first and a second oil amount detectors 65a, 65b for detecting the discharge oil amounts from the first and the second pumps 35a, 35b, and operation indicator 75 of the buckets using a switch or a touch sensor, a controller 85 containing a microcomputer for controlling the overall operation by receiving the input signal from the operation indicator, a first and a second solenoid controlled proportion valves 95a, 95b for controlling the oil amount by receiving the electrical signals from the controller 85, a dipper stick cylinder 105a for actuating the dipper stick of the excavator, a boom cylinder 105b for actuating the boom of the excavator, a boom speed detector 115a located at the joint part of the upper frame of the excavator and the boom, and a dipper stick speed detector 115b located at the joint part of the boom and the dipper stick.
In the following, the operation of the hydraulic construction equipment in the above will be described.
Based on the degree of operation put in through the operation indicator 75, and the data detected from the dipper stick speed detector 115b and the boom speed detector 115a, the signal values are calculated by the controller 85. Once the engine 25 is operated by the calculated signal values, the first and the second pump regulation valves 45a, 45b control the first and the second variable displacement pumps 35a, 35b to supply the sum of the oil amounts proportional to the degree of operation given by the operation indicator 75, and the first and the second solenoid controlled proportion valves 95a, 95b control the oil amounts supplied to the dipper stick cylinder 105a and the boom cylinder 105b to be proportional to the degree of operation and the operation ratio given by the operation indicator 75.
FIG. 2 represents the block diagram of the controller of the present invention.
After the operation signals given by the operation indicator 20, such as electric joystick, pedal or other actuating devices, are detected by an operation calculator 30, the required discharge amount of oil proportional to the degree of operation, i.e., the reference input signal Qref for controlling the oil amount of the pump, the required moving speed of the bucket proportional to the degree of operation and the operation ratio of the operation signals, i.e., the reference input signal Vref for controlling the moving speed of the bucket, and the maximum dischargeable oil amount signals Qmax detected by the first and the second pressure detectors 55a, 55b are calculated. Signals from operation indicator 20 to the calculator 30 represent electric actuating signals from the operation indicator 20.
Specifically, the required speed Vref of the actuating device is set to be proportional to the direction of the actuating amount signal "J" detected by the operation indicator 20 and represented by the horizontal axis, as shown in FIG. 4. This means that the required speed of the actuating device is increased in proportion to the level of the actuating signal of the operation indicator 20. This also means that the level of the actuating signal of the operation indicator 20 is high as the required speed of the actuating device is increased. That is, the Vref calculation in the operation calculator 30 is determined by a function Vref=f(J) proportional to the signal of the operation indicator 20 as shown in FIG. 4.
As shown in FIG. 5, the required discharge oil amount Qref of the pump is set to be proportional to the actuating amount J of the operation indicator 20. This means that the required speed Vref of the actuating device is increased in proportion to the level of the actuating signal, and accordingly, the required discharge oil amount Qref is increased as the level of the actuating signal is increased as shown in FIG. 5. The required speed Vref of the actuating device is reduced as the level of the actuating signal of the operation indicator is low, and accordingly the required discharge oil amount Qref is decreased. The Qref calculation in the operation calculator 30 is determined by a function Qref=g(J) proportional to the signal of the operation indicator 20.
As shown in FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b), the maximum discharge oil amount signals Qmax is calculated according to the pressures p 1 and p 2 as detected by pressure detectors 55a and 55b. Specifically, Qmax is calculated in two cases: 1) In the case shown in FIG. 6(a), Qmax, total is determined as a function of the combined oil amount flow from the variable displacement pump 35a and 35b through the solenoid controlled proportion valves 95a and 95b to the cylinders 105a and 105b to drive the actuating device; and 2) In the case shown in FIG. 6(b), Qmax, left(right) is determined as a function of the individual oil amount flow from the variable displacement pumps 35a (35b) flow through the solenoid controlled proportion valves 95a (95b) to the cylinders 105a(105b) to drive the actuating device.
Then, based on the reference input signal Qref for controlling the oil amount of the pump, the reference input signal Vref for controlling the moving speed of the bucket, and the maximum dischargeable oil amount signal Qmax, a speed and oil amount control unit 40 adjusts the reference input signals Qref and Vref to+Qre2 and+Vref respectively, and sends these adjusted input signals to an oil amount controller 50 and a speed controller 70.
The oil amount controller 50 performs the calculation for controlling the discharge amount of the pump based on the reference input signal+Qref2 and the real discharge oil amount signal Qreal with an error(Eq) detected from the oil amount detectors 65a, 65b shown in FIG. 1, and sends out an oil amount control signal Vpump to the first and the second pump regulation valves 45a, 45b of the pump system comprising pumps 35a, 35b indicated as block 60 in FIG. 2.
On the other hand, the speed controller 70 performs the calculation for controlling the moving speed of the bucket based on the reference input signal+Vref2 and the real moving speed Vreal with an error Ev detected from the boom speed detector 115a and the dipper stick speed detector 115b shown in FIG. 1, and sends out a speed control signal Vmcv to the first and the second solenoid controlled proportion valves 95a, 95b for controlling the cylinders 105a,b and boom and dipper stick of the actuator system 80 as indicated in FIG. 2.
The operation of the control unit 40 will be described in more detail with reference to the flow diagram shown in FIG. 3.
The operation calculator 30, according to the operation signal given by the operation indicator 20, produces the reference input signal Qref for controlling the oil amount proportional to the degree of operation, the reference input signal Vref for controlling the moving speed proportional to the degree of operation and the operation ratio, and the maximum dischargeable oil amount signal Qmax (step 1).
The necessary oil amount Q ACT required for the actuation of each bucket is calculated by the reference input signal Vref for controlling the moving speed through well-known calculation process(step 2). Specifically, the calculation of Q ACT based on Vref is shown by way of the following example of the "boom" driven by the boom cylinder 105b as shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 7(a), the length "d" of the boom cylinder 105a is calculated by the signal representing the angle "φ" detected from the boom angle detector 115a as set forth in equation 1) as follows:
d=L.sub.AC.sup.2 +L.sub.AB.sup.2 -2AB L.sub.AC COS (φ+θ1θ2) (1)
wherein L AC , L AB , θ1 and θ2 represent the fixed values regardless of the time determined by the boom structure. From this, a second calculation is made as set forth in equation 2):
d'=φ'(L.sub.AC L.sub.AB sin(φ)/ d) (2)
wherein d' represents a change ratio of the length per hour of the boom cylinder, and φ' represents a boom speed signal from the boom speed detector 115a. A third calculation is then made as follows:
δφ=φ' δt, wherein δt represents an hour of time, and δφ represents the change amount of the boom angle signal.
FIG. 7(b) shows an inner structure of boom cylinder 105b of FIG. 1. The term d', i.e., the change ratio of a cylinder length d, is calculated in accordance with the oil amount to the cylinder Q ACT and the width of the piston inside the cylinder as set forth in equations 3a) and 3b) as follows:
In case that the cylinder length is increased: d'=Q.sub.ACT 1/A1 (3a)
In case that the cylinder length is decreased: d'=Q.sub.ACT 2/A2 (3b)
where A1 and A2 represent the width of the piston inside the cylinder as shown in FIG. 7(b). In equations 3a,b, the increase or decrease of the cylinder length is determined by the direction of the signal J detected from the operation indicator 20. From equations 3a,b, equations 4a,b, are readily determined, respectively, as follows:
Q.sub.ACT =A1 d' (4a)
Q.sub.ACT =A2 d' (4b)
Equation 4a) governs the case where the signal J from the operation indicator is in upward direction and equation 4b) governs the case that the signal J from the operation indicator is in downward direction.
As mentioned above, the required speed Vref is determined by Vref=f(J) as shown in FIG. 4. V REF is the same to the boom speed signal φ' from the boom speed detector, i.e., the real speed of rotation. Thus, Q ACT =k(J,φ). The calculation of Q ACT from the above equations is performed in the speed and oil amount control unit 40 in FIG. 2.
After the required oil amounts are calculated from step 1 and step 2, it is determined whether or not the adding-up condition of pump can be satisfied(step 3).
Here, the adding-up condition of the pumps means that when more than one buckets are actuated in combination, the oil amounts discharged from more than one pumps are added up and supplied to any one of the buckets.
If the adding-up condition can be satisfied in step 3, the sum of the oil amounts Qsum, total that should be discharged from both pumps for the actuation of the bucket is calculated(step 4). The case of not satisfying the adding-up condition will be described later on.
The required discharge amount of the left-hand side pump Quc,left and the required discharge amount of the right hand side pump Quc,right are determined with each amount equal to the 50% of the sum of oil amounts Qsum,total calculated in step 4(step 5).
The required discharge amount of the left-hand side pump Quc,left is compared with the maximum dischargeable amount of the left-hand side pump Qmax,left(step 6). As a result of the comparison in step 6, if Quc,left is larger than Qmax,left, Quc,left is set to be equal to Qmax,left and the difference amount Quc,left-Qmax,left is added to the required discharge amount of the right-hand side pump(step 7).
The difference amount can be added to the required discharge amount of the right-hand side pump since the adding-up condition in step 3 has been satisfied. On the other hand, if the required discharge amount of the left-hand side pump is less than the maximum discharge amount of the right-hand side pump in step 6, the required discharge amount of the right-hand side pump Quc,right determined in step 5 is compared with the maximum discharge amount of the right-hand side pump Qmax,right(step 8).
If Quc,right is less than Qmax,right, the 10th step is continued. If the Quc,right is larger than Qmax,right, Quc,right is set to be equal to Qmax,right and the difference amount Quc,right-Qmax,right is added to the required discharge amount of left-hand side pump(step 9). Since the adding-up condition of step 3 has been satisfied, the difference amount can be added to the discharge amount of left-hand side pump.
After the required discharge amount of left-hand side and right-hand side pumps from steps 6 and 8, the sum of the required discharge amounts calculated in step 4 that should be discharged from both pumps for the actuation of buckets is compared with the sum of the maximum dischargeable amount of both pumps(i.e., the maximum dischargeable amounts of left-hand side pump+the maximum dischargeable amount of right-hand side pump)(step 10).
If the sum of the required discharge amounts that should be discharged from both pumps for the actuation of buckets are less than the sum of the maximum dischargeable amount of both pumps, then, since the further operation is not needed, the 18th step is continued where the reference signals are produced.
However, if the sum of the required discharge amounts that should be discharged from both pumps for the actuation of buckets are larger than the sum of the maximum dischargeable amounts of both pumps, the sum of the required discharge amount is set to be equal to the sum of the maximum dischargeable amounts. The, sum of the maximum dischargeable amount is distributed in the same proportions as those of the necessary discharge amounts required for the actuation of buckets in their respective moving directions which have been calculated in step 2, and based on the distributed amounts, the required moving speed of each bucket is calculated(step 11).
According to the calculated data, the reference signals for controlling the oil amount and the moving speed are produced respectively(step 18).
If the adding-up condition is not satisfied, the required discharge amount of left-hand side pump is calculated is the sum of the discharge amounts that should be discharged from the left-hand side pump for the actuation of buckets(step 12).
The sum of the discharge amounts that should be discharged from the left-hand side pump is compared with the maximum dischargeable amounts from the left-hand side pump(step 13).
As a result of the comparison in step 13, if the sum of the discharge amounts that should be discharged from the left-hand side pump is less than the maximum dischargeable amount from the left-hand side pump, the maximum dischargeable amount can be used and step 15 is continued since the determination of the required dischargeable amount of the left-hand side pump is not necessary.
However, if the sum of the required discharge amounts that should be discharged from the left-hand side pump is larger than the maximum dischargeable amount from the left-hand side pump, the sum of the required discharge amounts is set to be equal to the maximum dischargeable amount from the left-hand side pump. Then, the maximum dischargeable amount is distributed in the same proportions as those of the discharge amount from the left-hand side pump required for the actuation of each bucket in the respective moving directions, and based on the distributed discharge amounts, the required moving speed of each bucket using the left-hand side pump is calculated(step 14).
After the required discharge amount from the left-hand side pump and the calculation for buckets have been determined, the required discharge amounts from the right-hand side pump are calculated as the sum of the required discharge amounts that should be discharged from the right-hand side pump(step 15).
The calculated sum of the required discharge amounts that should be discharged from the right-hand side pump is compared with the maximum dischargeable amounts from the right-hand side pump(step 16).
As a result of this comparison, if the sum of the required discharge amounts that should be discharged from the right-hand side pump is less than the maximum dischargeable amount from the right-hand side pump, the 18th step is continued since the determinations of the required discharge amount of the right-hand side pump and the moving speeds of buckets are not necessary.
However, if the sum of the required discharge amounts from the right-hand side pump is larger than the maximum dischargeable amount from the pump, the sum of the required discharge amount is set to be equal to the maximum dischargeable amount from the right-hand side pump. Then, the maximum dischargeable amount is distributed in the same proportions as those of the discharge amounts from the right-hand side pump required for the actuation of each bucket in the respective moving directions, and based on the distributed discharge amounts, the required moving speed of each bucket using the right-hand side pump is calculated(step 17).
The reference input signal for controlling the oil amounts Qref and the reference input signal for controlling the moving speed Vref are calculated by the steps described in the above, and are sent to the oil amount controller 50 and the speed controller 70, respectively.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, oil amount controller 50 sets the reference input signals (Q REF2 output of step 18 in FIG. 3) for a plurality of pumps 35a and 35b (of FIG. 1) calculated in speed and oil amount control unit 40 to feedback the discharge oil amount Q REAL from the real amount of oil detected from oil amount detectors 65a and 65b of FIG. 1. Then, the controller 50 performs the calculation for controlling the discharge amount of the pump based on the difference "Eq" between reference input signal+Q REF2 and the real discharge oil amount signal-Q REAL . Specifically, the error signal "Eq" is used as the parameter to control the output Vpump to the regulation valves 45a and 45b of the pump.
Similarly, the speed controller block 70 in FIG. 2 sets the reference input signals for a plurality of solenoid controlled proportion valves 95a and 95b (of FIG. 1) in speed and oil amount control unit 50 to feedback the discharge oil amount V REAL of the real actuating speed detected from the boom speed detector and dipper stick speed detector 115a and 115b (FIG. 1). Then, the speed controller 70 performs the calcuation for controlling the actuating speed of the valve based on the difference Ev between reference input signal+V REF 2 and the real actuating speed-V REAL . Specifically, the error signal "Eq" is used as the parameter to control the output Vmcv to the solenoid controlled proportion valves 95a and 95b in attachment system 80.
As described in the above, the present invention which can be applied in the hydraulic construction equipment has advantages of the work automation and efficiency by controlling optimally the moving speed of each bucket and the speed ratio between each bucket to be accurately proportional to the degree of operation of each operation indicator and the operation ratio between each operation indicator regardless of changes in working conditions and load pressures | An apparatus and a method for controlling a moving speed of each bucket and a moving speed ratio between each bucket, to be proportional to a degree of operation of each operation indicator and an operation ratio between each operation indicator, regardless of changes in various working conditions or load pressures. The apparatus receives an operation command from an input portion and converts the operation command into an operation signal, calculates a required discharge oil amount of a pump, which is proportional to the operation signal and a required moving speed of an actuator and which is proportional to the degree of operation and the operation ratio of the operation signal, adjusts the required discharge oil amount and the required moving speed based on a maximum dischargeable oil amount of the pump, subtracts a real discharge oil amount and a real moving speed from the adjusted discharge oil amount and the adjusted moving speed, and controls the discharge oil amount of the pump according to the control signal from the subtraction, and controls the moving speed of the actuator according to the subtraction control signal. | Summarize the patent document, focusing on the invention's functionality and advantages. | [
"RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 08/241,752 filed May 12, 1994 now abandoned.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for controlling hydraulic construction equipment, and more particularly to an apparatus and a method for controlling a moving speed of each bucket and a moving speed ratio between each bucket to be proportional to a degree of operation of each operation indicator and an operation ratio between each operation indicator regardless of changes in various working conditions or load pressures.",
"Description of the Prior Art Generally, hydraulic construction equipment such as excavators, loaders and dozers have the buckets moved by using a plurality of variable displacement pumps and a plurality of hydraulic cylinders, and these buckets are operated by various operation indicators such as joystick, pedal, lever, etc.",
"The design of such equipment is attempted so that the moving speed of each bucket and the moving speed ratio between each bucket can be proportional to the degree of operation of each operation indicator and the operation ratio between each operation indicator, and the oil amount supplied from the pump is proportional to the degree of operation of each operation indicator in order to produce the moving speed required by each bucket.",
"However, since the pump has a limit value of the mechanical maximum discharge amount of oil, and the load pressure varies depending on the working conditions such as excavation, dumping and ground leveling, there have been problems that the sum of the oil amounts required to produce the moving speed of the bucket corresponding to the degree of operation required by the operation indicator often exceeds the maximum dischargeable amount of oil for a given load pressure.",
"Moreover, in case of the combined moving of the buckets, the actual speed ratio of each bucket does not accurately correspond to the operation ratio of the operation indicator.",
"In other words, since the moving speed of each bucket and the moving speed ratio between of each bucket are not accurately proportional to the degree of operation of each operation indicator and the operation ratio between each operation indicator, there has been drawback of lowering the work efficiency.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for controlling a moving speed of each bucket and a moving speed ratio between each bucket to be accurately proportional to a degree of operation of each operation indicator and an operation ratio between each operation indicator regardless of changes in various working conditions and load pressures in a hydraulic construction equipment.",
"According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for controlling hydraulic construction equipment, comprising: means for receiving an operation command from an input portion and converting said operation command into an operation signal;",
"means for calculating a required discharge oil amount of a pump which is proportional to said operation signal and a required moving speed of an actuator which is proportional to the degree of operation and the operation ratio of said operation signal;",
"means for adjusting said required discharge oil amount and said required moving speed based on a maximum dischargeable oil amount of said pump;",
"means for subtracting a real discharge oil amount and a real moving speed from said adjusted discharge oil amount and said adjusted moving speed;",
"means for controlling the discharge oil amount of said pump according to the control signal from said subtracting means;",
"and means for controlling the moving speed of said actuator according to the control signal from said substracting means.",
"According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a hydraulic construction equipment, comprising the steps of: (1) calculating a necessary discharge oil amount required for the moving of actuators according to a reference input signal for controlling an oil amount of pumps with a left-hand and a right-hand sides, another reference input signal for controlling a moving speed of said actuators, and maximum dischargeable oil amount signal of said pumps;",
"(2) determining a required discharge oil amount for the left-hand side pump according to a comparison between a sum of a necessary oil amounts required for the moving of the actuators corresponding to the left-hand side pump and a maximum dischargeable oil amount of the left-hand side pump;",
"(3) determining a required discharge oil amount for the right-hand side pump according to a comparison between a sum of a necessary oil amounts required for the moving of the actuators corresponding to the right-hand side pump and a maximum dischargeable oil amount of the right-hand side pump;",
"and (4) generating a reference input signal for controlling the oil amount of said pumps and another reference input signal for controlling the moving speed of said actuators according to said required discharge oil amounts of said second and third steps.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic hydraulic circuit diagram illustrating an overall hydraulic system of an excavator FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the control unit of the present invention FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of the control unit of the present invention FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the calculation of Vref of the actuating device as being set proportional to the actuating amount of the operation indicator signals.",
"FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the calculation of Qref of the actuating device as being set proportional to the actuating amount of the operation indicator signals.",
"FIG. 6(a) is a diagram illustrating the calculation of Qmax, total as detected by pressure detectors in the case where oil amount individually flow through the proportion valves.",
"FIG. 6(b) is a diagram illustrating the calculation of Qmax, left/right as detected by pressure detectors in the case where oil amount mixedly flow through the proportion valves.",
"FIG. 7(a) is a diagram illustrating the length "d"",
"of the boom cylinder as calculated by the signal generated by the boom angle detector.",
"FIG. 7(b) is a diagram illustrating the inner structure of the boom cylinder.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the following, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.",
"FIG. 1 is a schematic hydraulic circuit diagram illustrating an overall hydraulic system of an excavator which represents one of the typical hydraulic construction equipment.",
"As shown in FIG. 1, the hydraulic system of the present invention has an engine 25 as a power source, a first and a second variable displacement pumps 35a, 35b operated by the engine 25, a first and a second pump regulation valves 45a, 45b for controlling the discharge oil of the first and second pumps 35a, 35b respectively, a first and a second pressure detectors 55a, 55b for detecting the discharge pressures from the first and the second pumps 35a, 35b, a first and a second oil amount detectors 65a, 65b for detecting the discharge oil amounts from the first and the second pumps 35a, 35b, and operation indicator 75 of the buckets using a switch or a touch sensor, a controller 85 containing a microcomputer for controlling the overall operation by receiving the input signal from the operation indicator, a first and a second solenoid controlled proportion valves 95a, 95b for controlling the oil amount by receiving the electrical signals from the controller 85, a dipper stick cylinder 105a for actuating the dipper stick of the excavator, a boom cylinder 105b for actuating the boom of the excavator, a boom speed detector 115a located at the joint part of the upper frame of the excavator and the boom, and a dipper stick speed detector 115b located at the joint part of the boom and the dipper stick.",
"In the following, the operation of the hydraulic construction equipment in the above will be described.",
"Based on the degree of operation put in through the operation indicator 75, and the data detected from the dipper stick speed detector 115b and the boom speed detector 115a, the signal values are calculated by the controller 85.",
"Once the engine 25 is operated by the calculated signal values, the first and the second pump regulation valves 45a, 45b control the first and the second variable displacement pumps 35a, 35b to supply the sum of the oil amounts proportional to the degree of operation given by the operation indicator 75, and the first and the second solenoid controlled proportion valves 95a, 95b control the oil amounts supplied to the dipper stick cylinder 105a and the boom cylinder 105b to be proportional to the degree of operation and the operation ratio given by the operation indicator 75.",
"FIG. 2 represents the block diagram of the controller of the present invention.",
"After the operation signals given by the operation indicator 20, such as electric joystick, pedal or other actuating devices, are detected by an operation calculator 30, the required discharge amount of oil proportional to the degree of operation, i.e., the reference input signal Qref for controlling the oil amount of the pump, the required moving speed of the bucket proportional to the degree of operation and the operation ratio of the operation signals, i.e., the reference input signal Vref for controlling the moving speed of the bucket, and the maximum dischargeable oil amount signals Qmax detected by the first and the second pressure detectors 55a, 55b are calculated.",
"Signals from operation indicator 20 to the calculator 30 represent electric actuating signals from the operation indicator 20.",
"Specifically, the required speed Vref of the actuating device is set to be proportional to the direction of the actuating amount signal "J"",
"detected by the operation indicator 20 and represented by the horizontal axis, as shown in FIG. 4. This means that the required speed of the actuating device is increased in proportion to the level of the actuating signal of the operation indicator 20.",
"This also means that the level of the actuating signal of the operation indicator 20 is high as the required speed of the actuating device is increased.",
"That is, the Vref calculation in the operation calculator 30 is determined by a function Vref=f(J) proportional to the signal of the operation indicator 20 as shown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 5, the required discharge oil amount Qref of the pump is set to be proportional to the actuating amount J of the operation indicator 20.",
"This means that the required speed Vref of the actuating device is increased in proportion to the level of the actuating signal, and accordingly, the required discharge oil amount Qref is increased as the level of the actuating signal is increased as shown in FIG. 5. The required speed Vref of the actuating device is reduced as the level of the actuating signal of the operation indicator is low, and accordingly the required discharge oil amount Qref is decreased.",
"The Qref calculation in the operation calculator 30 is determined by a function Qref=g(J) proportional to the signal of the operation indicator 20.",
"As shown in FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b), the maximum discharge oil amount signals Qmax is calculated according to the pressures p 1 and p 2 as detected by pressure detectors 55a and 55b.",
"Specifically, Qmax is calculated in two cases: 1) In the case shown in FIG. 6(a), Qmax, total is determined as a function of the combined oil amount flow from the variable displacement pump 35a and 35b through the solenoid controlled proportion valves 95a and 95b to the cylinders 105a and 105b to drive the actuating device;",
"and 2) In the case shown in FIG. 6(b), Qmax, left(right) is determined as a function of the individual oil amount flow from the variable displacement pumps 35a (35b) flow through the solenoid controlled proportion valves 95a (95b) to the cylinders 105a(105b) to drive the actuating device.",
"Then, based on the reference input signal Qref for controlling the oil amount of the pump, the reference input signal Vref for controlling the moving speed of the bucket, and the maximum dischargeable oil amount signal Qmax, a speed and oil amount control unit 40 adjusts the reference input signals Qref and Vref to+Qre2 and+Vref respectively, and sends these adjusted input signals to an oil amount controller 50 and a speed controller 70.",
"The oil amount controller 50 performs the calculation for controlling the discharge amount of the pump based on the reference input signal+Qref2 and the real discharge oil amount signal Qreal with an error(Eq) detected from the oil amount detectors 65a, 65b shown in FIG. 1, and sends out an oil amount control signal Vpump to the first and the second pump regulation valves 45a, 45b of the pump system comprising pumps 35a, 35b indicated as block 60 in FIG. 2. On the other hand, the speed controller 70 performs the calculation for controlling the moving speed of the bucket based on the reference input signal+Vref2 and the real moving speed Vreal with an error Ev detected from the boom speed detector 115a and the dipper stick speed detector 115b shown in FIG. 1, and sends out a speed control signal Vmcv to the first and the second solenoid controlled proportion valves 95a, 95b for controlling the cylinders 105a,b and boom and dipper stick of the actuator system 80 as indicated in FIG. 2. The operation of the control unit 40 will be described in more detail with reference to the flow diagram shown in FIG. 3. The operation calculator 30, according to the operation signal given by the operation indicator 20, produces the reference input signal Qref for controlling the oil amount proportional to the degree of operation, the reference input signal Vref for controlling the moving speed proportional to the degree of operation and the operation ratio, and the maximum dischargeable oil amount signal Qmax (step 1).",
"The necessary oil amount Q ACT required for the actuation of each bucket is calculated by the reference input signal Vref for controlling the moving speed through well-known calculation process(step 2).",
"Specifically, the calculation of Q ACT based on Vref is shown by way of the following example of the "boom"",
"driven by the boom cylinder 105b as shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 7(a), the length "d"",
"of the boom cylinder 105a is calculated by the signal representing the angle "φ"",
"detected from the boom angle detector 115a as set forth in equation 1) as follows: d=L.",
"sub.",
"AC.",
"sup[.",
"].2 +L.",
"sub.",
"AB.",
"sup[.",
"].2 -2AB L.sub.",
"AC COS (φ+θ1θ2) (1) wherein L AC , L AB , θ1 and θ2 represent the fixed values regardless of the time determined by the boom structure.",
"From this, a second calculation is made as set forth in equation 2): d'=φ'(L.",
"sub.",
"AC L.sub.",
"AB sin(φ)/ d) (2) wherein d'",
"represents a change ratio of the length per hour of the boom cylinder, and φ'",
"represents a boom speed signal from the boom speed detector 115a.",
"A third calculation is then made as follows: δφ=φ'",
"δt, wherein δt represents an hour of time, and δφ represents the change amount of the boom angle signal.",
"FIG. 7(b) shows an inner structure of boom cylinder 105b of FIG. 1. The term d', i.e., the change ratio of a cylinder length d, is calculated in accordance with the oil amount to the cylinder Q ACT and the width of the piston inside the cylinder as set forth in equations 3a) and 3b) as follows: In case that the cylinder length is increased: d'=Q.",
"sub.",
"ACT 1/A1 (3a) In case that the cylinder length is decreased: d'=Q.",
"sub.",
"ACT 2/A2 (3b) where A1 and A2 represent the width of the piston inside the cylinder as shown in FIG. 7(b).",
"In equations 3a,b, the increase or decrease of the cylinder length is determined by the direction of the signal J detected from the operation indicator 20.",
"From equations 3a,b, equations 4a,b, are readily determined, respectively, as follows: Q.sub.",
"ACT =A1 d'",
"(4a) Q.sub.",
"ACT =A2 d'",
"(4b) Equation 4a) governs the case where the signal J from the operation indicator is in upward direction and equation 4b) governs the case that the signal J from the operation indicator is in downward direction.",
"As mentioned above, the required speed Vref is determined by Vref=f(J) as shown in FIG. 4. V REF is the same to the boom speed signal φ'",
"from the boom speed detector, i.e., the real speed of rotation.",
"Thus, Q ACT =k(J,φ).",
"The calculation of Q ACT from the above equations is performed in the speed and oil amount control unit 40 in FIG. 2. After the required oil amounts are calculated from step 1 and step 2, it is determined whether or not the adding-up condition of pump can be satisfied(step 3).",
"Here, the adding-up condition of the pumps means that when more than one buckets are actuated in combination, the oil amounts discharged from more than one pumps are added up and supplied to any one of the buckets.",
"If the adding-up condition can be satisfied in step 3, the sum of the oil amounts Qsum, total that should be discharged from both pumps for the actuation of the bucket is calculated(step 4).",
"The case of not satisfying the adding-up condition will be described later on.",
"The required discharge amount of the left-hand side pump Quc,left and the required discharge amount of the right hand side pump Quc,right are determined with each amount equal to the 50% of the sum of oil amounts Qsum,total calculated in step 4(step 5).",
"The required discharge amount of the left-hand side pump Quc,left is compared with the maximum dischargeable amount of the left-hand side pump Qmax,left(step 6).",
"As a result of the comparison in step 6, if Quc,left is larger than Qmax,left, Quc,left is set to be equal to Qmax,left and the difference amount Quc,left-Qmax,left is added to the required discharge amount of the right-hand side pump(step 7).",
"The difference amount can be added to the required discharge amount of the right-hand side pump since the adding-up condition in step 3 has been satisfied.",
"On the other hand, if the required discharge amount of the left-hand side pump is less than the maximum discharge amount of the right-hand side pump in step 6, the required discharge amount of the right-hand side pump Quc,right determined in step 5 is compared with the maximum discharge amount of the right-hand side pump Qmax,right(step 8).",
"If Quc,right is less than Qmax,right, the 10th step is continued.",
"If the Quc,right is larger than Qmax,right, Quc,right is set to be equal to Qmax,right and the difference amount Quc,right-Qmax,right is added to the required discharge amount of left-hand side pump(step 9).",
"Since the adding-up condition of step 3 has been satisfied, the difference amount can be added to the discharge amount of left-hand side pump.",
"After the required discharge amount of left-hand side and right-hand side pumps from steps 6 and 8, the sum of the required discharge amounts calculated in step 4 that should be discharged from both pumps for the actuation of buckets is compared with the sum of the maximum dischargeable amount of both pumps(i.e., the maximum dischargeable amounts of left-hand side pump+the maximum dischargeable amount of right-hand side pump)(step 10).",
"If the sum of the required discharge amounts that should be discharged from both pumps for the actuation of buckets are less than the sum of the maximum dischargeable amount of both pumps, then, since the further operation is not needed, the 18th step is continued where the reference signals are produced.",
"However, if the sum of the required discharge amounts that should be discharged from both pumps for the actuation of buckets are larger than the sum of the maximum dischargeable amounts of both pumps, the sum of the required discharge amount is set to be equal to the sum of the maximum dischargeable amounts.",
"The, sum of the maximum dischargeable amount is distributed in the same proportions as those of the necessary discharge amounts required for the actuation of buckets in their respective moving directions which have been calculated in step 2, and based on the distributed amounts, the required moving speed of each bucket is calculated(step 11).",
"According to the calculated data, the reference signals for controlling the oil amount and the moving speed are produced respectively(step 18).",
"If the adding-up condition is not satisfied, the required discharge amount of left-hand side pump is calculated is the sum of the discharge amounts that should be discharged from the left-hand side pump for the actuation of buckets(step 12).",
"The sum of the discharge amounts that should be discharged from the left-hand side pump is compared with the maximum dischargeable amounts from the left-hand side pump(step 13).",
"As a result of the comparison in step 13, if the sum of the discharge amounts that should be discharged from the left-hand side pump is less than the maximum dischargeable amount from the left-hand side pump, the maximum dischargeable amount can be used and step 15 is continued since the determination of the required dischargeable amount of the left-hand side pump is not necessary.",
"However, if the sum of the required discharge amounts that should be discharged from the left-hand side pump is larger than the maximum dischargeable amount from the left-hand side pump, the sum of the required discharge amounts is set to be equal to the maximum dischargeable amount from the left-hand side pump.",
"Then, the maximum dischargeable amount is distributed in the same proportions as those of the discharge amount from the left-hand side pump required for the actuation of each bucket in the respective moving directions, and based on the distributed discharge amounts, the required moving speed of each bucket using the left-hand side pump is calculated(step 14).",
"After the required discharge amount from the left-hand side pump and the calculation for buckets have been determined, the required discharge amounts from the right-hand side pump are calculated as the sum of the required discharge amounts that should be discharged from the right-hand side pump(step 15).",
"The calculated sum of the required discharge amounts that should be discharged from the right-hand side pump is compared with the maximum dischargeable amounts from the right-hand side pump(step 16).",
"As a result of this comparison, if the sum of the required discharge amounts that should be discharged from the right-hand side pump is less than the maximum dischargeable amount from the right-hand side pump, the 18th step is continued since the determinations of the required discharge amount of the right-hand side pump and the moving speeds of buckets are not necessary.",
"However, if the sum of the required discharge amounts from the right-hand side pump is larger than the maximum dischargeable amount from the pump, the sum of the required discharge amount is set to be equal to the maximum dischargeable amount from the right-hand side pump.",
"Then, the maximum dischargeable amount is distributed in the same proportions as those of the discharge amounts from the right-hand side pump required for the actuation of each bucket in the respective moving directions, and based on the distributed discharge amounts, the required moving speed of each bucket using the right-hand side pump is calculated(step 17).",
"The reference input signal for controlling the oil amounts Qref and the reference input signal for controlling the moving speed Vref are calculated by the steps described in the above, and are sent to the oil amount controller 50 and the speed controller 70, respectively.",
"Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, oil amount controller 50 sets the reference input signals (Q REF2 output of step 18 in FIG. 3) for a plurality of pumps 35a and 35b (of FIG. 1) calculated in speed and oil amount control unit 40 to feedback the discharge oil amount Q REAL from the real amount of oil detected from oil amount detectors 65a and 65b of FIG. 1. Then, the controller 50 performs the calculation for controlling the discharge amount of the pump based on the difference "Eq"",
"between reference input signal+Q REF2 and the real discharge oil amount signal-Q REAL .",
"Specifically, the error signal "Eq"",
"is used as the parameter to control the output Vpump to the regulation valves 45a and 45b of the pump.",
"Similarly, the speed controller block 70 in FIG. 2 sets the reference input signals for a plurality of solenoid controlled proportion valves 95a and 95b (of FIG. 1) in speed and oil amount control unit 50 to feedback the discharge oil amount V REAL of the real actuating speed detected from the boom speed detector and dipper stick speed detector 115a and 115b (FIG.",
"1).",
"Then, the speed controller 70 performs the calcuation for controlling the actuating speed of the valve based on the difference Ev between reference input signal+V REF 2 and the real actuating speed-V REAL .",
"Specifically, the error signal "Eq"",
"is used as the parameter to control the output Vmcv to the solenoid controlled proportion valves 95a and 95b in attachment system 80.",
"As described in the above, the present invention which can be applied in the hydraulic construction equipment has advantages of the work automation and efficiency by controlling optimally the moving speed of each bucket and the speed ratio between each bucket to be accurately proportional to the degree of operation of each operation indicator and the operation ratio between each operation indicator regardless of changes in working conditions and load pressures"
] |
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/077,395, filed Jul. 24, 1987, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,424.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a track roller and more particularly, to a self-aligning track roller for accommodation to variable track surfaces comprising a co-engaging inner race and outer race movable relative to one another wherein an elastomeric element such as a ring is disposed between respective ends of the inner and outer races so as to bias the inner race into alignment with the outer race. Further, the inner race has a bearing surface provided with a self-lubricating material which is engageable with and movable relative to the bearing surface of the outer race.
At present, track rollers being used incorporate a crown radii on the outer diameter of the outer race to compensate for track deflections and irregularities. This reduces the contact area between the roller and the mating surface of the track. An increase in contact bearing pressure results due to the reduced contact area which has caused excessive wear and distress to the track surface.
Further, the conventional track roller bearings are constructed with rolling elements positioned between the inner and outer races and require a lubricant such as grease. Addition of lubricant to the rolling elements is periodically required to maintain the operational performance and to add corrosion resistance. Such bearings are subject to failure where fracturing of the rolling elements and spalling of the inner race occur. In addition, the performance of these track roller bearings depends on the effectiveness of seals incorporated therein which ensure that the grease lubrication is maintained within the varying surface area, proper, and that the grease lubrication is not contaminated from external sources.
It is known to incorporate a self-lubricating liner system as an alternative to the rolling element track roller surface of the outer race so as to operate against the bearing surface of a hardened inner race. These bearing assemblies have the advantage that they do not require periodic lubrication and they have a generally higher rolling load capacity. In addition, static radial load capacity of these bearing assemblies is substantially higher than the rolling element bearing assemblies with high thrust capacity being ensured by the use of the separate self-lubricating liner system. These self-lubricating type bearing assemblies are discussed for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,048,370 and 4,134,842.
The self-lubricating liner systems with the liner attached to the inner diameter of the outer race were designed in accordance with the belief that the wear experienced during the life of the bearing system could be distributed over the full circumference of the liner and thus result in extended surface life. Nevertheless, it has been found that because of the rotation of the outer race liner in relation to the stationary inner race and the unidirectional load application, liner systems with a compression modulus of up to about 1 million psi are subjected to material deflection. More particularly, the mismatch of the inner race circumferential surface to the outer race by differential tolerances and the thickness of the liner system provide the mechanism which permits local deflection of the liner as the outer race moves relative to the inner race when loaded. Therefore, under a steady applied load, while moving in relation to the inner race, high shearing action and tensile forces are imposed on the liner immediately in front of the progressing load action of the inner race. This is known as ploughing. When combined with fluid contamination, the liner is further distressed due to the wedging action of fluid in front of the advancing inner race slider.
Lubricating material affixed to the outer race in a track-roller bearing assembly is subjected to distortion and consequent reduced service life relative to the arrangement of the present invention. The induced liner deflection when loaded by the inner race during rotation of the outer race adversely affects the bond between the lubricating material and the outer race, and as the bond fails, the lubricating material is pinched between the inner and outer races without any support and tends to be squeezed out.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The bearing assembly of the present invention overcomes the above-mentioned problems associated with the provision of a drawn radii by providing co-engaging inner-and outer races that are self-aligning. More particularly, in accordance with the present invention, an elastomeric element is provided about at least one and preferably both ends of the inner race adjacent a respective end of the outer race. In this manner, when relative angular rotation of the inner and outer races distorts the elastomeric element(s) the resiliency of the element(s) resists the deformation and urges the races into their original axial alignment.
The bearing assembly of the present invention also avoids the liner bond failure occasioned by the above-described ploughing action and exhibits a significantly extended wear life. In the bearing assembly of the present invention the self-lubricating bearing material is preferably provided on the outer bearing surface of the inner material. This construction ensures positive contact between the liner system and mating surfaces so that fluid contamination does not become a mechanical wedging tool.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating a first embodiment of the self-adjusting, self-lubricating track roller of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating a second embodiment of the track roller of the present invention; and
FIG. 3 is a sectional view illustrating yet another embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the improved bearing assembly of the present invention with the shaft omitted for clarity. As can be seen, the bearing assembly comprises an inner ball race 10 and an outer race 12 engageable with and rotatable relative to inner ball race 10. In the illustrated embodiment outer race 12 includes first and second parts 14 and 16. Further, outer race 12 has an inner arc surface defined by the inner portions of parts 14 and 16 that has a length less than the arcuate surface of inner race 10 so as to allow relative angular movement of races 10 and 12 as will be described more fully below.
Inner race 10 of the illustrated embodiment includes a ball portion 18 and first and second cylindrical portions 20. Cylindrical portions 20 extend axially beyond an associated end face 22 of outer race 12. Further, the end faces 22 are inwardly inclined so as to be conical in shape and a gap 23 is provided between the cylindrical portions 20 and the end faces 22 so that the inner and outer races 10 and 12 can be angularly displaced relative to one another to accommodate track deflections.
To provide the self-aligning characteristics of the bearing assembly, an elastomeric ring 24 is provided about at least one and preferably both cylindrical portions 20 between same and an associated end face 22. The elastomeric ring 24 so disposed is resiliently distorted when races 10 and 12 are angularly displaced because of, for example, track irregularities or other mechanical relations in a structure. However, the resiliency of ring 24 causes same to urge the races 10, 12 back into axial alignment and hence, the bearing assembly is self-aligning. As is further apparent, elastomeric ring(s) 24 also serve to cushion relative angular movement so that, despite track deflections or irregularities, motion is more smoothly transmitted while stresses on the assembly are minimized.
Referring to FIG. 2, an alternate embodiment of a self-aligning roller bearing is shown. In this embodiment, rather than wedge-shaped ring 24, realignment is provided by the combination of an O-ring 28 mounted on at least one and preferably both end portions 20 and an elastomeric washer 30 which is disposed between each O-ring 28 and its associated end face 22. Of course an appropriatly sized O-ring formed of an appropriate material could be used in some circumstances without a washer 30. Further, the illustrated embodiment, a recess 32 is defined on the surface of end portion 20 to receive O-ring 28 and retain the same in position.
Turning to FIG. 3, yet another embodiment of the present invention is shown, on an inner race that is formed with only a single end portion 34. In this embodiment, the self-aligning function is achieved through the combination of an elastomeric washer 36 disposed between an end face 38 of the outer race 40 and a rigid wedge shaped ring 43 mounted to end portion 34 of inner race 44.
The elastomeric ring(s) 24 as well as O-ring(s) 28 and washer(s) 30, 36 provided in accordance with the present invention of course may be formed from any suitable material but are preferably formed from, for example, urethane, teflon, silicone, nitrile, neoprene or vyton and may be adhesively secured in place as shown.
As can be further seen in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, in the bearing assembly of the present invention, unlike the bearing assemblies of the prior art, the outer surface of inner race 10 is provided with a self-lubricating bearing material 26 fixedly secured thereto. Bearing material 16 can be fixed to the outer diameter of the inner race by any suitable means. The bearing material 16 so affixed is engageable with and movable relative to the inner surface of the outer race 12. Further, bearing material 16 extends the entire arc length of the inner race 10 outer diameter so that it will be disposed between outer race 12 and inner race 10 even at the extremes of relative angular motion due to track deflections or irregularities.
Outer race 12 of the bearing assembly of the present invention is made of metal, preferably stainless steel (wrought or powder metallurgy) such as 440C, 13-8PH, AUS 5617-Custom 455, 17-4 PH, 300 series, and more preferably 13-8PH, although other metals such as high carbon steel 52100 as well as case hardened titanium, anodized aluminum, Inconel, Hastelloy and A286 can also be employed, so as to provide a metal inner bearing surface.
Inner race 10 of the bearing assembly of the present invention can also be made of a metal such as defined above, and more preferably stainless steel 17-4PH. The outer surface thereof has fixedly secured thereto the self-lubricating material.
The self-lubricating material can be a solid organic lubricant such as a solid polyester, polyamide, polyphenylene sulfide, polyarylsulfone, a polyfluorocarbon or, a cured acrylate as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,048,370 and incorporated herein by reference or even a woven fiber matrix impregnated, for example, with a cured acrylate composition as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,842 also incorporated herein by reference or other resin systems. The self-lubricating material can be secured to the outer surface 29 of inner race by known methods.
Representative polyesters include aromatic polyesters Such as p-oxybenzoyl polyester which is commercially available, for instance, under the tradename Ekanol and sold by the Carborundum Co. This polyester material has a density ranging from 1.44-1.48 gcc and a melting point of about 800° F. Polyamides usefully employed in the present invention include, for instance, Nylon-6 and Nylon-6,6 although it will be recognized that other nylon formulations can also be employed. Aromatic poly p-phenylene sulfides can also be employed and such polymers can have a molecular weight ranging as high as about 13,000. They are available, commercially, under the tradename of Ryton by Phillips Petroleum Company, such a product having a specific gravity of about 1.34, a density of about 0.0485 lbs/in 3 and a melting point of about 550° F. Polyfluorocarbons usefully employed in the present invention include polytetrafluoroethylene. Included in the polyaryl sulfones suitable for use in the present invention are those which have a molecular weight ranging from about 30,000 to 60,000. One convenient polyaryl sulfone is that sold commercially under the tradename Polymer 360-3M Astrel 360 having a specific gravity of 1.36, a density of 0.049 lbs/in 3 , a compressive strength at 73° F. of 17,900 psi and a melting point of about 550° F. Polyimides employed in the present invention are aromatic polyimides which are available commercially under, for instance, the tradenames 6f Vespel SP-1 (DuPont) which has a specific gravity ranging from about 1.41-1.43, a density of about 0.052 lbs/in 3 , a compressive strength at 73° F. of about 24,000 psi and a heat distortion temperature at 264 psi of about 680° F. A modified Vespel SP-1 polyimide is Vespel SP-21 which contains 15 weight percent graphite, has a specific gravity of about 1.51, a density of about 0.0546 lbs/in 3 and a compressive strength at 73° F. of about 18,000 psi. Other polyimides include one available commercially as XPl-182 by American Cyanamid which has a specific gravity of about 1.28, a density of about 0.046 lbs/in 3 , a compressive strength at 73° F. of about 25,000 psi and a heat distortion temperature at 264 psi of about 440° F. Still another polyimide commercially available is that sold under the tradename of Genom 3010 by General Electric and has a specific gravity of about 1.90, a density of about 0.068 lbs/in 3 , a compressive strength at 73° F. of about 41,900 psi and a heat distortion temperature at 264 psi of about 660° F. Polyimides containing polytetrafluoroethylene or graphite fibers can also be used.
When the self-lubricating material selected is a cured mixture of an acrylate composition and a particulate solid lubricant, such as polytetrafluoroethylene, the acrylate composition can be selected from the group consisting of
(a) a mixture of a major amount of a liquid acrylic ester selected from the group consisting of di-, tri-, and tetraesters of an acrylic acid and a polyhydric alcohol, a minor amount of a low molecular weight prepolymer of an ester of a low molecular weight alcohol having a terminal vinyl group and an aromatic polycarboxylic acid in solution in said acrylic ester and an organic amide of the formula ##STR1## wherein R is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and aliphatic hydrocarbon of 1-20 carbon atoms in an amount sufficient to copolymerize said acrylic ester and prepolymer,
(b) a mixture of acrylic ester monomer, a peroxidic initiator in an amount sufficient to initiate polymerization of said monomer and an aminoalkoxyalkylamine of the formula R 1 --N(H)R 2 [OR 3 ] x N(H)R 4 wherein x is an integer of 1-6 inclusive, each of R 1 and R 4 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and lower alkyl and each of R 2 and R 3 is a lower alkyl linking bridge between N and O, in an amount sufficient to accelerate the polymerization of said monomer,
(c) a mixture of an acrylic ester of an alkyl amino alkyl alcohol and an effective amount of hydroperoxide catalyst, said acrylic ester having the formula ##STR2## wherein x is an integer of 0-5 inclusive, y is an integer of 1-6 inclusive, R is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, halogen, hydroxy, cyano and lower alkyl and R 1 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and alkyl having 1-6 carbon atoms,
(d) a mixture of a liquid acrylic ester monomer selected from the group consisting of diesters of an acrylic acid and a polyhydric alcohol, acrylic esters of cyclic ether alcohols, acrylic esters of amino alcohols and mixtures thereof, a peroxidic initiator and an oxyalkylamine of the formula (H) m N[(CH 2 ) x (OR 1 ) y OR 2 ] n wherein m and n are each integers of 1 to 2 inclusive, the total of m and n is 3, x is an integer of 1 to 6 inclusive, y is an integer of 0 to 6 inclusive, R 1 is lower alkyl and R 2 is selected from hydrogen and lower alkyl,
(e) a mixture of an acrylic ester monomer selected from the group consisting of di-, tri- and tetraesters of an acrylic acid and a polyhydric alcohol, acrylic esters of cyclic ether alcohols, acrylic esters of amino alcohols and mixtures thereof, a peroxidic initiator of an amount sufficient to initiate polymerization of said monomer and a member selected from the group consisting of rhodanine and a hydrazide of the formula ##STR3## wherein R and R' are selected from separate groups and an interconnected group forming a cyclic ring, R is further selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl and alkoxy and R' is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl, cycloalkyl, acyl and dithiocarbonyl in an amount sufficient to accelerate the polymerization of said monomer; and
(f) a mixture of a monomer of the formula ##STR4## wherein R 1 and R are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and lower alkyl and R is selected from the group consisting of lower alkyl, lower hydroxyalkyl, cyano and lower cyanoalkyl; at least one equivalent of an acid for each equivalent of said monomer, said acid being selected from the group consisting of acrylic acid and lower alkyl acrylic acids; an initiator selected from the group consisting of t-butyl perbenzoate, t-butyl peracetate and di-t-butyl diperphthalate, said initiator being present in an amount sufficient to initiate the polymerization of said monomer; a trihydroxy benzene inhibitor and an accelerator selected from the group consisting of benzhydrazide and N-aminorhodanine.
When the self-lubricating material selected is a woven fiber matrix impregnated with a cured acrylate composition, the woven fiber matrix can comprise a material woven from a mixture of fibers, one face of the material comprising lubricating fibers, the other comprising reinforcing fibers. Conveniently the woven fiber matrix can be fabricated from polytetrafluoroethylene fibers, as the lubricating fibers; and from such reinforcing fibers as KEVLAR fibers, polyethylene terephthalate (DACRON) fibers as well as fiberglass and graphite fibers. Preferably, the reinforcing fibers are KEVLAR fibers, available commercially under the tradename KEVLAR PRD 49, by DuPont. KEVLAR is an organic polymeric compound known as an aromatic polyamide, i.e. an aramid. It is a high strength, high modulus fiber made from long chain synthetic polyamides wherein at least 85 percent of the amide linkages are attached directly to two aromatic rings. KEVLAR fiber is extremely stable, has high strength, toughness and stiffness characteristics. The density of KEVLAR PRD 49 is 1.45 g/cc and its mechanical properties lie between the values of glass and graphite filament. The curable acrylate, which can be any of those defined above at (a) through (f) is present in an amount sufficient to impregnate the woven fiber matrix and to bond the same to the outer surface of the inner race.
As is apparent from the foregoing, to compensate for track deflections and irregularities, the track roller of the present invention is self-adjusting in that the outer race can rotate angularly relative to the axis of the inner race in response to the variable track surface. This maintains the contact area between the rolling and the mating surface of the track so that the contact bearing pressure will not be increased and excessive wear and distress of the track surface is minimized. Further, the track roller of the present invention is self-aligning in that the inner and outer races are urged back into axial alignment when the races have been so angularly displaced.
While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. | A track-roller bearing assembly is disclosed which includes a fixed inner ball race member having an outwardly facing arcuate peripheral bearing surface; an annular body of self-lubricating bearing material affixed to the outwardly bearing surface of said inner race; and a coaxial outer race which is rotatable about an axis of the inner race and anguarly displaceable relative to the axis of the inner race so as to accommodate track deflections or irregularities. The track-roller further includes a resilient element disposed between respective ends of the inner and outer races so as to bias the races back into axial alignment after they have been angularly displaced relative to each other. | Summarize the document in concise, focusing on the main idea's functionality and advantages. | [
"This is a continuation of application Ser.",
"No. 07/077,395, filed Jul. 24, 1987, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,424.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a track roller and more particularly, to a self-aligning track roller for accommodation to variable track surfaces comprising a co-engaging inner race and outer race movable relative to one another wherein an elastomeric element such as a ring is disposed between respective ends of the inner and outer races so as to bias the inner race into alignment with the outer race.",
"Further, the inner race has a bearing surface provided with a self-lubricating material which is engageable with and movable relative to the bearing surface of the outer race.",
"At present, track rollers being used incorporate a crown radii on the outer diameter of the outer race to compensate for track deflections and irregularities.",
"This reduces the contact area between the roller and the mating surface of the track.",
"An increase in contact bearing pressure results due to the reduced contact area which has caused excessive wear and distress to the track surface.",
"Further, the conventional track roller bearings are constructed with rolling elements positioned between the inner and outer races and require a lubricant such as grease.",
"Addition of lubricant to the rolling elements is periodically required to maintain the operational performance and to add corrosion resistance.",
"Such bearings are subject to failure where fracturing of the rolling elements and spalling of the inner race occur.",
"In addition, the performance of these track roller bearings depends on the effectiveness of seals incorporated therein which ensure that the grease lubrication is maintained within the varying surface area, proper, and that the grease lubrication is not contaminated from external sources.",
"It is known to incorporate a self-lubricating liner system as an alternative to the rolling element track roller surface of the outer race so as to operate against the bearing surface of a hardened inner race.",
"These bearing assemblies have the advantage that they do not require periodic lubrication and they have a generally higher rolling load capacity.",
"In addition, static radial load capacity of these bearing assemblies is substantially higher than the rolling element bearing assemblies with high thrust capacity being ensured by the use of the separate self-lubricating liner system.",
"These self-lubricating type bearing assemblies are discussed for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,048,370 and 4,134,842.",
"The self-lubricating liner systems with the liner attached to the inner diameter of the outer race were designed in accordance with the belief that the wear experienced during the life of the bearing system could be distributed over the full circumference of the liner and thus result in extended surface life.",
"Nevertheless, it has been found that because of the rotation of the outer race liner in relation to the stationary inner race and the unidirectional load application, liner systems with a compression modulus of up to about 1 million psi are subjected to material deflection.",
"More particularly, the mismatch of the inner race circumferential surface to the outer race by differential tolerances and the thickness of the liner system provide the mechanism which permits local deflection of the liner as the outer race moves relative to the inner race when loaded.",
"Therefore, under a steady applied load, while moving in relation to the inner race, high shearing action and tensile forces are imposed on the liner immediately in front of the progressing load action of the inner race.",
"This is known as ploughing.",
"When combined with fluid contamination, the liner is further distressed due to the wedging action of fluid in front of the advancing inner race slider.",
"Lubricating material affixed to the outer race in a track-roller bearing assembly is subjected to distortion and consequent reduced service life relative to the arrangement of the present invention.",
"The induced liner deflection when loaded by the inner race during rotation of the outer race adversely affects the bond between the lubricating material and the outer race, and as the bond fails, the lubricating material is pinched between the inner and outer races without any support and tends to be squeezed out.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The bearing assembly of the present invention overcomes the above-mentioned problems associated with the provision of a drawn radii by providing co-engaging inner-and outer races that are self-aligning.",
"More particularly, in accordance with the present invention, an elastomeric element is provided about at least one and preferably both ends of the inner race adjacent a respective end of the outer race.",
"In this manner, when relative angular rotation of the inner and outer races distorts the elastomeric element(s) the resiliency of the element(s) resists the deformation and urges the races into their original axial alignment.",
"The bearing assembly of the present invention also avoids the liner bond failure occasioned by the above-described ploughing action and exhibits a significantly extended wear life.",
"In the bearing assembly of the present invention the self-lubricating bearing material is preferably provided on the outer bearing surface of the inner material.",
"This construction ensures positive contact between the liner system and mating surfaces so that fluid contamination does not become a mechanical wedging tool.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating a first embodiment of the self-adjusting, self-lubricating track roller of the present invention;",
"FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating a second embodiment of the track roller of the present invention;",
"and FIG. 3 is a sectional view illustrating yet another embodiment of the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the improved bearing assembly of the present invention with the shaft omitted for clarity.",
"As can be seen, the bearing assembly comprises an inner ball race 10 and an outer race 12 engageable with and rotatable relative to inner ball race 10.",
"In the illustrated embodiment outer race 12 includes first and second parts 14 and 16.",
"Further, outer race 12 has an inner arc surface defined by the inner portions of parts 14 and 16 that has a length less than the arcuate surface of inner race 10 so as to allow relative angular movement of races 10 and 12 as will be described more fully below.",
"Inner race 10 of the illustrated embodiment includes a ball portion 18 and first and second cylindrical portions 20.",
"Cylindrical portions 20 extend axially beyond an associated end face 22 of outer race 12.",
"Further, the end faces 22 are inwardly inclined so as to be conical in shape and a gap 23 is provided between the cylindrical portions 20 and the end faces 22 so that the inner and outer races 10 and 12 can be angularly displaced relative to one another to accommodate track deflections.",
"To provide the self-aligning characteristics of the bearing assembly, an elastomeric ring 24 is provided about at least one and preferably both cylindrical portions 20 between same and an associated end face 22.",
"The elastomeric ring 24 so disposed is resiliently distorted when races 10 and 12 are angularly displaced because of, for example, track irregularities or other mechanical relations in a structure.",
"However, the resiliency of ring 24 causes same to urge the races 10, 12 back into axial alignment and hence, the bearing assembly is self-aligning.",
"As is further apparent, elastomeric ring(s) 24 also serve to cushion relative angular movement so that, despite track deflections or irregularities, motion is more smoothly transmitted while stresses on the assembly are minimized.",
"Referring to FIG. 2, an alternate embodiment of a self-aligning roller bearing is shown.",
"In this embodiment, rather than wedge-shaped ring 24, realignment is provided by the combination of an O-ring 28 mounted on at least one and preferably both end portions 20 and an elastomeric washer 30 which is disposed between each O-ring 28 and its associated end face 22.",
"Of course an appropriatly sized O-ring formed of an appropriate material could be used in some circumstances without a washer 30.",
"Further, the illustrated embodiment, a recess 32 is defined on the surface of end portion 20 to receive O-ring 28 and retain the same in position.",
"Turning to FIG. 3, yet another embodiment of the present invention is shown, on an inner race that is formed with only a single end portion 34.",
"In this embodiment, the self-aligning function is achieved through the combination of an elastomeric washer 36 disposed between an end face 38 of the outer race 40 and a rigid wedge shaped ring 43 mounted to end portion 34 of inner race 44.",
"The elastomeric ring(s) 24 as well as O-ring(s) 28 and washer(s) 30, 36 provided in accordance with the present invention of course may be formed from any suitable material but are preferably formed from, for example, urethane, teflon, silicone, nitrile, neoprene or vyton and may be adhesively secured in place as shown.",
"As can be further seen in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, in the bearing assembly of the present invention, unlike the bearing assemblies of the prior art, the outer surface of inner race 10 is provided with a self-lubricating bearing material 26 fixedly secured thereto.",
"Bearing material 16 can be fixed to the outer diameter of the inner race by any suitable means.",
"The bearing material 16 so affixed is engageable with and movable relative to the inner surface of the outer race 12.",
"Further, bearing material 16 extends the entire arc length of the inner race 10 outer diameter so that it will be disposed between outer race 12 and inner race 10 even at the extremes of relative angular motion due to track deflections or irregularities.",
"Outer race 12 of the bearing assembly of the present invention is made of metal, preferably stainless steel (wrought or powder metallurgy) such as 440C, 13-8PH, AUS 5617-Custom 455, 17-4 PH, 300 series, and more preferably 13-8PH, although other metals such as high carbon steel 52100 as well as case hardened titanium, anodized aluminum, Inconel, Hastelloy and A286 can also be employed, so as to provide a metal inner bearing surface.",
"Inner race 10 of the bearing assembly of the present invention can also be made of a metal such as defined above, and more preferably stainless steel 17-4PH.",
"The outer surface thereof has fixedly secured thereto the self-lubricating material.",
"The self-lubricating material can be a solid organic lubricant such as a solid polyester, polyamide, polyphenylene sulfide, polyarylsulfone, a polyfluorocarbon or, a cured acrylate as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,048,370 and incorporated herein by reference or even a woven fiber matrix impregnated, for example, with a cured acrylate composition as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,842 also incorporated herein by reference or other resin systems.",
"The self-lubricating material can be secured to the outer surface 29 of inner race by known methods.",
"Representative polyesters include aromatic polyesters Such as p-oxybenzoyl polyester which is commercially available, for instance, under the tradename Ekanol and sold by the Carborundum Co",
"This polyester material has a density ranging from 1.44-1.48 gcc and a melting point of about 800° F. Polyamides usefully employed in the present invention include, for instance, Nylon-6 and Nylon-6,6 although it will be recognized that other nylon formulations can also be employed.",
"Aromatic poly p-phenylene sulfides can also be employed and such polymers can have a molecular weight ranging as high as about 13,000.",
"They are available, commercially, under the tradename of Ryton by Phillips Petroleum Company, such a product having a specific gravity of about 1.34, a density of about 0.0485 lbs/in 3 and a melting point of about 550° F. Polyfluorocarbons usefully employed in the present invention include polytetrafluoroethylene.",
"Included in the polyaryl sulfones suitable for use in the present invention are those which have a molecular weight ranging from about 30,000 to 60,000.",
"One convenient polyaryl sulfone is that sold commercially under the tradename Polymer 360-3M Astrel 360 having a specific gravity of 1.36, a density of 0.049 lbs/in 3 , a compressive strength at 73° F. of 17,900 psi and a melting point of about 550° F. Polyimides employed in the present invention are aromatic polyimides which are available commercially under, for instance, the tradenames 6f Vespel SP-1 (DuPont) which has a specific gravity ranging from about 1.41-1.43, a density of about 0.052 lbs/in 3 , a compressive strength at 73° F. of about 24,000 psi and a heat distortion temperature at 264 psi of about 680° F. A modified Vespel SP-1 polyimide is Vespel SP-21 which contains 15 weight percent graphite, has a specific gravity of about 1.51, a density of about 0.0546 lbs/in 3 and a compressive strength at 73° F. of about 18,000 psi.",
"Other polyimides include one available commercially as XPl-182 by American Cyanamid which has a specific gravity of about 1.28, a density of about 0.046 lbs/in 3 , a compressive strength at 73° F. of about 25,000 psi and a heat distortion temperature at 264 psi of about 440° F. Still another polyimide commercially available is that sold under the tradename of Genom 3010 by General Electric and has a specific gravity of about 1.90, a density of about 0.068 lbs/in 3 , a compressive strength at 73° F. of about 41,900 psi and a heat distortion temperature at 264 psi of about 660° F. Polyimides containing polytetrafluoroethylene or graphite fibers can also be used.",
"When the self-lubricating material selected is a cured mixture of an acrylate composition and a particulate solid lubricant, such as polytetrafluoroethylene, the acrylate composition can be selected from the group consisting of (a) a mixture of a major amount of a liquid acrylic ester selected from the group consisting of di-, tri-, and tetraesters of an acrylic acid and a polyhydric alcohol, a minor amount of a low molecular weight prepolymer of an ester of a low molecular weight alcohol having a terminal vinyl group and an aromatic polycarboxylic acid in solution in said acrylic ester and an organic amide of the formula ##STR1## wherein R is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and aliphatic hydrocarbon of 1-20 carbon atoms in an amount sufficient to copolymerize said acrylic ester and prepolymer, (b) a mixture of acrylic ester monomer, a peroxidic initiator in an amount sufficient to initiate polymerization of said monomer and an aminoalkoxyalkylamine of the formula R 1 --N(H)R 2 [OR 3 ] x N(H)R 4 wherein x is an integer of 1-6 inclusive, each of R 1 and R 4 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and lower alkyl and each of R 2 and R 3 is a lower alkyl linking bridge between N and O, in an amount sufficient to accelerate the polymerization of said monomer, (c) a mixture of an acrylic ester of an alkyl amino alkyl alcohol and an effective amount of hydroperoxide catalyst, said acrylic ester having the formula ##STR2## wherein x is an integer of 0-5 inclusive, y is an integer of 1-6 inclusive, R is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, halogen, hydroxy, cyano and lower alkyl and R 1 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and alkyl having 1-6 carbon atoms, (d) a mixture of a liquid acrylic ester monomer selected from the group consisting of diesters of an acrylic acid and a polyhydric alcohol, acrylic esters of cyclic ether alcohols, acrylic esters of amino alcohols and mixtures thereof, a peroxidic initiator and an oxyalkylamine of the formula (H) m N[(CH 2 ) x (OR 1 ) y OR 2 ] n wherein m and n are each integers of 1 to 2 inclusive, the total of m and n is 3, x is an integer of 1 to 6 inclusive, y is an integer of 0 to 6 inclusive, R 1 is lower alkyl and R 2 is selected from hydrogen and lower alkyl, (e) a mixture of an acrylic ester monomer selected from the group consisting of di-, tri- and tetraesters of an acrylic acid and a polyhydric alcohol, acrylic esters of cyclic ether alcohols, acrylic esters of amino alcohols and mixtures thereof, a peroxidic initiator of an amount sufficient to initiate polymerization of said monomer and a member selected from the group consisting of rhodanine and a hydrazide of the formula ##STR3## wherein R and R'",
"are selected from separate groups and an interconnected group forming a cyclic ring, R is further selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl and alkoxy and R'",
"is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl, cycloalkyl, acyl and dithiocarbonyl in an amount sufficient to accelerate the polymerization of said monomer;",
"and (f) a mixture of a monomer of the formula ##STR4## wherein R 1 and R are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and lower alkyl and R is selected from the group consisting of lower alkyl, lower hydroxyalkyl, cyano and lower cyanoalkyl;",
"at least one equivalent of an acid for each equivalent of said monomer, said acid being selected from the group consisting of acrylic acid and lower alkyl acrylic acids;",
"an initiator selected from the group consisting of t-butyl perbenzoate, t-butyl peracetate and di-t-butyl diperphthalate, said initiator being present in an amount sufficient to initiate the polymerization of said monomer;",
"a trihydroxy benzene inhibitor and an accelerator selected from the group consisting of benzhydrazide and N-aminorhodanine.",
"When the self-lubricating material selected is a woven fiber matrix impregnated with a cured acrylate composition, the woven fiber matrix can comprise a material woven from a mixture of fibers, one face of the material comprising lubricating fibers, the other comprising reinforcing fibers.",
"Conveniently the woven fiber matrix can be fabricated from polytetrafluoroethylene fibers, as the lubricating fibers;",
"and from such reinforcing fibers as KEVLAR fibers, polyethylene terephthalate (DACRON) fibers as well as fiberglass and graphite fibers.",
"Preferably, the reinforcing fibers are KEVLAR fibers, available commercially under the tradename KEVLAR PRD 49, by DuPont.",
"KEVLAR is an organic polymeric compound known as an aromatic polyamide, i.e. an aramid.",
"It is a high strength, high modulus fiber made from long chain synthetic polyamides wherein at least 85 percent of the amide linkages are attached directly to two aromatic rings.",
"KEVLAR fiber is extremely stable, has high strength, toughness and stiffness characteristics.",
"The density of KEVLAR PRD 49 is 1.45 g/cc and its mechanical properties lie between the values of glass and graphite filament.",
"The curable acrylate, which can be any of those defined above at (a) through (f) is present in an amount sufficient to impregnate the woven fiber matrix and to bond the same to the outer surface of the inner race.",
"As is apparent from the foregoing, to compensate for track deflections and irregularities, the track roller of the present invention is self-adjusting in that the outer race can rotate angularly relative to the axis of the inner race in response to the variable track surface.",
"This maintains the contact area between the rolling and the mating surface of the track so that the contact bearing pressure will not be increased and excessive wear and distress of the track surface is minimized.",
"Further, the track roller of the present invention is self-aligning in that the inner and outer races are urged back into axial alignment when the races have been so angularly displaced.",
"While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on Patent Application No(s).099134711 filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on Oct. 12, 2010, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE TECHNOLOGY
[0002] The present invention relates to portable electronic devices, and more particularly, to a portable electronic device capable of receiving therein an electrical connection unit automatically.
BACKGROUND
[0003] With memory devices becoming more popular with people and memory capacity becoming larger, portable plug-and-play (PnP) electronic products are in wide use. Conventional portable electronic devices each comprise a casing and a body enclosed therein. The body of the conventional electronic device comprises a storage unit and an electrical connection unit protruding out of the casing. The storage unit can be connected to an external electrical connection end via the electrical connection unit so as to enable data transmission. The external electrical connection end is exemplified by a USB flash drive or a USB stick.
[0004] As mentioned earlier, the electrical connection unit is exposed from the casing. The casing consists of an upper cover and a lower cover. Due to the two aforesaid features, conventional portable electronic devices are vulnerable. The electrical connection unit is likely to be hit and damaged, because it is exposed from the casing. The upper and lower covers can be crushed as a result of a hit on the casing. To overcome the aforesaid drawbacks of conventional portable storage devices, protection for the electrical connection units of recently developed portable storage devices is improved. For example, the electrical connection unit of a portable storage device is covered with a protective cover whenever the portable storage device is idle. Alternatively, the electrical connection unit is retractable into the casing. Normally, the retraction of the retractable electrical connection unit is performed manually by means of a manually operated rod. Nonetheless, it is not uncommon for the portable electronic device to become inoperable after the manually operated rod has severed under an inappropriate force.
[0005] Taiwan Patent No. M360428, entitled Connector Retractable Device for USB Flash Drive, discloses two bilaterally disposed spring structures for use with a USB flash drive such that a push exerted on the rear end of the body of the USB flash drive by the user is followed by automatic retraction and resultant positioning of the body of the USB flash drive under the reaction of the springs abutting against the body of the USB flash drive. However, the spring structures of Taiwan Patent No. M360428 have the following drawbacks: failure to demonstrate ease of use, user-based operation-dependent retraction function, and the likelihood of damaging the body, or crushing the upper and lower covers, of the USB flash drive as a result of a hit thereon. Similar drawbacks are found in Taiwan Patent No. M376871 entitled Flash Drive Having Retractable Connector.
[0006] Accordingly, it is imperative to provide a portable electronic device advantageously characterized by enhanced protection for its body and a electrical connection unit, a reinforced casing structure for protecting the received electrical connection unit and body, automatic accommodation of the electrical connection unit in the casing without requiring a user to touch a driving rod, and a structure conducive to easy separation of the body and the casing so as to facilitate maintenance.
SUMMARY
[0007] It is an objective of the present invention to provide a portable electronic device capable of receiving an electrical connection unit therein automatically without user-based operation as soon as the electrical connection unit is disconnected from an external circuit.
[0008] It is another objective of the present invention to provide a portable electronic device that allows the electrical connection unit to be safely received inside the portable electronic device whenever the portable electronic device is not in use and enables easy and quick removal of the electrical connection unit while maintenance is underway.
[0009] In order to achieve the above and other objectives, the present invention provides a portable electronic device comprising: a body comprising a positioning structure, an engagement structure, and an electrical connection unit, the positioning structure having an end provided with a pin, and the electrical connection unit being connectable to an external circuit; a casing for receiving the body slidable within the casing in a direction, the casing having an opening and a stop structure, the opening allowing the electrical connection unit to protract out of the casing or retract into the casing while the body is sliding, the stop structure limiting a sliding range of the body when operating in conjunction with the engagement structure, the casing further having an inner wall disposed thereon with a one-way circular track for receiving the pin, the positioning structure being slidable with the body so as to drive the pin to slide within the one-way circular track, and the one-way circular track being provided with a reverse recess positioned in vicinity of the opening to allow the pin to stay in the reverse recess; and a resilient element having an end coupled to the casing and another end configured to abut against the body, and exerting a resilient restoring force upon the body in response to the sliding of the body.
[0010] Compared to the prior art, the present invention provides a portable electronic device that allows an electrical connection unit to be automatically received inside the portable electronic device as soon as the body of the electrical connection unit is disconnected from an external circuit. Furthermore, a casing of the portable electronic device is integrally formed as a unitary unit so as to reinforce the portable electronic device. In addition, not only is the electrical connection unit fixed to the inside of the portable electronic device by means of an engagement structure and a stop structure, but maintenance performed on the portable electronic device is speeded up and rendered easy by disengagement of the engagement structure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] A detailed description of further features and advantages of the present invention is given below so that a person skilled in the art can understand and implement the technical contents of the present invention and readily comprehend the objectives, features, and advantages thereof by reviewing the disclosure of the present specification and the appended claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a portable electronic device;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional schematic view of the portable electronic device shown in FIG. 1 ;
[0014] FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the portable electronic device with an electrical connection unit received in a casing;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the portable electronic device with the electrical connection unit protruding out of the casing; and
[0016] FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a body of the portable electronic device, showing that the body has a post therein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] Referring to FIG. 1 through FIG. 5 , there are shown schematic views of a portable electronic device in an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , a portable electronic device 1 comprises a casing 2 , a body 4 , and a resilient element 6 . The casing 2 has an opening 22 and a stop structure 24 . A one-way circular track 26 is disposed on the inner wall of the casing 2 . The one-way circular track 26 is provided with a reverse recess 262 positioned in the vicinity of the opening 22 . The body 4 comprises a positioning structure 42 , an engagement structure 44 , and an electrical connection unit 46 . The positioning structure 42 has one end provided with a pin 422 and the other end provided with a sharply-bent hook 424 fixed to the body 4 . The resilient element 6 has one end coupled to the casing 2 and the other end abutting against the body 4 . The resilient element 6 exerts a resilient restoring force upon the body 4 in response to the sliding of the body 4 .
[0018] Referring to FIG. 2 , there is shown a cross-sectional schematic view of the portable electronic device 1 shown in FIG. 1 . The casing 2 has a receiving space for receiving the body 4 . The body 4 is slidable within the receiving space of the casing 2 in a direction. The electrical connection unit 46 of the body 4 corresponds in position to the opening 22 , thereby allowing the electrical connection unit 46 to protract out of the casing 2 or retract into the casing 2 while the body 4 is sliding, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 . The stop structure 24 limits the sliding range of the body 4 slidable within the casing 2 when operating in conjunction with the engagement structure 44 . The engagement structure 44 restricts the movement of the body 4 to the receiving space of the casing 2 as soon as the body 4 slides into the casing 2 . The body 4 cannot be separated from the casing 2 by sliding, unless the engagement structure 44 is disengaged from the stop structure 24 . For example, to move the body 4 into the casing 2 , a user may press the engagement structure 44 with a tool such that the engagement structure 44 lies lower than the stop structure 24 , and then the user slides the body 4 into the casing 2 ; meanwhile, the engagement structure 44 which has become unrestrained restores to its original position as soon as the body 4 slides into the casing 2 , whereas the stop structure 24 confines the body 4 to the receiving space of the casing 2 . To take the casing-bound body 4 out of the casing 2 for a maintenance-related purpose, the user may press the engagement structure 44 with a tool to remove the restriction otherwise imposed upon the engagement structure 44 by the stop structure 24 , as shown in FIG. 1 . As mentioned earlier, the body 4 can be easily put into or taken out of the casing 2 by pressing the engagement structure 44 , and thus it is feasible for the casing 2 to be integrally formed as a unitary unit so as to reinforce the portable electronic device 1 .
[0019] The one-way circular track 26 is disposed on the inner wall of the casing 2 . The one-way circular track 26 further comprises a first track 264 and a second track 266 in communication with each other. Both the first track 264 and the second track 266 are in communication with the reverse recess 262 positioned in the vicinity of the opening 22 . The pin 422 can stay in the reverse recess 262 . The one-way circular track 26 accommodates the pin 422 of the positioning structure 42 as soon as the body 4 slides into the casing 2 . The positioning structure 42 slides together with the body 4 , and in consequence the pin 422 slides within the one-way circular track 26 . For example, the sliding of the body 4 in the direction of the opening 22 causes the pin 422 to slide along the first track 264 and enter the reverse recess 262 and causes the electrical connection unit 46 to protract out of the casing 2 . Conversely, the sliding of the body 4 away from the opening 22 causes the pin 422 to leave the reverse recess 262 and slide along the second track 266 and causes the electrical connection unit 46 to retract into the casing 2 .
[0020] The one-way circular track 26 further comprises a receiving portion 268 for receiving the positioning structure 42 ; in other words, both the first track 264 and the second track 266 extend from the receiving portion 268 , communicate with each other, and communicate with the reverse recess 262 positioned in the vicinity of the opening 22 . As a result, the pin 422 can move from the receiving portion 268 to the reverse recess 262 by sliding along the first track 264 , and can move from the reverse recess 262 to the receiving portion 268 by sliding along the second track 266 .
[0021] At the moment that the body 4 slides into the casing 2 , the resilient element 6 abuts against the body 4 and thus exerts a resilient restoring force upon the body 4 in response to the sliding of the body 4 within the casing 2 . For example, the sliding of the body 4 in the direction of the opening 22 causes the pin 422 to follow the first track 264 to the reverse recess 262 , and in consequence the body 4 compresses and deforms the resilient element 6 , as shown FIG. 4 . Conversely, upon a pause in the sliding of the body 4 and commencement of withdrawal of the pin 422 from the reverse recess 262 , the resilient element 6 exerts a resilient restoring force upon the body 4 to thereby move the body 4 backward, and the pin 422 of the body 4 follows the second track 266 to the receiving portion 268 , as shown in FIG. 3 .
[0022] In practice, the user may push the body 4 of the portable electronic device 1 , such that the body 4 slides toward the opening 22 of the casing 2 to thereby allow the electrical connection unit 46 of the body 4 to protract out of the casing 2 through the opening 22 ; meanwhile, the pin 422 of the positioning structure 42 follows the first track 264 of the one-way circular track 26 to the reverse recess 262 . At this point of time, the body 4 slides toward the opening 22 of the casing 2 to thereby compress and deform the resilient element 6 . The compressed resilient element 6 exerts a resilient restoring force upon the body 4 . Once the body 4 slides toward the opening 22 to such an extent that the pin 422 enters the reverse recess 262 , the pin 422 will stay in the reverse recess 262 to assist the electrical connection unit 46 in being fixed to this position, and in consequence the portable electronic device 1 is connected to an external circuit through the electrical connection unit 46 .
[0023] Afterward, the user may exert a force upon the casing 2 in attempt to withdraw the portable electronic device 1 from the external circuit. In response to the user's effort, the external circuit exerts an equal reaction upon the electrical connection unit 46 to thereby assist the pin 422 in exiting the reverse recess 262 and entering the second track 26 . Once the user withdraws the portable electronic device 1 completely, the resilient restoring force corresponding to the compression of the resilient element 6 is exerted upon the body 4 such that the body 4 will slide away from the opening 22 ; meanwhile, the pin 422 of the body 4 follows the second track 266 of the one-way circular track 26 to the receiving portion 268 . As mentioned earlier, the body 4 is pushed by a resilient restoring force to thereby slide away from the opening 22 , and, as a result, the electrical connection unit 46 is automatically received in the casing 2 , thereby dispensing the user's operating the electrical connection unit 46 with a manual rod.
[0024] In addition, the body 4 further comprises a post 48 . The resilient element 6 is put around the post 48 as soon as the body 4 slides into the casing 2 ; in so doing, the resilient element 6 is fixed between the body 4 and the casing 2 by means of the post 48 , such that the functionality of the resilient element 6 is brought into full play, as shown in FIG. 5 .
[0025] The body 4 is a printed circuit board, an electronic component, a memory device, and/or a storage device. The electrical connection unit 46 is a universal serial bus (USB), a serial advanced technology attachment (SATA), an external serial advanced technology attachment (E-SATA), an IEEE 1394 interface (FireWire), or a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI).
[0026] Compared to the prior art, the present invention provides a portable electronic device that allows an electrical connection unit to be automatically received inside the portable electronic device as soon as the body of the electrical connection unit is disconnected from an external circuit. Furthermore, a casing of the portable electronic device is integrally formed as a unitary unit so as to reinforce the portable electronic device. In addition, not only is the electrical connection unit fixed to the inside of the portable electronic device by means of an engagement structure and a stop structure, but maintenance performed on the portable electronic device is speeded up and rendered easy by disengagement of the engagement structure.
[0027] The foregoing embodiments are provided to illustrate and disclose the technical features of the present invention so as to enable persons skilled in the art to understand the disclosure of the present invention and implement the present invention accordingly, and are not intended to be restrictive of the scope of the present invention. Hence, all equivalent modifications and variations made to the foregoing embodiments without departing from the spirit and principles in the disclosure of the present invention should fall within the scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims. | A portable electronic device includes a body, a casing, and a resilient element. The casing accommodates the body such that the body can slide within the casing. The casing has an opening through which an electrical connection unit connected to the body protracts out of, or retracts into, the casing. The resilient element has an end connected to the casing and another end abutting against the body. The resilient element exerts a resilient restoring force upon the body in response to the sliding of the body. The casing has a stop structure configured to operate in conjunction with an engagement structure of the body and thereby limit the range of the sliding of the body. The engagement structure can be disengaged from the stop structure to separate the body from the casing. Accordingly, the portable electronic device has multiple uses, namely quick maintenance, easy assembly, body protection, and automatic accommodation. | Identify the most important claim in the given context and summarize it | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) on Patent Application No(s)[.",
"].099134711 filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on Oct. 12, 2010, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.",
"FIELD OF THE TECHNOLOGY [0002] The present invention relates to portable electronic devices, and more particularly, to a portable electronic device capable of receiving therein an electrical connection unit automatically.",
"BACKGROUND [0003] With memory devices becoming more popular with people and memory capacity becoming larger, portable plug-and-play (PnP) electronic products are in wide use.",
"Conventional portable electronic devices each comprise a casing and a body enclosed therein.",
"The body of the conventional electronic device comprises a storage unit and an electrical connection unit protruding out of the casing.",
"The storage unit can be connected to an external electrical connection end via the electrical connection unit so as to enable data transmission.",
"The external electrical connection end is exemplified by a USB flash drive or a USB stick.",
"[0004] As mentioned earlier, the electrical connection unit is exposed from the casing.",
"The casing consists of an upper cover and a lower cover.",
"Due to the two aforesaid features, conventional portable electronic devices are vulnerable.",
"The electrical connection unit is likely to be hit and damaged, because it is exposed from the casing.",
"The upper and lower covers can be crushed as a result of a hit on the casing.",
"To overcome the aforesaid drawbacks of conventional portable storage devices, protection for the electrical connection units of recently developed portable storage devices is improved.",
"For example, the electrical connection unit of a portable storage device is covered with a protective cover whenever the portable storage device is idle.",
"Alternatively, the electrical connection unit is retractable into the casing.",
"Normally, the retraction of the retractable electrical connection unit is performed manually by means of a manually operated rod.",
"Nonetheless, it is not uncommon for the portable electronic device to become inoperable after the manually operated rod has severed under an inappropriate force.",
"[0005] Taiwan Patent No. M360428, entitled Connector Retractable Device for USB Flash Drive, discloses two bilaterally disposed spring structures for use with a USB flash drive such that a push exerted on the rear end of the body of the USB flash drive by the user is followed by automatic retraction and resultant positioning of the body of the USB flash drive under the reaction of the springs abutting against the body of the USB flash drive.",
"However, the spring structures of Taiwan Patent No. M360428 have the following drawbacks: failure to demonstrate ease of use, user-based operation-dependent retraction function, and the likelihood of damaging the body, or crushing the upper and lower covers, of the USB flash drive as a result of a hit thereon.",
"Similar drawbacks are found in Taiwan Patent No. M376871 entitled Flash Drive Having Retractable Connector.",
"[0006] Accordingly, it is imperative to provide a portable electronic device advantageously characterized by enhanced protection for its body and a electrical connection unit, a reinforced casing structure for protecting the received electrical connection unit and body, automatic accommodation of the electrical connection unit in the casing without requiring a user to touch a driving rod, and a structure conducive to easy separation of the body and the casing so as to facilitate maintenance.",
"SUMMARY [0007] It is an objective of the present invention to provide a portable electronic device capable of receiving an electrical connection unit therein automatically without user-based operation as soon as the electrical connection unit is disconnected from an external circuit.",
"[0008] It is another objective of the present invention to provide a portable electronic device that allows the electrical connection unit to be safely received inside the portable electronic device whenever the portable electronic device is not in use and enables easy and quick removal of the electrical connection unit while maintenance is underway.",
"[0009] In order to achieve the above and other objectives, the present invention provides a portable electronic device comprising: a body comprising a positioning structure, an engagement structure, and an electrical connection unit, the positioning structure having an end provided with a pin, and the electrical connection unit being connectable to an external circuit;",
"a casing for receiving the body slidable within the casing in a direction, the casing having an opening and a stop structure, the opening allowing the electrical connection unit to protract out of the casing or retract into the casing while the body is sliding, the stop structure limiting a sliding range of the body when operating in conjunction with the engagement structure, the casing further having an inner wall disposed thereon with a one-way circular track for receiving the pin, the positioning structure being slidable with the body so as to drive the pin to slide within the one-way circular track, and the one-way circular track being provided with a reverse recess positioned in vicinity of the opening to allow the pin to stay in the reverse recess;",
"and a resilient element having an end coupled to the casing and another end configured to abut against the body, and exerting a resilient restoring force upon the body in response to the sliding of the body.",
"[0010] Compared to the prior art, the present invention provides a portable electronic device that allows an electrical connection unit to be automatically received inside the portable electronic device as soon as the body of the electrical connection unit is disconnected from an external circuit.",
"Furthermore, a casing of the portable electronic device is integrally formed as a unitary unit so as to reinforce the portable electronic device.",
"In addition, not only is the electrical connection unit fixed to the inside of the portable electronic device by means of an engagement structure and a stop structure, but maintenance performed on the portable electronic device is speeded up and rendered easy by disengagement of the engagement structure.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0011] A detailed description of further features and advantages of the present invention is given below so that a person skilled in the art can understand and implement the technical contents of the present invention and readily comprehend the objectives, features, and advantages thereof by reviewing the disclosure of the present specification and the appended claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: [0012] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a portable electronic device;",
"[0013] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional schematic view of the portable electronic device shown in FIG. 1 ;",
"[0014] FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the portable electronic device with an electrical connection unit received in a casing;",
"[0015] FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the portable electronic device with the electrical connection unit protruding out of the casing;",
"and [0016] FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a body of the portable electronic device, showing that the body has a post therein.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0017] Referring to FIG. 1 through FIG. 5 , there are shown schematic views of a portable electronic device in an embodiment of the present invention.",
"As shown in FIG. 1 , a portable electronic device 1 comprises a casing 2 , a body 4 , and a resilient element 6 .",
"The casing 2 has an opening 22 and a stop structure 24 .",
"A one-way circular track 26 is disposed on the inner wall of the casing 2 .",
"The one-way circular track 26 is provided with a reverse recess 262 positioned in the vicinity of the opening 22 .",
"The body 4 comprises a positioning structure 42 , an engagement structure 44 , and an electrical connection unit 46 .",
"The positioning structure 42 has one end provided with a pin 422 and the other end provided with a sharply-bent hook 424 fixed to the body 4 .",
"The resilient element 6 has one end coupled to the casing 2 and the other end abutting against the body 4 .",
"The resilient element 6 exerts a resilient restoring force upon the body 4 in response to the sliding of the body 4 .",
"[0018] Referring to FIG. 2 , there is shown a cross-sectional schematic view of the portable electronic device 1 shown in FIG. 1 .",
"The casing 2 has a receiving space for receiving the body 4 .",
"The body 4 is slidable within the receiving space of the casing 2 in a direction.",
"The electrical connection unit 46 of the body 4 corresponds in position to the opening 22 , thereby allowing the electrical connection unit 46 to protract out of the casing 2 or retract into the casing 2 while the body 4 is sliding, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 .",
"The stop structure 24 limits the sliding range of the body 4 slidable within the casing 2 when operating in conjunction with the engagement structure 44 .",
"The engagement structure 44 restricts the movement of the body 4 to the receiving space of the casing 2 as soon as the body 4 slides into the casing 2 .",
"The body 4 cannot be separated from the casing 2 by sliding, unless the engagement structure 44 is disengaged from the stop structure 24 .",
"For example, to move the body 4 into the casing 2 , a user may press the engagement structure 44 with a tool such that the engagement structure 44 lies lower than the stop structure 24 , and then the user slides the body 4 into the casing 2 ;",
"meanwhile, the engagement structure 44 which has become unrestrained restores to its original position as soon as the body 4 slides into the casing 2 , whereas the stop structure 24 confines the body 4 to the receiving space of the casing 2 .",
"To take the casing-bound body 4 out of the casing 2 for a maintenance-related purpose, the user may press the engagement structure 44 with a tool to remove the restriction otherwise imposed upon the engagement structure 44 by the stop structure 24 , as shown in FIG. 1 .",
"As mentioned earlier, the body 4 can be easily put into or taken out of the casing 2 by pressing the engagement structure 44 , and thus it is feasible for the casing 2 to be integrally formed as a unitary unit so as to reinforce the portable electronic device 1 .",
"[0019] The one-way circular track 26 is disposed on the inner wall of the casing 2 .",
"The one-way circular track 26 further comprises a first track 264 and a second track 266 in communication with each other.",
"Both the first track 264 and the second track 266 are in communication with the reverse recess 262 positioned in the vicinity of the opening 22 .",
"The pin 422 can stay in the reverse recess 262 .",
"The one-way circular track 26 accommodates the pin 422 of the positioning structure 42 as soon as the body 4 slides into the casing 2 .",
"The positioning structure 42 slides together with the body 4 , and in consequence the pin 422 slides within the one-way circular track 26 .",
"For example, the sliding of the body 4 in the direction of the opening 22 causes the pin 422 to slide along the first track 264 and enter the reverse recess 262 and causes the electrical connection unit 46 to protract out of the casing 2 .",
"Conversely, the sliding of the body 4 away from the opening 22 causes the pin 422 to leave the reverse recess 262 and slide along the second track 266 and causes the electrical connection unit 46 to retract into the casing 2 .",
"[0020] The one-way circular track 26 further comprises a receiving portion 268 for receiving the positioning structure 42 ;",
"in other words, both the first track 264 and the second track 266 extend from the receiving portion 268 , communicate with each other, and communicate with the reverse recess 262 positioned in the vicinity of the opening 22 .",
"As a result, the pin 422 can move from the receiving portion 268 to the reverse recess 262 by sliding along the first track 264 , and can move from the reverse recess 262 to the receiving portion 268 by sliding along the second track 266 .",
"[0021] At the moment that the body 4 slides into the casing 2 , the resilient element 6 abuts against the body 4 and thus exerts a resilient restoring force upon the body 4 in response to the sliding of the body 4 within the casing 2 .",
"For example, the sliding of the body 4 in the direction of the opening 22 causes the pin 422 to follow the first track 264 to the reverse recess 262 , and in consequence the body 4 compresses and deforms the resilient element 6 , as shown FIG. 4 .",
"Conversely, upon a pause in the sliding of the body 4 and commencement of withdrawal of the pin 422 from the reverse recess 262 , the resilient element 6 exerts a resilient restoring force upon the body 4 to thereby move the body 4 backward, and the pin 422 of the body 4 follows the second track 266 to the receiving portion 268 , as shown in FIG. 3 .",
"[0022] In practice, the user may push the body 4 of the portable electronic device 1 , such that the body 4 slides toward the opening 22 of the casing 2 to thereby allow the electrical connection unit 46 of the body 4 to protract out of the casing 2 through the opening 22 ;",
"meanwhile, the pin 422 of the positioning structure 42 follows the first track 264 of the one-way circular track 26 to the reverse recess 262 .",
"At this point of time, the body 4 slides toward the opening 22 of the casing 2 to thereby compress and deform the resilient element 6 .",
"The compressed resilient element 6 exerts a resilient restoring force upon the body 4 .",
"Once the body 4 slides toward the opening 22 to such an extent that the pin 422 enters the reverse recess 262 , the pin 422 will stay in the reverse recess 262 to assist the electrical connection unit 46 in being fixed to this position, and in consequence the portable electronic device 1 is connected to an external circuit through the electrical connection unit 46 .",
"[0023] Afterward, the user may exert a force upon the casing 2 in attempt to withdraw the portable electronic device 1 from the external circuit.",
"In response to the user's effort, the external circuit exerts an equal reaction upon the electrical connection unit 46 to thereby assist the pin 422 in exiting the reverse recess 262 and entering the second track 26 .",
"Once the user withdraws the portable electronic device 1 completely, the resilient restoring force corresponding to the compression of the resilient element 6 is exerted upon the body 4 such that the body 4 will slide away from the opening 22 ;",
"meanwhile, the pin 422 of the body 4 follows the second track 266 of the one-way circular track 26 to the receiving portion 268 .",
"As mentioned earlier, the body 4 is pushed by a resilient restoring force to thereby slide away from the opening 22 , and, as a result, the electrical connection unit 46 is automatically received in the casing 2 , thereby dispensing the user's operating the electrical connection unit 46 with a manual rod.",
"[0024] In addition, the body 4 further comprises a post 48 .",
"The resilient element 6 is put around the post 48 as soon as the body 4 slides into the casing 2 ;",
"in so doing, the resilient element 6 is fixed between the body 4 and the casing 2 by means of the post 48 , such that the functionality of the resilient element 6 is brought into full play, as shown in FIG. 5 .",
"[0025] The body 4 is a printed circuit board, an electronic component, a memory device, and/or a storage device.",
"The electrical connection unit 46 is a universal serial bus (USB), a serial advanced technology attachment (SATA), an external serial advanced technology attachment (E-SATA), an IEEE 1394 interface (FireWire), or a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI).",
"[0026] Compared to the prior art, the present invention provides a portable electronic device that allows an electrical connection unit to be automatically received inside the portable electronic device as soon as the body of the electrical connection unit is disconnected from an external circuit.",
"Furthermore, a casing of the portable electronic device is integrally formed as a unitary unit so as to reinforce the portable electronic device.",
"In addition, not only is the electrical connection unit fixed to the inside of the portable electronic device by means of an engagement structure and a stop structure, but maintenance performed on the portable electronic device is speeded up and rendered easy by disengagement of the engagement structure.",
"[0027] The foregoing embodiments are provided to illustrate and disclose the technical features of the present invention so as to enable persons skilled in the art to understand the disclosure of the present invention and implement the present invention accordingly, and are not intended to be restrictive of the scope of the present invention.",
"Hence, all equivalent modifications and variations made to the foregoing embodiments without departing from the spirit and principles in the disclosure of the present invention should fall within the scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims."
] |
RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is a Continuation-In-Part application based, in part, on Applicant's prior U.S. application Ser. No. 08/490,881 filed Jun. 14, 1995, which prior application Ser. No. 08/490,881: i) is now abandoned; and ii), was, in turn, a continuation of Applicant's then co-pending, now abandoned, U.S. application Ser. No. 08/222,405 filed Apr. 4, 1994.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to lift devices; and, more particularly, to a rotatable tubular metal liftarm assembly suitable for mounting on the deck of a sailboat or similar vessel for on-loading and/or off-loading equipment and supplies. More specifically, the present invention relates to a rotatable tubular metal liftarm assembly which is: i) simple in construction; ii) totally devoid of external supports, braces, pins and similar protuberances; iii) devoid of internal sheaves and/or pulleys; and iv), capable of freely rotating in either direction about its vertical axis through angles of up to 360° without undue twisting of, or otherwise fouling, the load line used to raise/lower objects being on-loaded onto or off-loaded from the vessel.
In its preferred embodiment, the load line is reeved through the tubular liftarm assembly which is devoid of internal sheaves, pulleys or the like; and, consequently, a load carried by the cantilevered free outboard end of the tubular liftarm does not create a rotational force tending to swing the liftarm about its vertical rotational axis, thereby preventing the tendency of heavy loads to inadvertently swing inboard and strike the side of the vessel, its siderail and/or other objects or persons. Moreover, the absence of external supports, braces, pins and/or similar protuberances not only contributes to the smooth, clean, streamlined appearance of the overall device, but, more significantly, enhances the capability of the rotatable liftarm assembly to be freely rotated about its vertical rotational axis during on-loading and/or off-loading operations without risk that the suspended load will be impeded, damaged or will cause damage to the liftarm assembly.
The present invention takes advantage of conventional on-board winches which commonly employ power ratios on the order of 16:1 or more and which are used to pay in or pay out a load line which has its free inboard end wound thereabout during on-loading and/or off-loading operations.
2. Background Art
The prior art is replete with numerous types of liftarm assemblies for sailboats and the like. Typically, such liftarm assemblies employ multi-part block-and-tackle arrangements suspended from the outboard end of a horizontal leg on a fabricated lift-arm assembly comprising aluminum or stainless steel tubing employing external struts, braces and/or pins for reinforcement and/or internal pulleys or sheaves about which the load line is reeved. Such prior art devices are typically quite bulky and capable of only limited rotational movement. Moreover, multi-part block-and-tackle arrangements are disadvantageous because: i) they tend to foul and tangle badly unless kept under tension at all times; ii) to lower a 4:1 tackle from the top of the liftarm to the water level requires paying out four times that distance of line which must be run through the sheave blocks of the tackle arrangement; iii) a heavy consistent downward pull must be maintained on the lower sheave block to overcome all of the friction and line movement in the tackle array; iv) attention must be constantly directed to the inboard end of the tackle system to prevent snags while paying the load line outboard; and v), the operator is required to pull the tackle line inwardly, generally at shoulder level, precisely along the top of the liftarm in order to prevent the tendency of the liftarm to swing inboard and slam the load into the side of the boat or into other objects or persons.
Rohrmann et al U.S. Pat. No. 1,774,996, which issued more than 65 years ago, while not representative of typical liftarm assemblies of the type used on sailboats and like vessels, is of general interest for its early disclosure of a cantilevered type liftarm with an internally reeved load line use to raise and lower the lid of cooking utensils. The device is characterized by the inclusion of a sheave 24 located internally of the horizontal cross arm with the load line being trained about the internal sheave. Such a device is not intended for, nor capable of, transferring heavy loads.
Swiss Pat. No. 384,386 issued to Carrosserie Torsa, Schallbetter & Cie S. A. as the assignee of Rene Salamin, discloses a liftarm assembly similar to that in the Rohrmann et al patent, but which is shown as having utility for raising or lowering small boats to or from a stowed position on top of a car or similar vehicle. As in Rohrmann et al, the tubular liftarm employs internal sheaves or pulleys about which the load line is trained. Additionally, because of the cantilevered construction and the magnitude of the weights to be lifted/lowered, the liftarm is provided with external support struts.
As recently as 1990, Strickland U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,865 issued disclosing a liftarm structure for loading and unloading pick-up trucks wherein the cantilevered liftarm, best shown in Strickland FIG. 4, employs an internal guide pulley 32 and external support struts or legs 27, 40, 41.
Other patents of miscellaneous interest include: i) Beaupre U.S. Pat. No. 4,880,345 [a load hoist assembly for boats]; ii) White U.S. Pat. No. 2,699,203 [an automobile driver's armrest]; iii) Christensen U.S. Pat. No. 3,126,100 [a clamp assembly for attaching a utility tray to a vertical column]; iv) Kindorf et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,616,645 [a pipe hanger]; v) German Pat. No. 130,741 [an internal diametrically extending stiffener member bisecting a tubular element]; and vi), UK Pat. No. 23,790 (1912) [a clip for securing articles to handle-bars on cycles].
Thus, the prior art devices described hereinabove are characterized by their complexity, lack of flexibility, requirements for internal sheaves or pulleys, and requirements for external support struts, braces and/or pins or similar external protrusions which tend to limit free rotation of the liftarm and any supported load about the liftarm's vertical axis. The use of conventional block-and-tackle assemblies of the types commonly employed with such conventional liftarm assemblies is expensive and fraught with difficulties and danger due to the need to maintain the load line under tension at all times so as to prevent tangles and other undue snags. Moreover, conventional block-and-tackle arrangements have limited power ratings, require excessive lengths of load line, and require constant attention by the operator.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention comprises a simple, yet rugged, low-cost liftarm assembly employing a single cantilever-type liftarm through which the load line is freely reeved without requiring internal sheaves or pulleys within the liftarm and without requiring external support struts, braces, pins and/or other types of external projections. The liftarm assembly of the present invention is characterized by: i) a continuous stainless steel tubular liftarm assembly devoid of internal pulleys and/or sheaves and external support struts, braces, pins or other projections; and ii), the ability to easily reeve the load line about an external outboard sheave mounted at the outboard cantilevered end of the liftarm assembly, through the liftarm, about an inboard sheave rotatably mounted in a fixedly positioned sheave box disposed at the lower end of a tubular mounting support for the liftarm assembly, and laterally to: a) a conventional cockpit winch mounted on the deck of the sailboat; b) a conventional winch fixedly secured to the liftarm assembly siderail mounting device; or c) any suitably positioned conventional winch, all of which are capable of output power ratios on the order of 16:1 or greater.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the arrangement is such that the cantilevered liftarm assembly is freely rotatable in either direction about its vertical axis through angles up to 360° without undesirable twisting of the load line. At the same time, the only force imposed on the liftarm assembly by the load being raised or lowered is imparted vertically at the free outboard end on the cantilevered liftarm without imposing any rotational force to the liftarm even during raising and/or lowering of heavy loads, thereby minimizing the danger that supported loads will be inadvertently swung inboard during a load raising or lowering operation and preventing consequent damage to the load, the side of the boat and/or its siderail, any deployed dinghy and/or crew members or other individuals in the dinghy, or onboard the sailboat or similar vessel.
The foregoing advantages are achieved by providing a cantilevered stainless steel tubular liftarm employing one or more internal concentric tubular stainless steel stiffening member(s) positioned in the region of the vertical portion of the tubular liftarm most susceptible to undesired flexure, yet wherein the load line can be easily reeved axially through the tubular liftarm assembly and any internal tubular stiffening member(s). In the practice of the present invention, the lower vertically extending end of the liftarm assembly is rotatably mounted within an upright, generally vertical, mounting tube affixed to the deck of the vessel with the mounting tube including a sheave box and rotatable inboard sheave lying in a vertical plane substantially bisecting a deck-mounted cockpit winch so that the lower inboard end of the load line can be reeved about the inboard sheave, led directly to the winch, and wound about the winch. Thus, the only force applied directly to the liftarm assembly is the weight of the load--i.e., a vertical force--which is suspended vertically below the outboard sheave on the cantilevered outboard end of the liftarm assembly.
More specifically, it is a general object of the invention to provide a rotatable liftarm assembly for use on sailboats and the like which is: i) rugged, yet simple in construction; ii) economical; iii) light weight; iv) portable and, therefore, readily storable when not in use; and v), which is characterized by its sleek customized appearance as contrasted with conventional fabricated hoists employing block-and-tackle arrangements.
It is further an object of the invention to provide a cantilever-type tubular liftarm assembly devoid of internal sheaves, pulleys and the like and which permits a load line to be easily reeved through and/or removed from the tubular liftarm in a matter of a few seconds.
An ancillary object of the present invention is to provide a rotatable liftarm assembly of the foregoing character wherein the load line is reeved through the tubular liftarm and is, therefore, coincident with the rotational axis of the liftarm assembly, thus insuring that the only force applied to the liftarm assembly during use is the vertical force imposed by a load suspended from the cantilevered outboard end of the assembly, thereby enabling free rotation of the liftarm assembly about its vertical rotational axis while insuring no rotational forces are imposed thereon which might cause the liftarm assembly to inadvertently swing inboard and slam the suspended load against the side of the sailboat, its siderail, the dinghy, and/or crew members and other personnel in or on either the dinghy or the sailboat.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent upon reading the following Detailed Description and upon reference to the attached drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary isometric view here depicting an exemplary rotatable tubular metal liftarm assembly embodying the present invention mounted on the gunwale of an aft cockpit sailboat with the liftarm assembly being used to transfer a load--here a conventional outboard motor--between a stowed position onboard the sailboat and a deployed position in or on an inflatable dinghy or similar small boat;
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of an exemplary rotatable tubular metal liftarm assembly embodying the present, invention here illustrated with the free end of the load line being wrapped about a suitable and completely conventional cockpit winch;
FIG. 3A is a side elevational view depicting one exemplary form of the liftarm of the present invention during assembly thereof and illustrating particularly the position of an internal tubular stiffening member snugly mounted within the tubular liftarm;
FIG. 3B is a side elevational view of the liftarm similar to FIG. 3A, but here illustrating the exemplary liftarm after bending thereof at two spaced points, one of which is located centrally of an internally positioned, telescopically mounted, tubular stiffening member, to impart a desired cantilever configuration to the rotatable tubular metal liftarm
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 4--4 in FIG. 3A, here depicting details of the liftarm and tubular stiffening member;
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view here illustrating the lower inboard end of the liftarm assembly including a sheave box, a suitable load line deflector, bearings, and a guide insert;
FIG. 6 is an isometric view of the sheave box, load line deflector and sheave employed with the present invention;
FIG. 7 is an exploded isometric view of an adjustable mounting assembly for attaching the deck mounted rotatable tubular metal liftarm of the present invention to the siderail of a conventional sailboat or the like;
FIG. 8 is an exploded isometric view of the cast aluminum end fitting employed at the upper free cantilevered end of the rotatable tubular metal liftarm of the present invention;
FIG. 9 is an exploded isometric view of an alternative siderail mounting assembly including a suitable winch mechanism for use with vessels that do not have a conveniently located cockpit winch;
FIG. 10 is an isometric view of an exemplary mounting socket and base assembly suitable for mounting the rotatable tubular metal liftarm of the present invention to the deck of a conventional sailboat or similar vessel; and,
FIG. 11 is a side elevational view similar to FIG. 3B, but here illustrating a modified form of the invention employing a pair of internal concentric telescoped tubular stiffening members.
While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed; but, on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, structural equivalents, equivalent structures, and/or alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims. Thus, in the appended claims, means-plus-function clauses and similar clauses are intended to cover: i) the structures described herein as performing a specific recited function; ii) structural equivalents thereof; and iii), equivalent structures thereto. For example, although a nail and a screw may not be deemed to be structural equivalents since a nail employs a cylindrical surface to secure wooden parts together while a screw employs a helical surface, in the art broadly pertaining to the fastening of wooden parts, a nail and a screw should be deemed to be equivalent structures since each perform the recited fastening function.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Turning now to the drawings, and directing attention first to FIGS. 1 and 2 conjointly, there has been illustrated a cantilever-type rotatable tubular metal liftarm assembly, generally indicated at 20, embodying features of the present invention. As here shown, the exemplary liftarm assembly 20 includes: i) a mounting socket and base assembly 21 adapted to be fixedly secured no the deck 22 of a conventional sailboat or similar vessel 24 intermediate the cockpit 25 and gunwale 26 adjacent the stern 28 of the sailboat 24; ii) a vertically extending mounting tube 29 non-rotatably secured to the socket and base assembly 21 at its lower end and to the sailboat's siderail 30 adjacent its upper end by any suitable mounting bracket assembly, generally indicated at 31; iii) a tubular stainless steel cantilever-type liftarm, generally indicated at 32, rotatably received within the non-rotatable vertically extending mounting tube 29 and capable of rotation about a vertical axis; and iv), an outwardly extending outboard sheave assembly, generally indicated at 34, affixed to the upper cantilevered free outboard end of the liftarm 32.
A load line 35, secured at its free outboard end 36 to the cantilevered outboard end of the liftarm 32, depends therefrom and is reeved through a lift sheave assembly, generally indicated at 38, including a lift hook 39, with the load line 35 extending upwardly from the lift sheave assembly 38 to the outboard sheave assembly 34 mounted at the free cantilevered outboard end of the liftarm 32. Load line 35 is reeved: i) about the outboard sheave assembly 34; ii) inwardly and downwardly through the tubular liftarm 32 along a line substantially coincident with the rotational axis of the rotatable liftarm 32; and iii), axially through the vertically extending mounting tube 29, with the free inboard end 40 of the load line 35 extending laterally from the lower end of the mounting tube 29 through a sheave box assembly, generally indicated at 41, which lies in a vertical plane bisecting a deck-mounted cockpit winch 42, with the free inboard end 40 of the load line 35 being wrapped about the winch 42.
As best shown in FIG. 1, the rotatable tubular metal liftarm assembly 20 of the present invention finds particularly advantageous use in transferring equipment, supplies and the like between the deck of a sailboat or similar vessel and a point external to the sailboat 24--for example, a dinghy, generally indicated at 44--during either an on-loading operation or an off-loading operation. In the illustrative arrangement, the rotatable liftarm assembly 20 is shown transporting an outboard motor 45 supported by an adjustable strap assembly 46 of the type disclosed in Applicant's co-pending application Ser. No. 08/410,118, filed Mar. 24, 1995, and entitled "Adjustable Strap Assembly For Raising, Lowering and Transporting Outboard Motors and Similar Heavy Bulky Objects: and, Methods of Use Thereof", with the strap assembly 46 engaged with the lift hook 39 associated with the lift sheave assembly 38. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, as shown, the outboard motor 45 may be in the process of being transferred from the sailboat 24 to the dinghy 44 during an off-loading operation or, alternatively, from the dinghy 44 to the sailboat 24 during an on-loading operation.
Assuming that an on-loading operation is in progress, the cockpit winch 42 would be rotated in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 1 to pay in the load line, thus raising the outboard motor 45 to a sufficient height where it can be manually swung inboard to position the motor 45 over the sailboat's cockpit 25. Manual inboard swinging of the liftarm 32 is accomplished by simply grasping the outboard motor 35, the bight of the load line 35 intermediate the motor 45 and the outboard sheave assembly 34, or the outboard end of the liftarm 32, and pulling the motor inboard. Since the cantilevered liftarm 32 is rotatably mounted within the non-rotatable mounting tube 29, the load--here an outboard motor 45--can be freely swung aboard by rotating the assembly in the direction of either arrow 48 or 49 to the phantom line position shown at 32' in FIG. 1. At this point, the winch 42 is rotated in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 1 to pay out the load line 35 and lower the motor 45 into the sailboat's cockpit 25. During an off-loading operation when the outboard motor 45 is to be lowered into the dinghy 44, it will be first raised from the cockpit 45 while the liftarm 32 is in the phantom line position 32', rotated outboard in the direction of either arrow 50 or 51 to the solid line position shown, and lowered into the dinghy 44 by rotating cockpit winch 42 in a clockwise direction to pay out the load line 35.
Having the overall construction and mode of operation of the present invention as hereinabove described in mind, attention will now be directed to the specific structural details of the invention. Thus, directing attention first to FIGS. 3A and 4 conjointly, it will be noted that the tubular liftarm 32 comprises an outer stainless steel tube 52 which, in the exemplary form of the invention, is approximately 57 inches in length, having an O.D. of approximately 1.25 inches, a wall thickness of approximately 0.065 inches, and an I.D. of approximately 1.12 inches. In order to stiffen and reinforce the tubular liftarm 32 defined by the 1.25 inch O.D. tube 52, a second stainless steel stiffening tube 54 having a length of approximately 16 inches, an O.D. of approximately 1.125 inches, a wall thickness of approximately 0.065 inches and an I.D. of approximately 0.995 inches is inserted coaxially into tube 52 with its midpoint located approximately 22.5 inches from the bottom of tube 52. If necessary, tube 54 can be externally ground or polished to insure a snug telescopic fit within tube 52. Additionally, the upper peripheral edge of the inner tube 54 is preferably rounded (not shown) so as to minimize interference with free entry of the free inboard end 40 of the load line 35 during reeving of the load line through the rotatable liftarm 32.
The two concentric tubes 52, 54 are then bent through an angle of approximately 16.5° in a region, generally indicated at "A" in FIG. 3B, centered approximately 22.5 inches from the bottom of tube 52--i.e., at the approximate midpoint of the inner tube 54--thus, securely locking the two (2) tubes 52, 54 together and significantly reinforcing and strengthening the composite liftarm 32 in the region "A" where the two (2) tubes are bent. The outer tube 52 is also bent in a second region, generally indicated at "B" in FIG. 3B, approximately 9.5 inches from its upper end through an angle of approximately 60° so as to form a cantilevered liftarm 32 having a vertically extending lower end portion below region "A", an intermediate portion inclined at approximately 16.5° from the vertical axis and located between regions "A" and "B", and an outwardly and slightly upwardly extending cantilevered end portion above region "B" and inclined at included angles of approximately 76.5° with the vertical axis and approximately 13.5° with a horizontal plane.
It has been found that the exemplary dimensions hereinabove set forth for purposes of facilitating an understanding of the present invention are not critical and may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention provided only that the resulting composite cantilevered tube structure defined by tubes 52, 54 retains its approximate relative dimensions and relative shape. It has also been found that in use, the weakest point of a single tube 52 configuration is in the region "A" and, therefore, the provision of an internal, snugly fit, telescoped stiffening member in the form of a second stainless steel tube 54 extending above and below the boundaries of the region "A" provides sufficient strength to enable the composite cantilevered tubular liftarm 32 to withstand bending forces imposed by virtually any anticipated loading of the liftarm 32 during normal usage. Moreover, it has further been found that such anticipated loading during normal usage of the device does not require stiffening of the liftarm 32 in the region "B". Nevertheless, a second stiffening tube (not shown.) can be provided within the region "B" where desired.
It has further been found that a tubular liftarm 32 comprising telescoped tubular elements 52, 54 having respective uninterrupted internal diameters of approximately 1.12 inches and approximately 0.995 inches and completely devoid of internal sheaves and/or pulleys readily permits of ease in rapidly reeving a load line 35 through the composite structure. And, while it has not been found necessary, it is within the scope of the invention to provide an internal chamfer (not shown) at the upper end of the inner tube 54 so as to further facilitate entry of the load line 35 during reeving thereof.
In carrying out the present invention, the mounting tube 29 (best shown by reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 5 conjointly) is preferably formed of stainless steel tubing having an O.D. of approximately 1.625 inches, a wall thickness of approximately 0.065 inches, and an I.D. of approximately 1.495 inches. The length of the mounting tube 29 will vary dependent upon the height of the sailboat's siderail 30; but, it has been found that providing a mounting tube 29 having a length of approximately 23 inches, 26 inches, 29 inches, or 32 inches will insure compatibility with virtually all sailboat siderails 30 in common use.
In keeping with the invention, the mounting tube 29 is provided with a generally rectangular cutout 55 on one side thereof approximately 8 inches above the bottom of the mounting tube. The rectangular cutout 55 is suitably sized and shaped so as to allow insertion of a generally U-shaped sheave box 41 (FIGS. 5 and 6) within which a sheave 56 is rotatably mounted on a sheave pin 58 extending transversely through the sidewalls 59, 60 of the sheave box 41. A thin, spring-like, stainless steel deflector 61 is welded or otherwise permanently affixed adjacent its upper end to the back wall 62 of the U-shaped sheave box 41. The sheave box assembly 41 is inserted into the rectangular opening 65 in the mounting tube 29 and welded in place; while the free lower end of the thin, spring-like, stainless steel deflector 61 is affixed to the mounting tube 29 by means of a screw 64, rivet (not shown), weld or other suitable fastening means.
In order to firmly, but rotatably, seat the rotatable liftarm 32 within the non-rotatable mounting tube 29, a thrust washer 65 (FIG. 5) is positioned within the mounting tube 29 on top of, and in abutment with, the upper edges of the sidewalls 59, 60 of the sheave box 41. Additionally, a lower sleeve-type bearing 66 (FIG. 5) is press-fit into the bottom of the mounting tube 29 so as to be disposed within the annular space 68 between the inner surface of the mounting tube (which has an I.D. of approximately 1.495 inches) and the outer surface at the lower end of the outer tube 52 defining the liftarm 32 (where the tube 52 has an O.D. of approximately 1.25 inches); while a similar sleeve-type bearing 69 (FIG. 2) having a peripheral outwardly extending lip 70 is press-fit into the upper end of the mounting tube 29 so as to be positioned within the annular space 68 between the mounting tube 29 and tube 52 of liftarm 32 adjacent the upper end of the mounting tube 29 with the peripheral lip 70 being seated in face-to-face abutting relation with the upper end of the mounting tube 29 and serving: i) to prevent the upper sleeve-type bearing 69 from sliding downwardly into the mounting tube 29; and ii), to prevent the siderail mounting bracket assembly 31 from slipping off the mounting tube 29 during assembly. Although not necessary because of the press-fit, both the lower sleeve-type bearing 66 (FIG. 5) and the upper sleeve-type bearing 69 (FIG. 2) can, if desired, be positively affixed to the mounting tube 29 in any desired fashion such, for example, as with one or more rivets or other fastening devices not shown).
In accordance with another important aspect of the present invention, a mounting socket and base assembly 21 (FIGS. 1 and 2; but, best shown in FIG. 10) and a siderail mounting bracket assembly 31 (FIGS. 1 and 2; but best shown in FIG. 7) are provided for establishing two (2) vertically spaced mounting points for the mounting tube 29 so as to insure that the mounting tube 29 is installed in a substantially vertical orientation on the deck 22 of the sailboat 24 irrespective of the deck's camber and/or pitch--at least when the sailboat 24 is docked or moored in calm water. To accomplish this, and referring first to FIG. 10, it will be observed that the mounting socket and base assembly 21 includes a base plate 71 having a pair of spaced apart upstanding mounting lugs 72, 74 with a through aperture or bolt hole 75 extending laterally therethrough. The assembly 21 further includes a mounting socket 76 having an integral depending mounting lug 78 adapted to be positioned between the mounting lugs 72, 74 on the base plate 71 and provided with a comparable bore (not shown).
Thus, the arrangement is such that the base plate 71 can, as shown in the exemplary form of the invention depicted in the drawings, be positioned on the deck 22 of the sailboat 24 adjacent the gunwale 26 and inboard of the sailboat's siderail 30 with the mounting lugs 72, 74 positioned relative to the sailboat's deck camber and pitch so as to enable the socket 76 to pivot about a mounting pin or bolt 79 (FIG. 2) extending through the bore 75 in mounting lugs 72, 74 and through mounting lug 78, enabling orientation of the socket 76 on a substantially vertical longitudinal axis. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention is not limited to any particular placement on the sailboat's deck 22 and it can be mounted outside the siderail 30, on the stern 28, on the foredeck (not shown) or, for that matter, in virtually any desired location. Indeed, in its broadest aspects, the invention can be used on piers, floats, loading docks or virtually any other location where it is desirable to transfer loads between 2 points whether located on different planes or on the same plane.
In the illustrative and exemplary form of the invention, the tubular socket 76 is preferably made of stainless steel tubing having an O.D. of approximately 1.75 inches, a wall thickness of approximately 0.062 inches, and an I.D. of approximately 1.626 inches. The lower end of the mounting tube 29--which nominally has an O.D. of approximately 1.625 inches--is then inserted into the socket 76. Following insertion into the socket 76--which has been fixedly secured to the deck 22 of the sailboat 24 in the manner previously described hereinabove--the mounting tube 29 is rotated about its longitudinal axis until the sheave 56 mounted within sheave box 41 lies in a vertical plane bisecting the closest and most accessible cockpit winch 42. At this point, holes are drilled in the lower end of the mounting tube 29 through, and in registration with, a pair of pre-formed diametrically opposed bolt holes 80 formed in the socket 76. Any suitable through bolt/nut combination 81 (FIG. 2) or other appropriate fastener is passed through the registering holes in the socket 76 and mounting tube 29 so as to fixedly secure the mounting tube to the mounting socket and base assembly 21 with freedom for the mounting tube 29 to be pivoted about bolt 79 into a substantially vertical position.
In order to secure the mounting tube 29 in a fixed substantially vertical position, mounting bracket assembly 31 (FIGS. 1 and 2; but best shown in FIG. 7) is provided for fixedly securing the upper end of the mounting tube 29 to the sailboat's siderail 30. To this end, the exemplary mounting bracket assembly 31 includes a three-piece separable clamping assembly comprising: i) a first U-shaped clamp member 82 having vertical flanges 84, 85 at its free ends; ii) a plate 86 having an axially extending bolt 88 integral therewith, with the plate 86 being welded or otherwise permanently affixed to the inner surfaces of the flanges 84, 85 and closing the open end of the U-shaped clamp member 82; and iii), a box-like C-shaped clamp member 89 adapted to be slideably mounted over the bolt 89 and the first U-shaped clamp member 82, with the U-shaped and C-shaped clamp members 82, 89 designed to surround the upper end of the mounting tube 29. A second inverted U-shaped saddle clamp member 90 having through bolt holes 91, 92 formed in respective ones of its parallel legs 94, 95 is positioned over the uppermost rail on the siderail 30 with the axially extending bolt 88 passing through the hole 91 in leg 94. If desired, the saddle clamp 90 can be rotated 90° and positioned over a vertical stanchion forming part of the siderail 30. A lock nut 96 is threaded onto the bolt 98 intermediate the legs 94, 95 and tightened down so as to tighten the first U-shaped clamp member 82 and the C-shaped clamp member 89 about the mounting tube 82 and causing the projecting free end of bolt 88 to project outwardly through bolt hole 92 in leg 95. Finally, the second U-shaped clamp member 90 is slid in a fore or aft direction on the siderail 30 (unless mounted on a vertical stanchion) until the mounting tube 29 is in a substantially vertical position, at which point the entire assembly is tightened and locked together by means of a washer 98 and lock nut 99.
Turning now to FIG. 8, details of an exemplary outboard sheave assembly 34 adapted to be fixed to the outboard free end of the rotatable tubular liftarm have been illustrated. Thus, as here shown, the exemplary sheave assembly 34 includes: i) a hollow cast aluminum fitting 100 having a laterally projecting reduced diameter tubular portion 101 with an O.D. of approximately 1.125 inches; ii) a sheave 102 journaled on a sheave pin 104 extending through the cast aluminum fitting 100; iii) a split O-shaped clamp 105 having a pair of spaced apart parallel flanges 106, 108; iv) a pair of bolt/nut combinations 109, 110 passing through flanges 106, 108; and v), a shackle 111 adapted to be secured to the free outboard end 36 of the load line 35. The free outboard end of the outer tube 52 defining the liftarm 32 is provided with a longitudinally extending slot 112 for a purpose described hereinbelow.
In assembly, the free end of the slotted tubular member 52 is inserted into the opposite inboard end of the split O-shaped clamp 105 and projected entirely therethrough until the outboard end of the tube 52 is substantially flush with the outboard end of clamp 105. The reduced diameter portion 101 of the cast aluminum fitting 100 is then inserted fully into the tube 52--i.e., until the reduced diameter portion 101 of fitting 100, the slotted end of tube 52, and the O-shaped clamp 105 are coaxial, concentric and coextensive. At this point, the bolt/nut combinations 109, 110 are tightened to firmly clamp the fitting's reduced end portion 101 within the slotted end portion of tube 52 and the O-shaped clamp 105. The slot 112 formed in the tube 52 permits the clamp 105 to be over-tightened, compressing the end of the tube 52 against the reduced diameter portion 101 of the fitting 100 and forming a secure connection therebetween.
In order to attach the load line 35 to the liftarm 32 and reeve the load line 35 through the rotatable tubular liftarm assembly 20, the outboard free end 36 of the load line 35 is securely attached to the shackle 111 on the split O-shaped clamp 105 in any suitable manner such, for example, as by tying the load line to the shackle and securely knotting the line. The free inboard end 40 of the load line 35 is then reeved: i) through the lift sheave assembly 38 (FIGS. 1 and 2) and about the sheave (not visible in FIGS. 1 and 2) journaled therein; ii) through the cast aluminum fitting 100 and about sheave 102 journaled therein; iii) through the concentric, coextensive reduced diameter portion 101 of fitting 100, the slotted end portion of tube 52, and the split O-shaped clamp; iv) downwardly through the outer tube 52 and through the inner stiffening tube 54 (FIGS. 2 and 3B); v) downwardly through the telescoped lower end of outer tube 52 and the mounting tube 29 (FIG. 5); and vi), through the sheave box assembly 41 and about sheave 56 journaled for rotation therein. As the free inboard end 40 of load line 55 exits the sheave box 41, it is led directly to the cockpit winch 42 (FIGS. 1 and 2) about which it can be wound when ready for use. To facilitate entry of the free inboard end 40 of the load line 35 into the sheave box assembly 41, a generally cylindrical feederbush 114 made of plastic material and having a funnel-shaped passageway 115 extending vertically therethrough (FIG. 5) is press-fit into the lower end of tube 52 prior to assembly and becomes a permanent part of the assembled liftarm 32.
Turning next to FIG. 9, an alternative winch arrangement has been depicted which is particularly advantageous for use in those applications where there is not a readily accessible and available cockpit winch of the type depicted at 42 in FIGS. 1 and 2. Thus, as here shown, a modified siderail mounting assembly, generally indicated at 116, is used in addition to the mounting bracket assembly 31 previously described in connection with FIGS. 1, 2 and 7. In this instance, mounting assembly 116 includes a pair of vertically spaced box-shaped brackets 118, 119 respectively having through vertical bores 120, 121 designed and dimensioned to be slideably mounted about the vertically extending mounting tube 29. The upper bracket 118 is shaped and designed to replace the clamp 89 of FIG. 7 and receives and houses the clamp member 82 of FIG. 7 (not shown in FIG. 9). Otherwise, the clamping arrangement of FIG. 7 continues to function in precisely the same manner as previously described.
In this instance, however, the upper bracket 118 is provided with an integral, depending vertical mounting flange 122 having a pair of bolt holes 124, 125 formed therein. Similarly, the lower bracket 119 is provided with a vertically spaced co-planar mounting flange 126 having a pair of bolt holes 128, 129 formed therein. A conventional clutch-type boat trailer winch 130--or alternatively, a small, self-tailing boat winch (not shown) or other conventional winch--is journaled for rotation between a pair of spaced vertical flanges 131, 132 integral with, and perpendicular to, a plate-like mounting bracket 134 having bolt holes 124', 125', 128', 129' adapted to be registered with respective ones of the bolt holes 124, 125 formed in mounting flange 122 in the upper bracket 118 and bolt holes 128, 129 formed in mounting flange 126 forming part of the lower bracket 119.
Thus, the arrangement is such that the winch 130 can be directly attached to the brackets 118, 119 by any conventional bolt/nut combinations (not shown) which extend through the registered bolt holes 124/124', 125/125', 128/128' and 129/129'. In such a modified construction, those skilled in the art will appreciate that when the mounting tube 29 is fixedly secured to the socket 76 of the mounting socket and base plate assembly 21 (FIGS. 1, 2 and 10), the mounting tube 29 will first be rotated within the socket 76 until the sheave 56 in the sheave box assembly 41 is aligned and centered vertically beneath the winch 130.
In those instances where the operator anticipates extraordinarily high loading on the liftarm assembly 20 depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2, it may be desirable to utilize a modified composite liftarm 32' as best shown in FIG. 11 where additional stiffening features are incorporated. In this modified construction, the outer tube 52' includes a first intermediate inner stiffening tube 54' and a second, smaller diameter, innermost stiffening tube 135 inserted coaxially within the intermediate stiffening tube 54'. In this exemplary embodiment, outer tube 52' is on the order of approximately 61 inches in length; inner tube 54' is approximately 38 inches in length extending from a point approximately 9.5 inches above the bottom of tube 52'; while the innermost internal stiffening tube 135 is approximately 16 inches in length and is centered within the region "A" where the lower bend is formed. Consequently, when the composite array of concentric tubes 52', 54', 135 are bent in the region "A", preferably through an angle of approximately 15°, all three (3) tubes are firmly locked in position. The bend in the region "B" is again a bend in only the outermost tube 52'; and, in the exemplary embodiment of the invention, comprises a bend on the order of approximately 50°.
Again, the foregoing dimensions are not critical to the present invention provided only that the relative dimensions and the location of the bends in regions "A" and "B" remain substantially proportional to those described above. The diameters of the tubes 52', 54' may be the same as previously described, in which event the O.D. of tube 135 must be approximately 0.995 inches. However, the diameters of the various tubular members 29, 52, 52', 54, 54', 76, and 135 are not critical provided only that the various tubes are dimensioned such that they can be telescopically mounted together in the manner described hereinabove.
Thus, those skilled in the art will appreciate that there have hereinabove been described various modifications of a rotatable tubular metal liftarm assembly 20 (FIGS. 1 and 2) which are: simple; compact; inexpensive; completely devoid of exterior struts, braces, pins and similar undesirable protuberances; and, devoid of internal sheaves and/or pulleys disposed within the cantilevered-type composite liftarm 32. Nevertheless, the device is rugged and capable of free, but controlled, rotational movement about a vertical axis between inboard and outboard positions. Loads supported by the rotatable liftarm assembly 20 do not impose rotational forces thereon; and, consequently, there is no inherent tendency of the liftarm 32 and any supported load to swing either inboard or outboard, or to otherwise deviate from a pure vertical up and/or down path unless the operator deliberately elects to rotate the liftarm 32 about its vertical axis so as to swing supported loads either inboard or outboard. The present invention further takes advantage of the capabilities of conventional cockpit winches, whether manually or electrically operated, which are characterized by having power ratios on the order of at least 16:1. Further, the danger of twisting, fouling or otherwise snagging the load line 35 or its free inboard end 40 is substantially eliminated.
The device may be easily used by even unskilled personnel including men and woman, both adult and teenagers, without significant risk, to transfer loads weighing up to several hundred pounds. Indeed, during an experimental rescue operation, a liftarm assembly embodying the present invention was successfully used by a woman weighing on the order of only about 110 pounds to rescue a distressed man in the water; and, the woman was able to easily lift the man aboard the sailboat despite the fact that the man weighed in excess of 200 pounds. | A liftarm assembly having: i) a mounting socket and base assembly for attachment to a support; ii) a vertically extending mounting tube non-rotatably but pivotably secured to the mounting socket and base assembly; iii) a sheave mounted in the mounting tube for rotation about a horizontal axis wherein the sheave projects laterally out of the mounting tube; iv) a tubular metal liftarm mounting in the mounted tube for rotation about a vertical axis wherein the tubular liftarm is devoid of internal pulleys and external braces and other protuberances; v) the tubular liftarm including a lower vertically extending linear portion for insertion into the mounting tube, a laterally extending cantilevered upper portion, and an intermediate portion joined to the upper and lower portions by smooth curves; vi) a fitting coupled to the outboard end of the cantilevered upper portion and including a sheave journaled for rotation about a horizontal axis; vii) a load line having its outboard free end secured to the cantilevered upper portion of the liftarm and it opposite inboard free end reeved about the sheave in the fitting, through the tubular metal liftarm and mounting tube, about the sheave in the mounting tube, and laterally out of the mounting tube for attachment to a suitable winch with the portion of the load line intermediate its point of attachment to the upper portion of the liftarm and the fitting sheave defining a bight; and viii), a sheave block and support hook suspended from the lower end of the bight. | Condense the core contents of the given document. | [
"RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a Continuation-In-Part application based, in part, on Applicant's prior U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 08/490,881 filed Jun. 14, 1995, which prior application Ser.",
"No. 08/490,881: i) is now abandoned;",
"and ii), was, in turn, a continuation of Applicant's then co-pending, now abandoned, U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 08/222,405 filed Apr. 4, 1994.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Technical Field The present invention relates generally to lift devices;",
"and, more particularly, to a rotatable tubular metal liftarm assembly suitable for mounting on the deck of a sailboat or similar vessel for on-loading and/or off-loading equipment and supplies.",
"More specifically, the present invention relates to a rotatable tubular metal liftarm assembly which is: i) simple in construction;",
"ii) totally devoid of external supports, braces, pins and similar protuberances;",
"iii) devoid of internal sheaves and/or pulleys;",
"and iv), capable of freely rotating in either direction about its vertical axis through angles of up to 360° without undue twisting of, or otherwise fouling, the load line used to raise/lower objects being on-loaded onto or off-loaded from the vessel.",
"In its preferred embodiment, the load line is reeved through the tubular liftarm assembly which is devoid of internal sheaves, pulleys or the like;",
"and, consequently, a load carried by the cantilevered free outboard end of the tubular liftarm does not create a rotational force tending to swing the liftarm about its vertical rotational axis, thereby preventing the tendency of heavy loads to inadvertently swing inboard and strike the side of the vessel, its siderail and/or other objects or persons.",
"Moreover, the absence of external supports, braces, pins and/or similar protuberances not only contributes to the smooth, clean, streamlined appearance of the overall device, but, more significantly, enhances the capability of the rotatable liftarm assembly to be freely rotated about its vertical rotational axis during on-loading and/or off-loading operations without risk that the suspended load will be impeded, damaged or will cause damage to the liftarm assembly.",
"The present invention takes advantage of conventional on-board winches which commonly employ power ratios on the order of 16:1 or more and which are used to pay in or pay out a load line which has its free inboard end wound thereabout during on-loading and/or off-loading operations.",
"Background Art The prior art is replete with numerous types of liftarm assemblies for sailboats and the like.",
"Typically, such liftarm assemblies employ multi-part block-and-tackle arrangements suspended from the outboard end of a horizontal leg on a fabricated lift-arm assembly comprising aluminum or stainless steel tubing employing external struts, braces and/or pins for reinforcement and/or internal pulleys or sheaves about which the load line is reeved.",
"Such prior art devices are typically quite bulky and capable of only limited rotational movement.",
"Moreover, multi-part block-and-tackle arrangements are disadvantageous because: i) they tend to foul and tangle badly unless kept under tension at all times;",
"ii) to lower a 4:1 tackle from the top of the liftarm to the water level requires paying out four times that distance of line which must be run through the sheave blocks of the tackle arrangement;",
"iii) a heavy consistent downward pull must be maintained on the lower sheave block to overcome all of the friction and line movement in the tackle array;",
"iv) attention must be constantly directed to the inboard end of the tackle system to prevent snags while paying the load line outboard;",
"and v), the operator is required to pull the tackle line inwardly, generally at shoulder level, precisely along the top of the liftarm in order to prevent the tendency of the liftarm to swing inboard and slam the load into the side of the boat or into other objects or persons.",
"Rohrmann et al U.S. Pat. No. 1,774,996, which issued more than 65 years ago, while not representative of typical liftarm assemblies of the type used on sailboats and like vessels, is of general interest for its early disclosure of a cantilevered type liftarm with an internally reeved load line use to raise and lower the lid of cooking utensils.",
"The device is characterized by the inclusion of a sheave 24 located internally of the horizontal cross arm with the load line being trained about the internal sheave.",
"Such a device is not intended for, nor capable of, transferring heavy loads.",
"Swiss Pat. No. 384,386 issued to Carrosserie Torsa, Schallbetter &",
"Cie S. A. as the assignee of Rene Salamin, discloses a liftarm assembly similar to that in the Rohrmann et al patent, but which is shown as having utility for raising or lowering small boats to or from a stowed position on top of a car or similar vehicle.",
"As in Rohrmann et al, the tubular liftarm employs internal sheaves or pulleys about which the load line is trained.",
"Additionally, because of the cantilevered construction and the magnitude of the weights to be lifted/lowered, the liftarm is provided with external support struts.",
"As recently as 1990, Strickland U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,865 issued disclosing a liftarm structure for loading and unloading pick-up trucks wherein the cantilevered liftarm, best shown in Strickland FIG. 4, employs an internal guide pulley 32 and external support struts or legs 27, 40, 41.",
"Other patents of miscellaneous interest include: i) Beaupre U.S. Pat. No. 4,880,345 [a load hoist assembly for boats];",
"ii) White U.S. Pat. No. 2,699,203 [an automobile driver's armrest];",
"iii) Christensen U.S. Pat. No. 3,126,100 [a clamp assembly for attaching a utility tray to a vertical column];",
"iv) Kindorf et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,616,645 [a pipe hanger];",
"v) German Pat. No. 130,741 [an internal diametrically extending stiffener member bisecting a tubular element];",
"and vi), UK Pat. No. 23,790 (1912) [a clip for securing articles to handle-bars on cycles].",
"Thus, the prior art devices described hereinabove are characterized by their complexity, lack of flexibility, requirements for internal sheaves or pulleys, and requirements for external support struts, braces and/or pins or similar external protrusions which tend to limit free rotation of the liftarm and any supported load about the liftarm's vertical axis.",
"The use of conventional block-and-tackle assemblies of the types commonly employed with such conventional liftarm assemblies is expensive and fraught with difficulties and danger due to the need to maintain the load line under tension at all times so as to prevent tangles and other undue snags.",
"Moreover, conventional block-and-tackle arrangements have limited power ratings, require excessive lengths of load line, and require constant attention by the operator.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a simple, yet rugged, low-cost liftarm assembly employing a single cantilever-type liftarm through which the load line is freely reeved without requiring internal sheaves or pulleys within the liftarm and without requiring external support struts, braces, pins and/or other types of external projections.",
"The liftarm assembly of the present invention is characterized by: i) a continuous stainless steel tubular liftarm assembly devoid of internal pulleys and/or sheaves and external support struts, braces, pins or other projections;",
"and ii), the ability to easily reeve the load line about an external outboard sheave mounted at the outboard cantilevered end of the liftarm assembly, through the liftarm, about an inboard sheave rotatably mounted in a fixedly positioned sheave box disposed at the lower end of a tubular mounting support for the liftarm assembly, and laterally to: a) a conventional cockpit winch mounted on the deck of the sailboat;",
"b) a conventional winch fixedly secured to the liftarm assembly siderail mounting device;",
"or c) any suitably positioned conventional winch, all of which are capable of output power ratios on the order of 16:1 or greater.",
"Notwithstanding the foregoing, the arrangement is such that the cantilevered liftarm assembly is freely rotatable in either direction about its vertical axis through angles up to 360° without undesirable twisting of the load line.",
"At the same time, the only force imposed on the liftarm assembly by the load being raised or lowered is imparted vertically at the free outboard end on the cantilevered liftarm without imposing any rotational force to the liftarm even during raising and/or lowering of heavy loads, thereby minimizing the danger that supported loads will be inadvertently swung inboard during a load raising or lowering operation and preventing consequent damage to the load, the side of the boat and/or its siderail, any deployed dinghy and/or crew members or other individuals in the dinghy, or onboard the sailboat or similar vessel.",
"The foregoing advantages are achieved by providing a cantilevered stainless steel tubular liftarm employing one or more internal concentric tubular stainless steel stiffening member(s) positioned in the region of the vertical portion of the tubular liftarm most susceptible to undesired flexure, yet wherein the load line can be easily reeved axially through the tubular liftarm assembly and any internal tubular stiffening member(s).",
"In the practice of the present invention, the lower vertically extending end of the liftarm assembly is rotatably mounted within an upright, generally vertical, mounting tube affixed to the deck of the vessel with the mounting tube including a sheave box and rotatable inboard sheave lying in a vertical plane substantially bisecting a deck-mounted cockpit winch so that the lower inboard end of the load line can be reeved about the inboard sheave, led directly to the winch, and wound about the winch.",
"Thus, the only force applied directly to the liftarm assembly is the weight of the load--i.e., a vertical force--which is suspended vertically below the outboard sheave on the cantilevered outboard end of the liftarm assembly.",
"More specifically, it is a general object of the invention to provide a rotatable liftarm assembly for use on sailboats and the like which is: i) rugged, yet simple in construction;",
"ii) economical;",
"iii) light weight;",
"iv) portable and, therefore, readily storable when not in use;",
"and v), which is characterized by its sleek customized appearance as contrasted with conventional fabricated hoists employing block-and-tackle arrangements.",
"It is further an object of the invention to provide a cantilever-type tubular liftarm assembly devoid of internal sheaves, pulleys and the like and which permits a load line to be easily reeved through and/or removed from the tubular liftarm in a matter of a few seconds.",
"An ancillary object of the present invention is to provide a rotatable liftarm assembly of the foregoing character wherein the load line is reeved through the tubular liftarm and is, therefore, coincident with the rotational axis of the liftarm assembly, thus insuring that the only force applied to the liftarm assembly during use is the vertical force imposed by a load suspended from the cantilevered outboard end of the assembly, thereby enabling free rotation of the liftarm assembly about its vertical rotational axis while insuring no rotational forces are imposed thereon which might cause the liftarm assembly to inadvertently swing inboard and slam the suspended load against the side of the sailboat, its siderail, the dinghy, and/or crew members and other personnel in or on either the dinghy or the sailboat.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent upon reading the following Detailed Description and upon reference to the attached drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a fragmentary isometric view here depicting an exemplary rotatable tubular metal liftarm assembly embodying the present invention mounted on the gunwale of an aft cockpit sailboat with the liftarm assembly being used to transfer a load--here a conventional outboard motor--between a stowed position onboard the sailboat and a deployed position in or on an inflatable dinghy or similar small boat;",
"FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of an exemplary rotatable tubular metal liftarm assembly embodying the present, invention here illustrated with the free end of the load line being wrapped about a suitable and completely conventional cockpit winch;",
"FIG. 3A is a side elevational view depicting one exemplary form of the liftarm of the present invention during assembly thereof and illustrating particularly the position of an internal tubular stiffening member snugly mounted within the tubular liftarm;",
"FIG. 3B is a side elevational view of the liftarm similar to FIG. 3A, but here illustrating the exemplary liftarm after bending thereof at two spaced points, one of which is located centrally of an internally positioned, telescopically mounted, tubular stiffening member, to impart a desired cantilever configuration to the rotatable tubular metal liftarm FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 4--4 in FIG. 3A, here depicting details of the liftarm and tubular stiffening member;",
"FIG. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view here illustrating the lower inboard end of the liftarm assembly including a sheave box, a suitable load line deflector, bearings, and a guide insert;",
"FIG. 6 is an isometric view of the sheave box, load line deflector and sheave employed with the present invention;",
"FIG. 7 is an exploded isometric view of an adjustable mounting assembly for attaching the deck mounted rotatable tubular metal liftarm of the present invention to the siderail of a conventional sailboat or the like;",
"FIG. 8 is an exploded isometric view of the cast aluminum end fitting employed at the upper free cantilevered end of the rotatable tubular metal liftarm of the present invention;",
"FIG. 9 is an exploded isometric view of an alternative siderail mounting assembly including a suitable winch mechanism for use with vessels that do not have a conveniently located cockpit winch;",
"FIG. 10 is an isometric view of an exemplary mounting socket and base assembly suitable for mounting the rotatable tubular metal liftarm of the present invention to the deck of a conventional sailboat or similar vessel;",
"and, FIG. 11 is a side elevational view similar to FIG. 3B, but here illustrating a modified form of the invention employing a pair of internal concentric telescoped tubular stiffening members.",
"While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail.",
"It should be understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed;",
"but, on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, structural equivalents, equivalent structures, and/or alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.",
"Thus, in the appended claims, means-plus-function clauses and similar clauses are intended to cover: i) the structures described herein as performing a specific recited function;",
"ii) structural equivalents thereof;",
"and iii), equivalent structures thereto.",
"For example, although a nail and a screw may not be deemed to be structural equivalents since a nail employs a cylindrical surface to secure wooden parts together while a screw employs a helical surface, in the art broadly pertaining to the fastening of wooden parts, a nail and a screw should be deemed to be equivalent structures since each perform the recited fastening function.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION Turning now to the drawings, and directing attention first to FIGS. 1 and 2 conjointly, there has been illustrated a cantilever-type rotatable tubular metal liftarm assembly, generally indicated at 20, embodying features of the present invention.",
"As here shown, the exemplary liftarm assembly 20 includes: i) a mounting socket and base assembly 21 adapted to be fixedly secured no the deck 22 of a conventional sailboat or similar vessel 24 intermediate the cockpit 25 and gunwale 26 adjacent the stern 28 of the sailboat 24;",
"ii) a vertically extending mounting tube 29 non-rotatably secured to the socket and base assembly 21 at its lower end and to the sailboat's siderail 30 adjacent its upper end by any suitable mounting bracket assembly, generally indicated at 31;",
"iii) a tubular stainless steel cantilever-type liftarm, generally indicated at 32, rotatably received within the non-rotatable vertically extending mounting tube 29 and capable of rotation about a vertical axis;",
"and iv), an outwardly extending outboard sheave assembly, generally indicated at 34, affixed to the upper cantilevered free outboard end of the liftarm 32.",
"A load line 35, secured at its free outboard end 36 to the cantilevered outboard end of the liftarm 32, depends therefrom and is reeved through a lift sheave assembly, generally indicated at 38, including a lift hook 39, with the load line 35 extending upwardly from the lift sheave assembly 38 to the outboard sheave assembly 34 mounted at the free cantilevered outboard end of the liftarm 32.",
"Load line 35 is reeved: i) about the outboard sheave assembly 34;",
"ii) inwardly and downwardly through the tubular liftarm 32 along a line substantially coincident with the rotational axis of the rotatable liftarm 32;",
"and iii), axially through the vertically extending mounting tube 29, with the free inboard end 40 of the load line 35 extending laterally from the lower end of the mounting tube 29 through a sheave box assembly, generally indicated at 41, which lies in a vertical plane bisecting a deck-mounted cockpit winch 42, with the free inboard end 40 of the load line 35 being wrapped about the winch 42.",
"As best shown in FIG. 1, the rotatable tubular metal liftarm assembly 20 of the present invention finds particularly advantageous use in transferring equipment, supplies and the like between the deck of a sailboat or similar vessel and a point external to the sailboat 24--for example, a dinghy, generally indicated at 44--during either an on-loading operation or an off-loading operation.",
"In the illustrative arrangement, the rotatable liftarm assembly 20 is shown transporting an outboard motor 45 supported by an adjustable strap assembly 46 of the type disclosed in Applicant's co-pending application Ser.",
"No. 08/410,118, filed Mar. 24, 1995, and entitled "Adjustable Strap Assembly For Raising, Lowering and Transporting Outboard Motors and Similar Heavy Bulky Objects: and, Methods of Use Thereof", with the strap assembly 46 engaged with the lift hook 39 associated with the lift sheave assembly 38.",
"Those skilled in the art will appreciate that, as shown, the outboard motor 45 may be in the process of being transferred from the sailboat 24 to the dinghy 44 during an off-loading operation or, alternatively, from the dinghy 44 to the sailboat 24 during an on-loading operation.",
"Assuming that an on-loading operation is in progress, the cockpit winch 42 would be rotated in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 1 to pay in the load line, thus raising the outboard motor 45 to a sufficient height where it can be manually swung inboard to position the motor 45 over the sailboat's cockpit 25.",
"Manual inboard swinging of the liftarm 32 is accomplished by simply grasping the outboard motor 35, the bight of the load line 35 intermediate the motor 45 and the outboard sheave assembly 34, or the outboard end of the liftarm 32, and pulling the motor inboard.",
"Since the cantilevered liftarm 32 is rotatably mounted within the non-rotatable mounting tube 29, the load--here an outboard motor 45--can be freely swung aboard by rotating the assembly in the direction of either arrow 48 or 49 to the phantom line position shown at 32'",
"in FIG. 1. At this point, the winch 42 is rotated in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 1 to pay out the load line 35 and lower the motor 45 into the sailboat's cockpit 25.",
"During an off-loading operation when the outboard motor 45 is to be lowered into the dinghy 44, it will be first raised from the cockpit 45 while the liftarm 32 is in the phantom line position 32', rotated outboard in the direction of either arrow 50 or 51 to the solid line position shown, and lowered into the dinghy 44 by rotating cockpit winch 42 in a clockwise direction to pay out the load line 35.",
"Having the overall construction and mode of operation of the present invention as hereinabove described in mind, attention will now be directed to the specific structural details of the invention.",
"Thus, directing attention first to FIGS. 3A and 4 conjointly, it will be noted that the tubular liftarm 32 comprises an outer stainless steel tube 52 which, in the exemplary form of the invention, is approximately 57 inches in length, having an O.D. of approximately 1.25 inches, a wall thickness of approximately 0.065 inches, and an I.D. of approximately 1.12 inches.",
"In order to stiffen and reinforce the tubular liftarm 32 defined by the 1.25 inch O.D. tube 52, a second stainless steel stiffening tube 54 having a length of approximately 16 inches, an O.D. of approximately 1.125 inches, a wall thickness of approximately 0.065 inches and an I.D. of approximately 0.995 inches is inserted coaxially into tube 52 with its midpoint located approximately 22.5 inches from the bottom of tube 52.",
"If necessary, tube 54 can be externally ground or polished to insure a snug telescopic fit within tube 52.",
"Additionally, the upper peripheral edge of the inner tube 54 is preferably rounded (not shown) so as to minimize interference with free entry of the free inboard end 40 of the load line 35 during reeving of the load line through the rotatable liftarm 32.",
"The two concentric tubes 52, 54 are then bent through an angle of approximately 16.5° in a region, generally indicated at "A"",
"in FIG. 3B, centered approximately 22.5 inches from the bottom of tube 52--i.e., at the approximate midpoint of the inner tube 54--thus, securely locking the two (2) tubes 52, 54 together and significantly reinforcing and strengthening the composite liftarm 32 in the region "A"",
"where the two (2) tubes are bent.",
"The outer tube 52 is also bent in a second region, generally indicated at "B"",
"in FIG. 3B, approximately 9.5 inches from its upper end through an angle of approximately 60° so as to form a cantilevered liftarm 32 having a vertically extending lower end portion below region "A", an intermediate portion inclined at approximately 16.5° from the vertical axis and located between regions "A"",
"and "B", and an outwardly and slightly upwardly extending cantilevered end portion above region "B"",
"and inclined at included angles of approximately 76.5° with the vertical axis and approximately 13.5° with a horizontal plane.",
"It has been found that the exemplary dimensions hereinabove set forth for purposes of facilitating an understanding of the present invention are not critical and may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention provided only that the resulting composite cantilevered tube structure defined by tubes 52, 54 retains its approximate relative dimensions and relative shape.",
"It has also been found that in use, the weakest point of a single tube 52 configuration is in the region "A"",
"and, therefore, the provision of an internal, snugly fit, telescoped stiffening member in the form of a second stainless steel tube 54 extending above and below the boundaries of the region "A"",
"provides sufficient strength to enable the composite cantilevered tubular liftarm 32 to withstand bending forces imposed by virtually any anticipated loading of the liftarm 32 during normal usage.",
"Moreover, it has further been found that such anticipated loading during normal usage of the device does not require stiffening of the liftarm 32 in the region "B".",
"Nevertheless, a second stiffening tube (not shown.) can be provided within the region "B"",
"where desired.",
"It has further been found that a tubular liftarm 32 comprising telescoped tubular elements 52, 54 having respective uninterrupted internal diameters of approximately 1.12 inches and approximately 0.995 inches and completely devoid of internal sheaves and/or pulleys readily permits of ease in rapidly reeving a load line 35 through the composite structure.",
"And, while it has not been found necessary, it is within the scope of the invention to provide an internal chamfer (not shown) at the upper end of the inner tube 54 so as to further facilitate entry of the load line 35 during reeving thereof.",
"In carrying out the present invention, the mounting tube 29 (best shown by reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 5 conjointly) is preferably formed of stainless steel tubing having an O.D. of approximately 1.625 inches, a wall thickness of approximately 0.065 inches, and an I.D. of approximately 1.495 inches.",
"The length of the mounting tube 29 will vary dependent upon the height of the sailboat's siderail 30;",
"but, it has been found that providing a mounting tube 29 having a length of approximately 23 inches, 26 inches, 29 inches, or 32 inches will insure compatibility with virtually all sailboat siderails 30 in common use.",
"In keeping with the invention, the mounting tube 29 is provided with a generally rectangular cutout 55 on one side thereof approximately 8 inches above the bottom of the mounting tube.",
"The rectangular cutout 55 is suitably sized and shaped so as to allow insertion of a generally U-shaped sheave box 41 (FIGS.",
"5 and 6) within which a sheave 56 is rotatably mounted on a sheave pin 58 extending transversely through the sidewalls 59, 60 of the sheave box 41.",
"A thin, spring-like, stainless steel deflector 61 is welded or otherwise permanently affixed adjacent its upper end to the back wall 62 of the U-shaped sheave box 41.",
"The sheave box assembly 41 is inserted into the rectangular opening 65 in the mounting tube 29 and welded in place;",
"while the free lower end of the thin, spring-like, stainless steel deflector 61 is affixed to the mounting tube 29 by means of a screw 64, rivet (not shown), weld or other suitable fastening means.",
"In order to firmly, but rotatably, seat the rotatable liftarm 32 within the non-rotatable mounting tube 29, a thrust washer 65 (FIG.",
"5) is positioned within the mounting tube 29 on top of, and in abutment with, the upper edges of the sidewalls 59, 60 of the sheave box 41.",
"Additionally, a lower sleeve-type bearing 66 (FIG.",
"5) is press-fit into the bottom of the mounting tube 29 so as to be disposed within the annular space 68 between the inner surface of the mounting tube (which has an I.D. of approximately 1.495 inches) and the outer surface at the lower end of the outer tube 52 defining the liftarm 32 (where the tube 52 has an O.D. of approximately 1.25 inches);",
"while a similar sleeve-type bearing 69 (FIG.",
"2) having a peripheral outwardly extending lip 70 is press-fit into the upper end of the mounting tube 29 so as to be positioned within the annular space 68 between the mounting tube 29 and tube 52 of liftarm 32 adjacent the upper end of the mounting tube 29 with the peripheral lip 70 being seated in face-to-face abutting relation with the upper end of the mounting tube 29 and serving: i) to prevent the upper sleeve-type bearing 69 from sliding downwardly into the mounting tube 29;",
"and ii), to prevent the siderail mounting bracket assembly 31 from slipping off the mounting tube 29 during assembly.",
"Although not necessary because of the press-fit, both the lower sleeve-type bearing 66 (FIG.",
"5) and the upper sleeve-type bearing 69 (FIG.",
"2) can, if desired, be positively affixed to the mounting tube 29 in any desired fashion such, for example, as with one or more rivets or other fastening devices not shown).",
"In accordance with another important aspect of the present invention, a mounting socket and base assembly 21 (FIGS.",
"1 and 2;",
"but, best shown in FIG. 10) and a siderail mounting bracket assembly 31 (FIGS.",
"1 and 2;",
"but best shown in FIG. 7) are provided for establishing two (2) vertically spaced mounting points for the mounting tube 29 so as to insure that the mounting tube 29 is installed in a substantially vertical orientation on the deck 22 of the sailboat 24 irrespective of the deck's camber and/or pitch--at least when the sailboat 24 is docked or moored in calm water.",
"To accomplish this, and referring first to FIG. 10, it will be observed that the mounting socket and base assembly 21 includes a base plate 71 having a pair of spaced apart upstanding mounting lugs 72, 74 with a through aperture or bolt hole 75 extending laterally therethrough.",
"The assembly 21 further includes a mounting socket 76 having an integral depending mounting lug 78 adapted to be positioned between the mounting lugs 72, 74 on the base plate 71 and provided with a comparable bore (not shown).",
"Thus, the arrangement is such that the base plate 71 can, as shown in the exemplary form of the invention depicted in the drawings, be positioned on the deck 22 of the sailboat 24 adjacent the gunwale 26 and inboard of the sailboat's siderail 30 with the mounting lugs 72, 74 positioned relative to the sailboat's deck camber and pitch so as to enable the socket 76 to pivot about a mounting pin or bolt 79 (FIG.",
"2) extending through the bore 75 in mounting lugs 72, 74 and through mounting lug 78, enabling orientation of the socket 76 on a substantially vertical longitudinal axis.",
"However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention is not limited to any particular placement on the sailboat's deck 22 and it can be mounted outside the siderail 30, on the stern 28, on the foredeck (not shown) or, for that matter, in virtually any desired location.",
"Indeed, in its broadest aspects, the invention can be used on piers, floats, loading docks or virtually any other location where it is desirable to transfer loads between 2 points whether located on different planes or on the same plane.",
"In the illustrative and exemplary form of the invention, the tubular socket 76 is preferably made of stainless steel tubing having an O.D. of approximately 1.75 inches, a wall thickness of approximately 0.062 inches, and an I.D. of approximately 1.626 inches.",
"The lower end of the mounting tube 29--which nominally has an O.D. of approximately 1.625 inches--is then inserted into the socket 76.",
"Following insertion into the socket 76--which has been fixedly secured to the deck 22 of the sailboat 24 in the manner previously described hereinabove--the mounting tube 29 is rotated about its longitudinal axis until the sheave 56 mounted within sheave box 41 lies in a vertical plane bisecting the closest and most accessible cockpit winch 42.",
"At this point, holes are drilled in the lower end of the mounting tube 29 through, and in registration with, a pair of pre-formed diametrically opposed bolt holes 80 formed in the socket 76.",
"Any suitable through bolt/nut combination 81 (FIG.",
"2) or other appropriate fastener is passed through the registering holes in the socket 76 and mounting tube 29 so as to fixedly secure the mounting tube to the mounting socket and base assembly 21 with freedom for the mounting tube 29 to be pivoted about bolt 79 into a substantially vertical position.",
"In order to secure the mounting tube 29 in a fixed substantially vertical position, mounting bracket assembly 31 (FIGS.",
"1 and 2;",
"but best shown in FIG. 7) is provided for fixedly securing the upper end of the mounting tube 29 to the sailboat's siderail 30.",
"To this end, the exemplary mounting bracket assembly 31 includes a three-piece separable clamping assembly comprising: i) a first U-shaped clamp member 82 having vertical flanges 84, 85 at its free ends;",
"ii) a plate 86 having an axially extending bolt 88 integral therewith, with the plate 86 being welded or otherwise permanently affixed to the inner surfaces of the flanges 84, 85 and closing the open end of the U-shaped clamp member 82;",
"and iii), a box-like C-shaped clamp member 89 adapted to be slideably mounted over the bolt 89 and the first U-shaped clamp member 82, with the U-shaped and C-shaped clamp members 82, 89 designed to surround the upper end of the mounting tube 29.",
"A second inverted U-shaped saddle clamp member 90 having through bolt holes 91, 92 formed in respective ones of its parallel legs 94, 95 is positioned over the uppermost rail on the siderail 30 with the axially extending bolt 88 passing through the hole 91 in leg 94.",
"If desired, the saddle clamp 90 can be rotated 90° and positioned over a vertical stanchion forming part of the siderail 30.",
"A lock nut 96 is threaded onto the bolt 98 intermediate the legs 94, 95 and tightened down so as to tighten the first U-shaped clamp member 82 and the C-shaped clamp member 89 about the mounting tube 82 and causing the projecting free end of bolt 88 to project outwardly through bolt hole 92 in leg 95.",
"Finally, the second U-shaped clamp member 90 is slid in a fore or aft direction on the siderail 30 (unless mounted on a vertical stanchion) until the mounting tube 29 is in a substantially vertical position, at which point the entire assembly is tightened and locked together by means of a washer 98 and lock nut 99.",
"Turning now to FIG. 8, details of an exemplary outboard sheave assembly 34 adapted to be fixed to the outboard free end of the rotatable tubular liftarm have been illustrated.",
"Thus, as here shown, the exemplary sheave assembly 34 includes: i) a hollow cast aluminum fitting 100 having a laterally projecting reduced diameter tubular portion 101 with an O.D. of approximately 1.125 inches;",
"ii) a sheave 102 journaled on a sheave pin 104 extending through the cast aluminum fitting 100;",
"iii) a split O-shaped clamp 105 having a pair of spaced apart parallel flanges 106, 108;",
"iv) a pair of bolt/nut combinations 109, 110 passing through flanges 106, 108;",
"and v), a shackle 111 adapted to be secured to the free outboard end 36 of the load line 35.",
"The free outboard end of the outer tube 52 defining the liftarm 32 is provided with a longitudinally extending slot 112 for a purpose described hereinbelow.",
"In assembly, the free end of the slotted tubular member 52 is inserted into the opposite inboard end of the split O-shaped clamp 105 and projected entirely therethrough until the outboard end of the tube 52 is substantially flush with the outboard end of clamp 105.",
"The reduced diameter portion 101 of the cast aluminum fitting 100 is then inserted fully into the tube 52--i.e., until the reduced diameter portion 101 of fitting 100, the slotted end of tube 52, and the O-shaped clamp 105 are coaxial, concentric and coextensive.",
"At this point, the bolt/nut combinations 109, 110 are tightened to firmly clamp the fitting's reduced end portion 101 within the slotted end portion of tube 52 and the O-shaped clamp 105.",
"The slot 112 formed in the tube 52 permits the clamp 105 to be over-tightened, compressing the end of the tube 52 against the reduced diameter portion 101 of the fitting 100 and forming a secure connection therebetween.",
"In order to attach the load line 35 to the liftarm 32 and reeve the load line 35 through the rotatable tubular liftarm assembly 20, the outboard free end 36 of the load line 35 is securely attached to the shackle 111 on the split O-shaped clamp 105 in any suitable manner such, for example, as by tying the load line to the shackle and securely knotting the line.",
"The free inboard end 40 of the load line 35 is then reeved: i) through the lift sheave assembly 38 (FIGS.",
"1 and 2) and about the sheave (not visible in FIGS. 1 and 2) journaled therein;",
"ii) through the cast aluminum fitting 100 and about sheave 102 journaled therein;",
"iii) through the concentric, coextensive reduced diameter portion 101 of fitting 100, the slotted end portion of tube 52, and the split O-shaped clamp;",
"iv) downwardly through the outer tube 52 and through the inner stiffening tube 54 (FIGS.",
"2 and 3B);",
"v) downwardly through the telescoped lower end of outer tube 52 and the mounting tube 29 (FIG.",
"5);",
"and vi), through the sheave box assembly 41 and about sheave 56 journaled for rotation therein.",
"As the free inboard end 40 of load line 55 exits the sheave box 41, it is led directly to the cockpit winch 42 (FIGS.",
"1 and 2) about which it can be wound when ready for use.",
"To facilitate entry of the free inboard end 40 of the load line 35 into the sheave box assembly 41, a generally cylindrical feederbush 114 made of plastic material and having a funnel-shaped passageway 115 extending vertically therethrough (FIG.",
"5) is press-fit into the lower end of tube 52 prior to assembly and becomes a permanent part of the assembled liftarm 32.",
"Turning next to FIG. 9, an alternative winch arrangement has been depicted which is particularly advantageous for use in those applications where there is not a readily accessible and available cockpit winch of the type depicted at 42 in FIGS. 1 and 2.",
"Thus, as here shown, a modified siderail mounting assembly, generally indicated at 116, is used in addition to the mounting bracket assembly 31 previously described in connection with FIGS. 1, 2 and 7.",
"In this instance, mounting assembly 116 includes a pair of vertically spaced box-shaped brackets 118, 119 respectively having through vertical bores 120, 121 designed and dimensioned to be slideably mounted about the vertically extending mounting tube 29.",
"The upper bracket 118 is shaped and designed to replace the clamp 89 of FIG. 7 and receives and houses the clamp member 82 of FIG. 7 (not shown in FIG. 9).",
"Otherwise, the clamping arrangement of FIG. 7 continues to function in precisely the same manner as previously described.",
"In this instance, however, the upper bracket 118 is provided with an integral, depending vertical mounting flange 122 having a pair of bolt holes 124, 125 formed therein.",
"Similarly, the lower bracket 119 is provided with a vertically spaced co-planar mounting flange 126 having a pair of bolt holes 128, 129 formed therein.",
"A conventional clutch-type boat trailer winch 130--or alternatively, a small, self-tailing boat winch (not shown) or other conventional winch--is journaled for rotation between a pair of spaced vertical flanges 131, 132 integral with, and perpendicular to, a plate-like mounting bracket 134 having bolt holes 124', 125', 128', 129'",
"adapted to be registered with respective ones of the bolt holes 124, 125 formed in mounting flange 122 in the upper bracket 118 and bolt holes 128, 129 formed in mounting flange 126 forming part of the lower bracket 119.",
"Thus, the arrangement is such that the winch 130 can be directly attached to the brackets 118, 119 by any conventional bolt/nut combinations (not shown) which extend through the registered bolt holes 124/124', 125/125', 128/128'",
"and 129/129'.",
"In such a modified construction, those skilled in the art will appreciate that when the mounting tube 29 is fixedly secured to the socket 76 of the mounting socket and base plate assembly 21 (FIGS.",
"1, 2 and 10), the mounting tube 29 will first be rotated within the socket 76 until the sheave 56 in the sheave box assembly 41 is aligned and centered vertically beneath the winch 130.",
"In those instances where the operator anticipates extraordinarily high loading on the liftarm assembly 20 depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2, it may be desirable to utilize a modified composite liftarm 32'",
"as best shown in FIG. 11 where additional stiffening features are incorporated.",
"In this modified construction, the outer tube 52'",
"includes a first intermediate inner stiffening tube 54'",
"and a second, smaller diameter, innermost stiffening tube 135 inserted coaxially within the intermediate stiffening tube 54'.",
"In this exemplary embodiment, outer tube 52'",
"is on the order of approximately 61 inches in length;",
"inner tube 54'",
"is approximately 38 inches in length extending from a point approximately 9.5 inches above the bottom of tube 52';",
"while the innermost internal stiffening tube 135 is approximately 16 inches in length and is centered within the region "A"",
"where the lower bend is formed.",
"Consequently, when the composite array of concentric tubes 52', 54', 135 are bent in the region "A", preferably through an angle of approximately 15°, all three (3) tubes are firmly locked in position.",
"The bend in the region "B"",
"is again a bend in only the outermost tube 52';",
"and, in the exemplary embodiment of the invention, comprises a bend on the order of approximately 50°.",
"Again, the foregoing dimensions are not critical to the present invention provided only that the relative dimensions and the location of the bends in regions "A"",
"and "B"",
"remain substantially proportional to those described above.",
"The diameters of the tubes 52', 54'",
"may be the same as previously described, in which event the O.D. of tube 135 must be approximately 0.995 inches.",
"However, the diameters of the various tubular members 29, 52, 52', 54, 54', 76, and 135 are not critical provided only that the various tubes are dimensioned such that they can be telescopically mounted together in the manner described hereinabove.",
"Thus, those skilled in the art will appreciate that there have hereinabove been described various modifications of a rotatable tubular metal liftarm assembly 20 (FIGS.",
"1 and 2) which are: simple;",
"compact;",
"inexpensive;",
"completely devoid of exterior struts, braces, pins and similar undesirable protuberances;",
"and, devoid of internal sheaves and/or pulleys disposed within the cantilevered-type composite liftarm 32.",
"Nevertheless, the device is rugged and capable of free, but controlled, rotational movement about a vertical axis between inboard and outboard positions.",
"Loads supported by the rotatable liftarm assembly 20 do not impose rotational forces thereon;",
"and, consequently, there is no inherent tendency of the liftarm 32 and any supported load to swing either inboard or outboard, or to otherwise deviate from a pure vertical up and/or down path unless the operator deliberately elects to rotate the liftarm 32 about its vertical axis so as to swing supported loads either inboard or outboard.",
"The present invention further takes advantage of the capabilities of conventional cockpit winches, whether manually or electrically operated, which are characterized by having power ratios on the order of at least 16:1.",
"Further, the danger of twisting, fouling or otherwise snagging the load line 35 or its free inboard end 40 is substantially eliminated.",
"The device may be easily used by even unskilled personnel including men and woman, both adult and teenagers, without significant risk, to transfer loads weighing up to several hundred pounds.",
"Indeed, during an experimental rescue operation, a liftarm assembly embodying the present invention was successfully used by a woman weighing on the order of only about 110 pounds to rescue a distressed man in the water;",
"and, the woman was able to easily lift the man aboard the sailboat despite the fact that the man weighed in excess of 200 pounds."
] |
PRIORITY INFORMATION
This application claims priority from European Patent Application No. 03077397.2, filed Jul. 30, 2003, the contents being herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lithographic apparatus and an interferometer system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In such a case, a patterning device may be used to generate a desired circuit pattern corresponding to an individual layer of the IC, and this pattern can be imaged onto a target portion (e.g. comprising one or more dies) on a substrate (silicon wafer) that has been coated with a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist).
The term “patterning device” as here employed should be broadly interpreted as referring to a device that can be used to impart an incoming radiation beam with a patterned cross-section, corresponding to a pattern that is to be created in a target portion of the substrate; the term “light valve” can also be used in this context. Generally, the pattern will correspond to a particular functional layer in a device being created in the target portion, such as an integrated circuit or other device (see below). Examples of such patterning devices include:
a mask: the concept of a mask (also known as a “reticle”) is well known in lithography, and it includes mask types such as binary, alternating phase-shift, and attenuated phase-shift, as well as various hybrid mask types. Placement of such a mask in the radiation beam causes selective transmission (in the case of a transmission mask) or reflection (in the case of a reflective mask) of the radiation impinging on the mask, according to the pattern on the mask. In the case of a mask, the support structure will generally be a mask table/holder/holder, which ensures that the mask can be held at a desired position in the incoming radiation beam, and that it can be moved relative to the beam if so desired; a programmable mirror array: one example of such a device is a matrix-addressable surface having a visco-elastic control layer and a reflective surface. The basic principle behind such an apparatus is that (for example) addressed areas of the reflective surface reflect incident light as diffracted light, whereas unaddressed areas reflect incident light as non-diffracted light. Using an appropriate filter, the non-diffracted light can be filtered out of the reflected beam, leaving only the diffracted light behind; in this manner, the beam becomes patterned according to the addressing pattern of the matrix-addressable surface. An alternative embodiment of a programmable mirror array employs a matrix arrangement of tiny mirrors, each of which can be individually tilted about an axis by applying a suitable localized electric field, or by employing piezoelectric actuation mechanism. Once again, the mirrors are matrix-addressable, such that addressed mirrors will reflect an incoming radiation beam in a different direction to unaddressed mirrors; in this manner, the reflected beam is patterned according to the addressing pattern of the matrix-addressable mirrors. The required matrix addressing can be performed using suitable electronic means. In both of the situations described here above, the patterning device can comprise one or more programmable mirror arrays. More information on mirror arrays as here referred to can be gleaned, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 5,296,891 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,523,193, and PCT patent applications WO 98/38597 and WO 98/33096, which are incorporated herein by reference. In the case of a programmable mirror array, the support structure may be embodied as a frame or table, for example, which may be fixed or movable as required; and a programmable LCD array: an example of such a construction is given in U.S. Pat. No. 5,229,872, which is incorporated herein by reference. As above, the support structure in this case may be embodied as a frame or table, for example, which may be fixed or movable as required.
For purposes of simplicity, the rest of this text may, at certain locations, specifically direct itself to examples involving a mask and mask table/holder/holder; however, the general principles discussed in such instances should be seen in the broader context of the patterning device as set forth here above.
In general, a single wafer will contain a whole network of adjacent target portions that are successively irradiated via the projection system, one at a time. In current apparatus, employing patterning by a mask on a mask table/holder/holder, a distinction can be made between two different types of machine. In one type of lithographic projection apparatus, each target portion is irradiated by exposing the entire mask pattern onto the target portion in one go; such an apparatus is commonly referred to as a wafer stepper.
In an alternative apparatus—commonly referred to as a step-and-scan apparatus—each target portion is irradiated by progressively scanning the mask pattern under the projection beam in a given reference direction (the “scanning” direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate table/holder/holder parallel or anti-parallel to this direction. Since, in general, the projection system will have a magnification factor M (generally <1), the speed V at which the substrate table/holder/holder is scanned will be a factor M times that at which the mask table/holder/holder is scanned. More information with regard to lithographic devices as here described can be gleaned, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 6,046,792, incorporated herein by reference.
In a manufacturing process using a lithographic apparatus, a pattern (e.g. as defined by a mask) is imaged onto a substrate that is at least partially covered by a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist). Prior to this imaging step, the substrate may undergo various procedures, such as priming, resist coating and a soft bake. After exposure, the substrate may be subjected to other procedures, such as a post-exposure bake (PEB), development, a hard bake and measurement/inspection of the imaged features. This array of procedures is used as a basis to pattern an individual layer of a device, e.g. an IC. Such a patterned layer may then undergo various processes such as etching, ion-implantation (doping), metallization, oxidation, chemo-mechanical polishing, etc., all intended to finish off an individual layer. If several layers are required, then the whole procedure, or a variant thereof, will have to be repeated for each new layer. Eventually, an array of devices will be present on the substrate (wafer). These devices are then separated from one another by a technique such as dicing or sawing, whence the individual devices can be mounted on a carrier, connected to pins, etc. Further information regarding such processes can be obtained, for example, from the book “Microchip Fabrication: A Practical Guide to Semiconductor Processing”, Third Edition, by Peter van Zant, McGraw Hill Publishing Co., 1997, ISBN 0-07-067250-4, incorporated herein by reference.
For the sake of simplicity, the projection system may hereinafter be referred to as the “lens”; however, this term should be broadly interpreted as encompassing various types of projection system, including refractive optics, reflective optics, and catadioptric systems, for example. The radiation system may also include components operating according to any of these design types for directing, shaping or controlling the projection beam of radiation, and such components may also be referred to below, collectively or singularly, as a “lens”.
Further, the lithographic apparatus may be of a type having two or more substrate table/holder/holders (and/or two or more mask table/holders). In such “multiple stage” devices the additional tables may be used in parallel, or preparatory steps may be carried out on one or more tables while one or more other tables are being used for exposures. Dual stage lithographic apparatus are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,441 and WO 98/40791, both incorporated herein by reference.
The ever present demand in lithography to image mask patterns with a small critical dimensions (CD) necessitates increasing accuracy of the positioning of the substrate table, the substrate and/or any other object which is moveable within the apparatus. This drives the need for ever increasing accuracy of the knowledge of a position of such objects.
Conventional interferometer systems are often capable of accurately carrying out a well known measurement of a difference in phase between light which has traveled along a reference path and light which has traveled along a measurement path. In this specification, these type of measurements are referred to as phase measurements. A measured change of difference in phase corresponds to a displacement of an object. In other words, a phase measurement can be regarded as a displacement measurement. Although a phase measurement provides some information on a displacement of an object, information is only provided with respect to a previous location of that object itself.
In this specification, a position is to be understood to mean a position that is defined with respect to a known position that is stable in time. A position of an object is defined with respect to a reference position, stable in time of, for instance, another object, lens, or axis within the lithographic apparatus. The position of an object, for example, the substrate table, is in the known lithographic apparatus determined by employing a so-called zeroing system which is a stand-alone system in the sense that it is provided in addition to the interferometer system. A measured displacement may provide a position if the phase measurement is combined with a determination of a position by the zeroing system. The zeroing system provides, for instance, a position from which the displacement takes place. As such, the zeroing system in the prior art is a system which operates independently of the interferometer system. The zeroing system is in that sense another module of the known apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The principles of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, provide a lithographic system with an interferometer system having less modules than conventional systems. In one embodiment, the lithographic apparatus, comprises a substrate holder configured to hold a substrate; an illuminator configured to condition a beam of radiation; a support structure configured to support a patterning device that imparts a desired pattern to the beam of radiation; a projection system that projects the patterned beam onto a target portion of the substrate; and an interferometer system configured to measure a position of the object to assist in positioning the object.
Such a configuration allows in a lithographic apparatus according to the invention for determining a position of an object using the interferometer system. There will be no need for a separate zeroing system, allowing for lesser modules in the lithographic apparatus.
This has several other advantages. It will for instance be possible to save time during the manufacturing of IC's as it is possible that zeroing takes place “on the fly”, i.e. whilst interferometry is employed anyway. It is estimated that this will currently save between 0.1 and 1 second per wafer. As a stand alone zeroing system is no longer necessary, space may be saved in the apparatus. It is also possible that the apparatus will be cheaper to produce. Another advantage is that the part of the interferometer system which allows for measuring displacement and the part of the interferometer system which allows for zeroing and thus a position measurement, may be manufactured by one manufacturer as both of these parts are incorporated in the interferometer system. This minimizes the possibility that interconnection problems occur.
An interferometer system which is capable of determining an absolute optical path length difference between a measurement path and a reference path, i.e. a length difference expressed in an absolute unit of length between a measurement path and a reference path, is state of the art. The technology is often referred to as “absolute interferometry”. Illustrative in this respect is, for instance, the Thesis “Novel interferometer to measure the figure of strongly spherical mirrors” (ISBN 90-9014583-4) of René Klaver and references mentioned therein. The thesis and the references mentioned therein are all by reference incorporated in this specification. Absolute interferometry has so far been used for a detailed study of surfaces of, for instance lenses and mirrors and in particular non spherical surfaces, which have a stable position in time. The accuracy of these surfaces is not determined by the polish techniques, but by the accuracy of the characterization of the surfaces. In the invention described in this specification, absolute interferometry is employed by an interferometer system which aids positioning movable objects within an apparatus.
In a description of an embodiment it will by way of example further be explained as to how a position of an object is established in an absolute manner.
An embodiment of a lithographic project apparatus according to the invention is arranged to carry out the position measurement using a plurality of frequencies of light. This has the advantage that the extra information provided i.e., the frequencies of light, can be used for measuring a position.
An embodiment of a lithographic projection apparatus according to the invention may comprise an interferometer system which is provided with a modulation system for applying a frequency modulation to light used by the interferometer system or for generating a periodically frequency-modulated beam of light. An advantage is that disturbance due to noise in the frequency of light used by the interferometer system may only have a minimal effect, if at all, on the position measurement. An interferometer system in a lithographic apparatus of the prior art uses light without frequency modulation. An output of the interferometer system of the known apparatus is a phase difference. Applying a frequency modulation to light used by the interferometer system, as done by a modulation system of this embodiment of the invention, will cause a response in the output of the interferometer system. This response is related to the frequency modulation and allows for determining a position of an object equipped with a mirror for reflecting light which has traveled along the measurement path. The frequency modulation may have for example a sinusoidal, trapezoidal, triangular or saw tooth like shape.
The interferometer system of a lithographic apparatus according to the invention can be arranged to measure a change of phase difference between light which has traveled along a measurement path and light which has traveled along a reference path. This change of phase is a response to the frequency modulation. The change of phase comprises information which enables the interferometer system to determine an absolute optical path length difference and hence a position of an object equipped with a mirror for reflecting light traveling along the measurement path.
In an embodiment the position measurement comprises determining a position of an object on the basis of the ratio of an amplitude (ΔN) of an interferometry signal to an amplitude (Δf) of the frequency modulation and on a correction for the medium in which the light travels, wherein the modulation has a sinusoidal shape and wherein the interferometry signal is a response to the frequency modulation. The interferometry signal comprises a number of fringes N as a function of time. It is relatively simple, an therefore cheap, as well as useful to establish the amplitude as one of the characteristics of the interferometry signal. The parameters ΔN and Δf are both easily established allowing for a simple and straightforward way of a position.
In an embodiment of a lithographic projection apparatus according to the invention, the interferometer system is provided with a response monitoring system for establishing the response to the frequency modulation. The response monitoring system allows for capturing the interferometry signal, for further processing and extracting information useful for establishing the absolute optical path length difference, and for determining the position. Such a response monitoring system may comprise a demodulator so that a modulation of the interferometry signal as a response to the modulation of light used in the interferometer, can be demodulated. Such a demodulator may for instance comprise a lock-in detector, known in itself.
In an embodiment of a lithographic projection apparatus according to the invention, the interferometer system may be arranged to use at least two different frequencies of light, wherein each frequency of light is used for a first light beam which travels along a measurement path and for a second beam of light which travels along a reference path. This embodiment provides an alternative for the embodiment wherein the interferometer system is provided with a modulation system for applying a frequency modulation to light used by the interferometer system. As explained in detail in René Klaver's thesis, section 6.2.5 and references mentioned therein, this allows for the determination of an absolute optical path length difference, and thus for the determination of an absolute position.
In an embodiment of a lithographic projection apparatus according to the invention, the interferometer system is arranged to carry out the position measurement such that an approximate position is determined with a total uncertainty range which is less than a distance corresponding to a single fringe which is observed when a phase measurement is carried out with the interferometer system. It is possible that a phase scale on which an outcome of a phase measurement can be expressed is related by a predetermined relationship with a length scale on which an outcome of a position measurement can be expressed. In that case the interferometer system of a lithographic apparatus according to the invention can be arranged to carry out a phase measurement and a position measurement and further be arranged to determine on the basis of the approximate position and the phase measurement an accurate position by taking the predetermined relationship into account and selecting a position which corresponds to both the approximate position and the outcome of the phase measurement. This allows for a very accurate position measurement.
Although specific reference may be made in this text to the use of the apparatus according to the invention in the manufacture of ICs, it should be explicitly understood that such an apparatus has many other possible applications. For example, it may be employed in the manufacture of integrated optical systems, guidance and detection patterns for magnetic domain memories, liquid-crystal display panels, thin-film magnetic heads, etc. The skilled artisan will appreciate that, in the context of such alternative applications, any use of the terms “reticle”, “wafer” or “die” in this text should be considered as being replaced by the more general terms “mask”, “substrate” and “target portion”, respectively.
In the present document, the terms “radiation” and “beam” are used to encompass all types of electromagnetic radiation, including ultraviolet (UV) radiation (e.g. with a wavelength of 365, 248, 193, 157 or 126 nm) and extreme ultra-violet (EUV) radiation (e.g. having a wavelength in the range 5-20 nm), as well as particle beams, such as ion beams or electron beams.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings in which corresponding reference symbols indicate corresponding parts, and in which:
FIG. 1 depicts a lithographic apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 depicts schematically the interferometer system in a lithographic projection apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3 depicts schematically a workflow for carrying out a position measurement by a lithographic projection apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention; and
FIG. 4 depicts schematically a determination of an accurate position on the basis of a position measurement and a phase measurement.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 schematically depicts a lithographic projection apparatus 1 according to a particular embodiment of the invention. The apparatus comprises:
a radiation system Ex, IL: for supplying a projection beam PB of radiation (e.g. EUV, DUV, or UV radiation). In this particular case, the radiation system also comprises a radiation source LA; a first object table (mask table/holder/holder) MT: provided with a mask holder for holding a mask MA (e.g. a reticle), and connected to first positioning mechanism for accurately positioning the mask with respect to item PL; a second object table (substrate table/holder) WT: provided with a substrate holder for holding a substrate W (e.g. a resist-coated silicon wafer), and connected to second positioning mechanism for accurately positioning the substrate with respect to item PL; a projection system (“lens”) PL: for example, a mirror or refractive lens system that images an irradiated portion of the mask MA onto a target portion C (comprising one or more dies) of the substrate W.
As here depicted, the apparatus is of a transmissive type (i.e. has a transmissive mask). However, in general, it may also be of a reflective type, for example (with a reflective mask). Alternatively, the apparatus may employ another kind of patterning device, such as a programmable mirror array of a type as referred to above.
The source LA (e.g. a laser) produces a beam of radiation. This beam is fed into an illumination system (illuminator) IL, either directly or after having traversed conditioning means, such as a beam expander Ex, for example. The illuminator IL may comprise adjusting means AM for setting the outer and/or inner radial extent (commonly referred to as σ-outer and σ-inner, respectively) of the intensity distribution in the beam. In addition, it will generally comprise various other components, such as an integrator IN and a condenser CO. In this way, the beam PB impinging on the mask MA has a desired uniformity and intensity distribution in its cross-section.
It should be noted with regard to FIG. 1 that the source LA may be within the housing of the lithographic projection apparatus (as is often the case when the source LA is a mercury lamp, for example), but that it may also be remote from the lithographic projection apparatus, the radiation beam which it produces being led into the apparatus (e.g. with the aid of suitable directing mirrors); this latter scenario is often the case when the source LA is an excimer laser. The current invention and claims encompass both of these scenarios.
The beam PB subsequently intercepts the mask MA, which is held on a mask table MT. Having traversed the mask MA, the beam PB passes through the lens PL, which focuses the beam PB onto a target portion C of the substrate W. With the aid of the second positioning mechanism PW (and interferometric measuring mechanism IF), the substrate table WT can be moved accurately, e.g. so as to position different target portions C in the path of the beam PB. Similarly, the first positioning mechanism PM can be used to accurately position the mask MA with respect to the path of the beam PB, e.g. after mechanical retrieval of the mask MA from a mask library, or during a scan. In general, movement of the object tables MT, WT will be realized with the aid of a long-stroke module (coarse positioning) and a short-stroke module (fine positioning), which are not explicitly depicted in FIG. 1 . However, in the case of a wafer stepper (as opposed to a step-and-scan apparatus) the mask table MT may just be connected to a short stroke actuator, or may be fixed. Mask MA and substrate W may be aligned using mask alignment marks M 1 , M 2 and substrate alignment marks P 1 , P 2 .
The depicted apparatus can be used in different modes:
step mode: the mask table MT is kept essentially stationary, and an entire mask image is projected in one go (i.e. a single “flash”) onto a target portion C. The substrate table WT is then shifted in the X and/or Y directions so that a different target portion C can be irradiated by the beam PB; scan mode; essentially the same scenario applies, except that a given target portion C is not exposed in a single “flash”. Instead, the mask table MT is movable in a given direction (the so-called “scan direction”, e.g. the Y-direction) with a speed ν, so that the projection beam PB is caused to scan over a mask image; concurrently, the substrate table WT is simultaneously moved in the same or opposite direction at a speed V=M ν, in which M is the magnification of the lens PL (typically, M=¼ or ⅕). In this manner, a relatively large target portion C can be exposed, without having to compromise on resolution; and other mode: the mask table MT is kept essentially stationary holding a programmable patterning device, and the substrate table WT is moved or scanned while a pattern imparted to the projection beam is projected onto a target portion C. In this mode, generally a pulsed radiation source is employed and the programmable patterning device is updated as required after each movement of the substrate table WT or in between successive radiation pulses during a scan. This mode of operation can be readily applied to maskless lithography that utilizes programmable patterning device, such as a programmable mirror array of a type as referred to above.
FIG. 2 depicts schematically an embodiment of such an interferometer system IS. The interferometer system IS is provided with a modulation system FM that produces frequency-modulated light. To produce frequency-modulated light, modulation system FM may, for example, frequency-modulate the light used by the interferometer system or may generate a periodic, frequency-modulated beam of light. In addition, the frequency modulation may be configured to have a predetermined characteristic, such as, for example, a sinusoidal, trapezoidal, triangular, or saw-tooth like shape.
The interferometer IFM splits the light and a part of that light is directed along a measurement path MP to and from a reflector RO placed on an object O of which the position needs to be determined. Another part of that light is directed along a reference path RP to and from a reference reflector RR. The position of the reference reflector is stable in time.
When the light which has traveled along the reference path RP, i.e., the reference beam, and the light which has traveled along the measurement path MP, i.e., the measurement beam, recombine, interference of light may occur, provided that the measurement beam and the reference beam are at least partly equally polarized. Depending on the differences in optical path length between the reference path RP and the measurement path MP and on the phase of the light at the point of interference, the light from the reference light beam and light from the measurement light beam may be totally constructive, totally destructive, or anything in between. One full cycle of light intensity variation is generally known as a fringe.
As the frequency of light used by the interferometer system IS is modulated, fringes or parts thereof, occur also due to the change in frequency. In other words, due to frequency modulation fringes or parts thereof may also occur when the object of which the position needs to be determined is stable, i.e. not moving during the measurement, as long as the reference path RP and the measurement path MP are of unequal length. A difference in optical path length between the reference path RP and the measurement path MP is then observed in an interferometry signal, which is a response to the frequency modulation to light used by the interferometer system IS and comprises a number of fringes N as a function of time.
The interferometer system IS is arranged to measure a change of phase difference between light which has traveled along the measurement path MP and light which has traveled along the reference path RP. For that purpose, the interferometer system IS may be provided with a response monitoring system RMS for establishing the response to the frequency modulation, in this case the interferometry signal. The position measurement comprises in its simplest form determining the absolute optical path length difference L between the reference path and the measurement path.
A more detailed explanation as to how the determination of the optical path length difference L occurs is as follows. The frequency f of the light used by the interferometer system may due to the modulation behave according to
f=f 0 +Δf sin(ω f t ) (1),
wherein f 0 is the nominal frequency, Δf the amplitude of the frequency modulation set as a predetermined constant, ω f the modulation angular frequency, and t the time. The response monitoring system measures the response to the frequency modulation, i.e. the interferometry signal, which can in this case be described as
N=N 0 +ΔN sin(ω f t ) (2),
N 0 being a nominal part, i.e. the value N would have if Δf is zero. From a modulation part ΔN sin(ω f t) of the interferometry signal, the amplitude ΔN is determined. In practice the modulation part is deducible from the interferometry signal using a demodulation technique, known in itself.
The absolute optical path length difference L is then determined as
L
=
c
n
Δ
N
Δ
f
,
(
3
)
wherein c is the speed of light in vacuum, and n is the index of refraction of the medium in which the light travels. A basis for this determination is as follows. As
N
=
L
λ
=
n
L
c
f
=
n
L
c
(
f
0
+
Δ
f
sin
(
ω
f
t
)
)
,
(
4
)
wherein λ is the time dependent wavelength of light in air used by the interferometer system, and
N
0
=
n
L
c
f
0
(
5
)
it follows from equating (2) and (4) and substituting (5) that
Δ
N
sin
(
ω
f
t
)
=
n
L
c
Δ
f
sin
(
ω
f
t
)
,
(
6
)
leading to equation (3) for determining the absolute optical path length difference L.
The modulation system FM may comprise a frequency tunable semiconductor laser which is commercially available. For improving the frequency stability the semiconductor laser can be stabilized by a stabilized Helium Neon laser and a frequency locked loop, known in the art. A small part of the semiconductor laser light can be mixed with the Helium Neon laser light and generates a so-called beat signal. The frequency of the beat signal is equal to the difference between the two laser frequencies. The frequency of the beat signal, Δf, can be measured by a frequency counter and can be sent to a processing unit PU which is arranged to determine the optical path length difference L.
The frequency counter may also be used to close the loop around the tunable semiconductor laser. The frequency modulation is in this case added as a set point. The tunable laser may require a voltage as input. In that case the modulation system may also comprise a frequency to voltage converter.
In case heterodyne phase detection is used, the main part of the semiconductor laser light is split in two cross polarised beams. A frequency difference between the two cross polarised beams can be obtained using one or two acousto-optic modulators (AOMs)
The response monitoring system may comprise a demodulator such as lock-in detector or lock in amplifier, both well known in the art and commercially available. This response monitoring system may also determine ΔN although also standard electronics present in the interferometer IFM may be capable of determining ΔN. The interferometer system IS may be provided with a processing unit (PU) for carrying out the determination of the optical path length difference L from Δf and ΔN.
The speed of light c in vacuum can be stored in the processing unit PU as a known constant of nature. The index of refraction n of the medium in which the light travels may be estimated based on temperature, pressure and composition of the medium, or be determined otherwise and then stored in the processing unit PU. The optical path length difference L can be determined and expressed in a unit of length. The position of the interferometer IFM is stable in time. The actual position of the reflector RO with respect to the interferometer IFM is then related to the sum of the length of the reference path RP and the optical path length difference L. The processing unit PU determines the optical path length difference L and hence the position of reflector RO with respect to the interferometer IFM (the length of the reference path RP being stored as a predetermined constant in the processing unit PU).
Instead of a modulation system, the interferometer system IS may, in order to carry out position measurements, be arranged to use at least two different frequencies of light, wherein each frequency of light is used for a first light beam which travels along a measurement path MP and for a second beam of light which travels along a reference path RP. This also allows for the determination of an absolute optical path length difference as explained in more detail in René Klaver's thesis, section 6.2.5 and references mentioned therein.
In a further embodiment, the interferometer system IS may be arranged to carry out the position measurement such that an approximate position is determined with a total uncertainty which is less than a distance corresponding to a single fringe which is observed when a displacement measurement is carried out with the interferometer system. This is, for instance, possible if a modulation frequency of 20 GHz can be are reached and measured. With accurate phase detection electronics combined with an accurate lock-in detector it is possible to determine ΔN with an uncertainty of about 2.10 −5 . For such an embodiment, a phase scale, on which the outcome of a phase measurement can be expressed, is related by a predetermined relationship with a length scale, on which an outcome of a position measurement can be expressed. This predetermined relationship provides information related to the length of the length scale which corresponds to a single fringe of the phase scale as well as an offset between the length scale and the phase scale.
In such an embodiment, the interferometer system IS may further be arranged to carry out a phase measurement in addition to the position measurement and to determine on the basis of the approximate position and the phase measurement an accurate position by taking into account the predetermined relationship and by selecting as the accurate position a position which corresponds to both the approximate position and the outcome of the phase measurement.
FIG. 3 schematically depicts a workflow for carrying out a position measurement by a lithographic apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. The interferometer system IS is first initialized. The object of which the position needs to be determined may have to be moved such that the mirror RO of that object is positioned such that the interferometer can measure a phase difference between light which travels along a reference path RP and light which travels along a measurement path MP.
At a particular time, say t=0, a phase difference is measured and arbitrarily related to a position x 1 (t=0). When a phase measurement, as is known in the art, is carried out by the interferometer IFM, a phase φ of the interference fringe, for instance expressed as a number between zero (included) and one (excluded), is obtained. An integer k is incremented by one whenever φ changes from one to zero, and decremented by one whenever φ changes from zero to one. Based on φ and k an actual displacement of (φ+k)λ/q where λ is the wavelength in air of the light used by the interferometer, and q a scale factor which corresponds to the number of fringes observable for a displacement equal to λ.
Those skilled in the art will notice that φ can be determined at any time, in contrast to k which can only be determined relative to a previously known or assumed k. FIG. 4 shows an example in which phase φ is obtained as 0.316. The actual displacement may in that case be 50 nm, 208.5 nm, 366.7 nm etc. when λ is assumed to be equal to 623.8 nm and q is equal to 4.
The approximate position of the mirror RO at t=0 is also measured by carrying out a position measurement as explained above. This approximate position may, for instance, be x 2 (t=0). It is now possible to determine an offset between the position as set arbitrarily and the position as measured. It is possible that the phase is measured as a function of time and that the position is measured as a function of time, possibly allowing for a more accurate offset. This part of the workflow entails the “zeroing” of the interferometer, which is capable of measuring displacements by phase measurements.
The offset, as determined, will form at least a part of the predetermined relationship. The length of the length scale which corresponds to a single fringe, which forms another part of the predetermined relationship will in practice most likely have been established by a manufacturer of the interferometer system. With the predetermined relationship it is possible to determine more accurately a position of an object.
As shown in FIG. 4 , a phase measurement may reveal a phase of 0.316. For the sake of the explanation, it is assumed that the total uncertainty range of a displacement as obtained from this phase measurement is ±2 nm. An approximate position measurement as carried out by the interferometer system IS according to the invention may reveal a position of 221.48±63.28 nm.
The accurate position of the object is determined, by taking the predetermined relationship into account and by selecting a position which corresponds to both the approximate position and the outcome of the phase measurement, as schematically shown in FIG. 4 . The accurate position is determined to be 208.5±2 nm. This information may then be shared with a positioning mechanism of the apparatus, to allow for an accurate positioning of at least one object within the apparatus (see, FIG. 3 ), or other parts of the apparatus such as parts belonging to the alignment system. In FIG. 2 this is indicated with a line from the processing unit PU to CU/PM.
It should be noted that an approximate position measurement may also be carried out by a zeroing system, i.e., by a system that is different from the interferometer system IS as depicted in FIG. 2 and as described in the explanation of FIG. 2 . This zeroing system may be a stand-alone system. This zeroing system should still be able to carry out a position measurement such that an approximate position is determined with a total uncertainty range, which is less than a distance corresponding to a single fringe which is observed when a phase measurement is carried out with the interferometer system IS.
Also in this case a phase scale on which an outcome of a displacement measurement can be expressed, should be related by a predetermined relationship with a length scale on which an outcome of a position measurement can be expressed.
A method for determining the accurate position of an object includes:
(a) employing an interferometer to measure a phase difference between a reference path RP and a measurement path MP, wherein the object is placed in the measurement path MP, movable along the measurement path MP and provided with a reflective element for reflecting light that travels along the measurement path MP; (b) measuring an approximate position with a total uncertainty range that is less than a distance corresponding to a single fringe, which is observed using the interferometer for measuring the phase difference; (c) determining a relationship between a phase scale on which the phase difference can be expressed and a length scale on which the approximate position can be expressed; (d) determining the accurate position based on the relationship and selecting as the accurate position the position which corresponds to both the approximate position and the measured phase difference.
The approximate position may be determined by a stand-alone zeroing system or with an interferometer which is arranged to carry out a position measurement as explained in this specification.
It will be clear to a person skilled in the art that the object may be any moveable object within the apparatus. It will equally be clear that the interferometer system according to the invention may be used for establishing a position related to any degree of freedom on which information is needed.
The invention is not limited to the above described example. Instead of applying a frequency modulation to light used by the interferometer system, it is possible that the interferometer system is arranged to use at least two different frequencies of light, wherein each frequency of light is used for a first beam of light which travels along a measurement path and a second beam of light which travels along a reference path.
While specific embodiments of the invention have been described above, it will be appreciated that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as described. The description is not intended to limit the invention—rather the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims. | A lithographic apparatus is presented that includes a substrate holder configured to hold a substrate, an illuminator configured to condition a beam of radiation, a support structure configured to support a patterning device that imparts a desired pattern to the beam of radiation, a projection system that projects the patterned beam onto a target portion of the substrate, and an interferometer system configured to measure a position of the object to assist in positioning the object. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the concept presented in the passage. | [
"PRIORITY INFORMATION This application claims priority from European Patent Application No. 03077397.2, filed Jul. 30, 2003, the contents being herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lithographic apparatus and an interferometer system.",
"Description of the Related Art Lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs).",
"In such a case, a patterning device may be used to generate a desired circuit pattern corresponding to an individual layer of the IC, and this pattern can be imaged onto a target portion (e.g. comprising one or more dies) on a substrate (silicon wafer) that has been coated with a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist).",
"The term “patterning device”",
"as here employed should be broadly interpreted as referring to a device that can be used to impart an incoming radiation beam with a patterned cross-section, corresponding to a pattern that is to be created in a target portion of the substrate;",
"the term “light valve”",
"can also be used in this context.",
"Generally, the pattern will correspond to a particular functional layer in a device being created in the target portion, such as an integrated circuit or other device (see below).",
"Examples of such patterning devices include: a mask: the concept of a mask (also known as a “reticle”) is well known in lithography, and it includes mask types such as binary, alternating phase-shift, and attenuated phase-shift, as well as various hybrid mask types.",
"Placement of such a mask in the radiation beam causes selective transmission (in the case of a transmission mask) or reflection (in the case of a reflective mask) of the radiation impinging on the mask, according to the pattern on the mask.",
"In the case of a mask, the support structure will generally be a mask table/holder/holder, which ensures that the mask can be held at a desired position in the incoming radiation beam, and that it can be moved relative to the beam if so desired;",
"a programmable mirror array: one example of such a device is a matrix-addressable surface having a visco-elastic control layer and a reflective surface.",
"The basic principle behind such an apparatus is that (for example) addressed areas of the reflective surface reflect incident light as diffracted light, whereas unaddressed areas reflect incident light as non-diffracted light.",
"Using an appropriate filter, the non-diffracted light can be filtered out of the reflected beam, leaving only the diffracted light behind;",
"in this manner, the beam becomes patterned according to the addressing pattern of the matrix-addressable surface.",
"An alternative embodiment of a programmable mirror array employs a matrix arrangement of tiny mirrors, each of which can be individually tilted about an axis by applying a suitable localized electric field, or by employing piezoelectric actuation mechanism.",
"Once again, the mirrors are matrix-addressable, such that addressed mirrors will reflect an incoming radiation beam in a different direction to unaddressed mirrors;",
"in this manner, the reflected beam is patterned according to the addressing pattern of the matrix-addressable mirrors.",
"The required matrix addressing can be performed using suitable electronic means.",
"In both of the situations described here above, the patterning device can comprise one or more programmable mirror arrays.",
"More information on mirror arrays as here referred to can be gleaned, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 5,296,891 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,523,193, and PCT patent applications WO 98/38597 and WO 98/33096, which are incorporated herein by reference.",
"In the case of a programmable mirror array, the support structure may be embodied as a frame or table, for example, which may be fixed or movable as required;",
"and a programmable LCD array: an example of such a construction is given in U.S. Pat. No. 5,229,872, which is incorporated herein by reference.",
"As above, the support structure in this case may be embodied as a frame or table, for example, which may be fixed or movable as required.",
"For purposes of simplicity, the rest of this text may, at certain locations, specifically direct itself to examples involving a mask and mask table/holder/holder;",
"however, the general principles discussed in such instances should be seen in the broader context of the patterning device as set forth here above.",
"In general, a single wafer will contain a whole network of adjacent target portions that are successively irradiated via the projection system, one at a time.",
"In current apparatus, employing patterning by a mask on a mask table/holder/holder, a distinction can be made between two different types of machine.",
"In one type of lithographic projection apparatus, each target portion is irradiated by exposing the entire mask pattern onto the target portion in one go;",
"such an apparatus is commonly referred to as a wafer stepper.",
"In an alternative apparatus—commonly referred to as a step-and-scan apparatus—each target portion is irradiated by progressively scanning the mask pattern under the projection beam in a given reference direction (the “scanning”",
"direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate table/holder/holder parallel or anti-parallel to this direction.",
"Since, in general, the projection system will have a magnification factor M (generally <1), the speed V at which the substrate table/holder/holder is scanned will be a factor M times that at which the mask table/holder/holder is scanned.",
"More information with regard to lithographic devices as here described can be gleaned, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 6,046,792, incorporated herein by reference.",
"In a manufacturing process using a lithographic apparatus, a pattern (e.g. as defined by a mask) is imaged onto a substrate that is at least partially covered by a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist).",
"Prior to this imaging step, the substrate may undergo various procedures, such as priming, resist coating and a soft bake.",
"After exposure, the substrate may be subjected to other procedures, such as a post-exposure bake (PEB), development, a hard bake and measurement/inspection of the imaged features.",
"This array of procedures is used as a basis to pattern an individual layer of a device, e.g. an IC.",
"Such a patterned layer may then undergo various processes such as etching, ion-implantation (doping), metallization, oxidation, chemo-mechanical polishing, etc.",
", all intended to finish off an individual layer.",
"If several layers are required, then the whole procedure, or a variant thereof, will have to be repeated for each new layer.",
"Eventually, an array of devices will be present on the substrate (wafer).",
"These devices are then separated from one another by a technique such as dicing or sawing, whence the individual devices can be mounted on a carrier, connected to pins, etc.",
"Further information regarding such processes can be obtained, for example, from the book “Microchip Fabrication: A Practical Guide to Semiconductor Processing”, Third Edition, by Peter van Zant, McGraw Hill Publishing Co., 1997, ISBN 0-07-067250-4, incorporated herein by reference.",
"For the sake of simplicity, the projection system may hereinafter be referred to as the “lens”;",
"however, this term should be broadly interpreted as encompassing various types of projection system, including refractive optics, reflective optics, and catadioptric systems, for example.",
"The radiation system may also include components operating according to any of these design types for directing, shaping or controlling the projection beam of radiation, and such components may also be referred to below, collectively or singularly, as a “lens.”",
"Further, the lithographic apparatus may be of a type having two or more substrate table/holder/holders (and/or two or more mask table/holders).",
"In such “multiple stage”",
"devices the additional tables may be used in parallel, or preparatory steps may be carried out on one or more tables while one or more other tables are being used for exposures.",
"Dual stage lithographic apparatus are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,441 and WO 98/40791, both incorporated herein by reference.",
"The ever present demand in lithography to image mask patterns with a small critical dimensions (CD) necessitates increasing accuracy of the positioning of the substrate table, the substrate and/or any other object which is moveable within the apparatus.",
"This drives the need for ever increasing accuracy of the knowledge of a position of such objects.",
"Conventional interferometer systems are often capable of accurately carrying out a well known measurement of a difference in phase between light which has traveled along a reference path and light which has traveled along a measurement path.",
"In this specification, these type of measurements are referred to as phase measurements.",
"A measured change of difference in phase corresponds to a displacement of an object.",
"In other words, a phase measurement can be regarded as a displacement measurement.",
"Although a phase measurement provides some information on a displacement of an object, information is only provided with respect to a previous location of that object itself.",
"In this specification, a position is to be understood to mean a position that is defined with respect to a known position that is stable in time.",
"A position of an object is defined with respect to a reference position, stable in time of, for instance, another object, lens, or axis within the lithographic apparatus.",
"The position of an object, for example, the substrate table, is in the known lithographic apparatus determined by employing a so-called zeroing system which is a stand-alone system in the sense that it is provided in addition to the interferometer system.",
"A measured displacement may provide a position if the phase measurement is combined with a determination of a position by the zeroing system.",
"The zeroing system provides, for instance, a position from which the displacement takes place.",
"As such, the zeroing system in the prior art is a system which operates independently of the interferometer system.",
"The zeroing system is in that sense another module of the known apparatus.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The principles of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, provide a lithographic system with an interferometer system having less modules than conventional systems.",
"In one embodiment, the lithographic apparatus, comprises a substrate holder configured to hold a substrate;",
"an illuminator configured to condition a beam of radiation;",
"a support structure configured to support a patterning device that imparts a desired pattern to the beam of radiation;",
"a projection system that projects the patterned beam onto a target portion of the substrate;",
"and an interferometer system configured to measure a position of the object to assist in positioning the object.",
"Such a configuration allows in a lithographic apparatus according to the invention for determining a position of an object using the interferometer system.",
"There will be no need for a separate zeroing system, allowing for lesser modules in the lithographic apparatus.",
"This has several other advantages.",
"It will for instance be possible to save time during the manufacturing of IC's as it is possible that zeroing takes place “on the fly”, i.e. whilst interferometry is employed anyway.",
"It is estimated that this will currently save between 0.1 and 1 second per wafer.",
"As a stand alone zeroing system is no longer necessary, space may be saved in the apparatus.",
"It is also possible that the apparatus will be cheaper to produce.",
"Another advantage is that the part of the interferometer system which allows for measuring displacement and the part of the interferometer system which allows for zeroing and thus a position measurement, may be manufactured by one manufacturer as both of these parts are incorporated in the interferometer system.",
"This minimizes the possibility that interconnection problems occur.",
"An interferometer system which is capable of determining an absolute optical path length difference between a measurement path and a reference path, i.e. a length difference expressed in an absolute unit of length between a measurement path and a reference path, is state of the art.",
"The technology is often referred to as “absolute interferometry.”",
"Illustrative in this respect is, for instance, the Thesis “Novel interferometer to measure the figure of strongly spherical mirrors”",
"(ISBN 90-9014583-4) of René Klaver and references mentioned therein.",
"The thesis and the references mentioned therein are all by reference incorporated in this specification.",
"Absolute interferometry has so far been used for a detailed study of surfaces of, for instance lenses and mirrors and in particular non spherical surfaces, which have a stable position in time.",
"The accuracy of these surfaces is not determined by the polish techniques, but by the accuracy of the characterization of the surfaces.",
"In the invention described in this specification, absolute interferometry is employed by an interferometer system which aids positioning movable objects within an apparatus.",
"In a description of an embodiment it will by way of example further be explained as to how a position of an object is established in an absolute manner.",
"An embodiment of a lithographic project apparatus according to the invention is arranged to carry out the position measurement using a plurality of frequencies of light.",
"This has the advantage that the extra information provided i.e., the frequencies of light, can be used for measuring a position.",
"An embodiment of a lithographic projection apparatus according to the invention may comprise an interferometer system which is provided with a modulation system for applying a frequency modulation to light used by the interferometer system or for generating a periodically frequency-modulated beam of light.",
"An advantage is that disturbance due to noise in the frequency of light used by the interferometer system may only have a minimal effect, if at all, on the position measurement.",
"An interferometer system in a lithographic apparatus of the prior art uses light without frequency modulation.",
"An output of the interferometer system of the known apparatus is a phase difference.",
"Applying a frequency modulation to light used by the interferometer system, as done by a modulation system of this embodiment of the invention, will cause a response in the output of the interferometer system.",
"This response is related to the frequency modulation and allows for determining a position of an object equipped with a mirror for reflecting light which has traveled along the measurement path.",
"The frequency modulation may have for example a sinusoidal, trapezoidal, triangular or saw tooth like shape.",
"The interferometer system of a lithographic apparatus according to the invention can be arranged to measure a change of phase difference between light which has traveled along a measurement path and light which has traveled along a reference path.",
"This change of phase is a response to the frequency modulation.",
"The change of phase comprises information which enables the interferometer system to determine an absolute optical path length difference and hence a position of an object equipped with a mirror for reflecting light traveling along the measurement path.",
"In an embodiment the position measurement comprises determining a position of an object on the basis of the ratio of an amplitude (ΔN) of an interferometry signal to an amplitude (Δf) of the frequency modulation and on a correction for the medium in which the light travels, wherein the modulation has a sinusoidal shape and wherein the interferometry signal is a response to the frequency modulation.",
"The interferometry signal comprises a number of fringes N as a function of time.",
"It is relatively simple, an therefore cheap, as well as useful to establish the amplitude as one of the characteristics of the interferometry signal.",
"The parameters ΔN and Δf are both easily established allowing for a simple and straightforward way of a position.",
"In an embodiment of a lithographic projection apparatus according to the invention, the interferometer system is provided with a response monitoring system for establishing the response to the frequency modulation.",
"The response monitoring system allows for capturing the interferometry signal, for further processing and extracting information useful for establishing the absolute optical path length difference, and for determining the position.",
"Such a response monitoring system may comprise a demodulator so that a modulation of the interferometry signal as a response to the modulation of light used in the interferometer, can be demodulated.",
"Such a demodulator may for instance comprise a lock-in detector, known in itself.",
"In an embodiment of a lithographic projection apparatus according to the invention, the interferometer system may be arranged to use at least two different frequencies of light, wherein each frequency of light is used for a first light beam which travels along a measurement path and for a second beam of light which travels along a reference path.",
"This embodiment provides an alternative for the embodiment wherein the interferometer system is provided with a modulation system for applying a frequency modulation to light used by the interferometer system.",
"As explained in detail in René Klaver's thesis, section 6.2[.",
"].5 and references mentioned therein, this allows for the determination of an absolute optical path length difference, and thus for the determination of an absolute position.",
"In an embodiment of a lithographic projection apparatus according to the invention, the interferometer system is arranged to carry out the position measurement such that an approximate position is determined with a total uncertainty range which is less than a distance corresponding to a single fringe which is observed when a phase measurement is carried out with the interferometer system.",
"It is possible that a phase scale on which an outcome of a phase measurement can be expressed is related by a predetermined relationship with a length scale on which an outcome of a position measurement can be expressed.",
"In that case the interferometer system of a lithographic apparatus according to the invention can be arranged to carry out a phase measurement and a position measurement and further be arranged to determine on the basis of the approximate position and the phase measurement an accurate position by taking the predetermined relationship into account and selecting a position which corresponds to both the approximate position and the outcome of the phase measurement.",
"This allows for a very accurate position measurement.",
"Although specific reference may be made in this text to the use of the apparatus according to the invention in the manufacture of ICs, it should be explicitly understood that such an apparatus has many other possible applications.",
"For example, it may be employed in the manufacture of integrated optical systems, guidance and detection patterns for magnetic domain memories, liquid-crystal display panels, thin-film magnetic heads, etc.",
"The skilled artisan will appreciate that, in the context of such alternative applications, any use of the terms “reticle”, “wafer”",
"or “die”",
"in this text should be considered as being replaced by the more general terms “mask”, “substrate”",
"and “target portion”, respectively.",
"In the present document, the terms “radiation”",
"and “beam”",
"are used to encompass all types of electromagnetic radiation, including ultraviolet (UV) radiation (e.g. with a wavelength of 365, 248, 193, 157 or 126 nm) and extreme ultra-violet (EUV) radiation (e.g. having a wavelength in the range 5-20 nm), as well as particle beams, such as ion beams or electron beams.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings in which corresponding reference symbols indicate corresponding parts, and in which: FIG. 1 depicts a lithographic apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention;",
"FIG. 2 depicts schematically the interferometer system in a lithographic projection apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention;",
"FIG. 3 depicts schematically a workflow for carrying out a position measurement by a lithographic projection apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention;",
"and FIG. 4 depicts schematically a determination of an accurate position on the basis of a position measurement and a phase measurement.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIG. 1 schematically depicts a lithographic projection apparatus 1 according to a particular embodiment of the invention.",
"The apparatus comprises: a radiation system Ex, IL: for supplying a projection beam PB of radiation (e.g. EUV, DUV, or UV radiation).",
"In this particular case, the radiation system also comprises a radiation source LA;",
"a first object table (mask table/holder/holder) MT: provided with a mask holder for holding a mask MA (e.g. a reticle), and connected to first positioning mechanism for accurately positioning the mask with respect to item PL;",
"a second object table (substrate table/holder) WT: provided with a substrate holder for holding a substrate W (e.g. a resist-coated silicon wafer), and connected to second positioning mechanism for accurately positioning the substrate with respect to item PL;",
"a projection system (“lens”) PL: for example, a mirror or refractive lens system that images an irradiated portion of the mask MA onto a target portion C (comprising one or more dies) of the substrate W. As here depicted, the apparatus is of a transmissive type (i.e. has a transmissive mask).",
"However, in general, it may also be of a reflective type, for example (with a reflective mask).",
"Alternatively, the apparatus may employ another kind of patterning device, such as a programmable mirror array of a type as referred to above.",
"The source LA (e.g. a laser) produces a beam of radiation.",
"This beam is fed into an illumination system (illuminator) IL, either directly or after having traversed conditioning means, such as a beam expander Ex, for example.",
"The illuminator IL may comprise adjusting means AM for setting the outer and/or inner radial extent (commonly referred to as σ-outer and σ-inner, respectively) of the intensity distribution in the beam.",
"In addition, it will generally comprise various other components, such as an integrator IN and a condenser CO.",
"In this way, the beam PB impinging on the mask MA has a desired uniformity and intensity distribution in its cross-section.",
"It should be noted with regard to FIG. 1 that the source LA may be within the housing of the lithographic projection apparatus (as is often the case when the source LA is a mercury lamp, for example), but that it may also be remote from the lithographic projection apparatus, the radiation beam which it produces being led into the apparatus (e.g. with the aid of suitable directing mirrors);",
"this latter scenario is often the case when the source LA is an excimer laser.",
"The current invention and claims encompass both of these scenarios.",
"The beam PB subsequently intercepts the mask MA, which is held on a mask table MT.",
"Having traversed the mask MA, the beam PB passes through the lens PL, which focuses the beam PB onto a target portion C of the substrate W. With the aid of the second positioning mechanism PW (and interferometric measuring mechanism IF), the substrate table WT can be moved accurately, e.g. so as to position different target portions C in the path of the beam PB.",
"Similarly, the first positioning mechanism PM can be used to accurately position the mask MA with respect to the path of the beam PB, e.g. after mechanical retrieval of the mask MA from a mask library, or during a scan.",
"In general, movement of the object tables MT, WT will be realized with the aid of a long-stroke module (coarse positioning) and a short-stroke module (fine positioning), which are not explicitly depicted in FIG. 1 .",
"However, in the case of a wafer stepper (as opposed to a step-and-scan apparatus) the mask table MT may just be connected to a short stroke actuator, or may be fixed.",
"Mask MA and substrate W may be aligned using mask alignment marks M 1 , M 2 and substrate alignment marks P 1 , P 2 .",
"The depicted apparatus can be used in different modes: step mode: the mask table MT is kept essentially stationary, and an entire mask image is projected in one go (i.e. a single “flash”) onto a target portion C. The substrate table WT is then shifted in the X and/or Y directions so that a different target portion C can be irradiated by the beam PB;",
"scan mode;",
"essentially the same scenario applies, except that a given target portion C is not exposed in a single “flash.”",
"Instead, the mask table MT is movable in a given direction (the so-called “scan direction”, e.g. the Y-direction) with a speed ν, so that the projection beam PB is caused to scan over a mask image;",
"concurrently, the substrate table WT is simultaneously moved in the same or opposite direction at a speed V=M ν, in which M is the magnification of the lens PL (typically, M=¼ or ⅕).",
"In this manner, a relatively large target portion C can be exposed, without having to compromise on resolution;",
"and other mode: the mask table MT is kept essentially stationary holding a programmable patterning device, and the substrate table WT is moved or scanned while a pattern imparted to the projection beam is projected onto a target portion C. In this mode, generally a pulsed radiation source is employed and the programmable patterning device is updated as required after each movement of the substrate table WT or in between successive radiation pulses during a scan.",
"This mode of operation can be readily applied to maskless lithography that utilizes programmable patterning device, such as a programmable mirror array of a type as referred to above.",
"FIG. 2 depicts schematically an embodiment of such an interferometer system IS.",
"The interferometer system IS is provided with a modulation system FM that produces frequency-modulated light.",
"To produce frequency-modulated light, modulation system FM may, for example, frequency-modulate the light used by the interferometer system or may generate a periodic, frequency-modulated beam of light.",
"In addition, the frequency modulation may be configured to have a predetermined characteristic, such as, for example, a sinusoidal, trapezoidal, triangular, or saw-tooth like shape.",
"The interferometer IFM splits the light and a part of that light is directed along a measurement path MP to and from a reflector RO placed on an object O of which the position needs to be determined.",
"Another part of that light is directed along a reference path RP to and from a reference reflector RR.",
"The position of the reference reflector is stable in time.",
"When the light which has traveled along the reference path RP, i.e., the reference beam, and the light which has traveled along the measurement path MP, i.e., the measurement beam, recombine, interference of light may occur, provided that the measurement beam and the reference beam are at least partly equally polarized.",
"Depending on the differences in optical path length between the reference path RP and the measurement path MP and on the phase of the light at the point of interference, the light from the reference light beam and light from the measurement light beam may be totally constructive, totally destructive, or anything in between.",
"One full cycle of light intensity variation is generally known as a fringe.",
"As the frequency of light used by the interferometer system IS is modulated, fringes or parts thereof, occur also due to the change in frequency.",
"In other words, due to frequency modulation fringes or parts thereof may also occur when the object of which the position needs to be determined is stable, i.e. not moving during the measurement, as long as the reference path RP and the measurement path MP are of unequal length.",
"A difference in optical path length between the reference path RP and the measurement path MP is then observed in an interferometry signal, which is a response to the frequency modulation to light used by the interferometer system IS and comprises a number of fringes N as a function of time.",
"The interferometer system IS is arranged to measure a change of phase difference between light which has traveled along the measurement path MP and light which has traveled along the reference path RP.",
"For that purpose, the interferometer system IS may be provided with a response monitoring system RMS for establishing the response to the frequency modulation, in this case the interferometry signal.",
"The position measurement comprises in its simplest form determining the absolute optical path length difference L between the reference path and the measurement path.",
"A more detailed explanation as to how the determination of the optical path length difference L occurs is as follows.",
"The frequency f of the light used by the interferometer system may due to the modulation behave according to f=f 0 +Δf sin(ω f t ) (1), wherein f 0 is the nominal frequency, Δf the amplitude of the frequency modulation set as a predetermined constant, ω f the modulation angular frequency, and t the time.",
"The response monitoring system measures the response to the frequency modulation, i.e. the interferometry signal, which can in this case be described as N=N 0 +ΔN sin(ω f t ) (2), N 0 being a nominal part, i.e. the value N would have if Δf is zero.",
"From a modulation part ΔN sin(ω f t) of the interferometry signal, the amplitude ΔN is determined.",
"In practice the modulation part is deducible from the interferometry signal using a demodulation technique, known in itself.",
"The absolute optical path length difference L is then determined as L = c n Δ N Δ f , ( 3 ) wherein c is the speed of light in vacuum, and n is the index of refraction of the medium in which the light travels.",
"A basis for this determination is as follows.",
"As N = L λ = n L c f = n L c ( f 0 + Δ f sin ( ω f t ) ) , ( 4 ) wherein λ is the time dependent wavelength of light in air used by the interferometer system, and N 0 = n L c f 0 ( 5 ) it follows from equating (2) and (4) and substituting (5) that Δ N sin ( ω f t ) = n L c Δ f sin ( ω f t ) , ( 6 ) leading to equation (3) for determining the absolute optical path length difference L. The modulation system FM may comprise a frequency tunable semiconductor laser which is commercially available.",
"For improving the frequency stability the semiconductor laser can be stabilized by a stabilized Helium Neon laser and a frequency locked loop, known in the art.",
"A small part of the semiconductor laser light can be mixed with the Helium Neon laser light and generates a so-called beat signal.",
"The frequency of the beat signal is equal to the difference between the two laser frequencies.",
"The frequency of the beat signal, Δf, can be measured by a frequency counter and can be sent to a processing unit PU which is arranged to determine the optical path length difference L. The frequency counter may also be used to close the loop around the tunable semiconductor laser.",
"The frequency modulation is in this case added as a set point.",
"The tunable laser may require a voltage as input.",
"In that case the modulation system may also comprise a frequency to voltage converter.",
"In case heterodyne phase detection is used, the main part of the semiconductor laser light is split in two cross polarised beams.",
"A frequency difference between the two cross polarised beams can be obtained using one or two acousto-optic modulators (AOMs) The response monitoring system may comprise a demodulator such as lock-in detector or lock in amplifier, both well known in the art and commercially available.",
"This response monitoring system may also determine ΔN although also standard electronics present in the interferometer IFM may be capable of determining ΔN.",
"The interferometer system IS may be provided with a processing unit (PU) for carrying out the determination of the optical path length difference L from Δf and ΔN.",
"The speed of light c in vacuum can be stored in the processing unit PU as a known constant of nature.",
"The index of refraction n of the medium in which the light travels may be estimated based on temperature, pressure and composition of the medium, or be determined otherwise and then stored in the processing unit PU.",
"The optical path length difference L can be determined and expressed in a unit of length.",
"The position of the interferometer IFM is stable in time.",
"The actual position of the reflector RO with respect to the interferometer IFM is then related to the sum of the length of the reference path RP and the optical path length difference L. The processing unit PU determines the optical path length difference L and hence the position of reflector RO with respect to the interferometer IFM (the length of the reference path RP being stored as a predetermined constant in the processing unit PU).",
"Instead of a modulation system, the interferometer system IS may, in order to carry out position measurements, be arranged to use at least two different frequencies of light, wherein each frequency of light is used for a first light beam which travels along a measurement path MP and for a second beam of light which travels along a reference path RP.",
"This also allows for the determination of an absolute optical path length difference as explained in more detail in René Klaver's thesis, section 6.2[.",
"].5 and references mentioned therein.",
"In a further embodiment, the interferometer system IS may be arranged to carry out the position measurement such that an approximate position is determined with a total uncertainty which is less than a distance corresponding to a single fringe which is observed when a displacement measurement is carried out with the interferometer system.",
"This is, for instance, possible if a modulation frequency of 20 GHz can be are reached and measured.",
"With accurate phase detection electronics combined with an accurate lock-in detector it is possible to determine ΔN with an uncertainty of about 2.10 −5 .",
"For such an embodiment, a phase scale, on which the outcome of a phase measurement can be expressed, is related by a predetermined relationship with a length scale, on which an outcome of a position measurement can be expressed.",
"This predetermined relationship provides information related to the length of the length scale which corresponds to a single fringe of the phase scale as well as an offset between the length scale and the phase scale.",
"In such an embodiment, the interferometer system IS may further be arranged to carry out a phase measurement in addition to the position measurement and to determine on the basis of the approximate position and the phase measurement an accurate position by taking into account the predetermined relationship and by selecting as the accurate position a position which corresponds to both the approximate position and the outcome of the phase measurement.",
"FIG. 3 schematically depicts a workflow for carrying out a position measurement by a lithographic apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention.",
"The interferometer system IS is first initialized.",
"The object of which the position needs to be determined may have to be moved such that the mirror RO of that object is positioned such that the interferometer can measure a phase difference between light which travels along a reference path RP and light which travels along a measurement path MP.",
"At a particular time, say t=0, a phase difference is measured and arbitrarily related to a position x 1 (t=0).",
"When a phase measurement, as is known in the art, is carried out by the interferometer IFM, a phase φ of the interference fringe, for instance expressed as a number between zero (included) and one (excluded), is obtained.",
"An integer k is incremented by one whenever φ changes from one to zero, and decremented by one whenever φ changes from zero to one.",
"Based on φ and k an actual displacement of (φ+k)λ/q where λ is the wavelength in air of the light used by the interferometer, and q a scale factor which corresponds to the number of fringes observable for a displacement equal to λ.",
"Those skilled in the art will notice that φ can be determined at any time, in contrast to k which can only be determined relative to a previously known or assumed k. FIG. 4 shows an example in which phase φ is obtained as 0.316.",
"The actual displacement may in that case be 50 nm, 208.5 nm, 366.7 nm etc.",
"when λ is assumed to be equal to 623.8 nm and q is equal to 4.",
"The approximate position of the mirror RO at t=0 is also measured by carrying out a position measurement as explained above.",
"This approximate position may, for instance, be x 2 (t=0).",
"It is now possible to determine an offset between the position as set arbitrarily and the position as measured.",
"It is possible that the phase is measured as a function of time and that the position is measured as a function of time, possibly allowing for a more accurate offset.",
"This part of the workflow entails the “zeroing”",
"of the interferometer, which is capable of measuring displacements by phase measurements.",
"The offset, as determined, will form at least a part of the predetermined relationship.",
"The length of the length scale which corresponds to a single fringe, which forms another part of the predetermined relationship will in practice most likely have been established by a manufacturer of the interferometer system.",
"With the predetermined relationship it is possible to determine more accurately a position of an object.",
"As shown in FIG. 4 , a phase measurement may reveal a phase of 0.316.",
"For the sake of the explanation, it is assumed that the total uncertainty range of a displacement as obtained from this phase measurement is ±2 nm.",
"An approximate position measurement as carried out by the interferometer system IS according to the invention may reveal a position of 221.48±63.28 nm.",
"The accurate position of the object is determined, by taking the predetermined relationship into account and by selecting a position which corresponds to both the approximate position and the outcome of the phase measurement, as schematically shown in FIG. 4 .",
"The accurate position is determined to be 208.5±2 nm.",
"This information may then be shared with a positioning mechanism of the apparatus, to allow for an accurate positioning of at least one object within the apparatus (see, FIG. 3 ), or other parts of the apparatus such as parts belonging to the alignment system.",
"In FIG. 2 this is indicated with a line from the processing unit PU to CU/PM.",
"It should be noted that an approximate position measurement may also be carried out by a zeroing system, i.e., by a system that is different from the interferometer system IS as depicted in FIG. 2 and as described in the explanation of FIG. 2 .",
"This zeroing system may be a stand-alone system.",
"This zeroing system should still be able to carry out a position measurement such that an approximate position is determined with a total uncertainty range, which is less than a distance corresponding to a single fringe which is observed when a phase measurement is carried out with the interferometer system IS.",
"Also in this case a phase scale on which an outcome of a displacement measurement can be expressed, should be related by a predetermined relationship with a length scale on which an outcome of a position measurement can be expressed.",
"A method for determining the accurate position of an object includes: (a) employing an interferometer to measure a phase difference between a reference path RP and a measurement path MP, wherein the object is placed in the measurement path MP, movable along the measurement path MP and provided with a reflective element for reflecting light that travels along the measurement path MP;",
"(b) measuring an approximate position with a total uncertainty range that is less than a distance corresponding to a single fringe, which is observed using the interferometer for measuring the phase difference;",
"(c) determining a relationship between a phase scale on which the phase difference can be expressed and a length scale on which the approximate position can be expressed;",
"(d) determining the accurate position based on the relationship and selecting as the accurate position the position which corresponds to both the approximate position and the measured phase difference.",
"The approximate position may be determined by a stand-alone zeroing system or with an interferometer which is arranged to carry out a position measurement as explained in this specification.",
"It will be clear to a person skilled in the art that the object may be any moveable object within the apparatus.",
"It will equally be clear that the interferometer system according to the invention may be used for establishing a position related to any degree of freedom on which information is needed.",
"The invention is not limited to the above described example.",
"Instead of applying a frequency modulation to light used by the interferometer system, it is possible that the interferometer system is arranged to use at least two different frequencies of light, wherein each frequency of light is used for a first beam of light which travels along a measurement path and a second beam of light which travels along a reference path.",
"While specific embodiments of the invention have been described above, it will be appreciated that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as described.",
"The description is not intended to limit the invention—rather the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims."
] |
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional patent application Ser. Nos. 60/606,735 and 60/606,807, both filed Sep. 2, 2004, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to the production of aromatic dicarboxylic acids, such as terephthalic acid (TPA). One aspect of the invention concerns a process and apparatus for more efficiently and/or effectively purifying crude aromatic dicarboxylic acids, such as crude terephthalic acid (CTA). Another aspect of the invention concerns a more economical system for producing purified aromatic dicarboxylic acids, such as purified terephthalic acid (PTA).
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Terephthalic acid (TPA) is one of the basic building blocks in the production of linear polyester resins used in the manufacture of polyester films, packaging materials, and bottles. TPA used in the manufacture of such polyesters resins must meet certain minimum purity requirements.
The purified condition of TPA refers primarily to the absence of significant concentrations of 4-carboxybenzaldehyde (4-CBA) and para-toluic acid (p-TAc) that are present in significant quantities in the commercially-available crude grades of TPA. Both 4-CBA and p-TAc are partial oxidation products formed in the manufacture of TPA by the catalytic oxidation of para-xylene. The purified form of TPA also refers to the absence of color bodies that impart a characteristic yellow hue to the crude material. The color bodies are aromatic compounds having the structures of benzils, fluorenones, and/or anthraquinones. 4-CBA and p-TAc are particularly detrimental to the polymerization process because they act as chain terminators during the condensation reaction between TPA and ethylene glycol in the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
In a typical process for producing TPA, a crude slurry is withdrawn from the primary oxidation reactor. The crude slurry contains a liquid mother liquor and solid particles of crude terephthalic acid (CTA). The liquid mother liquor exiting the primary oxidation reactor typically contains a significant amount of impurities. Thus, in many conventional TPA production processes, a substantial portion of the liquid mother liquor exiting the primary oxidation reactor is replaced/displaced with a “clean” replacement solvent prior to purification of the CTA particles. This replacement/displacement of the liquid mother liquor in the crude slurry with a replacement solvent is commonly known as “liquor exchange.”
Conventional devices employed to perform liquor exchange can be both expensive and unreliable. One common device used to perform liquor exchange is a disc stack centrifuge system. Although effective for replacing the original mother liquor with a replacement solvent, the high-velocity rotating components of such mechanical centrifuge systems cause them to be expensive and unreliable. Thus, a CTA purification system that eliminates the use of one or more mechanical centrifuges would have a lower capital cost and higher reliability than conventional CTA purification systems. Further, if the liquor exchange function typically provided by a mechanical centrifuge could be combined with other functions of a CTA purification system, the overall cost of the system could be reduced while increasing its reliability. Finally, if one or more mechanical centrifuges could be replaced by mechanisms that more effectively replace impurity-laden mother liquor with clean replacement solvent, a purer TPA product could be produced.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One embodiment of the present invention concerns a process comprising the following steps: (a) oxidizing one or more reactants in a primary oxidation reactor to thereby produce a solid/liquid mixture comprising CTA particles; and (b) subjecting at least a portion of the solid/liquid mixture to oxidative digestion in a zoned slurry concentrator, thereby producing a solids-concentrated mixture containing oxidation-treated TPA particles.
Another embodiment of the present invention concerns a process comprising the following steps: (a) introducing a feed slurry into a zoned slurry concentrator, wherein the feed slurry comprises solid TPA particles; (b) withdrawing a liquid-concentrated mixture from a liquids outlet of the zoned slurry concentrator; and (c) withdrawing a solids-concentrated mixture from a solids outlet of the zoned slurry concentrator, wherein the ratio of the solids content of the solids-concentrated mixture to the solids content of the liquid-concentrated mixture is at least about 2:1 by weight.
Still another embodiment of the present invention concerns a process comprising the following steps: (a) oxidizing para-xylene in a primary oxidation reactor to thereby produce an initial solid/liquid mixture containing CTA particles; (b) subjecting at least a portion of the initial solid/liquid mixture to oxidative digestion in an initial digester to thereby produce an initial digested solid/liquid mixture; (c) subjecting at least a portion of the initial digested solid/liquid mixture to oxidative digestion in a zoned slurry concentrator; (d) withdrawing a liquid-concentrated mixture from a liquids outlet of the zoned slurry concentrator, wherein the ratio of the solids content of the initial digested solid/liquid mixture to the solids content of the liquid-concentrated mixture is at least about 1.5:1 by weight; (e) withdrawing a solids-concentrated mixture from a solids outlet of the zoned slurry concentrator; and (f) introducing a dilution liquid into the solids-concentrated mixture to thereby produce a diluted mixture having a solids content less than the solids content of the solids-concentrated mixture.
Yet another embodiment of the present invention concerns an apparatus for producing and purifying a solid/liquid mixture containing CTA particles. The system includes a primary oxidation reactor for producing the solid/liquid mixture and a zoned slurry concentrator. The zoned slurry concentrator comprises a vessel shell, an upright baffle, a feed inlet, a liquids outlet, and a solids outlet. The vessel shell defines an internal volume. The upright baffle is disposed in the vessel shell and separates at least a portion of the internal volume into a settling zone and an agitated zone. The feed inlet receives at least a portion of the solid/liquid mixture from the primary oxidation reactor and discharges the portion into the agitated zone. The liquids outlet is positioned proximate the settling zone. The solids outlet is positioned below the liquids outlet.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a process flow diagram illustrating a system for the production and purification of terephthalic acid constructed in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, particularly illustrating a configuration where the crude slurry from the primary oxidation reactor is subjected to oxidative digestion and the resulting slurry is subjected to combined crystallization and liquor exchange in a zoned slurry concentrator.
FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a zoned slurry concentrator having an agitated zone and a settling zone, where a liquid-concentrated mixture is withdrawn near the top of the settling zone and a solids-concentrated mixture is withdrawn a substantial distance below the top of the settling zone.
FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of an alternative zoned slurry concentrator, where the liquid-concentrated mixture is withdrawn near the top of the settling zone and the solids-concentrated is withdrawn near the bottom of the settling zone.
FIG. 4 is a process flow diagram illustrating a system for the production and purification of terephthalic acid constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention, particularly illustrating a configuration where the crude slurry exiting the primary oxidation reactor is subjected to combined crystallization and liquor exchange in a zoned slurry concentrator prior to oxidative digestion, and the slurry exiting the digester is also subjected to combined crystallization and liquor exchange prior to solids recovery.
FIG. 5 is a process flow diagram illustrating a system for the production and purification of terephthalic acid constructed in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention, particularly illustrating a configuration where the crude slurry exiting the primary oxidation reactor is subjected to combined oxidative digestion and liquor exchange in a zoned slurry concentrator, followed by final oxidative digestion, crystallization, and solids recovery steps.
FIG. 6 is a process flow diagram illustrating a system for the production and purification of terephthalic acid constructed in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention, particularly illustrating a configuration where the crude slurry exiting the primary oxidation reactor is subjected to initial oxidative digestion in a conventional reactor, followed by combined oxidative digestion and liquor exchange in a zone slurry concentrator.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIGS. 1 and 4 - 6 illustrate embodiments of the present invention where terephthalic acid (TPA) produced in a primary/initial oxidation reactor is purified in a system employing at least one zoned slurry concentrator. Zoned slurry concentrators are described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 .
In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 , a predominately liquid-phase feed stream containing an oxidizable compound (e.g., para-xylene), a solvent (e.g., acetic acid+water), and a catalyst system (e.g., Co+Mn+Br) is introduced into a primary/initial oxidation reactor 10 . A predominately gas-phase oxidant stream containing molecular oxygen is also introduced into primary oxidation reactor 10 . The liquid- and gas-phase feed streams form a multi-phase reaction medium in oxidation reactor 10 . The oxidizable compound undergoes partial oxidation in a liquid phase of the reaction medium contained in reactor 10 .
Primary oxidation reactor 10 is preferably an agitated reactor. Agitation of the reaction medium in oxidation reactor 10 can be provided by any means known in the art. As used herein, the term “agitation” shall denote work dissipated into the reaction medium causing fluid flow and/or mixing. In one embodiment, primary oxidation reactor 10 is a mechanically-agitated reactor equipped with means for mechanically agitating the reaction medium. As used herein, the term “mechanical agitation” shall denote agitation of the reaction medium caused by physical movement of a rigid or flexible element(s) against or within the reaction medium. For example, mechanical agitation can be provided by rotation, oscillation, and/or vibration of internal stirrers, paddles, vibrators, or acoustical diaphragms located in the reaction medium. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, primary oxidation reactor 10 is a bubble column reactor. As used herein, the term “bubble column reactor” shall denote a reactor for facilitating chemical reactions in a multi-phase reaction medium, wherein agitation of the reaction medium is provided primarily by the upward movement of gas bubbles through the reaction medium. As used herein, the terms “majority,” “primarily,” and “predominately” shall mean more than 50 percent.
The oxidizable compound present in the liquid-phase feed stream introduced into primary oxidation reactor 10 preferably comprises at least one hydrocarbyl group. More preferably, the oxidizable compound is an aromatic compound. Still more preferably, the oxidizable compound is an aromatic compound with at least one attached hydrocarbyl group or at least one attached substituted hydrocarbyl group or at least one attached heteroatom or at least one attached carboxylic acid function (—COOH). Even more preferably, the oxidizable compound is an aromatic compound with at least one attached hydrocarbyl group or at least one attached substituted hydrocarbyl group with each attached group comprising from 1 to 5 carbon atoms. Yet still more preferably, the oxidizable compound is an aromatic compound having exactly two attached groups with each attached group comprising exactly one carbon atom and consisting of methyl groups and/or substituted methyl groups and/or at most one carboxylic acid group. Even still more preferably, the oxidizable compound is para-xylene, meta-xylene, para-tolualdehyde, meta-tolualdehyde, para-toluic acid, meta-toluic acid, and/or acetaldehyde. Most preferably, the oxidizable compound is para-xylene.
A “hydrocarbyl group,” as defined herein, is at least one carbon atom that is bonded only to hydrogen atoms or to other carbon atoms. A “substituted hydrocarbyl group,” as defined herein, is at least one carbon atom bonded to at least one heteroatom and to at least one hydrogen atom. “Heteroatoms,” as defined herein, are all atoms other than carbon and hydrogen atoms. Aromatic compounds, as defined herein, comprise an aromatic ring, preferably having at least 6 carbon atoms, even more preferably having only carbon atoms as part of the ring. Suitable examples of such aromatic rings include, but are not limited to, benzene, biphenyl, terphenyl, naphthalene, and other carbon-based fused aromatic rings.
The amount of oxidizable compound present in the liquid-phase feed stream introduced into primary oxidation reactor 10 is preferably in the range of from about 2 to about 40 weight percent, more preferably in the range of from about 4 to about 20 weight percent, and most preferably in the range of from 6 to 15 weight percent.
The solvent present in the liquid-phase feed stream introduced into primary oxidation reactor 10 preferably comprises an acid component and a water component. The solvent is preferably present in the liquid-phase feed stream at a concentration in the range of from about 60 to about 98 weight percent, more preferably in the range of from about 80 to about 96 weight percent, and most preferably in the range of from 85 to 94 weight percent. The acid component of the solvent is preferably an organic low molecular weight monocarboxylic acid having 1-6 carbon atoms, more preferably 2 carbon atoms. Most preferably, the acid component of the solvent is acetic acid. Preferably, the acid component makes up at least about 75 weight percent of the solvent, more preferably at least about 80 weight percent of the solvent, and most preferably in the range of from 85 to 98 weight percent of the solvent, with the balance being water.
The liquid-phase feed stream introduced into primary oxidation reactor 10 can also include a catalyst system. The catalyst system is preferably a homogeneous, liquid-phase catalyst system capable of promoting partial oxidation of the oxidizable compound. More preferably, the catalyst system comprises at least one multivalent transition metal. Still more preferably, the multivalent transition metal comprises cobalt. Even more preferably, the catalyst system comprises cobalt and bromine. Most preferably, the catalyst system comprises cobalt, bromine, and manganese.
When cobalt is present in the catalyst system, it is preferred for the amount of cobalt present in the liquid-phase feed stream to be such that the concentration of cobalt in the liquid phase of the reaction medium is maintained in the range of from about 300 to about 6,000 parts per million by weight (ppmw), more preferably in the range of from about 700 to about 4,200 ppmw, and most preferably in the range of from 1,200 to 3,000 ppmw. When bromine is present in the catalyst system, it is preferred for the amount of bromine present in the liquid-phase feed stream to be such that the concentration of bromine in the liquid phase of the reaction medium is maintained in the range of from about 300 to about 5,000 ppmw, more preferably in the range of from about 600 to about 4,000 ppmw, and most preferably in the range of from 900 to 3,000 ppmw. When manganese is present in the catalyst system, it is preferred for the amount of manganese present in the liquid-phase feed stream to be such that the concentration of manganese in the liquid phase of the reaction medium is maintained in the range of from about 20 to about 1,000 ppmw, more preferably in the range of from about 40 to about 500 ppmw, most preferably in the range of from 50 to 200 ppmw.
The weight ratio of cobalt to bromine (Co:Br) in the catalyst system introduced into primary oxidation reactor 10 is preferably in the range of from about 0.25:1 to about 4:1, more preferably in the range of from about 0.5:1 to about 3:1, and most preferably in the range of from 0.75:1 to 2:1. The weight ratio of cobalt to manganese (Co:Mn) in the catalyst system introduced is preferably in the range of from about 0.3:1 to about 40:1, more preferably in the range of from about 5:1 to about 30:1, and most preferably in the range of from 10:1 to 25:1.
During oxidation, it is preferred for the oxidizable compound (e.g., para-xylene) to be continuously introduced into primary oxidation reactor 10 at a rate of at least about 5,000 kilograms per hour, more preferably at a rate in the range of from about 10,000 to about 80,000 kilograms per hour, and most preferably in the range of from 20,000 to 50,000 kilograms per hour. During oxidation, it is preferred for the ratio of the mass flow rate of the solvent to the mass flow rate of the oxidizable compound entering oxidation reactor 10 to be maintained in the range of from about 2:1 to about 50:1, more preferably in the range of from about 5:1 to about 40:1, and most preferably in the range of from 7.5:1 to 25:1.
The predominately gas-phase oxidant stream introduced into primary oxidation reactor 10 preferably comprises in the range of from about 5 to about 40 mole percent molecular oxygen, more preferably in the range of from about 15 to about 30 mole percent molecular oxygen, and most preferably in the range of from 18 to 24 mole percent molecular oxygen. It is preferred for the balance of the oxidant stream to be comprised primarily of a gas or gases, such as nitrogen, that are inert to oxidation. More preferably, the oxidant stream consists essentially of molecular oxygen and nitrogen. Most preferably, the oxidant stream is dry air that comprises about 21 mole percent molecular oxygen and about 78 to about 81 mole percent nitrogen. In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the oxidant stream can comprise substantially pure oxygen.
During liquid-phase oxidation in primary oxidation reactor 10 , it is preferred for the oxidant stream to be introduced into reactor 10 in an amount that provides molecular oxygen somewhat exceeding the stoichiometric oxygen demand. Thus, it is preferred that the ratio of the mass flow rate of the oxidant stream (e.g., air) to the mass flow rate of the oxidizable compound (e.g., para-xylene) entering reactor 10 is maintained in the range of from about 0.5:1 to about 20:1, more preferably in the range of from about 1:1 to about 10:1, and most preferably in the range of from 2:1 to 6:1.
The liquid-phase oxidation reaction carried out in reactor 10 is preferably a precipitating reaction that generates solids. More preferably, the liquid-phase oxidation carried out in reactor 10 causes at least about 10 weight percent of the oxidizable compound (e.g., para-xylene) introduced into oxidation reactor 10 to form solids (e.g., CTA particles) in the reaction medium. Still more preferably, the liquid-phase oxidation causes at least about 50 weight percent of the oxidizable compound to form solids in the reaction medium. Most preferably, the liquid-phase oxidation causes at least 90 weight percent of the oxidizable compound to form solids in the reaction medium. It is preferred for the solids content of the reaction medium to be maintained in the range of from about 5 to about 40 weight percent, still more preferably in the range of from about 10 to about 35 weight percent, and most preferably in the range of from 15 to 30 weight percent. As used herein, the term “solids content” shall denote the weight percent solids in a multi-phase mixture.
During oxidation in oxidation reactor 10 , the multi-phase reaction medium is preferably maintained at an elevated temperature in the range of from about 125 to about 200° C., more preferably in the range of from about 150 to about 180° C., and most preferably in the range of from 155 to 165° C. The overhead pressure in oxidation reactor 10 is preferably maintained in the range of from about 1 to about 20 bar gauge (barg), more preferably in the range of from about 2 to about 12 barg, and most preferably in the range of from 4 to 8 barg.
As illustrated in FIG. 1 , a crude product slurry is withdrawn from an outlet of primary oxidation reactor 10 via line 12 . The solid phase of the crude product slurry in line 12 is preferably formed primarily of solid particles of crude terephthalic acid (CTA). The liquid phase of the crude product slurry in line 12 is a liquid mother liquor comprising at least a portion of the solvent, the catalyst system, and minor amounts of dissolved TPA. The solids content of the crude product slurry in line 12 is preferably the same as the solids content of the reaction medium in primary oxidation reactor 10 , discussed above. The crude product slurry in line 12 typically has a combined 4-carboxybenzaldehyde (4-CBA) and para-toluic acid (pTAc) content in a range of from about 100 to about 500 parts per million by weight (ppmw) based on the weight of the solids.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the crude product slurry in line 12 is transported directly (i.e., without intermediate processing steps) to a digester 18 for purification by oxidative digestion. In an alternative embodiment, an optional liquor exchange system 14 is employed to remove at least a portion of the liquid mother liquor from the crude product slurry and replace the removed mother liquor (i.e., filtrate) with a replacement solvent prior introduction into digester 18 . The replacement solvent typically comprises acetic acid and/or water. The primary purpose of liquor exchange 14 is to provide cleaner solvent media for subsequent oxidative digestion of the CTA solids.
Optional liquor exchange system 14 can employ a variety of different apparatuses to remove and replace at least a portion of the crude mother liquor. For example, liquor exchange system 14 can employ a disc stack centrifuge to separate at least a portion of the mother liquor from the CTA solids and replace the removed mother liquor with a clean replacement solvent. Alternatively, liquor exchange can be accomplished using any suitable solid/liquid separator (e.g., a decanter centrifuge, a rotary disk centrifuge, a belt filter, or a rotary vacuum filter) and then diluting the resulting solids (typically a wet cake) with a clean replacement solvent. In one embodiment of the present invention, at least about 25 weight percent of the mother liquor in the crude product slurry is replaced with a replacement solvent, more preferably at least about 50 weight percent of the mother liquor is replaced with a replacement solvent, and most preferably in the range of from 75 to 99 weight percent of the mother liquor is replaced with a replacement solvent. When liquor exchange system 14 is employed, the resulting liquor-exchanged slurry is passed through line 16 to digester 18 .
In digester 18 , the crude product slurry or liquor-exchanged slurry is subjected to purification by oxidative digestion. As used herein, the term “oxidative digestion” denotes a process step or steps where a feed is subjected to oxidation. Digester 18 can be one or more reactors or zones. Preferably, digester 18 comprises one or more mechanically-agitated reactors. A secondary oxidant stream, which can have the same composition as the gas-phase oxidant stream fed to primary oxidation reactor 10 , is introduced into digester 18 to provide the molecular oxygen required for oxidative digestion. Additional oxidation catalyst can also be added if necessary. As mentioned above, the crude product slurry or liquor-exchange slurry introduced into digester 18 contains significant quantities of impurities such as, for example, 4-CBA and p-TAc. The oxidative digestion in digester 18 preferably causes oxidation of a substantial portion of the 4-CBA and p-TAc to TPA.
The slurry fed to digester 18 typically has a 4-CBA content of at least about 100 parts per million based on the weight of the solids in the feed slurry (ppmw fs ), more typically in the range of from about 200 to about 10,000 ppmw fs and most typically in the range of from 800 to 5,000 ppmw fs . The slurry fed to digester 18 typically has a p-TAc content of at least about 250 ppmw fs , more typically in the range of from about 300 to about 5,000 ppmw fs and most typically in the range of from 400 to 1,500 ppmw fs . The slurry product exiting digester 18 preferably has a 4-CBA content of less than about 150 parts per million based on the weight of the solids in the product slurry (ppmw ps ), more preferably less than about 100 ppmw ps , and most preferably less than 50 ppmw ps . The slurry product exiting digester 18 preferably has a p-TAc content of less than about 300 ppmw ps , more preferably less than about 200 ppmw ps and most preferably less than 150 ppmw ps . Preferably, oxidative digestion in digester 18 causes the product slurry exiting digester 18 to have 4-CBA and/or p-TAc content that is at least about 50 percent less than the 4-CBA and/or p-TAc content of the slurry fed to digester 18 , more preferably at least about 85 percent less, and most preferably at least 95 percent less. By way of illustration, if the 4-CBA content of the slurry fed to digester 18 is 200 ppmw fs and the 4-CBA content of the product slurry exiting digester 18 is 100 ppmw ps , then the 4-CBA content of the product slurry is 50 percent less than the 4-CBA content of the feed slurry.
The temperature at which oxidative digestion is carried out in digester 18 is preferably at least about 110° C. greater than the temperature of oxidation in primary oxidation reactor 10 , more preferably in the range of from about 20 to about 80° C. greater, and most preferably in the range of from 30 to 50° C. greater. The additional heat required for the operation of digester 18 may be provided by supplying a vaporized solvent to digester 18 and allowing the vaporized solvent to condense therein. The oxidative digestion temperature in digester 18 is preferably maintained in the range of from about 180 to about 240° C., more preferably in the range of from about 190 to about 220° C., and most preferably in the range of from 200 to 210° C. The oxidative digestion pressure in digester 18 is preferably maintained in the range of from about 100 to about 350 pounds per square inch gauge (psig), more preferably in the range of from about 175 to about 275 psig, and most preferably in the range of from 185 to 225 psig.
In one embodiment of the present invention, digester 18 includes two digestion reactors/zones—an initial digester and a final digester. When digester 18 includes an initial digester and a final digester, it is preferred for the final digester to be operated at a lower temperature and pressure than the initial digester. Preferably, the operating temperature of the final digester is at least about 2° C. lower than the operating temperature of the initial digester. Most preferably, the operating temperature of the final digester is in the range of from about 5 to about 15° C. lower than the operating temperature of the initial digester. Preferably, the operating pressure of the final digester is at least about 5 psi lower than the operating pressure of the initial digester. Most preferably, the operating pressure of the final digester is in the range of from about 10 to about 50 psig lower than the operating temperature of the initial digester. Preferably, the operating temperature of the initial digester is in the range of from about 195 to about 225° C., more preferably in the range of from 205 to 215° C., and most preferably about 210° C. Preferably, the operating pressure of the initial digester is in the range of from about 215 to 235 psig, most preferably about 225 psig. Preferably, the operating temperature of the final digester is in the range of from about 190 to about 220° C., more preferably in the range of from 200 to 210° C., and most preferably about 205° C. Preferably, the operating pressure of the final digester is in the range of from about 190 to 210 psig, most preferably about 200 psig.
Referring again to FIG. 1 , an oxidation-treated slurry is discharged from digester 18 via line 20 . The solid phase of the oxidation-treated slurry is formed primarily of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) particles, while the liquid phase is formed of an oxidation-treated mother liquor. The solids content of the oxidation-treated slurry in line 20 is preferably in the range of from about 1 to about 50 percent by weight, more preferably in the range of from about 5 to about 40 percent by weight, and most preferably in the range of from 20 to 30 percent by weight. The oxidation-treated slurry in line 20 is introduced into a zoned slurry concentrator 100 .
As used herein, the term “zoned slurry concentrator” means a single vessel having at least one internal upright baffle that divides at least a portion of the vessel's internal volume into an agitated zone and a settling zone; where the agitated zone communicates with the settling zone proximate a lower end/opening of the lowest baffle; and where the vessel defines a liquids outlet for removing a liquid-concentrated mixture from the settling zone at an elevation above the lower end/opening of the lowest baffle and a solids outlet for removing a solids-concentrated mixture from the vessel at an elevation below the liquids outlet.
FIG. 2 illustrates a preferred zoned slurry concentrator 100 suitable for use in the present invention. Zoned slurry concentrator 100 comprises a vessel shell 102 that defines and internal volume 104 . Vessel shell 102 preferably has at least one substantially vertical sidewall that has a generally cylindrical and/or frustoconical configuration. Zoned slurry concentrator 100 also comprises at least one upright baffle 106 that separates at least a portion of internal volume 104 into an agitated zone 108 and a settling zone 110 . Upright baffle 106 can be formed of a single member, or a plurality of baffle members. Upright baffle 106 preferably includes at least one generally cylindrical and/or frustoconical baffle spaced inwardly from the upright sidewalls of vessel shell 102 . Zoned slurry concentrator 100 also comprises an upright draft tube 112 at least partly disposed in agitated zone 108 . Draft tube 112 is preferably a substantially hollow, generally cylindrical or frustoconical tube spaced inwardly from upright baffle 106 . An upwardly moving section 114 of agitated zone 108 is defined within draft tube 112 , and a downwardly moving section 116 of agitated zone 108 is defined between draft tube 112 and vessel shell 102 .
In operation, a feed slurry in line 118 is introduced into zoned slurry concentrator 100 via a feed inlet 120 . The feed slurry enters a lower opening 122 of draft tube 112 and is forced upwardly by a rotating propeller 124 . Propeller 124 is powered by a motor 126 . Motor 126 and propeller 124 are connected by a drive shaft 128 that extends through vessel shell 102 and into agitated zone 108 of internal volume 104 . The feed slurry moves upwardly though draft tube 112 and then exits an upper opening 130 of draft tube 112 . The level of slurry in vessel shell 102 is maintained so that the upper surface 131 of the slurry is above upper opening 130 of draft tube 112 . As the slurry exits upper opening 130 of draft tube 112 , it circulates into a downward flow pattern in downwardly-moving section 116 of agitated zone 108 . At least a portion of downwardly-moving section 116 of agitated zone 108 is defined between draft tube 112 and upright baffle 106 . An agitated zone outlet opening 133 is defined between baffle 106 and draft tube 112 proximate the bottom of upright baffle 106 . The slurry exits agitated zone 108 through agitated zone outlet opening 133 . The after exiting agitated zone 108 the slurry enter settling zone 110 via a settling zone opening 135 . Settling zone opening 135 is defined between vessel shell 102 and baffle 106 proximate the bottom of upright baffle 106 .
Upright baffle 106 is operable to substantially isolate settling zone 110 from the turbulence generated by rotating propeller in agitated zone 108 . In settling zone 110 , the liquid phase of the slurry moves upwardly in a relatively non-turbulent manner at a velocity less than the velocity necessary to suspend the solid phase in the upwardly moving liquid phase. This relatively slow, non-turbulent, upward flow of the liquid phase in settling zone 110 permits the downward gravitational force acting on the solid phase particles to overcome the upward liquid flow forces acting on the solid phase particles, thereby cause solid/liquid disengagement in settling zone 110 . This solid/liquid disengagement in settling zone 110 produces a liquid-concentrated mixture with low solids content from the top of settling zone 110 . The liquid-concentrated mixture is withdrawn from internal volume 104 via liquids outlet 134 and is transported away from zoned slurry concentrator 100 in line 136 . The solid particles that travel downward through settling zone 110 exit settling zone 110 via settling zone opening 135 . These solids accumulate near the bottom of internal volume 104 of vessel shell 102 , thereby forming a solids-concentrated mixture with high solids content. The solids-concentrated mixture is withdrawn from internal volume 104 via solids outlet 138 and is transported away from zoned slurry concentrator 100 in line 140 . Vapor introduced into or formed in zoned slurry concentrator 100 is discharged through a vapor outlet 142 and transported away from zoned slurry concentrator 100 in line 144 .
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the feed slurry introduced into zoned slurry concentrator 100 via feed inlet 120 has a solids content in the range of from about 1 to about 50 weight percent, more preferably in the range of from about 5 to about 40 weight percent, and most preferably in the range of from 20 to 30 weight percent. It is preferred for the solids in the feed slurry introduced into zoned slurry concentrator 100 to be formed of at least about 75 weight percent TPA, more preferably at least about 90 weight percent TPA, and most preferably at least 95 weight percent TPA.
The solids-concentrated mixture exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 via solids outlet 138 preferably has a solids content of more than about 60 weight percent, more preferably more than about 80 weight percent, and most preferably more than 95 weight percent. The liquid-concentrated mixture exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 via liquids outlet 134 preferably has a solids content of less than about 40 weight percent, more preferably less than about 20 weight percent, and most preferably less than 5 weight percent.
Preferably, the solids content of the liquid-concentrated mixture exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 via liquids outlet 134 is at least about 50 percent less than the solids content of the feed slurry, more preferably at least about 75 percent less than the solids content of the feed slurry, and most preferably at least 90 percent less than the solids content of the feed slurry. For example, if the feed slurry has a solids content of 30 weight percent and the liquid-concentrated mixture has a solids content of 15 weight percent, then the liquid-concentrated mixture has a solids content that is 50 percent less than the solids content of the feed slurry. Preferably, the solids content of the solids-concentrated mixture exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 via solids outlet 138 is at least about 50 percent greater than the solids content of the feed slurry, more preferably at least about 100 percent greater than the solids content of the feed slurry, and most preferably at least 200 percent greater than the solids content of the feed slurry. For example, if the feed slurry has a solids content of 30 weight percent and the solids-concentrated mixture has a solids content of 45 weight percent, then the solids-concentrated mixture has a solids content that is 50 percent greater than the solids content of the feed slurry.
The ratio of the solids content of the solids-concentrated mixture exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 via solids outlet 138 to the liquid-concentrated mixture exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 via liquids outlet 134 is preferably at least about 2:1, more preferably at least about 10:1, and most preferably at least 50:1. The ratio of the solids content of the solids-concentrated mixture exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 via solids outlet 138 to the feed slurry entering zoned slurry concentrator 100 via feed inlet 120 is preferably at least about 1.5:1, more preferably at least about 5:1, and most preferably at least 25:1. The ratio of the solids content of the feed slurry entering zoned slurry concentrator 100 via feed inlet 120 to the liquid-concentrated mixture exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 via liquids outlet 134 is preferably at least about 1.5:1, more preferably at least about 5:1, and most preferably at least 25:1.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the solids-concentrated mixture is diluted with a dilution liquid. This dilution of the solids-concentrated mixture can be accomplished by introducing the dilution liquid into zoned slurry concentrator 100 at a location near solids outlet 138 . Preferably, dilution is accomplished by introducing the dilution liquid into the solids-concentrated mixture after the solids-concentrated mixture has been removed from zoned slurry concentrator 100 . The dilution liquid can function as a “clean” replacement solvent for the solvent removed from zoned slurry concentrator 100 with the liquid-concentrated mixture. The dilution liquid is preferably a solvent for TPA. Most preferably, the dilution liquid comprises acetic acid and/or water.
Dilution of the solids-concentrated mixture with the dilution liquid forms a diluted mixture. Preferably, the dilution liquid is added to the solids-concentrated mixture in an amount such that the solids content of the diluted mixture is at least about 25 percent less than the solids content of the solids-concentrated mixture, more preferably at least about 50 percent less of the solids content of the solids-concentrated mixture, and most preferably in the range of from 60 to 90 percent less than the solids content of the solids-concentrated mixture. Preferably, the solids content of the diluted mixture is in the range of from about 1 to about 50 weight percent, more preferably in the range of from about 5 to about 40 weight percent, and most preferably in the range of from 20 to 30 weight percent.
FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative embodiment of zoned slurry concentrator 100 . Common components of the zoned slurry concentrators illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 are identified with common reference numerals. One difference between the zoned slurry concentrators of FIGS. 2 and 3 is that upright baffle 106 of the zoned slurry concentrator illustrated in FIG. 3 includes one or more circulation openings 150 between the upper and lower ends of upright baffle 106 . Another difference between the zoned slurry concentrators of FIGS. 2 and 3 is that solids outlet 138 of the zoned slurry concentrator 100 illustrated in FIG. 3 withdraws the solids-concentrated mixture at a higher point than solids outlet 138 of FIG. 2 .
FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate specific embodiments of zoned slurry concentrators suitable for use in the present invention. It should be noted, however, that devices having significantly different configurations than those illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 may also fall within the definition of “zoned slurry concentrator,” provided herein. One example of a commercially-available zoned slurry concentrator suitable for use in the present invention is a “Draft Tube Baffle (DTB) Crystallizer,” available from Swenson Technology, Inc., Monee, Ill.
In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 , feed line 20 is equivalent to feed line 118 of FIG. 2 , liquids line 24 is equivalent to liquids line 136 of FIG. 2 , and solids line 26 is equivalent to solids line 140 of FIG. 2 . The system shown in FIG. 1 employs zoned slurry concentrator 100 as a post-digestion crystallizer. Post-digestion crystallization is preferably carried out at a temperature and pressure lower than the temperature and pressure of the final oxidative digestion performed in digester 18 . Preferably, the post-digestion crystallization temperature is at least about 10° C. less than the final digestion temperature, more preferably in the range of from about 15 to about 65° C. less than the final digestion temperature, and most preferably in the range of from 25 to 55° C. less than the final digestion temperature. Preferably, the post-digestion crystallization temperature is maintained in the range of from about 130 to about 200° C., more preferably in the range of from about 150 to about 180° C., and most preferably in the range of from 160 to 170° C. Preferably the post-digestion crystallization pressure is maintained in the range of from about 10 to about 150 psig, more preferably in the range of from about 50 to about 120 psig, and most preferably about 80 psig.
Referring again to FIG. 1 , the solids-concentrated mixture exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 via line 26 can be diluted with a dilution liquid supplied via line 30 . As discussed above, in one embodiment of the present invention, the dilution liquid is combined with the solids-concentrated mixture in an external dilution zone located outside of zoned slurry concentrator 100 . In another embodiment of the invention, the dilution liquid is combined with the solids-concentrated mixture in an internal dilution zone located inside zoned slurry concentrator 100 . The amount and composition of the dilution liquid introduced into the solids-concentrated mixture is discussed above with reference to FIG. 2 .
The diluted mixture resulting from dilution of the solids-concentrated mixture with the dilution liquid is transported in line 32 to a solids recovery system 34 for recovery of solid PTA particles. Solids recovery system 34 preferably includes at least one solid/liquid separator and at least one drier. The solid/liquid separator employed as part of solids recovery system 34 can be any conventional solid/liquid separator such as, for example, a decanter centrifuge, a rotary disk centrifuge, a belt filter, or a rotary vacuum filter. The solids separated in the solid/liquid separator can then be dried using any suitable drier known in the art. The recovered, dried PTA solids are discharged from solids recovery system 34 via line 36 .
FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention where two zoned slurry concentrators 100 a and 100 b are employed to aid in the purification of the crude oxidation product from primary oxidation reactor 210 . In the embodiment of FIG. 4 , primary oxidation reactor 210 , digester 218 , and solids recovery system 234 are operated in substantially the same manner as discussed above with reference to primary oxidation reactor 10 , digester 18 , and solids recovery system 34 of FIG. 1 . However, the system of FIG. 4 employs zoned slurry concentrator 100 a to perform liquor exchange and/or crystallization between primary oxidation reactor 210 and digester 218 . Further, the system of FIG. 4 employs zoned slurry concentrator 100 b to perform crystallization and/or liquor exchange between digester 218 and solids recovery system 234 .
Zoned slurry concentrator 100 a receives the crude product slurry directly from primary oxidation reactor 210 via line 212 . In zoned slurry concentrator 100 a , the crude product slurry is separated into a liquid-concentrated mixture exiting via line 250 and a solids-concentrated mixture exiting via line 252 . Further, vapor exits zoned slurry concentrator 100 a via line 254 . In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 , line 212 is equivalent to line 118 of FIG. 2 , line 250 is equivalent to line 136 of FIG. 2 , line 252 is equivalent to line 140 of FIG. 2 , and line 254 is equivalent to line 144 of FIG. 2 . Zoned slurry concentrator 100 a of FIG. 4 preferably operates in substantially the same manner described above with reference to the zoned slurry concentrators of FIGS. 2 and 3 .
The solids-concentrated mixture exiting zone slurry concentrator 100 a via line 252 is diluted with a dilution liquid in line 256 . This dilution liquid is preferably a clean replacement solvent that replaces the crude mother liquor removed from zoned slurry concentrator 100 a via line 250 . The amount and composition of dilution liquid used to dilute the solids-concentrated mixture is described above with reference to FIG. 2 . The resulting diluted mixture is introduced into digester 218 via line 258 for purification by oxidative digestion.
The oxidation-treated slurry exits digester 218 via line 220 and is introduced into zoned slurry concentrator 100 b . In zoned slurry concentrator 100 b , the oxidation-treated slurry is separated into a liquid-concentrated mixture exiting via line 260 and a solids-concentrated mixture exiting via line 262 . Further, vapor exits zoned slurry concentrator 100 b via line 263 . In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 , line 220 is equivalent to line 118 of FIG. 2 , line 260 is equivalent to line 136 of FIG. 2 , line 262 is equivalent to line 140 of FIG. 2 , and line 263 is equivalent to line 144 of FIG. 2 . Zoned slurry concentrator 100 b of FIG. 4 preferably operates in substantially the same manner described above with reference to the zoned slurry concentrators of FIGS. 2 and 3 .
The solids-concentrated mixture exiting zone slurry concentrator 100 b via line 162 is diluted with a dilution liquid in line 264 . This dilution liquid is preferably a clean replacement solvent that replaces the oxidation-treated mother liquor removed from zoned slurry concentrator 100 b via line 260 . The amount and composition of dilution liquid used to dilute the solids-concentrated mixture is described above with reference to FIG. 2 . The resulting diluted mixture is introduced into solids recovery system 234 via line 266 for recovery of PTA solids.
FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention where zoned slurry concentrator 100 is employed as the initial digester in a process that includes purification by two-step oxidative digestion. In the embodiment of FIG. 5 , primary oxidation reactor 310 and solids recovery system 334 operate in substantially the same manner as discussed above with reference to primary oxidation reactor 10 and solids recovery system 34 of FIG. 1 . However, the system of FIG. 5 employs zoned slurry concentrator 100 to perform initial oxidative digestion, liquor exchange, and/or crystallization of the crude product slurry exiting primary oxidation reactor 310 via line 350 . Further, the system of FIG. 5 employs a final digester 368 for providing further oxidative digestion of the solids exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 . Finally, the system of FIG. 5 employs a crystallization system 372 downstream of final digester 368 and upstream of solids recovery system 334 .
Zoned slurry concentrator 100 receives the crude product slurry directly from primary oxidation reactor 310 . In order for oxidative digestion to be carried out in zoned slurry concentrator 100 , an oxidant stream containing molecular oxygen is introduced into zoned slurry concentrator 100 via line 354 . Alternatively, the oxidant stream can be introduced into the crude product slurry upstream of zoned slurry concentrator 100 via line 356 , thereby providing an oxygen-enriched crude slurry in line 352 . As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 , when the oxidant stream is introduced into zoned slurry concentrator 100 , an additional oxidant inlet 160 is provided in zoned slurry concentrator 100 for receiving the oxidant stream. Oxidant inlet 160 preferably discharges the oxidant stream at a location just below the propeller 124 . In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5 , line 354 is equivalent to line 162 of FIGS. 2 and 3 , while line 356 is equivalent to line 164 of FIGS. 2 and 3 .
Initial oxidative digestion is carried out in zoned slurry concentrator 100 in a manner and under conditions that are substantially similar to the initial oxidative digestion described above. The initial digested solids-concentrated mixture exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 via line 362 is diluted with a dilution liquid in line 364 to thereby produce a diluted mixture introduced into final digester 368 via line 366 . Final oxidative digestion is carried out in final digester 368 in the manner previously described. The final digested slurry exiting final digester 368 is introduced into crystallization system 372 via line 370 . In crystallization system 372 , solids precipitate due to reduced temperature and pressure—typically in a series of crystallization zones. Typically, the temperature in crystallization system 372 is maintained in the range of from about 30 to about 190° C. The crystallized slurry produced in crystallization system 372 is transported to solids recovery system 334 via line 374 for recovery of the final PTA product.
FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention where zoned slurry concentrator 100 is employed as the final digester in a process that includes purification by two-step oxidative digestion. In the embodiment of FIG. 6 , primary oxidation reactor 410 , liquor exchange system 414 , and solids recovery system 434 operate in substantially the same manner as discussed above with reference to primary oxidation reactor 10 , liquor exchange system 14 , and solids recovery system 34 of FIG. 1 . However, the system of FIG. 6 employs zoned slurry concentrator 100 to perform final oxidative digestion, liquor exchange, and/or crystallization of the initial digested slurry exiting initial digester 450 via line 452 .
The crude product slurry or liquor-exchanged slurry produced from primary oxidation reactor 410 or liquor exchange system 414 (depending on whether or not liquor exchange system 414 is employed) is introduced into initial digester 450 for initial oxidative digestion. The oxidative digestion in initial digester 450 is carried out in accordance with the previous description. The resulting initial digested slurry exits initial digester 450 via line 452 and is introduced into zoned slurry concentrator 100 for final oxidative digestion.
In order for oxidative digestion to be carried out in zoned slurry concentrator 100 , an oxidant stream containing molecular oxygen is introduced into zoned slurry concentrator 100 via line 456 . Alternatively, the oxidant stream can be introduced into the initial digested slurry upstream of zoned slurry concentrator 100 via line 458 , thereby providing an oxygen-enriched slurry in line 454 . As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 , when the oxidant stream is introduced into zoned slurry concentrator 100 , an additional oxidant inlet 160 is provided in zoned slurry concentrator 100 for receiving the oxidant stream. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6 , line 456 is equivalent to line 162 of FIGS. 2 and 3 , while line 458 is equivalent to line 164 of FIGS. 2 and 3 .
Final oxidative digestion is carried out in zoned slurry concentrator 100 in a manner and under conditions that are substantially similar to the final oxidative digestion described above. The final digested solids-concentrated mixture exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 via line 464 is diluted with a dilution liquid in line 486 to thereby produce a diluted mixture. The diluted mixture is transported to solids recovery system 434 via line 470 for recovery of the final PTA product.
The inventors note that for all numerical ranges provided herein, the upper and lower ends of the ranges can be independent of one another. For example, a numerical range of 10 to 100 means greater than 10 and/or less than 100. Thus, a range of 10 to 100 provides support for a claim limitation of greater than 10 (without the upper bound), a claim limitation of less than 100 (without the lower bound), as well as the full 10 to 100 range (with both upper and lower bounds).
The inventors also note that, as used herein, “coupled in communication” denotes a direct or indirect connection that permits the flow of solids and/or liquids. For example, the outlet of primary oxidation reactor 10 ( FIG. 1 ) is “coupled in communication” with the inlet of zoned slurry concentrator 100 , even though there is intermediate equipment (e.g., digester 18 ) located therebetween.
The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof, but will be understood that variations and modification can be affected within the spirit and scope of the invention. | Disclosed is an optimized process and apparatus for more efficiently producing and purifying aromatic dicarboxylic acids (e.g., terephthalic acid). The optimized system employs at least one zoned slurry concentrator to enhance purification of the aromatic dicarboxylic acid. | Briefly summarize the main idea's components and working principles as described in the context. | [
"RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional patent application Ser.",
"Nos. 60/606,735 and 60/606,807, both filed Sep. 2, 2004, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to the production of aromatic dicarboxylic acids, such as terephthalic acid (TPA).",
"One aspect of the invention concerns a process and apparatus for more efficiently and/or effectively purifying crude aromatic dicarboxylic acids, such as crude terephthalic acid (CTA).",
"Another aspect of the invention concerns a more economical system for producing purified aromatic dicarboxylic acids, such as purified terephthalic acid (PTA).",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Terephthalic acid (TPA) is one of the basic building blocks in the production of linear polyester resins used in the manufacture of polyester films, packaging materials, and bottles.",
"TPA used in the manufacture of such polyesters resins must meet certain minimum purity requirements.",
"The purified condition of TPA refers primarily to the absence of significant concentrations of 4-carboxybenzaldehyde (4-CBA) and para-toluic acid (p-TAc) that are present in significant quantities in the commercially-available crude grades of TPA.",
"Both 4-CBA and p-TAc are partial oxidation products formed in the manufacture of TPA by the catalytic oxidation of para-xylene.",
"The purified form of TPA also refers to the absence of color bodies that impart a characteristic yellow hue to the crude material.",
"The color bodies are aromatic compounds having the structures of benzils, fluorenones, and/or anthraquinones.",
"4-CBA and p-TAc are particularly detrimental to the polymerization process because they act as chain terminators during the condensation reaction between TPA and ethylene glycol in the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).",
"In a typical process for producing TPA, a crude slurry is withdrawn from the primary oxidation reactor.",
"The crude slurry contains a liquid mother liquor and solid particles of crude terephthalic acid (CTA).",
"The liquid mother liquor exiting the primary oxidation reactor typically contains a significant amount of impurities.",
"Thus, in many conventional TPA production processes, a substantial portion of the liquid mother liquor exiting the primary oxidation reactor is replaced/displaced with a “clean”",
"replacement solvent prior to purification of the CTA particles.",
"This replacement/displacement of the liquid mother liquor in the crude slurry with a replacement solvent is commonly known as “liquor exchange.”",
"Conventional devices employed to perform liquor exchange can be both expensive and unreliable.",
"One common device used to perform liquor exchange is a disc stack centrifuge system.",
"Although effective for replacing the original mother liquor with a replacement solvent, the high-velocity rotating components of such mechanical centrifuge systems cause them to be expensive and unreliable.",
"Thus, a CTA purification system that eliminates the use of one or more mechanical centrifuges would have a lower capital cost and higher reliability than conventional CTA purification systems.",
"Further, if the liquor exchange function typically provided by a mechanical centrifuge could be combined with other functions of a CTA purification system, the overall cost of the system could be reduced while increasing its reliability.",
"Finally, if one or more mechanical centrifuges could be replaced by mechanisms that more effectively replace impurity-laden mother liquor with clean replacement solvent, a purer TPA product could be produced.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One embodiment of the present invention concerns a process comprising the following steps: (a) oxidizing one or more reactants in a primary oxidation reactor to thereby produce a solid/liquid mixture comprising CTA particles;",
"and (b) subjecting at least a portion of the solid/liquid mixture to oxidative digestion in a zoned slurry concentrator, thereby producing a solids-concentrated mixture containing oxidation-treated TPA particles.",
"Another embodiment of the present invention concerns a process comprising the following steps: (a) introducing a feed slurry into a zoned slurry concentrator, wherein the feed slurry comprises solid TPA particles;",
"(b) withdrawing a liquid-concentrated mixture from a liquids outlet of the zoned slurry concentrator;",
"and (c) withdrawing a solids-concentrated mixture from a solids outlet of the zoned slurry concentrator, wherein the ratio of the solids content of the solids-concentrated mixture to the solids content of the liquid-concentrated mixture is at least about 2:1 by weight.",
"Still another embodiment of the present invention concerns a process comprising the following steps: (a) oxidizing para-xylene in a primary oxidation reactor to thereby produce an initial solid/liquid mixture containing CTA particles;",
"(b) subjecting at least a portion of the initial solid/liquid mixture to oxidative digestion in an initial digester to thereby produce an initial digested solid/liquid mixture;",
"(c) subjecting at least a portion of the initial digested solid/liquid mixture to oxidative digestion in a zoned slurry concentrator;",
"(d) withdrawing a liquid-concentrated mixture from a liquids outlet of the zoned slurry concentrator, wherein the ratio of the solids content of the initial digested solid/liquid mixture to the solids content of the liquid-concentrated mixture is at least about 1.5:1 by weight;",
"(e) withdrawing a solids-concentrated mixture from a solids outlet of the zoned slurry concentrator;",
"and (f) introducing a dilution liquid into the solids-concentrated mixture to thereby produce a diluted mixture having a solids content less than the solids content of the solids-concentrated mixture.",
"Yet another embodiment of the present invention concerns an apparatus for producing and purifying a solid/liquid mixture containing CTA particles.",
"The system includes a primary oxidation reactor for producing the solid/liquid mixture and a zoned slurry concentrator.",
"The zoned slurry concentrator comprises a vessel shell, an upright baffle, a feed inlet, a liquids outlet, and a solids outlet.",
"The vessel shell defines an internal volume.",
"The upright baffle is disposed in the vessel shell and separates at least a portion of the internal volume into a settling zone and an agitated zone.",
"The feed inlet receives at least a portion of the solid/liquid mixture from the primary oxidation reactor and discharges the portion into the agitated zone.",
"The liquids outlet is positioned proximate the settling zone.",
"The solids outlet is positioned below the liquids outlet.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a process flow diagram illustrating a system for the production and purification of terephthalic acid constructed in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, particularly illustrating a configuration where the crude slurry from the primary oxidation reactor is subjected to oxidative digestion and the resulting slurry is subjected to combined crystallization and liquor exchange in a zoned slurry concentrator.",
"FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a zoned slurry concentrator having an agitated zone and a settling zone, where a liquid-concentrated mixture is withdrawn near the top of the settling zone and a solids-concentrated mixture is withdrawn a substantial distance below the top of the settling zone.",
"FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of an alternative zoned slurry concentrator, where the liquid-concentrated mixture is withdrawn near the top of the settling zone and the solids-concentrated is withdrawn near the bottom of the settling zone.",
"FIG. 4 is a process flow diagram illustrating a system for the production and purification of terephthalic acid constructed in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention, particularly illustrating a configuration where the crude slurry exiting the primary oxidation reactor is subjected to combined crystallization and liquor exchange in a zoned slurry concentrator prior to oxidative digestion, and the slurry exiting the digester is also subjected to combined crystallization and liquor exchange prior to solids recovery.",
"FIG. 5 is a process flow diagram illustrating a system for the production and purification of terephthalic acid constructed in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention, particularly illustrating a configuration where the crude slurry exiting the primary oxidation reactor is subjected to combined oxidative digestion and liquor exchange in a zoned slurry concentrator, followed by final oxidative digestion, crystallization, and solids recovery steps.",
"FIG. 6 is a process flow diagram illustrating a system for the production and purification of terephthalic acid constructed in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention, particularly illustrating a configuration where the crude slurry exiting the primary oxidation reactor is subjected to initial oxidative digestion in a conventional reactor, followed by combined oxidative digestion and liquor exchange in a zone slurry concentrator.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIGS. 1 and 4 - 6 illustrate embodiments of the present invention where terephthalic acid (TPA) produced in a primary/initial oxidation reactor is purified in a system employing at least one zoned slurry concentrator.",
"Zoned slurry concentrators are described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 .",
"In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 , a predominately liquid-phase feed stream containing an oxidizable compound (e.g., para-xylene), a solvent (e.g., acetic acid+water), and a catalyst system (e.g., Co+Mn+Br) is introduced into a primary/initial oxidation reactor 10 .",
"A predominately gas-phase oxidant stream containing molecular oxygen is also introduced into primary oxidation reactor 10 .",
"The liquid- and gas-phase feed streams form a multi-phase reaction medium in oxidation reactor 10 .",
"The oxidizable compound undergoes partial oxidation in a liquid phase of the reaction medium contained in reactor 10 .",
"Primary oxidation reactor 10 is preferably an agitated reactor.",
"Agitation of the reaction medium in oxidation reactor 10 can be provided by any means known in the art.",
"As used herein, the term “agitation”",
"shall denote work dissipated into the reaction medium causing fluid flow and/or mixing.",
"In one embodiment, primary oxidation reactor 10 is a mechanically-agitated reactor equipped with means for mechanically agitating the reaction medium.",
"As used herein, the term “mechanical agitation”",
"shall denote agitation of the reaction medium caused by physical movement of a rigid or flexible element(s) against or within the reaction medium.",
"For example, mechanical agitation can be provided by rotation, oscillation, and/or vibration of internal stirrers, paddles, vibrators, or acoustical diaphragms located in the reaction medium.",
"In a preferred embodiment of the invention, primary oxidation reactor 10 is a bubble column reactor.",
"As used herein, the term “bubble column reactor”",
"shall denote a reactor for facilitating chemical reactions in a multi-phase reaction medium, wherein agitation of the reaction medium is provided primarily by the upward movement of gas bubbles through the reaction medium.",
"As used herein, the terms “majority,” “primarily,” and “predominately”",
"shall mean more than 50 percent.",
"The oxidizable compound present in the liquid-phase feed stream introduced into primary oxidation reactor 10 preferably comprises at least one hydrocarbyl group.",
"More preferably, the oxidizable compound is an aromatic compound.",
"Still more preferably, the oxidizable compound is an aromatic compound with at least one attached hydrocarbyl group or at least one attached substituted hydrocarbyl group or at least one attached heteroatom or at least one attached carboxylic acid function (—COOH).",
"Even more preferably, the oxidizable compound is an aromatic compound with at least one attached hydrocarbyl group or at least one attached substituted hydrocarbyl group with each attached group comprising from 1 to 5 carbon atoms.",
"Yet still more preferably, the oxidizable compound is an aromatic compound having exactly two attached groups with each attached group comprising exactly one carbon atom and consisting of methyl groups and/or substituted methyl groups and/or at most one carboxylic acid group.",
"Even still more preferably, the oxidizable compound is para-xylene, meta-xylene, para-tolualdehyde, meta-tolualdehyde, para-toluic acid, meta-toluic acid, and/or acetaldehyde.",
"Most preferably, the oxidizable compound is para-xylene.",
"A “hydrocarbyl group,” as defined herein, is at least one carbon atom that is bonded only to hydrogen atoms or to other carbon atoms.",
"A “substituted hydrocarbyl group,” as defined herein, is at least one carbon atom bonded to at least one heteroatom and to at least one hydrogen atom.",
"“Heteroatoms,” as defined herein, are all atoms other than carbon and hydrogen atoms.",
"Aromatic compounds, as defined herein, comprise an aromatic ring, preferably having at least 6 carbon atoms, even more preferably having only carbon atoms as part of the ring.",
"Suitable examples of such aromatic rings include, but are not limited to, benzene, biphenyl, terphenyl, naphthalene, and other carbon-based fused aromatic rings.",
"The amount of oxidizable compound present in the liquid-phase feed stream introduced into primary oxidation reactor 10 is preferably in the range of from about 2 to about 40 weight percent, more preferably in the range of from about 4 to about 20 weight percent, and most preferably in the range of from 6 to 15 weight percent.",
"The solvent present in the liquid-phase feed stream introduced into primary oxidation reactor 10 preferably comprises an acid component and a water component.",
"The solvent is preferably present in the liquid-phase feed stream at a concentration in the range of from about 60 to about 98 weight percent, more preferably in the range of from about 80 to about 96 weight percent, and most preferably in the range of from 85 to 94 weight percent.",
"The acid component of the solvent is preferably an organic low molecular weight monocarboxylic acid having 1-6 carbon atoms, more preferably 2 carbon atoms.",
"Most preferably, the acid component of the solvent is acetic acid.",
"Preferably, the acid component makes up at least about 75 weight percent of the solvent, more preferably at least about 80 weight percent of the solvent, and most preferably in the range of from 85 to 98 weight percent of the solvent, with the balance being water.",
"The liquid-phase feed stream introduced into primary oxidation reactor 10 can also include a catalyst system.",
"The catalyst system is preferably a homogeneous, liquid-phase catalyst system capable of promoting partial oxidation of the oxidizable compound.",
"More preferably, the catalyst system comprises at least one multivalent transition metal.",
"Still more preferably, the multivalent transition metal comprises cobalt.",
"Even more preferably, the catalyst system comprises cobalt and bromine.",
"Most preferably, the catalyst system comprises cobalt, bromine, and manganese.",
"When cobalt is present in the catalyst system, it is preferred for the amount of cobalt present in the liquid-phase feed stream to be such that the concentration of cobalt in the liquid phase of the reaction medium is maintained in the range of from about 300 to about 6,000 parts per million by weight (ppmw), more preferably in the range of from about 700 to about 4,200 ppmw, and most preferably in the range of from 1,200 to 3,000 ppmw.",
"When bromine is present in the catalyst system, it is preferred for the amount of bromine present in the liquid-phase feed stream to be such that the concentration of bromine in the liquid phase of the reaction medium is maintained in the range of from about 300 to about 5,000 ppmw, more preferably in the range of from about 600 to about 4,000 ppmw, and most preferably in the range of from 900 to 3,000 ppmw.",
"When manganese is present in the catalyst system, it is preferred for the amount of manganese present in the liquid-phase feed stream to be such that the concentration of manganese in the liquid phase of the reaction medium is maintained in the range of from about 20 to about 1,000 ppmw, more preferably in the range of from about 40 to about 500 ppmw, most preferably in the range of from 50 to 200 ppmw.",
"The weight ratio of cobalt to bromine (Co:Br) in the catalyst system introduced into primary oxidation reactor 10 is preferably in the range of from about 0.25:1 to about 4:1, more preferably in the range of from about 0.5:1 to about 3:1, and most preferably in the range of from 0.75:1 to 2:1.",
"The weight ratio of cobalt to manganese (Co:Mn) in the catalyst system introduced is preferably in the range of from about 0.3:1 to about 40:1, more preferably in the range of from about 5:1 to about 30:1, and most preferably in the range of from 10:1 to 25:1.",
"During oxidation, it is preferred for the oxidizable compound (e.g., para-xylene) to be continuously introduced into primary oxidation reactor 10 at a rate of at least about 5,000 kilograms per hour, more preferably at a rate in the range of from about 10,000 to about 80,000 kilograms per hour, and most preferably in the range of from 20,000 to 50,000 kilograms per hour.",
"During oxidation, it is preferred for the ratio of the mass flow rate of the solvent to the mass flow rate of the oxidizable compound entering oxidation reactor 10 to be maintained in the range of from about 2:1 to about 50:1, more preferably in the range of from about 5:1 to about 40:1, and most preferably in the range of from 7.5:1 to 25:1.",
"The predominately gas-phase oxidant stream introduced into primary oxidation reactor 10 preferably comprises in the range of from about 5 to about 40 mole percent molecular oxygen, more preferably in the range of from about 15 to about 30 mole percent molecular oxygen, and most preferably in the range of from 18 to 24 mole percent molecular oxygen.",
"It is preferred for the balance of the oxidant stream to be comprised primarily of a gas or gases, such as nitrogen, that are inert to oxidation.",
"More preferably, the oxidant stream consists essentially of molecular oxygen and nitrogen.",
"Most preferably, the oxidant stream is dry air that comprises about 21 mole percent molecular oxygen and about 78 to about 81 mole percent nitrogen.",
"In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the oxidant stream can comprise substantially pure oxygen.",
"During liquid-phase oxidation in primary oxidation reactor 10 , it is preferred for the oxidant stream to be introduced into reactor 10 in an amount that provides molecular oxygen somewhat exceeding the stoichiometric oxygen demand.",
"Thus, it is preferred that the ratio of the mass flow rate of the oxidant stream (e.g., air) to the mass flow rate of the oxidizable compound (e.g., para-xylene) entering reactor 10 is maintained in the range of from about 0.5:1 to about 20:1, more preferably in the range of from about 1:1 to about 10:1, and most preferably in the range of from 2:1 to 6:1.",
"The liquid-phase oxidation reaction carried out in reactor 10 is preferably a precipitating reaction that generates solids.",
"More preferably, the liquid-phase oxidation carried out in reactor 10 causes at least about 10 weight percent of the oxidizable compound (e.g., para-xylene) introduced into oxidation reactor 10 to form solids (e.g., CTA particles) in the reaction medium.",
"Still more preferably, the liquid-phase oxidation causes at least about 50 weight percent of the oxidizable compound to form solids in the reaction medium.",
"Most preferably, the liquid-phase oxidation causes at least 90 weight percent of the oxidizable compound to form solids in the reaction medium.",
"It is preferred for the solids content of the reaction medium to be maintained in the range of from about 5 to about 40 weight percent, still more preferably in the range of from about 10 to about 35 weight percent, and most preferably in the range of from 15 to 30 weight percent.",
"As used herein, the term “solids content”",
"shall denote the weight percent solids in a multi-phase mixture.",
"During oxidation in oxidation reactor 10 , the multi-phase reaction medium is preferably maintained at an elevated temperature in the range of from about 125 to about 200° C., more preferably in the range of from about 150 to about 180° C., and most preferably in the range of from 155 to 165° C. The overhead pressure in oxidation reactor 10 is preferably maintained in the range of from about 1 to about 20 bar gauge (barg), more preferably in the range of from about 2 to about 12 barg, and most preferably in the range of from 4 to 8 barg.",
"As illustrated in FIG. 1 , a crude product slurry is withdrawn from an outlet of primary oxidation reactor 10 via line 12 .",
"The solid phase of the crude product slurry in line 12 is preferably formed primarily of solid particles of crude terephthalic acid (CTA).",
"The liquid phase of the crude product slurry in line 12 is a liquid mother liquor comprising at least a portion of the solvent, the catalyst system, and minor amounts of dissolved TPA.",
"The solids content of the crude product slurry in line 12 is preferably the same as the solids content of the reaction medium in primary oxidation reactor 10 , discussed above.",
"The crude product slurry in line 12 typically has a combined 4-carboxybenzaldehyde (4-CBA) and para-toluic acid (pTAc) content in a range of from about 100 to about 500 parts per million by weight (ppmw) based on the weight of the solids.",
"In one embodiment of the present invention, the crude product slurry in line 12 is transported directly (i.e., without intermediate processing steps) to a digester 18 for purification by oxidative digestion.",
"In an alternative embodiment, an optional liquor exchange system 14 is employed to remove at least a portion of the liquid mother liquor from the crude product slurry and replace the removed mother liquor (i.e., filtrate) with a replacement solvent prior introduction into digester 18 .",
"The replacement solvent typically comprises acetic acid and/or water.",
"The primary purpose of liquor exchange 14 is to provide cleaner solvent media for subsequent oxidative digestion of the CTA solids.",
"Optional liquor exchange system 14 can employ a variety of different apparatuses to remove and replace at least a portion of the crude mother liquor.",
"For example, liquor exchange system 14 can employ a disc stack centrifuge to separate at least a portion of the mother liquor from the CTA solids and replace the removed mother liquor with a clean replacement solvent.",
"Alternatively, liquor exchange can be accomplished using any suitable solid/liquid separator (e.g., a decanter centrifuge, a rotary disk centrifuge, a belt filter, or a rotary vacuum filter) and then diluting the resulting solids (typically a wet cake) with a clean replacement solvent.",
"In one embodiment of the present invention, at least about 25 weight percent of the mother liquor in the crude product slurry is replaced with a replacement solvent, more preferably at least about 50 weight percent of the mother liquor is replaced with a replacement solvent, and most preferably in the range of from 75 to 99 weight percent of the mother liquor is replaced with a replacement solvent.",
"When liquor exchange system 14 is employed, the resulting liquor-exchanged slurry is passed through line 16 to digester 18 .",
"In digester 18 , the crude product slurry or liquor-exchanged slurry is subjected to purification by oxidative digestion.",
"As used herein, the term “oxidative digestion”",
"denotes a process step or steps where a feed is subjected to oxidation.",
"Digester 18 can be one or more reactors or zones.",
"Preferably, digester 18 comprises one or more mechanically-agitated reactors.",
"A secondary oxidant stream, which can have the same composition as the gas-phase oxidant stream fed to primary oxidation reactor 10 , is introduced into digester 18 to provide the molecular oxygen required for oxidative digestion.",
"Additional oxidation catalyst can also be added if necessary.",
"As mentioned above, the crude product slurry or liquor-exchange slurry introduced into digester 18 contains significant quantities of impurities such as, for example, 4-CBA and p-TAc.",
"The oxidative digestion in digester 18 preferably causes oxidation of a substantial portion of the 4-CBA and p-TAc to TPA.",
"The slurry fed to digester 18 typically has a 4-CBA content of at least about 100 parts per million based on the weight of the solids in the feed slurry (ppmw fs ), more typically in the range of from about 200 to about 10,000 ppmw fs and most typically in the range of from 800 to 5,000 ppmw fs .",
"The slurry fed to digester 18 typically has a p-TAc content of at least about 250 ppmw fs , more typically in the range of from about 300 to about 5,000 ppmw fs and most typically in the range of from 400 to 1,500 ppmw fs .",
"The slurry product exiting digester 18 preferably has a 4-CBA content of less than about 150 parts per million based on the weight of the solids in the product slurry (ppmw ps ), more preferably less than about 100 ppmw ps , and most preferably less than 50 ppmw ps .",
"The slurry product exiting digester 18 preferably has a p-TAc content of less than about 300 ppmw ps , more preferably less than about 200 ppmw ps and most preferably less than 150 ppmw ps .",
"Preferably, oxidative digestion in digester 18 causes the product slurry exiting digester 18 to have 4-CBA and/or p-TAc content that is at least about 50 percent less than the 4-CBA and/or p-TAc content of the slurry fed to digester 18 , more preferably at least about 85 percent less, and most preferably at least 95 percent less.",
"By way of illustration, if the 4-CBA content of the slurry fed to digester 18 is 200 ppmw fs and the 4-CBA content of the product slurry exiting digester 18 is 100 ppmw ps , then the 4-CBA content of the product slurry is 50 percent less than the 4-CBA content of the feed slurry.",
"The temperature at which oxidative digestion is carried out in digester 18 is preferably at least about 110° C. greater than the temperature of oxidation in primary oxidation reactor 10 , more preferably in the range of from about 20 to about 80° C. greater, and most preferably in the range of from 30 to 50° C. greater.",
"The additional heat required for the operation of digester 18 may be provided by supplying a vaporized solvent to digester 18 and allowing the vaporized solvent to condense therein.",
"The oxidative digestion temperature in digester 18 is preferably maintained in the range of from about 180 to about 240° C., more preferably in the range of from about 190 to about 220° C., and most preferably in the range of from 200 to 210° C. The oxidative digestion pressure in digester 18 is preferably maintained in the range of from about 100 to about 350 pounds per square inch gauge (psig), more preferably in the range of from about 175 to about 275 psig, and most preferably in the range of from 185 to 225 psig.",
"In one embodiment of the present invention, digester 18 includes two digestion reactors/zones—an initial digester and a final digester.",
"When digester 18 includes an initial digester and a final digester, it is preferred for the final digester to be operated at a lower temperature and pressure than the initial digester.",
"Preferably, the operating temperature of the final digester is at least about 2° C. lower than the operating temperature of the initial digester.",
"Most preferably, the operating temperature of the final digester is in the range of from about 5 to about 15° C. lower than the operating temperature of the initial digester.",
"Preferably, the operating pressure of the final digester is at least about 5 psi lower than the operating pressure of the initial digester.",
"Most preferably, the operating pressure of the final digester is in the range of from about 10 to about 50 psig lower than the operating temperature of the initial digester.",
"Preferably, the operating temperature of the initial digester is in the range of from about 195 to about 225° C., more preferably in the range of from 205 to 215° C., and most preferably about 210° C. Preferably, the operating pressure of the initial digester is in the range of from about 215 to 235 psig, most preferably about 225 psig.",
"Preferably, the operating temperature of the final digester is in the range of from about 190 to about 220° C., more preferably in the range of from 200 to 210° C., and most preferably about 205° C. Preferably, the operating pressure of the final digester is in the range of from about 190 to 210 psig, most preferably about 200 psig.",
"Referring again to FIG. 1 , an oxidation-treated slurry is discharged from digester 18 via line 20 .",
"The solid phase of the oxidation-treated slurry is formed primarily of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) particles, while the liquid phase is formed of an oxidation-treated mother liquor.",
"The solids content of the oxidation-treated slurry in line 20 is preferably in the range of from about 1 to about 50 percent by weight, more preferably in the range of from about 5 to about 40 percent by weight, and most preferably in the range of from 20 to 30 percent by weight.",
"The oxidation-treated slurry in line 20 is introduced into a zoned slurry concentrator 100 .",
"As used herein, the term “zoned slurry concentrator”",
"means a single vessel having at least one internal upright baffle that divides at least a portion of the vessel's internal volume into an agitated zone and a settling zone;",
"where the agitated zone communicates with the settling zone proximate a lower end/opening of the lowest baffle;",
"and where the vessel defines a liquids outlet for removing a liquid-concentrated mixture from the settling zone at an elevation above the lower end/opening of the lowest baffle and a solids outlet for removing a solids-concentrated mixture from the vessel at an elevation below the liquids outlet.",
"FIG. 2 illustrates a preferred zoned slurry concentrator 100 suitable for use in the present invention.",
"Zoned slurry concentrator 100 comprises a vessel shell 102 that defines and internal volume 104 .",
"Vessel shell 102 preferably has at least one substantially vertical sidewall that has a generally cylindrical and/or frustoconical configuration.",
"Zoned slurry concentrator 100 also comprises at least one upright baffle 106 that separates at least a portion of internal volume 104 into an agitated zone 108 and a settling zone 110 .",
"Upright baffle 106 can be formed of a single member, or a plurality of baffle members.",
"Upright baffle 106 preferably includes at least one generally cylindrical and/or frustoconical baffle spaced inwardly from the upright sidewalls of vessel shell 102 .",
"Zoned slurry concentrator 100 also comprises an upright draft tube 112 at least partly disposed in agitated zone 108 .",
"Draft tube 112 is preferably a substantially hollow, generally cylindrical or frustoconical tube spaced inwardly from upright baffle 106 .",
"An upwardly moving section 114 of agitated zone 108 is defined within draft tube 112 , and a downwardly moving section 116 of agitated zone 108 is defined between draft tube 112 and vessel shell 102 .",
"In operation, a feed slurry in line 118 is introduced into zoned slurry concentrator 100 via a feed inlet 120 .",
"The feed slurry enters a lower opening 122 of draft tube 112 and is forced upwardly by a rotating propeller 124 .",
"Propeller 124 is powered by a motor 126 .",
"Motor 126 and propeller 124 are connected by a drive shaft 128 that extends through vessel shell 102 and into agitated zone 108 of internal volume 104 .",
"The feed slurry moves upwardly though draft tube 112 and then exits an upper opening 130 of draft tube 112 .",
"The level of slurry in vessel shell 102 is maintained so that the upper surface 131 of the slurry is above upper opening 130 of draft tube 112 .",
"As the slurry exits upper opening 130 of draft tube 112 , it circulates into a downward flow pattern in downwardly-moving section 116 of agitated zone 108 .",
"At least a portion of downwardly-moving section 116 of agitated zone 108 is defined between draft tube 112 and upright baffle 106 .",
"An agitated zone outlet opening 133 is defined between baffle 106 and draft tube 112 proximate the bottom of upright baffle 106 .",
"The slurry exits agitated zone 108 through agitated zone outlet opening 133 .",
"The after exiting agitated zone 108 the slurry enter settling zone 110 via a settling zone opening 135 .",
"Settling zone opening 135 is defined between vessel shell 102 and baffle 106 proximate the bottom of upright baffle 106 .",
"Upright baffle 106 is operable to substantially isolate settling zone 110 from the turbulence generated by rotating propeller in agitated zone 108 .",
"In settling zone 110 , the liquid phase of the slurry moves upwardly in a relatively non-turbulent manner at a velocity less than the velocity necessary to suspend the solid phase in the upwardly moving liquid phase.",
"This relatively slow, non-turbulent, upward flow of the liquid phase in settling zone 110 permits the downward gravitational force acting on the solid phase particles to overcome the upward liquid flow forces acting on the solid phase particles, thereby cause solid/liquid disengagement in settling zone 110 .",
"This solid/liquid disengagement in settling zone 110 produces a liquid-concentrated mixture with low solids content from the top of settling zone 110 .",
"The liquid-concentrated mixture is withdrawn from internal volume 104 via liquids outlet 134 and is transported away from zoned slurry concentrator 100 in line 136 .",
"The solid particles that travel downward through settling zone 110 exit settling zone 110 via settling zone opening 135 .",
"These solids accumulate near the bottom of internal volume 104 of vessel shell 102 , thereby forming a solids-concentrated mixture with high solids content.",
"The solids-concentrated mixture is withdrawn from internal volume 104 via solids outlet 138 and is transported away from zoned slurry concentrator 100 in line 140 .",
"Vapor introduced into or formed in zoned slurry concentrator 100 is discharged through a vapor outlet 142 and transported away from zoned slurry concentrator 100 in line 144 .",
"In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the feed slurry introduced into zoned slurry concentrator 100 via feed inlet 120 has a solids content in the range of from about 1 to about 50 weight percent, more preferably in the range of from about 5 to about 40 weight percent, and most preferably in the range of from 20 to 30 weight percent.",
"It is preferred for the solids in the feed slurry introduced into zoned slurry concentrator 100 to be formed of at least about 75 weight percent TPA, more preferably at least about 90 weight percent TPA, and most preferably at least 95 weight percent TPA.",
"The solids-concentrated mixture exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 via solids outlet 138 preferably has a solids content of more than about 60 weight percent, more preferably more than about 80 weight percent, and most preferably more than 95 weight percent.",
"The liquid-concentrated mixture exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 via liquids outlet 134 preferably has a solids content of less than about 40 weight percent, more preferably less than about 20 weight percent, and most preferably less than 5 weight percent.",
"Preferably, the solids content of the liquid-concentrated mixture exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 via liquids outlet 134 is at least about 50 percent less than the solids content of the feed slurry, more preferably at least about 75 percent less than the solids content of the feed slurry, and most preferably at least 90 percent less than the solids content of the feed slurry.",
"For example, if the feed slurry has a solids content of 30 weight percent and the liquid-concentrated mixture has a solids content of 15 weight percent, then the liquid-concentrated mixture has a solids content that is 50 percent less than the solids content of the feed slurry.",
"Preferably, the solids content of the solids-concentrated mixture exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 via solids outlet 138 is at least about 50 percent greater than the solids content of the feed slurry, more preferably at least about 100 percent greater than the solids content of the feed slurry, and most preferably at least 200 percent greater than the solids content of the feed slurry.",
"For example, if the feed slurry has a solids content of 30 weight percent and the solids-concentrated mixture has a solids content of 45 weight percent, then the solids-concentrated mixture has a solids content that is 50 percent greater than the solids content of the feed slurry.",
"The ratio of the solids content of the solids-concentrated mixture exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 via solids outlet 138 to the liquid-concentrated mixture exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 via liquids outlet 134 is preferably at least about 2:1, more preferably at least about 10:1, and most preferably at least 50:1.",
"The ratio of the solids content of the solids-concentrated mixture exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 via solids outlet 138 to the feed slurry entering zoned slurry concentrator 100 via feed inlet 120 is preferably at least about 1.5:1, more preferably at least about 5:1, and most preferably at least 25:1.",
"The ratio of the solids content of the feed slurry entering zoned slurry concentrator 100 via feed inlet 120 to the liquid-concentrated mixture exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 via liquids outlet 134 is preferably at least about 1.5:1, more preferably at least about 5:1, and most preferably at least 25:1.",
"In one embodiment of the present invention, the solids-concentrated mixture is diluted with a dilution liquid.",
"This dilution of the solids-concentrated mixture can be accomplished by introducing the dilution liquid into zoned slurry concentrator 100 at a location near solids outlet 138 .",
"Preferably, dilution is accomplished by introducing the dilution liquid into the solids-concentrated mixture after the solids-concentrated mixture has been removed from zoned slurry concentrator 100 .",
"The dilution liquid can function as a “clean”",
"replacement solvent for the solvent removed from zoned slurry concentrator 100 with the liquid-concentrated mixture.",
"The dilution liquid is preferably a solvent for TPA.",
"Most preferably, the dilution liquid comprises acetic acid and/or water.",
"Dilution of the solids-concentrated mixture with the dilution liquid forms a diluted mixture.",
"Preferably, the dilution liquid is added to the solids-concentrated mixture in an amount such that the solids content of the diluted mixture is at least about 25 percent less than the solids content of the solids-concentrated mixture, more preferably at least about 50 percent less of the solids content of the solids-concentrated mixture, and most preferably in the range of from 60 to 90 percent less than the solids content of the solids-concentrated mixture.",
"Preferably, the solids content of the diluted mixture is in the range of from about 1 to about 50 weight percent, more preferably in the range of from about 5 to about 40 weight percent, and most preferably in the range of from 20 to 30 weight percent.",
"FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative embodiment of zoned slurry concentrator 100 .",
"Common components of the zoned slurry concentrators illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 are identified with common reference numerals.",
"One difference between the zoned slurry concentrators of FIGS. 2 and 3 is that upright baffle 106 of the zoned slurry concentrator illustrated in FIG. 3 includes one or more circulation openings 150 between the upper and lower ends of upright baffle 106 .",
"Another difference between the zoned slurry concentrators of FIGS. 2 and 3 is that solids outlet 138 of the zoned slurry concentrator 100 illustrated in FIG. 3 withdraws the solids-concentrated mixture at a higher point than solids outlet 138 of FIG. 2 .",
"FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate specific embodiments of zoned slurry concentrators suitable for use in the present invention.",
"It should be noted, however, that devices having significantly different configurations than those illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 may also fall within the definition of “zoned slurry concentrator,” provided herein.",
"One example of a commercially-available zoned slurry concentrator suitable for use in the present invention is a “Draft Tube Baffle (DTB) Crystallizer,” available from Swenson Technology, Inc., Monee, Ill.",
"In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 , feed line 20 is equivalent to feed line 118 of FIG. 2 , liquids line 24 is equivalent to liquids line 136 of FIG. 2 , and solids line 26 is equivalent to solids line 140 of FIG. 2 .",
"The system shown in FIG. 1 employs zoned slurry concentrator 100 as a post-digestion crystallizer.",
"Post-digestion crystallization is preferably carried out at a temperature and pressure lower than the temperature and pressure of the final oxidative digestion performed in digester 18 .",
"Preferably, the post-digestion crystallization temperature is at least about 10° C. less than the final digestion temperature, more preferably in the range of from about 15 to about 65° C. less than the final digestion temperature, and most preferably in the range of from 25 to 55° C. less than the final digestion temperature.",
"Preferably, the post-digestion crystallization temperature is maintained in the range of from about 130 to about 200° C., more preferably in the range of from about 150 to about 180° C., and most preferably in the range of from 160 to 170° C. Preferably the post-digestion crystallization pressure is maintained in the range of from about 10 to about 150 psig, more preferably in the range of from about 50 to about 120 psig, and most preferably about 80 psig.",
"Referring again to FIG. 1 , the solids-concentrated mixture exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 via line 26 can be diluted with a dilution liquid supplied via line 30 .",
"As discussed above, in one embodiment of the present invention, the dilution liquid is combined with the solids-concentrated mixture in an external dilution zone located outside of zoned slurry concentrator 100 .",
"In another embodiment of the invention, the dilution liquid is combined with the solids-concentrated mixture in an internal dilution zone located inside zoned slurry concentrator 100 .",
"The amount and composition of the dilution liquid introduced into the solids-concentrated mixture is discussed above with reference to FIG. 2 .",
"The diluted mixture resulting from dilution of the solids-concentrated mixture with the dilution liquid is transported in line 32 to a solids recovery system 34 for recovery of solid PTA particles.",
"Solids recovery system 34 preferably includes at least one solid/liquid separator and at least one drier.",
"The solid/liquid separator employed as part of solids recovery system 34 can be any conventional solid/liquid separator such as, for example, a decanter centrifuge, a rotary disk centrifuge, a belt filter, or a rotary vacuum filter.",
"The solids separated in the solid/liquid separator can then be dried using any suitable drier known in the art.",
"The recovered, dried PTA solids are discharged from solids recovery system 34 via line 36 .",
"FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention where two zoned slurry concentrators 100 a and 100 b are employed to aid in the purification of the crude oxidation product from primary oxidation reactor 210 .",
"In the embodiment of FIG. 4 , primary oxidation reactor 210 , digester 218 , and solids recovery system 234 are operated in substantially the same manner as discussed above with reference to primary oxidation reactor 10 , digester 18 , and solids recovery system 34 of FIG. 1 .",
"However, the system of FIG. 4 employs zoned slurry concentrator 100 a to perform liquor exchange and/or crystallization between primary oxidation reactor 210 and digester 218 .",
"Further, the system of FIG. 4 employs zoned slurry concentrator 100 b to perform crystallization and/or liquor exchange between digester 218 and solids recovery system 234 .",
"Zoned slurry concentrator 100 a receives the crude product slurry directly from primary oxidation reactor 210 via line 212 .",
"In zoned slurry concentrator 100 a , the crude product slurry is separated into a liquid-concentrated mixture exiting via line 250 and a solids-concentrated mixture exiting via line 252 .",
"Further, vapor exits zoned slurry concentrator 100 a via line 254 .",
"In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 , line 212 is equivalent to line 118 of FIG. 2 , line 250 is equivalent to line 136 of FIG. 2 , line 252 is equivalent to line 140 of FIG. 2 , and line 254 is equivalent to line 144 of FIG. 2 .",
"Zoned slurry concentrator 100 a of FIG. 4 preferably operates in substantially the same manner described above with reference to the zoned slurry concentrators of FIGS. 2 and 3 .",
"The solids-concentrated mixture exiting zone slurry concentrator 100 a via line 252 is diluted with a dilution liquid in line 256 .",
"This dilution liquid is preferably a clean replacement solvent that replaces the crude mother liquor removed from zoned slurry concentrator 100 a via line 250 .",
"The amount and composition of dilution liquid used to dilute the solids-concentrated mixture is described above with reference to FIG. 2 .",
"The resulting diluted mixture is introduced into digester 218 via line 258 for purification by oxidative digestion.",
"The oxidation-treated slurry exits digester 218 via line 220 and is introduced into zoned slurry concentrator 100 b .",
"In zoned slurry concentrator 100 b , the oxidation-treated slurry is separated into a liquid-concentrated mixture exiting via line 260 and a solids-concentrated mixture exiting via line 262 .",
"Further, vapor exits zoned slurry concentrator 100 b via line 263 .",
"In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 , line 220 is equivalent to line 118 of FIG. 2 , line 260 is equivalent to line 136 of FIG. 2 , line 262 is equivalent to line 140 of FIG. 2 , and line 263 is equivalent to line 144 of FIG. 2 .",
"Zoned slurry concentrator 100 b of FIG. 4 preferably operates in substantially the same manner described above with reference to the zoned slurry concentrators of FIGS. 2 and 3 .",
"The solids-concentrated mixture exiting zone slurry concentrator 100 b via line 162 is diluted with a dilution liquid in line 264 .",
"This dilution liquid is preferably a clean replacement solvent that replaces the oxidation-treated mother liquor removed from zoned slurry concentrator 100 b via line 260 .",
"The amount and composition of dilution liquid used to dilute the solids-concentrated mixture is described above with reference to FIG. 2 .",
"The resulting diluted mixture is introduced into solids recovery system 234 via line 266 for recovery of PTA solids.",
"FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention where zoned slurry concentrator 100 is employed as the initial digester in a process that includes purification by two-step oxidative digestion.",
"In the embodiment of FIG. 5 , primary oxidation reactor 310 and solids recovery system 334 operate in substantially the same manner as discussed above with reference to primary oxidation reactor 10 and solids recovery system 34 of FIG. 1 .",
"However, the system of FIG. 5 employs zoned slurry concentrator 100 to perform initial oxidative digestion, liquor exchange, and/or crystallization of the crude product slurry exiting primary oxidation reactor 310 via line 350 .",
"Further, the system of FIG. 5 employs a final digester 368 for providing further oxidative digestion of the solids exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 .",
"Finally, the system of FIG. 5 employs a crystallization system 372 downstream of final digester 368 and upstream of solids recovery system 334 .",
"Zoned slurry concentrator 100 receives the crude product slurry directly from primary oxidation reactor 310 .",
"In order for oxidative digestion to be carried out in zoned slurry concentrator 100 , an oxidant stream containing molecular oxygen is introduced into zoned slurry concentrator 100 via line 354 .",
"Alternatively, the oxidant stream can be introduced into the crude product slurry upstream of zoned slurry concentrator 100 via line 356 , thereby providing an oxygen-enriched crude slurry in line 352 .",
"As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 , when the oxidant stream is introduced into zoned slurry concentrator 100 , an additional oxidant inlet 160 is provided in zoned slurry concentrator 100 for receiving the oxidant stream.",
"Oxidant inlet 160 preferably discharges the oxidant stream at a location just below the propeller 124 .",
"In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5 , line 354 is equivalent to line 162 of FIGS. 2 and 3 , while line 356 is equivalent to line 164 of FIGS. 2 and 3 .",
"Initial oxidative digestion is carried out in zoned slurry concentrator 100 in a manner and under conditions that are substantially similar to the initial oxidative digestion described above.",
"The initial digested solids-concentrated mixture exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 via line 362 is diluted with a dilution liquid in line 364 to thereby produce a diluted mixture introduced into final digester 368 via line 366 .",
"Final oxidative digestion is carried out in final digester 368 in the manner previously described.",
"The final digested slurry exiting final digester 368 is introduced into crystallization system 372 via line 370 .",
"In crystallization system 372 , solids precipitate due to reduced temperature and pressure—typically in a series of crystallization zones.",
"Typically, the temperature in crystallization system 372 is maintained in the range of from about 30 to about 190° C. The crystallized slurry produced in crystallization system 372 is transported to solids recovery system 334 via line 374 for recovery of the final PTA product.",
"FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention where zoned slurry concentrator 100 is employed as the final digester in a process that includes purification by two-step oxidative digestion.",
"In the embodiment of FIG. 6 , primary oxidation reactor 410 , liquor exchange system 414 , and solids recovery system 434 operate in substantially the same manner as discussed above with reference to primary oxidation reactor 10 , liquor exchange system 14 , and solids recovery system 34 of FIG. 1 .",
"However, the system of FIG. 6 employs zoned slurry concentrator 100 to perform final oxidative digestion, liquor exchange, and/or crystallization of the initial digested slurry exiting initial digester 450 via line 452 .",
"The crude product slurry or liquor-exchanged slurry produced from primary oxidation reactor 410 or liquor exchange system 414 (depending on whether or not liquor exchange system 414 is employed) is introduced into initial digester 450 for initial oxidative digestion.",
"The oxidative digestion in initial digester 450 is carried out in accordance with the previous description.",
"The resulting initial digested slurry exits initial digester 450 via line 452 and is introduced into zoned slurry concentrator 100 for final oxidative digestion.",
"In order for oxidative digestion to be carried out in zoned slurry concentrator 100 , an oxidant stream containing molecular oxygen is introduced into zoned slurry concentrator 100 via line 456 .",
"Alternatively, the oxidant stream can be introduced into the initial digested slurry upstream of zoned slurry concentrator 100 via line 458 , thereby providing an oxygen-enriched slurry in line 454 .",
"As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 , when the oxidant stream is introduced into zoned slurry concentrator 100 , an additional oxidant inlet 160 is provided in zoned slurry concentrator 100 for receiving the oxidant stream.",
"In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6 , line 456 is equivalent to line 162 of FIGS. 2 and 3 , while line 458 is equivalent to line 164 of FIGS. 2 and 3 .",
"Final oxidative digestion is carried out in zoned slurry concentrator 100 in a manner and under conditions that are substantially similar to the final oxidative digestion described above.",
"The final digested solids-concentrated mixture exiting zoned slurry concentrator 100 via line 464 is diluted with a dilution liquid in line 486 to thereby produce a diluted mixture.",
"The diluted mixture is transported to solids recovery system 434 via line 470 for recovery of the final PTA product.",
"The inventors note that for all numerical ranges provided herein, the upper and lower ends of the ranges can be independent of one another.",
"For example, a numerical range of 10 to 100 means greater than 10 and/or less than 100.",
"Thus, a range of 10 to 100 provides support for a claim limitation of greater than 10 (without the upper bound), a claim limitation of less than 100 (without the lower bound), as well as the full 10 to 100 range (with both upper and lower bounds).",
"The inventors also note that, as used herein, “coupled in communication”",
"denotes a direct or indirect connection that permits the flow of solids and/or liquids.",
"For example, the outlet of primary oxidation reactor 10 ( FIG. 1 ) is “coupled in communication”",
"with the inlet of zoned slurry concentrator 100 , even though there is intermediate equipment (e.g., digester 18 ) located therebetween.",
"The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof, but will be understood that variations and modification can be affected within the spirit and scope of the invention."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-036546 filed on Feb. 29, 2016, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a controller, and more specifically, relates to a controller assembly, which enables a plurality of controllers to be arranged in a stacked condition, together with suitably releasing heat generated by loads connected to the controllers.
[0004] Description of the Related Art
[0005] Conventionally, a controller has been used as a robot control device to supply necessary electric power with respect to actuators for the purpose of extending and rotating an arm of the robot, as well as to transmit control signals for performing various operations. In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-175856, a robot controller has been proposed that expands the freedom in installation and placement of the robot without adversely affecting cooling efficiency concerning generation of heat due to operations of the robot. More specifically, a configuration is shown in which heat dissipating fins are arranged in close proximity to a circuit board that makes up a motor driver for driving a robot.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The motor driver that is used in the robot controller of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-175856 is accommodated in the interior of a comparatively large scale main body housing made up from a pair of right and left side plates, a top plate, and a pair of front and rear side plates. Further, from the content depicted in FIG. 1 of the patent document, it can be understood that the structure thereof is applicable to a single main controller. Consequently, there is no possibility for a main controller of this type to originate an idea of controlling a plurality of identical actuators within a limited space, and further, it is difficult to respond to demands for miniaturization.
[0007] Moreover, the installation location for a small scale controller may not be the site where work actually is performed, and in many cases, such a small scale controller is installed in a power distribution board in which the electrical wiring therefor is centrally controlled. However, such a power distribution board does not have enough space for installation of the controller, even though the controller is small in scale, and even if the controller can be installed therein, it is difficult to add or change subsequent controllers.
[0008] On the other hand, if the distance from the power distribution board to the actuators is long, not only is it difficult to arrange cables for supply of power for driving and transmission of control signals, but there also is a disadvantage in that losses occur during the supply of power. In order to avoid such an inconvenience, there has been a demand for a controller which can be disposed in the vicinity of a work site, without requiring the controller to be installed in a power distribution board.
[0009] However, at the work site, a situation generally exists in which coolant liquids, dust, and the like are scattered about and undergo convection. Thus, a new demand has arisen, which requires the controller itself to be provided with a dust-proof and drip-proof structure. However, with a controller for supplying a large current in order to drive the actuators, since a large amount of heat is generated from the electronic components provided in the interior thereof, countermeasures must be taken separately in response to such generation of heat.
[0010] For this reason, for example, if it is attempted to install a plurality of individual controllers within a limited space, it is necessary to consider anew such features as limitations on the installation interval, heat dissipating fans, ventilation openings, etc., and in actuality, it is difficult to achieve a compact size for such a controller and a saving in space.
[0011] The present invention has been devised in order to solve at once problems of this type, and has the object of providing a controller assembly in which a plurality of individual controllers can be arranged in close proximity, and, by suitably releasing, to the exterior, heat that is generated from each of the controllers, cooling efficiency is increased, and the controller assembly can be made economical in terms of space and small in scale.
[0012] In order to solve these problems, the present invention is characterized by a controller assembly including a plurality of controller units connected respectively to actuators, and a heat dissipating unit interposed between the controller units, wherein the heat dissipating unit includes a plurality of heat dissipating protrusions configured to dissipate heat that is generated by heat generating sources of the controller units, to the exterior.
[0013] In accordance with this configuration, since the heat dissipating units are provided with the plurality of heat dissipating protrusions, which provide a widened heat dissipating area, it is possible to effectively dissipate, to the exterior, heat that is generated in each of the controller units, while in addition, since the controller units and the heat dissipating units are directly connected continuously to each other, useless space between both the controller units and the heat dissipating units is eliminated, and saving in space is achieved.
[0014] In the controller assembly of the present invention, the heat dissipating unit may include connectors configured to be connected electrically to respective connectors of the controller units.
[0015] In accordance with this configuration, since connectors for electrical connection with the connectors of the controller units are provided on the heat dissipating units, there is no need to consider the arrangement of external wiring, and an advantage is achieved in that bonding between the heat dissipating units and the controller units is strong and durable while the connection looks good and simple in appearance.
[0016] In the controller assembly of the present invention, the heat dissipating unit may be attachable and detachable with respect to the controller units.
[0017] In accordance with this configuration, since the heat dissipating units are engaged in a detachable manner with each of the controller units, without being limited in the number of the controller units and heat dissipating units that are connected together continuously, maintenance operations thereon are facilitated.
[0018] In the controller assembly of the present invention, each of the controller units and the heat dissipating unit has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, a fitting projection is provided on one surface of each of the controller units and the heat dissipating unit, while a fitting recess is provided on another surface thereof, and the controller units and the heat dissipating unit are connected together continuously by the fitting projection of each of the controller units being fitted into the fitting recess of the heat dissipating unit, and the fitting projection of the heat dissipating unit being fitted into the fitting recess of the controller units.
[0019] In accordance with this structure, since the controller units and the heat dissipating units are connected together continuously by male and female engagement of the fitting projections and the fitting recesses, assembly and disassembly is facilitated since both units can easily be engaged and disengaged with each other, while in addition, at the time that a malfunction is found in a specific controller unit connected continuously to the controller units, an operation can easily be performed to remove and verify only that particular controller unit.
[0020] In the controller assembly of the present invention, a dust-proof or drip-proof sealing member may be provided around the periphery of the fitting projection of each of the controller units and the heat dissipating unit.
[0021] In accordance with this configuration, it is possible to avoid a situation in which fine dust or water droplets that occur in a factory or the like become adhered to circuit boards of the controller units and cause a malfunction therein.
[0022] In the controller assembly of the present invention, openings through which the connectors are exposed may be disposed respectively on inner sides of the fitting projection and the fitting recess of each of the controller units and the heat dissipating unit.
[0023] In accordance with this configuration, since the openings are provided on inner sides of the fitting projections and the fitting recesses for thereby continuously connecting the controller units and the heat dissipating units, and the connectors are provided in facing relation to such openings, an advantage is realized in that the structure can be simplified and reduced in scale, without providing a special installation site for the connectors.
[0024] In the controller assembly of the present invention, one surface of each of the controller units may include a heat dissipating plate, and another surface of the heat dissipating unit may be placed in contact with the heat dissipating plate.
[0025] In accordance with this configuration, due to the fact that the heat dissipating plate, which constitutes one side surface of the controller unit, is disposed in proximity to a circuit board serving as a heat generating source, and the other surface of the heat dissipating unit is placed in direct contact with the heat dissipating plate, the generated heat can be dissipated more effectively and such heat can be transferred to the heat dissipating unit.
[0026] In the controller assembly of the present invention, a heat dissipating sheet may be provided on the other surface of the heat dissipating unit, and the heat dissipating sheet may be placed in contact with the heat dissipating plate.
[0027] In accordance with this configuration, the side plate of the controller unit is constituted by the heat dissipating plate, and further, the heat dissipating sheet provided on the heat dissipating unit is arranged by being pressed against the heat dissipating plate. Therefore, dissipation of heat generated in the controller units can be more effectively achieved.
[0028] In the controller assembly of the present invention, a recessed portion may be provided on the other surface of the heat dissipating unit, and the heat dissipating sheet may be disposed in the recessed portion.
[0029] In accordance with this configuration, since the heat dissipating sheet is disposed in the recessed portion, the thickness of the heat dissipating sheet does not present an obstacle to continuously connecting the heat dissipating units and the controller units.
[0030] According to the present invention, a plurality of controller units can be arranged in close proximity, and together therewith, by suitably releasing, to the exterior, heat generated in each of the controller units by the heat dissipating units disposed in contact with the controller units, cooling efficiency in relation to the controller units can be increased, and it is possible to obtain a controller assembly that is economical in terms of space and small in scale.
[0031] The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0032] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a condition of use of a controller assembly according to the present invention;
[0033] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a connection relationship between the controller assembly and an electric actuator;
[0034] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a first controller unit that constitutes part of the controller assembly;
[0035] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a condition in which the first controller unit is viewed from a side opposite to the direction depicted in FIG. 3 ;
[0036] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a heat dissipating unit that is used in the controller assembly;
[0037] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a condition in which the heat dissipating unit is viewed from a side opposite to the direction depicted in FIG. 5 ; and
[0038] FIG. 7 is a front view of the heat dissipating unit illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 .
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0039] A preferred embodiment of a controller assembly according to the present invention will be presented and described in detailed below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0040] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a condition of use of a controller assembly according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where the controller assembly according to the present embodiment is connected to an electric actuator.
[0041] The controller assembly 10 according to the present embodiment basically is constituted by first controller units 20 , a second controller unit 60 that is shorter in a longitudinal direction than the first controller units 20 , an input unit 70 mounted on a side surface of the second controller unit 60 , heat dissipating units 80 joined to the first controller units 20 , and an end block 90 that is pressed against one of the heat dissipating units 80 from an outer side of the controller assembly to thereby tighten the first controller units 20 , the second controller unit 60 , the heat dissipating units 80 , and the input unit 70 together by non-illustrated tie rods. As can be understood easily from FIG. 1 , the controller assembly 10 is installed in a desired location by a rail 100 .
[0042] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a connected state where electric actuators 110 a, 110 b are connected with the controller assembly 10 . Power and control signals are transmitted to the actuators from the first controller units 20 and the second controller unit 60 , whereby non-illustrated motors of the electric actuators 110 a, 110 b are driven, so that tables 170 a, 170 b are advanced or retracted through ball screws.
[0043] The various constituent elements of the controller assembly 10 , which is constructed in the foregoing manner, will be described in detail below.
[0044] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a first controller unit 20 that constitutes part of the controller assembly 10 . The first controller unit 20 has an elongated rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the first controller unit 20 contains therein a circuit board 22 on which electric circuit components are mounted for controlling operation of the electric actuators 110 a and 110 b. A first connector 24 is provided on the circuit board 22 in order to establish electrical connection with another first controller unit 20 . A portion of the circuit board 22 and the first connector 24 are exposed to the exterior from a heat dissipating plate 28 that constitutes part of a rectangular parallelepiped shaped housing 26 of the first controller unit 20 . More specifically, the heat dissipating plate 28 is made of a member that is excellent in terms of thermal conductivity, and has an elliptical opening 30 located below a central portion thereof. In addition, an elliptical shaped fitting projection 32 is provided in surrounding relation to the opening 30 . The first connector 24 is exposed to the exterior through the opening 30 . An elliptical shaped annular groove is disposed around the fitting projection 32 , and an o-ring 34 (sealing member) is fitted in the groove.
[0045] As will be discussed later, the o-ring 34 serves to ensure a dust-proof and drip-proof state when the first controller unit 20 is joined to another first controller unit 20 or to the second controller unit 60 , and further, when the first controller unit 20 is joined to the heat dissipating unit 80 . More specifically, although the circuit board 22 is exposed to the exterior through the opening 30 , by the fitting projection 32 , when the first controller unit 20 is joined by the o-ring 34 with another controller unit or with a heat dissipating unit, introduction of dust and water vapor, which results in electrical damage to the circuit board 22 , is avoided.
[0046] A cover 36 is disposed on an upper portion of the housing 26 and is capable of being opened and closed freely. By opening the cover 36 , it is possible to perform settings for a non-illustrated rotary switch or the like, and a switch group, not shown, which are attached to the circuit board 22 . A drive power source terminal 38 a for supplying power to the electric actuators 110 a and 110 b shown in FIG. 2 , a position information input terminal 38 b for inputting output signals of sensors that detect the direction of movement and the movement distance of the tables 170 a and 170 b that make up the electric actuators 110 a and 110 b, and a contact input terminal 38 c for inputting the outputs of auto switches or the like that are mounted on the electric actuators 110 a and 110 b are provided on one narrow side surface of the housing 26 .
[0047] In FIG. 3 , reference numerals 40 a and 40 b indicate light emitting elements for enabling visual confirmation of the operating states of the first controller unit 20 from the exterior, and reference numerals 42 a and 42 b indicate penetrating holes through which non-illustrated tie rods are inserted in order to integrate as a unitary structure the controller assembly 10 shown in FIG. 1 .
[0048] In this case, a rail insertion recess 44 through which the rail 100 is inserted is provided below the fitting projection 32 of the housing 26 that makes up the first controller unit 20 , and grooves 48 a, 48 b into which flanges 46 a, 46 b of the rail 100 are fitted are provided at both end portions of the rail insertion recess 44 .
[0049] As shown in FIG. 4 , on an opposite side from the heat dissipating plate 28 in the first controller unit 20 , an elliptical shaped fitting recess 50 , which is of the same size as the fitting projection 32 , is formed at a position corresponding to the opening 30 provided in the heat dissipating plate 28 , together with providing a second connector 52 which is positioned on an opposite side from the first connector 24 . More specifically, the fitting recess 50 serves as an opening corresponding to the opening 30 , and as with the first connector 24 , the second connector 52 is exposed to the exterior through the opening, which is the inner side of the fitting recess 50 . In the embodiment, assuming that the first connector 24 is a male connector, the second connector 52 functions as a female connector, and at a time that the first connector 24 is joined to another first controller unit 20 , an electrical connection is established by fitting with the female type second connector 52 .
[0050] The second controller unit 60 basically is made up from the same constituent elements as the first controller unit 20 , but differs therefrom in that the length in the longitudinal direction of the second controller unit 60 is shorter than that of the first controller unit 20 . Accordingly, the same reference characters are used to designate the same constituent elements, and detailed description of such features is omitted.
[0051] As shown in FIG. 1 , the input unit 70 is connected to the second controller unit 60 . Power supply terminals 72 a to 72 c for inputting power are disposed in the input unit 70 . The input unit 70 belongs to the conventional art, and therefore, a detailed description of the input unit 70 will be omitted herein.
[0052] Next, a description will be given of the heat dissipating unit 80 , which is disposed in the controller assembly 10 so as to be in close contact with the first controller unit 20 .
[0053] As shown in FIG. 5 , the heat dissipating unit 80 is made up from a rectangular parallelepiped body having substantially the same length in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, although having a different thickness than that of the first controller unit 20 . Preferably, the heat dissipating unit 80 is formed integrally from a material that is excellent in terms of the heat dissipating properties thereof, for example, a metal material such as aluminum or copper, a resin material, etc. On one surface of the heat dissipating unit 80 , a large number of heat dissipating protrusions 92 having trapezoidal shapes in cross section are disposed continuously in alignment along lines in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction thereof. In the heat dissipating protrusions 92 , first heat dissipating grooves 94 are formed vertically between respective adjacent heat dissipating projections 92 , and second heat dissipating grooves 96 are further provided which extend in a horizontal direction (see FIG. 7 ). Moreover, in order to provide a penetrating hole 98 a corresponding to the penetrating hole 42 a of the first controller unit 20 , a projection 99 is provided, which has the same height as that of the heat dissipating protrusions 92 , but is greater in length in the horizontal and vertical directions than the heat dissipating protrusions 92 .
[0054] A rectangular connecting section 120 is provided on a side of the heat dissipating unit 80 where the heat dissipating protrusions 92 are disposed. Although the connecting section 120 may be formed integrally with the heat dissipating protrusions 92 , alternatively the connecting section 120 may be formed separately from the heat dissipating protrusions 92 . In that case, a space in which the connecting section 120 is fitted is provided in the heat dissipating unit 80 , such that the connecting section 120 may be incorporated therein. The connecting section 120 is provided with a penetrating hole 98 b therein that corresponds to the penetrating hole 42 b of the first controller unit 20 , together with a fitting projection 122 that corresponds to the fitting projection 32 of the first controller unit 20 .
[0055] As with the case of the fitting projection 32 , an o-ring 124 (sealing member) is fitted around the periphery of the fitting projection 122 . A flat plate-shaped attachment section 128 is provided in an opening 126 located on an inner side of the fitting projection 122 . A third connector 130 , which corresponds to the first connector 24 of the first controller unit 20 , is disposed on the attachment section 128 . The first connector 24 and the third connector 130 have substantially the same structure, and therefore, detailed description of the third connector 130 is omitted.
[0056] FIG. 6 is a view showing a configuration of the heat dissipating unit 80 on a side opposite to that depicted in FIG. 5 . A fitting recess 132 having a size corresponding to the fitting recess 50 of the first controller unit 20 is provided on a rear surface side of the heat dissipating unit 80 . The inner side of the fitting recess 132 also serves as an opening corresponding to the opening 126 provided on an inner side of the fitting projection 122 . A fourth connector 134 is exposed to the exterior by projecting outwardly from the flat plate-shaped attachment section 128 , which is disposed on an inner side of the fitting recess 132 . The fourth connector 134 has a size and shape that correspond to those of the second connector 52 that is located on the rear side of the first controller unit 20 . A recessed portion 136 with a widely formed L-shape is disposed above the fitting recess 132 of the heat dissipating unit 80 .
[0057] Next, a first heat dissipating sheet 138 a and a second heat dissipating sheet 138 b are arranged in the recessed portion 136 . The thicknesses of the first heat dissipating sheet 138 a and the second heat dissipating sheet 138 b are slightly greater than the depth of the recessed portion 136 , and the heat dissipating sheets 138 a, 138 b exhibit excellent elasticity. The heat dissipating sheets 138 a, 138 b are made of a material having high thermal conductivity, and as shown in FIG. 1 , when the heat dissipating unit 80 and the first controller unit 20 are combined, the heat dissipating sheets 138 a, 138 b are pressed against the heat dissipating plate 28 , receive heat from the circuit board 22 that is transmitted through the heat dissipating plate 28 , and transfer such heat to the side of the heat dissipating protrusions 92 . Therefore, preferably, the first heat dissipating sheet 138 a and the second heat dissipating sheet 138 b are arranged so as to correspond to positions where heat is most likely to be generated on the circuit board 22 in the interior of the first controller unit 20 . Alternatively, in the recessed portion 136 , only one heat dissipating sheet may be disposed at a position where heat is most likely to be generated. The third connector 130 corresponds to the first connector 24 of the first controller unit 20 , while the fourth connector 134 corresponds to the second connector 52 , and the first connector 24 and the third connector 130 have a male/female relationship with the second connector 52 and the fourth connector 134 . In FIGS. 5 to 7 , reference numeral 140 indicates a recess corresponding to the rail insertion recess 44 of the first controller unit 20 , whereas reference numerals 142 a and 142 b indicate grooves corresponding to the grooves 48 a and 48 b of the rail insertion recess 44 .
[0058] Lastly, a description will be given concerning the end block 90 . As can be understood from FIG. 1 , the end block 90 is formed integrally from a metal material such as aluminum, a resin material, etc., having a thinner upper portion and a thicker lower portion, and is disposed on one side surface of the heat dissipating unit 80 . In particular, by covering the connecting section 120 of the heat dissipating unit 80 , the opening 126 thereof is closed. For this reason, although illustration thereof is omitted, preferably, a recess is provided having the same size as the opening 126 and into which the fitting projection 122 can be fitted. The end block 90 is provided with a rail insertion recess 150 for attachment to the rail 100 , and together therewith, rail attachment grooves 152 a, 152 b into which the flanges 46 a, 46 b of the rail 100 can be fitted are provided at both end portions of the rail insertion recess 150 in a widthwise direction thereof. In the figure, reference numeral 154 a indicates a penetrating hole that corresponds to the penetrating hole 98 a of the heat dissipating unit 80 , whereas reference numeral 154 b indicates a penetrating hole that corresponds to the penetrating hole 98 b of the heat dissipating unit 80 .
[0059] The first controller units 20 , the second controller unit 60 , the input unit 70 , and the heat dissipating units 80 , which are constituted in the above manner, are assembled together in the following manner.
[0060] At first, using non-illustrated screws or the like, the rail 100 is fixed in a location where the controller assembly 10 is to be assembled, and thereafter, the input unit 70 , the second controller unit 60 , the first controller unit 20 , the heat dissipating unit 80 , the first controller unit 20 , and the heat dissipating unit 80 are inserted onto the flanges 46 a, 46 b of the rail 100 in this order, and finally, the end block 90 is inserted and positioned on the rail 100 .
[0061] Next, tie rods (not shown) are inserted through the penetrating holes 154 a, 154 b of the end block 90 , the penetrating holes 98 a, 98 b of the heat dissipating units 80 , the penetrating holes 42 a, 42 b of the first controller unit 20 , non-illustrated penetrating holes of the second controller unit 60 , and non-illustrated penetrating holes of the input unit 70 , and by screw-engagement of nuts on the opposite side, the first controller units 20 , the second controller unit 60 , the heat dissipating units 80 , the input unit 70 , and the end block 90 are fastened together in an integral fashion.
[0062] In addition, ends of cables 160 are connected respectively to the drive power source terminal 38 a, the position information input terminal 38 b, and the contact input terminal 38 c of the first controller unit 20 , and to the drive power source terminal 38 a, the position information input terminal 38 b, and the contact input terminal 38 c of the second controller unit 60 , whereas the electric actuators 110 a, 110 b are connected to other ends of the cables 160 . In this case, preferably, a relatively large scale electric actuator 110 a is connected to the first controller unit 20 , whereas a relatively small scale electric actuator 110 b is connected to the second controller unit 60 . Since the loads of the large scale electric actuator 110 a and the small scale electric actuator 110 b differ from each other, the amount of heat generated thereby also differs, and in accordance with such a difference in the amount of generated heat, a large scale heat dissipating unit is connected to the first controller unit 20 . On the other hand, with respect to the second controller unit 60 which generates a relatively small amount of heat, a heat dissipating unit is not mounted thereon, but rather, the input unit 70 is connected thereto directly.
[0063] Upon completion of the preparatory steps described above, power is supplied to the power supply terminals 72 a to 72 c of the input unit 70 , control signals are transmitted via the first controller units 20 and the second controller unit 60 , and the electric actuators 110 a and 110 b are driven and controlled. More specifically, electrical power is supplied to the electric actuators 110 a and 110 b from the drive power source terminal 38 a, and when non-illustrated motors thereof are driven, ball screws connected to the drive shafts of the motors undergo rotation, and by displacement of the ball nuts that are screwed onto the ball screws, the tables 170 a and 170 b, which are connected to the ball nuts, are displaced. The movement directions and the amount of movement of the tables 170 a and 170 b are detected by non-illustrated detection devices (sensors), information thereof is supplied from the position information input terminal 38 b to the circuit boards 22 of the first controller unit 20 and the second controller unit 60 , and electrical processing is performed. As a result, the operating states of the electric actuators 110 a and 110 b can be grasped.
[0064] When the electric actuators 110 a and 110 b are energized in this manner, due to the electric power that is supplied while the electric actuators 110 a and 110 b are controlled by the first controller unit 20 and the second controller unit 60 , heat is generated in the circuitry, etc., of the circuit boards 22 . Such generated heat, for example, is released to the exterior through the heat dissipating unit 80 disposed in contact with the heat dissipating plate 28 . More specifically, in the heat dissipating unit 80 , heat is released via the large number of heat dissipating protrusions 92 . In particular, since the heat dissipating protrusions 92 have trapezoidal shapes in cross section, the heat dissipation area is expanded, thus further enhancing the heat dissipating effect.
[0065] In the foregoing manner, according to the present embodiment, the heat dissipating units are disposed on the controller units that drive and control the electric actuators, and the heat dissipating units efficiently dissipate heat that is generated in the controllers themselves, to the exterior. In addition, since a large number of controller units can be disposed continuously without restricting the number of controller units, the controller assembly, which is superior in terms of the heat dissipating effect, can be obtained without requiring an increase in the size of the installation space.
[0066] Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the controller assembly of the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment, and it goes without saying that various design modifications may be made to the embodiment without departing from the essential scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.
[0067] For example, according to the present embodiment, the heat dissipating protrusions of the heat dissipating unit are formed with trapezoidal shapes in cross section. However, without concern to the trapezoidal shapes thereof, it goes without saying that, also in the case that the heat dissipating area is enlarged by constituting the heat dissipating protrusions in truncated conical shapes or other polygonal shapes, the same advantages and effects can be obtained. | A controller assembly includes a plurality of controller units, and a heat dissipating unit interposed between the controller units. Male and female connectors are disposed in the controller units, and the connectors thereof are fitted to female and male connectors of the heat dissipating unit to thereby establish electrical contact therebetween. Upon driving electric actuators, heat generated in circuit boards of the controller units is dissipated to the exterior through a plurality of heat dissipating protrusions provided on the heat dissipating unit, so that heat generating sources of the circuit boards are cooled. | Provide a concise summary of the essential information conveyed in the given context. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-036546 filed on Feb. 29, 2016, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to a controller, and more specifically, relates to a controller assembly, which enables a plurality of controllers to be arranged in a stacked condition, together with suitably releasing heat generated by loads connected to the controllers.",
"[0004] Description of the Related Art [0005] Conventionally, a controller has been used as a robot control device to supply necessary electric power with respect to actuators for the purpose of extending and rotating an arm of the robot, as well as to transmit control signals for performing various operations.",
"In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-175856, a robot controller has been proposed that expands the freedom in installation and placement of the robot without adversely affecting cooling efficiency concerning generation of heat due to operations of the robot.",
"More specifically, a configuration is shown in which heat dissipating fins are arranged in close proximity to a circuit board that makes up a motor driver for driving a robot.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0006] The motor driver that is used in the robot controller of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2007-175856 is accommodated in the interior of a comparatively large scale main body housing made up from a pair of right and left side plates, a top plate, and a pair of front and rear side plates.",
"Further, from the content depicted in FIG. 1 of the patent document, it can be understood that the structure thereof is applicable to a single main controller.",
"Consequently, there is no possibility for a main controller of this type to originate an idea of controlling a plurality of identical actuators within a limited space, and further, it is difficult to respond to demands for miniaturization.",
"[0007] Moreover, the installation location for a small scale controller may not be the site where work actually is performed, and in many cases, such a small scale controller is installed in a power distribution board in which the electrical wiring therefor is centrally controlled.",
"However, such a power distribution board does not have enough space for installation of the controller, even though the controller is small in scale, and even if the controller can be installed therein, it is difficult to add or change subsequent controllers.",
"[0008] On the other hand, if the distance from the power distribution board to the actuators is long, not only is it difficult to arrange cables for supply of power for driving and transmission of control signals, but there also is a disadvantage in that losses occur during the supply of power.",
"In order to avoid such an inconvenience, there has been a demand for a controller which can be disposed in the vicinity of a work site, without requiring the controller to be installed in a power distribution board.",
"[0009] However, at the work site, a situation generally exists in which coolant liquids, dust, and the like are scattered about and undergo convection.",
"Thus, a new demand has arisen, which requires the controller itself to be provided with a dust-proof and drip-proof structure.",
"However, with a controller for supplying a large current in order to drive the actuators, since a large amount of heat is generated from the electronic components provided in the interior thereof, countermeasures must be taken separately in response to such generation of heat.",
"[0010] For this reason, for example, if it is attempted to install a plurality of individual controllers within a limited space, it is necessary to consider anew such features as limitations on the installation interval, heat dissipating fans, ventilation openings, etc.",
", and in actuality, it is difficult to achieve a compact size for such a controller and a saving in space.",
"[0011] The present invention has been devised in order to solve at once problems of this type, and has the object of providing a controller assembly in which a plurality of individual controllers can be arranged in close proximity, and, by suitably releasing, to the exterior, heat that is generated from each of the controllers, cooling efficiency is increased, and the controller assembly can be made economical in terms of space and small in scale.",
"[0012] In order to solve these problems, the present invention is characterized by a controller assembly including a plurality of controller units connected respectively to actuators, and a heat dissipating unit interposed between the controller units, wherein the heat dissipating unit includes a plurality of heat dissipating protrusions configured to dissipate heat that is generated by heat generating sources of the controller units, to the exterior.",
"[0013] In accordance with this configuration, since the heat dissipating units are provided with the plurality of heat dissipating protrusions, which provide a widened heat dissipating area, it is possible to effectively dissipate, to the exterior, heat that is generated in each of the controller units, while in addition, since the controller units and the heat dissipating units are directly connected continuously to each other, useless space between both the controller units and the heat dissipating units is eliminated, and saving in space is achieved.",
"[0014] In the controller assembly of the present invention, the heat dissipating unit may include connectors configured to be connected electrically to respective connectors of the controller units.",
"[0015] In accordance with this configuration, since connectors for electrical connection with the connectors of the controller units are provided on the heat dissipating units, there is no need to consider the arrangement of external wiring, and an advantage is achieved in that bonding between the heat dissipating units and the controller units is strong and durable while the connection looks good and simple in appearance.",
"[0016] In the controller assembly of the present invention, the heat dissipating unit may be attachable and detachable with respect to the controller units.",
"[0017] In accordance with this configuration, since the heat dissipating units are engaged in a detachable manner with each of the controller units, without being limited in the number of the controller units and heat dissipating units that are connected together continuously, maintenance operations thereon are facilitated.",
"[0018] In the controller assembly of the present invention, each of the controller units and the heat dissipating unit has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, a fitting projection is provided on one surface of each of the controller units and the heat dissipating unit, while a fitting recess is provided on another surface thereof, and the controller units and the heat dissipating unit are connected together continuously by the fitting projection of each of the controller units being fitted into the fitting recess of the heat dissipating unit, and the fitting projection of the heat dissipating unit being fitted into the fitting recess of the controller units.",
"[0019] In accordance with this structure, since the controller units and the heat dissipating units are connected together continuously by male and female engagement of the fitting projections and the fitting recesses, assembly and disassembly is facilitated since both units can easily be engaged and disengaged with each other, while in addition, at the time that a malfunction is found in a specific controller unit connected continuously to the controller units, an operation can easily be performed to remove and verify only that particular controller unit.",
"[0020] In the controller assembly of the present invention, a dust-proof or drip-proof sealing member may be provided around the periphery of the fitting projection of each of the controller units and the heat dissipating unit.",
"[0021] In accordance with this configuration, it is possible to avoid a situation in which fine dust or water droplets that occur in a factory or the like become adhered to circuit boards of the controller units and cause a malfunction therein.",
"[0022] In the controller assembly of the present invention, openings through which the connectors are exposed may be disposed respectively on inner sides of the fitting projection and the fitting recess of each of the controller units and the heat dissipating unit.",
"[0023] In accordance with this configuration, since the openings are provided on inner sides of the fitting projections and the fitting recesses for thereby continuously connecting the controller units and the heat dissipating units, and the connectors are provided in facing relation to such openings, an advantage is realized in that the structure can be simplified and reduced in scale, without providing a special installation site for the connectors.",
"[0024] In the controller assembly of the present invention, one surface of each of the controller units may include a heat dissipating plate, and another surface of the heat dissipating unit may be placed in contact with the heat dissipating plate.",
"[0025] In accordance with this configuration, due to the fact that the heat dissipating plate, which constitutes one side surface of the controller unit, is disposed in proximity to a circuit board serving as a heat generating source, and the other surface of the heat dissipating unit is placed in direct contact with the heat dissipating plate, the generated heat can be dissipated more effectively and such heat can be transferred to the heat dissipating unit.",
"[0026] In the controller assembly of the present invention, a heat dissipating sheet may be provided on the other surface of the heat dissipating unit, and the heat dissipating sheet may be placed in contact with the heat dissipating plate.",
"[0027] In accordance with this configuration, the side plate of the controller unit is constituted by the heat dissipating plate, and further, the heat dissipating sheet provided on the heat dissipating unit is arranged by being pressed against the heat dissipating plate.",
"Therefore, dissipation of heat generated in the controller units can be more effectively achieved.",
"[0028] In the controller assembly of the present invention, a recessed portion may be provided on the other surface of the heat dissipating unit, and the heat dissipating sheet may be disposed in the recessed portion.",
"[0029] In accordance with this configuration, since the heat dissipating sheet is disposed in the recessed portion, the thickness of the heat dissipating sheet does not present an obstacle to continuously connecting the heat dissipating units and the controller units.",
"[0030] According to the present invention, a plurality of controller units can be arranged in close proximity, and together therewith, by suitably releasing, to the exterior, heat generated in each of the controller units by the heat dissipating units disposed in contact with the controller units, cooling efficiency in relation to the controller units can be increased, and it is possible to obtain a controller assembly that is economical in terms of space and small in scale.",
"[0031] The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0032] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a condition of use of a controller assembly according to the present invention;",
"[0033] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a connection relationship between the controller assembly and an electric actuator;",
"[0034] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a first controller unit that constitutes part of the controller assembly;",
"[0035] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a condition in which the first controller unit is viewed from a side opposite to the direction depicted in FIG. 3 ;",
"[0036] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a heat dissipating unit that is used in the controller assembly;",
"[0037] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a condition in which the heat dissipating unit is viewed from a side opposite to the direction depicted in FIG. 5 ;",
"and [0038] FIG. 7 is a front view of the heat dissipating unit illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 .",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0039] A preferred embodiment of a controller assembly according to the present invention will be presented and described in detailed below with reference to the accompanying drawings.",
"[0040] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a condition of use of a controller assembly according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where the controller assembly according to the present embodiment is connected to an electric actuator.",
"[0041] The controller assembly 10 according to the present embodiment basically is constituted by first controller units 20 , a second controller unit 60 that is shorter in a longitudinal direction than the first controller units 20 , an input unit 70 mounted on a side surface of the second controller unit 60 , heat dissipating units 80 joined to the first controller units 20 , and an end block 90 that is pressed against one of the heat dissipating units 80 from an outer side of the controller assembly to thereby tighten the first controller units 20 , the second controller unit 60 , the heat dissipating units 80 , and the input unit 70 together by non-illustrated tie rods.",
"As can be understood easily from FIG. 1 , the controller assembly 10 is installed in a desired location by a rail 100 .",
"[0042] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a connected state where electric actuators 110 a, 110 b are connected with the controller assembly 10 .",
"Power and control signals are transmitted to the actuators from the first controller units 20 and the second controller unit 60 , whereby non-illustrated motors of the electric actuators 110 a, 110 b are driven, so that tables 170 a, 170 b are advanced or retracted through ball screws.",
"[0043] The various constituent elements of the controller assembly 10 , which is constructed in the foregoing manner, will be described in detail below.",
"[0044] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a first controller unit 20 that constitutes part of the controller assembly 10 .",
"The first controller unit 20 has an elongated rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the first controller unit 20 contains therein a circuit board 22 on which electric circuit components are mounted for controlling operation of the electric actuators 110 a and 110 b. A first connector 24 is provided on the circuit board 22 in order to establish electrical connection with another first controller unit 20 .",
"A portion of the circuit board 22 and the first connector 24 are exposed to the exterior from a heat dissipating plate 28 that constitutes part of a rectangular parallelepiped shaped housing 26 of the first controller unit 20 .",
"More specifically, the heat dissipating plate 28 is made of a member that is excellent in terms of thermal conductivity, and has an elliptical opening 30 located below a central portion thereof.",
"In addition, an elliptical shaped fitting projection 32 is provided in surrounding relation to the opening 30 .",
"The first connector 24 is exposed to the exterior through the opening 30 .",
"An elliptical shaped annular groove is disposed around the fitting projection 32 , and an o-ring 34 (sealing member) is fitted in the groove.",
"[0045] As will be discussed later, the o-ring 34 serves to ensure a dust-proof and drip-proof state when the first controller unit 20 is joined to another first controller unit 20 or to the second controller unit 60 , and further, when the first controller unit 20 is joined to the heat dissipating unit 80 .",
"More specifically, although the circuit board 22 is exposed to the exterior through the opening 30 , by the fitting projection 32 , when the first controller unit 20 is joined by the o-ring 34 with another controller unit or with a heat dissipating unit, introduction of dust and water vapor, which results in electrical damage to the circuit board 22 , is avoided.",
"[0046] A cover 36 is disposed on an upper portion of the housing 26 and is capable of being opened and closed freely.",
"By opening the cover 36 , it is possible to perform settings for a non-illustrated rotary switch or the like, and a switch group, not shown, which are attached to the circuit board 22 .",
"A drive power source terminal 38 a for supplying power to the electric actuators 110 a and 110 b shown in FIG. 2 , a position information input terminal 38 b for inputting output signals of sensors that detect the direction of movement and the movement distance of the tables 170 a and 170 b that make up the electric actuators 110 a and 110 b, and a contact input terminal 38 c for inputting the outputs of auto switches or the like that are mounted on the electric actuators 110 a and 110 b are provided on one narrow side surface of the housing 26 .",
"[0047] In FIG. 3 , reference numerals 40 a and 40 b indicate light emitting elements for enabling visual confirmation of the operating states of the first controller unit 20 from the exterior, and reference numerals 42 a and 42 b indicate penetrating holes through which non-illustrated tie rods are inserted in order to integrate as a unitary structure the controller assembly 10 shown in FIG. 1 .",
"[0048] In this case, a rail insertion recess 44 through which the rail 100 is inserted is provided below the fitting projection 32 of the housing 26 that makes up the first controller unit 20 , and grooves 48 a, 48 b into which flanges 46 a, 46 b of the rail 100 are fitted are provided at both end portions of the rail insertion recess 44 .",
"[0049] As shown in FIG. 4 , on an opposite side from the heat dissipating plate 28 in the first controller unit 20 , an elliptical shaped fitting recess 50 , which is of the same size as the fitting projection 32 , is formed at a position corresponding to the opening 30 provided in the heat dissipating plate 28 , together with providing a second connector 52 which is positioned on an opposite side from the first connector 24 .",
"More specifically, the fitting recess 50 serves as an opening corresponding to the opening 30 , and as with the first connector 24 , the second connector 52 is exposed to the exterior through the opening, which is the inner side of the fitting recess 50 .",
"In the embodiment, assuming that the first connector 24 is a male connector, the second connector 52 functions as a female connector, and at a time that the first connector 24 is joined to another first controller unit 20 , an electrical connection is established by fitting with the female type second connector 52 .",
"[0050] The second controller unit 60 basically is made up from the same constituent elements as the first controller unit 20 , but differs therefrom in that the length in the longitudinal direction of the second controller unit 60 is shorter than that of the first controller unit 20 .",
"Accordingly, the same reference characters are used to designate the same constituent elements, and detailed description of such features is omitted.",
"[0051] As shown in FIG. 1 , the input unit 70 is connected to the second controller unit 60 .",
"Power supply terminals 72 a to 72 c for inputting power are disposed in the input unit 70 .",
"The input unit 70 belongs to the conventional art, and therefore, a detailed description of the input unit 70 will be omitted herein.",
"[0052] Next, a description will be given of the heat dissipating unit 80 , which is disposed in the controller assembly 10 so as to be in close contact with the first controller unit 20 .",
"[0053] As shown in FIG. 5 , the heat dissipating unit 80 is made up from a rectangular parallelepiped body having substantially the same length in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, although having a different thickness than that of the first controller unit 20 .",
"Preferably, the heat dissipating unit 80 is formed integrally from a material that is excellent in terms of the heat dissipating properties thereof, for example, a metal material such as aluminum or copper, a resin material, etc.",
"On one surface of the heat dissipating unit 80 , a large number of heat dissipating protrusions 92 having trapezoidal shapes in cross section are disposed continuously in alignment along lines in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction thereof.",
"In the heat dissipating protrusions 92 , first heat dissipating grooves 94 are formed vertically between respective adjacent heat dissipating projections 92 , and second heat dissipating grooves 96 are further provided which extend in a horizontal direction (see FIG. 7 ).",
"Moreover, in order to provide a penetrating hole 98 a corresponding to the penetrating hole 42 a of the first controller unit 20 , a projection 99 is provided, which has the same height as that of the heat dissipating protrusions 92 , but is greater in length in the horizontal and vertical directions than the heat dissipating protrusions 92 .",
"[0054] A rectangular connecting section 120 is provided on a side of the heat dissipating unit 80 where the heat dissipating protrusions 92 are disposed.",
"Although the connecting section 120 may be formed integrally with the heat dissipating protrusions 92 , alternatively the connecting section 120 may be formed separately from the heat dissipating protrusions 92 .",
"In that case, a space in which the connecting section 120 is fitted is provided in the heat dissipating unit 80 , such that the connecting section 120 may be incorporated therein.",
"The connecting section 120 is provided with a penetrating hole 98 b therein that corresponds to the penetrating hole 42 b of the first controller unit 20 , together with a fitting projection 122 that corresponds to the fitting projection 32 of the first controller unit 20 .",
"[0055] As with the case of the fitting projection 32 , an o-ring 124 (sealing member) is fitted around the periphery of the fitting projection 122 .",
"A flat plate-shaped attachment section 128 is provided in an opening 126 located on an inner side of the fitting projection 122 .",
"A third connector 130 , which corresponds to the first connector 24 of the first controller unit 20 , is disposed on the attachment section 128 .",
"The first connector 24 and the third connector 130 have substantially the same structure, and therefore, detailed description of the third connector 130 is omitted.",
"[0056] FIG. 6 is a view showing a configuration of the heat dissipating unit 80 on a side opposite to that depicted in FIG. 5 .",
"A fitting recess 132 having a size corresponding to the fitting recess 50 of the first controller unit 20 is provided on a rear surface side of the heat dissipating unit 80 .",
"The inner side of the fitting recess 132 also serves as an opening corresponding to the opening 126 provided on an inner side of the fitting projection 122 .",
"A fourth connector 134 is exposed to the exterior by projecting outwardly from the flat plate-shaped attachment section 128 , which is disposed on an inner side of the fitting recess 132 .",
"The fourth connector 134 has a size and shape that correspond to those of the second connector 52 that is located on the rear side of the first controller unit 20 .",
"A recessed portion 136 with a widely formed L-shape is disposed above the fitting recess 132 of the heat dissipating unit 80 .",
"[0057] Next, a first heat dissipating sheet 138 a and a second heat dissipating sheet 138 b are arranged in the recessed portion 136 .",
"The thicknesses of the first heat dissipating sheet 138 a and the second heat dissipating sheet 138 b are slightly greater than the depth of the recessed portion 136 , and the heat dissipating sheets 138 a, 138 b exhibit excellent elasticity.",
"The heat dissipating sheets 138 a, 138 b are made of a material having high thermal conductivity, and as shown in FIG. 1 , when the heat dissipating unit 80 and the first controller unit 20 are combined, the heat dissipating sheets 138 a, 138 b are pressed against the heat dissipating plate 28 , receive heat from the circuit board 22 that is transmitted through the heat dissipating plate 28 , and transfer such heat to the side of the heat dissipating protrusions 92 .",
"Therefore, preferably, the first heat dissipating sheet 138 a and the second heat dissipating sheet 138 b are arranged so as to correspond to positions where heat is most likely to be generated on the circuit board 22 in the interior of the first controller unit 20 .",
"Alternatively, in the recessed portion 136 , only one heat dissipating sheet may be disposed at a position where heat is most likely to be generated.",
"The third connector 130 corresponds to the first connector 24 of the first controller unit 20 , while the fourth connector 134 corresponds to the second connector 52 , and the first connector 24 and the third connector 130 have a male/female relationship with the second connector 52 and the fourth connector 134 .",
"In FIGS. 5 to 7 , reference numeral 140 indicates a recess corresponding to the rail insertion recess 44 of the first controller unit 20 , whereas reference numerals 142 a and 142 b indicate grooves corresponding to the grooves 48 a and 48 b of the rail insertion recess 44 .",
"[0058] Lastly, a description will be given concerning the end block 90 .",
"As can be understood from FIG. 1 , the end block 90 is formed integrally from a metal material such as aluminum, a resin material, etc.",
", having a thinner upper portion and a thicker lower portion, and is disposed on one side surface of the heat dissipating unit 80 .",
"In particular, by covering the connecting section 120 of the heat dissipating unit 80 , the opening 126 thereof is closed.",
"For this reason, although illustration thereof is omitted, preferably, a recess is provided having the same size as the opening 126 and into which the fitting projection 122 can be fitted.",
"The end block 90 is provided with a rail insertion recess 150 for attachment to the rail 100 , and together therewith, rail attachment grooves 152 a, 152 b into which the flanges 46 a, 46 b of the rail 100 can be fitted are provided at both end portions of the rail insertion recess 150 in a widthwise direction thereof.",
"In the figure, reference numeral 154 a indicates a penetrating hole that corresponds to the penetrating hole 98 a of the heat dissipating unit 80 , whereas reference numeral 154 b indicates a penetrating hole that corresponds to the penetrating hole 98 b of the heat dissipating unit 80 .",
"[0059] The first controller units 20 , the second controller unit 60 , the input unit 70 , and the heat dissipating units 80 , which are constituted in the above manner, are assembled together in the following manner.",
"[0060] At first, using non-illustrated screws or the like, the rail 100 is fixed in a location where the controller assembly 10 is to be assembled, and thereafter, the input unit 70 , the second controller unit 60 , the first controller unit 20 , the heat dissipating unit 80 , the first controller unit 20 , and the heat dissipating unit 80 are inserted onto the flanges 46 a, 46 b of the rail 100 in this order, and finally, the end block 90 is inserted and positioned on the rail 100 .",
"[0061] Next, tie rods (not shown) are inserted through the penetrating holes 154 a, 154 b of the end block 90 , the penetrating holes 98 a, 98 b of the heat dissipating units 80 , the penetrating holes 42 a, 42 b of the first controller unit 20 , non-illustrated penetrating holes of the second controller unit 60 , and non-illustrated penetrating holes of the input unit 70 , and by screw-engagement of nuts on the opposite side, the first controller units 20 , the second controller unit 60 , the heat dissipating units 80 , the input unit 70 , and the end block 90 are fastened together in an integral fashion.",
"[0062] In addition, ends of cables 160 are connected respectively to the drive power source terminal 38 a, the position information input terminal 38 b, and the contact input terminal 38 c of the first controller unit 20 , and to the drive power source terminal 38 a, the position information input terminal 38 b, and the contact input terminal 38 c of the second controller unit 60 , whereas the electric actuators 110 a, 110 b are connected to other ends of the cables 160 .",
"In this case, preferably, a relatively large scale electric actuator 110 a is connected to the first controller unit 20 , whereas a relatively small scale electric actuator 110 b is connected to the second controller unit 60 .",
"Since the loads of the large scale electric actuator 110 a and the small scale electric actuator 110 b differ from each other, the amount of heat generated thereby also differs, and in accordance with such a difference in the amount of generated heat, a large scale heat dissipating unit is connected to the first controller unit 20 .",
"On the other hand, with respect to the second controller unit 60 which generates a relatively small amount of heat, a heat dissipating unit is not mounted thereon, but rather, the input unit 70 is connected thereto directly.",
"[0063] Upon completion of the preparatory steps described above, power is supplied to the power supply terminals 72 a to 72 c of the input unit 70 , control signals are transmitted via the first controller units 20 and the second controller unit 60 , and the electric actuators 110 a and 110 b are driven and controlled.",
"More specifically, electrical power is supplied to the electric actuators 110 a and 110 b from the drive power source terminal 38 a, and when non-illustrated motors thereof are driven, ball screws connected to the drive shafts of the motors undergo rotation, and by displacement of the ball nuts that are screwed onto the ball screws, the tables 170 a and 170 b, which are connected to the ball nuts, are displaced.",
"The movement directions and the amount of movement of the tables 170 a and 170 b are detected by non-illustrated detection devices (sensors), information thereof is supplied from the position information input terminal 38 b to the circuit boards 22 of the first controller unit 20 and the second controller unit 60 , and electrical processing is performed.",
"As a result, the operating states of the electric actuators 110 a and 110 b can be grasped.",
"[0064] When the electric actuators 110 a and 110 b are energized in this manner, due to the electric power that is supplied while the electric actuators 110 a and 110 b are controlled by the first controller unit 20 and the second controller unit 60 , heat is generated in the circuitry, etc.",
", of the circuit boards 22 .",
"Such generated heat, for example, is released to the exterior through the heat dissipating unit 80 disposed in contact with the heat dissipating plate 28 .",
"More specifically, in the heat dissipating unit 80 , heat is released via the large number of heat dissipating protrusions 92 .",
"In particular, since the heat dissipating protrusions 92 have trapezoidal shapes in cross section, the heat dissipation area is expanded, thus further enhancing the heat dissipating effect.",
"[0065] In the foregoing manner, according to the present embodiment, the heat dissipating units are disposed on the controller units that drive and control the electric actuators, and the heat dissipating units efficiently dissipate heat that is generated in the controllers themselves, to the exterior.",
"In addition, since a large number of controller units can be disposed continuously without restricting the number of controller units, the controller assembly, which is superior in terms of the heat dissipating effect, can be obtained without requiring an increase in the size of the installation space.",
"[0066] Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the controller assembly of the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment, and it goes without saying that various design modifications may be made to the embodiment without departing from the essential scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.",
"[0067] For example, according to the present embodiment, the heat dissipating protrusions of the heat dissipating unit are formed with trapezoidal shapes in cross section.",
"However, without concern to the trapezoidal shapes thereof, it goes without saying that, also in the case that the heat dissipating area is enlarged by constituting the heat dissipating protrusions in truncated conical shapes or other polygonal shapes, the same advantages and effects can be obtained."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method and an appropriately equipped apparatus for transferring data according to an ARQ method, especially a hybrid ARQ method in a communication system; in particular, a mobile radio system.
Especially in conjunction with a mobile radio system, packet-access methods or packet-oriented data connections are proposed as the incoming message types often have very high burst factors so that there are only brief periods of activity interrupted by long periods of inactivity. In this case, packet-oriented data connections can be considerably more efficient when compared with other data transfer methods where there is a continuous stream of data, since in data transfer methods with a continuous data stream a resource (e.g., a carrier frequency or a time slot), is assigned for the entire communication process (i.e., the resource remains tied up even if there is temporarily no data transfer), with the result that the resource is not available for other network users. This results in non-optimum use of the limited frequency spectrum for mobile radio systems.
Future mobile radio systems such as those according to the UMTS mobile radio standard (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), will offer a number of services in which multi-media applications will become increasingly significant in addition to pure voice transmission. The associated number of services with different transfer rates requires a very flexible access protocol on the radio interface of future mobile radio systems. Packet-oriented data transfer methods have proved to be suitable here.
In conjunction with UMTS mobile radio systems, an ARQ method (Automatic Repeat Request) was proposed for packet-oriented data connections. In this method, the data packets sent from a sender to a receiver are checked for quality after decoding on the receiver side. If a received data packet is errored, the receiver requests a new transfer of this data packet from the sender; i.e., a retransmission data packet is sent from the sender to the receiver that is either identical or partially identical to the data packet sent and the errored data packet received. Depending on whether the retransmission packet contains the same or less data than the original data packet, the retransmission is described as either complete or partial. This ARQ method proposed for the UMTS mobile radio standard, also known as a hybrid ARQ type I method, is proposed not only for transferring data but also for transferring header information in a data packet whereby the header information can contain information coded for error checking such as CRC bits (Cyclic Redundancy Check) and for error correction (known as Forward Error Correction, FEC).
According to the current UMTS standard, the proposal is to transfer the bits of the individual data packets or retransmission data packets after the channel has been appropriately coded using QAM modulation (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation). The individual bits are mapped using a method known as “gray mapping” to appropriate QAM symbols that create a two-dimensional symbol field. The problem with the proposed QAM modulation with an alphabet set that encompasses more than four QAM symbols is that the reliability of the bits to be transferred between the high-value bits and the low-value bits varies considerably. This is particularly disadvantageous with regard to channel coding since the turbo coders preferably used demand a high bit reliability to achieve a sufficiently high performance. With the hybrid ARQ type I method described, in which the retransmission data packet is identical to the original data packet, the variation in the bit reliability already described means that certain bits of the data packets and the retransmission data packets are found in the same position in the QAM symbol field. This reduces the overall performance of the data transfer and leads to premature restriction on the data throughput rate.
To resolve this problem, a method is proposed whereby those bits which occur in the same position in the original data packet and in the retransmission packet are assigned different QAM symbols in the QAM symbol field through dynamic rearrangement of the gray mapping.
This is described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 4A-4D . FIG. 4A shows the signaling constellation or QAM symbol field for a 16-QAM modulation. Bits i 1 and i 2 , and q 1 and q 2 are mapped to an appropriate QAM symbol 26 in the two-dimensional QAM symbol field 25 in the order i 1 q 1 i 2 q 2 . The possible columns or rows of QAM symbols 26 for each of the bits i 1 , i 2 , q 1 , q 2 in the two-dimensional QAM symbol field 25 are each marked using appropriate lines. So, for example, bit i 1 =“1” can only be mapped to the first two columns of the QAM symbol field. Due to the gray mapping, the reliability of the higher value bit i 1 is greater than the lower value bit i 2 . Furthermore, the bit reliability of the bit i 2 varies depending on the QAM symbol 26 that is transferred; i.e., depending on whether the relevant QAM symbol 26 is assigned to the outside left or outside right column of the QAM symbol field 25 . The same applies to bits q 1 and q 2 , as the mapping of bits q 1 and q 2 is equivalent to the mapping of bits i 1 and i 2 (albeit orthogonal).
According to the conventional method described with reference to FIGS. 4A-4D , it is proposed to use a gray mapping for retransmission data packets that is distinct from the gray mapping for the original data packet; i.e., gray mapping (for example, as depicted in FIG. 4B ) can be used for an initial retransmission data packet, while for a second retransmission data packet, gray mapping as shown in FIG. 4C , and for a third retransmission data packet, gray mapping as shown in FIG. 4D , can be used. When comparing the representations in FIGS. 4A-4D , it is clear that the same bit combination i 1 q 1 i 2 q 2 is always assigned different QAM symbols 26 ; i.e., different points in the two-dimensional QAM symbol field 25 . This dynamic variation of the gray mapping can be extended such that a specified number of retransmissions of each bit i 1 , i 2 , q 1 and q 2 can be transferred with very good, good or poor reliability to a point in the QAM symbol field 25 whereby this method can be optimized for a different number of retransmissions.
It is clear from FIGS. 4A-4D that this method is relatively complicated as the gray mapping has to be changed for each retransmission data packet.
An object of the present invention, therefore, is to propose a method and an appropriately equipped apparatus to transfer data according to an ARQ method to resolve the problem described above; i.e., to achieve a reliable data transfer with a high data throughput rate in the simplest manner.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, it is proposed that different rate adaptation patterns (i.e., different puncturing or repetition patterns), will be used on the individual bits of the original data packet and the individual retransmission data packets so that the appropriate bits are in different places in the relevant packet before QAM modulation and can, therefore, be assigned different points or QAM symbols in the symbol field without altering the gray mapping. This evenly distributes the reliability of the bits to be transferred between the data packet and the subsequent retransmission data packet so that high performance channel coding (for example, using turbo coding), can take place so that overall a sufficiently high performance is achieved for transferring information and data while at the same time guaranteeing a high data throughput rate.
The present invention can be achieved, for example, using a conventional rate adaptation algorithm whereby an offset value used according to such a rate adaptation algorithm that primarily determines the rate adaptation pattern is varied between the original data packet and the individual retransmission data packets. By varying this offset value, a higher performance coding can be achieved than with conventional hybrid ARQ type I methods.
Preferably, the channel-coded bit flow can be divided into a number of parallel partial bit flows (known as bit separation), whereby independent rate adaptation patterns (i.e., independent puncturing or repetition of the bits), are applied to the individual partial bit flows so that once the bits of these partial bit flows have finally been combined (known as bit collection), the required rate adaptation can be achieved with the different offset value with regard to the original data packet and the individual retransmission data packets. Dividing the bit flow into a number of partial bit flows achieves a particularly high level of flexibility for the channel coding.
Since the relevant receiver of data packets or retransmission data packets processed in this way must know the offset value used and explicit transmission of this offset value can be disadvantageous, the offset value can, for example, be changed synchronously with the time slot number (time slot) and/or synchronously with the frame number (frame) so that the receiver can conclude the offset value used directly from the time slot or frame received.
With the bit separation described above which divides the bits into a number of partial parallel bit flows, the different parallel partial bit flows can be combined proportionally per data packet or retransmission data packet in the final bit collection. This is particularly advantageous when using bit repetition. The aforementioned offset value can be set for the original data packet and the individual retransmission data packets such that the shift in the resulting data adaptation patterns with respect to one another is at its maximum and/or as many of the corresponding bits as possible of the original data packet or the retransmission data packet in the final modulation can be mapped to different points in the two-dimensional symbol field.
The aforementioned method works best if the bits are mapped directly to the required modulation symbol field after rate adaptation. This is not normally the case though as there is often a process known as interleaving, in which the bits are temporally reordered between rate adaptation and modulation. With a random interleaver, neighboring bits would be randomly distributed to the respective points or symbols of the two-dimensional symbol field so that the shift by one bit achieved with the aforementioned variation of the offset value would also produce a random change in the points or symbols of the two-dimensional symbol field. This would not be ideal since at best the assignment would be changed such that a bit with relatively low reliability when the original data packet was transferred would be mapped to a position with higher reliability in the modulation symbol field (e.g., in the QAM symbol field) when a retransmission data packet is later transferred (and vice versa), whereas with a random replacement only a gain of approximately 50% of the maximum possible gain could be achieved.
For this reason, it is preferable to use a highly regular interleaver for interleaving, such as a block interleaver, whereby the number of columns to which the interleaver distributes the bits with subsequent replacement or permutation of columns, and the number of points or symbols with different weightings and levels of reliability in the symbol field used should be a prime number so that assignment is optimum.
When requesting several retransmission data packets, it is advantageous if the chosen rate adaptation pattern (i.e., the puncturing or repetition pattern), is applied from retransmission data packet to retransmission data packet.
Using the shift in rate adaptation pattern proposed as part of the present invention between the data packet sent originally and the subsequent retransmission data packet or packets, the same code rate is retained, but the transfer quality and the bit error rate can be improved.
In general, compared with the method described in the introduction and known from the prior art, the method according to the present invention is much less complex whereby, in particular, no new stages need to be implemented in the method to achieve the present invention.
The present invention will now be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings using preferred embodiments for transferring packet-oriented data in a mobile radio system whereby the present invention is, of course, not restricted to mobile radio systems but can be used in all types of communication systems in which an ARQ method is used for transferring data.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1 shows the signal processing according to a packet-oriented ARQ method in the present invention.
FIG. 2 shows the communication in a mobile radio system.
FIG. 3 shows a rate adaptation algorithm that can be used as part of the present invention for rate adaptation.
FIGS. 4A-4D show the mapping of bits from a data packet sent originally or from retransmission data packets to QAM symbols according to the prior art.
FIG. 5 shows a simplified block diagram of a rate adaptation.
FIG. 6 shows a graphical representation of a rate adaptation mode.
FIG. 7 shows a graphical representation of a rate adaptation mode.
FIG. 8 shows a simplified block diagram of a rate adaptation.
FIG. 9 shows a simplified block diagram of a rate adaptation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As already explained, it is assumed that packet-oriented data is to be transferred in a mobile radio system such as that shown schematically in FIG. 2 with the aid of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows, by way of example, the communication between a base station 1 and a mobile station 2 in a mobile radio system; e.g., a UMTS mobile radio system. Information is transferred from the base station 1 to the mobile station 2 via a “downlink” channel DL while information from the mobile station 2 is transferred to the base station 1 using the “uplink” channel UL.
The present invention will now be described in detail using the example of transferring packet-oriented data from the base station 1 to a mobile station 2 (i.e., using transferring packet-oriented data via the “downlink” channel), although the present invention can be applied analogously to transferring data via the “uplink” channel. Furthermore, the present invention will be described using the signal processing measures in the sender whereby it should be noted that to evaluate the data processed in this way on the sender side, in the receiver the signal should be processed in reverse order so that the present invention concerns not only the sender side but also the receiver side.
In FIG. 1 , the signal processing for the data and header information in the data packets is carried out by a hybrid ARQ method according to the present invention.
On the header side, the header information generated by function block 3 is routed to function block 12 that ensures that all the headers from all the data packets that should be sent in one radio packet are combined in a single header (known as “header concatenation”). Function block 13 adds the resulting header information CRC bits for header recognition. Function block 14 then codes the channels and the rate from the resulting bit flow is adapted by function block 15 . Interleaver 16 causes any symbols or bits routed to it to be reordered in a particular way and temporally spaced. The data blocks that are output by interleaver 16 are assigned by function block 17 to the individual send or radio frames (known as “radio frame segmentation”).
On the data side, function block 4 adds CRC bits. Function block 5 splits the data fed to channel coder 6 such that channel coder 6 can always carry out coding restricted to a certain number of bits.
The channel coding carried out by channel coder 6 adds redundant information to the data to be sent. As such, several data packets sent consecutively have bits with the same information origin.
The bits that are output from channel coder 6 are routed to function block 19 that sets the bit rate for the bit flow by removing or leaving out individual bits (known as puncturing) or repeating individual bits (known as repetition). DTX bits (Discontinuous Transmission) can be added to the data flow later by function block 9 . Furthermore, function blocks 10 and 11 on the data side have the same functions as function blocks 16 and 17 on the header side.
The bits that are output on the data and header side are then each mapped or multiplexed by function block 18 to the available physical transmission or send channels (known as “multiplexing”) and with the aid of suitable modulation, such as QAM modulation, are transferred to the receiver.
With the hybrid ARQ type I method, in the event of errored receipt or errored decoding of a data packet by the receiver, a retransmission data packet is requested which is completely or partially identical to the previously sent and errored data packet. Depending on whether the retransmission packet contains the same or less data than the original data packet, the retransmission is either complete or partial. The data packet and the retransmission data packet have at least some bits with the same information origin. Through common evaluation of the sent data packet and the requested retransmission data packet, the receiver can therefore re-obtain the originally sent information in better quality.
The present invention primarily concerns function section 19 shown in FIG. 1 . This function section 19 encompasses function block 20 which, depending on a control by function block 3 , divides the bits that are output from the upstream channel coder 6 into at least two parallel partial bit flows that are separately subjected to rate adaptation; i.e., independently from one another. FIG. 1 shows three partial bit flows A-C whereby for each partial bit flow there is a function block 21 - 23 to adapt the rates; i.e., to puncture or repeat individual bits. In this way, a number of differently coded parallel bit flows are created which are routed to a further function block 24 . This further function block 24 is tasked with collecting the individual bits of the parallel bits flows in the same order as that used by function block 20 for bit separation; i.e., for division into individual parallel partial bit flows (bit collection). This ensures that the order of the remaining bits after the rate adaptation is unaltered.
As previously explained, the rates for the individual partial bit flows A-C can be adapted separately by the function blocks 21 - 23 . In particular, the bits of one or more partial bit flows need not be punctured or repeated. All in all, the rate adaptation for the partial bit flows A-C should be selected such that a desired rate adaptation pattern can be used by all of function section 19 on the channel-coded bit flow output by function block 6 for each data packet or retransmission data packet. With the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 of function section 19 with a number of parallel rate adaptations, a high level of flexibility can be achieved for the coding.
Function section 19 is designed such that, as a function of control by function block 3 , it applies a different rate adaptation pattern to the bits of a retransmission data packet than to the bits of the data packet originally sent. That is, function block 19 is informed by function block 3 whether a retransmission data packet has been requested by the receiver whereby function section 19 in this case selects or sets the rate adaptation pattern for the individual function blocks 21 - 23 so that overall the bits of the retransmission data packet are processed with a different rate adaptation pattern from then the bits of the data packet originally sent.
The overall rate adaptation employed by function section 19 can be carried out according to the rate adaptation algorithm shown in FIG. 3 that is known from the prior art. The rate-matching algorithm contained in the UMTS standard is described in [25. 212]. As key parameters it uses:
X b : Number of coded bits per packet in the bit flow b e ini : Initial error value (N TTI /3) e plus : Increment for the error value during puncturing/repetition e minus : Decrement for the error value per output bit
In the existing standard (e.g., for turbo-coded transport channels for the downlink with fixed bit positions (Chapter 4. 2. 7. 2. 1 in [25. 212])) these parameters are determined as follows for puncturing:
e ini =N max . (5.1)
Where N max is the maximum number of bits per parity bit flow before the rate matching determined across all transport formats and transport channels. The increments and decrements of the error value are calculated as follows:
e plus =a×N max , e minus =a×|ΔN i b |, (5.2)
where a=2 applies to the first parity bit flow and a=1 for the second parity bit flow. |ΔN i b | is the number of punctured bits per bit flow b for the transport channel i.
In particular, a rate adaptation parameter e ini is used which indicates an offset value valid for the rate adaptation carried out with regard to the rate adaptation pattern used. At the start of the rate adaptation algorithm shown in FIG. 3 , an error variable e is initialized with the offset value e ini whereby the error e for puncturing is, for example, the ratio between the actual puncturing rate and the required puncturing rate.
The index m of the current bit to be processed is set to the first bit (i.e., is set to the value 1) and an auxiliary error parameter e plus is initialized.
For all bits of data packet number i to be processed, a loop is then run, with the number of bits of the data packet designated by X i .
Within this loop the error e is first updated using a further auxiliary error parameter e minus and checked to determine whether the resulting error e is greater than zero to determine whether the relevant bit should be punctured or not. If the aforementioned condition is met, the relevant bit is set to an auxiliary value δ and therefore punctured; i.e., blocked for the subsequent data transfer.
If, however, the aforementioned condition is not met, the relevant bit is selected for the data transfer and the error e is recalculated using the first auxiliary error parameter e plus .
To conclude the data adaptation or puncturing algorithm, the bit index m is incremented and, hence, the next bit is selected for processing as described above.
The rate adaptation pattern used on the bit of a data packet or retransmission data packet can be significantly influenced by the choice of offset value e ini . By varying this offset value e ini , a different rate adaptation pattern can be used on a retransmission data packet than on the data packet originally sent, whereby the rate adaptation can be used particularly with reference to the parity bits of the individual partial bit flows A-C (compare FIG. 1 ).
Since the receiver of the data packets or retransmission data packets processed in this way must know the rate adaptation pattern or offset value e ini used, the offset value e ini can, for example, be varied synchronously with the time slot number (time slot) and/or synchronously with the frame number (frame) so that the receiver can conclude the offset value e ini used directly from the number of the time slot or frame received and hence conclude the rate adaptation pattern used. A redundant version is therefore defined by an e ini .
The offset value e ini is beneficially selected for the data packet originally sent and the retransmission data packet so that the shift in the resulting data adaptation patterns with respect to one another is at its maximum; i.e., as great as possible. Furthermore, the offset value e ini is beneficially selected for the data packet originally sent and the retransmission data packet so that as many of the corresponding bits as possible of both packets can be mapped in the final modulation (in particular, the QAM modulation), to different points in the two-dimensional symbol field (compare, for example, the diagrams in FIG. 4 ).
This can be achieved, for example, by setting the offset value e ini for the original data packet to e ini =0 and for the subsequent retransmission data packet to e ini =e plus . In the first instance, the first bit is punctured while in the second instance, the last bit of the retransmission data packet is punctured so that the position of all the in-between bits are also shifted by one place. This ensures (with a suitable design of the subsequent interleaver 10 and the subsequent gray mapping to achieve an appropriate modulation) that a bit for both transfers is mapped to different points in the two-dimensional symbol field which is advantageous for an even distribution of the reliability of the bits transferred. A further advantage is that the retransmission data packet also contains new information and not just the bits of the original data packet so that there is also a gain here.
The assignment of the offset value e ini can be coordinated for the individual partial bit flows A-C so that, for example, depending on the algorithm selected, e ini for the individual partial bit flows A-C can be alternatively set to zero or e plus .
When transferring several retransmission data packets, the chosen rate adaptation pattern (i.e., the chosen puncturing or repetition pattern), should be beneficially applied from retransmission data packet to retransmission data packet. For the data packet originally sent and the first retransmission data packet, the offset value e ini can, as described above, be set to zero or e plus , whereby for the subsequent retransmission different values should be used. So, for example, for the k th iteration, the value k·e minus can be used for the offset value e ini which shifts the rate adaptation pattern by k bits. Similarly, for the retransmission data packet 2k, k−e minus can be used as the offset value e ini and for the retransmission data packet number 2k+1, k−e minus +e plus can be used as the offset value e ini . This ensures that all the bits, (with the exception of the bits directly at the start before the first puncturing/repetition and the bits directly at the end after the last puncturing/repetition), for consecutive retransmission data packets have different allocations to the individual points or QAM symbols in the QAM symbol field whereby different points can also be punctured or repeated.
Depending on the code rate, different numbers of parity bits are available per channel coding process. As such, the number of possible redundant versions (which are formed entirely of parity bits that have not yet been sent and therefore represent the maximum IR gain) is also dependent on the code rate. A further embodiment therefore provides for the calculation of this maximum number of redundant versions N pat in the receiver without additional signaling. The redundant version R=(0, 1, 2, . . . , N pat −1} that is used in the current packet is calculated, for example, from the system frame number (SFN) using
R=SFN mod N pat .
If the packet number and the frame limit are not identical, the packet or slot number can be used to calculate the redundant version.
If the redundant version R is calculated using the last specified equation, there is also an option to take measures in the sender which optimize the sequence of the various redundant versions for each block. An additional decision criterion is therefore added to the scheduling algorithm that determined which user is served in the following transmission interval. This criterion calculates for all users for whom current data is available the next resulting redundant version R in the transmission interval. In addition to an evaluation of the usual criteria (such as signal-to-noise ratio and required quality of service), preference will be given to the user for whom the best addition to the previously transferred redundancy occurs in the interval in question. This maximizes the probability that decoding will successfully take place after the transmission of this block and, hence, increases the capacity of the communication system. This means that despite the calculation of the redundant version from the SFN, the IR gain can be optimized without requiring explicit signaling. For example, the scheduling algorithm with lower priority sends packets to those mobile stations in which in the current interval a retransmission data packet with a redundant version would be sent which they have already received in an earlier packet as then there is no IR gain.
For function block 10 shown in FIG. 1 , a highly regular interleaver should be used instead of a ransom interleaver. So, for example, a block interleaver could be used for function block 10 . If the interleaver used for function block 10 is a highly regular interleaver and if the number of columns to which the interleaver distributes the bits routed to it and the number of the points with different weightings in the two-dimensional QAM symbol field or generally the number of differently weighted modulation points is a prime number, then the assignment is optimum. The interleaver proposed by the current UMTS standard is a block interleaver with additional column replacement which distributes neighboring bits to columns that are separated by multiples of “5” and then replaces the columns. When using 30 columns, the column permutation is, for example, as follows: Column number 0, 20, 10, 5, 15, 25, 3, 13, 23, 8 . . . . Since the value “5” is a prime number with the number of the different bits, for example, for 16-QAM modulation (namely two bits) and 64-QAM modulation (namely three bits), this combination, for example, produces good scrambling or good mapping to the appropriate modulation points.
According to a further preferred embodiment, the bit rate adaptation pattern selected for the data packet originally sent, or for the retransmission data packet or for the retransmission data packets, can be selected such that the individual bit rate adaptation patterns only differ at the start and at the end while remaining identical in the middle section whereby the puncturing or repetition rates of the individual bit rate adaptation patterns are identical. This is particularly suitable for high data rates since the memory overhead in the receiver compared with the previously described embodiment, in which the offset value is varied, can be reduced by the puncturing or repetition rate used. The performance gain achieved compared with conventional procedures lies mainly in the even distribution of the transferred information to the bits with different levels of protection or reliability to the QAM symbols. The gain from the new information added to the retransmission data packet that cannot be exploited in this embodiment is balanced by the advantage of the reduced memory overhead.
According to a further embodiment of the principle already described, a puncturing/repetition pattern, hereinafter known as a basic pattern, can be defined via which n more bits are punctured or repeated than originally envisaged. Based on this basic pattern, n different repetition patterns are then derived by not performing the first j puncturings or repetitions at the start of the basic pattern and omitting the last n-j puncturings or repetitions at the end. j can equal 0, 1, . . . n. As a result, the basic pattern is cut at the start and at the end at a total of n positions; there are n possible options which all lead to a different allocation of the in-between bits to the different bits of the QAM symbols. For the data and retransmission data packets, a different number n of puncturings or repetitions is omitted at the start and at the end, with the total number of puncturings and repetitions remaining constant.
The following describes further embodiments of the present invention which alone and in any combination with the present invention and its features as already described are covered by the present invention and which also show how the default for the various parameters of the rate matching (rate adaptation) algorithm must be controlled to produce rate matching patterns that suitably combine averaging of the bit reliabilities and the coding gain through IR (incremental redundancy); i.e., the coding gain that results from repeated transfer of a data packet to which different rate matching patterns are applied. With specific control it is possible to generate different modes which have different focuses in terms of IR coding gain and gain through averaging the bit reliabilities; for example, a mode known as “quasi-chase-combining mode” which achieves an ideal gain by averaging the bit reliabilities using the new concept of a basic pattern with minimal additional memory overhead, and the “combined IR and symbol mapping modes” in which the IR gain increases with increasing puncturing rates and which enable the optimum working point to be set in terms of the IR gain compared with gain from averaging the bit reliabilities by setting suitable defaults for the rate matching parameters for each retransmission data packet.
FIG. 5 shows, by way of example, the signal processing sequence for HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), a further development of the UMTS standard that enables packet-switched connections with higher data rates. It is important here that bit separation, which separates systematic and parity bits of the turbo code, is carried out after channel coding. Rate matching is only carried out in the p parity bit flows (here, 2 flows) and such that for each approximately N p /p bits are punctured or repeated (p=2 in FIG. 5 ).
Alternatively, especially in the case of repetition, there can be a rate matching block for the systematic bits or bit separation can be avoided or there can be a rate matching block for the entire bit flow.
In a symbol of the 16-QAM there are two well protected bits (marked in the following with H for high reliability) and two poorly protected bits (L for low reliability); i.e., k=2. This bit-to-symbol allocation is represented by {H, H, L, L}. If in the various redundant versions the difference of the previously punctured/repeated bits ΔB=k×(2×m−1), where m is an integer, then there is a reversal of the allocation of the current bits to the other bit reliability: {L, L, H, H}. If for example, a bit is sent in the first transfer to an L bit, then in the second transfer it is sent to an H bit. For ΔB=1×(2×m−1) this reversal takes place for 50% of the bits anyway.
A 64-QAM symbol includes two bits (i.e., k=2 here as well) with higher, medium and lower reliability: {H, H, M, M, L, L}. The extra bit class M is added for medium reliability. If ΔB=k×(3×m−2) for the current bits then the allocation is cyclically replaced by one bit class; i.e., {L, L, H, H, M, M}; for ΔB=k×(3×m−1) this produces {M, M, L, L, H, H}. An ideal averaging of the bit reliabilities can, therefore, be achieved after three packet transfers. There is, however, already a partial averaging effect after two transfers.
A suitable parameter k can also be found for modulation types with different number of bits per bit class. For the 8-PSK for each symbol there is, for example, two well protected bits and 1 poorly protected bit: {H, H, L}. If k=1 is selected, then for ΔB=k×(3×m−2) the allocation is {L, H, H}, for ΔB=k×(3×m−1) the allocation is {H, L, L}; i.e., in both cases the bit reliability is averaged after just two transfers.
If other processes are used to allocate the individual bits to the symbol points, then the afore-mentioned considerations can be easily adapted. If, for example, for 16-QAM the allocation is changed such that each symbol gives the sequence {H, L, H, L}, then an ideal reversal of the bit reliabilities for ΔB=k×(2×m−1) is given where k=1.
For the “quasi-chase-combining mode,” the IR gain is relinquished where possible in favor of minimizing the memory overhead but maximum gain is achieved through averaging the bit reliability. A basic pattern is generated which is determined in the conventional manner, but instead of the number of punctured or repeated bits Np required originally, with the increased number N p,IR =N p +k×(N pat −1), where N pat is the number of different redundant versions and k is the number of consecutive bits f equal reliability per symbol. In this mode, N pat need not be determined using the code rate and can be fixed in advance (e.g., N pat =2 to minimize the memory overhead). For each transmission of a packet, Np bits are selected from this basic pattern that are actually punctured/repeated, whereby during the selection care can be taken that the number of previously puncture/repeated bits in the various retransmission data packets is different from k (see also later). This ensures that after the initial retransmission, the symbol mapping of the bits is changed such that in the majority of the packet there is a balance of bit reliability and, therefore, a gain is achieved. The actual puncturing/repetition pattern is therefore determined solely from the retransmission number r determined in the mobile station and the known rate matching parameters. The total memory overhead only increases by k×(N pat −1) bits. A further advantage is that by using a basic pattern, the superimposition of the various transmissions of a packet in the receiver (known as soft combining) can be simply and efficiently achieved.
Generally, this process can be used to generate combined IR and symbol mapping methods whose IR gain increases with increasing puncturing rate N p . This is particularly beneficial since the unavoidable performance loss in the decoding is automatically countered by puncturing. Other parity bits are punctured in the retransmission packets. This is achieved in that, firstly, the relevant redundant version is generated from the basic pattern as stated above, based on the retransmission number R generated in the mobile station and then the puncturing/repetition pattern is cyclically replaced for each parity bit flow by n offset bits. With increasing n offset , the punctured/repeated bits in the different redundant versions are increasingly shifted in relation to one another so that the achievable gain through incremental redundancy is increased. At the same time, however, there is a decrease in the percentage of bits which are transferred to another bit reliability level compared with the preceding redundant version; i.e., the gain from averaging the bit reliabilities decreases. With the aid of simulations, it is possible to determine an optimum working point for the system and to define it based on the n offset parameter so that additional signaling is not necessary. It is, however, conceivable to change the parameter n offset semi-statically or dynamically to be able to switch between the different modes (the “quasi-chase-combining mode” corresponds to a “combined IR and symbol mapping method” where n offset =0). The total memory overhead increases for n offset ≠0 by N p ×(N pat −1).
Functionally, this can be implemented by using basic patterns by re-using the conventional rate matching algorithm that is required anyway and adding an HSDPA extension as shown in FIG. 8 . In UMTS, a further subscriber connection (DSCH, dedicated channel) is always maintained (e.g., parallel to an HSDPA connection (shown as HS-DSCH)) so that the conventional rate matching algorithm is required in the receiver. Thanks to the modular construction, as shown in FIG. 8 , the function blocks that are required in the receiver anyway can be efficiently re-used.
The present invention described here uses the same algorithm to calculate the basic pattern but with a different default for the parameter e minus :
e minus =a·|ΔN i b −N pat −1|, (5.3)
where N pat is the number of different rate matching patterns.
The number of redundant versions used can be fixed, but is ideally calculated based on the code rate such that as many redundant versions are generated as are necessary to be able to send all the existing parity bits at least once. The number of redundant versions is obtained by rounding up the quotient of the existing parity bits to sent parity bits per packet. For low code rates, this criterion produces very few redundant versions. This number does ensure that each parity bit can be sent at least once, but for the individual bits does not generate a good average in terms of the number of uses in the redundant versions. This can be countered by calculating the number of redundant versions from the quotient of the existing parity bits to the punctured parity bits per packet. It is then possible for each parity bit to be punctured approximately once and transferred approximately N pat −1 times and, therefore, approximately the same number of transmissions is achieved for all bits as soon as all the redundant versions have been sent.
Practically, the number of redundant versions can be determined from the maximum of the criteria described above; e.g.,
N
pat
=
max
(
⌈
N
ges
N
ges
-
N
p
⌉
,
⌈
N
ges
N
p
⌉
)
(
5.5
)
For systematic codes, such as the turbo code used in UMTS, the number of redundant versions can be calculated as follows:
N
pat
=
max
(
⌈
p
·
X
b
N
ges
-
X
b
⌉
,
⌈
p
·
X
b
(
p
+
1
)
·
X
b
-
N
ges
⌉
)
(
5.5
)
with
X b =N ges ·R c +N ov . (5.6)
Where N ges represents the total number of bits per block transferred, p the number of parity bit flows (e.g., p=2 in UMTS), R, the code rate and N ov all overhead bits; e.g., for error recognition (CRC) and terminating the channel coding.
In the case of repetitions (i.e., very low code rates), similar considerations apply. Here the number of redundant versions can be determined from the quotient of the total number of transferred bits divided by the number of repeated bits. Alternatively, the repetition rate can be converted to an equivalent puncturing rate. A repetition of 270% would, for example, correspond to a puncturing rate of 30%, since 30% of the bits cannot be repeated three times (but only twice), so they have a lower reliability. This is similar to a puncturing rate of 30% but in the case of puncturing the differences are greater. Using this equivalent puncturing rate, the number of redundant versions can then be calculated as described above.
After calculating the basic pattern, the rate matching patterns of the individual redundant versions R are calculated by transferring once and once only in the two parity bit flows the first (R mod ) and last (N pac -R mod ) bit positions of those marked in the basic pattern as bits to be punctured/repeated. The following applies:
R mod =R mod N pat . (5.7)
The rate matching pattern resulting in the total bit flow and the effect on the bit allocation within the symbol are shown in FIG. 6 by way of example for 16-QAM, code Rate=1/2, puncturing and three different redundant versions.
The incoming bit flow contains a parity bit from parity bit flow 1 and 2 after each systematic bit. Starting from a basic pattern, FIG. 6 shows how puncturing in each parity bit flow starts and ends one bit later. The total bit flow as shown in FIG. 6 results after the bit collection. Apart from small areas at the start of the block and end of the block, there is optimum averaging of the bit reliabilities after the first repetition (R=1), the same bits (i.e., arranged under one another) were sent once with high reliability (no shading) and once with lower reliability (gray shading). The area in which this optimum averaging occurs is shown in FIG. 6 as the area between the two bold lines. For each transfer, only two additional bits of incremental redundancy are transferred. Since, generally, the number of bits to be punctured is greater than the number of redundant versions, the fact that the basic pattern is calculated based on an increased number of bits to be punctured has almost no effect on the regularity of the puncturing within the blocks; the influence of the small areas at the start and end of the block can, therefore, be ignored.
Using a basic pattern in the “quasi-chase mode” enables very efficient memory access when superimposing the various block transfers for soft combining. In this instance, the soft-combining memory can be implemented directly before the rate matching in the receiver so that the total memory overhead after all the transfer only corresponds to the number of transferred bits per block plus R×2.
A combined IR and symbol mapping mode can be achieved by performing cyclical replacement of the rate matching pattern by n offset bits in each parity bit flow. FIG. 7 shows the above example for n offset =1. It is clear that in contrast to FIG. 6 there is no longer a large contiguous area as a result of averaging the bit reliabilities after the first repetition. This averaging only occurs for a small percentage of the bits and so the gain from this effect is reduced. However, in this mode other bits are punctured which each repetition so the number of punctured bits is added to the incremental redundancy and, hence, the IR gain compared with FIG. 6 is considerably increased. At the same time, the total memory overhead is increased to the number of bits transferred per block plus R×N p (N p : number of punctured bits). These models apply analogously to repetitions.
A “combined IR and symbol mapping mode” alternatively can be achieved by changing the default of the initial value of the error variables once for each redundant version. This is achieved, for example, by setting the parameter a=1 for all parity bit flows in equation (5.2) and calculating e ini in each redundant version r using
e ini ( r )=(( e ini ( r− 1)− e minus −1)mod e plus )+1 (5.8)
The mod function designates the remainder of the division and so in this case has the value range {0, 1, . . . , e plus −1}. The following applies to the initial value:
e ini (0)= N max und r={ 1, 2 , . . . , N pat −1}. (5.9)
This means that as r increases the rate matching pattern is always shifted forward by one bit position. The mod function in equation (5.8) limits the maximum possible offset so that in each redundant version there is exactly the same number of puncturings and repetitions. This choice can ensure that different parity bits are transferred in the different redundant versions and hence the maximum IR gain can be achieved. Using this method, the achievable gain by averaging the bit reliabilities is large for high rates, for low code rates there is a benefit in this respect compared with a basic pattern. To maximize the gain from averaging the bit reliabilities for an implementation per e ini variation, the sequence of the redundant versions used must be optimized; e.g., by using 16-QAM for the first transfer r=0 and for the second r=N pat −1.
This embodiment can also be combined with a variation of the initial value of the error variable e ini for each packet transfer. “Combined IR and symbol mapping modes” then arise in which the IR gain increases with increasing puncturing rates and which enable the optimum working point to be set in terms of the IR gain compared with gain from averaging the bit reliabilities by setting suitable defaults for the e ini for each retransmission data packet.
Furthermore, options are conceivable that work for a certain repetition number in “quasi-chase mode” and for another in “combined IR and symbol mapping mode.” In all cases, all redundant versions can be decoded without any additional signaling overhead.
FIG. 9 shows an implementation wherein the parameter e ini is varied as a function of the current redundant version R.
Thanks to the modular construction, this method is possible for puncturing, repetition and a wide variety of transport formats. By suitably selecting the parameters (e.g., number of redundant versions, number of bit flows), it can be adapted to a variety of modulation and coding schemes.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, those of skill in the art will recognize that changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the hereafter appended claims.
REFERENCES
[25. 212] “Multiplexing and Channel Coding (FDD) (Release 1999),” Technical Specification 3GPP TS 25. 212 | The present invention relates to the use of an ARQ method, especially a hybrid-ARQ-method, in order to carry out a reliable packet orientation data transfer, preferably, using a mobile radio system. When requesting a transmission data packet for the bits of the retransmission data packet, a different rate adaptation model is used in comparison with the bits corresponding originally sent data packets. A particular advantage of the present method is that the bit-rate adaptation is carried out by dividing the bits which are to be transferred into a number of partial bit flows with respectively separate bit rate adaptation. | Briefly summarize the main idea's components and working principles as described in the context. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method and an appropriately equipped apparatus for transferring data according to an ARQ method, especially a hybrid ARQ method in a communication system;",
"in particular, a mobile radio system.",
"Especially in conjunction with a mobile radio system, packet-access methods or packet-oriented data connections are proposed as the incoming message types often have very high burst factors so that there are only brief periods of activity interrupted by long periods of inactivity.",
"In this case, packet-oriented data connections can be considerably more efficient when compared with other data transfer methods where there is a continuous stream of data, since in data transfer methods with a continuous data stream a resource (e.g., a carrier frequency or a time slot), is assigned for the entire communication process (i.e., the resource remains tied up even if there is temporarily no data transfer), with the result that the resource is not available for other network users.",
"This results in non-optimum use of the limited frequency spectrum for mobile radio systems.",
"Future mobile radio systems such as those according to the UMTS mobile radio standard (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), will offer a number of services in which multi-media applications will become increasingly significant in addition to pure voice transmission.",
"The associated number of services with different transfer rates requires a very flexible access protocol on the radio interface of future mobile radio systems.",
"Packet-oriented data transfer methods have proved to be suitable here.",
"In conjunction with UMTS mobile radio systems, an ARQ method (Automatic Repeat Request) was proposed for packet-oriented data connections.",
"In this method, the data packets sent from a sender to a receiver are checked for quality after decoding on the receiver side.",
"If a received data packet is errored, the receiver requests a new transfer of this data packet from the sender;",
"i.e., a retransmission data packet is sent from the sender to the receiver that is either identical or partially identical to the data packet sent and the errored data packet received.",
"Depending on whether the retransmission packet contains the same or less data than the original data packet, the retransmission is described as either complete or partial.",
"This ARQ method proposed for the UMTS mobile radio standard, also known as a hybrid ARQ type I method, is proposed not only for transferring data but also for transferring header information in a data packet whereby the header information can contain information coded for error checking such as CRC bits (Cyclic Redundancy Check) and for error correction (known as Forward Error Correction, FEC).",
"According to the current UMTS standard, the proposal is to transfer the bits of the individual data packets or retransmission data packets after the channel has been appropriately coded using QAM modulation (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation).",
"The individual bits are mapped using a method known as “gray mapping”",
"to appropriate QAM symbols that create a two-dimensional symbol field.",
"The problem with the proposed QAM modulation with an alphabet set that encompasses more than four QAM symbols is that the reliability of the bits to be transferred between the high-value bits and the low-value bits varies considerably.",
"This is particularly disadvantageous with regard to channel coding since the turbo coders preferably used demand a high bit reliability to achieve a sufficiently high performance.",
"With the hybrid ARQ type I method described, in which the retransmission data packet is identical to the original data packet, the variation in the bit reliability already described means that certain bits of the data packets and the retransmission data packets are found in the same position in the QAM symbol field.",
"This reduces the overall performance of the data transfer and leads to premature restriction on the data throughput rate.",
"To resolve this problem, a method is proposed whereby those bits which occur in the same position in the original data packet and in the retransmission packet are assigned different QAM symbols in the QAM symbol field through dynamic rearrangement of the gray mapping.",
"This is described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 4A-4D .",
"FIG. 4A shows the signaling constellation or QAM symbol field for a 16-QAM modulation.",
"Bits i 1 and i 2 , and q 1 and q 2 are mapped to an appropriate QAM symbol 26 in the two-dimensional QAM symbol field 25 in the order i 1 q 1 i 2 q 2 .",
"The possible columns or rows of QAM symbols 26 for each of the bits i 1 , i 2 , q 1 , q 2 in the two-dimensional QAM symbol field 25 are each marked using appropriate lines.",
"So, for example, bit i 1 =“1”",
"can only be mapped to the first two columns of the QAM symbol field.",
"Due to the gray mapping, the reliability of the higher value bit i 1 is greater than the lower value bit i 2 .",
"Furthermore, the bit reliability of the bit i 2 varies depending on the QAM symbol 26 that is transferred;",
"i.e., depending on whether the relevant QAM symbol 26 is assigned to the outside left or outside right column of the QAM symbol field 25 .",
"The same applies to bits q 1 and q 2 , as the mapping of bits q 1 and q 2 is equivalent to the mapping of bits i 1 and i 2 (albeit orthogonal).",
"According to the conventional method described with reference to FIGS. 4A-4D , it is proposed to use a gray mapping for retransmission data packets that is distinct from the gray mapping for the original data packet;",
"i.e., gray mapping (for example, as depicted in FIG. 4B ) can be used for an initial retransmission data packet, while for a second retransmission data packet, gray mapping as shown in FIG. 4C , and for a third retransmission data packet, gray mapping as shown in FIG. 4D , can be used.",
"When comparing the representations in FIGS. 4A-4D , it is clear that the same bit combination i 1 q 1 i 2 q 2 is always assigned different QAM symbols 26 ;",
"i.e., different points in the two-dimensional QAM symbol field 25 .",
"This dynamic variation of the gray mapping can be extended such that a specified number of retransmissions of each bit i 1 , i 2 , q 1 and q 2 can be transferred with very good, good or poor reliability to a point in the QAM symbol field 25 whereby this method can be optimized for a different number of retransmissions.",
"It is clear from FIGS. 4A-4D that this method is relatively complicated as the gray mapping has to be changed for each retransmission data packet.",
"An object of the present invention, therefore, is to propose a method and an appropriately equipped apparatus to transfer data according to an ARQ method to resolve the problem described above;",
"i.e., to achieve a reliable data transfer with a high data throughput rate in the simplest manner.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, it is proposed that different rate adaptation patterns (i.e., different puncturing or repetition patterns), will be used on the individual bits of the original data packet and the individual retransmission data packets so that the appropriate bits are in different places in the relevant packet before QAM modulation and can, therefore, be assigned different points or QAM symbols in the symbol field without altering the gray mapping.",
"This evenly distributes the reliability of the bits to be transferred between the data packet and the subsequent retransmission data packet so that high performance channel coding (for example, using turbo coding), can take place so that overall a sufficiently high performance is achieved for transferring information and data while at the same time guaranteeing a high data throughput rate.",
"The present invention can be achieved, for example, using a conventional rate adaptation algorithm whereby an offset value used according to such a rate adaptation algorithm that primarily determines the rate adaptation pattern is varied between the original data packet and the individual retransmission data packets.",
"By varying this offset value, a higher performance coding can be achieved than with conventional hybrid ARQ type I methods.",
"Preferably, the channel-coded bit flow can be divided into a number of parallel partial bit flows (known as bit separation), whereby independent rate adaptation patterns (i.e., independent puncturing or repetition of the bits), are applied to the individual partial bit flows so that once the bits of these partial bit flows have finally been combined (known as bit collection), the required rate adaptation can be achieved with the different offset value with regard to the original data packet and the individual retransmission data packets.",
"Dividing the bit flow into a number of partial bit flows achieves a particularly high level of flexibility for the channel coding.",
"Since the relevant receiver of data packets or retransmission data packets processed in this way must know the offset value used and explicit transmission of this offset value can be disadvantageous, the offset value can, for example, be changed synchronously with the time slot number (time slot) and/or synchronously with the frame number (frame) so that the receiver can conclude the offset value used directly from the time slot or frame received.",
"With the bit separation described above which divides the bits into a number of partial parallel bit flows, the different parallel partial bit flows can be combined proportionally per data packet or retransmission data packet in the final bit collection.",
"This is particularly advantageous when using bit repetition.",
"The aforementioned offset value can be set for the original data packet and the individual retransmission data packets such that the shift in the resulting data adaptation patterns with respect to one another is at its maximum and/or as many of the corresponding bits as possible of the original data packet or the retransmission data packet in the final modulation can be mapped to different points in the two-dimensional symbol field.",
"The aforementioned method works best if the bits are mapped directly to the required modulation symbol field after rate adaptation.",
"This is not normally the case though as there is often a process known as interleaving, in which the bits are temporally reordered between rate adaptation and modulation.",
"With a random interleaver, neighboring bits would be randomly distributed to the respective points or symbols of the two-dimensional symbol field so that the shift by one bit achieved with the aforementioned variation of the offset value would also produce a random change in the points or symbols of the two-dimensional symbol field.",
"This would not be ideal since at best the assignment would be changed such that a bit with relatively low reliability when the original data packet was transferred would be mapped to a position with higher reliability in the modulation symbol field (e.g., in the QAM symbol field) when a retransmission data packet is later transferred (and vice versa), whereas with a random replacement only a gain of approximately 50% of the maximum possible gain could be achieved.",
"For this reason, it is preferable to use a highly regular interleaver for interleaving, such as a block interleaver, whereby the number of columns to which the interleaver distributes the bits with subsequent replacement or permutation of columns, and the number of points or symbols with different weightings and levels of reliability in the symbol field used should be a prime number so that assignment is optimum.",
"When requesting several retransmission data packets, it is advantageous if the chosen rate adaptation pattern (i.e., the puncturing or repetition pattern), is applied from retransmission data packet to retransmission data packet.",
"Using the shift in rate adaptation pattern proposed as part of the present invention between the data packet sent originally and the subsequent retransmission data packet or packets, the same code rate is retained, but the transfer quality and the bit error rate can be improved.",
"In general, compared with the method described in the introduction and known from the prior art, the method according to the present invention is much less complex whereby, in particular, no new stages need to be implemented in the method to achieve the present invention.",
"The present invention will now be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings using preferred embodiments for transferring packet-oriented data in a mobile radio system whereby the present invention is, of course, not restricted to mobile radio systems but can be used in all types of communication systems in which an ARQ method is used for transferring data.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIG. 1 shows the signal processing according to a packet-oriented ARQ method in the present invention.",
"FIG. 2 shows the communication in a mobile radio system.",
"FIG. 3 shows a rate adaptation algorithm that can be used as part of the present invention for rate adaptation.",
"FIGS. 4A-4D show the mapping of bits from a data packet sent originally or from retransmission data packets to QAM symbols according to the prior art.",
"FIG. 5 shows a simplified block diagram of a rate adaptation.",
"FIG. 6 shows a graphical representation of a rate adaptation mode.",
"FIG. 7 shows a graphical representation of a rate adaptation mode.",
"FIG. 8 shows a simplified block diagram of a rate adaptation.",
"FIG. 9 shows a simplified block diagram of a rate adaptation.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION As already explained, it is assumed that packet-oriented data is to be transferred in a mobile radio system such as that shown schematically in FIG. 2 with the aid of the present invention.",
"FIG. 2 shows, by way of example, the communication between a base station 1 and a mobile station 2 in a mobile radio system;",
"e.g., a UMTS mobile radio system.",
"Information is transferred from the base station 1 to the mobile station 2 via a “downlink”",
"channel DL while information from the mobile station 2 is transferred to the base station 1 using the “uplink”",
"channel UL.",
"The present invention will now be described in detail using the example of transferring packet-oriented data from the base station 1 to a mobile station 2 (i.e., using transferring packet-oriented data via the “downlink”",
"channel), although the present invention can be applied analogously to transferring data via the “uplink”",
"channel.",
"Furthermore, the present invention will be described using the signal processing measures in the sender whereby it should be noted that to evaluate the data processed in this way on the sender side, in the receiver the signal should be processed in reverse order so that the present invention concerns not only the sender side but also the receiver side.",
"In FIG. 1 , the signal processing for the data and header information in the data packets is carried out by a hybrid ARQ method according to the present invention.",
"On the header side, the header information generated by function block 3 is routed to function block 12 that ensures that all the headers from all the data packets that should be sent in one radio packet are combined in a single header (known as “header concatenation”).",
"Function block 13 adds the resulting header information CRC bits for header recognition.",
"Function block 14 then codes the channels and the rate from the resulting bit flow is adapted by function block 15 .",
"Interleaver 16 causes any symbols or bits routed to it to be reordered in a particular way and temporally spaced.",
"The data blocks that are output by interleaver 16 are assigned by function block 17 to the individual send or radio frames (known as “radio frame segmentation”).",
"On the data side, function block 4 adds CRC bits.",
"Function block 5 splits the data fed to channel coder 6 such that channel coder 6 can always carry out coding restricted to a certain number of bits.",
"The channel coding carried out by channel coder 6 adds redundant information to the data to be sent.",
"As such, several data packets sent consecutively have bits with the same information origin.",
"The bits that are output from channel coder 6 are routed to function block 19 that sets the bit rate for the bit flow by removing or leaving out individual bits (known as puncturing) or repeating individual bits (known as repetition).",
"DTX bits (Discontinuous Transmission) can be added to the data flow later by function block 9 .",
"Furthermore, function blocks 10 and 11 on the data side have the same functions as function blocks 16 and 17 on the header side.",
"The bits that are output on the data and header side are then each mapped or multiplexed by function block 18 to the available physical transmission or send channels (known as “multiplexing”) and with the aid of suitable modulation, such as QAM modulation, are transferred to the receiver.",
"With the hybrid ARQ type I method, in the event of errored receipt or errored decoding of a data packet by the receiver, a retransmission data packet is requested which is completely or partially identical to the previously sent and errored data packet.",
"Depending on whether the retransmission packet contains the same or less data than the original data packet, the retransmission is either complete or partial.",
"The data packet and the retransmission data packet have at least some bits with the same information origin.",
"Through common evaluation of the sent data packet and the requested retransmission data packet, the receiver can therefore re-obtain the originally sent information in better quality.",
"The present invention primarily concerns function section 19 shown in FIG. 1 .",
"This function section 19 encompasses function block 20 which, depending on a control by function block 3 , divides the bits that are output from the upstream channel coder 6 into at least two parallel partial bit flows that are separately subjected to rate adaptation;",
"i.e., independently from one another.",
"FIG. 1 shows three partial bit flows A-C whereby for each partial bit flow there is a function block 21 - 23 to adapt the rates;",
"i.e., to puncture or repeat individual bits.",
"In this way, a number of differently coded parallel bit flows are created which are routed to a further function block 24 .",
"This further function block 24 is tasked with collecting the individual bits of the parallel bits flows in the same order as that used by function block 20 for bit separation;",
"i.e., for division into individual parallel partial bit flows (bit collection).",
"This ensures that the order of the remaining bits after the rate adaptation is unaltered.",
"As previously explained, the rates for the individual partial bit flows A-C can be adapted separately by the function blocks 21 - 23 .",
"In particular, the bits of one or more partial bit flows need not be punctured or repeated.",
"All in all, the rate adaptation for the partial bit flows A-C should be selected such that a desired rate adaptation pattern can be used by all of function section 19 on the channel-coded bit flow output by function block 6 for each data packet or retransmission data packet.",
"With the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 of function section 19 with a number of parallel rate adaptations, a high level of flexibility can be achieved for the coding.",
"Function section 19 is designed such that, as a function of control by function block 3 , it applies a different rate adaptation pattern to the bits of a retransmission data packet than to the bits of the data packet originally sent.",
"That is, function block 19 is informed by function block 3 whether a retransmission data packet has been requested by the receiver whereby function section 19 in this case selects or sets the rate adaptation pattern for the individual function blocks 21 - 23 so that overall the bits of the retransmission data packet are processed with a different rate adaptation pattern from then the bits of the data packet originally sent.",
"The overall rate adaptation employed by function section 19 can be carried out according to the rate adaptation algorithm shown in FIG. 3 that is known from the prior art.",
"The rate-matching algorithm contained in the UMTS standard is described in [25.",
"212].",
"As key parameters it uses: X b : Number of coded bits per packet in the bit flow b e ini : Initial error value (N TTI /3) e plus : Increment for the error value during puncturing/repetition e minus : Decrement for the error value per output bit In the existing standard (e.g., for turbo-coded transport channels for the downlink with fixed bit positions (Chapter 4.",
"1 in [25.",
"212])) these parameters are determined as follows for puncturing: e ini =N max .",
"(5.1) Where N max is the maximum number of bits per parity bit flow before the rate matching determined across all transport formats and transport channels.",
"The increments and decrements of the error value are calculated as follows: e plus =a×N max , e minus =a×|ΔN i b |, (5.2) where a=2 applies to the first parity bit flow and a=1 for the second parity bit flow.",
"|ΔN i b | is the number of punctured bits per bit flow b for the transport channel i. In particular, a rate adaptation parameter e ini is used which indicates an offset value valid for the rate adaptation carried out with regard to the rate adaptation pattern used.",
"At the start of the rate adaptation algorithm shown in FIG. 3 , an error variable e is initialized with the offset value e ini whereby the error e for puncturing is, for example, the ratio between the actual puncturing rate and the required puncturing rate.",
"The index m of the current bit to be processed is set to the first bit (i.e., is set to the value 1) and an auxiliary error parameter e plus is initialized.",
"For all bits of data packet number i to be processed, a loop is then run, with the number of bits of the data packet designated by X i .",
"Within this loop the error e is first updated using a further auxiliary error parameter e minus and checked to determine whether the resulting error e is greater than zero to determine whether the relevant bit should be punctured or not.",
"If the aforementioned condition is met, the relevant bit is set to an auxiliary value δ and therefore punctured;",
"i.e., blocked for the subsequent data transfer.",
"If, however, the aforementioned condition is not met, the relevant bit is selected for the data transfer and the error e is recalculated using the first auxiliary error parameter e plus .",
"To conclude the data adaptation or puncturing algorithm, the bit index m is incremented and, hence, the next bit is selected for processing as described above.",
"The rate adaptation pattern used on the bit of a data packet or retransmission data packet can be significantly influenced by the choice of offset value e ini .",
"By varying this offset value e ini , a different rate adaptation pattern can be used on a retransmission data packet than on the data packet originally sent, whereby the rate adaptation can be used particularly with reference to the parity bits of the individual partial bit flows A-C (compare FIG. 1 ).",
"Since the receiver of the data packets or retransmission data packets processed in this way must know the rate adaptation pattern or offset value e ini used, the offset value e ini can, for example, be varied synchronously with the time slot number (time slot) and/or synchronously with the frame number (frame) so that the receiver can conclude the offset value e ini used directly from the number of the time slot or frame received and hence conclude the rate adaptation pattern used.",
"A redundant version is therefore defined by an e ini .",
"The offset value e ini is beneficially selected for the data packet originally sent and the retransmission data packet so that the shift in the resulting data adaptation patterns with respect to one another is at its maximum;",
"i.e., as great as possible.",
"Furthermore, the offset value e ini is beneficially selected for the data packet originally sent and the retransmission data packet so that as many of the corresponding bits as possible of both packets can be mapped in the final modulation (in particular, the QAM modulation), to different points in the two-dimensional symbol field (compare, for example, the diagrams in FIG. 4 ).",
"This can be achieved, for example, by setting the offset value e ini for the original data packet to e ini =0 and for the subsequent retransmission data packet to e ini =e plus .",
"In the first instance, the first bit is punctured while in the second instance, the last bit of the retransmission data packet is punctured so that the position of all the in-between bits are also shifted by one place.",
"This ensures (with a suitable design of the subsequent interleaver 10 and the subsequent gray mapping to achieve an appropriate modulation) that a bit for both transfers is mapped to different points in the two-dimensional symbol field which is advantageous for an even distribution of the reliability of the bits transferred.",
"A further advantage is that the retransmission data packet also contains new information and not just the bits of the original data packet so that there is also a gain here.",
"The assignment of the offset value e ini can be coordinated for the individual partial bit flows A-C so that, for example, depending on the algorithm selected, e ini for the individual partial bit flows A-C can be alternatively set to zero or e plus .",
"When transferring several retransmission data packets, the chosen rate adaptation pattern (i.e., the chosen puncturing or repetition pattern), should be beneficially applied from retransmission data packet to retransmission data packet.",
"For the data packet originally sent and the first retransmission data packet, the offset value e ini can, as described above, be set to zero or e plus , whereby for the subsequent retransmission different values should be used.",
"So, for example, for the k th iteration, the value k·e minus can be used for the offset value e ini which shifts the rate adaptation pattern by k bits.",
"Similarly, for the retransmission data packet 2k, k−e minus can be used as the offset value e ini and for the retransmission data packet number 2k+1, k−e minus +e plus can be used as the offset value e ini .",
"This ensures that all the bits, (with the exception of the bits directly at the start before the first puncturing/repetition and the bits directly at the end after the last puncturing/repetition), for consecutive retransmission data packets have different allocations to the individual points or QAM symbols in the QAM symbol field whereby different points can also be punctured or repeated.",
"Depending on the code rate, different numbers of parity bits are available per channel coding process.",
"As such, the number of possible redundant versions (which are formed entirely of parity bits that have not yet been sent and therefore represent the maximum IR gain) is also dependent on the code rate.",
"A further embodiment therefore provides for the calculation of this maximum number of redundant versions N pat in the receiver without additional signaling.",
"The redundant version R=(0, 1, 2, .",
", N pat −1} that is used in the current packet is calculated, for example, from the system frame number (SFN) using R=SFN mod N pat .",
"If the packet number and the frame limit are not identical, the packet or slot number can be used to calculate the redundant version.",
"If the redundant version R is calculated using the last specified equation, there is also an option to take measures in the sender which optimize the sequence of the various redundant versions for each block.",
"An additional decision criterion is therefore added to the scheduling algorithm that determined which user is served in the following transmission interval.",
"This criterion calculates for all users for whom current data is available the next resulting redundant version R in the transmission interval.",
"In addition to an evaluation of the usual criteria (such as signal-to-noise ratio and required quality of service), preference will be given to the user for whom the best addition to the previously transferred redundancy occurs in the interval in question.",
"This maximizes the probability that decoding will successfully take place after the transmission of this block and, hence, increases the capacity of the communication system.",
"This means that despite the calculation of the redundant version from the SFN, the IR gain can be optimized without requiring explicit signaling.",
"For example, the scheduling algorithm with lower priority sends packets to those mobile stations in which in the current interval a retransmission data packet with a redundant version would be sent which they have already received in an earlier packet as then there is no IR gain.",
"For function block 10 shown in FIG. 1 , a highly regular interleaver should be used instead of a ransom interleaver.",
"So, for example, a block interleaver could be used for function block 10 .",
"If the interleaver used for function block 10 is a highly regular interleaver and if the number of columns to which the interleaver distributes the bits routed to it and the number of the points with different weightings in the two-dimensional QAM symbol field or generally the number of differently weighted modulation points is a prime number, then the assignment is optimum.",
"The interleaver proposed by the current UMTS standard is a block interleaver with additional column replacement which distributes neighboring bits to columns that are separated by multiples of “5”",
"and then replaces the columns.",
"When using 30 columns, the column permutation is, for example, as follows: Column number 0, 20, 10, 5, 15, 25, 3, 13, 23, 8 .",
"Since the value “5”",
"is a prime number with the number of the different bits, for example, for 16-QAM modulation (namely two bits) and 64-QAM modulation (namely three bits), this combination, for example, produces good scrambling or good mapping to the appropriate modulation points.",
"According to a further preferred embodiment, the bit rate adaptation pattern selected for the data packet originally sent, or for the retransmission data packet or for the retransmission data packets, can be selected such that the individual bit rate adaptation patterns only differ at the start and at the end while remaining identical in the middle section whereby the puncturing or repetition rates of the individual bit rate adaptation patterns are identical.",
"This is particularly suitable for high data rates since the memory overhead in the receiver compared with the previously described embodiment, in which the offset value is varied, can be reduced by the puncturing or repetition rate used.",
"The performance gain achieved compared with conventional procedures lies mainly in the even distribution of the transferred information to the bits with different levels of protection or reliability to the QAM symbols.",
"The gain from the new information added to the retransmission data packet that cannot be exploited in this embodiment is balanced by the advantage of the reduced memory overhead.",
"According to a further embodiment of the principle already described, a puncturing/repetition pattern, hereinafter known as a basic pattern, can be defined via which n more bits are punctured or repeated than originally envisaged.",
"Based on this basic pattern, n different repetition patterns are then derived by not performing the first j puncturings or repetitions at the start of the basic pattern and omitting the last n-j puncturings or repetitions at the end.",
"j can equal 0, 1, .",
"n. As a result, the basic pattern is cut at the start and at the end at a total of n positions;",
"there are n possible options which all lead to a different allocation of the in-between bits to the different bits of the QAM symbols.",
"For the data and retransmission data packets, a different number n of puncturings or repetitions is omitted at the start and at the end, with the total number of puncturings and repetitions remaining constant.",
"The following describes further embodiments of the present invention which alone and in any combination with the present invention and its features as already described are covered by the present invention and which also show how the default for the various parameters of the rate matching (rate adaptation) algorithm must be controlled to produce rate matching patterns that suitably combine averaging of the bit reliabilities and the coding gain through IR (incremental redundancy);",
"i.e., the coding gain that results from repeated transfer of a data packet to which different rate matching patterns are applied.",
"With specific control it is possible to generate different modes which have different focuses in terms of IR coding gain and gain through averaging the bit reliabilities;",
"for example, a mode known as “quasi-chase-combining mode”",
"which achieves an ideal gain by averaging the bit reliabilities using the new concept of a basic pattern with minimal additional memory overhead, and the “combined IR and symbol mapping modes”",
"in which the IR gain increases with increasing puncturing rates and which enable the optimum working point to be set in terms of the IR gain compared with gain from averaging the bit reliabilities by setting suitable defaults for the rate matching parameters for each retransmission data packet.",
"FIG. 5 shows, by way of example, the signal processing sequence for HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), a further development of the UMTS standard that enables packet-switched connections with higher data rates.",
"It is important here that bit separation, which separates systematic and parity bits of the turbo code, is carried out after channel coding.",
"Rate matching is only carried out in the p parity bit flows (here, 2 flows) and such that for each approximately N p /p bits are punctured or repeated (p=2 in FIG. 5 ).",
"Alternatively, especially in the case of repetition, there can be a rate matching block for the systematic bits or bit separation can be avoided or there can be a rate matching block for the entire bit flow.",
"In a symbol of the 16-QAM there are two well protected bits (marked in the following with H for high reliability) and two poorly protected bits (L for low reliability);",
"i.e., k=2.",
"This bit-to-symbol allocation is represented by {H, H, L, L}.",
"If in the various redundant versions the difference of the previously punctured/repeated bits ΔB=k×(2×m−1), where m is an integer, then there is a reversal of the allocation of the current bits to the other bit reliability: {L, L, H, H}.",
"If for example, a bit is sent in the first transfer to an L bit, then in the second transfer it is sent to an H bit.",
"For ΔB=1×(2×m−1) this reversal takes place for 50% of the bits anyway.",
"A 64-QAM symbol includes two bits (i.e., k=2 here as well) with higher, medium and lower reliability: {H, H, M, M, L, L}.",
"The extra bit class M is added for medium reliability.",
"If ΔB=k×(3×m−2) for the current bits then the allocation is cyclically replaced by one bit class;",
"i.e., {L, L, H, H, M, M};",
"for ΔB=k×(3×m−1) this produces {M, M, L, L, H, H}.",
"An ideal averaging of the bit reliabilities can, therefore, be achieved after three packet transfers.",
"There is, however, already a partial averaging effect after two transfers.",
"A suitable parameter k can also be found for modulation types with different number of bits per bit class.",
"For the 8-PSK for each symbol there is, for example, two well protected bits and 1 poorly protected bit: {H, H, L}.",
"If k=1 is selected, then for ΔB=k×(3×m−2) the allocation is {L, H, H}, for ΔB=k×(3×m−1) the allocation is {H, L, L};",
"i.e., in both cases the bit reliability is averaged after just two transfers.",
"If other processes are used to allocate the individual bits to the symbol points, then the afore-mentioned considerations can be easily adapted.",
"If, for example, for 16-QAM the allocation is changed such that each symbol gives the sequence {H, L, H, L}, then an ideal reversal of the bit reliabilities for ΔB=k×(2×m−1) is given where k=1.",
"For the “quasi-chase-combining mode,” the IR gain is relinquished where possible in favor of minimizing the memory overhead but maximum gain is achieved through averaging the bit reliability.",
"A basic pattern is generated which is determined in the conventional manner, but instead of the number of punctured or repeated bits Np required originally, with the increased number N p,IR =N p +k×(N pat −1), where N pat is the number of different redundant versions and k is the number of consecutive bits f equal reliability per symbol.",
"In this mode, N pat need not be determined using the code rate and can be fixed in advance (e.g., N pat =2 to minimize the memory overhead).",
"For each transmission of a packet, Np bits are selected from this basic pattern that are actually punctured/repeated, whereby during the selection care can be taken that the number of previously puncture/repeated bits in the various retransmission data packets is different from k (see also later).",
"This ensures that after the initial retransmission, the symbol mapping of the bits is changed such that in the majority of the packet there is a balance of bit reliability and, therefore, a gain is achieved.",
"The actual puncturing/repetition pattern is therefore determined solely from the retransmission number r determined in the mobile station and the known rate matching parameters.",
"The total memory overhead only increases by k×(N pat −1) bits.",
"A further advantage is that by using a basic pattern, the superimposition of the various transmissions of a packet in the receiver (known as soft combining) can be simply and efficiently achieved.",
"Generally, this process can be used to generate combined IR and symbol mapping methods whose IR gain increases with increasing puncturing rate N p .",
"This is particularly beneficial since the unavoidable performance loss in the decoding is automatically countered by puncturing.",
"Other parity bits are punctured in the retransmission packets.",
"This is achieved in that, firstly, the relevant redundant version is generated from the basic pattern as stated above, based on the retransmission number R generated in the mobile station and then the puncturing/repetition pattern is cyclically replaced for each parity bit flow by n offset bits.",
"With increasing n offset , the punctured/repeated bits in the different redundant versions are increasingly shifted in relation to one another so that the achievable gain through incremental redundancy is increased.",
"At the same time, however, there is a decrease in the percentage of bits which are transferred to another bit reliability level compared with the preceding redundant version;",
"i.e., the gain from averaging the bit reliabilities decreases.",
"With the aid of simulations, it is possible to determine an optimum working point for the system and to define it based on the n offset parameter so that additional signaling is not necessary.",
"It is, however, conceivable to change the parameter n offset semi-statically or dynamically to be able to switch between the different modes (the “quasi-chase-combining mode”",
"corresponds to a “combined IR and symbol mapping method”",
"where n offset =0).",
"The total memory overhead increases for n offset ≠0 by N p ×(N pat −1).",
"Functionally, this can be implemented by using basic patterns by re-using the conventional rate matching algorithm that is required anyway and adding an HSDPA extension as shown in FIG. 8 .",
"In UMTS, a further subscriber connection (DSCH, dedicated channel) is always maintained (e.g., parallel to an HSDPA connection (shown as HS-DSCH)) so that the conventional rate matching algorithm is required in the receiver.",
"Thanks to the modular construction, as shown in FIG. 8 , the function blocks that are required in the receiver anyway can be efficiently re-used.",
"The present invention described here uses the same algorithm to calculate the basic pattern but with a different default for the parameter e minus : e minus =a·|ΔN i b −N pat −1|, (5.3) where N pat is the number of different rate matching patterns.",
"The number of redundant versions used can be fixed, but is ideally calculated based on the code rate such that as many redundant versions are generated as are necessary to be able to send all the existing parity bits at least once.",
"The number of redundant versions is obtained by rounding up the quotient of the existing parity bits to sent parity bits per packet.",
"For low code rates, this criterion produces very few redundant versions.",
"This number does ensure that each parity bit can be sent at least once, but for the individual bits does not generate a good average in terms of the number of uses in the redundant versions.",
"This can be countered by calculating the number of redundant versions from the quotient of the existing parity bits to the punctured parity bits per packet.",
"It is then possible for each parity bit to be punctured approximately once and transferred approximately N pat −1 times and, therefore, approximately the same number of transmissions is achieved for all bits as soon as all the redundant versions have been sent.",
"Practically, the number of redundant versions can be determined from the maximum of the criteria described above;",
"e.g., N pat = max ( ⌈ N ges N ges - N p ⌉ , ⌈ N ges N p ⌉ ) ( 5.5 ) For systematic codes, such as the turbo code used in UMTS, the number of redundant versions can be calculated as follows: N pat = max ( ⌈ p · X b N ges - X b ⌉ , ⌈ p · X b ( p + 1 ) · X b - N ges ⌉ ) ( 5.5 ) with X b =N ges ·R c +N ov .",
"(5.6) Where N ges represents the total number of bits per block transferred, p the number of parity bit flows (e.g., p=2 in UMTS), R, the code rate and N ov all overhead bits;",
"e.g., for error recognition (CRC) and terminating the channel coding.",
"In the case of repetitions (i.e., very low code rates), similar considerations apply.",
"Here the number of redundant versions can be determined from the quotient of the total number of transferred bits divided by the number of repeated bits.",
"Alternatively, the repetition rate can be converted to an equivalent puncturing rate.",
"A repetition of 270% would, for example, correspond to a puncturing rate of 30%, since 30% of the bits cannot be repeated three times (but only twice), so they have a lower reliability.",
"This is similar to a puncturing rate of 30% but in the case of puncturing the differences are greater.",
"Using this equivalent puncturing rate, the number of redundant versions can then be calculated as described above.",
"After calculating the basic pattern, the rate matching patterns of the individual redundant versions R are calculated by transferring once and once only in the two parity bit flows the first (R mod ) and last (N pac -R mod ) bit positions of those marked in the basic pattern as bits to be punctured/repeated.",
"The following applies: R mod =R mod N pat .",
"(5.7) The rate matching pattern resulting in the total bit flow and the effect on the bit allocation within the symbol are shown in FIG. 6 by way of example for 16-QAM, code Rate=1/2, puncturing and three different redundant versions.",
"The incoming bit flow contains a parity bit from parity bit flow 1 and 2 after each systematic bit.",
"Starting from a basic pattern, FIG. 6 shows how puncturing in each parity bit flow starts and ends one bit later.",
"The total bit flow as shown in FIG. 6 results after the bit collection.",
"Apart from small areas at the start of the block and end of the block, there is optimum averaging of the bit reliabilities after the first repetition (R=1), the same bits (i.e., arranged under one another) were sent once with high reliability (no shading) and once with lower reliability (gray shading).",
"The area in which this optimum averaging occurs is shown in FIG. 6 as the area between the two bold lines.",
"For each transfer, only two additional bits of incremental redundancy are transferred.",
"Since, generally, the number of bits to be punctured is greater than the number of redundant versions, the fact that the basic pattern is calculated based on an increased number of bits to be punctured has almost no effect on the regularity of the puncturing within the blocks;",
"the influence of the small areas at the start and end of the block can, therefore, be ignored.",
"Using a basic pattern in the “quasi-chase mode”",
"enables very efficient memory access when superimposing the various block transfers for soft combining.",
"In this instance, the soft-combining memory can be implemented directly before the rate matching in the receiver so that the total memory overhead after all the transfer only corresponds to the number of transferred bits per block plus R×2.",
"A combined IR and symbol mapping mode can be achieved by performing cyclical replacement of the rate matching pattern by n offset bits in each parity bit flow.",
"FIG. 7 shows the above example for n offset =1.",
"It is clear that in contrast to FIG. 6 there is no longer a large contiguous area as a result of averaging the bit reliabilities after the first repetition.",
"This averaging only occurs for a small percentage of the bits and so the gain from this effect is reduced.",
"However, in this mode other bits are punctured which each repetition so the number of punctured bits is added to the incremental redundancy and, hence, the IR gain compared with FIG. 6 is considerably increased.",
"At the same time, the total memory overhead is increased to the number of bits transferred per block plus R×N p (N p : number of punctured bits).",
"These models apply analogously to repetitions.",
"A “combined IR and symbol mapping mode”",
"alternatively can be achieved by changing the default of the initial value of the error variables once for each redundant version.",
"This is achieved, for example, by setting the parameter a=1 for all parity bit flows in equation (5.2) and calculating e ini in each redundant version r using e ini ( r )=(( e ini ( r− 1)− e minus −1)mod e plus )+1 (5.8) The mod function designates the remainder of the division and so in this case has the value range {0, 1, .",
", e plus −1}.",
"The following applies to the initial value: e ini (0)= N max und r={ 1, 2 , .",
", N pat −1}.",
"(5.9) This means that as r increases the rate matching pattern is always shifted forward by one bit position.",
"The mod function in equation (5.8) limits the maximum possible offset so that in each redundant version there is exactly the same number of puncturings and repetitions.",
"This choice can ensure that different parity bits are transferred in the different redundant versions and hence the maximum IR gain can be achieved.",
"Using this method, the achievable gain by averaging the bit reliabilities is large for high rates, for low code rates there is a benefit in this respect compared with a basic pattern.",
"To maximize the gain from averaging the bit reliabilities for an implementation per e ini variation, the sequence of the redundant versions used must be optimized;",
"e.g., by using 16-QAM for the first transfer r=0 and for the second r=N pat −1.",
"This embodiment can also be combined with a variation of the initial value of the error variable e ini for each packet transfer.",
"“Combined IR and symbol mapping modes”",
"then arise in which the IR gain increases with increasing puncturing rates and which enable the optimum working point to be set in terms of the IR gain compared with gain from averaging the bit reliabilities by setting suitable defaults for the e ini for each retransmission data packet.",
"Furthermore, options are conceivable that work for a certain repetition number in “quasi-chase mode”",
"and for another in “combined IR and symbol mapping mode.”",
"In all cases, all redundant versions can be decoded without any additional signaling overhead.",
"FIG. 9 shows an implementation wherein the parameter e ini is varied as a function of the current redundant version R. Thanks to the modular construction, this method is possible for puncturing, repetition and a wide variety of transport formats.",
"By suitably selecting the parameters (e.g., number of redundant versions, number of bit flows), it can be adapted to a variety of modulation and coding schemes.",
"Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, those of skill in the art will recognize that changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the hereafter appended claims.",
"REFERENCES [25.",
"212] “Multiplexing and Channel Coding (FDD) (Release 1999),” Technical Specification 3GPP TS 25.",
"212"
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is the National Stage of International Application No. PCT/GB2010/050770, filed May 11, 2010, which claims the benefit of GB 0908193.6, filed May 13, 2009, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to treatment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in animal subjects, in particular humans.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, characterised by unexplained cardiac hypertrophy, is the commonest inherited cardiac condition (prevalence ˜0.2%). The clinical manifestations of HCM can range from the complete absence of symptoms to dyspnoea, chest pains, palpitations, and syncope; HCM's first presentation may even be as sudden cardiac death. Left ventricular outflow tract obstruction that accounts for some of these symptoms in a proportion of HCM patients, may be amenable to drug therapies and to interventions such as surgical septal myectomy or alcohol septal ablation. However, less progress has been made, in the treatment of the substantial number of patients with HCM without obstruction, in whom dyspnoea appears to be primarily due to diastolic dysfunction. Evidence supporting the benefit of the negative chrono-inotropes (eg, beta-blockers, verapamil, disopyramide), which are extensively used by these patients, is limited mandating a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying HCM with the intention of identifying novel therapies.
HCM is a disease of the perturbed sarcomere, with >400 mutations having been identified in genes encoding cardiac contractile proteins (e.g. β-myosin heavy chain, cardiac myosin-binding protein-C, α-tropomyosin, cardiac troponin T and I). HCM-causing mutations increase sarcomeric Ca 2+ sensitivity, ATPase activity and the energetic “tension cost” of myocyte contraction. These biophysical considerations have led to the proposal that the pathophysiology of HCM is attributable, at least in part, to excessive sarcomeric energy use. Supporting this proposal, myocardial energy defects have been associated with HCM, in both animal and human disease. Indeed, consistent with a functional role for this energy deficiency, LV relaxation (an energy requiring process), has been observed to be aberrant in HCM.
Perhexiline (2-(2,2-dicyclohexylethyl) piperidine) is a known anti-anginal agent that operates principally by virtue of its ability to shift metabolism in the heart from free fatty acid metabolism to glucose, which is more energy efficient.
WO-A-2005/087233 discloses the use of perhexiline for the treatment of chronic heart failure (CHF) where the CHF is a result of an initial inciting influence of ischaemia or where the CHF is a result of an initial non-ischaemic inciting influence.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of treating hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), which comprises administering to an animal in need thereof an effective amount of perhexiline, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, to treat said HCM. The animal is preferably a mammal and most preferably a human.
The HCM treated may be obstructive HCM or non-obstructive HCM.
According to another aspect of the present invention, perhexiline, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, is provided for use in the treatment of HCM.
According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a treatment programme for treating HCM, which involves the co-use or co-administration of perhexiline or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof with one or more other compounds that are advantageous in treating HCM or the symptoms thereof, for example a calcium channel blocker such as verapamil, or a beta blocker.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a study carried out to establish a causative role for energy deficiency and to evaluate the impact of perhexiline on cardiac energy status in HCM.
FIGS. 2A-2D represent the baseline data of HCM vs controls, more particularly:
FIG. 2A represents the peak oxygen consumption (peak V O2 ) results;
FIG. 2B represents the diastolic ventricular filling results (nTTPF, normalized for heart rate Time To Peak Filling) and shows that PCr/ATP ratio (a measure of cardiac energetic state) is lower in HCM patients versus controls;
FIG. 2C is an example of 31 P cardiac spectra of a HCM patient in which Point C indicates centre of phosphorus coil, VOI; voxel of interest, 2,3-DPG indicates 2,3-diphosphoglycerate; PDE, phosphodiesters; PCr, phosphocreatine; α, β, γ indicate the three phosphorus nuclei of ATP, and shows that nTTPF (a measure of the rate of active relaxation of the LV) is essentially unchanged on exercise in the controls bu abnormally slows in the HCM patients; and
FIG. 2D represent the myocardial energetic results (PCr/γ ATP ratio) and shows that exercise capacity (peak VO2) is lower in HCM patients versus controls.
FIGS. 3A and 3B respectively represent the effect of Placebo and Perhexiline on peak oxygen consumption (peak V O2 ), p=0.003 and myocardial energetic (PCr/γATP ratio), p=0.003, where the p value represents the significant difference between perhexiline and placebo response. Peak VO2 (exercise capacity) increases with Perhexiline ( FIG. 3A ). Perhexiline improves PCr/ATP ratio (energetic status of heart), but this was unchanged in the placebo group ( FIG. 3B ).
FIGS. 3C and 3D respectively represent nTTPF changes in the placebo group ( 3 C) and the perhexiline group ( 3 D), p=0.03, where the p value represents the significant difference between perhexiline and placebo response. In the placebo group nTTPF (a measure of the rate of LV active relaxation) abnormally lengthened at baseline and on treatment. The response in healthy controls is shown in dotted lines. Perhexiline ( FIG. 3D ) normalises the response to similar to that seen in healthy controls (also shown in dotted lines).
FIG. 3E and 3F illustrate that NYHA score (of breathlessness) falls (improves) with perhexiline ( 3 E) and Minnesota living with heart failure questionnaire score falls (=improved quality of life) on perhexiline ( 3 F).
FIG. 4 illustrate the causative role for energy deficiency in the pathophysiology of HCM.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In aspects of the present invention, the perhexiline exists in the form of a salt of perhexiline, preferably the maleate salt. The perhexiline may be used at doses titrated to achieve therapeutic but non-toxic plasma perhexiline levels (Kennedy J A, Kiosoglous A J, Murphy G A, Pelle M A, Horowitz J D. “Effect of perhexiline and oxfenicine on myocardial function and metabolism during low-flow ischemia/reperfusion in the isolated rat heart”, J Cardiovasc Pharmacol 2000; 36(6):794-801). Typical doses for a normal patient would be 100 mg to 300 mg daily, although smaller doses may be appropriate for patients who are slow metabolisers of perhexiline.
Physiologically acceptable formulations, such as salts, of the compound perhexiline, may be used in the invention. Additionally, a medicament may be formulated for administration in any convenient way and the invention therefore also includes within its scope use of the medicament in a conventional manner in a mixture with one or more physiologically acceptable carriers or excipients. Preferably, the carriers should be “acceptable” in the sense of being compatible with the other ingredients of the formulation and not deleterious to the recipient thereof. The medicament may be formulated for oral, buccal, parental, intravenous or rectal administration. Additionally, or alternatively, the medicament may be formulated in a more conventional form such as a tablet, capsule, syrup, elixir or any other known oral dosage form.
Perhexiline exists as two enantiomers, (+)-perhexiline and (−)- perhexiline which are known to be metabolized differently based on patient genotype. It has further been proposed that the atypical kinetics observed in the inhibition of both cardiac and liver derived CPT-1 may have been due to different inhibition affinities of each enantiomer of perhexiline for both the muscle and liver isoforms of CPT-1, and that (+)- and (−)-perhexiline may exhibit differential selectivity for target enzymes in cardiac and hepatic tissues.
In accordance with the invention, perhexiline may be used as a racemic mixture (typically a 50:50 mixture of the enantiomers), or as one or other of the (+)-perhexiline and (−)- perhexiline enantiomers, or as a mixture of the two enantiomers in any ratio.
Based on relative pharmacodynamic activities of the individual enantiomers, therapeutic drug monitoring may be employed based on specific enantiomer target concentration ranges in plasma for the racemic preparation of perhexiline, or by developing a target concentration for a chiral preparation.
As indicated, the preferred subject for treatment is a human. However, the treatment may be a veterinary one. For example, treatment of cats suffering from feline HCM is contemplated.
The invention is illustrated by the following non-limiting examples.
EXAMPLE
A study was carried out to establish a causative role for energy deficiency and to evaluate the impact of perhexiline on cardiac energy status in HCM.
The study was approved by the South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee and the investigation conforms with the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. All study participants provided written informed consent. The study was a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled parallel-group design of minimum 3 months duration. FIG. 1 represents a flow chart of the study. The pre-defined primary end point was peak oxygen consumption (peak VO2). Pre-defined secondary end points were symptomatic status, resting myocardial energetics (PCr/γ-ATP ratio) and diastolic function at rest and during exercise (nTTPF). 33 controls of similar age and gender distribution were recruited for comparison with baseline data of HCM patients. All controls had no history or symptoms of any cardiovascular disease with normal ECG and echocardiogram (LVEF≧55%).
Patients were recruited from dedicated cardiomyopathy clinics at The Heart Hospital, University College London Hospitals, London and Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK between 2006 and 2008. Inclusion criteria were 18 to 80 years old symptomatic HCM patients (predominant symptom breathlessness) in sinus rhythm with reduced peak VO2 (<75% of predicted for age and gender) and no significant LVOT obstruction at rest (gradient<30 mmHg). Exclusion criteria were presence of epicardial coronary artery disease, abnormal liver function test, concomitant use of amiodarone or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (due to potential drug interactions with perhexiline), peripheral neuropathy and women of childbearing potential. Diabetic patients were also excluded to maintain the blindness of the study as Perhexiline may lead to a reduction in plasma glucose in such patients necessitating a reduction in anti-diabetic therapy. 46 consecutive consenting patients who met these entry criteria were recruited into the study.
Patients were subjected to a number of tests and assessments as follows.
Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test
This was performed using a Schiller CS-200 Ergo-Spiro exercise machine which was calibrated before every study. Subjects underwent spirometry and this was followed by symptom-limited erect treadmill exercise testing using a standard ramp protocol with simultaneous respiratory gas analysis (Bruce R A, McDonough J R. Stress testing in screening for cardiovascular disease. Bull N Y Acad Med 1969; 45(12):1288-1305.; Davies N J, Denison D M. The measurement of metabolic gas exchange and minute volume by mass spectrometry alone. Respir Physiol 1979;36(2):261-267). Peak oxygen consumption (peak VO2) was defined as the highest VO2 achieved during exercise and was expressed in ml/min/kg.
Symptomatic Status Assessment
All HCM patients filled in Minnesota Living with heart failure questionnaire and were also assessed for NHYA class.
Transthoracic Echocardiography
Echocardiography was performed with participants in the left lateral decubitus position with a Vivid 7 echocardiographic machine (GE Healthcare) and a 2.5-MHz transducer. Resting scans were acquired in standard apical 4-chamber and apical 2-chamber. LV volumes were obtained by biplane echocardiography, and LVEF was derived from a modified Simpson's formula (Lang R M, Bierig M, Devereux R B et al. Recommendations for chamber quantification: a report from the American Society of Echocardiography's Guidelines and Standards Committee and the Chamber Quantification Writing Group, developed in conjunction with the European Association of Echocardiography, a branch of the European Society of Cardiology. J Am Soc Echocardiogr 2005;18(12):1440-1463.) Pulse wave doppler sample volume was used to assess resting LVOTO gradient.
Radionuclide Ventriculography
Diastolic filling were assessed by equilibrium R-wave gated blood pool scintigraphy using a standard technique at rest and during graded semi erect exercise on a cycle ergometer (Atherton J J, Moore T D, Lele S S et al. Diastolic ventricular interaction in chronic heart failure. Lancet 1997;349 (9067):1720-1724; Lele S S, Macfarlane D, Morrison S, Thomson H, Khafagi F, Frenneaux M. Determinants of exercise capacity in patients with coronary artery disease and mild to moderate systolic dysfunction. Role of heart rate and diastolic filling abnormalities. Eur Heart J 1996;17(2):204-212). Peak left ventricular filling rate in terms of end-diastolic count per second (EDC/s) and time to peak filling normalised for R-R interval (nTTPF) in milliseconds were measured at rest and during exercise (50% of heart rate reserve). The validity of these radionuclide measures of diastolic filling at high heart rates has been established previously (Atherton et al. and Lele et al., see above).
31P Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS)
In vivo myocardial energetics were measured using a MRS at 3-Tesla Phillips Achieva 3T scanner (Shivu G N, Abozguia K, Phan T T, Ahmed I, Henning A, Frenneaux M. (31)P magnetic resonance spectroscopy to measure in vivo cardiac energetics in normal myocardium and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Experiences at 3T. Eur J Radiol 2008). A java magnetic resonance user interface v3.0 (jMRUI) was used for analysis (see Naressi A, Couturier C, Castang I, de Beer R, Graveron-Demilly D. Java-based graphical user interface for MRUI, a software package for quantitation of in vivo/medical magnetic resonance spectroscopy signals. Comput Biol Med 2001;31(4):269-286)). PCr and γ-ATP peaks was used to determine the PCr/γ-ATP ratio which is a measure of the cardiac energetic state (Neubauer S, Krahe T, Schindler R et al. 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy in dilated cardiomyopathy and coronary artery disease. Altered cardiac high-energy phosphate metabolism in heart failure. Circulation 1992;86(6):1810-1818). Data were analyzed by an investigator who was blinded to the participants' clinical status. Carmeo-Rao ratio was used to assess signal to noise ratio. A typical example of cardiac 31 P MRS spectra from a patient with HCM is shown in FIG. 2C .
Intervention
Following baseline studies, patients were randomized in a double-blind fashion to receive either perhexiline (n=25) or placebo (n=21) 100 mg OD. Serum perhexiline levels were obtained at 1 and 4 weeks after initiation of the drug. Dose adjustments were advised by an unblinded physician according to serum level to achieve therapeutic level and to avoid drug toxicity. Identical dosage adjustments were also made for randomly allocated placebo-treated patients by the unblinded observer to ensure that blinding of the investigators was maintained. At the end of study, patients were re-evaluated as described earlier.
Statistical Analysis
Data were analyzed using SPSS ver. 15.0 for Window and Microsoft Office Excel 2007, and expressed as Mean±Standard Deviation (SD). Comparison of continuous variables between Perhexiline and Placebo baseline data were determined by unpaired Student's t-test (2-tail) if variables were normally distributed and the Mann-Whitney U-test if the data were non-normally distributed. ANCOVA with baseline values as covariates was performed to test for the significance of differences in the perhexiline versus placebo group after treatment. For the primary end point, the sample size required to detect a change in peak Vo2 of 3 ml/kg/min versus placebo group with a power of 90% and probability of 5% is 44. 30 patients will be required to identify a 5% change in cardiac PCr/ATP ratio with a power of 90% and a p value of <0.05. 40 patients will be required to detect a change ≧25% in nTTPF with power of 0.99 with probability of 5%. Therefore, we aimed to study 50 patients including the drop-outs, 32 of them will take part in the MRS study.
The characteristics and treatment of participants are shown in Table 1 below. Vo 2 : refers to peak oxygen consumption, ACE: refers to angiotensin-converting enzyme, and ARB refers to angiotensin II receptor blockers.
TABLE 1 The clinical characteristics of HCM patients and controls. HCM HCM P HCM Controls P value (Perhexiline) (Placebo) value Age [years] 55 ± 0.26 52 ± 0.46 0.2 56 ± 0.46 54 ± 0.64 0.42 Number (Male) 46 (34) 33 (20) 0.64 25 (19) 21 (17) 0.69 Heart Rate [bpm] 69 ± 0.27 82 ± 0.47 <0.001* 69 ± 0.53 69 ± 0.52 0.97 Systolic BP [mmHg] 126 ± 0.64 126 ± 0.44 0.93 123 ± 0.84 130 ± 0.92 0.2 Diastolic BP [mmHg] 76 ± 0.25 78 ± 0.34 0.33 74 ± 0.45 78 ± 0.57 0.24 Peak Vo 2 23 ± 0.12 38 ± 0.24 <0.0001* 22.2 ± 0.2 23.56 ± 0.27 0.42 [ml/kg/min] Resting nTTPF 0.17 ± 0.002 0.18 ± 0.003 0.44 0.19 ± 0.003 0.17 ± 0.004 0.52 (sec) PCr/γATP ratio 1.28 ± 0.01 2.26 ± 0.02 <0.0001* 1.27 ± 0.02 1.29 ± 0.01 0.86 Drug therapy - no. Beta-blocker 17 0 — 10 7 0.21 CC-blocker 24 0 — 11 8 0.53 Diuretic 10 0 — 4 5 0.49 ACE inhibitor 6 0 — 3 2 0.84 ARB 4 0 — 3 1 0.41 Warfarin 5 0 — 2 3 0.48 Statin 15 0 — 7 7 0.9 *indicates statistical significance
Baseline Data (HCM Versus Controls)
The clinical characteristics and cardiopulmonary exercise test results of all the HCM patients and controls are shown in Table 1. The groups were well matched with respect to age and gender. Heart rate was lower in the HCM group compared to controls due to medication use (beta blockers and/or calcium channel blockers).
The resting cardiac PCr/γATP ratio was lower in HCM patients than in controls (1.28±0.01 vs 2.26±0.02, p<0.0001) (see FIGS. 2A and B), and this remained so after excluding patients taking beta blocker therapy (p<0.0001). At rest, nTTPF, a sensitive marker of LV relaxation, was similar in HCM patients and controls (0.17±0.002 vs 0.18±0.003 sec, p=0.44). During submaximal exercise (at a workload that achieved 50% of heart rate reserve) it remained relatively constant in controls (from 0.18±0.003 sec to 0.16±0.002 sec, [δnTTPF=−0.02±0.003 sec]), but lengthened in patients (from 0.17±0.002 to 0.34±0.002 sec, [εnTTPF=+0.17±0.002 sec]) p<0.0001, ( FIG. 2C ). This pattern persisted after exclusion of patients on beta blockers and remained significantly different from controls (p<0.0001). Patients exhibited marked exercise limitation compared to controls (23±0.12 vs 38±0.24 ml/kg/min, p<0.0001) ( FIG. 2D ).
Randomized, Double Blinded, Placebo-controlled Parallel-group
The perhexiline and placebo groups were well matched (see Table 1). Only one patient (on placebo) did not complete the study due to poor compliance. Side effects were restricted to transient nausea (n=3) and dizziness (n=2) in the perhexiline group and transient nausea (n=2) and headache (n=1) in the placebo group during the first week of treatment. There were no deaths during the study period.
Myocardial Energetics
The PCr/γATP ratio increased with perhexiline (1.27±0.02 to 1.73±0.02) as compared with placebo (1.29±0.01 to 1.23±0.01), p=0.003 (see FIG. 3A ). The mean Cramer-Rao ratios for PCr and γATP were 7.5% and 10.8% respectively. The effect of perhexiline on PCr/γATP ratio remained significant after inclusion of the 3 patients with Cramer Rao ratios >20 from the analysis (p=0.02).
Diastolic Ventricular Filling
Whereas the placebo group showed similar prolongation of nTTPF during exercise before and after therapy (0.17±0.004 to 0.35±0.005 [εnTTPF 0.18±0.006 sec] and 0.23±0.006 to 0.35±0.005 sec [εnTTPF 0.12±0.006 sec], respectively), in the perhexiline group there was a substantial improvement on therapy with nTTPF at rest and exercise similar (0.19±0.003 to 0.19±0.004 sec[εnTTPF 0.00±0.003 sec]) p=0.03 between the perhexiline and placebo response (see FIGS. 3B and 3C ).
Symptomatic Status
More patients in the perhexiline group than in the placebo group had improvements in NYHA classification (67 percent vs. 30 percent) and fewer had worsening (8 percent vs. 20 percent) (p<0.001). Minnesota Living with heart failure questionnaire score showed an improvement (fall in score) in the perhexiline group (from 36.13±0.94 to 28±0.75) but did not change in the placebo group (p<0.001) (see FIGS. 3D and 3E ).
Exercise Capacity (Peak Oxygen Consumption)
Peak V O2 at baseline was similar in the perhexiline and placebo groups (Table 1). After treatment, Peak V O2 fell by −1.23 ml/kg/min in the placebo group (from 23.56±0.27 to 22.32±0.27 ml/kg/min) but increased by 2.09 ml/kg/min in the perhexiline group (from 22.2±0.2 to 24.29±0.2 ml/kg/min), p=0.003 (see FIG. 3F ).
Discussion of Results
The study indicates that patients with symptomatic HCM manifest a cardiac energy defect at rest (reduced PCr/γATP ratio). This defect was accompanied by a slowing of the energy-requiring early diastolic LV active relaxation during exercise (prolongation of nTTPF). The metabolic modulator perhexiline resulted in significant myocardial energy augmentation. Supporting a causative role for energy deficiency in the pathophysiology of HCM, this energy augmentation was accompanied by striking normalisation of HCM's characteristic “paradoxical” nTTPF-prolongation in exercise. These biochemical and physiological improvements translated into significant subjective (NYHA classification and QoL score) and objective (V O2 ) clinical benefits in symptomatic HCM patients already on optimal medical therapy (see FIG. 4 ). | The invention relates to perhexiline, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, for use in the treatment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, as well as to a method of treating HCM, which comprises administering to an animal in need thereof an effective amount of perhexiline, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, to treat said HCM. The invention further relates to a treatment programme for treating HCM, which involves the co-use or co-administration of perhexiline with one or more other compounds that are advantageous in treating HCM or the symptoms thereof. | Analyze the document's illustrations and descriptions to summarize the main idea's core structure and function. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is the National Stage of International Application No. PCT/GB2010/050770, filed May 11, 2010, which claims the benefit of GB 0908193.6, filed May 13, 2009, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to treatment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in animal subjects, in particular humans.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, characterised by unexplained cardiac hypertrophy, is the commonest inherited cardiac condition (prevalence ˜0.2%).",
"The clinical manifestations of HCM can range from the complete absence of symptoms to dyspnoea, chest pains, palpitations, and syncope;",
"HCM's first presentation may even be as sudden cardiac death.",
"Left ventricular outflow tract obstruction that accounts for some of these symptoms in a proportion of HCM patients, may be amenable to drug therapies and to interventions such as surgical septal myectomy or alcohol septal ablation.",
"However, less progress has been made, in the treatment of the substantial number of patients with HCM without obstruction, in whom dyspnoea appears to be primarily due to diastolic dysfunction.",
"Evidence supporting the benefit of the negative chrono-inotropes (eg, beta-blockers, verapamil, disopyramide), which are extensively used by these patients, is limited mandating a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying HCM with the intention of identifying novel therapies.",
"HCM is a disease of the perturbed sarcomere, with >400 mutations having been identified in genes encoding cardiac contractile proteins (e.g. β-myosin heavy chain, cardiac myosin-binding protein-C, α-tropomyosin, cardiac troponin T and I).",
"HCM-causing mutations increase sarcomeric Ca 2+ sensitivity, ATPase activity and the energetic “tension cost”",
"of myocyte contraction.",
"These biophysical considerations have led to the proposal that the pathophysiology of HCM is attributable, at least in part, to excessive sarcomeric energy use.",
"Supporting this proposal, myocardial energy defects have been associated with HCM, in both animal and human disease.",
"Indeed, consistent with a functional role for this energy deficiency, LV relaxation (an energy requiring process), has been observed to be aberrant in HCM.",
"Perhexiline (2-(2,2-dicyclohexylethyl) piperidine) is a known anti-anginal agent that operates principally by virtue of its ability to shift metabolism in the heart from free fatty acid metabolism to glucose, which is more energy efficient.",
"WO-A-2005/087233 discloses the use of perhexiline for the treatment of chronic heart failure (CHF) where the CHF is a result of an initial inciting influence of ischaemia or where the CHF is a result of an initial non-ischaemic inciting influence.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of treating hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), which comprises administering to an animal in need thereof an effective amount of perhexiline, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, to treat said HCM.",
"The animal is preferably a mammal and most preferably a human.",
"The HCM treated may be obstructive HCM or non-obstructive HCM.",
"According to another aspect of the present invention, perhexiline, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, is provided for use in the treatment of HCM.",
"According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a treatment programme for treating HCM, which involves the co-use or co-administration of perhexiline or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof with one or more other compounds that are advantageous in treating HCM or the symptoms thereof, for example a calcium channel blocker such as verapamil, or a beta blocker.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a study carried out to establish a causative role for energy deficiency and to evaluate the impact of perhexiline on cardiac energy status in HCM.",
"FIGS. 2A-2D represent the baseline data of HCM vs controls, more particularly: FIG. 2A represents the peak oxygen consumption (peak V O2 ) results;",
"FIG. 2B represents the diastolic ventricular filling results (nTTPF, normalized for heart rate Time To Peak Filling) and shows that PCr/ATP ratio (a measure of cardiac energetic state) is lower in HCM patients versus controls;",
"FIG. 2C is an example of 31 P cardiac spectra of a HCM patient in which Point C indicates centre of phosphorus coil, VOI;",
"voxel of interest, 2,3-DPG indicates 2,3-diphosphoglycerate;",
"PDE, phosphodiesters;",
"PCr, phosphocreatine;",
"α, β, γ indicate the three phosphorus nuclei of ATP, and shows that nTTPF (a measure of the rate of active relaxation of the LV) is essentially unchanged on exercise in the controls bu abnormally slows in the HCM patients;",
"and FIG. 2D represent the myocardial energetic results (PCr/γ ATP ratio) and shows that exercise capacity (peak VO2) is lower in HCM patients versus controls.",
"FIGS. 3A and 3B respectively represent the effect of Placebo and Perhexiline on peak oxygen consumption (peak V O2 ), p=0.003 and myocardial energetic (PCr/γATP ratio), p=0.003, where the p value represents the significant difference between perhexiline and placebo response.",
"Peak VO2 (exercise capacity) increases with Perhexiline ( FIG. 3A ).",
"Perhexiline improves PCr/ATP ratio (energetic status of heart), but this was unchanged in the placebo group ( FIG. 3B ).",
"FIGS. 3C and 3D respectively represent nTTPF changes in the placebo group ( 3 C) and the perhexiline group ( 3 D), p=0.03, where the p value represents the significant difference between perhexiline and placebo response.",
"In the placebo group nTTPF (a measure of the rate of LV active relaxation) abnormally lengthened at baseline and on treatment.",
"The response in healthy controls is shown in dotted lines.",
"Perhexiline ( FIG. 3D ) normalises the response to similar to that seen in healthy controls (also shown in dotted lines).",
"FIG. 3E and 3F illustrate that NYHA score (of breathlessness) falls (improves) with perhexiline ( 3 E) and Minnesota living with heart failure questionnaire score falls (=improved quality of life) on perhexiline ( 3 F).",
"FIG. 4 illustrate the causative role for energy deficiency in the pathophysiology of HCM.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In aspects of the present invention, the perhexiline exists in the form of a salt of perhexiline, preferably the maleate salt.",
"The perhexiline may be used at doses titrated to achieve therapeutic but non-toxic plasma perhexiline levels (Kennedy J A, Kiosoglous A J, Murphy G A, Pelle M A, Horowitz J D. “Effect of perhexiline and oxfenicine on myocardial function and metabolism during low-flow ischemia/reperfusion in the isolated rat heart”, J Cardiovasc Pharmacol 2000;",
"36(6):794-801).",
"Typical doses for a normal patient would be 100 mg to 300 mg daily, although smaller doses may be appropriate for patients who are slow metabolisers of perhexiline.",
"Physiologically acceptable formulations, such as salts, of the compound perhexiline, may be used in the invention.",
"Additionally, a medicament may be formulated for administration in any convenient way and the invention therefore also includes within its scope use of the medicament in a conventional manner in a mixture with one or more physiologically acceptable carriers or excipients.",
"Preferably, the carriers should be “acceptable”",
"in the sense of being compatible with the other ingredients of the formulation and not deleterious to the recipient thereof.",
"The medicament may be formulated for oral, buccal, parental, intravenous or rectal administration.",
"Additionally, or alternatively, the medicament may be formulated in a more conventional form such as a tablet, capsule, syrup, elixir or any other known oral dosage form.",
"Perhexiline exists as two enantiomers, (+)-perhexiline and (−)- perhexiline which are known to be metabolized differently based on patient genotype.",
"It has further been proposed that the atypical kinetics observed in the inhibition of both cardiac and liver derived CPT-1 may have been due to different inhibition affinities of each enantiomer of perhexiline for both the muscle and liver isoforms of CPT-1, and that (+)- and (−)-perhexiline may exhibit differential selectivity for target enzymes in cardiac and hepatic tissues.",
"In accordance with the invention, perhexiline may be used as a racemic mixture (typically a 50:50 mixture of the enantiomers), or as one or other of the (+)-perhexiline and (−)- perhexiline enantiomers, or as a mixture of the two enantiomers in any ratio.",
"Based on relative pharmacodynamic activities of the individual enantiomers, therapeutic drug monitoring may be employed based on specific enantiomer target concentration ranges in plasma for the racemic preparation of perhexiline, or by developing a target concentration for a chiral preparation.",
"As indicated, the preferred subject for treatment is a human.",
"However, the treatment may be a veterinary one.",
"For example, treatment of cats suffering from feline HCM is contemplated.",
"The invention is illustrated by the following non-limiting examples.",
"EXAMPLE A study was carried out to establish a causative role for energy deficiency and to evaluate the impact of perhexiline on cardiac energy status in HCM.",
"The study was approved by the South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee and the investigation conforms with the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki.",
"All study participants provided written informed consent.",
"The study was a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled parallel-group design of minimum 3 months duration.",
"FIG. 1 represents a flow chart of the study.",
"The pre-defined primary end point was peak oxygen consumption (peak VO2).",
"Pre-defined secondary end points were symptomatic status, resting myocardial energetics (PCr/γ-ATP ratio) and diastolic function at rest and during exercise (nTTPF).",
"33 controls of similar age and gender distribution were recruited for comparison with baseline data of HCM patients.",
"All controls had no history or symptoms of any cardiovascular disease with normal ECG and echocardiogram (LVEF≧55%).",
"Patients were recruited from dedicated cardiomyopathy clinics at The Heart Hospital, University College London Hospitals, London and Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK between 2006 and 2008.",
"Inclusion criteria were 18 to 80 years old symptomatic HCM patients (predominant symptom breathlessness) in sinus rhythm with reduced peak VO2 (<75% of predicted for age and gender) and no significant LVOT obstruction at rest (gradient<30 mmHg).",
"Exclusion criteria were presence of epicardial coronary artery disease, abnormal liver function test, concomitant use of amiodarone or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (due to potential drug interactions with perhexiline), peripheral neuropathy and women of childbearing potential.",
"Diabetic patients were also excluded to maintain the blindness of the study as Perhexiline may lead to a reduction in plasma glucose in such patients necessitating a reduction in anti-diabetic therapy.",
"46 consecutive consenting patients who met these entry criteria were recruited into the study.",
"Patients were subjected to a number of tests and assessments as follows.",
"Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test This was performed using a Schiller CS-200 Ergo-Spiro exercise machine which was calibrated before every study.",
"Subjects underwent spirometry and this was followed by symptom-limited erect treadmill exercise testing using a standard ramp protocol with simultaneous respiratory gas analysis (Bruce R A, McDonough J R. Stress testing in screening for cardiovascular disease.",
"Bull N Y Acad Med 1969;",
"45(12):1288-1305.",
"Davies N J, Denison D M. The measurement of metabolic gas exchange and minute volume by mass spectrometry alone.",
"Respir Physiol 1979;36(2):261-267).",
"Peak oxygen consumption (peak VO2) was defined as the highest VO2 achieved during exercise and was expressed in ml/min/kg.",
"Symptomatic Status Assessment All HCM patients filled in Minnesota Living with heart failure questionnaire and were also assessed for NHYA class.",
"Transthoracic Echocardiography Echocardiography was performed with participants in the left lateral decubitus position with a Vivid 7 echocardiographic machine (GE Healthcare) and a 2.5-MHz transducer.",
"Resting scans were acquired in standard apical 4-chamber and apical 2-chamber.",
"LV volumes were obtained by biplane echocardiography, and LVEF was derived from a modified Simpson's formula (Lang R M, Bierig M, Devereux R B et al.",
"Recommendations for chamber quantification: a report from the American Society of Echocardiography's Guidelines and Standards Committee and the Chamber Quantification Writing Group, developed in conjunction with the European Association of Echocardiography, a branch of the European Society of Cardiology.",
"J Am Soc Echocardiogr 2005;18(12):1440-1463.) Pulse wave doppler sample volume was used to assess resting LVOTO gradient.",
"Radionuclide Ventriculography Diastolic filling were assessed by equilibrium R-wave gated blood pool scintigraphy using a standard technique at rest and during graded semi erect exercise on a cycle ergometer (Atherton J J, Moore T D, Lele S S et al.",
"Diastolic ventricular interaction in chronic heart failure.",
"Lancet 1997;349 (9067):1720-1724;",
"Lele S S, Macfarlane D, Morrison S, Thomson H, Khafagi F, Frenneaux M. Determinants of exercise capacity in patients with coronary artery disease and mild to moderate systolic dysfunction.",
"Role of heart rate and diastolic filling abnormalities.",
"Eur Heart J 1996;17(2):204-212).",
"Peak left ventricular filling rate in terms of end-diastolic count per second (EDC/s) and time to peak filling normalised for R-R interval (nTTPF) in milliseconds were measured at rest and during exercise (50% of heart rate reserve).",
"The validity of these radionuclide measures of diastolic filling at high heart rates has been established previously (Atherton et al.",
"and Lele et al.",
", see above).",
"31P Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) In vivo myocardial energetics were measured using a MRS at 3-Tesla Phillips Achieva 3T scanner (Shivu G N, Abozguia K, Phan T T, Ahmed I, Henning A, Frenneaux M. (31)P magnetic resonance spectroscopy to measure in vivo cardiac energetics in normal myocardium and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Experiences at 3T.",
"Eur J Radiol 2008).",
"A java magnetic resonance user interface v3.0 (jMRUI) was used for analysis (see Naressi A, Couturier C, Castang I, de Beer R, Graveron-Demilly D. Java-based graphical user interface for MRUI, a software package for quantitation of in vivo/medical magnetic resonance spectroscopy signals.",
"Comput Biol Med 2001;31(4):269-286)).",
"PCr and γ-ATP peaks was used to determine the PCr/γ-ATP ratio which is a measure of the cardiac energetic state (Neubauer S, Krahe T, Schindler R et al.",
"31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy in dilated cardiomyopathy and coronary artery disease.",
"Altered cardiac high-energy phosphate metabolism in heart failure.",
"Circulation 1992;86(6):1810-1818).",
"Data were analyzed by an investigator who was blinded to the participants'",
"clinical status.",
"Carmeo-Rao ratio was used to assess signal to noise ratio.",
"A typical example of cardiac 31 P MRS spectra from a patient with HCM is shown in FIG. 2C .",
"Intervention Following baseline studies, patients were randomized in a double-blind fashion to receive either perhexiline (n=25) or placebo (n=21) 100 mg OD.",
"Serum perhexiline levels were obtained at 1 and 4 weeks after initiation of the drug.",
"Dose adjustments were advised by an unblinded physician according to serum level to achieve therapeutic level and to avoid drug toxicity.",
"Identical dosage adjustments were also made for randomly allocated placebo-treated patients by the unblinded observer to ensure that blinding of the investigators was maintained.",
"At the end of study, patients were re-evaluated as described earlier.",
"Statistical Analysis Data were analyzed using SPSS ver.",
"15.0 for Window and Microsoft Office Excel 2007, and expressed as Mean±Standard Deviation (SD).",
"Comparison of continuous variables between Perhexiline and Placebo baseline data were determined by unpaired Student's t-test (2-tail) if variables were normally distributed and the Mann-Whitney U-test if the data were non-normally distributed.",
"ANCOVA with baseline values as covariates was performed to test for the significance of differences in the perhexiline versus placebo group after treatment.",
"For the primary end point, the sample size required to detect a change in peak Vo2 of 3 ml/kg/min versus placebo group with a power of 90% and probability of 5% is 44.",
"30 patients will be required to identify a 5% change in cardiac PCr/ATP ratio with a power of 90% and a p value of <0.05.",
"40 patients will be required to detect a change ≧25% in nTTPF with power of 0.99 with probability of 5%.",
"Therefore, we aimed to study 50 patients including the drop-outs, 32 of them will take part in the MRS study.",
"The characteristics and treatment of participants are shown in Table 1 below.",
"Vo 2 : refers to peak oxygen consumption, ACE: refers to angiotensin-converting enzyme, and ARB refers to angiotensin II receptor blockers.",
"TABLE 1 The clinical characteristics of HCM patients and controls.",
"HCM HCM P HCM Controls P value (Perhexiline) (Placebo) value Age [years] 55 ± 0.26 52 ± 0.46 0.2 56 ± 0.46 54 ± 0.64 0.42 Number (Male) 46 (34) 33 (20) 0.64 25 (19) 21 (17) 0.69 Heart Rate [bpm] 69 ± 0.27 82 ± 0.47 <0.001* 69 ± 0.53 69 ± 0.52 0.97 Systolic BP [mmHg] 126 ± 0.64 126 ± 0.44 0.93 123 ± 0.84 130 ± 0.92 0.2 Diastolic BP [mmHg] 76 ± 0.25 78 ± 0.34 0.33 74 ± 0.45 78 ± 0.57 0.24 Peak Vo 2 23 ± 0.12 38 ± 0.24 <0.0001* 22.2 ± 0.2 23.56 ± 0.27 0.42 [ml/kg/min] Resting nTTPF 0.17 ± 0.002 0.18 ± 0.003 0.44 0.19 ± 0.003 0.17 ± 0.004 0.52 (sec) PCr/γATP ratio 1.28 ± 0.01 2.26 ± 0.02 <0.0001* 1.27 ± 0.02 1.29 ± 0.01 0.86 Drug therapy - no. Beta-blocker 17 0 — 10 7 0.21 CC-blocker 24 0 — 11 8 0.53 Diuretic 10 0 — 4 5 0.49 ACE inhibitor 6 0 — 3 2 0.84 ARB 4 0 — 3 1 0.41 Warfarin 5 0 — 2 3 0.48 Statin 15 0 — 7 7 0.9 *indicates statistical significance Baseline Data (HCM Versus Controls) The clinical characteristics and cardiopulmonary exercise test results of all the HCM patients and controls are shown in Table 1.",
"The groups were well matched with respect to age and gender.",
"Heart rate was lower in the HCM group compared to controls due to medication use (beta blockers and/or calcium channel blockers).",
"The resting cardiac PCr/γATP ratio was lower in HCM patients than in controls (1.28±0.01 vs 2.26±0.02, p<0.0001) (see FIGS. 2A and B), and this remained so after excluding patients taking beta blocker therapy (p<0.0001).",
"At rest, nTTPF, a sensitive marker of LV relaxation, was similar in HCM patients and controls (0.17±0.002 vs 0.18±0.003 sec, p=0.44).",
"During submaximal exercise (at a workload that achieved 50% of heart rate reserve) it remained relatively constant in controls (from 0.18±0.003 sec to 0.16±0.002 sec, [δnTTPF=−0.02±0.003 sec]), but lengthened in patients (from 0.17±0.002 to 0.34±0.002 sec, [εnTTPF=+0.17±0.002 sec]) p<0.0001, ( FIG. 2C ).",
"This pattern persisted after exclusion of patients on beta blockers and remained significantly different from controls (p<0.0001).",
"Patients exhibited marked exercise limitation compared to controls (23±0.12 vs 38±0.24 ml/kg/min, p<0.0001) ( FIG. 2D ).",
"Randomized, Double Blinded, Placebo-controlled Parallel-group The perhexiline and placebo groups were well matched (see Table 1).",
"Only one patient (on placebo) did not complete the study due to poor compliance.",
"Side effects were restricted to transient nausea (n=3) and dizziness (n=2) in the perhexiline group and transient nausea (n=2) and headache (n=1) in the placebo group during the first week of treatment.",
"There were no deaths during the study period.",
"Myocardial Energetics The PCr/γATP ratio increased with perhexiline (1.27±0.02 to 1.73±0.02) as compared with placebo (1.29±0.01 to 1.23±0.01), p=0.003 (see FIG. 3A ).",
"The mean Cramer-Rao ratios for PCr and γATP were 7.5% and 10.8% respectively.",
"The effect of perhexiline on PCr/γATP ratio remained significant after inclusion of the 3 patients with Cramer Rao ratios >20 from the analysis (p=0.02).",
"Diastolic Ventricular Filling Whereas the placebo group showed similar prolongation of nTTPF during exercise before and after therapy (0.17±0.004 to 0.35±0.005 [εnTTPF 0.18±0.006 sec] and 0.23±0.006 to 0.35±0.005 sec [εnTTPF 0.12±0.006 sec], respectively), in the perhexiline group there was a substantial improvement on therapy with nTTPF at rest and exercise similar (0.19±0.003 to 0.19±0.004 sec[εnTTPF 0.00±0.003 sec]) p=0.03 between the perhexiline and placebo response (see FIGS. 3B and 3C ).",
"Symptomatic Status More patients in the perhexiline group than in the placebo group had improvements in NYHA classification (67 percent vs.",
"30 percent) and fewer had worsening (8 percent vs.",
"20 percent) (p<0.001).",
"Minnesota Living with heart failure questionnaire score showed an improvement (fall in score) in the perhexiline group (from 36.13±0.94 to 28±0.75) but did not change in the placebo group (p<0.001) (see FIGS. 3D and 3E ).",
"Exercise Capacity (Peak Oxygen Consumption) Peak V O2 at baseline was similar in the perhexiline and placebo groups (Table 1).",
"After treatment, Peak V O2 fell by −1.23 ml/kg/min in the placebo group (from 23.56±0.27 to 22.32±0.27 ml/kg/min) but increased by 2.09 ml/kg/min in the perhexiline group (from 22.2±0.2 to 24.29±0.2 ml/kg/min), p=0.003 (see FIG. 3F ).",
"Discussion of Results The study indicates that patients with symptomatic HCM manifest a cardiac energy defect at rest (reduced PCr/γATP ratio).",
"This defect was accompanied by a slowing of the energy-requiring early diastolic LV active relaxation during exercise (prolongation of nTTPF).",
"The metabolic modulator perhexiline resulted in significant myocardial energy augmentation.",
"Supporting a causative role for energy deficiency in the pathophysiology of HCM, this energy augmentation was accompanied by striking normalisation of HCM's characteristic “paradoxical”",
"nTTPF-prolongation in exercise.",
"These biochemical and physiological improvements translated into significant subjective (NYHA classification and QoL score) and objective (V O2 ) clinical benefits in symptomatic HCM patients already on optimal medical therapy (see FIG. 4 )."
] |
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION AND PRIORITY CLAIM
This application claims the priority of Provisional Application No. 60/598,309, filed 2 Aug. 2004.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to organizers. More particularly, it relates to organizers for holding collapsible bags and their contents, such as bags containing grocery items, upright during transport, such as in the trunk of a car.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
When a grocery bag that contains grocery items is placed upright in the trunk of a car for transport, it is inherently prone to tipping over and spilling its contents as the car accelerates, stops, and turns. Hence, a person may take measures that are appropriate to guard against that possibility. A filled bag may be buttressed by tightly packing it in the trunk, using other filled bags and/or other available objects. Filled bags may also be placed in cardboard boxes. Netting is also a means for confining bags in a car or van.
The present invention relates to a new and unique organizer that is useful in holding filled bags upright, yet can be collapsed substantially flat when not in use. By being collapsible to a flat condition, the organizer, unlike a cardboard box, can be kept in a vehicle without taking up a large volume of space. Yet when needed to hold a bag or bags upright, it can be conveniently erected, and the bag or bags easily placed inside it.
When collapsed to substantially flat condition, the organizer can still be used to carry certain articles, especially, but not exclusively, flat sheet materials like papers and notebooks.
One aspect of the invention relates to a collapsible and erectable organizer comprising several fabric panels stitched together to form a bottom and four sides surrounding an open interior space that, when the organizer is erected and stood upright on an underlying support, comprises an open top that allows articles to be set into the interior space.
The bottom comprises a fabric panel that is divided into two equal rectangular halves by a line of stitching that provides a line of folding allowing the two halves to fold along the line of stitching. When the organizer is fully opened and erected, and the bottom is placed on an underlying surface like the floor of a car trunk, the two bottom halves lie side-by-side and generally flat. The four sides are generally upright with the top open. This enables the user to place into the organizer articles that would otherwise be inclined to tip and spill their contents (potted plants, prepared foods, beverages, grocery bags, etc.).
The sides of the organizer are also fabric panels that are stitched together along adjoining edges and also stitched to the edges of the bottom panel. Carrying handles are attached to two opposite sides that are stiffened by inserts between their fabric and a fabric liner on the inside of the fabric. The other pair of sides are fabric that, although also lined on the inside, lack such stiffeners, thereby allowing them to collapse. Attachments are provided at the midpoints of the top edges of that other pair of sides allowing them to be fastened together at those locations when they are collapsed. The two stiffened sides containing the handles remain essentially rectangular.
Velcro® pieces on the confronting faces of the outsides of the bottom halves attach the two halves together when they are folded into substantial face-to-face contact as the organizer is being collapsed from erected condition. This also collapses the unstiffened sides, which can then be tucked inward to enable them to be fastened together at the midpoints of their upper edges. In this condition, the top is still open to either side of the tucked-in sides, allowing the organizer to be filled with certain materials like books and notebooks. The handles can be drawn together so that the organizer and contents can be easily carried using only one hand.
Conversely, certain contents may be easier to carry by separating the two handles and using both hands to carry them. Likewise, when the organizer is erected and rather full, it can be conveniently carried using two hands, one grasping each handle.
The foregoing, along with additional features, advantages, and benefits of the invention, will be seen in the ensuing description and claims, which should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The drawings disclose a presently preferred embodiment of the invention according to the best mode contemplated at this time for carrying out the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows side view of the organizer in a folded-up state.
FIG. 2 is a top plan view with the top spread partially open.
FIG. 3 is a top plan view with the top spread more fully open, but the bottom still folded.
FIG. 4 is a top plan view with the top spread fully open, and the bottom spread flat to give the organizer a generally rectangular shape.
FIG. 5 is front view of FIG. 4 .
FIG. 6 is a left side view of FIG. 5 .
FIG. 7 is left side view corresponding to the FIG. 2 .
FIG. 8 is a bottom view of FIG. 6 .
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
When fully open and erected as in FIGS. 4 , 5 , 6 , and 8 , the fabric organizer 10 has a bottom 12 and four sides 14 , 16 , 18 , 20 . The top is open. The sides and bottom are fabric lined on the inside. Sides 16 and 20 comprise rectangular pieces of semi-rigid material, such as cardboard, that provide rigidifying inserts completely enclosed by fabric on the outside and liner fabric on the inside that are stitched together around their edges. Sides 14 and 18 and bottom 12 comprise fabric and liner stitched together along their edges, but without an insert. While not always necessary, it is generally desirable that the fabric comprising the outside of the organizer be durable and of relatively heavy weight in order to contribute to the shape and stability of the open organizer. Fabric handles 22 , 24 are attached to the outside of opposite sides 16 , 20 as shown. On the outside of bottom 12 are two pieces of Velcro® hook material 26 , 28 and two pieces of Velcro loop material 30 , 32 arranged in a rectangular pattern as shown.
The bottom 12 is divided into two halves by a fold 34 defined by a row of stitching which continues up sides 14 and 18 , also defining folds 36 and 38 . When the bottom is folded onto itself as in the conditions of FIGS. 1 , 2 , 3 , and 7 . Piece 26 adheres to piece 30 and piece 28 to piece 32 . The two halves extend into the space between the sides 16 - 20 .
Vertical fold lines 36 , 38 divide each side 14 , 18 into two halves. Those sides also tend to fold approximately along imaginary lines 40 , 42 allowing the organizer to assume conditions like those of FIGS. 1 , 2 , and 7 . Proximate the top of each fold line 36 , 38 is an attachment means 44 such as two mating parts of a snap or else opposite Velcro® pieces. FIG. 2 shows the attachment means holding the sides 14 , 18 together at the tops of the fold lines 36 , 38 . For the organizer to assume fully open condition for erection to hold grocery bags, the attachment elements are detached from each other.
Sewn to the inside of sides 14 and 18 just below the attachment means 44 are ends of respective rectangular flaps 46 , 48 . The flaps have a height about one-fourth to one-third the height of the sides. With the organizer fully open, free ends of flaps 46 , 48 are brought together in overlapping relation. Opposite Velcro® pieces 50 , 52 fasten the free ends of the flaps together to create two generally equal sized interior compartments, with the flaps forming a divider between the compartments. Each is capable of holding a paper grocery bag containing groceries (not shown). When the grocery bags are removed and the organizer is to be collapsed to the folded FIG. 1 condition, flaps 46 , 48 are disconnected and folded back as in FIG. 3 . The sides 14 and 18 are brought together at the top and fastened together by attachment means 44 , with appropriate folding of the sides as in FIG. 2 concurrent with folding of the bottom. The bottom is pushed up along its fold line 34 to fold its halves onto each other so that the opposite Velcro® pieces on the bottom can re-attach to hold the bottom in folded condition.
The Velcro® pieces on the bottom aid in holding the organizer against sliding on a carpet or fabric, such as in a car trunk, when the organizer is opened and used to contain the grocery bags. It keeps the bags upright and in place. The handles allow the organizer to be carried by hand, even with grocery bags in it. In a modified form, the two halves of the bottom could be provided with respective rigidifying inserts without impairing the ability for the halves to be folded onto each other when the organizer is collapsed.
The organizer can also be used in the condition of FIG. 2 to carry flat sheet-like materials, such as notebooks and the like, or other small objects. The arrows in FIG. 7 show how such materials can be inserted to the organizer while the bottom remains fully folded. Each of the four fastener pieces 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 is disposed proximate a corner of bottom 12 to provide a line about which sides 16 and 20 can pivot when the organizer is collapsed with pieces 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 fastening the two bottom halves, and attachment means 44 is attaching sides 14 and 18 together. Such pivoting tends to enlarge the open area to either side of the attachment means at the top of the organizer.
While a presently preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it should be appreciated that principles of the invention apply to all embodiments falling within the scope of the following claims. | A collapsible and erectable organizer for holding bags and their contents, such as bags containing grocery items, upright during transport, such as in the trunk of a car. The organizer has Velcro® pieces on its bottom that resist slipping on a carpeted surface and that secure opposite halves of the bottom when the bottom is folded in half to collapse the organizer. The organizer can be used when collapsed to carry smaller items. | Summarize the key points of the given patent document. | [
"REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION AND PRIORITY CLAIM This application claims the priority of Provisional Application No. 60/598,309, filed 2 Aug. 2004.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to organizers.",
"More particularly, it relates to organizers for holding collapsible bags and their contents, such as bags containing grocery items, upright during transport, such as in the trunk of a car.",
"BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION When a grocery bag that contains grocery items is placed upright in the trunk of a car for transport, it is inherently prone to tipping over and spilling its contents as the car accelerates, stops, and turns.",
"Hence, a person may take measures that are appropriate to guard against that possibility.",
"A filled bag may be buttressed by tightly packing it in the trunk, using other filled bags and/or other available objects.",
"Filled bags may also be placed in cardboard boxes.",
"Netting is also a means for confining bags in a car or van.",
"The present invention relates to a new and unique organizer that is useful in holding filled bags upright, yet can be collapsed substantially flat when not in use.",
"By being collapsible to a flat condition, the organizer, unlike a cardboard box, can be kept in a vehicle without taking up a large volume of space.",
"Yet when needed to hold a bag or bags upright, it can be conveniently erected, and the bag or bags easily placed inside it.",
"When collapsed to substantially flat condition, the organizer can still be used to carry certain articles, especially, but not exclusively, flat sheet materials like papers and notebooks.",
"One aspect of the invention relates to a collapsible and erectable organizer comprising several fabric panels stitched together to form a bottom and four sides surrounding an open interior space that, when the organizer is erected and stood upright on an underlying support, comprises an open top that allows articles to be set into the interior space.",
"The bottom comprises a fabric panel that is divided into two equal rectangular halves by a line of stitching that provides a line of folding allowing the two halves to fold along the line of stitching.",
"When the organizer is fully opened and erected, and the bottom is placed on an underlying surface like the floor of a car trunk, the two bottom halves lie side-by-side and generally flat.",
"The four sides are generally upright with the top open.",
"This enables the user to place into the organizer articles that would otherwise be inclined to tip and spill their contents (potted plants, prepared foods, beverages, grocery bags, etc.).",
"The sides of the organizer are also fabric panels that are stitched together along adjoining edges and also stitched to the edges of the bottom panel.",
"Carrying handles are attached to two opposite sides that are stiffened by inserts between their fabric and a fabric liner on the inside of the fabric.",
"The other pair of sides are fabric that, although also lined on the inside, lack such stiffeners, thereby allowing them to collapse.",
"Attachments are provided at the midpoints of the top edges of that other pair of sides allowing them to be fastened together at those locations when they are collapsed.",
"The two stiffened sides containing the handles remain essentially rectangular.",
"Velcro® pieces on the confronting faces of the outsides of the bottom halves attach the two halves together when they are folded into substantial face-to-face contact as the organizer is being collapsed from erected condition.",
"This also collapses the unstiffened sides, which can then be tucked inward to enable them to be fastened together at the midpoints of their upper edges.",
"In this condition, the top is still open to either side of the tucked-in sides, allowing the organizer to be filled with certain materials like books and notebooks.",
"The handles can be drawn together so that the organizer and contents can be easily carried using only one hand.",
"Conversely, certain contents may be easier to carry by separating the two handles and using both hands to carry them.",
"Likewise, when the organizer is erected and rather full, it can be conveniently carried using two hands, one grasping each handle.",
"The foregoing, along with additional features, advantages, and benefits of the invention, will be seen in the ensuing description and claims, which should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.",
"The drawings disclose a presently preferred embodiment of the invention according to the best mode contemplated at this time for carrying out the invention.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows side view of the organizer in a folded-up state.",
"FIG. 2 is a top plan view with the top spread partially open.",
"FIG. 3 is a top plan view with the top spread more fully open, but the bottom still folded.",
"FIG. 4 is a top plan view with the top spread fully open, and the bottom spread flat to give the organizer a generally rectangular shape.",
"FIG. 5 is front view of FIG. 4 .",
"FIG. 6 is a left side view of FIG. 5 .",
"FIG. 7 is left side view corresponding to the FIG. 2 .",
"FIG. 8 is a bottom view of FIG. 6 .",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT When fully open and erected as in FIGS. 4 , 5 , 6 , and 8 , the fabric organizer 10 has a bottom 12 and four sides 14 , 16 , 18 , 20 .",
"The top is open.",
"The sides and bottom are fabric lined on the inside.",
"Sides 16 and 20 comprise rectangular pieces of semi-rigid material, such as cardboard, that provide rigidifying inserts completely enclosed by fabric on the outside and liner fabric on the inside that are stitched together around their edges.",
"Sides 14 and 18 and bottom 12 comprise fabric and liner stitched together along their edges, but without an insert.",
"While not always necessary, it is generally desirable that the fabric comprising the outside of the organizer be durable and of relatively heavy weight in order to contribute to the shape and stability of the open organizer.",
"Fabric handles 22 , 24 are attached to the outside of opposite sides 16 , 20 as shown.",
"On the outside of bottom 12 are two pieces of Velcro® hook material 26 , 28 and two pieces of Velcro loop material 30 , 32 arranged in a rectangular pattern as shown.",
"The bottom 12 is divided into two halves by a fold 34 defined by a row of stitching which continues up sides 14 and 18 , also defining folds 36 and 38 .",
"When the bottom is folded onto itself as in the conditions of FIGS. 1 , 2 , 3 , and 7 .",
"Piece 26 adheres to piece 30 and piece 28 to piece 32 .",
"The two halves extend into the space between the sides 16 - 20 .",
"Vertical fold lines 36 , 38 divide each side 14 , 18 into two halves.",
"Those sides also tend to fold approximately along imaginary lines 40 , 42 allowing the organizer to assume conditions like those of FIGS. 1 , 2 , and 7 .",
"Proximate the top of each fold line 36 , 38 is an attachment means 44 such as two mating parts of a snap or else opposite Velcro® pieces.",
"FIG. 2 shows the attachment means holding the sides 14 , 18 together at the tops of the fold lines 36 , 38 .",
"For the organizer to assume fully open condition for erection to hold grocery bags, the attachment elements are detached from each other.",
"Sewn to the inside of sides 14 and 18 just below the attachment means 44 are ends of respective rectangular flaps 46 , 48 .",
"The flaps have a height about one-fourth to one-third the height of the sides.",
"With the organizer fully open, free ends of flaps 46 , 48 are brought together in overlapping relation.",
"Opposite Velcro® pieces 50 , 52 fasten the free ends of the flaps together to create two generally equal sized interior compartments, with the flaps forming a divider between the compartments.",
"Each is capable of holding a paper grocery bag containing groceries (not shown).",
"When the grocery bags are removed and the organizer is to be collapsed to the folded FIG. 1 condition, flaps 46 , 48 are disconnected and folded back as in FIG. 3 .",
"The sides 14 and 18 are brought together at the top and fastened together by attachment means 44 , with appropriate folding of the sides as in FIG. 2 concurrent with folding of the bottom.",
"The bottom is pushed up along its fold line 34 to fold its halves onto each other so that the opposite Velcro® pieces on the bottom can re-attach to hold the bottom in folded condition.",
"The Velcro® pieces on the bottom aid in holding the organizer against sliding on a carpet or fabric, such as in a car trunk, when the organizer is opened and used to contain the grocery bags.",
"It keeps the bags upright and in place.",
"The handles allow the organizer to be carried by hand, even with grocery bags in it.",
"In a modified form, the two halves of the bottom could be provided with respective rigidifying inserts without impairing the ability for the halves to be folded onto each other when the organizer is collapsed.",
"The organizer can also be used in the condition of FIG. 2 to carry flat sheet-like materials, such as notebooks and the like, or other small objects.",
"The arrows in FIG. 7 show how such materials can be inserted to the organizer while the bottom remains fully folded.",
"Each of the four fastener pieces 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 is disposed proximate a corner of bottom 12 to provide a line about which sides 16 and 20 can pivot when the organizer is collapsed with pieces 26 , 28 , 30 , 32 fastening the two bottom halves, and attachment means 44 is attaching sides 14 and 18 together.",
"Such pivoting tends to enlarge the open area to either side of the attachment means at the top of the organizer.",
"While a presently preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it should be appreciated that principles of the invention apply to all embodiments falling within the scope of the following claims."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/337,344 filed Dec. 27, 2011, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/855,782 filed Aug. 13, 2010, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/530,310 filed Sep. 8, 2006, which in turn claims the benefit of U.S. application Nos. 60/596,198 filed Sep. 8, 2005, 60/721,731 filed Sep. 28, 2005, and 60/597,162 filed Nov. 14, 2005, each of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Light valves have been in use for more than sixty years for the modulation of light. As used herein, a light valve is defined as a cell formed of two walls that are spaced apart by a small distance, at least one wall being transparent, the walls having electrodes thereon, usually in the form of transparent, electrically conductive coatings. The cell contains a light-modulating element (sometimes herein referred to as an “activatable material”), which may be either a liquid suspension of particles, or a plastic film in which droplets of a liquid suspension of particles are distributed.
[0003] The liquid suspension (sometimes herein referred to as “a liquid light valve suspension” or “a light valve suspension”) comprises small, anisotropically shaped particles suspended in a liquid suspending medium. In the absence of an applied electrical field, the particles in the liquid suspension assume random positions due to Brownian movement, and hence a beam of light passing into the cell is reflected, transmitted or absorbed, depending upon the cell structure, the nature and concentration of the particles, and the energy content of the light. The light valve is thus relatively dark in the OFF state. However, when an electric field is applied through the liquid light valve suspension in the light valve, the particles become aligned and for many suspensions most of the light can pass through the cell. The light valve is thus relatively transparent in the ON state. Light valves of the type described herein are also known as “suspended particle devices” or “SPDs.” More generally, the term suspended particle device, as used herein, refers to any device in which suspended particles align to allow light to pass through the device when an electric field is applied. Light valves have been proposed for use in numerous applications including windows, skylights, and sunroofs, to control the amount of light passing therethrough or reflected therefrom as the case may be. As used herein the term “light” generally refers to visible electromagnetic radiation, but where applicable, “light” can also comprise other types of electromagnetic radiation such as, but not limited to, infrared radiation and ultraviolet radiation.
[0004] The SPD is laminated between two pieces of glass or plastic to form a sandwich which is sometimes called SPD Glass or SPD Plastic, and which can be further used to form a glass or plastic window. With such SPDs forming a window, the amount of light passing through the window can be finely controlled based upon the characteristics of the electricity passing through the SPD. The degree to which something reduces the passage of electromagnetic radiation is known as opacity. When referring to windows, changes in opacity is often noted as a change in a windows tinting, its light transparency or transparency and each of these terms may be equally be used to mean the same.
[0005] Such SPDs are now being installed into glass so that the amount of light passing through the glass can be finely controlled based upon the characteristics of the electricity passing through the glass. At least one method by which such glass and thus its opacity or light transparency may be controlled is described by Malvino, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,897,997 and 6,804,040 collectively referred to as the Malvino patents. But a device envisioned by Malvino, while suitable for the manual control of a small number of co-located windows, is not scalable nor does it provide the automated intelligence to actively and dynamically control environments of more than a few windows such as in an automobile, marine vehicle, train or aircraft, to as much as a residential or commercial building or a skyscraper of such SPD windows.
[0006] The Malvino patents provide the basis for driving SPD glass by varying voltage at a fixed frequency which will cause the glass to lighten toward clear or to darken so as to block most light passing through it. That device is capable of mapping the non-linear characteristics of SPD into a linear range of values that could be thought of as setting the glass from say 0 to 100%. The range is broken down into a small discrete set of settings for perhaps 6 different opaqueness levels and 6 specific resistor and capacitor combinations are built into the implementation and are manually selected to set the proper voltage for the associated degree of tinting. Through that implementation, a linear manual control, such as a slide switch or a rotating dial may be attached to the Malvino controller to directly vary the amount of light allowed through the glass at any time.
[0007] The Malvino patents review the use of a few fixed frequencies at which to drive an SPD. As described, driving the device at a lower frequency tends to have a slight lower energy utilization curve with regard to the power needed to drive the SPD. Frequencies in the range of 15 hertz to 60 hertz were discussed. There is a serious potential problem with the aforementioned controller operating the SPD when driven by these frequencies. It is possible that the SPD will “sing” and be heard as a tone in the B-flat range by being driven by a fixed frequency within that range. An SPD controlled window typically consists of SPD-capable material in the form of a clear Mylar coated with SPD emulation, placed in between two pieces of glass. The SPD is basically sandwiched and held in place by glass on both sides. If 50/60 Hertz current travels through the sandwiched SPD, in some cases, the Mylar will start to vibrate in resonance with the driving frequency and may be heard by people near the window as an annoying hum.
[0008] A considerable issue in the wide-scale worldwide deployment of SPD windows, is on how residential and commercial buildings will be wired up to allow some “central intelligence” to operate the individual windows. Today, there is no concept of running wires to windows from some control room in the building. It is not desirable to introduce a new requirement for building wiring in the introduction of SPD glass around the world, since thousands of installation people would need to learn and understand new building wiring requirements. Yet, if any other techniques are employed to “wire” each window to the “central intelligence”, it must require little or no training, and be a relatively low cost so as not to make the use of SPD glass prohibitive.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The invention relates to a wirelessly enabled apparatus and associated mesh networking software installed in large arrays in order to dynamically control the “skin” of residential and commercial buildings throughout the day in order to absorb or reflect sunlight in such a manner as to dramatically reduce the energy consumption of such buildings. The integration of a mesh network lowers the cost of deployment of such control by permitting the individual devices that control one or more windows, to act as a relay point in moving control signals from intelligent control points in a Building Skin Control System to the individual controllers or sets of controllers which will effect the desired changes. The invention further relates to a Suspended Particle Device control apparatus and associated network installed in large arrays in order to dynamically control the glass windows of residential and commercial buildings throughout the day in order to absorb or reflect sunlight in such a manner as to dramatically reduce the energy consumption of such buildings. The use of a hierarchical distribution system over a LAN or WAN reduces the time to transmit commands from a central intelligence point, the Master Building Control Point, to all window controllers in a structure to set individual windows to a specific level of opaqueness.
[0010] The device described herein corrects for the “singing” problem by providing the option of driving the SPD at a variable frequency in the low frequency range rather than a single fixed frequency. Optionally, in lieu of using a continuously variable SPD driving frequency, the Controller may randomly drop or phase shift several cycles per second. The change/shift is not enough to be visibly noticeable but it would eliminate the “ringing effect”. As will be seen below, the system according to the invention scales from the single-window environment to a building with a size beyond that of the currently largest in the world, Taipei 101 in the Xin-Yi district of Taipei, with over 32,000 windows.
[0011] This invention provides for a range of SPD control far beyond that previously in existence. The “Scalable Controller” a.k.a. “SC” of this invention adds intelligence that greatly expands the capabilities of prior controllers. As in prior implementations, one to several pieces of glass may be controlled by a single controller, where several is a relatively small number such as 8 and each piece of glass is hardwired to the controller. The Scalable controller further supports a setup phase whereby the user may configure the relationship between manual external control or several individual manual controls and which window/windows are to be controlled from that manual setting. In a setting of four windows under the Scalable Controller, where the windows are referred to as A, B, C and D, a user may configure the SC so that windows AB are controlled as a single window and CD as another, or ABC is controlled as a single window and D as another, or ABCD is controlled as a single window or, AB CD are controlled as 4 separate windows.
[0012] This system coordinates the settings of each of the windows in a building in an intelligent manner from a central intelligence point known of the Master Building Control Point. It will make intelligent decisions based on many factors including real time events, as to the proper amount of visible light to permit to flow through each window in order to take best advantage of the solar heating effect.
[0013] Enhanced capabilities of the SC over prior inventions provide for full control of all operational parameters which effect the characteristics of a SPD. This type of control exists in each SC to optimize SPD performance by power utilization or switching speed potentially taking into account external temperature, while controlling the haze and clarity.
[0014] The flexibility of the SC and its networking capabilities also support the display of textual messages or special light tinting sequences as part of a multimedia presentation. Such a multimedia display could change windows along the facade of an office building in time to the changes in perhaps Christmas Music during the holiday period. A scaled-down version of such a system could provide for a moving textual display across small SPD pixels sitting in a box on a desktop. These diverse applications reflect the flexibility and importance of this invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0015] The invention will be described with respect to a drawing in several figures, of which:
[0016] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an SPD window controller under manual adjustment from a single external device.
[0017] FIG. 2 is the controller of FIG. 1 with the addition of a photocell or other photosensor to detect the brightness of sunlight shining on the window under control.
[0018] FIG. 3 creates the Intelligent Controller from FIG. 2 by introducing a microprocessor to perform a number of different functions in support of more sophisticated controller capabilities as well as Scalable Network operations of controllers. In addition to the photocell or other photosensor additional inputs from sensors expand the data which the Scalable controller may use to make decisions on how to change window opacity.
[0019] FIG. 4 shows the Intelligent Controller with a plurality of manual inputs that are coupled to one or several window panes that are under the direct control of the controller as set up by the user via a set up procedure in the control software. A single manual input may control one window or, two, three or four at one time as if it were a single piece of SPD glass. More then one manual input may be used to control the same set of glass in order to support manual controls that operate from different points in the same room.
[0020] FIG. 5 shows different combinations of four-window panes in this example, and how the set up software allows any combination of sets of individual panes to be treated as a single pane of glass.
[0021] FIG. 6 shows one of the earliest packet switching or mesh networks in which data may be sent along alternate paths through intermediate nodes in order to reach a destination point. This is an example of the 4-node Arpanet in 1969, the precursor to today's Internet. Host computers sent data to other Host computers in this network and utilized the services of the Interface Message Processor (IMP) to move data packets to other IMPs which were not destination point but would further relay packets toward the IMP directly connected to the desired destination Host.
[0022] FIG. 7 shows a more advanced packet switched meshed network in which specific processing applications operate on the same computer that is running the packet switching software thereby combining the functions of Hosts and IMPs in the earlier Arpanet systems. Increases in microprocessor power allowed these functions to be combined onto a single platform. This is an example of a Radio Paging Network application utilizing the Data Link Handler (DLH) protocol created by the Inventor to convert isolated Citywide radio paging (beeper) systems, also known as Paging Terminal Nodes (PTNs), into a nationwide network capable of alerting someone wherever they are located in the country instead of just a single city. The Arpanet and Internet utilize formalized routing protocol specifications such as the Routing Information Protocol (RIP) to dynamically maintain a list of best routes to a destination at each node. DLH utilizes a proprietary routing protocol to maintain a list of primary and alternate routes. The proprietary DLH network was eventually replaced with the Radio Paging Industry standard Telocator Network Paging Protocol (TNPP) protocol which the Inventor helped to create and Chaired the Industry committee to promote the use of this protocol for more than 11 years. TNPP was used along with a manufacturer-specific proprietary routing protocol to maintain the best and alternate paths to each destination node.
[0023] FIG. 8 shows a Scalable Controller network consisting of the Intelligence Controller of FIG. 3 integrated with a radio transceiver (XCVR) to send packets of data to other transceiver equipped Scalable Controller (CTL) nodes. Routing data similar to the Internet RIP, maintains a list at each Controller node of the best next node to receive data on the path to the destination node. Unlike the wired network of FIGS. 6 and 7 , the radio network of FIG. 8 may sometimes properly receive data addressed to a different node than that which received it. In this case, the received data is ignored/dropped by the node which is not the next node along the optimal path to the destination.
[0024] FIG. 9 shows an example of a network of FIG. 8 where a Building Control Point is connected to one of the nodes of the network. The BCP is a data processing site to determine which portions of a building are to be automatically set to a specific opacity at any moment of the day or night. The Data Processing system may optionally be connected to the Internet and to a remote central monitoring service which oversees the operations of the SPD Building Skin Control System on behalf of many building owners.
[0025] FIG. 10 shows an example of a redundant Master Building Control Point (MBCP) consisting of a primary MBCP and a secondary MBCP in the network to insure that the entire system continues to operate normally even if the primary MBCP should fail. If the primary MBCP should fail, the secondary MBCP will take over its functionality so that the entire system continues to operate normally.
[0026] FIG. 11 shows how different areas of a building would have different types of Hierarchical Control Points to oversee the operation of Scalable Controllers in certain portions of a building.
[0027] FIG. 12 is a Hierarchical mapping of Control Points showing how commands generated at the highest level Control Point are logically distributed to lower level Control Points that distribute the commands to more and more elements at lower hierarchy levels.
[0028] FIG. 13 shows how the Master Building Control Point interfaces with an Intelligent Energy Control System (IECS) via a computer interface utilizing the widely used Extensible Markup Language format referred to as XML.
[0029] FIG. 14 shows how the path of the Sun across the sky changes how the sunlight falls on the windows of a building throughout the day. The Sun path changes slightly each day of the year as the Earth rotates around the Sun. For any latitude and longitude on the planet, the path that is traversed is well known.
[0030] FIG. 15 shows five controllers each controlling twenty-four panes.
[0031] FIG. 16 shows the letter “E” formed by a 5 by 7 pixel array with a border.
[0032] FIG. 17 shows a lighting effect in which each pane differs from its neighbor by a few percent.
[0033] FIG. 18 shows a controller sending a command to a decoder which in turn communicates commands to windows.
[0034] FIG. 19 shows two Scalable Controllers (SCs) consisting of the Intelligent Controller of FIG. 1 integrated with a LAN interface so that they can send packets of data to a Master Control Point (MCP) located on the LAN.
[0035] FIG. 20 shows that when LANs has reached its maximum capacity, due to cable length, a Bridge may be introduced in order to add another LAN segment to extend the size of the LAN.
[0036] FIG. 21 shows how to further extend the size of a local network when the maximum number of LAN segments and Bridge/Repeaters has been deployed.
[0037] FIG. 22 shows the logical connections that form a hierarchy of control points in order to reduce the point to point communication loading on the MCP to issue commands to all SCs in a building.
[0038] FIG. 23 shows how the Master Control Point, which provides the central control intelligence for all of the individual windows in a structure, can connect to an external Intelligent Energy Control System via a computer interface using the widely used Extensible Markup Language format referred to as XML. The external system can modify its operations knowing where windows have been changed. The external system may receive sensor input through the MCP and may command the MCP to modify the setting or some or all windows under its control. The MCP also has the option of changing the operation of the windows under IECS command if better algorithms have been developed on the IECS and the External system starts sending the proper control commands.
[0039] FIG. 24 shows the major subsections which comprise the Scalable Controller.
[0040] FIG. 25 shows one of the typical three-dimensional tables of data that is programmed into the controller to operate it. Such table provide information on the interaction of three variables that together control the operation of SPD based glass.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0041] With the incorporation of a Microprocessor into the Scalable Controller, the capabilities and flexibility of the device are expanded dramatically for use both in a standalone environment as well as being a data point in a sea of such controllers which, under such intelligent control, can dynamically modify the skin of an office building to provide unprecedented control over its energy usage. Even in the standalone environment, the SC can be programmed with the intelligence to reduce energy usage in the room where it is being used. The SC may be put into an automatic mode instead of being under manual control and can operate as described below.
[0042] Although the same functions may be achieved in several ways, in the implementation described herein, the end user has the ability to set the latitude, longitude, window orientation from North, and window angle from vertical into a suitable data processing program. This program creates a profile that can be downloaded into the SC which uses the setup data to determine the location on the earth of the window(s) under control and thereby, for each window, its angle from the sun at any time of the day. A time/date clock operates in the SC to drive its window(s) based upon the time of day, day of year, and the location on the planet. At 1:00 PM on July 2nd in Manhattan, N.Y., the windows directly facing the sun would be set to the maximum opaqueness while those angled away from the sun would have reduced opaqueness and those on the opposite side of the building might be totally clear. As the sun crosses the sky, each window changes according to the built-in profile. Yet at 1:00 PM on July 2nd in Sydney Australia, those windows facing the sun will be clear, so that the building's heating system requirements may be reduced by utilizing the sun to heat windows directly facing the sun, while windows on the opposite side of the building would be turned dark so as to keep heat trapped in the building. A photocell connected to the SC will provide external sensor input so as to allow the SC to further fine tune the current opaqueness based upon current cloud and weather conditions. Sidereal information has been well known and calculable for centuries and may thus be profiled into the SC device itself. Weather conditions that might block the sun are random real-time events.
[0043] Although such Intelligent control permits several windows to operate autonomously, in a larger-scale implementation, it is desirable to put entire segments of building windows under a coordinated set of controls. In relatively large types of environments, rather than using a profile of individual windows, it is possible to perform more real-time data processing and to make more intelligent decisions of the opacity of every segment of a building at any point in time. The SC of this invention is capable of expanding so as to operate in such a mode.
[0044] This system virtually eliminates all building wiring issues to put all SPD windows under a central control. Each Scalable Controller is outfitted with a low-power, low-data-rate, limited-range, radio transceiver. These radio transceivers are capable of communicating on a point-to-point basis to one or more radio transceivers located within other Scalable Controllers in a 3-dimensional space around each controller. The SC microprocessor is further outfitted with mesh networking software. Such types of software have been in existence in various incarnations for a long period of time. The radio transceivers send specially formatted packets of data back and forth between each other. Some packets contain data which is used to operate the mesh network itself while other packets contain sensor data or window control information. Routing control packets are one type of mesh control packet which is sent. Each SC can be thought of as a “node” in the mesh network. The routing information is used to leave information at each individual node to indicate an available “route” to move data from a window controller to another intermediate window controller along a path to a “Hierarchical Control Point (HCP)” or from an HCP through intermediate window controllers on its way to a specific individual window controller. An HCP is the location of a special data processing node, as opposed to a window controller node, which is capable of coordinating the changing of the opaqueness of windows for some segment of a building. There may be several Office Control Points (OCP), Section Control Points (SCP), Region Control Points (RCP), Floor Control Points (FCP), Multi-floor Control Points (MCP) and a single Building Control Point (BCP) located in typical building environment. A single Control Point might exist in a small implementation while all types of Control Points may exist in a very large-scale implementation. The use of additional Control Points reduces communication overhead in the mesh network and decreases the time delay between the time a window opaqueness modification command is sent and when it is acted upon at individual windows. In this instantiation of the invention, any window SC can become a Control Point via a command sent from the Building Control Point. Although a Building Control Point is an Intelligent Data Processing System, the lower hierarchical control points have a relatively small set of fixed commands and operations which can easily be handled at the Microprocessor at any window SC. In the largest-scale implementation of the Scalable Controller Network, the BCP can inform the Multi-Floor Control Points (MCP) to change the settings of each window on all floors; the MCP will distribute this request to each of the FCP's; the FCP's will distribute the request to the RCP's; the RCP's will send the command to SCP's; and the SCP's will forward the commands to OCP's which will command each window controller in an office to execute the required change. Because of the expansion to multiple nodes at each level of the hierarchy, commands may be simultaneously sent within different non-overlapping areas of the network where they may pass through intermediate nodes with no or little queuing delay, thus having the request executed throughout the building in a seemingly simultaneous fashion.
[0045] Typically, a window controller is not in direct radio communication with the location in the building where a HCP might be located. But every window controller will typically be within radio communication of several other window controllers. The mesh networking software permits a data packet to be sent from a source node to any neighboring node that is along a path which eventually leads to the destination node, through a series of hops through intermediate nodes. Because of the multiple paths that exist between nodes, data can typically be routed around areas of the network that might be temporarily undergoing radio interference. Data retransmission and acknowledgments during point-to-point communications insure that data is not dropped by one node until the next node in the network has accepted the data being sent. If such acknowledgment is not received, a node may send its data onto an alternate path to the destination. If a segment of the radio network should become isolated, a packet hop count insures that packets which will never reach their ultimate destination are eliminated from the network. End-to-end acknowledgments let the source and destination nodes recognize when data must be retransmitted in its entirety because it may have been dropped due to a particular radio failure creating isolated subnetworks. Reporting processes built into the Building Controller monitor the nodes in the network, gather interconnectivity data, and take into account the window controller addresses to assist the installer in insuring that all nodes are capable of communicating with the Hierarchical Control Points. Where it might be found that some portion of the overall network is isolated from another portion, special nodes may be installed in a geographical area between existing segments of the network, in order to provide a bridging point for data to move from one network segment toward the other. There should typically be at least two nodes to bridge isolated segments together. The bridges are nothing more than window Scalable Controllers that are not connected to any SPD window.
[0046] The Scalable Controllers may be equipped with various types of sensors that may be used in more finely controlling the energy usage in a building. A photocell may be placed onto each SPD glass and connected to its SC. The Building Control Point “BCP” may command all the SCs to periodically send sensor data to the BCP or the BCP may periodically poll each of the SCs to read photocell and other sensor data. Through an initial system configuration procedure at the BCP, it is made aware of the configuration of the building, the compass direction in which windows face, the latitude and longitude of the building, the angle at which each window is from the vertical, and the location of unique node and window addresses. Input from photocells throughout the building allow the BCP to utilize voting techniques to determine the best areas of the building in which to increase or decrease opaqueness in order to reduce the overall building energy requirements for heating and air conditioning. If a readable compass and glass angle detector is installed at each SC, the process of modeling the building to establish more precise control of each window, is simplified, by directly providing this configuration information.
[0047] The BCP allows the system operator to establish special overrides for portions of the building at certain times of the day and days of the year. This might be utilized to specify a region of the building undergoing glare from reflections from other buildings or natural features in the area. The override features would allow a normally clear window to perhaps to be darkened for some period to eliminate the glare onto that portion of the building. So some regions of a building might be under automatic control while other segments of the building may be under special override conditions at the time. A complex combination of each control may be in effect at one time.
[0048] Many “Green” buildings already incorporate an Intelligent Energy Control System such as the Honeywell Enterprise Buildings Integrator (EBI). These types of systems operate/monitor/control the building HVAC system, circulation of fresh air, elimination of building odors, control of electric usage, and reduction of energy requirements to unoccupied areas. These top-of-the-line systems also incorporate building security, monitoring and access control, asset tracking, fire and smoke detection and even control fire doors and public announcement systems. This invention extends the capabilities of these sophisticated systems in a manner that was never possible before. These system may now effectively control the skin of the building dynamically during the day, optimizing the use of the sun along with the movement of heat and air conditioning around the building. The combination of both systems provides a level of efficiency of an even higher level than that capable of standalone windows or BCP controlled windows, since it directly controls multiple subsystems in a building in a coordinated fashion.
[0049] In this instantiation of the invention, the BCP will provide an interface to an external system to provide additional sensor data to the external system and to allow the external system to request adjustments to light levels around the building in a high-level form. One of the preferred high-level forms in which an external system will represent sensor data and requests to adjust light levels to the BCP and the BCP will represent responses to such data and requests through this interface is known as XML. XML is an abbreviation for Extensible Markup Language and is a widely used open standard for organizing and exchanging structured documents and data between two computers. A computer to computer link over which data is transferred in the XML format. is often referred to as an XML link or an XML interface. The BCP takes requests from the XML link, interprets them and executes them by sending the proper commands through the hierarchical network to effect the changes requested by the external Intelligent Energy Control System (IECS). When operating in this mode, the automated controls of the BCP are bypassed. A periodic “heartbeat” transfer of XML command/responses over the BCP/IECS link insures that the two systems remain in sync and that they coordinate operations. In the event the heartbeat is lost, the BCP can fall back to its automated mode and operate the building independently until the IECS system comes back on-line.
[0050] This invention utilizes low-cost, low-power, limited-range Radio Transceivers co-located with each window controller device, to form a large scale wireless network between all of the windows in a residential or commercial building. Windows are typically within 10 meters of each other within buildings, so limited range transceivers are perfectly suited for this environment. The microprocessor-driven software within each controller operates the local application functions of the controller while at the same time executing radio packet switching type software used to send messages from source nodes to destination nodes in a building, even though the source and destination node are not in direct communication with each other because of their distance from each other. The data which are to be moved from the source to the destination are sent to a transceiver which is reachable from the source node, and toward another radio transceiver that is reachable along a path which will eventually get the packetized data to the desired destination.
[0051] The technique of moving messages from source computers to destination computers through intermediate points in a multiply-connected array of computers was originally referred to as Packet Switching and was first characterized in the Arpanet, the precursor to the Internet in 1969. FIG. 6 , which represents the Arpanet's 4-node network operational in December 1969, could potentially send a packet of data from Host 161 to Host 163 , by handing the data packet to Interface Message Processor (IMP) 61 , which might forward it to IMP 62 , and to IMP 63 where it is handed to destination Host 163 . If IMP 62 finds that the link to IMP 63 is not functioning for some period of time, the same data from Host 161 to 163 could be handed over to IMP 64 to forward the data to IMP 63 instead of using the failed direct link. The concept in a packet-switched network is to locate alternate paths to get the packet to the ultimate destination point even if some individual communication paths are out of service. Some packet networks utilize fixed routing tables to define alternate data paths in the event of link failures and have algorithms to determine when primary or alternate paths are to be utilized. Other packet networks have dynamically updated routing information that is periodically updated between adjacent nodes in order to continually maintain a list of the best route to any ultimate destination in the network.
[0052] With improvements in hardware and software, the separation of a Host (applications processor) and a packet switching network of nodes (the Interface Message Processors—IMP's) was no longer necessary. The 1980 ITT-DTS Faxpak facsimile Store-and-Forward packet switching system integrated an application which provided compatibility between different speed fax machines of the time, with a message passing network which allowed messages to always be delivered locally instead of via what (in those days) were more expensive calls over long-distance lines. The Wide Area Paging network in FIG. 7 ran an application that permitted any node in the network to accept a paging message (phone number) specified through a dial-in telephone call, a text message received from an operator, or a message received from a remote node, to a paging message that would be encoded and transmitted at a destination node. The packet switching software that operated at the same nodes, directed paging application packets to be dropped off at the proper destination node or nodes to page a person in multiple cities.
[0053] Packet networks typically operated with dedicated communication circuits between nodes in different cities. More recently, the same multi-path packet switching technique has been deployed into networks of radio transceivers, utilizing radio links in lieu of wired links between pairs of nodes. These radio packet switching systems have become known as mesh networks. Unlike the 2-D wired communication circuits as in FIG. 7 , the radio devices in a mesh network permit point-to-point communications within a 3-D region of each node. In an office environment, where each window may represent a node, windows within a few feet left or right of a particular window can be thought of as potential intermediate nodes, as well as windows that are potentially a few floors above or a few floors below a particular window.
[0054] In this instantiation, a header packet in each transmission packet specifies the source node address, destination node address and the address of the next hopping point along the path to the destination. This data is transmitted in three dimensions when it is time for this Scalable Controller to transmit information to another point in the network. Many receivers will detect interference in the data they receive, and will ignore the received data. Several other receivers may receive the packet but with transmission errors. Only the node to which the correctly received packet is addressed will keep the packet, analyze it and will decide if the data item is to be forward toward another intermediate node to the final destination or if the packet is to be handled by the application software at this node.
[0055] To allow multiple commands to be outstanding and be executed at different points in the network simultaneously, a logical hierarchical structure is introduced into the network. Certain network nodes are designated as Hierarchical Control Points (HCP) that only forward data toward lower level Hierarchical Control Points. Ultimately, the lowest level HCP logically forwards data only to a subset of all Scalable Controllers in the network. This logical configuration allows a single command to be branched out in multiple commands and each of those commands to further expand to even more multiple commands, thereby controlling the maximum number of nodes with the minimal number of control messages at the highest level. So a command to make all windows clear in a segment of a building would be initiated at the highest level node and be handed down to lower levels nodes that understood where this command needs to be sent in order to effect the desired windows in the building.
[0056] On the other hand, sensor data that was considered as an urgent data item to which to reach, captured at the individual Scalable Controllers, would be directed to higher and then higher levels of HCPs until the data item reaches the highest level HCP.
[0057] Turning to FIG. 1 , we see an SPD window controller 2 under manual adjustment from a single external device 1 . It controls a window 5 .
[0058] FIG. 2 shows the controller of FIG. 1 with the addition of a photocell 10 to detect the brightness of sunlight shining on the window 5 under control.
[0059] FIG. 3 creates the Intelligent Controller from FIG. 2 by introducing a microprocessor 3 to perform a number of different functions in support of more sophisticated controller capabilities as well as Scalable Network operations of controllers. In addition to supporting the photocell 6 or other photosensor as the non-Intelligent controller of FIG. 2 , additional inputs from sensors 8 expand the data which the Scalable controller may use to make decisions on how to change window opacity.
[0060] FIG. 4 shows the Intelligent Controller with a plurality of manual inputs 1 that are coupled to one or several window panes 51 - 54 that are under the direct control of the controller as set up by the user via a set up procedure in the control software. A single manual input may control one window or two, three or four at one time as if it were a single piece of SPD glass. More than one manual input may be used to control the same set of glass in order to support manual controls that operate from different points in the same room.
[0061] FIG. 5 shows different combinations of four-window panes in this example, and how the set up software allows any combination of sets of individual panes to be treated as a single pane of glass. In a setting of four windows under the Scalable Controller, where the windows are referred to as A, B, C and D, a user may configure the SC so that windows AC are controlled as a single window and BD as another, or BCD is controlled as a single window and A as another, or ABCD is controlled as a single window or, A, B, C, D, are controlled as four separate windows.
[0062] FIG. 6 shows one of the earliest packet switching or mesh networks in which data may be sent along alternate paths through intermediate nodes in order to reach a destination point. This is an example of the 4-node Arpanet in 1969, the precursor to today's Internet. Host computers sent data to other Host computers in this network and utilized the services of the Interface Message Processor (IMP) 61 to move data packets to other IMPs 62 , 64 which were not destination points but would further relay packets toward the particular IMP 63 directly connected to the desired destination Host 163 .
[0063] FIG. 7 shows a more advanced packet switched meshed network in which specific processing applications operate on the same computer that is running the packet switching software thereby combining the functions of Hosts and IMPs in the earlier Arpanet systems. Increases in microprocessor power allowed these functions to be combined onto a single platform. This is an example of a Radio Paging Network application utilizing the Data Link Handler (DLH) protocol created by the Inventor to convert isolated Citywide radio paging (beeper) systems, also known as Paging Terminal Nodes (PTNs), into a nationwide network capable of alerting someone wherever they are located in the country instead of just a single city. The Arpanet and Internet utilize formalized routing protocol specifications such as RIP to dynamically maintain a list of best routes to a destination at each node. DLH utilizes a proprietary routing protocol to maintain a list of primary and alternate routes. The proprietary DLH network was eventually replaced with the Radio Paging Industry standard TNPP protocol which the Inventor helped to create and Chaired the Industry committee to promote the use of this protocol for more than 11 years. TNPP was used along with a manufacturer-specific proprietary routing protocol to maintain the best and alternate paths to each destination node. A paging message originating at Paging Terminal Node (PTN) B 72 might be passed to other PTNs 73 , 74 until reaching a PTN 71 which is in turn coupled with antennas which pass digital information in RF form to a pocket paging receiver 171 .
[0064] FIG. 8 shows a Scalable Controller network consisting of the Intelligent Controller of FIG. 3 integrated with a radio transceiver (XCVR) to send packets of data to other transceiver equipped Scalable Controller (CTL) nodes. Routing data similar to the Internet RIP, maintains a list at each Controller node of the best next node to receive data on the path to the destination node. Unlike the wired network of FIGS. 6 and 7 , the radio network of FIG. 8 may sometimes properly receive data addressed to a different node than that which received it. In this case, the received data is ignored/dropped by the node which is not the next node along the optimal path to the destination. Each controller 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 has a controller, a microprocessor, and a radio transceiver.
[0065] FIG. 9 shows an example of a network of FIG. 8 where a Master Building Control Point (MBCP) 90 is connected to one of the nodes of the network. The MBCP 90 is a data processing site to determine which portions of a building are to be automatically set to a specific opacity at any moment of the day or night. The Data Processing system may optionally be connected to the Internet 91 and to a remote central monitoring service 92 which oversees the operations of the SPD Building Skin Control System on behalf of many building owners.
[0066] FIG. 10 shows an example of a redundant Master Building Control Point (MBCP) consisting of a primary MBCP and a secondary MBCP in the network to insure that the entire system continues to operate normally even if the primary MBCP should fail. One MBCP (shown as a data processor) is connected to node 81 and a second MBCP (also shown as a data processor) is connected to a node 87 . If the primary MBCP should fail, the secondary MBCP will take over its functionality so that the entire system continues normal operations.
[0067] FIG. 11 shows how different areas of a building would have different types of Hierarchical Control Points (HCPs) to oversee the operation of Scalable Controllers in certain portions of a building.
[0068] FIG. 12 is a Hierarchical mapping of Control Points showing how commands generated at the highest level Control Point are logically distributed to lower level Control Points that distribute the commands to more and more elements at lower hierarchy levels. There may be several Office Control Points (OCP), Section Control Points (SCP), Region Control Points (RCP), Floor Control Points (FCP), Multi-floor Control Points (MCP) and a single Building Control Point (BCP) located in typical building environment. A single Control Point might exist in a small implementation while all types of Control Points may exist in a very large-scale implementation. The use of additional Control Points reduces communication overhead in the mesh network and decreases the time delay between the time a window opaqueness modification command is sent and when it is acted upon at individual windows. In this instantiation of the invention, any window SC can become a Control Point via a command sent from the Master Building Control Point. Although a Master Building Control Point is an Intelligent Data Processing System, the lower hierarchical control points have a relatively small set of fixed commands and operations which can easily be handled at the Microprocessor at any window SC. In an intermediate size implementation of the Scalable Controller Network, the MBCP can inform the FCPs 96 , 99 ; the FCPs will distribute the request to the RCPs 97 , 100 , 101 , 102 ; the RCPs will send the command to OCPs which will command each window controller in an office (not shown for clarity) to execute the required change. Because of the expansion to multiple nodes at each level of the hierarchy, commands may be simultaneously sent within different non-overlapping areas of the network where they may pass through intermediate nodes with no or little queuing delay, thus having the request executed throughout the building in a seemingly simultaneous fashion.
[0069] FIG. 22 shows the logical connections that form a hierarchy of control points in order to reduce the point-to-point communication loading on the Multi-Floor Control Point MCP to issue commands to all SCs in a building. In the example shown, the MCP sends commands to two Floor Control Points (FCP) that are optimally placed on separate LANs. Simultaneously, each FCP can relay the command to Section Control Points (SCP) that in turn may transmit the commands to Office Control Points (OCP). Each OCP may simultaneously relay the commands it has received to the one or more SCs for which it is responsible. Ultimately all of the SCs will have received the required commands, but the hierarchical structure reduces the total number of data transmissions across the entire network to reach each SC from the MCP.
[0070] FIG. 13 shows how the Master Building Control Point 110 interfaces with an Intelligent Energy Control System (IECS) 111 via an XML interface 112 . FIG. 23 shows in more detail how the Master Building Control Point 204 , which provides the central control intelligence for all of the individual windows in a structure, can connect to an external Intelligent Energy Control System 210 via an XML link 209 , so that the external system may receive sensor input through the MBCP and may command the MBCP to modify the setting or some or all windows under its control.
[0071] FIG. 14 shows how the path of the Sun across the sky changes how the sunlight falls on the windows of a building throughout the day. The Sun path changes slightly each day of the year as the Earth rotates around the Sun. For any latitude and longitude on the planet, the path that is traversed is well known.
[0072] Another embodiment of the invention transforms an array of windows into a part of a multi-media display. Office buildings are often decorated in a manner as to enhance the appearance of the city in which it is located. In Houston, for example, many of the large buildings are outlined in rows of small lights on the perimeter of each building so as to form an outline of the cities skyline each evening. During holidays, many buildings will turn specific lights on and off in the building late at night when the building is primarily empty so as to display some pattern associated with the holiday. For example, during Christmas, a cross may appear in the windows of a large building. Or diamond shape patterns may be displayed at different floor levels of a building and at adjacent buildings as part of the winter season.
[0073] This embodiment extends the MBCP functions so that it may direct SPD windows to be part of a video presentation. The controllers are unaffected when adding this capability because they already have the ability to change any pane of glass under their control to any setting from clear to dark or any setting in between under manual or under automated control from the MBCP. So a special, non-energy-efficiency-related application may exist in the MBCP to operate the windows in a special manner as desired by the building operator.
Textual Messaging Mode
[0074] There are two modes of operation, although they may both operate simultaneously. The first mode is to use SPD windows to form a textual display of messages. In its simplest application each pane of SPD glass represents a single pixel of information. The size of the window pane and the matrix size making up a letter defines how far away the user must be from the window to be able to clearly read the letters formed. In some cases a square box of 4 or 9 (2.times.2 or 3.times.3) windows may be controlled as one in order to increase the size of an individual pixel. Each controller receives a command from the MBCP to set its pixel to on or off or at some degree of shading. Using a set of 48 windows, a 6.times.8 pixel array may form any letter or punctuation and include a one-pixel border around each letter.
[0075] The MBCP may operate in another mode where the message(s) to be displayed is given to it via an external system rather than from local consoles on the MBCP. The MBCP will support several interfaces for message entry. This includes an XML type command set between the MBCP and an external system. The command set may operate over a LAN connection, serial port, infrared port or other physical method. The MBCP may be programmed with a sequence of letters/words/messages to display, with timing information, and with a starting pixel location. Changing the window/pixel settings at the specified rate will provide the sensation that the text message is scrolling across the windows. This is done, for example, by removing one vertical column of pixel data on the left side of the display by shifting the setting of one window to the right over to the one window on the left. The column of pixels at the right-most window is for the next letter to be displayed. This provides a smooth scrolling right to left. In a similar manner the letters may also be scrolled left to right for languages written in the opposite direction. The starting location of each row of text may be specified so that messages may start at any floor of windows or several floors at the same time.
[0076] Logic in the MBCP will also provide for other textual display features taking advantage of the capabilities of SPD Glass. For example, letters may appear upside down and be changed right side up. They could perhaps be rotated vertically along any of the rows that make up each letter. The pixels can start at clear and the letters can be formed by varying the darkness of each pixel individually or from top to bottom or bottom to top for some interesting special effects. Words can be brought into display in the same manner. Darkening columns of pixels left to right and right to left meeting in the middle of a sentence or starting in the center and radiating out to the left and right. Or different starting columns may be selected and the pixels may radiate out in one direction or both as the letters darken. There is no limit as to the combinations that can be made to make the generation of the display more interesting than just displaying a letter at a time at a given intensity. Of course any of these special display methods will be available over the XML interface so external devices may drive arrays of SPD Glass.
[0077] Although this example reviews the use of SPD Glass on an office building as a means of displaying messages, this may be scaled down to smaller applications, depending upon the size of each pane of glass or pixel. For example, messages could be scrolled across an atrium of SPD glass just above the heads of people standing under it. Or, if very small panes of glass are used, small moving displays of SPD glass could be created.
Video Mode
[0078] The SPD windows on a structure may also be looked at as a sea of pixels each capable of being set to any shading level from 0% to 100%, the ends of the range being thought of as Off and On. There is an endless combination of different light level settings across each pixel in a large array, to provide many random and well-structured visual effects that would entertain people viewing such a display. A large number of preprogrammed sets of sequences may be defined and stored in the MBCP. Each sequence may provide some special effect seen across the glass. Sequences may be defined such as:
[0079] Flash from all dark to all light
[0080] Start from all dark and lighten to clear slowly
[0081] from left to right
[0082] right to left
[0083] top to bottom
[0084] bottom to top
[0085] center to edge in a increasing squares manner
[0086] edge to center
[0087] Checkerboard pattern
[0088] And many many others
[0089] The MBCP will support many means of initiating a sequence and the ability to store away ‘scripts’ of preprogrammed sets of sequences. The MBCP will be able to be driven via the serial port or LAN connection of a PC. It can also support an external device that is actually an array of buttons and switches, where the combination of a switch setting and pressing a button initiates a pre-programmed sequence. In this way an operator may “play” sequences in time to external music, just as a laser light show operator uses a similar type panel to initiate pre-programmed lighting effects that are in tune with the music playing. An elaborate array of new sequences may be established off-line and sent to the MBCP from an external system at any time. Some of these external sequences may be later stored in the MBCP and called up by reference number rather than having to repeatedly download the sequence from an external device. For further integration in a multi-media environment, when the window array is set to full dark, video projectors could potentially be utilized to display moving images across the SPD glass. This sequence would be requested when external video projectors are commanded to start displaying video data.
[0090] The array of pixels associated with one instantaneous state of a sequence, is set to specific levels via the sending of wireless commands to each of the necessary controllers to set its associated pixels to the proper setting. The wireless command may be received directly from the radio interface at the MBCP or via any intermediate node(s)/controller(s) in the array (mesh packet network) when the controller of a particular pixel is not in direct communication with the MBCP.
[0091] The ability of the MBCP to provide visual special effects across window arrays is further enhanced through a set of special interfaces that are supported by the MBCP. The MBCP can be made to appear as a controllable lighting system to lighting industry standard DMX based Intelligent Control System. These systems already have support for creating and saving scripts of special effects in support of multi-media lighting shows.
X.10 Control of SPD Windows
[0092] The controllers of the invention may operate over a wireless network in support of automatic remote control in a large building environment. But in smaller environments, such as a residential project having perhaps 16 windows, the wireless control solution may be overly expensive in some situations. In order to address this situation, there is another variation of the scalable controller. Instead of integrating the controller with a radio transmitter and receiver as described above, this invention provides an interface to the above controller which is capable of receiving X.10 control signals over a 110 VAC/220 VAC power line. A United States patent that is now expired covered the X.10 communication protocol. Yet, because of how long it has been in existence, the number of compatible products that exist, the easy availability of X.10 controllers that send control signals over the power line, and their low cost, an X.10 compatible interface is desirable. FIG. 18 shows a controller 181 transmitting X.10 signals, sending a command to an X.10 decoder 182 which in turn communicates commands to windows 183
[0093] The X.10 interface option will be placed onto the controller circuit card that is operating one or more panes of glass. Each controller will operate via a direct power connection to the 110 VAC/220 VAC power line. Up to 256 windows may be controlled in this environment. Each window controller will be assigned an X.10 Letter (Home/Network ID) and Number Code (Device ID). When the window controller sees its address on the powerline bus, it will then look for a command signal such as ON, OFF, DIM UP, DIM DOWN. An ON signal will be executed at the controller as a signal to set the window to full Dark. An OFF signal will be interpreted as setting the window to full Clear. The controller maintains the current setting of the window under its control. A DIM UP command will slowly increase the darkness of a window from 0% toward 100% and a DIM DOWN command will slowly decrease the darkness making the window clearer. Any X.10 device capable of sending these four signals to any of the 256 possible X.10 addresses will now be capable of controlling any SPD window. X.10 controllers currently exist to send these four signals under manual control or to program a computer to send commands at particular times of the day. This will provide a very simple means of local control of a small number of SPDs. A similar interface will exist for support of several wireless replacements to X.10 devices, Z-Wave, Insteon, and 802.11.15 ZigBee.
[0094] FIG. 15 shows 5 controllers each controlling 24 window/panes. These window panes may physically be aligned so that A and B are next to each other and E and D are directly below them. This would form an 8.times.12 pixel array. Commands from the MBCP will be sent via its local transmitter, M, into the wireless mesh network. Because of the mesh networking aspects of the controller network, if the MBCS is capable of communicating directly with controller D but finds it cannot directly communicate with controller B, it may route command data through node controller C to command B to set its pixels. To control the settings at node A, the command may for example go via the path M,D,E.A or M,D,B,A or M,C.B,A.
[0095] FIG. 16 shows show the letter “E” formed in a 5 by 7 pixel array of darkened windows, with a border at the left and top having a width of a single window/pixel.
[0096] FIG. 17 shows a lighting effect in which each pane differs from its neighbor by a few percent.
[0097] It will be appreciated that this invention provides for a range of SPD control far beyond that previously in existence. The “Scalable Controller” a.k.a. “SC” of this invention adds intelligence that greatly expands the capabilities of prior controllers. As in prior implementations, one to several pieces of glass may be controlled by a single controller, where several is a relatively small number such as eight and each piece of glass is hardwired to the controller. The Scalable controller further supports a set up phase whereby the user may configure the relationship between manual external control or several individual manual controls and which window/windows are to be controlled from that manual setting. In a setting of four windows under the Scalable Controller, where the windows are referred to as A, B, C and D, a user may configure the SC so that windows AB is controlled as a single window and CD as another, or ABC is controlled as a single window and D as another, or ABCD is controlled as a single window or, AB CD are controlled as 4 separate windows, as mentioned above in connection with FIG. 5 .
[0098] Although such intelligent control permits several windows to operate autonomously, in a larger scale implementation, it is desirable to put entire segments of building windows under a coordinated set of controls. In relatively large types of environments, rather than using a profile of individual windows, it is possible to perform real-time data processing and make more intelligent decisions of the opacity of every segment of a building at any point in time. The SC of this invention is capable of expanding so as to operate in such a mode.
[0099] When the SC is in manual mode, it utilizes inputs from the room occupant to control the precise setting of the opaqueness of the SPD glass or plastic it is controlling. There is a range of different manual input devices that might be used. Switches, rheostat-like devices, or capacitance-type devices that have no moving parts but can sense the touch of a finger, for example, my all be utilized. But the SCs may also receive commands sent to it via a Local Area Network to which the is connected. The SC allows for the plug in of an LAN card so that it may receive commands from elsewhere in the network to control functions to be performed. Multiple LANs may be connected via Repeater/Bridges to increase the size of the physical area of building windows that is being covered. When the maximum length LAN has been reached, a router can be deployed to connect independent LANs to each other in the creation of a wide area network capable of reaching every SC in the building. The purpose of this wide area network is so that each SC may receive commands that are initiated from a central intelligence point, the Master Building Control Point (MBCP), where a data processing system is making decisions as to the optimal setting of each window. The MBCP is capable of taking in data from sensors that are collocated with SCs by polling for their data, and from other inputs that may be read through the network it is connected to, utilize latitude and longitude information, time of day, day of year, and other facts in order to make decisions how to optimally set the current opacity levels across the building. The MBCP may then send commands through the network to each individual window to select the optimal setting.
[0100] The Scalable Controllers may be equipped with various types of sensors that may be used in more finely controlling the energy usage in a building. A photocell may be placed onto each SPD glass and connected to its SC (see FIGS. 2 and 3 ). The Master Building Control Point “MBCP” may command all the SCs to periodically send sensor data to the MBCP or the MBCP may periodically poll each of the SCs to read photocell and other sensor data. Through an initial system configuration procedure at the MBCP, it is made aware of the configuration of the building, the compass direction in which windows face, the latitude and longitude of the building, the angle at which each window is from vertical, and the location of unique node and window addresses. Input from photocells throughout the building allow the MBCP to utilize voting techniques to determine the best areas of the building in which to increase or decrease opaqueness in order to reduce the overall building energy requirements for heating and air conditioning. If a readable compass and glass angle detector is installed at key SCs, the process of modeling the building to establish more precise control of each window, is simplified, by directly providing this configuration information.
[0101] In order to reduce the overall load on the backbone of the LANs and to allow commands to be executed truly simultaneously across the network, a hierarchy of Intelligent Control Points may be created. The control points could be nothing more than individual SCs that are commanded by the MBCP to act as relay stations on behalf of the MBCP. At the highest level of the hierarchy, the Master Building Control Point exists that makes intelligent decisions as to the current settings of opaqueness at all points in a building of SPD glass. Depending upon the size of the implementation, there are several levels of hierarchy. The Master Control Point sends opaqueness modification commands to one or more of the Hierarchical Control Points that in turn communicate with several lower level Hierarchical Control Points and eventually to each of the individual SCs for which it is responsible. Such a multi-level distribution of control reduces the volume of data packets traversing the LAN on which the Master Control Point exists and hands off the command distribution to each of the local LANs thus reducing the load on the Master and on the backbone network. It also allows for commands to be executed more quickly than if each had to be sent directly from the Master Control Point, since each Hierarchical Control Point is performing the distribution of commands for the Master on each of its local LANs. Therefore commands are sent simultaneously across multiple LANs instead of serially. This allows a very large number of Suspended Particle Devices to be changed more quickly and simultaneously.
[0102] In this instantiation of the invention, the MBCP will provide an XML interface (as shown in FIG. 13 ) to an external system to provide window tinting information and additional sensor data to the external system and to allow the external system to request adjustments to tinting levels around the building or adjust room lighting under its control. The MBCP takes requests from the XML link, interprets them and executes them by sending the proper commands through the Hierarchical network to effect the changes requested by the external Intelligent Energy Control System (IECS). When operating in this mode, the automated controls of the MBCP can be optionally bypassed, rather than using the derived information to command all windows to set in an optimal way. Instead, the commands are generated based upon the XML messages that are received from the IECS. A periodic “Heartbeat” transfer of XML command/responses over the MBCP/IECS link, insures that the two systems remain in sync and coordinating operations. In the event the heartbeat is lost, the MBCP can fall back to its automated mode and operate the building independently until the IECS system comes back online Optionally the MBCP can remain in direct control of window tinting providing the IECS with data to help augment its operations.
[0103] FIG. 19 shows two Scalable Controllers (SCs) 191 , 192 consisting of the Intelligent Controller of FIG. 1 integrated with a LAN interface 194 so that they can send packets of data by means of a LAN 193 to a Master Control Point (MBCP) 192 located on the LAN.
[0104] FIG. 20 shows that when each of several LANs 201 has reached its maximum capacity, due to cable length of in this example, a Bridge 202 may be introduced in order to add another LAN segment to extend the size of the LAN. This would be the first method used in a structure to be employed to connect more controllers to a Master Building Control Point 204 which is controlling the settings of all of the SCs. This figure also depicts a Hub 205 which provides direct connectivity to individual SCs 206 rather than multiple SCs hanging off a shared wire. The connection between the Hub 205 and the individual SCs 206 may be wired or could be wireless. Using wireless LANs reduces the amount of building wiring that must be done to connect every Scalable Controller to the network that will provide connectivity to the Master Control Point 204 containing the building control logic.
[0105] FIG. 21 shows how to further extend the size of a local network when the maximum number of LAN segments and Bridge/Repeaters 202 has been deployed. A Router component 207 is added which allows new and independent LAN segments to be connected to the Router 207 . The Router 207 recognizes when data has been directed to a LAN address that is on a different LAN, and it then takes that data from the receiving LAN and resends it over the correct LAN where the destination address is located. Mapping tables tell the Router 207 what ranges of addresses each LAN handles. SCs located all over a large building are connected to the closest LAN in order to receive messages from the Master Building Control Point 204 located on the same or a remote LAN or from the Hierarchical Control Point located on the same LAN. This allows the MBCP to instantaneously change the opacity setting of any window in the building.
[0106] It will be appreciated that what has been described above greatly expands the Malvino patents in terms of scalability. But the SC also expands the basic functionality of the Malvino patents by providing a means of control of SPD far beyond that envisioned in those patents. The microprocessor-driven device can control the modulation of the voltage, setting of any desired operating frequency and/or setting of waveform characteristics to at least one suspended particle device (SPD) thereby controlling the light valve opacity characteristics of the device, as well as a means of manually controlling the modulating means where manual control information is read by the microprocessor and said microprocessor then adjusts modulating means based upon the setting of the manual control. There can be a plurality of manual control devices and/or a plurality of individual SPDs hardwired to the microprocessor driven device. There can be a setup procedure where the relationship between which one of a plurality of manual control devices is to be used to directly control the SPD opacity of one or more of a plurality of hardwired SPDs so as to act as if it is a single SPD. There can be a means of externally controlling the modulating means through digital commands received over a communications channel. There can be a radio transmitter and receiver, using point-to-point radio communications to transmit and receive data at neighboring microprocessor driven devices, where remote radio receiving device interprets the header of a packet of data sent by the transmitting device and only processes the receiving data if necessary as determined from the packet header data. If the header data at the receiving microprocessor specifies that said receive data is meant for a different microprocessor driven device that is not directly in communication with the receiving device, the receiving device shall resend the data packet toward another microprocessor driven device or node, by consulting an on-board dynamically updated Routing Table to send the data further along in the aforementioned network via additional intermediate hopping points. Once said packet of data reaches its final destination point, it is processed by application software at that final destination.
[0107] Many different types of packets may be sent through the network, some of which are used to maintain the network itself, others which move statistical data through the network and others which move application data such as Light Valve commands, through the network. One type of network packet may distribute instantaneous routing information that will be used at each node to assist in the determination of the best next route to be used to move this packet toward the destination node. Another type of packet will contain SPD Glass control command for a remote node, asking the remote node to change the local Light Valve to a particular setting.
[0108] The system may incorporate an interface to a Local Area Network (LAN) to connect a Master Building Control Point, a microprocessor-driven device which makes intelligent decisions regarding what opaqueness should be set at an individual window, and sends commands to other parts of the system over the LAN. The LAN may be wired via Thinnet, Thicknet, twisted pair, optical fiber or other wired LAN means, or wireless using any variant of IEEE 802.11, or IEEE 802.15 or other wireless LAN means. The LAN may be bridged to another LAN to extend restrictions on bus length or the number of devices connected to one bus. The LAN may be extended using a router in order to connect to other LANs over a much larger area of a residential or commercial building that can be reached by a single LAN in order to communicate with the Master Building Control Point attached to the local or wider area network.
[0109] The controller may run a particular set of software that enables it to perform its normal functions in addition to becoming an “Intelligent Control Point” on the LAN referred to as the Hierarchical Control Point. This device is capable of communicating with every one of the devices in a hierarchy.
[0110] The system may automatically change the Light Valves under its control, based upon the physical orientation of the SPD on the earth, the latitude and longitude of the SPD, the day of the year and the time of the day. The microprocessor will support a profile of data which is derived from off-line processing of the orientation of the window in space at every moment of the year so that optimal Light Valve settings may continuously be made in order to reduce energy utilization in residential and commercial environments using window based SPDs.
[0111] If manual override operations are used to override automated operations, after a specific period of time automated operations may resume. Automated operations may be resumed when a room occupancy sensor does not show any movement in a room for a specific period of time. The system may support a small number of fixed profiles for daytime and night time opacity settings and a switch to manually set which profile is currently in effect. There may be two profiles and the manual switch may be labeled Summer and Winter. There may be four profiles and the manual switch is labeled Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring.
[0112] In the system, optimal Light Valve settings may be derived in real time in lieu of using a predetermined profile of information. Such real-time calculations might be performed at the Master Building Control Point.
[0113] A device comprising the same electronics as a controller that operates an SPD may not connected to any SPD but may only be used as an intermediate hopping point to move data between other fully SPD operational devices, utilized in spots where radio coverage is poor where fully operational devices are unable to communicate directly with each other. This hopping-point device may be placed in an otherwise dead spot between other devices, to act as a bridge between the other devices.
[0114] In the system, messages may flow through a hierarchy of specialized nodes and not from any node to any other node in the network. At the highest level of the hierarchy, a Control Point exists that makes intelligent decisions as to the current settings of opaqueness at all points in a building of SPD glass. Depending upon the size of the implementation, there are several levels of hierarchy. One of these Building Control Points communicates several lower level control points so that each may simultaneously act upon the command to modify the Light Valve setting at a controller. The lower level control point may further distribute the command to another lower level of control points to further spread the command to the largest number of points in the quickest time so that the windows may be activated as quickly as possible.
[0115] In the system, messages may flow through a hierarchy of Intelligent Control Points located on the same or different LANs than the Master Control Point. At the highest level of the hierarchy, a Control Point exists that makes intelligent decisions as to the current settings of opacity at all points in a building of SPD glass. Depending upon the size of the implementation, there are several levels of hierarchy. The Master Control Point sends opacity modification commands to one or more of the Hierarchical Control Points which in turn communicate with several lower level Hierarchical Control Points and eventually to each of the individual controllers within its realm of control. Such a multi-level distribution of control reduces the volume of data packets traversing the LAN on which the Master Control Point exists and hands off the command distribution to each of the local LANs thus reducing the load on the Master and on the backbone network. It also allows for commands to be executed more quickly than if each had to be sent directly from the Master Control Point, since each Hierarchical Control Point is performing the distribution of commands for the Master on each of its local LANs. Therefore commands are sent simultaneously across multiple LANs instead of serially. This allows a very large number of Suspended Particle Devices to be changed more quickly and simultaneously.
[0116] The SC may modulate the frequency across a variable range, occurring simultaneously with the varying of Voltage driving the SPD. Driving the device over a variable frequency can eliminate a potential for the glass to “sing” (generating an audio tone) that would otherwise annoy human individuals in the same room.
[0117] A scalable controller may include a sensor circuit to detect a drop in the current flow through the SPD. This would be indicative of a breakage in the SPD. In this event the SC sends the MBCP a “glass breakage detection” message to denote the event. The MBCP in receiving the alarm is capable of determining which window this came from and will request human intervention through any of a number of different means. This might include one or more radio paging messages sent over the Internet, a short message for one or more cell phones sent over the Internet, calling a central station monitoring facility and generating a synthetic voice message, sending a message over the Internet to a monitoring service specifically overseeing the SPD-glass building control, among other means. The MBCP maintain hysteresis logic so that if flooded with breakage detection messages at any one time, multiple alerts are not generated, unless they are not responded to in a given period of time. The MBCP is capable of turning off the glass-breakage detection logic at an SC for any period of time, so as to avoid being flooded with messages from entire sections of the building, after the alert has been acknowledged.
[0118] For all SPD applications including automotive, marine, aerospace and architectural, the controller of this invention can drive the SPD in more sophisticated ways than in the Malvino patents.
[0119] First, various waveforms can be used rather than a single waveform.
[0120] Second, the duty cycle can be varied, to conserve energy.
[0121] Within the controller, two or more electro-optical lookup tables can be stored to support multiple types of SPD.
[0122] The manner of driving the SPD can be adjusted based upon external temperature.
[0123] And, power can be dynamically managed to optimize power consumption.
[0124] The Malvino U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,897,997 and 6,804,040 provided for a basic method of driving SPD based material so that it changes from its clear to dark state or to various levels of opacity in between. These basic patents do not address the full operational parameters of SPD or their control. The microprocessor-centric SC provides for an unprecedented level of fine and optimized control of SPD through several methodologies, algorithms and feedback mechanisms that this enhanced controller patent describes.
[0125] The Malvino '997 and '040 patents were concerned with the creation of some set of electronics that would allow SPD-based material to change state. But detailed studies of the nature of SPD reveals that there are several features of SPD other than opacity that must be taken into account to properly control SPD-based windows. And there are many variable factors which control these features.
[0126] The main feature of SPD is in its ability to move from a clear state to a dark state and back again or to any intermediate opacity level, based upon the frequency and AC voltage level applied. But other important features to control are switching time, haze, clarity, possible singing or humming of the SPD laminated between two pieces of glass or plastic, and power consumption. There are many parameters whose settings affect these features. These are AC voltage, frequency, frequency tolerance, temperature, wave form, wave phase, duty cycle, thickness of the SPD, the manufacturer of the SPD and sometimes which production run itself within one manufacturer. The simple circuits of the Malvino U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,897,997 and 6,804,040 are incapable of factoring in all of these parameters to provide the desired performance of the SPD.
[0127] Different applications of SPD will require optimization of some manner of operating a SC. In building applications that are targeted at energy efficiency the SC will emphasize those functions aimed at energy conservation. Switching speed would be traded off for energy efficiency. In an automobile the vendor may wish opacity changing time, also referred to as glass switching time or glass switching speed, to remain constant regardless of the exterior temperature of the vehicle. The SC can insure a lower switching speed by driving the SPDs at a higher frequency when the outdoor temperature is very low at the expense of utilizing more power.
[0128] FIG. 24 shows the logical structure of an embodiment of the invention. This is an enhanced controller not only in its ability to become part of a larger coordinated network of controllers, but it the enhanced intelligence of each individual node in its control of SPD.
[0129] The Command and Control portion of the controller receives commands from an external source (such as an optional A/D type device like a dimmer switch for example) or other microprocessors over a communications link, to set the light opacity level of SPD Glass to a particular level. The SC may utilize sensors through its A/D interface to determine the external temperature to take this into account to optimize either switching time or power consumption, whichever is of more importance to the user. A particular shape wave form is set up by the wave generation logic which modulates the required amount of power at the optimal frequency to switch the glass. To reduce the power being utilized to maintain the SPD at a particular opacity level, the duty cycle of the waveform utilized is reduced. Algorithms built into the software of the SC take into account the goal which is to be achieved and adjust the setting of the factors mentioned to provide the desired goal. The SC has full flexibility to adjust all performance affecting parameters in a particular environment.
[0130] The controller has a series of internal 3-dimensional tables similar to FIG. 25 , which map various operational parameters against others in order to know how the changing of one factor or two factors will affect the third. For example, the table might define the proper voltage and frequency required for absolute levels of light transmission. Another such table would describe the relationship between switching time and frequency for a given amount of power. A third table would provide a model of switching time and frequency for a given temperature. A fourth table would evaluate switching time and frequency for a given temperature.
[0131] Using algorithms built into the intelligent controller it may make trade-offs to optimally operate SPD according to the goals that are programmed into its memory. If the maintenance of switching time at less than 2 seconds from dark to clear is desired, then these algorithms will pull data from these tables to increase the frequency of the AC signal, increase the voltage and provide extra power in order to provide a specific level of opacity for a particular manufacturer's SPD. If in another instance, power consumption was the factor for optimization, the SC would operate the SPD at a lower frequency and adjust the voltage accordingly in order to achieve absolute levels of opacity, where the reduced power consumption would be at the expense of a switching speed of perhaps 8 seconds instead of 2.
[0132] This data is repeated for each manufacturer of SPDs so that the controller may make proper decisions based upon the particular SPD being utilized. There may be a day when industry standardization will insure that all SPD reacts in exactly the same repeatable way across manufacturers and across production runs from one manufacture, but until the industry can achieve this level of quality control across different manufacturing processes, multiple tables which model performance must be preprogrammed into the tables of the controller. But the end result is that the controller is a universal controller for all SPD applications.
[0133] The set of tables stored in the controller are typically created off-line through laboratory experimentation of each manufacturer's SPD. The resultant data is stored in the tables of the controller or may be downloaded into the controller over its communication channel.
[0134] In some implementations of the controller some of the three-dimensional tables will be collapsed to two dimensions as the third factor is not one measured or under the control of the particular model of controller. For example, a basic model of controller may not utilize a temperature sensor and will operate continually under the assumption of a fixed operating temperature. One of the sets of tables in the controller is known as the EO (Electro-Optical) table. This table is ordered by opacity at 0% (dark) to 100% (clear). Each entry contains the optimal frequency and voltage to set a particular manufacturer's glass to the given opacity level. If temperature is not going to be considered in the operation of this version of the controller, the EO table remains two-dimensional.
[0135] In addition to using its algorithms and internal tables to set the various parameters to control the SPD, the controller can dynamically change its parameter settings based upon measurement and feedback from sensors connected to its A/D inputs. For example, a light source and photocell or phototransistor or other photodetector may be used to shine a specific intensity light through the changing SPD and to a photocell which will detect the actual light level. The EO table being used to switch the SPD to a particular opacity level may not have a temperature component in its entry. But the controller can measure actual switching time by measuring how long it takes for the glass to reach the opacity level requested, because its light/photocell logic can measure when the actual opacity level has been achieved. Knowing the time, the controller algorithms can determine a better frequency and voltage to operate the glass to reduce the switching time to the desired level. The measuring devices are used in the creation of a feedback loop to auto-adjust operational parameters.
[0136] The intelligent controller is able to further reduce the amount of power consumption of SPD to values lower than that achieved by operating the SPD at an optimal frequency and voltage for a given opacity level at a given temperature. The controller may change the duty cycle of the power output to not keep the SPD under constant AC power. Logic in the controller can reduce the number of complete wave form cycles being generated over a given period of time. So if ‘m’ cycles would normally occur in time ‘t’, every other cycle could be ignored and power shut down in those cycles, to achieve a 50% duty factor. In general the goal is to only keep the power operating only ‘n’ out of every ‘m’ cycles in order to reduce power. At some point there will be a visible flickering of the SPD noticed. Experimentation derives another three-dimensional table which specifies the lowest allowable duty cycle for a given opacity level against a third parameter such as operating temperature.
[0137] Experimentation and an analysis of the three-dimensional graphs of operational parameters and their resulting features, reveal other mixed operating modes by taking advantage of aspects of different graphs. Reasonable switching speeds of 2 seconds dark to clear at room temperature can be achieved at 60 Hz and 20-100 volts AC. More optimal energy performance is achieved below 60 Hz, perhaps better at 30 Hz, without causing flickering in the SPD. Higher frequencies (400 Hz) can switch the SPD much faster but use more power to effect the switching. The controller takes advantage of these factors when optimizing for switching speed by shifting to a higher frequency during the transition from one opacity level to another then reducing the frequency to the lower allowable range to maintain the opacity setting at low power.
[0138] It will be appreciated that one skilled in the relevant art may readily devise myriad obvious variants and improvements upon the invention without undue experimentation, none of which depart in any way from the invention and all of which are intended to be encompassed within the claims which follow. | A scalable apparatus and a network environment dynamically changes the light transparency of a single SPD device, a small number of SPD devices or thousands of such SPD devices installed in windows in automobiles, aircraft, trains, marine vehicles, residential homes, commercial buildings and skyscrapers. A scalable apparatus and a network environment dynamically changes the light transparency of a single SPD device or thousands of such SPD devices in the presentation of a multi-media special effects display. Textual messages, graphical images and simulated motion effects are driven. Such scalable apparatus being capable of driving and using several operational parameters of SPD's such as frequency range, AC voltage and temperature so as to provide fine control of SPD characteristics such as switching speed and power consumption. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the invention. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 13/337,344 filed Dec. 27, 2011, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 12/855,782 filed Aug. 13, 2010, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 11/530,310 filed Sep. 8, 2006, which in turn claims the benefit of U.S. application Nos. 60/596,198 filed Sep. 8, 2005, 60/721,731 filed Sep. 28, 2005, and 60/597,162 filed Nov. 14, 2005, each of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Light valves have been in use for more than sixty years for the modulation of light.",
"As used herein, a light valve is defined as a cell formed of two walls that are spaced apart by a small distance, at least one wall being transparent, the walls having electrodes thereon, usually in the form of transparent, electrically conductive coatings.",
"The cell contains a light-modulating element (sometimes herein referred to as an “activatable material”), which may be either a liquid suspension of particles, or a plastic film in which droplets of a liquid suspension of particles are distributed.",
"[0003] The liquid suspension (sometimes herein referred to as “a liquid light valve suspension”",
"or “a light valve suspension”) comprises small, anisotropically shaped particles suspended in a liquid suspending medium.",
"In the absence of an applied electrical field, the particles in the liquid suspension assume random positions due to Brownian movement, and hence a beam of light passing into the cell is reflected, transmitted or absorbed, depending upon the cell structure, the nature and concentration of the particles, and the energy content of the light.",
"The light valve is thus relatively dark in the OFF state.",
"However, when an electric field is applied through the liquid light valve suspension in the light valve, the particles become aligned and for many suspensions most of the light can pass through the cell.",
"The light valve is thus relatively transparent in the ON state.",
"Light valves of the type described herein are also known as “suspended particle devices”",
"or “SPDs.”",
"More generally, the term suspended particle device, as used herein, refers to any device in which suspended particles align to allow light to pass through the device when an electric field is applied.",
"Light valves have been proposed for use in numerous applications including windows, skylights, and sunroofs, to control the amount of light passing therethrough or reflected therefrom as the case may be.",
"As used herein the term “light”",
"generally refers to visible electromagnetic radiation, but where applicable, “light”",
"can also comprise other types of electromagnetic radiation such as, but not limited to, infrared radiation and ultraviolet radiation.",
"[0004] The SPD is laminated between two pieces of glass or plastic to form a sandwich which is sometimes called SPD Glass or SPD Plastic, and which can be further used to form a glass or plastic window.",
"With such SPDs forming a window, the amount of light passing through the window can be finely controlled based upon the characteristics of the electricity passing through the SPD.",
"The degree to which something reduces the passage of electromagnetic radiation is known as opacity.",
"When referring to windows, changes in opacity is often noted as a change in a windows tinting, its light transparency or transparency and each of these terms may be equally be used to mean the same.",
"[0005] Such SPDs are now being installed into glass so that the amount of light passing through the glass can be finely controlled based upon the characteristics of the electricity passing through the glass.",
"At least one method by which such glass and thus its opacity or light transparency may be controlled is described by Malvino, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,897,997 and 6,804,040 collectively referred to as the Malvino patents.",
"But a device envisioned by Malvino, while suitable for the manual control of a small number of co-located windows, is not scalable nor does it provide the automated intelligence to actively and dynamically control environments of more than a few windows such as in an automobile, marine vehicle, train or aircraft, to as much as a residential or commercial building or a skyscraper of such SPD windows.",
"[0006] The Malvino patents provide the basis for driving SPD glass by varying voltage at a fixed frequency which will cause the glass to lighten toward clear or to darken so as to block most light passing through it.",
"That device is capable of mapping the non-linear characteristics of SPD into a linear range of values that could be thought of as setting the glass from say 0 to 100%.",
"The range is broken down into a small discrete set of settings for perhaps 6 different opaqueness levels and 6 specific resistor and capacitor combinations are built into the implementation and are manually selected to set the proper voltage for the associated degree of tinting.",
"Through that implementation, a linear manual control, such as a slide switch or a rotating dial may be attached to the Malvino controller to directly vary the amount of light allowed through the glass at any time.",
"[0007] The Malvino patents review the use of a few fixed frequencies at which to drive an SPD.",
"As described, driving the device at a lower frequency tends to have a slight lower energy utilization curve with regard to the power needed to drive the SPD.",
"Frequencies in the range of 15 hertz to 60 hertz were discussed.",
"There is a serious potential problem with the aforementioned controller operating the SPD when driven by these frequencies.",
"It is possible that the SPD will “sing”",
"and be heard as a tone in the B-flat range by being driven by a fixed frequency within that range.",
"An SPD controlled window typically consists of SPD-capable material in the form of a clear Mylar coated with SPD emulation, placed in between two pieces of glass.",
"The SPD is basically sandwiched and held in place by glass on both sides.",
"If 50/60 Hertz current travels through the sandwiched SPD, in some cases, the Mylar will start to vibrate in resonance with the driving frequency and may be heard by people near the window as an annoying hum.",
"[0008] A considerable issue in the wide-scale worldwide deployment of SPD windows, is on how residential and commercial buildings will be wired up to allow some “central intelligence”",
"to operate the individual windows.",
"Today, there is no concept of running wires to windows from some control room in the building.",
"It is not desirable to introduce a new requirement for building wiring in the introduction of SPD glass around the world, since thousands of installation people would need to learn and understand new building wiring requirements.",
"Yet, if any other techniques are employed to “wire”",
"each window to the “central intelligence”, it must require little or no training, and be a relatively low cost so as not to make the use of SPD glass prohibitive.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0009] The invention relates to a wirelessly enabled apparatus and associated mesh networking software installed in large arrays in order to dynamically control the “skin”",
"of residential and commercial buildings throughout the day in order to absorb or reflect sunlight in such a manner as to dramatically reduce the energy consumption of such buildings.",
"The integration of a mesh network lowers the cost of deployment of such control by permitting the individual devices that control one or more windows, to act as a relay point in moving control signals from intelligent control points in a Building Skin Control System to the individual controllers or sets of controllers which will effect the desired changes.",
"The invention further relates to a Suspended Particle Device control apparatus and associated network installed in large arrays in order to dynamically control the glass windows of residential and commercial buildings throughout the day in order to absorb or reflect sunlight in such a manner as to dramatically reduce the energy consumption of such buildings.",
"The use of a hierarchical distribution system over a LAN or WAN reduces the time to transmit commands from a central intelligence point, the Master Building Control Point, to all window controllers in a structure to set individual windows to a specific level of opaqueness.",
"[0010] The device described herein corrects for the “singing”",
"problem by providing the option of driving the SPD at a variable frequency in the low frequency range rather than a single fixed frequency.",
"Optionally, in lieu of using a continuously variable SPD driving frequency, the Controller may randomly drop or phase shift several cycles per second.",
"The change/shift is not enough to be visibly noticeable but it would eliminate the “ringing effect.”",
"As will be seen below, the system according to the invention scales from the single-window environment to a building with a size beyond that of the currently largest in the world, Taipei 101 in the Xin-Yi district of Taipei, with over 32,000 windows.",
"[0011] This invention provides for a range of SPD control far beyond that previously in existence.",
"The “Scalable Controller”",
"a.k.a. “SC”",
"of this invention adds intelligence that greatly expands the capabilities of prior controllers.",
"As in prior implementations, one to several pieces of glass may be controlled by a single controller, where several is a relatively small number such as 8 and each piece of glass is hardwired to the controller.",
"The Scalable controller further supports a setup phase whereby the user may configure the relationship between manual external control or several individual manual controls and which window/windows are to be controlled from that manual setting.",
"In a setting of four windows under the Scalable Controller, where the windows are referred to as A, B, C and D, a user may configure the SC so that windows AB are controlled as a single window and CD as another, or ABC is controlled as a single window and D as another, or ABCD is controlled as a single window or, AB CD are controlled as 4 separate windows.",
"[0012] This system coordinates the settings of each of the windows in a building in an intelligent manner from a central intelligence point known of the Master Building Control Point.",
"It will make intelligent decisions based on many factors including real time events, as to the proper amount of visible light to permit to flow through each window in order to take best advantage of the solar heating effect.",
"[0013] Enhanced capabilities of the SC over prior inventions provide for full control of all operational parameters which effect the characteristics of a SPD.",
"This type of control exists in each SC to optimize SPD performance by power utilization or switching speed potentially taking into account external temperature, while controlling the haze and clarity.",
"[0014] The flexibility of the SC and its networking capabilities also support the display of textual messages or special light tinting sequences as part of a multimedia presentation.",
"Such a multimedia display could change windows along the facade of an office building in time to the changes in perhaps Christmas Music during the holiday period.",
"A scaled-down version of such a system could provide for a moving textual display across small SPD pixels sitting in a box on a desktop.",
"These diverse applications reflect the flexibility and importance of this invention.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING [0015] The invention will be described with respect to a drawing in several figures, of which: [0016] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an SPD window controller under manual adjustment from a single external device.",
"[0017] FIG. 2 is the controller of FIG. 1 with the addition of a photocell or other photosensor to detect the brightness of sunlight shining on the window under control.",
"[0018] FIG. 3 creates the Intelligent Controller from FIG. 2 by introducing a microprocessor to perform a number of different functions in support of more sophisticated controller capabilities as well as Scalable Network operations of controllers.",
"In addition to the photocell or other photosensor additional inputs from sensors expand the data which the Scalable controller may use to make decisions on how to change window opacity.",
"[0019] FIG. 4 shows the Intelligent Controller with a plurality of manual inputs that are coupled to one or several window panes that are under the direct control of the controller as set up by the user via a set up procedure in the control software.",
"A single manual input may control one window or, two, three or four at one time as if it were a single piece of SPD glass.",
"More then one manual input may be used to control the same set of glass in order to support manual controls that operate from different points in the same room.",
"[0020] FIG. 5 shows different combinations of four-window panes in this example, and how the set up software allows any combination of sets of individual panes to be treated as a single pane of glass.",
"[0021] FIG. 6 shows one of the earliest packet switching or mesh networks in which data may be sent along alternate paths through intermediate nodes in order to reach a destination point.",
"This is an example of the 4-node Arpanet in 1969, the precursor to today's Internet.",
"Host computers sent data to other Host computers in this network and utilized the services of the Interface Message Processor (IMP) to move data packets to other IMPs which were not destination point but would further relay packets toward the IMP directly connected to the desired destination Host.",
"[0022] FIG. 7 shows a more advanced packet switched meshed network in which specific processing applications operate on the same computer that is running the packet switching software thereby combining the functions of Hosts and IMPs in the earlier Arpanet systems.",
"Increases in microprocessor power allowed these functions to be combined onto a single platform.",
"This is an example of a Radio Paging Network application utilizing the Data Link Handler (DLH) protocol created by the Inventor to convert isolated Citywide radio paging (beeper) systems, also known as Paging Terminal Nodes (PTNs), into a nationwide network capable of alerting someone wherever they are located in the country instead of just a single city.",
"The Arpanet and Internet utilize formalized routing protocol specifications such as the Routing Information Protocol (RIP) to dynamically maintain a list of best routes to a destination at each node.",
"DLH utilizes a proprietary routing protocol to maintain a list of primary and alternate routes.",
"The proprietary DLH network was eventually replaced with the Radio Paging Industry standard Telocator Network Paging Protocol (TNPP) protocol which the Inventor helped to create and Chaired the Industry committee to promote the use of this protocol for more than 11 years.",
"TNPP was used along with a manufacturer-specific proprietary routing protocol to maintain the best and alternate paths to each destination node.",
"[0023] FIG. 8 shows a Scalable Controller network consisting of the Intelligence Controller of FIG. 3 integrated with a radio transceiver (XCVR) to send packets of data to other transceiver equipped Scalable Controller (CTL) nodes.",
"Routing data similar to the Internet RIP, maintains a list at each Controller node of the best next node to receive data on the path to the destination node.",
"Unlike the wired network of FIGS. 6 and 7 , the radio network of FIG. 8 may sometimes properly receive data addressed to a different node than that which received it.",
"In this case, the received data is ignored/dropped by the node which is not the next node along the optimal path to the destination.",
"[0024] FIG. 9 shows an example of a network of FIG. 8 where a Building Control Point is connected to one of the nodes of the network.",
"The BCP is a data processing site to determine which portions of a building are to be automatically set to a specific opacity at any moment of the day or night.",
"The Data Processing system may optionally be connected to the Internet and to a remote central monitoring service which oversees the operations of the SPD Building Skin Control System on behalf of many building owners.",
"[0025] FIG. 10 shows an example of a redundant Master Building Control Point (MBCP) consisting of a primary MBCP and a secondary MBCP in the network to insure that the entire system continues to operate normally even if the primary MBCP should fail.",
"If the primary MBCP should fail, the secondary MBCP will take over its functionality so that the entire system continues to operate normally.",
"[0026] FIG. 11 shows how different areas of a building would have different types of Hierarchical Control Points to oversee the operation of Scalable Controllers in certain portions of a building.",
"[0027] FIG. 12 is a Hierarchical mapping of Control Points showing how commands generated at the highest level Control Point are logically distributed to lower level Control Points that distribute the commands to more and more elements at lower hierarchy levels.",
"[0028] FIG. 13 shows how the Master Building Control Point interfaces with an Intelligent Energy Control System (IECS) via a computer interface utilizing the widely used Extensible Markup Language format referred to as XML.",
"[0029] FIG. 14 shows how the path of the Sun across the sky changes how the sunlight falls on the windows of a building throughout the day.",
"The Sun path changes slightly each day of the year as the Earth rotates around the Sun.",
"For any latitude and longitude on the planet, the path that is traversed is well known.",
"[0030] FIG. 15 shows five controllers each controlling twenty-four panes.",
"[0031] FIG. 16 shows the letter “E”",
"formed by a 5 by 7 pixel array with a border.",
"[0032] FIG. 17 shows a lighting effect in which each pane differs from its neighbor by a few percent.",
"[0033] FIG. 18 shows a controller sending a command to a decoder which in turn communicates commands to windows.",
"[0034] FIG. 19 shows two Scalable Controllers (SCs) consisting of the Intelligent Controller of FIG. 1 integrated with a LAN interface so that they can send packets of data to a Master Control Point (MCP) located on the LAN.",
"[0035] FIG. 20 shows that when LANs has reached its maximum capacity, due to cable length, a Bridge may be introduced in order to add another LAN segment to extend the size of the LAN.",
"[0036] FIG. 21 shows how to further extend the size of a local network when the maximum number of LAN segments and Bridge/Repeaters has been deployed.",
"[0037] FIG. 22 shows the logical connections that form a hierarchy of control points in order to reduce the point to point communication loading on the MCP to issue commands to all SCs in a building.",
"[0038] FIG. 23 shows how the Master Control Point, which provides the central control intelligence for all of the individual windows in a structure, can connect to an external Intelligent Energy Control System via a computer interface using the widely used Extensible Markup Language format referred to as XML.",
"The external system can modify its operations knowing where windows have been changed.",
"The external system may receive sensor input through the MCP and may command the MCP to modify the setting or some or all windows under its control.",
"The MCP also has the option of changing the operation of the windows under IECS command if better algorithms have been developed on the IECS and the External system starts sending the proper control commands.",
"[0039] FIG. 24 shows the major subsections which comprise the Scalable Controller.",
"[0040] FIG. 25 shows one of the typical three-dimensional tables of data that is programmed into the controller to operate it.",
"Such table provide information on the interaction of three variables that together control the operation of SPD based glass.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0041] With the incorporation of a Microprocessor into the Scalable Controller, the capabilities and flexibility of the device are expanded dramatically for use both in a standalone environment as well as being a data point in a sea of such controllers which, under such intelligent control, can dynamically modify the skin of an office building to provide unprecedented control over its energy usage.",
"Even in the standalone environment, the SC can be programmed with the intelligence to reduce energy usage in the room where it is being used.",
"The SC may be put into an automatic mode instead of being under manual control and can operate as described below.",
"[0042] Although the same functions may be achieved in several ways, in the implementation described herein, the end user has the ability to set the latitude, longitude, window orientation from North, and window angle from vertical into a suitable data processing program.",
"This program creates a profile that can be downloaded into the SC which uses the setup data to determine the location on the earth of the window(s) under control and thereby, for each window, its angle from the sun at any time of the day.",
"A time/date clock operates in the SC to drive its window(s) based upon the time of day, day of year, and the location on the planet.",
"At 1:00 PM on July 2nd in Manhattan, N.Y., the windows directly facing the sun would be set to the maximum opaqueness while those angled away from the sun would have reduced opaqueness and those on the opposite side of the building might be totally clear.",
"As the sun crosses the sky, each window changes according to the built-in profile.",
"Yet at 1:00 PM on July 2nd in Sydney Australia, those windows facing the sun will be clear, so that the building's heating system requirements may be reduced by utilizing the sun to heat windows directly facing the sun, while windows on the opposite side of the building would be turned dark so as to keep heat trapped in the building.",
"A photocell connected to the SC will provide external sensor input so as to allow the SC to further fine tune the current opaqueness based upon current cloud and weather conditions.",
"Sidereal information has been well known and calculable for centuries and may thus be profiled into the SC device itself.",
"Weather conditions that might block the sun are random real-time events.",
"[0043] Although such Intelligent control permits several windows to operate autonomously, in a larger-scale implementation, it is desirable to put entire segments of building windows under a coordinated set of controls.",
"In relatively large types of environments, rather than using a profile of individual windows, it is possible to perform more real-time data processing and to make more intelligent decisions of the opacity of every segment of a building at any point in time.",
"The SC of this invention is capable of expanding so as to operate in such a mode.",
"[0044] This system virtually eliminates all building wiring issues to put all SPD windows under a central control.",
"Each Scalable Controller is outfitted with a low-power, low-data-rate, limited-range, radio transceiver.",
"These radio transceivers are capable of communicating on a point-to-point basis to one or more radio transceivers located within other Scalable Controllers in a 3-dimensional space around each controller.",
"The SC microprocessor is further outfitted with mesh networking software.",
"Such types of software have been in existence in various incarnations for a long period of time.",
"The radio transceivers send specially formatted packets of data back and forth between each other.",
"Some packets contain data which is used to operate the mesh network itself while other packets contain sensor data or window control information.",
"Routing control packets are one type of mesh control packet which is sent.",
"Each SC can be thought of as a “node”",
"in the mesh network.",
"The routing information is used to leave information at each individual node to indicate an available “route”",
"to move data from a window controller to another intermediate window controller along a path to a “Hierarchical Control Point (HCP)”",
"or from an HCP through intermediate window controllers on its way to a specific individual window controller.",
"An HCP is the location of a special data processing node, as opposed to a window controller node, which is capable of coordinating the changing of the opaqueness of windows for some segment of a building.",
"There may be several Office Control Points (OCP), Section Control Points (SCP), Region Control Points (RCP), Floor Control Points (FCP), Multi-floor Control Points (MCP) and a single Building Control Point (BCP) located in typical building environment.",
"A single Control Point might exist in a small implementation while all types of Control Points may exist in a very large-scale implementation.",
"The use of additional Control Points reduces communication overhead in the mesh network and decreases the time delay between the time a window opaqueness modification command is sent and when it is acted upon at individual windows.",
"In this instantiation of the invention, any window SC can become a Control Point via a command sent from the Building Control Point.",
"Although a Building Control Point is an Intelligent Data Processing System, the lower hierarchical control points have a relatively small set of fixed commands and operations which can easily be handled at the Microprocessor at any window SC.",
"In the largest-scale implementation of the Scalable Controller Network, the BCP can inform the Multi-Floor Control Points (MCP) to change the settings of each window on all floors;",
"the MCP will distribute this request to each of the FCP's;",
"the FCP's will distribute the request to the RCP's;",
"the RCP's will send the command to SCP's;",
"and the SCP's will forward the commands to OCP's which will command each window controller in an office to execute the required change.",
"Because of the expansion to multiple nodes at each level of the hierarchy, commands may be simultaneously sent within different non-overlapping areas of the network where they may pass through intermediate nodes with no or little queuing delay, thus having the request executed throughout the building in a seemingly simultaneous fashion.",
"[0045] Typically, a window controller is not in direct radio communication with the location in the building where a HCP might be located.",
"But every window controller will typically be within radio communication of several other window controllers.",
"The mesh networking software permits a data packet to be sent from a source node to any neighboring node that is along a path which eventually leads to the destination node, through a series of hops through intermediate nodes.",
"Because of the multiple paths that exist between nodes, data can typically be routed around areas of the network that might be temporarily undergoing radio interference.",
"Data retransmission and acknowledgments during point-to-point communications insure that data is not dropped by one node until the next node in the network has accepted the data being sent.",
"If such acknowledgment is not received, a node may send its data onto an alternate path to the destination.",
"If a segment of the radio network should become isolated, a packet hop count insures that packets which will never reach their ultimate destination are eliminated from the network.",
"End-to-end acknowledgments let the source and destination nodes recognize when data must be retransmitted in its entirety because it may have been dropped due to a particular radio failure creating isolated subnetworks.",
"Reporting processes built into the Building Controller monitor the nodes in the network, gather interconnectivity data, and take into account the window controller addresses to assist the installer in insuring that all nodes are capable of communicating with the Hierarchical Control Points.",
"Where it might be found that some portion of the overall network is isolated from another portion, special nodes may be installed in a geographical area between existing segments of the network, in order to provide a bridging point for data to move from one network segment toward the other.",
"There should typically be at least two nodes to bridge isolated segments together.",
"The bridges are nothing more than window Scalable Controllers that are not connected to any SPD window.",
"[0046] The Scalable Controllers may be equipped with various types of sensors that may be used in more finely controlling the energy usage in a building.",
"A photocell may be placed onto each SPD glass and connected to its SC.",
"The Building Control Point “BCP”",
"may command all the SCs to periodically send sensor data to the BCP or the BCP may periodically poll each of the SCs to read photocell and other sensor data.",
"Through an initial system configuration procedure at the BCP, it is made aware of the configuration of the building, the compass direction in which windows face, the latitude and longitude of the building, the angle at which each window is from the vertical, and the location of unique node and window addresses.",
"Input from photocells throughout the building allow the BCP to utilize voting techniques to determine the best areas of the building in which to increase or decrease opaqueness in order to reduce the overall building energy requirements for heating and air conditioning.",
"If a readable compass and glass angle detector is installed at each SC, the process of modeling the building to establish more precise control of each window, is simplified, by directly providing this configuration information.",
"[0047] The BCP allows the system operator to establish special overrides for portions of the building at certain times of the day and days of the year.",
"This might be utilized to specify a region of the building undergoing glare from reflections from other buildings or natural features in the area.",
"The override features would allow a normally clear window to perhaps to be darkened for some period to eliminate the glare onto that portion of the building.",
"So some regions of a building might be under automatic control while other segments of the building may be under special override conditions at the time.",
"A complex combination of each control may be in effect at one time.",
"[0048] Many “Green”",
"buildings already incorporate an Intelligent Energy Control System such as the Honeywell Enterprise Buildings Integrator (EBI).",
"These types of systems operate/monitor/control the building HVAC system, circulation of fresh air, elimination of building odors, control of electric usage, and reduction of energy requirements to unoccupied areas.",
"These top-of-the-line systems also incorporate building security, monitoring and access control, asset tracking, fire and smoke detection and even control fire doors and public announcement systems.",
"This invention extends the capabilities of these sophisticated systems in a manner that was never possible before.",
"These system may now effectively control the skin of the building dynamically during the day, optimizing the use of the sun along with the movement of heat and air conditioning around the building.",
"The combination of both systems provides a level of efficiency of an even higher level than that capable of standalone windows or BCP controlled windows, since it directly controls multiple subsystems in a building in a coordinated fashion.",
"[0049] In this instantiation of the invention, the BCP will provide an interface to an external system to provide additional sensor data to the external system and to allow the external system to request adjustments to light levels around the building in a high-level form.",
"One of the preferred high-level forms in which an external system will represent sensor data and requests to adjust light levels to the BCP and the BCP will represent responses to such data and requests through this interface is known as XML.",
"XML is an abbreviation for Extensible Markup Language and is a widely used open standard for organizing and exchanging structured documents and data between two computers.",
"A computer to computer link over which data is transferred in the XML format.",
"is often referred to as an XML link or an XML interface.",
"The BCP takes requests from the XML link, interprets them and executes them by sending the proper commands through the hierarchical network to effect the changes requested by the external Intelligent Energy Control System (IECS).",
"When operating in this mode, the automated controls of the BCP are bypassed.",
"A periodic “heartbeat”",
"transfer of XML command/responses over the BCP/IECS link insures that the two systems remain in sync and that they coordinate operations.",
"In the event the heartbeat is lost, the BCP can fall back to its automated mode and operate the building independently until the IECS system comes back on-line.",
"[0050] This invention utilizes low-cost, low-power, limited-range Radio Transceivers co-located with each window controller device, to form a large scale wireless network between all of the windows in a residential or commercial building.",
"Windows are typically within 10 meters of each other within buildings, so limited range transceivers are perfectly suited for this environment.",
"The microprocessor-driven software within each controller operates the local application functions of the controller while at the same time executing radio packet switching type software used to send messages from source nodes to destination nodes in a building, even though the source and destination node are not in direct communication with each other because of their distance from each other.",
"The data which are to be moved from the source to the destination are sent to a transceiver which is reachable from the source node, and toward another radio transceiver that is reachable along a path which will eventually get the packetized data to the desired destination.",
"[0051] The technique of moving messages from source computers to destination computers through intermediate points in a multiply-connected array of computers was originally referred to as Packet Switching and was first characterized in the Arpanet, the precursor to the Internet in 1969.",
"FIG. 6 , which represents the Arpanet's 4-node network operational in December 1969, could potentially send a packet of data from Host 161 to Host 163 , by handing the data packet to Interface Message Processor (IMP) 61 , which might forward it to IMP 62 , and to IMP 63 where it is handed to destination Host 163 .",
"If IMP 62 finds that the link to IMP 63 is not functioning for some period of time, the same data from Host 161 to 163 could be handed over to IMP 64 to forward the data to IMP 63 instead of using the failed direct link.",
"The concept in a packet-switched network is to locate alternate paths to get the packet to the ultimate destination point even if some individual communication paths are out of service.",
"Some packet networks utilize fixed routing tables to define alternate data paths in the event of link failures and have algorithms to determine when primary or alternate paths are to be utilized.",
"Other packet networks have dynamically updated routing information that is periodically updated between adjacent nodes in order to continually maintain a list of the best route to any ultimate destination in the network.",
"[0052] With improvements in hardware and software, the separation of a Host (applications processor) and a packet switching network of nodes (the Interface Message Processors—IMP's) was no longer necessary.",
"The 1980 ITT-DTS Faxpak facsimile Store-and-Forward packet switching system integrated an application which provided compatibility between different speed fax machines of the time, with a message passing network which allowed messages to always be delivered locally instead of via what (in those days) were more expensive calls over long-distance lines.",
"The Wide Area Paging network in FIG. 7 ran an application that permitted any node in the network to accept a paging message (phone number) specified through a dial-in telephone call, a text message received from an operator, or a message received from a remote node, to a paging message that would be encoded and transmitted at a destination node.",
"The packet switching software that operated at the same nodes, directed paging application packets to be dropped off at the proper destination node or nodes to page a person in multiple cities.",
"[0053] Packet networks typically operated with dedicated communication circuits between nodes in different cities.",
"More recently, the same multi-path packet switching technique has been deployed into networks of radio transceivers, utilizing radio links in lieu of wired links between pairs of nodes.",
"These radio packet switching systems have become known as mesh networks.",
"Unlike the 2-D wired communication circuits as in FIG. 7 , the radio devices in a mesh network permit point-to-point communications within a 3-D region of each node.",
"In an office environment, where each window may represent a node, windows within a few feet left or right of a particular window can be thought of as potential intermediate nodes, as well as windows that are potentially a few floors above or a few floors below a particular window.",
"[0054] In this instantiation, a header packet in each transmission packet specifies the source node address, destination node address and the address of the next hopping point along the path to the destination.",
"This data is transmitted in three dimensions when it is time for this Scalable Controller to transmit information to another point in the network.",
"Many receivers will detect interference in the data they receive, and will ignore the received data.",
"Several other receivers may receive the packet but with transmission errors.",
"Only the node to which the correctly received packet is addressed will keep the packet, analyze it and will decide if the data item is to be forward toward another intermediate node to the final destination or if the packet is to be handled by the application software at this node.",
"[0055] To allow multiple commands to be outstanding and be executed at different points in the network simultaneously, a logical hierarchical structure is introduced into the network.",
"Certain network nodes are designated as Hierarchical Control Points (HCP) that only forward data toward lower level Hierarchical Control Points.",
"Ultimately, the lowest level HCP logically forwards data only to a subset of all Scalable Controllers in the network.",
"This logical configuration allows a single command to be branched out in multiple commands and each of those commands to further expand to even more multiple commands, thereby controlling the maximum number of nodes with the minimal number of control messages at the highest level.",
"So a command to make all windows clear in a segment of a building would be initiated at the highest level node and be handed down to lower levels nodes that understood where this command needs to be sent in order to effect the desired windows in the building.",
"[0056] On the other hand, sensor data that was considered as an urgent data item to which to reach, captured at the individual Scalable Controllers, would be directed to higher and then higher levels of HCPs until the data item reaches the highest level HCP.",
"[0057] Turning to FIG. 1 , we see an SPD window controller 2 under manual adjustment from a single external device 1 .",
"It controls a window 5 .",
"[0058] FIG. 2 shows the controller of FIG. 1 with the addition of a photocell 10 to detect the brightness of sunlight shining on the window 5 under control.",
"[0059] FIG. 3 creates the Intelligent Controller from FIG. 2 by introducing a microprocessor 3 to perform a number of different functions in support of more sophisticated controller capabilities as well as Scalable Network operations of controllers.",
"In addition to supporting the photocell 6 or other photosensor as the non-Intelligent controller of FIG. 2 , additional inputs from sensors 8 expand the data which the Scalable controller may use to make decisions on how to change window opacity.",
"[0060] FIG. 4 shows the Intelligent Controller with a plurality of manual inputs 1 that are coupled to one or several window panes 51 - 54 that are under the direct control of the controller as set up by the user via a set up procedure in the control software.",
"A single manual input may control one window or two, three or four at one time as if it were a single piece of SPD glass.",
"More than one manual input may be used to control the same set of glass in order to support manual controls that operate from different points in the same room.",
"[0061] FIG. 5 shows different combinations of four-window panes in this example, and how the set up software allows any combination of sets of individual panes to be treated as a single pane of glass.",
"In a setting of four windows under the Scalable Controller, where the windows are referred to as A, B, C and D, a user may configure the SC so that windows AC are controlled as a single window and BD as another, or BCD is controlled as a single window and A as another, or ABCD is controlled as a single window or, A, B, C, D, are controlled as four separate windows.",
"[0062] FIG. 6 shows one of the earliest packet switching or mesh networks in which data may be sent along alternate paths through intermediate nodes in order to reach a destination point.",
"This is an example of the 4-node Arpanet in 1969, the precursor to today's Internet.",
"Host computers sent data to other Host computers in this network and utilized the services of the Interface Message Processor (IMP) 61 to move data packets to other IMPs 62 , 64 which were not destination points but would further relay packets toward the particular IMP 63 directly connected to the desired destination Host 163 .",
"[0063] FIG. 7 shows a more advanced packet switched meshed network in which specific processing applications operate on the same computer that is running the packet switching software thereby combining the functions of Hosts and IMPs in the earlier Arpanet systems.",
"Increases in microprocessor power allowed these functions to be combined onto a single platform.",
"This is an example of a Radio Paging Network application utilizing the Data Link Handler (DLH) protocol created by the Inventor to convert isolated Citywide radio paging (beeper) systems, also known as Paging Terminal Nodes (PTNs), into a nationwide network capable of alerting someone wherever they are located in the country instead of just a single city.",
"The Arpanet and Internet utilize formalized routing protocol specifications such as RIP to dynamically maintain a list of best routes to a destination at each node.",
"DLH utilizes a proprietary routing protocol to maintain a list of primary and alternate routes.",
"The proprietary DLH network was eventually replaced with the Radio Paging Industry standard TNPP protocol which the Inventor helped to create and Chaired the Industry committee to promote the use of this protocol for more than 11 years.",
"TNPP was used along with a manufacturer-specific proprietary routing protocol to maintain the best and alternate paths to each destination node.",
"A paging message originating at Paging Terminal Node (PTN) B 72 might be passed to other PTNs 73 , 74 until reaching a PTN 71 which is in turn coupled with antennas which pass digital information in RF form to a pocket paging receiver 171 .",
"[0064] FIG. 8 shows a Scalable Controller network consisting of the Intelligent Controller of FIG. 3 integrated with a radio transceiver (XCVR) to send packets of data to other transceiver equipped Scalable Controller (CTL) nodes.",
"Routing data similar to the Internet RIP, maintains a list at each Controller node of the best next node to receive data on the path to the destination node.",
"Unlike the wired network of FIGS. 6 and 7 , the radio network of FIG. 8 may sometimes properly receive data addressed to a different node than that which received it.",
"In this case, the received data is ignored/dropped by the node which is not the next node along the optimal path to the destination.",
"Each controller 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 has a controller, a microprocessor, and a radio transceiver.",
"[0065] FIG. 9 shows an example of a network of FIG. 8 where a Master Building Control Point (MBCP) 90 is connected to one of the nodes of the network.",
"The MBCP 90 is a data processing site to determine which portions of a building are to be automatically set to a specific opacity at any moment of the day or night.",
"The Data Processing system may optionally be connected to the Internet 91 and to a remote central monitoring service 92 which oversees the operations of the SPD Building Skin Control System on behalf of many building owners.",
"[0066] FIG. 10 shows an example of a redundant Master Building Control Point (MBCP) consisting of a primary MBCP and a secondary MBCP in the network to insure that the entire system continues to operate normally even if the primary MBCP should fail.",
"One MBCP (shown as a data processor) is connected to node 81 and a second MBCP (also shown as a data processor) is connected to a node 87 .",
"If the primary MBCP should fail, the secondary MBCP will take over its functionality so that the entire system continues normal operations.",
"[0067] FIG. 11 shows how different areas of a building would have different types of Hierarchical Control Points (HCPs) to oversee the operation of Scalable Controllers in certain portions of a building.",
"[0068] FIG. 12 is a Hierarchical mapping of Control Points showing how commands generated at the highest level Control Point are logically distributed to lower level Control Points that distribute the commands to more and more elements at lower hierarchy levels.",
"There may be several Office Control Points (OCP), Section Control Points (SCP), Region Control Points (RCP), Floor Control Points (FCP), Multi-floor Control Points (MCP) and a single Building Control Point (BCP) located in typical building environment.",
"A single Control Point might exist in a small implementation while all types of Control Points may exist in a very large-scale implementation.",
"The use of additional Control Points reduces communication overhead in the mesh network and decreases the time delay between the time a window opaqueness modification command is sent and when it is acted upon at individual windows.",
"In this instantiation of the invention, any window SC can become a Control Point via a command sent from the Master Building Control Point.",
"Although a Master Building Control Point is an Intelligent Data Processing System, the lower hierarchical control points have a relatively small set of fixed commands and operations which can easily be handled at the Microprocessor at any window SC.",
"In an intermediate size implementation of the Scalable Controller Network, the MBCP can inform the FCPs 96 , 99 ;",
"the FCPs will distribute the request to the RCPs 97 , 100 , 101 , 102 ;",
"the RCPs will send the command to OCPs which will command each window controller in an office (not shown for clarity) to execute the required change.",
"Because of the expansion to multiple nodes at each level of the hierarchy, commands may be simultaneously sent within different non-overlapping areas of the network where they may pass through intermediate nodes with no or little queuing delay, thus having the request executed throughout the building in a seemingly simultaneous fashion.",
"[0069] FIG. 22 shows the logical connections that form a hierarchy of control points in order to reduce the point-to-point communication loading on the Multi-Floor Control Point MCP to issue commands to all SCs in a building.",
"In the example shown, the MCP sends commands to two Floor Control Points (FCP) that are optimally placed on separate LANs.",
"Simultaneously, each FCP can relay the command to Section Control Points (SCP) that in turn may transmit the commands to Office Control Points (OCP).",
"Each OCP may simultaneously relay the commands it has received to the one or more SCs for which it is responsible.",
"Ultimately all of the SCs will have received the required commands, but the hierarchical structure reduces the total number of data transmissions across the entire network to reach each SC from the MCP.",
"[0070] FIG. 13 shows how the Master Building Control Point 110 interfaces with an Intelligent Energy Control System (IECS) 111 via an XML interface 112 .",
"FIG. 23 shows in more detail how the Master Building Control Point 204 , which provides the central control intelligence for all of the individual windows in a structure, can connect to an external Intelligent Energy Control System 210 via an XML link 209 , so that the external system may receive sensor input through the MBCP and may command the MBCP to modify the setting or some or all windows under its control.",
"[0071] FIG. 14 shows how the path of the Sun across the sky changes how the sunlight falls on the windows of a building throughout the day.",
"The Sun path changes slightly each day of the year as the Earth rotates around the Sun.",
"For any latitude and longitude on the planet, the path that is traversed is well known.",
"[0072] Another embodiment of the invention transforms an array of windows into a part of a multi-media display.",
"Office buildings are often decorated in a manner as to enhance the appearance of the city in which it is located.",
"In Houston, for example, many of the large buildings are outlined in rows of small lights on the perimeter of each building so as to form an outline of the cities skyline each evening.",
"During holidays, many buildings will turn specific lights on and off in the building late at night when the building is primarily empty so as to display some pattern associated with the holiday.",
"For example, during Christmas, a cross may appear in the windows of a large building.",
"Or diamond shape patterns may be displayed at different floor levels of a building and at adjacent buildings as part of the winter season.",
"[0073] This embodiment extends the MBCP functions so that it may direct SPD windows to be part of a video presentation.",
"The controllers are unaffected when adding this capability because they already have the ability to change any pane of glass under their control to any setting from clear to dark or any setting in between under manual or under automated control from the MBCP.",
"So a special, non-energy-efficiency-related application may exist in the MBCP to operate the windows in a special manner as desired by the building operator.",
"Textual Messaging Mode [0074] There are two modes of operation, although they may both operate simultaneously.",
"The first mode is to use SPD windows to form a textual display of messages.",
"In its simplest application each pane of SPD glass represents a single pixel of information.",
"The size of the window pane and the matrix size making up a letter defines how far away the user must be from the window to be able to clearly read the letters formed.",
"In some cases a square box of 4 or 9 (2.",
"times[.",
"].2 or 3.",
"times[.",
"].3) windows may be controlled as one in order to increase the size of an individual pixel.",
"Each controller receives a command from the MBCP to set its pixel to on or off or at some degree of shading.",
"Using a set of 48 windows, a 6.",
"times[.",
"].8 pixel array may form any letter or punctuation and include a one-pixel border around each letter.",
"[0075] The MBCP may operate in another mode where the message(s) to be displayed is given to it via an external system rather than from local consoles on the MBCP.",
"The MBCP will support several interfaces for message entry.",
"This includes an XML type command set between the MBCP and an external system.",
"The command set may operate over a LAN connection, serial port, infrared port or other physical method.",
"The MBCP may be programmed with a sequence of letters/words/messages to display, with timing information, and with a starting pixel location.",
"Changing the window/pixel settings at the specified rate will provide the sensation that the text message is scrolling across the windows.",
"This is done, for example, by removing one vertical column of pixel data on the left side of the display by shifting the setting of one window to the right over to the one window on the left.",
"The column of pixels at the right-most window is for the next letter to be displayed.",
"This provides a smooth scrolling right to left.",
"In a similar manner the letters may also be scrolled left to right for languages written in the opposite direction.",
"The starting location of each row of text may be specified so that messages may start at any floor of windows or several floors at the same time.",
"[0076] Logic in the MBCP will also provide for other textual display features taking advantage of the capabilities of SPD Glass.",
"For example, letters may appear upside down and be changed right side up.",
"They could perhaps be rotated vertically along any of the rows that make up each letter.",
"The pixels can start at clear and the letters can be formed by varying the darkness of each pixel individually or from top to bottom or bottom to top for some interesting special effects.",
"Words can be brought into display in the same manner.",
"Darkening columns of pixels left to right and right to left meeting in the middle of a sentence or starting in the center and radiating out to the left and right.",
"Or different starting columns may be selected and the pixels may radiate out in one direction or both as the letters darken.",
"There is no limit as to the combinations that can be made to make the generation of the display more interesting than just displaying a letter at a time at a given intensity.",
"Of course any of these special display methods will be available over the XML interface so external devices may drive arrays of SPD Glass.",
"[0077] Although this example reviews the use of SPD Glass on an office building as a means of displaying messages, this may be scaled down to smaller applications, depending upon the size of each pane of glass or pixel.",
"For example, messages could be scrolled across an atrium of SPD glass just above the heads of people standing under it.",
"Or, if very small panes of glass are used, small moving displays of SPD glass could be created.",
"Video Mode [0078] The SPD windows on a structure may also be looked at as a sea of pixels each capable of being set to any shading level from 0% to 100%, the ends of the range being thought of as Off and On.",
"There is an endless combination of different light level settings across each pixel in a large array, to provide many random and well-structured visual effects that would entertain people viewing such a display.",
"A large number of preprogrammed sets of sequences may be defined and stored in the MBCP.",
"Each sequence may provide some special effect seen across the glass.",
"Sequences may be defined such as: [0079] Flash from all dark to all light [0080] Start from all dark and lighten to clear slowly [0081] from left to right [0082] right to left [0083] top to bottom [0084] bottom to top [0085] center to edge in a increasing squares manner [0086] edge to center [0087] Checkerboard pattern [0088] And many many others [0089] The MBCP will support many means of initiating a sequence and the ability to store away ‘scripts’ of preprogrammed sets of sequences.",
"The MBCP will be able to be driven via the serial port or LAN connection of a PC.",
"It can also support an external device that is actually an array of buttons and switches, where the combination of a switch setting and pressing a button initiates a pre-programmed sequence.",
"In this way an operator may “play”",
"sequences in time to external music, just as a laser light show operator uses a similar type panel to initiate pre-programmed lighting effects that are in tune with the music playing.",
"An elaborate array of new sequences may be established off-line and sent to the MBCP from an external system at any time.",
"Some of these external sequences may be later stored in the MBCP and called up by reference number rather than having to repeatedly download the sequence from an external device.",
"For further integration in a multi-media environment, when the window array is set to full dark, video projectors could potentially be utilized to display moving images across the SPD glass.",
"This sequence would be requested when external video projectors are commanded to start displaying video data.",
"[0090] The array of pixels associated with one instantaneous state of a sequence, is set to specific levels via the sending of wireless commands to each of the necessary controllers to set its associated pixels to the proper setting.",
"The wireless command may be received directly from the radio interface at the MBCP or via any intermediate node(s)/controller(s) in the array (mesh packet network) when the controller of a particular pixel is not in direct communication with the MBCP.",
"[0091] The ability of the MBCP to provide visual special effects across window arrays is further enhanced through a set of special interfaces that are supported by the MBCP.",
"The MBCP can be made to appear as a controllable lighting system to lighting industry standard DMX based Intelligent Control System.",
"These systems already have support for creating and saving scripts of special effects in support of multi-media lighting shows.",
"X[.",
"].10 Control of SPD Windows [0092] The controllers of the invention may operate over a wireless network in support of automatic remote control in a large building environment.",
"But in smaller environments, such as a residential project having perhaps 16 windows, the wireless control solution may be overly expensive in some situations.",
"In order to address this situation, there is another variation of the scalable controller.",
"Instead of integrating the controller with a radio transmitter and receiver as described above, this invention provides an interface to the above controller which is capable of receiving X[.",
"].10 control signals over a 110 VAC/220 VAC power line.",
"A United States patent that is now expired covered the X[.",
"].10 communication protocol.",
"Yet, because of how long it has been in existence, the number of compatible products that exist, the easy availability of X[.",
"].10 controllers that send control signals over the power line, and their low cost, an X[.",
"].10 compatible interface is desirable.",
"FIG. 18 shows a controller 181 transmitting X[.",
"].10 signals, sending a command to an X[.",
"].10 decoder 182 which in turn communicates commands to windows 183 [0093] The X[.",
"].10 interface option will be placed onto the controller circuit card that is operating one or more panes of glass.",
"Each controller will operate via a direct power connection to the 110 VAC/220 VAC power line.",
"Up to 256 windows may be controlled in this environment.",
"Each window controller will be assigned an X[.",
"].10 Letter (Home/Network ID) and Number Code (Device ID).",
"When the window controller sees its address on the powerline bus, it will then look for a command signal such as ON, OFF, DIM UP, DIM DOWN.",
"An ON signal will be executed at the controller as a signal to set the window to full Dark.",
"An OFF signal will be interpreted as setting the window to full Clear.",
"The controller maintains the current setting of the window under its control.",
"A DIM UP command will slowly increase the darkness of a window from 0% toward 100% and a DIM DOWN command will slowly decrease the darkness making the window clearer.",
"Any X[.",
"].10 device capable of sending these four signals to any of the 256 possible X[.",
"].10 addresses will now be capable of controlling any SPD window.",
"X[.",
"].10 controllers currently exist to send these four signals under manual control or to program a computer to send commands at particular times of the day.",
"This will provide a very simple means of local control of a small number of SPDs.",
"A similar interface will exist for support of several wireless replacements to X[.",
"].10 devices, Z-Wave, Insteon, and 802.11.15 ZigBee.",
"[0094] FIG. 15 shows 5 controllers each controlling 24 window/panes.",
"These window panes may physically be aligned so that A and B are next to each other and E and D are directly below them.",
"This would form an 8.",
"times[.",
"].12 pixel array.",
"Commands from the MBCP will be sent via its local transmitter, M, into the wireless mesh network.",
"Because of the mesh networking aspects of the controller network, if the MBCS is capable of communicating directly with controller D but finds it cannot directly communicate with controller B, it may route command data through node controller C to command B to set its pixels.",
"To control the settings at node A, the command may for example go via the path M,D,E.",
"A or M,D,B,A or M,C.",
"B,A.",
"[0095] FIG. 16 shows show the letter “E”",
"formed in a 5 by 7 pixel array of darkened windows, with a border at the left and top having a width of a single window/pixel.",
"[0096] FIG. 17 shows a lighting effect in which each pane differs from its neighbor by a few percent.",
"[0097] It will be appreciated that this invention provides for a range of SPD control far beyond that previously in existence.",
"The “Scalable Controller”",
"a.k.a. “SC”",
"of this invention adds intelligence that greatly expands the capabilities of prior controllers.",
"As in prior implementations, one to several pieces of glass may be controlled by a single controller, where several is a relatively small number such as eight and each piece of glass is hardwired to the controller.",
"The Scalable controller further supports a set up phase whereby the user may configure the relationship between manual external control or several individual manual controls and which window/windows are to be controlled from that manual setting.",
"In a setting of four windows under the Scalable Controller, where the windows are referred to as A, B, C and D, a user may configure the SC so that windows AB is controlled as a single window and CD as another, or ABC is controlled as a single window and D as another, or ABCD is controlled as a single window or, AB CD are controlled as 4 separate windows, as mentioned above in connection with FIG. 5 .",
"[0098] Although such intelligent control permits several windows to operate autonomously, in a larger scale implementation, it is desirable to put entire segments of building windows under a coordinated set of controls.",
"In relatively large types of environments, rather than using a profile of individual windows, it is possible to perform real-time data processing and make more intelligent decisions of the opacity of every segment of a building at any point in time.",
"The SC of this invention is capable of expanding so as to operate in such a mode.",
"[0099] When the SC is in manual mode, it utilizes inputs from the room occupant to control the precise setting of the opaqueness of the SPD glass or plastic it is controlling.",
"There is a range of different manual input devices that might be used.",
"Switches, rheostat-like devices, or capacitance-type devices that have no moving parts but can sense the touch of a finger, for example, my all be utilized.",
"But the SCs may also receive commands sent to it via a Local Area Network to which the is connected.",
"The SC allows for the plug in of an LAN card so that it may receive commands from elsewhere in the network to control functions to be performed.",
"Multiple LANs may be connected via Repeater/Bridges to increase the size of the physical area of building windows that is being covered.",
"When the maximum length LAN has been reached, a router can be deployed to connect independent LANs to each other in the creation of a wide area network capable of reaching every SC in the building.",
"The purpose of this wide area network is so that each SC may receive commands that are initiated from a central intelligence point, the Master Building Control Point (MBCP), where a data processing system is making decisions as to the optimal setting of each window.",
"The MBCP is capable of taking in data from sensors that are collocated with SCs by polling for their data, and from other inputs that may be read through the network it is connected to, utilize latitude and longitude information, time of day, day of year, and other facts in order to make decisions how to optimally set the current opacity levels across the building.",
"The MBCP may then send commands through the network to each individual window to select the optimal setting.",
"[0100] The Scalable Controllers may be equipped with various types of sensors that may be used in more finely controlling the energy usage in a building.",
"A photocell may be placed onto each SPD glass and connected to its SC (see FIGS. 2 and 3 ).",
"The Master Building Control Point “MBCP”",
"may command all the SCs to periodically send sensor data to the MBCP or the MBCP may periodically poll each of the SCs to read photocell and other sensor data.",
"Through an initial system configuration procedure at the MBCP, it is made aware of the configuration of the building, the compass direction in which windows face, the latitude and longitude of the building, the angle at which each window is from vertical, and the location of unique node and window addresses.",
"Input from photocells throughout the building allow the MBCP to utilize voting techniques to determine the best areas of the building in which to increase or decrease opaqueness in order to reduce the overall building energy requirements for heating and air conditioning.",
"If a readable compass and glass angle detector is installed at key SCs, the process of modeling the building to establish more precise control of each window, is simplified, by directly providing this configuration information.",
"[0101] In order to reduce the overall load on the backbone of the LANs and to allow commands to be executed truly simultaneously across the network, a hierarchy of Intelligent Control Points may be created.",
"The control points could be nothing more than individual SCs that are commanded by the MBCP to act as relay stations on behalf of the MBCP.",
"At the highest level of the hierarchy, the Master Building Control Point exists that makes intelligent decisions as to the current settings of opaqueness at all points in a building of SPD glass.",
"Depending upon the size of the implementation, there are several levels of hierarchy.",
"The Master Control Point sends opaqueness modification commands to one or more of the Hierarchical Control Points that in turn communicate with several lower level Hierarchical Control Points and eventually to each of the individual SCs for which it is responsible.",
"Such a multi-level distribution of control reduces the volume of data packets traversing the LAN on which the Master Control Point exists and hands off the command distribution to each of the local LANs thus reducing the load on the Master and on the backbone network.",
"It also allows for commands to be executed more quickly than if each had to be sent directly from the Master Control Point, since each Hierarchical Control Point is performing the distribution of commands for the Master on each of its local LANs.",
"Therefore commands are sent simultaneously across multiple LANs instead of serially.",
"This allows a very large number of Suspended Particle Devices to be changed more quickly and simultaneously.",
"[0102] In this instantiation of the invention, the MBCP will provide an XML interface (as shown in FIG. 13 ) to an external system to provide window tinting information and additional sensor data to the external system and to allow the external system to request adjustments to tinting levels around the building or adjust room lighting under its control.",
"The MBCP takes requests from the XML link, interprets them and executes them by sending the proper commands through the Hierarchical network to effect the changes requested by the external Intelligent Energy Control System (IECS).",
"When operating in this mode, the automated controls of the MBCP can be optionally bypassed, rather than using the derived information to command all windows to set in an optimal way.",
"Instead, the commands are generated based upon the XML messages that are received from the IECS.",
"A periodic “Heartbeat”",
"transfer of XML command/responses over the MBCP/IECS link, insures that the two systems remain in sync and coordinating operations.",
"In the event the heartbeat is lost, the MBCP can fall back to its automated mode and operate the building independently until the IECS system comes back online Optionally the MBCP can remain in direct control of window tinting providing the IECS with data to help augment its operations.",
"[0103] FIG. 19 shows two Scalable Controllers (SCs) 191 , 192 consisting of the Intelligent Controller of FIG. 1 integrated with a LAN interface 194 so that they can send packets of data by means of a LAN 193 to a Master Control Point (MBCP) 192 located on the LAN.",
"[0104] FIG. 20 shows that when each of several LANs 201 has reached its maximum capacity, due to cable length of in this example, a Bridge 202 may be introduced in order to add another LAN segment to extend the size of the LAN.",
"This would be the first method used in a structure to be employed to connect more controllers to a Master Building Control Point 204 which is controlling the settings of all of the SCs.",
"This figure also depicts a Hub 205 which provides direct connectivity to individual SCs 206 rather than multiple SCs hanging off a shared wire.",
"The connection between the Hub 205 and the individual SCs 206 may be wired or could be wireless.",
"Using wireless LANs reduces the amount of building wiring that must be done to connect every Scalable Controller to the network that will provide connectivity to the Master Control Point 204 containing the building control logic.",
"[0105] FIG. 21 shows how to further extend the size of a local network when the maximum number of LAN segments and Bridge/Repeaters 202 has been deployed.",
"A Router component 207 is added which allows new and independent LAN segments to be connected to the Router 207 .",
"The Router 207 recognizes when data has been directed to a LAN address that is on a different LAN, and it then takes that data from the receiving LAN and resends it over the correct LAN where the destination address is located.",
"Mapping tables tell the Router 207 what ranges of addresses each LAN handles.",
"SCs located all over a large building are connected to the closest LAN in order to receive messages from the Master Building Control Point 204 located on the same or a remote LAN or from the Hierarchical Control Point located on the same LAN.",
"This allows the MBCP to instantaneously change the opacity setting of any window in the building.",
"[0106] It will be appreciated that what has been described above greatly expands the Malvino patents in terms of scalability.",
"But the SC also expands the basic functionality of the Malvino patents by providing a means of control of SPD far beyond that envisioned in those patents.",
"The microprocessor-driven device can control the modulation of the voltage, setting of any desired operating frequency and/or setting of waveform characteristics to at least one suspended particle device (SPD) thereby controlling the light valve opacity characteristics of the device, as well as a means of manually controlling the modulating means where manual control information is read by the microprocessor and said microprocessor then adjusts modulating means based upon the setting of the manual control.",
"There can be a plurality of manual control devices and/or a plurality of individual SPDs hardwired to the microprocessor driven device.",
"There can be a setup procedure where the relationship between which one of a plurality of manual control devices is to be used to directly control the SPD opacity of one or more of a plurality of hardwired SPDs so as to act as if it is a single SPD.",
"There can be a means of externally controlling the modulating means through digital commands received over a communications channel.",
"There can be a radio transmitter and receiver, using point-to-point radio communications to transmit and receive data at neighboring microprocessor driven devices, where remote radio receiving device interprets the header of a packet of data sent by the transmitting device and only processes the receiving data if necessary as determined from the packet header data.",
"If the header data at the receiving microprocessor specifies that said receive data is meant for a different microprocessor driven device that is not directly in communication with the receiving device, the receiving device shall resend the data packet toward another microprocessor driven device or node, by consulting an on-board dynamically updated Routing Table to send the data further along in the aforementioned network via additional intermediate hopping points.",
"Once said packet of data reaches its final destination point, it is processed by application software at that final destination.",
"[0107] Many different types of packets may be sent through the network, some of which are used to maintain the network itself, others which move statistical data through the network and others which move application data such as Light Valve commands, through the network.",
"One type of network packet may distribute instantaneous routing information that will be used at each node to assist in the determination of the best next route to be used to move this packet toward the destination node.",
"Another type of packet will contain SPD Glass control command for a remote node, asking the remote node to change the local Light Valve to a particular setting.",
"[0108] The system may incorporate an interface to a Local Area Network (LAN) to connect a Master Building Control Point, a microprocessor-driven device which makes intelligent decisions regarding what opaqueness should be set at an individual window, and sends commands to other parts of the system over the LAN.",
"The LAN may be wired via Thinnet, Thicknet, twisted pair, optical fiber or other wired LAN means, or wireless using any variant of IEEE 802.11, or IEEE 802.15 or other wireless LAN means.",
"The LAN may be bridged to another LAN to extend restrictions on bus length or the number of devices connected to one bus.",
"The LAN may be extended using a router in order to connect to other LANs over a much larger area of a residential or commercial building that can be reached by a single LAN in order to communicate with the Master Building Control Point attached to the local or wider area network.",
"[0109] The controller may run a particular set of software that enables it to perform its normal functions in addition to becoming an “Intelligent Control Point”",
"on the LAN referred to as the Hierarchical Control Point.",
"This device is capable of communicating with every one of the devices in a hierarchy.",
"[0110] The system may automatically change the Light Valves under its control, based upon the physical orientation of the SPD on the earth, the latitude and longitude of the SPD, the day of the year and the time of the day.",
"The microprocessor will support a profile of data which is derived from off-line processing of the orientation of the window in space at every moment of the year so that optimal Light Valve settings may continuously be made in order to reduce energy utilization in residential and commercial environments using window based SPDs.",
"[0111] If manual override operations are used to override automated operations, after a specific period of time automated operations may resume.",
"Automated operations may be resumed when a room occupancy sensor does not show any movement in a room for a specific period of time.",
"The system may support a small number of fixed profiles for daytime and night time opacity settings and a switch to manually set which profile is currently in effect.",
"There may be two profiles and the manual switch may be labeled Summer and Winter.",
"There may be four profiles and the manual switch is labeled Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring.",
"[0112] In the system, optimal Light Valve settings may be derived in real time in lieu of using a predetermined profile of information.",
"Such real-time calculations might be performed at the Master Building Control Point.",
"[0113] A device comprising the same electronics as a controller that operates an SPD may not connected to any SPD but may only be used as an intermediate hopping point to move data between other fully SPD operational devices, utilized in spots where radio coverage is poor where fully operational devices are unable to communicate directly with each other.",
"This hopping-point device may be placed in an otherwise dead spot between other devices, to act as a bridge between the other devices.",
"[0114] In the system, messages may flow through a hierarchy of specialized nodes and not from any node to any other node in the network.",
"At the highest level of the hierarchy, a Control Point exists that makes intelligent decisions as to the current settings of opaqueness at all points in a building of SPD glass.",
"Depending upon the size of the implementation, there are several levels of hierarchy.",
"One of these Building Control Points communicates several lower level control points so that each may simultaneously act upon the command to modify the Light Valve setting at a controller.",
"The lower level control point may further distribute the command to another lower level of control points to further spread the command to the largest number of points in the quickest time so that the windows may be activated as quickly as possible.",
"[0115] In the system, messages may flow through a hierarchy of Intelligent Control Points located on the same or different LANs than the Master Control Point.",
"At the highest level of the hierarchy, a Control Point exists that makes intelligent decisions as to the current settings of opacity at all points in a building of SPD glass.",
"Depending upon the size of the implementation, there are several levels of hierarchy.",
"The Master Control Point sends opacity modification commands to one or more of the Hierarchical Control Points which in turn communicate with several lower level Hierarchical Control Points and eventually to each of the individual controllers within its realm of control.",
"Such a multi-level distribution of control reduces the volume of data packets traversing the LAN on which the Master Control Point exists and hands off the command distribution to each of the local LANs thus reducing the load on the Master and on the backbone network.",
"It also allows for commands to be executed more quickly than if each had to be sent directly from the Master Control Point, since each Hierarchical Control Point is performing the distribution of commands for the Master on each of its local LANs.",
"Therefore commands are sent simultaneously across multiple LANs instead of serially.",
"This allows a very large number of Suspended Particle Devices to be changed more quickly and simultaneously.",
"[0116] The SC may modulate the frequency across a variable range, occurring simultaneously with the varying of Voltage driving the SPD.",
"Driving the device over a variable frequency can eliminate a potential for the glass to “sing”",
"(generating an audio tone) that would otherwise annoy human individuals in the same room.",
"[0117] A scalable controller may include a sensor circuit to detect a drop in the current flow through the SPD.",
"This would be indicative of a breakage in the SPD.",
"In this event the SC sends the MBCP a “glass breakage detection”",
"message to denote the event.",
"The MBCP in receiving the alarm is capable of determining which window this came from and will request human intervention through any of a number of different means.",
"This might include one or more radio paging messages sent over the Internet, a short message for one or more cell phones sent over the Internet, calling a central station monitoring facility and generating a synthetic voice message, sending a message over the Internet to a monitoring service specifically overseeing the SPD-glass building control, among other means.",
"The MBCP maintain hysteresis logic so that if flooded with breakage detection messages at any one time, multiple alerts are not generated, unless they are not responded to in a given period of time.",
"The MBCP is capable of turning off the glass-breakage detection logic at an SC for any period of time, so as to avoid being flooded with messages from entire sections of the building, after the alert has been acknowledged.",
"[0118] For all SPD applications including automotive, marine, aerospace and architectural, the controller of this invention can drive the SPD in more sophisticated ways than in the Malvino patents.",
"[0119] First, various waveforms can be used rather than a single waveform.",
"[0120] Second, the duty cycle can be varied, to conserve energy.",
"[0121] Within the controller, two or more electro-optical lookup tables can be stored to support multiple types of SPD.",
"[0122] The manner of driving the SPD can be adjusted based upon external temperature.",
"[0123] And, power can be dynamically managed to optimize power consumption.",
"[0124] The Malvino U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,897,997 and 6,804,040 provided for a basic method of driving SPD based material so that it changes from its clear to dark state or to various levels of opacity in between.",
"These basic patents do not address the full operational parameters of SPD or their control.",
"The microprocessor-centric SC provides for an unprecedented level of fine and optimized control of SPD through several methodologies, algorithms and feedback mechanisms that this enhanced controller patent describes.",
"[0125] The Malvino '997 and '040 patents were concerned with the creation of some set of electronics that would allow SPD-based material to change state.",
"But detailed studies of the nature of SPD reveals that there are several features of SPD other than opacity that must be taken into account to properly control SPD-based windows.",
"And there are many variable factors which control these features.",
"[0126] The main feature of SPD is in its ability to move from a clear state to a dark state and back again or to any intermediate opacity level, based upon the frequency and AC voltage level applied.",
"But other important features to control are switching time, haze, clarity, possible singing or humming of the SPD laminated between two pieces of glass or plastic, and power consumption.",
"There are many parameters whose settings affect these features.",
"These are AC voltage, frequency, frequency tolerance, temperature, wave form, wave phase, duty cycle, thickness of the SPD, the manufacturer of the SPD and sometimes which production run itself within one manufacturer.",
"The simple circuits of the Malvino U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,897,997 and 6,804,040 are incapable of factoring in all of these parameters to provide the desired performance of the SPD.",
"[0127] Different applications of SPD will require optimization of some manner of operating a SC.",
"In building applications that are targeted at energy efficiency the SC will emphasize those functions aimed at energy conservation.",
"Switching speed would be traded off for energy efficiency.",
"In an automobile the vendor may wish opacity changing time, also referred to as glass switching time or glass switching speed, to remain constant regardless of the exterior temperature of the vehicle.",
"The SC can insure a lower switching speed by driving the SPDs at a higher frequency when the outdoor temperature is very low at the expense of utilizing more power.",
"[0128] FIG. 24 shows the logical structure of an embodiment of the invention.",
"This is an enhanced controller not only in its ability to become part of a larger coordinated network of controllers, but it the enhanced intelligence of each individual node in its control of SPD.",
"[0129] The Command and Control portion of the controller receives commands from an external source (such as an optional A/D type device like a dimmer switch for example) or other microprocessors over a communications link, to set the light opacity level of SPD Glass to a particular level.",
"The SC may utilize sensors through its A/D interface to determine the external temperature to take this into account to optimize either switching time or power consumption, whichever is of more importance to the user.",
"A particular shape wave form is set up by the wave generation logic which modulates the required amount of power at the optimal frequency to switch the glass.",
"To reduce the power being utilized to maintain the SPD at a particular opacity level, the duty cycle of the waveform utilized is reduced.",
"Algorithms built into the software of the SC take into account the goal which is to be achieved and adjust the setting of the factors mentioned to provide the desired goal.",
"The SC has full flexibility to adjust all performance affecting parameters in a particular environment.",
"[0130] The controller has a series of internal 3-dimensional tables similar to FIG. 25 , which map various operational parameters against others in order to know how the changing of one factor or two factors will affect the third.",
"For example, the table might define the proper voltage and frequency required for absolute levels of light transmission.",
"Another such table would describe the relationship between switching time and frequency for a given amount of power.",
"A third table would provide a model of switching time and frequency for a given temperature.",
"A fourth table would evaluate switching time and frequency for a given temperature.",
"[0131] Using algorithms built into the intelligent controller it may make trade-offs to optimally operate SPD according to the goals that are programmed into its memory.",
"If the maintenance of switching time at less than 2 seconds from dark to clear is desired, then these algorithms will pull data from these tables to increase the frequency of the AC signal, increase the voltage and provide extra power in order to provide a specific level of opacity for a particular manufacturer's SPD.",
"If in another instance, power consumption was the factor for optimization, the SC would operate the SPD at a lower frequency and adjust the voltage accordingly in order to achieve absolute levels of opacity, where the reduced power consumption would be at the expense of a switching speed of perhaps 8 seconds instead of 2.",
"[0132] This data is repeated for each manufacturer of SPDs so that the controller may make proper decisions based upon the particular SPD being utilized.",
"There may be a day when industry standardization will insure that all SPD reacts in exactly the same repeatable way across manufacturers and across production runs from one manufacture, but until the industry can achieve this level of quality control across different manufacturing processes, multiple tables which model performance must be preprogrammed into the tables of the controller.",
"But the end result is that the controller is a universal controller for all SPD applications.",
"[0133] The set of tables stored in the controller are typically created off-line through laboratory experimentation of each manufacturer's SPD.",
"The resultant data is stored in the tables of the controller or may be downloaded into the controller over its communication channel.",
"[0134] In some implementations of the controller some of the three-dimensional tables will be collapsed to two dimensions as the third factor is not one measured or under the control of the particular model of controller.",
"For example, a basic model of controller may not utilize a temperature sensor and will operate continually under the assumption of a fixed operating temperature.",
"One of the sets of tables in the controller is known as the EO (Electro-Optical) table.",
"This table is ordered by opacity at 0% (dark) to 100% (clear).",
"Each entry contains the optimal frequency and voltage to set a particular manufacturer's glass to the given opacity level.",
"If temperature is not going to be considered in the operation of this version of the controller, the EO table remains two-dimensional.",
"[0135] In addition to using its algorithms and internal tables to set the various parameters to control the SPD, the controller can dynamically change its parameter settings based upon measurement and feedback from sensors connected to its A/D inputs.",
"For example, a light source and photocell or phototransistor or other photodetector may be used to shine a specific intensity light through the changing SPD and to a photocell which will detect the actual light level.",
"The EO table being used to switch the SPD to a particular opacity level may not have a temperature component in its entry.",
"But the controller can measure actual switching time by measuring how long it takes for the glass to reach the opacity level requested, because its light/photocell logic can measure when the actual opacity level has been achieved.",
"Knowing the time, the controller algorithms can determine a better frequency and voltage to operate the glass to reduce the switching time to the desired level.",
"The measuring devices are used in the creation of a feedback loop to auto-adjust operational parameters.",
"[0136] The intelligent controller is able to further reduce the amount of power consumption of SPD to values lower than that achieved by operating the SPD at an optimal frequency and voltage for a given opacity level at a given temperature.",
"The controller may change the duty cycle of the power output to not keep the SPD under constant AC power.",
"Logic in the controller can reduce the number of complete wave form cycles being generated over a given period of time.",
"So if ‘m’ cycles would normally occur in time ‘t’, every other cycle could be ignored and power shut down in those cycles, to achieve a 50% duty factor.",
"In general the goal is to only keep the power operating only ‘n’ out of every ‘m’ cycles in order to reduce power.",
"At some point there will be a visible flickering of the SPD noticed.",
"Experimentation derives another three-dimensional table which specifies the lowest allowable duty cycle for a given opacity level against a third parameter such as operating temperature.",
"[0137] Experimentation and an analysis of the three-dimensional graphs of operational parameters and their resulting features, reveal other mixed operating modes by taking advantage of aspects of different graphs.",
"Reasonable switching speeds of 2 seconds dark to clear at room temperature can be achieved at 60 Hz and 20-100 volts AC.",
"More optimal energy performance is achieved below 60 Hz, perhaps better at 30 Hz, without causing flickering in the SPD.",
"Higher frequencies (400 Hz) can switch the SPD much faster but use more power to effect the switching.",
"The controller takes advantage of these factors when optimizing for switching speed by shifting to a higher frequency during the transition from one opacity level to another then reducing the frequency to the lower allowable range to maintain the opacity setting at low power.",
"[0138] It will be appreciated that one skilled in the relevant art may readily devise myriad obvious variants and improvements upon the invention without undue experimentation, none of which depart in any way from the invention and all of which are intended to be encompassed within the claims which follow."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates generally to image processing, and specifically to methods of image compression.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Various methods of image compression are known in the art. These methods can be categorized generally as lossy and lossless. When lossless compression is used, the original image can be reproduced exactly upon decompression. In general, however, lossy methods achieve higher compression ratios, i.e., smaller compressed image files for a given original image.
[0003] One of the most popular methods for lossless compression of gray-scale and color images is the Lempel-Ziv-Welch (LZW) algorithm. This algorithm is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,558,302 and 5,642,112, whose disclosures are incorporated herein by reference. LZW compression uses a dictionary for storing strings of data characters encountered in the input to the algorithm. The input stream, typically a sequence of pixel values in an image, is searched by comparing segments of the input stream to the strings stored in the dictionary in order to find the longest matching string. The dictionary is then augmented by storing an extended string, comprising the longest matching string with the addition of the next input data character following the longest matching segment in the input stream. This procedure continues until the entire image has been compressed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide improved methods, apparatus and products for image compression.
[0005] It is a further object of some aspects of the present invention to provide a method for improving the compression ratio that can be achieved using existing compression algorithms.
[0006] In preferred embodiments of the present invention, the pixels in an input image are reordered prior to compression, so as to generate a reordered image having a reduced overall variance. “Overall variance” in this context means a sum or mean of the absolute differences between neighboring pixels in the image. Compression algorithms known in the art, such as the above-mentioned LZW algorithm, typically achieve substantially higher compression ratios when the overall variance is low. Therefore, when the reordered image is compressed, the output image file is substantially smaller than would be achieved without reordering, even taking into account the additional data needed to restore the pixels to their original order following decompression.
[0007] In some preferred embodiments of the present invention, the pixel values in the input image are quantized to a selected number of levels. The original pixel values in the image are then reordered so as to group them by their respective quantized values, while keeping the pixels within each group in the order in which they appeared in the input image. The quantized image and the reordered image are both compressed, using any suitable compression algorithm or algorithms known in the art. Preferably, lossless algorithms are used. Most preferably, different algorithms are applied to the quantized image and to the reordered image, chosen so as to maximize the compression ratio in each case. To reconstruct the image, the quantized and reordered images are decompressed. Each pixel in the quantized image is then replaced by its value taken from the reordered image, and the input image is thus reconstructed.
[0008] There is therefore provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method for compression of an input image that includes a plurality of pixels having respective input pixel values, including:
[0009] quantizing the input pixel values so as to generate respective quantized pixel values;
[0010] generating a quantized image by substituting the quantized pixel values for the respective input pixel values in the input image;
[0011] reordering the input pixel values in the input image so as to generate a reordered image in which the input pixel values are grouped by their respective quantized values; and
[0012] compressing the quantized image and the reordered image so as to generate a compressed output image file.
[0013] Preferably, quantizing the input pixel values includes dividing the input pixel values into a selected number of ranges, and assigning the pixels whose values are in each of the ranges to a corresponding one of the quantized values.
[0014] In a preferred embodiment, quantizing the input pixel values includes quantizing the input pixel values into first and second numbers of quantization levels, and
[0015] generating the quantized image and reordering the input pixels values include generating a respective quantized image and reordered image for each of the first and second numbers of quantization levels, and
[0016] compressing the quantized image and the reordered image includes selecting one of the first and second numbers for use in generating the compressed output image file dependent upon which of the first and second numbers gives the smallest output image file.
[0017] Preferably, reordering the input pixel values includes copying the input pixel values to the reordered image sequentially according to an order in which the pixels appear in the input image. Most preferably, copying the input pixel values to the reordered image includes copying the input pixel values in raster order. Further preferably, the quantized pixel values include at least first and second quantized values, and copying the input pixel values to the reordered image includes copying the values such that in the reordered image, the pixels belonging to the first quantized value appear in the raster order of the input image, followed in the raster order by the pixels belonging to the second quantized value.
[0018] Preferably, compressing the quantized and reordered images includes applying a lossless compression algorithm to at least one of the images, such as a Lempel-Ziv-Welch algorithm.
[0019] In preferred embodiments, the method includes storing the output image file in a memory or, alternatively or additionally, transmitting the output image file over a communication link.
[0020] There is also provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method for compression of an input image that includes a plurality of pixels having respective input pixel values, including:
[0021] reordering the pixels in the input image so as to generate a reordered image having a reduced overall variance relative to the input image; and
[0022] compressing the reordered image so as to generate a compressed output image file.
[0023] There is further provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method for decompressing a compressed image file that includes a compressed quantized image and a compressed reordered image, wherein the quantized image was generated by substituting quantized pixel values for input pixel values of a plurality of pixels in an input image, and wherein the reordered image was generated by grouping the input pixel values by their respective quantized values, the method including:
[0024] decompressing the quantized image and the reordered image; and
[0025] replacing the quantized value of each of the pixels in the decompressed quantized image with a corresponding one of the input pixel values taken from the decompressed reordered image so as to reconstruct the input image.
[0026] Preferably, the quantized values include at least first and second quantized values, and replacing the quantized value of each of the pixels includes:
[0027] scanning the decompressed quantized image to find the pixels having the first quantized value;
[0028] replacing each of the pixels having the first quantized value in sequence with a successive one of the input pixels values taken from the decompressed reordered image;
[0029] scanning the decompressed quantized image to find the pixels having the second quantized value; and
[0030] replacing each of the pixels having the second quantized value in sequence with a successive one of the input pixels values taken from the decompressed reordered image.
[0031] There is moreover provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, apparatus for compression of an input image that includes a plurality of pixels having respective input pixel values, including an image processor, which is adapted to quantize the input pixel values so as to generate respective quantized pixel values and to generate a quantized image by substituting the quantized pixel values for the respective input pixel values in the input image, and further to reorder the input pixel values in the input image so as to generate a reordered image in which the input pixel values are grouped by their respective quantized values, and to compress the quantized image and the reordered image so as to generate a compressed output image file.
[0032] In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus includes an image capture device, which is configured to capture the input image and to convey the input image to the processor. In another a preferred embodiment, the apparatus includes a memory, coupled to the processor so as to receive the output image file for storage in the memory. In still another preferred embodiment, the processor is coupled to transmit the output image file over a communication link.
[0033] There is additionally provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, apparatus for compression of an input image that includes a plurality of pixels having respective input pixel values, including an image processor, which is adapted to reorder the pixels in the input image so as to generate a reordered image having a reduced overall variance relative to the input image, and to compress the reordered image so as to generate a compressed output image file.
[0034] There is furthermore provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, apparatus for decompressing a compressed image file that includes a compressed quantized image and a compressed reordered image, wherein the quantized image was generated by substituting quantized pixel values for input pixel values of a plurality of pixels in an input image, and wherein the reordered image was generated by grouping the input pixel values by their respective quantized values, the apparatus including an image processor, which is adapted to decompress the quantized image and the reordered image, and to replace the quantized value of each of the pixels in the decompressed quantized image with a corresponding one of the input pixel values taken from the decompressed reordered image so as to reconstruct the input image.
[0035] In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus includes a display, which is coupled to be driven by the image processor to display the reconstructed input image.
[0036] There is also provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a computer software product for compression of an input image that includes a plurality of pixels having respective input pixel values, the product including a computer-readable medium in which program instructions are stored, which instructions, when read by a computer, cause the computer to quantize the input pixel values so as to generate respective quantized pixel values, and to generate a quantized image by substituting the quantized pixel values for the respective input pixel values in the input image, and further to reorder the input pixel values in the input image so as to generate a reordered image in which the input pixel values are grouped by their respective quantized values, and to compress the quantized image and the reordered image so as to generate a compressed output image file.
[0037] There is further provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a computer software product for compression of an input image that includes a plurality of pixels having respective input pixel values, the product including a computer-readable medium in which program instructions are stored, which instructions, when read by a computer, cause the computer to reorder the pixels in the input image so as to generate a reordered image having a reduced overall variance relative to the input image, and to compress the reordered image so as to generate a compressed output image file.
[0038] There is additionally provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a computer software product for decompressing a compressed image file that includes a compressed quantized image and a compressed reordered image, wherein the quantized image was generated by substituting quantized pixel values for input pixel values of a plurality of pixels in an input image, and wherein the reordered image was generated by grouping the input pixel values by their respective quantized values, the product including a computer-readable medium in which program instructions are stored, which instructions, when read by a computer, cause the computer to decompress the quantized image and the reordered image, and to replace the quantized value of each of the pixels in the decompressed quantized image with a corresponding one of the input pixel values taken from the decompressed reordered image so as to reconstruct the input image.
[0039] The present invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof, taken together with the drawings in which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0040] [0040]FIG. 1 is a schematic pictorial illustration of image compression apparatus, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0041] [0041]FIG. 2 is a flow chart that schematically illustrates a method for image compression, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0042] [0042]FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a matrix of pixels in an input image and in a reordered image that is formed from the input image in accordance with the method of FIG. 2; and
[0043] [0043]FIG. 4 is a flow chart that schematically illustrates a method for image decompression, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0044] [0044]FIG. 1 is a schematic, pictorial illustration of a system 20 for capture and compression of images, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. System 20 comprises an image input device 22 , such as a video camera, a scanner, or any other suitable type of image capture device known in the art. Device 22 captures a gray-level or color image of an object and conveys the corresponding image data to an image processor 24 , typically comprising a suitable general-purpose computer. Alternatively, the gray-level image is input to the processor from another source. Processor 24 compresses the image and stores the resultant compressed image data in a memory 28 , such as a magnetic or optical disk. Additionally or alternatively, the compressed data are transmitted to another computer over a network. When the image is to be reviewed, the relevant data are recalled by processor 24 (or by any other suitable processor), and are then decompressed and displayed on a display screen 26 . Alternatively, the decompressed image is printed by a suitable printer (not shown) or is processed further, for example to extract information from the image, using methods of image processing and analysis known in the art.
[0045] The image compression and decompression functions are preferably performed using software running on processor 24 , which implements the principles of the present invention, as described in detail hereinbelow. The software may be supplied on tangible media, such as CD-ROM or non-volatile memory, and loaded into the processor. Alternatively, the software may be down-loaded to the processor via a network connection or other electronic link. Further alternatively, processor 24 may comprise dedicated, hard-wired elements or a digital signal processor for carrying out the image compression and/or decompression steps.
[0046] Reference is now made to FIGS. 2 and 3, which schematically illustrate a method for image compression, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the steps in the method. FIG. 3 shows an original input image 40 and a reordered image 59 , generated from the input image in accordance with the method of FIG. 2. Image 40 comprises a plurality of pixels, such as pixels 43, 45 and 47. Each of the pixels has a given pixel value, typically an 8-bit number, representing the gray level of the pixel in the image. On the other hand, image 40 may be a color image, in which case the pixel values preferably comprise red, green and blue levels of each pixel or, alternatively, luminance and chrominance values, as is known in the art.
[0047] At a quantization step 30 , the pixel values in image 40 are quantized into a selected number of quantization levels N. N may have substantially any value greater than or equal to two. Substantially any criteria may be used for determining to which quantized level each pixel in the image should be assigned. For optimal speed of execution, quantization is preferably accomplished simply by truncating the pixel values. Alternatively, optimal quantization thresholds may be determined adaptively, based on histogram analysis, for example, and the thresholds may even vary over the area of the image.
[0048] At a pixel reordering step 32 , the original pixel values are mapped sequentially to reordered image 59 according to their respective quantization levels and their order in image 40 . For the sake of illustration, image 59 is divided into eight regions 42 , 44 , 46 , 48 , 50 , 52 , 54 and 56 , each corresponding to one of eight quantization levels, going from darkest to brightest pixel values in the image. Pixel 43, which is the first pixel in the lowest quantization level from the beginning of the raster of pixels in image 40 , is mapped to the first pixel location in image 59 . Pixel 45, one of the last pixels in image 40 belonging to the lowest quantization level, is mapped to a location near the end of region 42 in image 59 . Pixel 47, the first pixel in the next-higher quantization level, is mapped to the beginning of region 44 .
[0049] In this manner, all of the pixels in image 40 are mapped in succession, yielding two images: a quantized image, in which the pixels remain in their original order; and reordered image 59 , in which the pixel values retain their full gray-level (or color) content, but are reordered according to their quantization levels. The outcome of this reordering is that the variance of both the quantized image and reordered image, in terms of the absolute differences between the pixel values of neighboring pixels, is substantially reduced relative to original image 40 .
[0050] At compression steps 34 and 36 , the quantized image and the reordered image are respectively compressed. Substantially any suitable algorithm known in the art may be used for this purpose, and different algorithms may be applied to the quantized and reordered images. Following compression, an image file containing both of the compressed images is output, at an image output step 38 . The inventor has applied the method of FIGS. 2 to 73 different gray-scale images, using quantization at N=2. G4 compression was applied to the quantized images, while LZW compression was applied to the reordered images. (“G4” refers to Group 4, or MMR compression, specified by the International Telecommunications Union ITU-T.) An average improvement of about 5% in the compression ratio of the output file was achieved relative to that obtained using LZW alone on the original images without reordering. The improvement in the compression ratio stems from the fact that LZW, as well as other compression algorithms known in the art, works more effectively when the image variance is reduced.
[0051] How much the variance is reduced is a function of the original image content and the number of quantization levels N. Optionally, steps 30 through 36 are repeated for two or more different values of N, and the value giving the best compression ratio is chosen. As another option, steps 30 and 32 may be applied recursively to the quantized image, with a smaller number of quantization levels in each recursion. Preferably, for each region of each of the resultant reordered images, the number of bits per pixel is reduced by storing not the complete gray-level value, but rather the difference between the gray-level value and an appropriate threshold. (This step may likewise be applied to reordered image 59 even without recursion.) As a result, although four or more images will need to be compressed and stored, the low variance of these images may result in an output file having a still better compression ratio than could be achieved without recursion.
[0052] Furthermore, although the pixels in image 59 are arranged serially along the raster, other reordering schemes are also possible. For example, each level may be allocated one sector of the reordered image, such as a quadrant of the image in the case that four quantization levels are used.
[0053] [0053]FIG. 4 is a flow chart that schematically illustrates a method for decompression of an image file that was compressed using the method of FIG. 2, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The method begins at decompression steps 60 and 62 , wherein the compressed quantized image and reordered image are respectively read from the output file produced at step 38 and are decompressed using the appropriate decompression algorithm.
[0054] At a pixel replacement step 64 , the quantized pixel values in the decompressed quantized image are replaced by the corresponding values from the reordered image. To accomplish this replacement, the quantized image is preferably scanned in raster order for pixels belonging the first quantization level. This is the lowest level in the example of FIG. 3, whose pixel values are stored in region 42 of image 59 . At this stage, the values of pixels 43 and 45 are mapped back to their appropriate locations in image 40 . This process of scanning and replacing the pixel values is then repeated for all of the remaining quantization levels in order, until all of the pixel values have been mapped back to their original locations. Because the pixel values were stored in image 59 in raster order, there is no need in this step for pointers or other ancillary data beyond the quantized image itself.
[0055] At an image output step 66 , the original image 40 is reconstructed and output, for display on screen 26 , for example. Assuming a lossless algorithm, such as LZW, was used at steps 34 and 36 (FIG. 2), the original image is reproduced exactly, with no loss of information. Alternatively, a lossy algorithm may also be used.
[0056] It will be appreciated that the preferred embodiments described above are cited by way of example, and that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove. Rather, the scope of the present invention includes both combinations and subcombinations of the various features described hereinabove, as well as variations and modifications thereof which would occur to persons skilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description and which are not disclosed in the prior art. | A method for compression of an input image that includes a plurality of pixels having respective input pixel values. The method includes quantizing the input pixel values so as to generate respective quantized pixel values, and generating a quantized image by substituting the quantized pixel values for the respective input pixel values in the input image. The input pixel values in the input image are reordered so as to generate a reordered image in which the input pixel values are grouped by their respective quantized values. The quantized image and the reordered image are compressed so as to generate a compressed output image file. | Summarize the patent information, clearly outlining the technical challenges and proposed solutions. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates generally to image processing, and specifically to methods of image compression.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Various methods of image compression are known in the art.",
"These methods can be categorized generally as lossy and lossless.",
"When lossless compression is used, the original image can be reproduced exactly upon decompression.",
"In general, however, lossy methods achieve higher compression ratios, i.e., smaller compressed image files for a given original image.",
"[0003] One of the most popular methods for lossless compression of gray-scale and color images is the Lempel-Ziv-Welch (LZW) algorithm.",
"This algorithm is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,558,302 and 5,642,112, whose disclosures are incorporated herein by reference.",
"LZW compression uses a dictionary for storing strings of data characters encountered in the input to the algorithm.",
"The input stream, typically a sequence of pixel values in an image, is searched by comparing segments of the input stream to the strings stored in the dictionary in order to find the longest matching string.",
"The dictionary is then augmented by storing an extended string, comprising the longest matching string with the addition of the next input data character following the longest matching segment in the input stream.",
"This procedure continues until the entire image has been compressed.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide improved methods, apparatus and products for image compression.",
"[0005] It is a further object of some aspects of the present invention to provide a method for improving the compression ratio that can be achieved using existing compression algorithms.",
"[0006] In preferred embodiments of the present invention, the pixels in an input image are reordered prior to compression, so as to generate a reordered image having a reduced overall variance.",
"“Overall variance”",
"in this context means a sum or mean of the absolute differences between neighboring pixels in the image.",
"Compression algorithms known in the art, such as the above-mentioned LZW algorithm, typically achieve substantially higher compression ratios when the overall variance is low.",
"Therefore, when the reordered image is compressed, the output image file is substantially smaller than would be achieved without reordering, even taking into account the additional data needed to restore the pixels to their original order following decompression.",
"[0007] In some preferred embodiments of the present invention, the pixel values in the input image are quantized to a selected number of levels.",
"The original pixel values in the image are then reordered so as to group them by their respective quantized values, while keeping the pixels within each group in the order in which they appeared in the input image.",
"The quantized image and the reordered image are both compressed, using any suitable compression algorithm or algorithms known in the art.",
"Preferably, lossless algorithms are used.",
"Most preferably, different algorithms are applied to the quantized image and to the reordered image, chosen so as to maximize the compression ratio in each case.",
"To reconstruct the image, the quantized and reordered images are decompressed.",
"Each pixel in the quantized image is then replaced by its value taken from the reordered image, and the input image is thus reconstructed.",
"[0008] There is therefore provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method for compression of an input image that includes a plurality of pixels having respective input pixel values, including: [0009] quantizing the input pixel values so as to generate respective quantized pixel values;",
"[0010] generating a quantized image by substituting the quantized pixel values for the respective input pixel values in the input image;",
"[0011] reordering the input pixel values in the input image so as to generate a reordered image in which the input pixel values are grouped by their respective quantized values;",
"and [0012] compressing the quantized image and the reordered image so as to generate a compressed output image file.",
"[0013] Preferably, quantizing the input pixel values includes dividing the input pixel values into a selected number of ranges, and assigning the pixels whose values are in each of the ranges to a corresponding one of the quantized values.",
"[0014] In a preferred embodiment, quantizing the input pixel values includes quantizing the input pixel values into first and second numbers of quantization levels, and [0015] generating the quantized image and reordering the input pixels values include generating a respective quantized image and reordered image for each of the first and second numbers of quantization levels, and [0016] compressing the quantized image and the reordered image includes selecting one of the first and second numbers for use in generating the compressed output image file dependent upon which of the first and second numbers gives the smallest output image file.",
"[0017] Preferably, reordering the input pixel values includes copying the input pixel values to the reordered image sequentially according to an order in which the pixels appear in the input image.",
"Most preferably, copying the input pixel values to the reordered image includes copying the input pixel values in raster order.",
"Further preferably, the quantized pixel values include at least first and second quantized values, and copying the input pixel values to the reordered image includes copying the values such that in the reordered image, the pixels belonging to the first quantized value appear in the raster order of the input image, followed in the raster order by the pixels belonging to the second quantized value.",
"[0018] Preferably, compressing the quantized and reordered images includes applying a lossless compression algorithm to at least one of the images, such as a Lempel-Ziv-Welch algorithm.",
"[0019] In preferred embodiments, the method includes storing the output image file in a memory or, alternatively or additionally, transmitting the output image file over a communication link.",
"[0020] There is also provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method for compression of an input image that includes a plurality of pixels having respective input pixel values, including: [0021] reordering the pixels in the input image so as to generate a reordered image having a reduced overall variance relative to the input image;",
"and [0022] compressing the reordered image so as to generate a compressed output image file.",
"[0023] There is further provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method for decompressing a compressed image file that includes a compressed quantized image and a compressed reordered image, wherein the quantized image was generated by substituting quantized pixel values for input pixel values of a plurality of pixels in an input image, and wherein the reordered image was generated by grouping the input pixel values by their respective quantized values, the method including: [0024] decompressing the quantized image and the reordered image;",
"and [0025] replacing the quantized value of each of the pixels in the decompressed quantized image with a corresponding one of the input pixel values taken from the decompressed reordered image so as to reconstruct the input image.",
"[0026] Preferably, the quantized values include at least first and second quantized values, and replacing the quantized value of each of the pixels includes: [0027] scanning the decompressed quantized image to find the pixels having the first quantized value;",
"[0028] replacing each of the pixels having the first quantized value in sequence with a successive one of the input pixels values taken from the decompressed reordered image;",
"[0029] scanning the decompressed quantized image to find the pixels having the second quantized value;",
"and [0030] replacing each of the pixels having the second quantized value in sequence with a successive one of the input pixels values taken from the decompressed reordered image.",
"[0031] There is moreover provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, apparatus for compression of an input image that includes a plurality of pixels having respective input pixel values, including an image processor, which is adapted to quantize the input pixel values so as to generate respective quantized pixel values and to generate a quantized image by substituting the quantized pixel values for the respective input pixel values in the input image, and further to reorder the input pixel values in the input image so as to generate a reordered image in which the input pixel values are grouped by their respective quantized values, and to compress the quantized image and the reordered image so as to generate a compressed output image file.",
"[0032] In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus includes an image capture device, which is configured to capture the input image and to convey the input image to the processor.",
"In another a preferred embodiment, the apparatus includes a memory, coupled to the processor so as to receive the output image file for storage in the memory.",
"In still another preferred embodiment, the processor is coupled to transmit the output image file over a communication link.",
"[0033] There is additionally provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, apparatus for compression of an input image that includes a plurality of pixels having respective input pixel values, including an image processor, which is adapted to reorder the pixels in the input image so as to generate a reordered image having a reduced overall variance relative to the input image, and to compress the reordered image so as to generate a compressed output image file.",
"[0034] There is furthermore provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, apparatus for decompressing a compressed image file that includes a compressed quantized image and a compressed reordered image, wherein the quantized image was generated by substituting quantized pixel values for input pixel values of a plurality of pixels in an input image, and wherein the reordered image was generated by grouping the input pixel values by their respective quantized values, the apparatus including an image processor, which is adapted to decompress the quantized image and the reordered image, and to replace the quantized value of each of the pixels in the decompressed quantized image with a corresponding one of the input pixel values taken from the decompressed reordered image so as to reconstruct the input image.",
"[0035] In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus includes a display, which is coupled to be driven by the image processor to display the reconstructed input image.",
"[0036] There is also provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a computer software product for compression of an input image that includes a plurality of pixels having respective input pixel values, the product including a computer-readable medium in which program instructions are stored, which instructions, when read by a computer, cause the computer to quantize the input pixel values so as to generate respective quantized pixel values, and to generate a quantized image by substituting the quantized pixel values for the respective input pixel values in the input image, and further to reorder the input pixel values in the input image so as to generate a reordered image in which the input pixel values are grouped by their respective quantized values, and to compress the quantized image and the reordered image so as to generate a compressed output image file.",
"[0037] There is further provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a computer software product for compression of an input image that includes a plurality of pixels having respective input pixel values, the product including a computer-readable medium in which program instructions are stored, which instructions, when read by a computer, cause the computer to reorder the pixels in the input image so as to generate a reordered image having a reduced overall variance relative to the input image, and to compress the reordered image so as to generate a compressed output image file.",
"[0038] There is additionally provided, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a computer software product for decompressing a compressed image file that includes a compressed quantized image and a compressed reordered image, wherein the quantized image was generated by substituting quantized pixel values for input pixel values of a plurality of pixels in an input image, and wherein the reordered image was generated by grouping the input pixel values by their respective quantized values, the product including a computer-readable medium in which program instructions are stored, which instructions, when read by a computer, cause the computer to decompress the quantized image and the reordered image, and to replace the quantized value of each of the pixels in the decompressed quantized image with a corresponding one of the input pixel values taken from the decompressed reordered image so as to reconstruct the input image.",
"[0039] The present invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof, taken together with the drawings in which: BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0040] [0040 ]FIG. 1 is a schematic pictorial illustration of image compression apparatus, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;",
"[0041] [0041 ]FIG. 2 is a flow chart that schematically illustrates a method for image compression, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;",
"[0042] [0042 ]FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a matrix of pixels in an input image and in a reordered image that is formed from the input image in accordance with the method of FIG. 2;",
"and [0043] [0043 ]FIG. 4 is a flow chart that schematically illustrates a method for image decompression, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0044] [0044 ]FIG. 1 is a schematic, pictorial illustration of a system 20 for capture and compression of images, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.",
"System 20 comprises an image input device 22 , such as a video camera, a scanner, or any other suitable type of image capture device known in the art.",
"Device 22 captures a gray-level or color image of an object and conveys the corresponding image data to an image processor 24 , typically comprising a suitable general-purpose computer.",
"Alternatively, the gray-level image is input to the processor from another source.",
"Processor 24 compresses the image and stores the resultant compressed image data in a memory 28 , such as a magnetic or optical disk.",
"Additionally or alternatively, the compressed data are transmitted to another computer over a network.",
"When the image is to be reviewed, the relevant data are recalled by processor 24 (or by any other suitable processor), and are then decompressed and displayed on a display screen 26 .",
"Alternatively, the decompressed image is printed by a suitable printer (not shown) or is processed further, for example to extract information from the image, using methods of image processing and analysis known in the art.",
"[0045] The image compression and decompression functions are preferably performed using software running on processor 24 , which implements the principles of the present invention, as described in detail hereinbelow.",
"The software may be supplied on tangible media, such as CD-ROM or non-volatile memory, and loaded into the processor.",
"Alternatively, the software may be down-loaded to the processor via a network connection or other electronic link.",
"Further alternatively, processor 24 may comprise dedicated, hard-wired elements or a digital signal processor for carrying out the image compression and/or decompression steps.",
"[0046] Reference is now made to FIGS. 2 and 3, which schematically illustrate a method for image compression, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.",
"FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the steps in the method.",
"FIG. 3 shows an original input image 40 and a reordered image 59 , generated from the input image in accordance with the method of FIG. 2. Image 40 comprises a plurality of pixels, such as pixels 43, 45 and 47.",
"Each of the pixels has a given pixel value, typically an 8-bit number, representing the gray level of the pixel in the image.",
"On the other hand, image 40 may be a color image, in which case the pixel values preferably comprise red, green and blue levels of each pixel or, alternatively, luminance and chrominance values, as is known in the art.",
"[0047] At a quantization step 30 , the pixel values in image 40 are quantized into a selected number of quantization levels N. N may have substantially any value greater than or equal to two.",
"Substantially any criteria may be used for determining to which quantized level each pixel in the image should be assigned.",
"For optimal speed of execution, quantization is preferably accomplished simply by truncating the pixel values.",
"Alternatively, optimal quantization thresholds may be determined adaptively, based on histogram analysis, for example, and the thresholds may even vary over the area of the image.",
"[0048] At a pixel reordering step 32 , the original pixel values are mapped sequentially to reordered image 59 according to their respective quantization levels and their order in image 40 .",
"For the sake of illustration, image 59 is divided into eight regions 42 , 44 , 46 , 48 , 50 , 52 , 54 and 56 , each corresponding to one of eight quantization levels, going from darkest to brightest pixel values in the image.",
"Pixel 43, which is the first pixel in the lowest quantization level from the beginning of the raster of pixels in image 40 , is mapped to the first pixel location in image 59 .",
"Pixel 45, one of the last pixels in image 40 belonging to the lowest quantization level, is mapped to a location near the end of region 42 in image 59 .",
"Pixel 47, the first pixel in the next-higher quantization level, is mapped to the beginning of region 44 .",
"[0049] In this manner, all of the pixels in image 40 are mapped in succession, yielding two images: a quantized image, in which the pixels remain in their original order;",
"and reordered image 59 , in which the pixel values retain their full gray-level (or color) content, but are reordered according to their quantization levels.",
"The outcome of this reordering is that the variance of both the quantized image and reordered image, in terms of the absolute differences between the pixel values of neighboring pixels, is substantially reduced relative to original image 40 .",
"[0050] At compression steps 34 and 36 , the quantized image and the reordered image are respectively compressed.",
"Substantially any suitable algorithm known in the art may be used for this purpose, and different algorithms may be applied to the quantized and reordered images.",
"Following compression, an image file containing both of the compressed images is output, at an image output step 38 .",
"The inventor has applied the method of FIGS. 2 to 73 different gray-scale images, using quantization at N=2.",
"G4 compression was applied to the quantized images, while LZW compression was applied to the reordered images.",
"(“G4”",
"refers to Group 4, or MMR compression, specified by the International Telecommunications Union ITU-T.) An average improvement of about 5% in the compression ratio of the output file was achieved relative to that obtained using LZW alone on the original images without reordering.",
"The improvement in the compression ratio stems from the fact that LZW, as well as other compression algorithms known in the art, works more effectively when the image variance is reduced.",
"[0051] How much the variance is reduced is a function of the original image content and the number of quantization levels N. Optionally, steps 30 through 36 are repeated for two or more different values of N, and the value giving the best compression ratio is chosen.",
"As another option, steps 30 and 32 may be applied recursively to the quantized image, with a smaller number of quantization levels in each recursion.",
"Preferably, for each region of each of the resultant reordered images, the number of bits per pixel is reduced by storing not the complete gray-level value, but rather the difference between the gray-level value and an appropriate threshold.",
"(This step may likewise be applied to reordered image 59 even without recursion.) As a result, although four or more images will need to be compressed and stored, the low variance of these images may result in an output file having a still better compression ratio than could be achieved without recursion.",
"[0052] Furthermore, although the pixels in image 59 are arranged serially along the raster, other reordering schemes are also possible.",
"For example, each level may be allocated one sector of the reordered image, such as a quadrant of the image in the case that four quantization levels are used.",
"[0053] [0053 ]FIG. 4 is a flow chart that schematically illustrates a method for decompression of an image file that was compressed using the method of FIG. 2, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.",
"The method begins at decompression steps 60 and 62 , wherein the compressed quantized image and reordered image are respectively read from the output file produced at step 38 and are decompressed using the appropriate decompression algorithm.",
"[0054] At a pixel replacement step 64 , the quantized pixel values in the decompressed quantized image are replaced by the corresponding values from the reordered image.",
"To accomplish this replacement, the quantized image is preferably scanned in raster order for pixels belonging the first quantization level.",
"This is the lowest level in the example of FIG. 3, whose pixel values are stored in region 42 of image 59 .",
"At this stage, the values of pixels 43 and 45 are mapped back to their appropriate locations in image 40 .",
"This process of scanning and replacing the pixel values is then repeated for all of the remaining quantization levels in order, until all of the pixel values have been mapped back to their original locations.",
"Because the pixel values were stored in image 59 in raster order, there is no need in this step for pointers or other ancillary data beyond the quantized image itself.",
"[0055] At an image output step 66 , the original image 40 is reconstructed and output, for display on screen 26 , for example.",
"Assuming a lossless algorithm, such as LZW, was used at steps 34 and 36 (FIG.",
"2), the original image is reproduced exactly, with no loss of information.",
"Alternatively, a lossy algorithm may also be used.",
"[0056] It will be appreciated that the preferred embodiments described above are cited by way of example, and that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove.",
"Rather, the scope of the present invention includes both combinations and subcombinations of the various features described hereinabove, as well as variations and modifications thereof which would occur to persons skilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description and which are not disclosed in the prior art."
] |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/621,536, filed Sep. 17, 2012, entitled “Systems and Methods for Content Collection Validation,” which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/573,966, filed on Sep. 15, 2011. The contents of the above-referred patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
BACKGROUND
Embodiments of the present subject matter relate to electronic document and file management systems and methods.
Electronic data and content capturing systems enable enhanced accessibility and reduced complexity for clients managing large volumes of data files. Content capturing systems generally increase the flexibility and usability of information while reducing client costs. For example, electronic content capturing systems are generally capable of understanding the information that is located on a client's enterprise servers. This enables, for example, access to the information to appropriate individuals while ensuring that important information is properly classified, retained, and preserved. Content capturing systems may also enable archiving of data from different sources on the client's enterprise servers.
SUMMARY
According to one aspect, a method of validating an electronic content collection task is disclosed. The method includes scanning a designated electronic memory location, detecting a control file, the control file including content control information and having a corresponding index file, verifying the accuracy of the content control information, and modifying at least one parameter of the corresponding index file such that it can be recognized for inclusion within a content collection task if the content control information is accurate.
According to another aspect, a method of validating an electronic content collection task is disclosed which includes scanning a document file extension of at least one document file, the document file having been subject to a content collection task that modifies the document file extension, reading the document file extension, and logging an error in an event log if the document file extension indicates an error in the content collection task.
According to another aspect, a method is disclosed which includes retrieving task-specific content control information from a validation database, the task-specific content control information including information indicative of the status of an electronic content collection task, displaying the task-specific content control information through an electronic interface, receiving an input through the electronic interface, and modifying the status of the content collection task in the validation database based on the received input.
According to another aspect, an apparatus for validating an electronic content collection task is disclosed. The apparatus includes a memory, and a processor operatively coupled to the memory and configured to scan a designated electronic memory location, detect a control file, the control file including content control information and having a corresponding index file, verify the accuracy of the content control information, and modify at least one parameter of the corresponding index file such that it can be recognized for inclusion within a content collection task if the content control information is accurate.
According to another aspect, an apparatus is disclosed which includes a memory, and a processor operatively coupled to the memory and configured to retrieve task-specific content control information from a validation database, the task-specific content control information including information indicative of the status of an electronic content collection task, display the task-specific content control information through an electronic interface, receive an input through the electronic interface, and modify the status of the content collection task in the validation database based on the received input.
According to another aspect, an apparatus for validating an electronic content collection task which includes a memory, and a processor operatively coupled to the memory and configured to scan a document file extension of at least one document file, the document file having been subject to a content collection task that modifies the document file extension, read the document file extension, and log an error in an event log if the document file extension indicates an error in the content collection task.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a content collection method including validation according to some embodiments.
FIG. 2 illustrates a functional block diagram of a validation and content collection system according to some embodiments.
FIGS. 3A-3C illustrate examples of index file relationships that may be simultaneously supported by a validation processor according to some embodiments.
FIG. 4A is a flowchart of a pre-validation method according to some embodiments.
FIG. 4B is a flowchart of a content collection method according to some embodiments.
FIG. 4C is a flowchart of a post-validation method according to some embodiments.
FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate examples of notifications which can be sent to a client workstation or support team according to some embodiments.
FIGS. 6A-6B illustrate examples of a dashboard according to some embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
In some embodiments, an electronic content capturing system is capable of monitoring content sources, such as electronic feeds from client enterprise systems (e.g., client mainframe, outlook servers, in-house applications) via fileshares. As referred to herein, the term client refers to individuals or entities that are owners or custodians of content that is to be collected. In some applications, each document or file relates to (e.g., is critical to) a client's business. As a result, it is important to account for all documents that are processed using the electronic capturing system.
Conventional content capturing systems generally lack validation capabilities that are capable of monitoring the collection of each document that is collected, logging errors at different stages of the collection procedure, and interfacing with client systems and support capabilities to correct errors. These validation functions are important for supporting critical content collection in which documents and indices (e.g., all documents and indices) should be accounted for.
In some embodiments, a validation system is configured to interface with an electronic content capturing system to validate one or more content capturing tasks. The validation system is configured to, for example, confirm that the content capturing system has received the entire task, that the metadata associated with the document and files to be captured is complete and/or is formatted correctly, and/or that all of the documents or files have been collected (e.g., “ingested”) by the content collection system within an expected duration. In some embodiments, the validation system is configured to maintain and update a status of each content collection task as well as maintain an error report or log regarding errors that relate to the document or file to be collected or that were encountered during an attempt to collect a document or file.
In some embodiments, the validation system is structured as a Control—Index—Document paradigm, such that document collection is managed and monitored appropriately. The validation system, according to some embodiments, may also be capable of use with index files and schema that are associated with various formats, such as XML index files and XML schema. In some embodiments, the validation system functions include verification that documents that are to be collected actually exist, and/or verification that the documents were successfully collected or ingested by the content collection system.
In some embodiments, the validation system is configured to log and track each collection task in a database. In the event of an error, the validation system may be configured to notify client or enterprise content management (ECM) support staff. In some embodiments, the validation system includes an interface that allows ECM support staff to monitor the content collection process, and configure each process by project or task route.
FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a content collection method 100 including validation according to some embodiments. As shown in FIG. 1 , the method 100 includes a pre-validation sub-process as shown in block 102 . As will be described in greater detail with reference to FIG. 2 below, client data that is to be collected may be stored in fileshare memory location that is monitored by a content collection and validation system. The pre-validation sub-process may include validation of document counts, index file layouts, and metadata that is included in the fileshare memory. In some embodiments, the pre-validation sub-process logs information and pre-validation errors in a validation database. The method 100 also includes a content collection sub-process as shown in block 104 . The content collection sub-process includes collection or ingestion of documents or other electronic content, and modification of file extensions to index files to reflect a successful or unsuccessful collection routine. The method 100 also includes a post-validation sub-process as shown in block 106 . The post-validation sub-process includes validation of successful document or file collection routines, generation of logs corresponding to post-validation and content collection errors encountered, and notification to clients of pre-validation errors that were previously encountered. The method 100 also includes an interface processing sub-routine as shown in block 108 . The interface processing sub-routine includes displaying task status, support notes, and links to support documentation as well as allowing support staff to edit individual content collection tasks. The interface processing sub-routine may also generate content collection statistics related to any number or subset of content collection tasks. Examples of the pre-validation sub-process, the content collection sub-process, the post-validation sub-process and the interface processing sub-routine will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A-4C, 5A-5C, and 6A-6B below.
FIG. 2 illustrates a functional block diagram of a validation and content collection system 200 according to some embodiments. As shown in FIG. 2 , the system 200 includes a client server 202 in communication with a fileshare memory 204 . For example, the client server may include one or more client fileshares. While shown separately, the fileshare memory 204 may also be located within the client server 202 . The fileshare memory 204 includes folders for control files 206 , indexes/content files 208 , and success files 210 , which are accessible by a content collection processor 212 and a validation processor 214 . The control files 206 and index files 208 are populated by the client server 202 and correspond to electronic content, such as documents 216 , that is to be collected by the content collection processor 212 . As will be described in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 4A , the success folders 210 include control files that are associated with content that has been successfully pre-validated by the validation processor 214 .
The validation processor 214 includes a pre-validation module 218 , a post-validation module 220 , an event log module 222 , and a dashboard/interface control module 224 . The operation of each of the modules 218 , 220 , 222 , and 224 will be described in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 4A-4C below. The validation processor 214 is configured to communicate with and modify a validation database 226 which maintains a current status of each content collection task. The validation processor 214 is also in communication with a support terminal 230 , a log monitoring module 232 , and a client workstation 234 in order to communicate results of the validation process and to efficiently handle error occurrences.
While shown as separate processors in FIG. 2 , in some embodiments, the content collection processor 212 and the validation processor 214 may be incorporated in a single processor. Other variations and implementations of the processing architecture may also be used.
The validation processor 214 may be configured to support a variety of platforms and file types. For example, in some embodiments, the validation processor 214 is configured to support multiple index file relationships. FIGS. 3A-3C illustrate examples of index file relationships that may be simultaneously supported by a validation processor 214 according to some embodiments. The file types supported by the validation processor 214 may include a one-to-one client generated index file (xml) to validation index file (idx) relationship as shown in FIG. 3A , a one-to-many client generated index file (xml) to validation index file (idx) relationship as shown in FIG. 3B , or an all in one client generated control file (ctl) that is split into multiple validation index files (idx) as shown in FIG. 3C . In some embodiments, the validation processor 214 is configured to process project specific configurations of index files that are generated by the client server which may include, for example, particular XML coded index files. Table 1 below illustrates some examples of various fields and their associated descriptions which may be varied according to project specific configurations.
TABLE 1
Field
Description
IndexWithEmbeddedControlFile
May be used for “All in One” control files.
If not specified, the default may be set to “False.”
“True” if the control and index files are combined. “False”
otherwise.
TriggerFileExtension
Indicates the extension of the control file.
If not specified, the default may be set to “ctl.”
May be used when IndexWithEmbeddedControlFile is set to
“True.”
List the extension of the combined control and index file name.
Example: “xml”
OneToManyIndexes
May be used for “One to Many” index files.
If not specified, the default may be set to “False.”
May be set to “True” for passing a single index file for a list of
documents in a single trigger/control file (as opposed to a separate
index file for each document).
IndexFileSplitTag
May be used when value for OneToManyIndexes tag is set to
“True.”
Enter the xml tag value to use when splitting a single index file
with a list of tags per document into individual xml files for each
document.
Example: <Doc>
DirToMonitorForCtl
Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path
Specifies where the Pre-Validation program should monitor for the
trigger/control file.
ConsecutiveCtlErr
If not specified, a default number may be set (e.g., “5”).
Specifies the number of control file(s) that can encounter an error
in a run before stopping the program from processing any new
control files for this task.
To stop the program on a first encountered error, set the value to
“0.”
IndexFile_Xpath
Specifies the XML Xpath where the index file location will be
found in the control file.
Example: /Control/IndexFiles/File/Path.
RecordCount_Xpath
Specifies the XML Xpath where the record count for the number
of indexes will be found in the control file.
Example: /Control/IndexFiles/File/RecordCount.
ContentFile_Xpath
Specifies the XML Xpath where the content file location will be
found in the index file.
Example: /FILETAG/DOC/ImagePath.
ContinueOnCtlOutOfBalanceFlag
If not specified, the default may be set to “False.”
Set to “True” to continue processing the control file even if the
index file count from the control file does not match the count of
index files in the index directory.
Set to “False” to stop processing the control file if the index file
count from control file does not match the count of index files in
the index directory.
MissingContentFilesLimit
If not specified, a default may be set (e.g., “0”).
Specifies the limit for number of missing content file(s) before
stopping the control file from processing further.
To stop the program on first missing content set the value to “0.”
ctl_Success
Specifies the UNC path to which the Post-Validation process will
move the control file upon successful processing
ctl_Failed
Specifies the UNC path where the Post-Validation process will
create the IngestionProcessInDisableMode.txt file when the
process needs to be put in disabled mode.
Disabled mode applies to that task route/task only.
May be set to the same path as DirToMonitorForCtl.
DisableProcessFile
If not specified, a default may be set
(e.g., “IngestionProcessInDisableMode.txt”).
Name of the file that will be created to disable the process from
running again when the count of error control files reaches the
limit set in the configuration file.
The process will not restart for the task until the file is manually
deleted.
PreValidationIdxFileExt
If not specified, a default may be set (e.g., “xml”).
Specifies the index file extension that will be provided by
Business System Area.
PostValidationIdxFileExt
If not specified, a default may be set (e.g., “idx”).
Specifies the index file extension that should be applied once the
Pre-Validation process has successfully completed validating the
index file(s).
Set to the same extension for which Document Collection Tool
(e.g., ICC) monitors.
EmailTo
If not specified, a default may be set.
List the Microsoft Exchange Mlist of the Business System Area
that will be providing the data.
Additional e-mail addresses can be added separated by commas.
EmailFrom
LogsLocation
Specifies the UNC path where the error and status logs are located.
ErrLogName
StatusLogName
If not specified, a default may be set (e.g., “StatusLog.txt”)
Name for the status log, where for each control file processed
system may log 1) the date/time, 2) name of the control file, 3) if
the control file processing was a success or a failure, 4) the
number of index file(s) from control file(s), and/or 5) the number
of index file(s) from the index directory.
The date will may be appended to the name to create a new log for
each day.
ValidateXml
If not specified, the default may be set to “True.”
If OneToManyIndexes = “False”:
Set to “True” to validate the index file against an associated XML
xsd schema validation file.
Set to “False” to not validate the index file against an associated
XML xsd schema validation file.
If OneToManyIndexes = “True”:
When index file is One to Many, the index file is validated against
the XML xsd schema validation file before index file is split into
individual index files. Therefore, set to “False” to not validate the
index file again after the split of the index files.
ValidateAllIndexFiles
If not specified, the default may be set to “False.”
False = Stop validating the index files once the
InvalidIndexFilesLimit is reached.
True = Continue validating the index files even if the
InvalidIndexFilesLimit is reached. However, if the invalid index
file limit is reached then do not rename the index file success, for
example, do not rename .xml to .idx.
ValidateXmlAfterSplit
If not specified, the default may be set to “False.”
For one to many and combined control/index file:
False = Validate the XML file before split them into individual
index file.
True = Split the index file into individual index file without
validating.
If this tag is set to True then set the ValidateXml to True to
validate the index file after the split.
InvalidIndexFilesLimit
If not specified, the default may be set to “0.”
Specifies the limit for count of invalid index file(s) before
stopping the control file from processing further.
To stop the program on first invalid index file put the value “0.”
xsdFile
Used if ValidateXml = “True” Or OneToManyIndexes = “True”
Specifies the path where the XML xsd schema validation file for
this ingestion is located.
RetryLimit
If not specified, a default may be set (e.g., 5).
Specifies the maximum number of times the Post-Validation
process will check to see if the document collection tool is finished
before flagging the ingestion as an error.
WaitTime
If not specified, a default value may be set (e.g., “250”).
Specifies time in millisecond used to calculate the time Post-
Validation should wait before checking if the ingestion is
complete.
Multiplied times the number of documents (e.g., for 100
documents and a WaitTime = 250, a total wait time of 25 seconds
is used).
Value may be set to any integer.
ObjectStore
Name of the Object Store in which document collection tool will
store the ingested content.
DocClass
Name of the Document Class in which document collection tool
will store the ingested content.
RCServer
Name of the document collection tool server that will process the
tasks.
ECMErrorResolutionLimit
If not specified, a default may be set (e.g., “7200” or 2 hours)
Maximum time in seconds the Support Staff has to update the
status of a task having an error in the Pre-Validation database, or
fix the error, before an error notification email is sent.
Hours
Seconds
2
7200
4
14400
8
28800
12
43200
24
86400
36
129600
48
172800
72
259200
BusSpecificRootTag_Xpath
If the business area has information sent in the control file which
they want to be returned in the log file generated by
Post-Validation process, then that information is enclosed inside a
tag. For example:.
<BusinessTag>
<BusTag1>BusTag1Test1</BusTag1>
<BusTag2>BusTag2Test1</BusTag2>
</BusinessTag>
The Pre-Validation process may extract the information from the
control file, writes it to the database, then the Post-Validation
process includes it in the log file.
ErrorIDPrefix
Indicates the criticality of the ingestion tasks.
If not specified, a default value may be set (e.g., “7.”)
Value specified is used as a prefix for the error number.
For example, use 6 for non-critical ingestions where error
notification should be sent by e-mail to local client support (e.g.,
IT).
Use 7 for critical ingestions where error notification by pager is
sent to Support Staff/System Administrator.
RootPathToArchiveFldr
If data should be archived to another folder then the root location
of the archived folder may be provided.
IngestionIdentifier_Xpath
Xpath to where the Ingestion Run Identifier value is passed in the
index file.
IgnoreZeroRecordCountControlFile
Set to “False” if the Pre-Validation process should error when a
control file has a record count of zero.
Set to “True” if the Pre-Validation process should ignore control
files with a record count of zero and not throw an error.
StaticIndexFilePath
To be used for “One to Many” or combined index/control index
file type only.
Pass the path that needs to be appended to the file name for
where index file is located.
StaticContentFilePath
To be used for “One to Many” or combined index/control index
file type only.
Pass the path that needs to be appended to the file name for
where index file is located.
Some examples of the functionality of the validation processor 214 and the content collection processor 212 are shown in FIGS. 4A-4C . FIG. 4A is a flowchart of a pre-validation method 400 according to some embodiments. The pre-validation process 400 may be performed by the pre-validation module 218 discussed above with reference to FIG. 2 .
As shown in FIG. 4A , the pre-validation process 400 includes scanning fileshares for control files as shown in block 402 . For example, as discussed above with reference to FIG. 2 , the client server 202 may be configured to write content, index, and control files to monitored fileshares which are located in fileshare memory 204 . The validation processor 214 , through operation of the pre-validation module 218 , is configured to monitor, for example, control files 206 located in fileshare memory 204 . The detection of a control file in the fileshare memory 204 triggers other operations of the pre-validation process 400 .
The pre-validation process 400 generates a database entry as shown in block 404 in order to track and update the status of a content collection task. For example, as shown in FIG. 2 , the pre-validation module 218 is configured to communicate with the validation database 228 in order to add an entry related to a content collection task. At block 406 , the pre-validation process 400 validates the number of files or documents (counts) associated with the content. For example, the pre-validation module 218 may be configured to compare the number of indexes noted in the control file 206 associated with the content against the actual number of indexes and documents that are located in the corresponding index/content file 208 .
As shown in decision block 408 , the pre-validation process 400 may determine whether a document/index count error has been detected during pre-validation. If an error has not been detected, the process may also validate metadata integrity by confirming that each index file points to a document, that the index file properties exist, contain values, and follow the proper format (e.g., date format) as shown in block 409 .
As shown in decision block 410 , the pre-validation process 400 may determine whether an error has been detected with metadata integrity during pre-validation. If an error has not been detected, the control file/index file is split into individual index files (if configured) as shown in block 411 . For example, as discussed above with reference to FIG. 3C , if a client server 202 generates an all-in-one index file, the pre-validation module 218 may split the all-in-one client generated index file to generate multiple index files that are to be recognized by the content collection processor 212 . In some embodiments, the content collection tool is configured to recognize specified index file extensions (e.g., “.idx”). These index file extensions may be set based on task specific configurations as indicated above in Table 1. Following a successful pre-validation, the file extensions are changed to index extensions (e.g., from “.xml” to “.idx”) as shown in block 412 in order to allow recognition of content by the content collection tool. In addition, the associated control file is moved from the control files 206 to the success files 210 within the fileshare memory 204 as shown in block 414 . Further, the database entry in validation database 228 corresponding to the task is updated to reflect a successful pre-validation procedure as shown in block 416 .
The pre-validation tool advantageously maintains compatibility with conventional content collection file formatting. For example, for a conventional content collection system in which clients provide index files having a “.xml” extension, the pre-validation tool can be configured to recognize the “.xml” and trigger a pre-validation process. Configuration of the content collection tool can also be changed such that the “.xml” format does not trigger a content collection operation by the content collection tool. Rather, the content collection tool can be configured to search for an index file extension that is set by the pre-validation tool (e.g., “.idx”), which reflects a pre-validated index file that relates to a content collection task.
With reference to FIG. 4A , if an error has been detected by the pre-validation process in decision block 410 (e.g., corrupt index file, missing values, etc.), the extension of one of the control file and/or one or more of the index files associated with the content is changed (e.g., to a “.err” extension) as shown in block 418 in order to alert the post-validation process of the error as will be discussed in greater detail with reference to FIG. 4C . The type of error encountered may dictate which of the control file and/or the one or more index file extensions are to be changed to reflect the error. For example, if an error relates to the number of documents that are provided relative to the number of documents referenced in the control file, the control file extension may be changed to reflect that a control file error was encountered. Following detection of an error, the database entry status of the validation database 228 is updated to reflect the error that is encountered during pre-validation as shown in block 420 .
FIG. 4B is a flowchart of a content collection method 420 according to some embodiments. The content collection method 420 may be performed by the content collection processor 212 discussed above with reference to FIG. 2 . The content collection method 420 includes detecting and collecting content files as shown in block 422 . For example, the content collection processor 212 is configured to detect index files in the fileshare memory 204 having the “.idx” extension which is set by the pre-validation process, and is configured to collect the corresponding content, such as documents 216 . The collected content, may be, for example, archived in order to conserve client resources and/or automatically distributed to particular users. Content collection method 420 also includes a determination of whether an error was encountered for a particular content collection task as shown in decision block 424 . Examples of content collection errors may include errors that are encountered as a result of validating the content of each index file. For example, an index file may generally include a particular task route (e.g., content storage location) and/or data type (e.g., letter, email, or the like). If the task route is invalid and/or the referenced document data type does not match the actual document data type, an error is detected by the content collection tool.
As shown in FIG. 4B , if an error is not encountered during content collection, an extension is added to the document 216 (e.g., “.SUCCESS”) indicating successful content collection as shown in block 426 . If an error is encountered during content collection, an extension reflecting an error (e.g., “.ERROR”) is added to the document 216 as shown in block 428 .
FIG. 4C is a flowchart of a post-validation method 430 according to some embodiments. The post-validation method 430 may be performed by the post-validation module 220 discussed above with reference to FIG. 2 . As shown in block 432 , the method includes scanning the unprocessed job or task status entries in the validation database 228 .
If the post-validation module 220 detects that a database entry in validation database 228 is set to an error status, the post-validation module 220 determines that the corresponding task encountered an error during pre-validation. As shown in decision block 434 , the method includes determining whether one of these pre-validation errors has been detected. If an error has been detected, a notification is sent to the client to correct the error as shown in block 436 . Examples of client notifications will be described in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 5A-5C below. With reference to FIG. 2 , the post-validation module 220 is configured to communicate with a designated client workstation 234 (e.g., IT department, designated email address, or the like). The client workstation 234 is enabled to correct the errors and remove the “.err” extension from the corresponding control file. Following removal of the “.err” extension, the pre-validation module 220 is re-triggered to pre-validate the content and change the index file extension for recognition by the content collection processor 212 . The process may then proceed normally through content collection and post-validation.
Detection of a pre-validation error also results in a pre-validation error being logged in a task-specific log file in the task fileshare as shown in block 438 . For example, the post-validation module 220 may write a task-specific log file to fileshare memory 204 in order to log the error event. Further, if the corresponding database entry in the validation database 228 does not already reflect an error status, the corresponding database entry is updated to reflect the error status as shown in block 440 .
If an error is not detected at decision block 434 (e.g., the task status indicates that the Pre-Validation process was successful), the extensions of the collected documents are detected to determine whether an error was encountered during document collection, as shown in block 442 . For example, the post-validation module 220 is configured to check whether a collected document has a “.ERROR” extension, or whether all collected documents have a “.SUCCESS” extension. If a collected document includes neither extension, the post-validation module 220 may determine that content collection is still pending and may continue to periodically check the document's extension.
At decision block 444 , the method determines whether an error extension is detected or whether a predetermined number of checks have been exceeded. If neither event occurs, and if the extension of the collected document reflects a successful document collection, the status in the validation database 228 is updated to reflect a successful content collection process as shown in block 448 . Furthermore, a successful status is logged in a task-specific log file in the task fileshare as shown in block 448 . For example, the post-validation module 220 may write a task-specific log file to fileshare memory 204 in order to log the error event. However, if an error extension is detected or the number of checks is exceeded, a post-validation error is logged in the event log as shown in block 446 . For example, as discussed above, the pre-validation module 220 may communicate with the event log module 222 in order to log the error event. Detection of a post-validation error also results in a post-validation error being logged in a job-specific log file in the job fileshare as shown in block 438 . For example, the post-validation module 220 may write a job-specific log file to fileshare memory block 204 in order to log the error event. Further, if the corresponding database entry in the validation database 228 does not already reflect an error status, the corresponding database entry is updated to reflect the error status as shown in block 440 .
With reference to FIG. 2 , the event log module 222 may be continuously monitored by the log monitoring module 232 . As the log monitoring module 232 encounters error events that are logged in the event log module, the log monitoring module 232 is configured to communicate with system support 230 (e.g., ECM support) in order to correct the errors. System support 230 may then troubleshoot and/or correct errors through communication with the dashboard/interface control module 226 that is incorporated in the validation processor 214 . Following correction, system support 230 may also be enabled to remove the “.ERROR” extensions from document files, triggering the content collection processor 212 to ingest or collect the documents as a new task. As discussed above, successful collection of the documents results in the addition of the “.SUCCESS” extension by the content collection processor 212 , which can then be validated by the post-validation module 220 .
In some embodiments, the Validation Processor 214 can be configured at the project level to prepend various error prefixes to the error codes in the event log module 222 . For example, an error with a prefix of “6” could indicate a non-critical error, whereas an error with a prefix of “7” could indicate a critical error. External monitoring tools are used to monitor the logs for these prefixes and notify support staff in the event of errors
FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate examples of notifications which can be sent to a client workstation or support team according to some embodiments. As shown in FIG. 5A , an email may be generated to notify designated recipients when pre-validation errors occur. The email notification 500 A can include interface tools 502 (e.g., reply, replay all, forward, etc.), and an addressing field 504 which identifies the source address, recipient address and subject of the email. In the example shown in FIG. 5A , an email is sent to a to indicate a pre-validation error. The email may be sent to a client's designated recipient email address (e.g., a client IT support email address corresponding to client workstation 232 ). The email body 506 indicates the details of the error that was encountered and includes a link 508 to troubleshoot information that can be of assistance to the recipient for resolving the error. The email may also include support services contact information, which may be classified by error criticality. The email body 506 also includes task information 510 , such as the control file name, pre-run database ID, post-run database ID, record count (e.g., number of documents in task), pre-validation success count, pre-validation error count, post-validation success count, post-validation error count, and a configuration file name. The email body 506 also includes an error list 512 which includes separate error entries that reflect the specific errors that were encountered for the associated task. Each error entry may include information identifying the error, such as error number, the date and time the error was encountered, the file name that encountered the error, the location of the file in the fileshare, and a description of the error including any actions which occurred as a result of encountering the error.
FIG. 5B illustrates an example of an email notification 500 B which can be sent when a post-validation error has been encountered. In some embodiments, the email notification 500 B shown in FIG. 5B may be sent automatically to content collection support personnel (e.g., System Support 230 ) through monitoring of the event log module 222 by the log monitoring module 232 . The email notification 500 B includes email interface tools 502 and addressing fields 504 as discussed above with reference to FIG. 5A . The email body 520 may indicate the severity or type of notification (e.g., Error), the status of the error, the source of the error (e.g., post-validation), and an indication of the code-range of the post-validation error. As discussed above, a pre-fix of the code-range may indicate the criticality of the type of error that was encountered. The email body 520 also includes an error specific description 522 which can indicate the date/time of the error, an identifying error-code, an error type, and a detailed description of the error. The email body 520 can also include a source description field 524 which identifies the source domain of the error, the agent (e.g., server) that encountered the error, the time and date the error was encountered, and owner (e.g., repository) of the error which may be in the form of a link to a particular task-route that is affiliated with the document that encountered the error.
FIG. 5C is an example of an email notification 500 C which may be sent to a designated recipient when a post-validation error has occurred and has not been resolved within a predetermined time by content collection system support personnel. Similar to the email notification 500 A of FIG. 5A , the email notification 500 C includes email interface tools 502 and addressing field 504 . The email body 530 also includes task information 510 which is similar to that described above with reference to FIG. 5A . The email notification 500 C informs the recipient that an error was encountered and is in the process of being resolved. Contact information, which may be specific to the criticality of the error, may also be provided as shown in FIG. 5C .
FIGS. 6A-6B illustrate examples of a dashboard 602 A, 602 B according to some embodiments. As shown in FIG. 6A , the dashboard 602 A can display the status and statistics related to all content collection tasks together, and may classify each status by customizable groups such as in-process 606 , non-critical 608 , critical 610 , and all errors 612 . The dashboard 602 A can include a filterable document search field 604 , and can also include linked fields within each error entry that provide access to additional information about content collection tasks. Accessing one of the task entries through dashboard 602 A and/or searching for particular tasks may link to a corresponding task specific dashboard 602 B as shown in FIG. 6B . The task specific dashboard 602 B can include information regarding the status of each document within the corresponding task. For example, error entries 612 identify error information pertaining to individual content collection tasks. Within each error entry 612 , additional information regarding each error by accessing a designated link associated with the number of errors for the entry. Additional support notes may also be accessed through a designated link corresponding to each entry. The status of the errors may be editable by accessing corresponding editing links following correction by support staff.
While not shown in FIG. 6B , the dashboard 602 B can also include tallies including information regarding all content collection tasks. In some embodiments, support personnel may also bulk modify the error status of jobs in the database when a large number of jobs have the same error.
The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.
In one or more example embodiments, the functions and methods described may be implemented in hardware, software, or firmware executed on a processor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium or memory. Computer-readable media include both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program. A storage medium may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include non-transitory computer-readable media including RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. A computer-readable medium can include a communication signal path. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium.
The system may include various modules as discussed above. As can be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, each of the modules may include one or more of a variety of sub routines, procedures, definitional statements and macros. Each of the modules may be separately compiled and linked into a single executable program. Therefore, the description of each of the modules is used for convenience to describe the functionality of the disclosed embodiments. Thus, the processes that are undergone by each of the modules may be redistributed to one of the other modules, combined together in a single module, or made available in, for example, a shareable dynamic link library.
The system may be used in connection with various operating systems such as Linux®, UNIX® or Microsoft Windows®. The system may be written in any conventional programming language such as C, C++, BASIC, Pascal, or Java, and ran under a conventional operating system. The system may also be written using interpreted languages such as Visual Basic (VB.NET), Perl, Python or Ruby.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the described technology. Such modifications and changes are intended to fall within the scope of the embodiments that are described. It will also be appreciated by those of skill in the art that features included in one embodiment are interchangeable with other embodiments; and that one or more features from a depicted embodiment can be included with other depicted embodiments in any combination. For example, any of the various components described herein and/or depicted in the figures may be combined, interchanged, or excluded from other embodiments. | Electronic data file and content capturing systems and methods enable enhanced accessibility and reduced complexity for clients managing large volumes of digital data files. According to one aspect, a system and method provided for validation and tracking of content collection tasks. According to another aspect, systems and methods are disclosed for error management through integrated interfaces that are capable of interacting with and correcting the results of content collection tasks. | Identify the most important aspect in the document and summarize the concept accordingly. | [
"CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 13/621,536, filed Sep. 17, 2012, entitled “Systems and Methods for Content Collection Validation,” which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/573,966, filed on Sep. 15, 2011.",
"The contents of the above-referred patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.",
"BACKGROUND Embodiments of the present subject matter relate to electronic document and file management systems and methods.",
"Electronic data and content capturing systems enable enhanced accessibility and reduced complexity for clients managing large volumes of data files.",
"Content capturing systems generally increase the flexibility and usability of information while reducing client costs.",
"For example, electronic content capturing systems are generally capable of understanding the information that is located on a client's enterprise servers.",
"This enables, for example, access to the information to appropriate individuals while ensuring that important information is properly classified, retained, and preserved.",
"Content capturing systems may also enable archiving of data from different sources on the client's enterprise servers.",
"SUMMARY According to one aspect, a method of validating an electronic content collection task is disclosed.",
"The method includes scanning a designated electronic memory location, detecting a control file, the control file including content control information and having a corresponding index file, verifying the accuracy of the content control information, and modifying at least one parameter of the corresponding index file such that it can be recognized for inclusion within a content collection task if the content control information is accurate.",
"According to another aspect, a method of validating an electronic content collection task is disclosed which includes scanning a document file extension of at least one document file, the document file having been subject to a content collection task that modifies the document file extension, reading the document file extension, and logging an error in an event log if the document file extension indicates an error in the content collection task.",
"According to another aspect, a method is disclosed which includes retrieving task-specific content control information from a validation database, the task-specific content control information including information indicative of the status of an electronic content collection task, displaying the task-specific content control information through an electronic interface, receiving an input through the electronic interface, and modifying the status of the content collection task in the validation database based on the received input.",
"According to another aspect, an apparatus for validating an electronic content collection task is disclosed.",
"The apparatus includes a memory, and a processor operatively coupled to the memory and configured to scan a designated electronic memory location, detect a control file, the control file including content control information and having a corresponding index file, verify the accuracy of the content control information, and modify at least one parameter of the corresponding index file such that it can be recognized for inclusion within a content collection task if the content control information is accurate.",
"According to another aspect, an apparatus is disclosed which includes a memory, and a processor operatively coupled to the memory and configured to retrieve task-specific content control information from a validation database, the task-specific content control information including information indicative of the status of an electronic content collection task, display the task-specific content control information through an electronic interface, receive an input through the electronic interface, and modify the status of the content collection task in the validation database based on the received input.",
"According to another aspect, an apparatus for validating an electronic content collection task which includes a memory, and a processor operatively coupled to the memory and configured to scan a document file extension of at least one document file, the document file having been subject to a content collection task that modifies the document file extension, read the document file extension, and log an error in an event log if the document file extension indicates an error in the content collection task.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a content collection method including validation according to some embodiments.",
"FIG. 2 illustrates a functional block diagram of a validation and content collection system according to some embodiments.",
"FIGS. 3A-3C illustrate examples of index file relationships that may be simultaneously supported by a validation processor according to some embodiments.",
"FIG. 4A is a flowchart of a pre-validation method according to some embodiments.",
"FIG. 4B is a flowchart of a content collection method according to some embodiments.",
"FIG. 4C is a flowchart of a post-validation method according to some embodiments.",
"FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate examples of notifications which can be sent to a client workstation or support team according to some embodiments.",
"FIGS. 6A-6B illustrate examples of a dashboard according to some embodiments.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS In some embodiments, an electronic content capturing system is capable of monitoring content sources, such as electronic feeds from client enterprise systems (e.g., client mainframe, outlook servers, in-house applications) via fileshares.",
"As referred to herein, the term client refers to individuals or entities that are owners or custodians of content that is to be collected.",
"In some applications, each document or file relates to (e.g., is critical to) a client's business.",
"As a result, it is important to account for all documents that are processed using the electronic capturing system.",
"Conventional content capturing systems generally lack validation capabilities that are capable of monitoring the collection of each document that is collected, logging errors at different stages of the collection procedure, and interfacing with client systems and support capabilities to correct errors.",
"These validation functions are important for supporting critical content collection in which documents and indices (e.g., all documents and indices) should be accounted for.",
"In some embodiments, a validation system is configured to interface with an electronic content capturing system to validate one or more content capturing tasks.",
"The validation system is configured to, for example, confirm that the content capturing system has received the entire task, that the metadata associated with the document and files to be captured is complete and/or is formatted correctly, and/or that all of the documents or files have been collected (e.g., “ingested”) by the content collection system within an expected duration.",
"In some embodiments, the validation system is configured to maintain and update a status of each content collection task as well as maintain an error report or log regarding errors that relate to the document or file to be collected or that were encountered during an attempt to collect a document or file.",
"In some embodiments, the validation system is structured as a Control—Index—Document paradigm, such that document collection is managed and monitored appropriately.",
"The validation system, according to some embodiments, may also be capable of use with index files and schema that are associated with various formats, such as XML index files and XML schema.",
"In some embodiments, the validation system functions include verification that documents that are to be collected actually exist, and/or verification that the documents were successfully collected or ingested by the content collection system.",
"In some embodiments, the validation system is configured to log and track each collection task in a database.",
"In the event of an error, the validation system may be configured to notify client or enterprise content management (ECM) support staff.",
"In some embodiments, the validation system includes an interface that allows ECM support staff to monitor the content collection process, and configure each process by project or task route.",
"FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a content collection method 100 including validation according to some embodiments.",
"As shown in FIG. 1 , the method 100 includes a pre-validation sub-process as shown in block 102 .",
"As will be described in greater detail with reference to FIG. 2 below, client data that is to be collected may be stored in fileshare memory location that is monitored by a content collection and validation system.",
"The pre-validation sub-process may include validation of document counts, index file layouts, and metadata that is included in the fileshare memory.",
"In some embodiments, the pre-validation sub-process logs information and pre-validation errors in a validation database.",
"The method 100 also includes a content collection sub-process as shown in block 104 .",
"The content collection sub-process includes collection or ingestion of documents or other electronic content, and modification of file extensions to index files to reflect a successful or unsuccessful collection routine.",
"The method 100 also includes a post-validation sub-process as shown in block 106 .",
"The post-validation sub-process includes validation of successful document or file collection routines, generation of logs corresponding to post-validation and content collection errors encountered, and notification to clients of pre-validation errors that were previously encountered.",
"The method 100 also includes an interface processing sub-routine as shown in block 108 .",
"The interface processing sub-routine includes displaying task status, support notes, and links to support documentation as well as allowing support staff to edit individual content collection tasks.",
"The interface processing sub-routine may also generate content collection statistics related to any number or subset of content collection tasks.",
"Examples of the pre-validation sub-process, the content collection sub-process, the post-validation sub-process and the interface processing sub-routine will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A-4C, 5A-5C, and 6A-6B below.",
"FIG. 2 illustrates a functional block diagram of a validation and content collection system 200 according to some embodiments.",
"As shown in FIG. 2 , the system 200 includes a client server 202 in communication with a fileshare memory 204 .",
"For example, the client server may include one or more client fileshares.",
"While shown separately, the fileshare memory 204 may also be located within the client server 202 .",
"The fileshare memory 204 includes folders for control files 206 , indexes/content files 208 , and success files 210 , which are accessible by a content collection processor 212 and a validation processor 214 .",
"The control files 206 and index files 208 are populated by the client server 202 and correspond to electronic content, such as documents 216 , that is to be collected by the content collection processor 212 .",
"As will be described in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 4A , the success folders 210 include control files that are associated with content that has been successfully pre-validated by the validation processor 214 .",
"The validation processor 214 includes a pre-validation module 218 , a post-validation module 220 , an event log module 222 , and a dashboard/interface control module 224 .",
"The operation of each of the modules 218 , 220 , 222 , and 224 will be described in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 4A-4C below.",
"The validation processor 214 is configured to communicate with and modify a validation database 226 which maintains a current status of each content collection task.",
"The validation processor 214 is also in communication with a support terminal 230 , a log monitoring module 232 , and a client workstation 234 in order to communicate results of the validation process and to efficiently handle error occurrences.",
"While shown as separate processors in FIG. 2 , in some embodiments, the content collection processor 212 and the validation processor 214 may be incorporated in a single processor.",
"Other variations and implementations of the processing architecture may also be used.",
"The validation processor 214 may be configured to support a variety of platforms and file types.",
"For example, in some embodiments, the validation processor 214 is configured to support multiple index file relationships.",
"FIGS. 3A-3C illustrate examples of index file relationships that may be simultaneously supported by a validation processor 214 according to some embodiments.",
"The file types supported by the validation processor 214 may include a one-to-one client generated index file (xml) to validation index file (idx) relationship as shown in FIG. 3A , a one-to-many client generated index file (xml) to validation index file (idx) relationship as shown in FIG. 3B , or an all in one client generated control file (ctl) that is split into multiple validation index files (idx) as shown in FIG. 3C .",
"In some embodiments, the validation processor 214 is configured to process project specific configurations of index files that are generated by the client server which may include, for example, particular XML coded index files.",
"Table 1 below illustrates some examples of various fields and their associated descriptions which may be varied according to project specific configurations.",
"TABLE 1 Field Description IndexWithEmbeddedControlFile May be used for “All in One”",
"control files.",
"If not specified, the default may be set to “False.”",
"“True”",
"if the control and index files are combined.",
"“False”",
"otherwise.",
"TriggerFileExtension Indicates the extension of the control file.",
"If not specified, the default may be set to “ctl.”",
"May be used when IndexWithEmbeddedControlFile is set to “True.”",
"List the extension of the combined control and index file name.",
"Example: “xml”",
"OneToManyIndexes May be used for “One to Many”",
"index files.",
"If not specified, the default may be set to “False.”",
"May be set to “True”",
"for passing a single index file for a list of documents in a single trigger/control file (as opposed to a separate index file for each document).",
"IndexFileSplitTag May be used when value for OneToManyIndexes tag is set to “True.”",
"Enter the xml tag value to use when splitting a single index file with a list of tags per document into individual xml files for each document.",
"Example: <Doc>",
"DirToMonitorForCtl Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path Specifies where the Pre-Validation program should monitor for the trigger/control file.",
"ConsecutiveCtlErr If not specified, a default number may be set (e.g., “5”).",
"Specifies the number of control file(s) that can encounter an error in a run before stopping the program from processing any new control files for this task.",
"To stop the program on a first encountered error, set the value to “0.”",
"IndexFile_Xpath Specifies the XML Xpath where the index file location will be found in the control file.",
"Example: /Control/IndexFiles/File/Path.",
"RecordCount_Xpath Specifies the XML Xpath where the record count for the number of indexes will be found in the control file.",
"Example: /Control/IndexFiles/File/RecordCount.",
"ContentFile_Xpath Specifies the XML Xpath where the content file location will be found in the index file.",
"Example: /FILETAG/DOC/ImagePath.",
"ContinueOnCtlOutOfBalanceFlag If not specified, the default may be set to “False.”",
"Set to “True”",
"to continue processing the control file even if the index file count from the control file does not match the count of index files in the index directory.",
"Set to “False”",
"to stop processing the control file if the index file count from control file does not match the count of index files in the index directory.",
"MissingContentFilesLimit If not specified, a default may be set (e.g., “0”).",
"Specifies the limit for number of missing content file(s) before stopping the control file from processing further.",
"To stop the program on first missing content set the value to “0.”",
"ctl_Success Specifies the UNC path to which the Post-Validation process will move the control file upon successful processing ctl_Failed Specifies the UNC path where the Post-Validation process will create the IngestionProcessInDisableMode.",
"txt file when the process needs to be put in disabled mode.",
"Disabled mode applies to that task route/task only.",
"May be set to the same path as DirToMonitorForCtl.",
"DisableProcessFile If not specified, a default may be set (e.g., “IngestionProcessInDisableMode.txt”).",
"Name of the file that will be created to disable the process from running again when the count of error control files reaches the limit set in the configuration file.",
"The process will not restart for the task until the file is manually deleted.",
"PreValidationIdxFileExt If not specified, a default may be set (e.g., “xml”).",
"Specifies the index file extension that will be provided by Business System Area.",
"PostValidationIdxFileExt If not specified, a default may be set (e.g., “idx”).",
"Specifies the index file extension that should be applied once the Pre-Validation process has successfully completed validating the index file(s).",
"Set to the same extension for which Document Collection Tool (e.g., ICC) monitors.",
"EmailTo If not specified, a default may be set.",
"List the Microsoft Exchange Mlist of the Business System Area that will be providing the data.",
"Additional e-mail addresses can be added separated by commas.",
"EmailFrom LogsLocation Specifies the UNC path where the error and status logs are located.",
"ErrLogName StatusLogName If not specified, a default may be set (e.g., “StatusLog.txt”) Name for the status log, where for each control file processed system may log 1) the date/time, 2) name of the control file, 3) if the control file processing was a success or a failure, 4) the number of index file(s) from control file(s), and/or 5) the number of index file(s) from the index directory.",
"The date will may be appended to the name to create a new log for each day.",
"ValidateXml If not specified, the default may be set to “True.”",
"If OneToManyIndexes = “False”: Set to “True”",
"to validate the index file against an associated XML xsd schema validation file.",
"Set to “False”",
"to not validate the index file against an associated XML xsd schema validation file.",
"If OneToManyIndexes = “True”: When index file is One to Many, the index file is validated against the XML xsd schema validation file before index file is split into individual index files.",
"Therefore, set to “False”",
"to not validate the index file again after the split of the index files.",
"ValidateAllIndexFiles If not specified, the default may be set to “False.”",
"False = Stop validating the index files once the InvalidIndexFilesLimit is reached.",
"True = Continue validating the index files even if the InvalidIndexFilesLimit is reached.",
"However, if the invalid index file limit is reached then do not rename the index file success, for example, do not rename .",
"xml to .",
"idx.",
"ValidateXmlAfterSplit If not specified, the default may be set to “False.”",
"For one to many and combined control/index file: False = Validate the XML file before split them into individual index file.",
"True = Split the index file into individual index file without validating.",
"If this tag is set to True then set the ValidateXml to True to validate the index file after the split.",
"InvalidIndexFilesLimit If not specified, the default may be set to “0.”",
"Specifies the limit for count of invalid index file(s) before stopping the control file from processing further.",
"To stop the program on first invalid index file put the value “0.”",
"xsdFile Used if ValidateXml = “True”",
"Or OneToManyIndexes = “True”",
"Specifies the path where the XML xsd schema validation file for this ingestion is located.",
"RetryLimit If not specified, a default may be set (e.g., 5).",
"Specifies the maximum number of times the Post-Validation process will check to see if the document collection tool is finished before flagging the ingestion as an error.",
"WaitTime If not specified, a default value may be set (e.g., “250”).",
"Specifies time in millisecond used to calculate the time Post- Validation should wait before checking if the ingestion is complete.",
"Multiplied times the number of documents (e.g., for 100 documents and a WaitTime = 250, a total wait time of 25 seconds is used).",
"Value may be set to any integer.",
"ObjectStore Name of the Object Store in which document collection tool will store the ingested content.",
"DocClass Name of the Document Class in which document collection tool will store the ingested content.",
"RCServer Name of the document collection tool server that will process the tasks.",
"ECMErrorResolutionLimit If not specified, a default may be set (e.g., “7200”",
"or 2 hours) Maximum time in seconds the Support Staff has to update the status of a task having an error in the Pre-Validation database, or fix the error, before an error notification email is sent.",
"Hours Seconds 2 7200 4 14400 8 28800 12 43200 24 86400 36 129600 48 172800 72 259200 BusSpecificRootTag_Xpath If the business area has information sent in the control file which they want to be returned in the log file generated by Post-Validation process, then that information is enclosed inside a tag.",
"For example:.",
"<BusinessTag>",
"<BusTag1>BusTag1Test1</BusTag1>",
"<BusTag2>BusTag2Test1</BusTag2>",
"</BusinessTag>",
"The Pre-Validation process may extract the information from the control file, writes it to the database, then the Post-Validation process includes it in the log file.",
"ErrorIDPrefix Indicates the criticality of the ingestion tasks.",
"If not specified, a default value may be set (e.g., “7.”) Value specified is used as a prefix for the error number.",
"For example, use 6 for non-critical ingestions where error notification should be sent by e-mail to local client support (e.g., IT).",
"Use 7 for critical ingestions where error notification by pager is sent to Support Staff/System Administrator.",
"RootPathToArchiveFldr If data should be archived to another folder then the root location of the archived folder may be provided.",
"IngestionIdentifier_Xpath Xpath to where the Ingestion Run Identifier value is passed in the index file.",
"IgnoreZeroRecordCountControlFile Set to “False”",
"if the Pre-Validation process should error when a control file has a record count of zero.",
"Set to “True”",
"if the Pre-Validation process should ignore control files with a record count of zero and not throw an error.",
"StaticIndexFilePath To be used for “One to Many”",
"or combined index/control index file type only.",
"Pass the path that needs to be appended to the file name for where index file is located.",
"StaticContentFilePath To be used for “One to Many”",
"or combined index/control index file type only.",
"Pass the path that needs to be appended to the file name for where index file is located.",
"Some examples of the functionality of the validation processor 214 and the content collection processor 212 are shown in FIGS. 4A-4C .",
"FIG. 4A is a flowchart of a pre-validation method 400 according to some embodiments.",
"The pre-validation process 400 may be performed by the pre-validation module 218 discussed above with reference to FIG. 2 .",
"As shown in FIG. 4A , the pre-validation process 400 includes scanning fileshares for control files as shown in block 402 .",
"For example, as discussed above with reference to FIG. 2 , the client server 202 may be configured to write content, index, and control files to monitored fileshares which are located in fileshare memory 204 .",
"The validation processor 214 , through operation of the pre-validation module 218 , is configured to monitor, for example, control files 206 located in fileshare memory 204 .",
"The detection of a control file in the fileshare memory 204 triggers other operations of the pre-validation process 400 .",
"The pre-validation process 400 generates a database entry as shown in block 404 in order to track and update the status of a content collection task.",
"For example, as shown in FIG. 2 , the pre-validation module 218 is configured to communicate with the validation database 228 in order to add an entry related to a content collection task.",
"At block 406 , the pre-validation process 400 validates the number of files or documents (counts) associated with the content.",
"For example, the pre-validation module 218 may be configured to compare the number of indexes noted in the control file 206 associated with the content against the actual number of indexes and documents that are located in the corresponding index/content file 208 .",
"As shown in decision block 408 , the pre-validation process 400 may determine whether a document/index count error has been detected during pre-validation.",
"If an error has not been detected, the process may also validate metadata integrity by confirming that each index file points to a document, that the index file properties exist, contain values, and follow the proper format (e.g., date format) as shown in block 409 .",
"As shown in decision block 410 , the pre-validation process 400 may determine whether an error has been detected with metadata integrity during pre-validation.",
"If an error has not been detected, the control file/index file is split into individual index files (if configured) as shown in block 411 .",
"For example, as discussed above with reference to FIG. 3C , if a client server 202 generates an all-in-one index file, the pre-validation module 218 may split the all-in-one client generated index file to generate multiple index files that are to be recognized by the content collection processor 212 .",
"In some embodiments, the content collection tool is configured to recognize specified index file extensions (e.g., “.idx”).",
"These index file extensions may be set based on task specific configurations as indicated above in Table 1.",
"Following a successful pre-validation, the file extensions are changed to index extensions (e.g., from “.xml”",
"to “.idx”) as shown in block 412 in order to allow recognition of content by the content collection tool.",
"In addition, the associated control file is moved from the control files 206 to the success files 210 within the fileshare memory 204 as shown in block 414 .",
"Further, the database entry in validation database 228 corresponding to the task is updated to reflect a successful pre-validation procedure as shown in block 416 .",
"The pre-validation tool advantageously maintains compatibility with conventional content collection file formatting.",
"For example, for a conventional content collection system in which clients provide index files having a “.xml”",
"extension, the pre-validation tool can be configured to recognize the “.xml”",
"and trigger a pre-validation process.",
"Configuration of the content collection tool can also be changed such that the “.xml”",
"format does not trigger a content collection operation by the content collection tool.",
"Rather, the content collection tool can be configured to search for an index file extension that is set by the pre-validation tool (e.g., “.idx”), which reflects a pre-validated index file that relates to a content collection task.",
"With reference to FIG. 4A , if an error has been detected by the pre-validation process in decision block 410 (e.g., corrupt index file, missing values, etc.), the extension of one of the control file and/or one or more of the index files associated with the content is changed (e.g., to a “.err”",
"extension) as shown in block 418 in order to alert the post-validation process of the error as will be discussed in greater detail with reference to FIG. 4C .",
"The type of error encountered may dictate which of the control file and/or the one or more index file extensions are to be changed to reflect the error.",
"For example, if an error relates to the number of documents that are provided relative to the number of documents referenced in the control file, the control file extension may be changed to reflect that a control file error was encountered.",
"Following detection of an error, the database entry status of the validation database 228 is updated to reflect the error that is encountered during pre-validation as shown in block 420 .",
"FIG. 4B is a flowchart of a content collection method 420 according to some embodiments.",
"The content collection method 420 may be performed by the content collection processor 212 discussed above with reference to FIG. 2 .",
"The content collection method 420 includes detecting and collecting content files as shown in block 422 .",
"For example, the content collection processor 212 is configured to detect index files in the fileshare memory 204 having the “.idx”",
"extension which is set by the pre-validation process, and is configured to collect the corresponding content, such as documents 216 .",
"The collected content, may be, for example, archived in order to conserve client resources and/or automatically distributed to particular users.",
"Content collection method 420 also includes a determination of whether an error was encountered for a particular content collection task as shown in decision block 424 .",
"Examples of content collection errors may include errors that are encountered as a result of validating the content of each index file.",
"For example, an index file may generally include a particular task route (e.g., content storage location) and/or data type (e.g., letter, email, or the like).",
"If the task route is invalid and/or the referenced document data type does not match the actual document data type, an error is detected by the content collection tool.",
"As shown in FIG. 4B , if an error is not encountered during content collection, an extension is added to the document 216 (e.g., “.SUCCESS”) indicating successful content collection as shown in block 426 .",
"If an error is encountered during content collection, an extension reflecting an error (e.g., “.ERROR”) is added to the document 216 as shown in block 428 .",
"FIG. 4C is a flowchart of a post-validation method 430 according to some embodiments.",
"The post-validation method 430 may be performed by the post-validation module 220 discussed above with reference to FIG. 2 .",
"As shown in block 432 , the method includes scanning the unprocessed job or task status entries in the validation database 228 .",
"If the post-validation module 220 detects that a database entry in validation database 228 is set to an error status, the post-validation module 220 determines that the corresponding task encountered an error during pre-validation.",
"As shown in decision block 434 , the method includes determining whether one of these pre-validation errors has been detected.",
"If an error has been detected, a notification is sent to the client to correct the error as shown in block 436 .",
"Examples of client notifications will be described in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 5A-5C below.",
"With reference to FIG. 2 , the post-validation module 220 is configured to communicate with a designated client workstation 234 (e.g., IT department, designated email address, or the like).",
"The client workstation 234 is enabled to correct the errors and remove the “.err”",
"extension from the corresponding control file.",
"Following removal of the “.err”",
"extension, the pre-validation module 220 is re-triggered to pre-validate the content and change the index file extension for recognition by the content collection processor 212 .",
"The process may then proceed normally through content collection and post-validation.",
"Detection of a pre-validation error also results in a pre-validation error being logged in a task-specific log file in the task fileshare as shown in block 438 .",
"For example, the post-validation module 220 may write a task-specific log file to fileshare memory 204 in order to log the error event.",
"Further, if the corresponding database entry in the validation database 228 does not already reflect an error status, the corresponding database entry is updated to reflect the error status as shown in block 440 .",
"If an error is not detected at decision block 434 (e.g., the task status indicates that the Pre-Validation process was successful), the extensions of the collected documents are detected to determine whether an error was encountered during document collection, as shown in block 442 .",
"For example, the post-validation module 220 is configured to check whether a collected document has a “.ERROR”",
"extension, or whether all collected documents have a “.SUCCESS”",
"extension.",
"If a collected document includes neither extension, the post-validation module 220 may determine that content collection is still pending and may continue to periodically check the document's extension.",
"At decision block 444 , the method determines whether an error extension is detected or whether a predetermined number of checks have been exceeded.",
"If neither event occurs, and if the extension of the collected document reflects a successful document collection, the status in the validation database 228 is updated to reflect a successful content collection process as shown in block 448 .",
"Furthermore, a successful status is logged in a task-specific log file in the task fileshare as shown in block 448 .",
"For example, the post-validation module 220 may write a task-specific log file to fileshare memory 204 in order to log the error event.",
"However, if an error extension is detected or the number of checks is exceeded, a post-validation error is logged in the event log as shown in block 446 .",
"For example, as discussed above, the pre-validation module 220 may communicate with the event log module 222 in order to log the error event.",
"Detection of a post-validation error also results in a post-validation error being logged in a job-specific log file in the job fileshare as shown in block 438 .",
"For example, the post-validation module 220 may write a job-specific log file to fileshare memory block 204 in order to log the error event.",
"Further, if the corresponding database entry in the validation database 228 does not already reflect an error status, the corresponding database entry is updated to reflect the error status as shown in block 440 .",
"With reference to FIG. 2 , the event log module 222 may be continuously monitored by the log monitoring module 232 .",
"As the log monitoring module 232 encounters error events that are logged in the event log module, the log monitoring module 232 is configured to communicate with system support 230 (e.g., ECM support) in order to correct the errors.",
"System support 230 may then troubleshoot and/or correct errors through communication with the dashboard/interface control module 226 that is incorporated in the validation processor 214 .",
"Following correction, system support 230 may also be enabled to remove the “.ERROR”",
"extensions from document files, triggering the content collection processor 212 to ingest or collect the documents as a new task.",
"As discussed above, successful collection of the documents results in the addition of the “.SUCCESS”",
"extension by the content collection processor 212 , which can then be validated by the post-validation module 220 .",
"In some embodiments, the Validation Processor 214 can be configured at the project level to prepend various error prefixes to the error codes in the event log module 222 .",
"For example, an error with a prefix of “6”",
"could indicate a non-critical error, whereas an error with a prefix of “7”",
"could indicate a critical error.",
"External monitoring tools are used to monitor the logs for these prefixes and notify support staff in the event of errors FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate examples of notifications which can be sent to a client workstation or support team according to some embodiments.",
"As shown in FIG. 5A , an email may be generated to notify designated recipients when pre-validation errors occur.",
"The email notification 500 A can include interface tools 502 (e.g., reply, replay all, forward, etc.), and an addressing field 504 which identifies the source address, recipient address and subject of the email.",
"In the example shown in FIG. 5A , an email is sent to a to indicate a pre-validation error.",
"The email may be sent to a client's designated recipient email address (e.g., a client IT support email address corresponding to client workstation 232 ).",
"The email body 506 indicates the details of the error that was encountered and includes a link 508 to troubleshoot information that can be of assistance to the recipient for resolving the error.",
"The email may also include support services contact information, which may be classified by error criticality.",
"The email body 506 also includes task information 510 , such as the control file name, pre-run database ID, post-run database ID, record count (e.g., number of documents in task), pre-validation success count, pre-validation error count, post-validation success count, post-validation error count, and a configuration file name.",
"The email body 506 also includes an error list 512 which includes separate error entries that reflect the specific errors that were encountered for the associated task.",
"Each error entry may include information identifying the error, such as error number, the date and time the error was encountered, the file name that encountered the error, the location of the file in the fileshare, and a description of the error including any actions which occurred as a result of encountering the error.",
"FIG. 5B illustrates an example of an email notification 500 B which can be sent when a post-validation error has been encountered.",
"In some embodiments, the email notification 500 B shown in FIG. 5B may be sent automatically to content collection support personnel (e.g., System Support 230 ) through monitoring of the event log module 222 by the log monitoring module 232 .",
"The email notification 500 B includes email interface tools 502 and addressing fields 504 as discussed above with reference to FIG. 5A .",
"The email body 520 may indicate the severity or type of notification (e.g., Error), the status of the error, the source of the error (e.g., post-validation), and an indication of the code-range of the post-validation error.",
"As discussed above, a pre-fix of the code-range may indicate the criticality of the type of error that was encountered.",
"The email body 520 also includes an error specific description 522 which can indicate the date/time of the error, an identifying error-code, an error type, and a detailed description of the error.",
"The email body 520 can also include a source description field 524 which identifies the source domain of the error, the agent (e.g., server) that encountered the error, the time and date the error was encountered, and owner (e.g., repository) of the error which may be in the form of a link to a particular task-route that is affiliated with the document that encountered the error.",
"FIG. 5C is an example of an email notification 500 C which may be sent to a designated recipient when a post-validation error has occurred and has not been resolved within a predetermined time by content collection system support personnel.",
"Similar to the email notification 500 A of FIG. 5A , the email notification 500 C includes email interface tools 502 and addressing field 504 .",
"The email body 530 also includes task information 510 which is similar to that described above with reference to FIG. 5A .",
"The email notification 500 C informs the recipient that an error was encountered and is in the process of being resolved.",
"Contact information, which may be specific to the criticality of the error, may also be provided as shown in FIG. 5C .",
"FIGS. 6A-6B illustrate examples of a dashboard 602 A, 602 B according to some embodiments.",
"As shown in FIG. 6A , the dashboard 602 A can display the status and statistics related to all content collection tasks together, and may classify each status by customizable groups such as in-process 606 , non-critical 608 , critical 610 , and all errors 612 .",
"The dashboard 602 A can include a filterable document search field 604 , and can also include linked fields within each error entry that provide access to additional information about content collection tasks.",
"Accessing one of the task entries through dashboard 602 A and/or searching for particular tasks may link to a corresponding task specific dashboard 602 B as shown in FIG. 6B .",
"The task specific dashboard 602 B can include information regarding the status of each document within the corresponding task.",
"For example, error entries 612 identify error information pertaining to individual content collection tasks.",
"Within each error entry 612 , additional information regarding each error by accessing a designated link associated with the number of errors for the entry.",
"Additional support notes may also be accessed through a designated link corresponding to each entry.",
"The status of the errors may be editable by accessing corresponding editing links following correction by support staff.",
"While not shown in FIG. 6B , the dashboard 602 B can also include tallies including information regarding all content collection tasks.",
"In some embodiments, support personnel may also bulk modify the error status of jobs in the database when a large number of jobs have the same error.",
"The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein.",
"A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine.",
"A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.",
"In one or more example embodiments, the functions and methods described may be implemented in hardware, software, or firmware executed on a processor, or any combination thereof.",
"If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium or memory.",
"Computer-readable media include both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program.",
"A storage medium may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer.",
"By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include non-transitory computer-readable media including RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer.",
"A computer-readable medium can include a communication signal path.",
"For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium.",
"The system may include various modules as discussed above.",
"As can be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, each of the modules may include one or more of a variety of sub routines, procedures, definitional statements and macros.",
"Each of the modules may be separately compiled and linked into a single executable program.",
"Therefore, the description of each of the modules is used for convenience to describe the functionality of the disclosed embodiments.",
"Thus, the processes that are undergone by each of the modules may be redistributed to one of the other modules, combined together in a single module, or made available in, for example, a shareable dynamic link library.",
"The system may be used in connection with various operating systems such as Linux®, UNIX® or Microsoft Windows®.",
"The system may be written in any conventional programming language such as C, C++, BASIC, Pascal, or Java, and ran under a conventional operating system.",
"The system may also be written using interpreted languages such as Visual Basic (VB.",
"NET), Perl, Python or Ruby.",
"It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the described technology.",
"Such modifications and changes are intended to fall within the scope of the embodiments that are described.",
"It will also be appreciated by those of skill in the art that features included in one embodiment are interchangeable with other embodiments;",
"and that one or more features from a depicted embodiment can be included with other depicted embodiments in any combination.",
"For example, any of the various components described herein and/or depicted in the figures may be combined, interchanged, or excluded from other embodiments."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a pressure fluid motor such as a rotary vane type motor which is provided with a flow sensing speed control device for throttling the flow of pressure fluid in the motive fluid exhaust passage.
2. Background
In the art of pressure fluid motors there are many applications wherein the motor is subject to a sudden reduction in its driven load or the motor may, while being supplied with motive fluid, be decoupled from the load either intentionally or inadvertently. In such instances it is desirable to be able to limit motor speed to prevent damage to the motor and/or the load which would result from an overspeed condition. Several inventions have been developed in the art of air and gas motor governors or speed control mechanisms including, for example, mechanisms which utilize centrifugal flyweights or the so called flyball governor principle. Although these devices are widely used, they are mechanically complicated and expensive and are not easily adapted to some types of fluid motors. Other types of controls for pressure fluid motors are adapted to sense a pressure differential across an orifice or restriction in the fluid flow path. These types of controls are subject to unstable operating characteristics and are susceptible to malfunction due to contaminants in the working fluid.
Certain types of air and gas motors, for example, also are adapted for reversible operation wherein dual motive fluid inlet ports are provided for introducing pressure gas into the working chambers of the motor to selectively vary the direction of rotation of the motor. In reversible rotary vane type fluid motors, in particular, the alternate fluid inlet port can be used as a secondary exhaust port when the motor is being rotated in one direction, and the port function can be reversed to effect reversal in the direction of rotation of the motor. In motors having dual inlet ports wherein one port functions as an auxiliary exhaust port, depending on the direction of rotation, it has been determined that the flow of fluid exiting the motor through the auxiliary exhaust port may be sensed to effect control of motor speed such as by throttling the exhaust fluid flow through the main or primary exhaust port. This method of motor speed control has been discovered to be effective and relatively uncomplicated and does not preclude the use of the motor as a bi-directional or reversible motor.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an improved speed control and motive fluid flow control mechanism for a pressure fluid operated motor wherein flow of fluid through an exhaust port is sensed to effect operation of motive fluid throttling valve means to limit motor speed to a predetermined maximum.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided an overspeed control mechanism for an air or gas motor comprising a throttling valve interposed in the motor primary exhaust fluid passage, which valve is operably connected to a fluid flow sensing device. The flow sensing device is adapted to sense motor exhaust fluid flow to effect progressive closing of the throttling valve to limit fluid flow through the motor, and therefore also limit motor speed. In a preferred embodiment of the invention fluid flowing through a secondary or auxiliary exhaust port is sensed to effect operation of the throttling valve.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a fluid flow sensing throttling control mechanism for throttling the exhaust fluid flow in a reversible type positive displacement air or gas motor to limit motor speed by throttling a major portion of exhaust fluid flow in response to sensing increased flow of exhaust fluid through a secondary fluid exhaust port. The flow sensing mechanism preferably comprises a movable vane member which responds to a force exerted thereon by fluid flowing through the secondary exhaust port to actuate an exhaust flow throttling valve through means interconnecting the vane and the throttling valve. The flow sensing vane is preferably disposed in an exhaust passage in communication with the auxiliary or secondary exhaust port. The connection between the flow sensing vane and the exhaust fluid throttling valve comprises a unique linkage including a resilient biasing member for biasing the throttling valve and flow sensing vane in a predetermined position.
In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention there is provided a speed limiting control for a positive displacement rotary vane type motor wherein an auxiliary or secondary exhaust port is provided with a flow sensing element which is mechanically interconnected with an exhaust fluid flow throttling valve. The flow sensing element is adapted to respond to increased exhaust fluid flow, which is proportional to motor speed, to progressively throttle the primary exhaust fluid flow from the motor expansible chambers. Further in accordance with the present invention a rotary vane type air or gas motor is provided with dual motive fluid inlet ports, one of which is modified to operate as an auxiliary or secondary exhaust port and which is provided with flow sensing means for throttling the flow of motive fluid through the motor to limit motor speed.
Those skilled in the art will recognize the abovedescribed features and advantages of the present invention as well as other superior aspects thereof upon reading the detailed description which follows in conjunction with the drawing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a positive displacement pressure fluid motor including the speed limiting control mechanism of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the main cylinder housing of the motor illustrated in FIG. 1 showing the speed limiting flow sensing vane, exhaust throttling valve and associated operating linkage;
FIG. 3 is a section view taken substantially along the line 3--3 of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the flow sensing and throttling valve mechanism and its associated linkage.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a positive displacement pressure fluid motor, generally designated by the numeral 10. The motor 10 includes a main housing or cylinder 12 and opposed end covers 14 and 16. The end cover 16 is adapted to enclose and support a reduction gear train comprising gears 18 and 20 for transmitting motor output torque by way of an output shaft 19 to a shaft 21 connected to a driven load comprising, for example, a hydraulic pump 22. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be adapted for use with pressure fluid air or gas motors or motors operating on other working fluids and connected to a variety of driven loads. However, the present invention is also particularly adapted for use in conjunction with a positive displacement rotary vane type motor such as the motor 10.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 also, the cylinder housing 12 is provided with an elongated generally cylindrical bore 24, in which is disposed a generally cylindrical rotor 26. The rotor 26 is mounted for rotation in the bore 24 about an axis 28 which is eccentric to the central axis 29 of the bore 24. As indicated in FIGS. 2 and 3, in the specific embodiment of the motor 10 illustrated the housing 12 includes a cylinder insert or liner 25 defining the bore 24 and providing a replaceable wear surface.
Referring particularly to FIG. 3, the rotor 26 is mounted in the housing 12 by suitable bearings, not shown, disposed in the end covers 14 and 16 and the rotor is adapted for rotation about axis 28. The rotor 26 is provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart, radially slidable vanes 30 disposed in respective radially extending slots 32 formed in the rotor. The diameter of the rotor 26 is dimensioned to be such that a very small clearance exists between the periphery of the rotor 26 and the bore 24 as indicated at 34 in FIG. 3 to form a seal point for a series of expansible chambers formed between adjacent ones of the vanes 30, the bore 24 and the periphery of the rotor 26. The expansible chambers are designated by the numerals 38, 40, 42, 44 and 46 for sake of description with regard to FIG. 3. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the chambers 38, 40, 42, 44, and 46 expand and contract as the rotor 26 rotates in the bore 24 to permit expansion to pressure fluid to drive the rotor and its associated output shaft 19.
The cylinder 12 is provided with a fluid inlet passage 48, a primary exhaust or outlet passage 50 and a secondary exhaust or outlet passage 52 all formed in the housing 12 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The passages 48, 50 and 52 open into the bore 24 at respective ports 49, 51, and 53 formed in the liner 25. The primary exhaust port 51 may comprise a plurality of axially spaced apart slots in the liner 25, as indicated in FIG. 2, and which slots open into an enlarged chamber forming a portion of the passage 50. The ports 49 and 53 are disposed on opposite sides of the seal point 34. The auxiliary or secondary exhaust port 53 may be utilized as a motive fluid inlet port if it is desired to provide for reversible operation of the motor 10. In the configuration of the motor 10 illustrated in the drawing, the direction of the rotation of the rotor 26 is as indicated by the arrow 54 in FIG. 3. The fluid inlet passage 48 and the secondary exhaust passage 52 are formed in a boss 56 forming part of the housing 12 and having a flange or surface 58. Suitable conduits, not shown, may be connected to the boss 56 for conducting pressure fluid to the inlet passage 48 and for conducting secondary exhaust fluid flow from the passage 52 to a suitable discharge point, also not shown.
The housing 12 is also provided with a boss 62 defining the exhaust passage 50 and including a flange or mounting surface 64 for supporting a housing 66 for an extension exhaust passage 68. A butterfly type valve closure member 70 is suitably disposed in the passage 68 for throttling the flow of the major portion of motor exhaust fluid leaving the expansible chambers of the motor 10 by way of the exhaust passage 50. The valve closure member 70 is supported on a rotatable shaft 72 for rotation in the passage 68 to progressively throttle fluid flow through the passage and through the motor 10. The shaft 72 is suitably journalled in bearing means 73 provided in the housing 66.
Referring particularly to FIGS. 2 and 4, the shaft 72 is suitably connected to a crank arm 74 for rotation therewith. The crank arm 74 is pivotally connected to a link 76 at pivot means 78. The link 76 is connected at its opposite end by pivot means 80 to a crank arm 82. The crank arm 82 is connected for rotation with a shaft 84 suitably journalled in bearing means 85 in the boss 56, as indicated in FIG. 3. The shaft 84 projects through the auxiliary or secondary exhaust passage 52 and is provided with flow sensing means comprising a vane 86 interposed in the passage 52. The vane 86 is suitably fixed to the shaft 84 for rotation with the shaft. The vane 86 projects substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the shaft 84 across the passage 52 and includes a pressure surface 87 adapted to be impinged by fluid flow through the passage 52. The linkage comprising the shaft 72, crank arm 74, link 76, crank arm 82 and projecting portion of shaft 84 may be disposed in a suitable enclosure, generally designated by the numeral 88, as indicated by the phantom lines in FIG. 3.
Referring particularly to FIG. 4, the crank arm 74, which is pivotable with respect to the link 76, is also interconnected with the link 76 by resilient biasing means comprising a coil spring 90 having opposed end portions connected to respective trunnions 92 and 94 projecting from the link 76 and the crank arm 74, respectively. The coil spring 90 is interconnected between the crank arm 74 and the link 76 in such a way as to create a moment tending to rotate the crank arm 82 so that the vane 86 is positioned substantially normal to the direction of flow of fluid through the exhaust passage 52 and the valve closure member 70 presents minimum resistance to fluid flow in passage 50.
In the position indicated by the solid lines in FIG. 4, the valve closure member 70 is disposed in the open position presenting a minimum resistance to flow of fluid through the primary exhaust fluid flow passage comprising the port 51, passage 50 and the passage 68. However, in response to increased flow of fluid through the auxiliary exhaust port 53 and the passage 52, the vane 86 tends to deflect toward the position indicated by the phantom lines in FIG. 4. Rotation or deflection of vane 86 rotates the crank arm 82 in the direction of the arrow 99 in FIG. 4, which rotation results in movement of the link 76 and the crank arm 74 to rotate the valve closure member 70 to the position indicated by the phantom lines in FIG. 4 to effect throttling of the flow of fluid through the motor 10. As shown in FIG. 4, the coil spring 90 may be connected at one end to the crank arm 74 at an alternate trunnion 94a and the opposite end of the coil spring may be connected to alternate trunnions 92a or 92b on the link 76. This alternate selection of connection points for the coil spring 90 will permit increasing or decreasing the initial tension in the spring whereby the fluid flow through the auxiliary exhaust passage 52 required to rotate the valve closure member toward a closed position may be selectively varied.
In the operation of the motor 10, pressure fluid such as compressed air or gas is admitted to the interior working chambers of the motor through the inlet passage 48 and port 49 to expand and act against the vanes 30 in a known manner to rotate the rotor 26 in the direction of the arrow 54 in FIG. 3. As the chambers 38 and 40, for example, progressively increase in volume, upon rotation of the rotor 26, the trapped gas in each chamber expands to transfer energy to driving the rotor and its driven load. As the leading vane 30 defining one of the expansible chambers, such as chamber 42, moves across the ports 51 the motive air or gas is exhausted from the respective expansible chamber and flows through the exhaust passages 50 and 68. When the valve closure member 70 is in the open position, indicated by the solid lines in FIG. 4, the exhaust fluid flow is substantially unrestricted. As the trailing vane 30 of a particular expansible chamber passes a control edge of the ports 51 in the direction of rotation of the rotor 26 a certain amount of exhaust fluid is trapped in the respective expansible chamber until the chamber moves into a position to open to the exhaust port 53. Accordingly, fluid which is not exhausted through the primary exhaust ports 51 is exhausted through the secondary port 53 prior to reduction of the expansible chambers to essentially zero as the seal point 34 is passed.
The quantity of exhaust fluid is, of course, proportional to the speed of the rotor 26 and, accordingly, the flow of residual exhaust fluid through the auxiliary or secondary exhaust port 53, is also proportional to the speed of the rotor. With increasing flow through the passage 52 the vane 86 tends to be deflected upward to the position shown by the phantom lines in FIG. 4. As previously described, rotation of the vane 86 toward the alternate position indicated in FIG. 4 will effect rotation of the shaft 72 and the valve closure member 70 to progressively throttle the flow of fluid through the exhaust port 50 thereby limiting the speed of the rotor 26. The biasing spring 90 will oppose rotation of the vane 86 in the direction of arrow 99. Depending on the force-deflection characteristic of the spring 90 the force exerted on the vane 86 which is necessary to substantially close valve 70 can be selectively controlled. The spring 90 will, in effect, allow the valve 70 to close until a balanced force condition exists corresponding to a selected maximum fluid flow rate through the motor 10. Accordingly, depending on the size of the vane 86, the tension in the spring 90, and the configuration of the valve closure member 70, the flow sensing vane 86 together with the associated linkage and the closure member 70 serves as a governor or a speed limiting device to prevent damaging overspeeding of the motor 10 and its driven load. The flow sensing vane 86 and the associated mechanism interconnecting the vane with valve closure member 70 comprises a relatively uncomplicated but effective speed limiting device or governor for limiting the motive fluid flow and the rotor speed of the fluid driven motor 10.
The flow sensing vane 86 and the associated mechanism including the valve closure member 70, shaft 72, arm 74, link 76, arm 82 and shaft 84 are also particularly adapted for conversion of a reversible type rotary vane air or gas motor to a motor having a speed limiting governor mechanism. The motor 10, for example, may be utilized as a reversible type motor by connecting either the passage 48 or the passage 52 to a source of pressure air or gas while the other of these passages is utilized as a secondary or auxiliary exhaust passage. The provision of one or the other of ports 49 or 53 as a secondary exhaust port is advantageous due to the configuration of the primary exhaust port 51 which is limited in size and thereby would cause some recompression of fluid, such as the fluid trapped in chambers 44 and 46, without the provision of the secondary exhaust port.
Moreover, if desired, a flow sensing vane arrangement could be provided in the passage 48 with associated linkage similar to that described herein connected to the opposite end of an extended version of the shaft 72 for operation of the vane 70 to throttle exhaust fluid flow. The flow sensing vanes associated with each of the passages 48 and 52 could be provided with lost motion couplings between the vanes and their respective pivot shafts so that only flow of fluid out through the respective passages 48 and 52, when operating as secondary exhaust passages, would be effective to rotate the vanes and their respective pivot shafts together.
The provision of a speed limiting device which functions to control fluid flow through the motor 10 by throttling exhaust fluid flow is also advantageous with respect to its ability to progressively control speed in a more positive and precise manner than may be effected by throttling the flow of high pressure motive inlet fluid at or upstream of the inlet ports. Speed control of positive displacement rotary type motors such as rotary vane, intermeshing gear and lobe type and helical screw type motors in particular is more precise with exhaust fluid flow throttling as compared with throttling high pressure fluid upstream of the motor inlet port. The throttling of exhaust fluid flow also does not cause expansion of fluid within the motor itself and the problems associated therewith including freezing of water vapor resulting from over expansion of a working fluid such as compressed air.
Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail herein those skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications and substitutions may be made to the specific structure disclosed without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as recited in the appended claims. | A rotary vane air or gas motor is provided with a primary exhaust port having an exhaust fluid throttling valve therein for controlling motor speed. The motor includes a secondary exhaust port for discharging exhaust fluid flow from the motor expansible chambers after cutoff of the primary exhaust port. A flow sensing vane member is movably disposed in a flow passage in communication with the secondary exhaust port and is responsive to flow variations to actuate the exhaust fluid throttling valve by connecting linkage. The interconnected exhaust fluid throttling valve and flow sensing vane function as a motor speed limiting governor. | Identify the most important claim in the given context and summarize it | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention The present invention pertains to a pressure fluid motor such as a rotary vane type motor which is provided with a flow sensing speed control device for throttling the flow of pressure fluid in the motive fluid exhaust passage.",
"Background In the art of pressure fluid motors there are many applications wherein the motor is subject to a sudden reduction in its driven load or the motor may, while being supplied with motive fluid, be decoupled from the load either intentionally or inadvertently.",
"In such instances it is desirable to be able to limit motor speed to prevent damage to the motor and/or the load which would result from an overspeed condition.",
"Several inventions have been developed in the art of air and gas motor governors or speed control mechanisms including, for example, mechanisms which utilize centrifugal flyweights or the so called flyball governor principle.",
"Although these devices are widely used, they are mechanically complicated and expensive and are not easily adapted to some types of fluid motors.",
"Other types of controls for pressure fluid motors are adapted to sense a pressure differential across an orifice or restriction in the fluid flow path.",
"These types of controls are subject to unstable operating characteristics and are susceptible to malfunction due to contaminants in the working fluid.",
"Certain types of air and gas motors, for example, also are adapted for reversible operation wherein dual motive fluid inlet ports are provided for introducing pressure gas into the working chambers of the motor to selectively vary the direction of rotation of the motor.",
"In reversible rotary vane type fluid motors, in particular, the alternate fluid inlet port can be used as a secondary exhaust port when the motor is being rotated in one direction, and the port function can be reversed to effect reversal in the direction of rotation of the motor.",
"In motors having dual inlet ports wherein one port functions as an auxiliary exhaust port, depending on the direction of rotation, it has been determined that the flow of fluid exiting the motor through the auxiliary exhaust port may be sensed to effect control of motor speed such as by throttling the exhaust fluid flow through the main or primary exhaust port.",
"This method of motor speed control has been discovered to be effective and relatively uncomplicated and does not preclude the use of the motor as a bi-directional or reversible motor.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an improved speed control and motive fluid flow control mechanism for a pressure fluid operated motor wherein flow of fluid through an exhaust port is sensed to effect operation of motive fluid throttling valve means to limit motor speed to a predetermined maximum.",
"In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided an overspeed control mechanism for an air or gas motor comprising a throttling valve interposed in the motor primary exhaust fluid passage, which valve is operably connected to a fluid flow sensing device.",
"The flow sensing device is adapted to sense motor exhaust fluid flow to effect progressive closing of the throttling valve to limit fluid flow through the motor, and therefore also limit motor speed.",
"In a preferred embodiment of the invention fluid flowing through a secondary or auxiliary exhaust port is sensed to effect operation of the throttling valve.",
"In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a fluid flow sensing throttling control mechanism for throttling the exhaust fluid flow in a reversible type positive displacement air or gas motor to limit motor speed by throttling a major portion of exhaust fluid flow in response to sensing increased flow of exhaust fluid through a secondary fluid exhaust port.",
"The flow sensing mechanism preferably comprises a movable vane member which responds to a force exerted thereon by fluid flowing through the secondary exhaust port to actuate an exhaust flow throttling valve through means interconnecting the vane and the throttling valve.",
"The flow sensing vane is preferably disposed in an exhaust passage in communication with the auxiliary or secondary exhaust port.",
"The connection between the flow sensing vane and the exhaust fluid throttling valve comprises a unique linkage including a resilient biasing member for biasing the throttling valve and flow sensing vane in a predetermined position.",
"In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention there is provided a speed limiting control for a positive displacement rotary vane type motor wherein an auxiliary or secondary exhaust port is provided with a flow sensing element which is mechanically interconnected with an exhaust fluid flow throttling valve.",
"The flow sensing element is adapted to respond to increased exhaust fluid flow, which is proportional to motor speed, to progressively throttle the primary exhaust fluid flow from the motor expansible chambers.",
"Further in accordance with the present invention a rotary vane type air or gas motor is provided with dual motive fluid inlet ports, one of which is modified to operate as an auxiliary or secondary exhaust port and which is provided with flow sensing means for throttling the flow of motive fluid through the motor to limit motor speed.",
"Those skilled in the art will recognize the abovedescribed features and advantages of the present invention as well as other superior aspects thereof upon reading the detailed description which follows in conjunction with the drawing.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a positive displacement pressure fluid motor including the speed limiting control mechanism of the present invention;",
"FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the main cylinder housing of the motor illustrated in FIG. 1 showing the speed limiting flow sensing vane, exhaust throttling valve and associated operating linkage;",
"FIG. 3 is a section view taken substantially along the line 3--3 of FIG. 1;",
"and FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the flow sensing and throttling valve mechanism and its associated linkage.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a positive displacement pressure fluid motor, generally designated by the numeral 10.",
"The motor 10 includes a main housing or cylinder 12 and opposed end covers 14 and 16.",
"The end cover 16 is adapted to enclose and support a reduction gear train comprising gears 18 and 20 for transmitting motor output torque by way of an output shaft 19 to a shaft 21 connected to a driven load comprising, for example, a hydraulic pump 22.",
"Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be adapted for use with pressure fluid air or gas motors or motors operating on other working fluids and connected to a variety of driven loads.",
"However, the present invention is also particularly adapted for use in conjunction with a positive displacement rotary vane type motor such as the motor 10.",
"Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 also, the cylinder housing 12 is provided with an elongated generally cylindrical bore 24, in which is disposed a generally cylindrical rotor 26.",
"The rotor 26 is mounted for rotation in the bore 24 about an axis 28 which is eccentric to the central axis 29 of the bore 24.",
"As indicated in FIGS. 2 and 3, in the specific embodiment of the motor 10 illustrated the housing 12 includes a cylinder insert or liner 25 defining the bore 24 and providing a replaceable wear surface.",
"Referring particularly to FIG. 3, the rotor 26 is mounted in the housing 12 by suitable bearings, not shown, disposed in the end covers 14 and 16 and the rotor is adapted for rotation about axis 28.",
"The rotor 26 is provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart, radially slidable vanes 30 disposed in respective radially extending slots 32 formed in the rotor.",
"The diameter of the rotor 26 is dimensioned to be such that a very small clearance exists between the periphery of the rotor 26 and the bore 24 as indicated at 34 in FIG. 3 to form a seal point for a series of expansible chambers formed between adjacent ones of the vanes 30, the bore 24 and the periphery of the rotor 26.",
"The expansible chambers are designated by the numerals 38, 40, 42, 44 and 46 for sake of description with regard to FIG. 3. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the chambers 38, 40, 42, 44, and 46 expand and contract as the rotor 26 rotates in the bore 24 to permit expansion to pressure fluid to drive the rotor and its associated output shaft 19.",
"The cylinder 12 is provided with a fluid inlet passage 48, a primary exhaust or outlet passage 50 and a secondary exhaust or outlet passage 52 all formed in the housing 12 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.",
"The passages 48, 50 and 52 open into the bore 24 at respective ports 49, 51, and 53 formed in the liner 25.",
"The primary exhaust port 51 may comprise a plurality of axially spaced apart slots in the liner 25, as indicated in FIG. 2, and which slots open into an enlarged chamber forming a portion of the passage 50.",
"The ports 49 and 53 are disposed on opposite sides of the seal point 34.",
"The auxiliary or secondary exhaust port 53 may be utilized as a motive fluid inlet port if it is desired to provide for reversible operation of the motor 10.",
"In the configuration of the motor 10 illustrated in the drawing, the direction of the rotation of the rotor 26 is as indicated by the arrow 54 in FIG. 3. The fluid inlet passage 48 and the secondary exhaust passage 52 are formed in a boss 56 forming part of the housing 12 and having a flange or surface 58.",
"Suitable conduits, not shown, may be connected to the boss 56 for conducting pressure fluid to the inlet passage 48 and for conducting secondary exhaust fluid flow from the passage 52 to a suitable discharge point, also not shown.",
"The housing 12 is also provided with a boss 62 defining the exhaust passage 50 and including a flange or mounting surface 64 for supporting a housing 66 for an extension exhaust passage 68.",
"A butterfly type valve closure member 70 is suitably disposed in the passage 68 for throttling the flow of the major portion of motor exhaust fluid leaving the expansible chambers of the motor 10 by way of the exhaust passage 50.",
"The valve closure member 70 is supported on a rotatable shaft 72 for rotation in the passage 68 to progressively throttle fluid flow through the passage and through the motor 10.",
"The shaft 72 is suitably journalled in bearing means 73 provided in the housing 66.",
"Referring particularly to FIGS. 2 and 4, the shaft 72 is suitably connected to a crank arm 74 for rotation therewith.",
"The crank arm 74 is pivotally connected to a link 76 at pivot means 78.",
"The link 76 is connected at its opposite end by pivot means 80 to a crank arm 82.",
"The crank arm 82 is connected for rotation with a shaft 84 suitably journalled in bearing means 85 in the boss 56, as indicated in FIG. 3. The shaft 84 projects through the auxiliary or secondary exhaust passage 52 and is provided with flow sensing means comprising a vane 86 interposed in the passage 52.",
"The vane 86 is suitably fixed to the shaft 84 for rotation with the shaft.",
"The vane 86 projects substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the shaft 84 across the passage 52 and includes a pressure surface 87 adapted to be impinged by fluid flow through the passage 52.",
"The linkage comprising the shaft 72, crank arm 74, link 76, crank arm 82 and projecting portion of shaft 84 may be disposed in a suitable enclosure, generally designated by the numeral 88, as indicated by the phantom lines in FIG. 3. Referring particularly to FIG. 4, the crank arm 74, which is pivotable with respect to the link 76, is also interconnected with the link 76 by resilient biasing means comprising a coil spring 90 having opposed end portions connected to respective trunnions 92 and 94 projecting from the link 76 and the crank arm 74, respectively.",
"The coil spring 90 is interconnected between the crank arm 74 and the link 76 in such a way as to create a moment tending to rotate the crank arm 82 so that the vane 86 is positioned substantially normal to the direction of flow of fluid through the exhaust passage 52 and the valve closure member 70 presents minimum resistance to fluid flow in passage 50.",
"In the position indicated by the solid lines in FIG. 4, the valve closure member 70 is disposed in the open position presenting a minimum resistance to flow of fluid through the primary exhaust fluid flow passage comprising the port 51, passage 50 and the passage 68.",
"However, in response to increased flow of fluid through the auxiliary exhaust port 53 and the passage 52, the vane 86 tends to deflect toward the position indicated by the phantom lines in FIG. 4. Rotation or deflection of vane 86 rotates the crank arm 82 in the direction of the arrow 99 in FIG. 4, which rotation results in movement of the link 76 and the crank arm 74 to rotate the valve closure member 70 to the position indicated by the phantom lines in FIG. 4 to effect throttling of the flow of fluid through the motor 10.",
"As shown in FIG. 4, the coil spring 90 may be connected at one end to the crank arm 74 at an alternate trunnion 94a and the opposite end of the coil spring may be connected to alternate trunnions 92a or 92b on the link 76.",
"This alternate selection of connection points for the coil spring 90 will permit increasing or decreasing the initial tension in the spring whereby the fluid flow through the auxiliary exhaust passage 52 required to rotate the valve closure member toward a closed position may be selectively varied.",
"In the operation of the motor 10, pressure fluid such as compressed air or gas is admitted to the interior working chambers of the motor through the inlet passage 48 and port 49 to expand and act against the vanes 30 in a known manner to rotate the rotor 26 in the direction of the arrow 54 in FIG. 3. As the chambers 38 and 40, for example, progressively increase in volume, upon rotation of the rotor 26, the trapped gas in each chamber expands to transfer energy to driving the rotor and its driven load.",
"As the leading vane 30 defining one of the expansible chambers, such as chamber 42, moves across the ports 51 the motive air or gas is exhausted from the respective expansible chamber and flows through the exhaust passages 50 and 68.",
"When the valve closure member 70 is in the open position, indicated by the solid lines in FIG. 4, the exhaust fluid flow is substantially unrestricted.",
"As the trailing vane 30 of a particular expansible chamber passes a control edge of the ports 51 in the direction of rotation of the rotor 26 a certain amount of exhaust fluid is trapped in the respective expansible chamber until the chamber moves into a position to open to the exhaust port 53.",
"Accordingly, fluid which is not exhausted through the primary exhaust ports 51 is exhausted through the secondary port 53 prior to reduction of the expansible chambers to essentially zero as the seal point 34 is passed.",
"The quantity of exhaust fluid is, of course, proportional to the speed of the rotor 26 and, accordingly, the flow of residual exhaust fluid through the auxiliary or secondary exhaust port 53, is also proportional to the speed of the rotor.",
"With increasing flow through the passage 52 the vane 86 tends to be deflected upward to the position shown by the phantom lines in FIG. 4. As previously described, rotation of the vane 86 toward the alternate position indicated in FIG. 4 will effect rotation of the shaft 72 and the valve closure member 70 to progressively throttle the flow of fluid through the exhaust port 50 thereby limiting the speed of the rotor 26.",
"The biasing spring 90 will oppose rotation of the vane 86 in the direction of arrow 99.",
"Depending on the force-deflection characteristic of the spring 90 the force exerted on the vane 86 which is necessary to substantially close valve 70 can be selectively controlled.",
"The spring 90 will, in effect, allow the valve 70 to close until a balanced force condition exists corresponding to a selected maximum fluid flow rate through the motor 10.",
"Accordingly, depending on the size of the vane 86, the tension in the spring 90, and the configuration of the valve closure member 70, the flow sensing vane 86 together with the associated linkage and the closure member 70 serves as a governor or a speed limiting device to prevent damaging overspeeding of the motor 10 and its driven load.",
"The flow sensing vane 86 and the associated mechanism interconnecting the vane with valve closure member 70 comprises a relatively uncomplicated but effective speed limiting device or governor for limiting the motive fluid flow and the rotor speed of the fluid driven motor 10.",
"The flow sensing vane 86 and the associated mechanism including the valve closure member 70, shaft 72, arm 74, link 76, arm 82 and shaft 84 are also particularly adapted for conversion of a reversible type rotary vane air or gas motor to a motor having a speed limiting governor mechanism.",
"The motor 10, for example, may be utilized as a reversible type motor by connecting either the passage 48 or the passage 52 to a source of pressure air or gas while the other of these passages is utilized as a secondary or auxiliary exhaust passage.",
"The provision of one or the other of ports 49 or 53 as a secondary exhaust port is advantageous due to the configuration of the primary exhaust port 51 which is limited in size and thereby would cause some recompression of fluid, such as the fluid trapped in chambers 44 and 46, without the provision of the secondary exhaust port.",
"Moreover, if desired, a flow sensing vane arrangement could be provided in the passage 48 with associated linkage similar to that described herein connected to the opposite end of an extended version of the shaft 72 for operation of the vane 70 to throttle exhaust fluid flow.",
"The flow sensing vanes associated with each of the passages 48 and 52 could be provided with lost motion couplings between the vanes and their respective pivot shafts so that only flow of fluid out through the respective passages 48 and 52, when operating as secondary exhaust passages, would be effective to rotate the vanes and their respective pivot shafts together.",
"The provision of a speed limiting device which functions to control fluid flow through the motor 10 by throttling exhaust fluid flow is also advantageous with respect to its ability to progressively control speed in a more positive and precise manner than may be effected by throttling the flow of high pressure motive inlet fluid at or upstream of the inlet ports.",
"Speed control of positive displacement rotary type motors such as rotary vane, intermeshing gear and lobe type and helical screw type motors in particular is more precise with exhaust fluid flow throttling as compared with throttling high pressure fluid upstream of the motor inlet port.",
"The throttling of exhaust fluid flow also does not cause expansion of fluid within the motor itself and the problems associated therewith including freezing of water vapor resulting from over expansion of a working fluid such as compressed air.",
"Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail herein those skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications and substitutions may be made to the specific structure disclosed without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as recited in the appended claims."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates generally to semiconductor devices, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for performing diffusion on a device such as a spherical-shaped semiconductor diode.
Conventional integrated circuits, or “chips,” are formed from a flat surface semiconductor wafer. The semiconductor wafer is first manufactured in a semiconductor material manufacturing facility and is then provided to a fabrication facility. At the latter facility, several layers are processed onto the semiconductor wafer surface. Once completed, the wafer is then cut into one or more chips and assembled into packages. Although the processed chip includes several layers fabricated thereon, the chip still remains relatively flat.
Manufacturing the wafers requires creating rod-form polycrystalline semiconductor material; precisely cutting ingots from the semiconductor rods; cleaning and drying the cut ingots; manufacturing a large single crystal from the ingots by melting them in a quartz crucible; grinding, etching, and cleaning the surface of the crystal; cutting, lapping and polishing wafers from the crystal; and heat processing the wafers. Moreover, the wafers produced by the above process typically have many defects. These defects can be attributed to the difficulty in making a single, highly pure crystal due to the cutting, grinding and cleaning processes as well as impurities associated with containers used in forming the crystals. These defects become more and more prevalent as the integrated circuits formed on these wafers contain smaller and smaller dimensions.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,955,776, which is hereby incorporated by reference, a method and apparatus for manufacturing spherical-shaped semiconductor integrated circuit devices is disclosed. Although certain systems and methods for performing various processing operations are discussed in the above-referenced patent, it is desired to further improve on the operations. For example, in making a p-n junction diode, a first type (e.g. n-type) outer layer is diffused onto a second type (e.g., p-type) spherical shaped semiconductor substrate. It is desired that both the outer layer and the inner substrate are maintained at an appropriate shape, thickness, and diffusion concentration.
U.S. Pat. Ser. Nos. 09/490,650 and 09/489,782, which are hereby incorporated by reference, provide improved methods for doping material on a spherical shaped substrate in a non-contact environment. These methods can be used to make spherical p-n junction diodes for solar cell applications. It is desired, however, to make uniform sized spherical p-n diodes in a continuous operation (e.g., a single step).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention, accordingly, provides a system and method for performing diffusion on a three-dimensional substrate. In one embodiment, the system includes a furnace for providing a doped (e.g., p-type) molten semiconductor material and a dropper for converting the molten semiconductor material into a series of uniformly sized-droplets. The droplets are then provided to a first tube where they solidify into semiconductor crystals.
The semiconductor crystals are then heated for a predetermined period of time until an outer layer of the semiconductor crystals is melted. The melted outer layer can be doped (e.g., n-type) using liquid state diffusion, and then allowed to re-solidify. As a result, a plurality of spherical shaped p-n devices is created.
In some embodiments, the semiconductor crystals are polished before they are melted. The polishing helps to remove deformities and better insure that the outer layer is of a desired thickness.
In some embodiments, the dropper utilizes a vibrating nozzle.
One embodiment of the method for making a p-n junction on a three-dimensional substrate includes forming a solid spherical shaped semiconductor crystal of a first dopant type. An outer layer of the spherical shaped semiconductor crystal is then melted to a predetermined thickness. A second dopant type can then be provided to the melted outer layer to be diffused into the outer layer. As a result, the doped and melted outer layer can be solidified to form the a p-n junction device.
Therefore, what is provided is an improved system and method for performing diffusion on a three-dimensional substrate. In the present example, the system and method can be used to make spherical shaped diodes with a uniform layer thickness in a single step operation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates a side, cut-away view of a processor according to one embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is an extended view of the processor of FIG. 1 .
FIGS. 3 a - 3 d illustrate different stages of a semiconductor device being processed by the processor of FIGS. 1 and 2 .
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present disclosure relates to semiconductor processing. It is understood that the following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of the invention. Specific examples of components, sizes, and arrangements are described below to simplify the present disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to limit the invention from that described in the claims.
Referring to FIG. 1, the reference numeral 10 designates, in general, one embodiment of a processor for forming spherical shaped semiconductor substrates. Formation of the substrates may be facilitated in different manners by varying parameters described herein, including repetitive processing through portions of the processor 10 .
The processor 10 can be separated into three sections: an input section 12 , a main furnace section 14 , and a drop section 16 . The input section 12 includes a receiver tube 18 for receiving processing materials, such as granules, gases and the like. The receiver tube 18 is about 2 centimeters in diameter and registers with the main furnace section 14 .
An enclosure 20 surrounds the main furnace section 14 and supports a general environment for processing. The enclosure is filled with an insulative material 22 to contain the relatively high temperatures produced in the main furnace section. The enclosure 20 and insulative material 22 provide an inert atmosphere, which prevents burnout of the insulation material 22 and other components stored therein. Disposed within the insulative material is a crucible 24 . The crucible serves to hold molten semiconductor material, yet not react with the material.
A lid 26 of the crucible 24 connects to the receiver tube 18 . In the present embodiment, the lid is threadably engaged to the receiver tube to facilitate removal and separation of the various components. The lid 26 further maintains the inert atmosphere inside the enclosure. Alternative embodiments may have other types of lids that either temporarily or permanently secure the receiver tube 18 to the crucible 24 . The receiver tube 18 can either batch feed or continuously feed raw semiconductor material from the crucible 24 . For each type of feeding, a different lid 26 may be required.
Immediately surrounding the outside of the crucible 24 is a furnace 30 . In the present embodiment, the furnace is a fluid-heat type furnace, although other sources of heat may be used. The furnace 30 includes a fluid nozzle 32 through which the fluid may pass. The fluid nozzle 32 further maintains the inert atmosphere inside the enclosure 20 . Although not shown, another device may be used to heat the fluid before it passes through the fluid nozzle 32 . Also, a heat measurement device 34 , such as a thermocouple, is attached to the furnace 30 for monitoring the temperature of the furnace 30 and of the crucible 24 .
The enclosure 20 , along with the crucible 24 , rests-on a support platform 36 . The platform has several apertures to facilitate the various devices and processes herein disclosed. The platform 36 is also able to withstand some of the severe heat that radiates from the furnace 30 while maintaining the inert atmosphere inside the enclosure 20 .
Referring also to FIG. 2, attached to a bottom portion of the crucible 24 , as seen in FIG. 1, is a dropper 40 . The dropper 40 may include a nozzle 50 that injects precise sized droplets of molten semiconductor material from the crucible 24 and into the drop section 16 . In one embodiment, the nozzle 50 is further connected to a vibrating plate 52 connected to a piezo-electric (PZT) vibrator 54 . The vibrating plate 52 can be positioned in several different locations, such as a position 52 a illustrated in FIG. 2 in phantom. The PZT vibrator 54 can be controlled to produce a precise movement, which in turn creates a precise size droplet. Alternatively, or in combination with the nozzle, inert gas may also be applied to facilitate the precise amounts of molten semiconductor material being injected into the drop section 16 .
The drop section 16 may be further divided into a first drop section 16 a; and a second drop section 16 b. The first drop section 16 a includes a long drop tube 62 . For example, the drop tube 62 may be stainless steel with an electro-polished inside finish, about five to ten centimeters in diameter and about ten meters in length. The drop tube 62 may include apertures through which a cooling gas 64 may flow. The cooling gas may also include impurities for doping the semiconductor material to a desired level. In some embodiments, a first heater 66 is placed adjacent to the drop tube 62 . The first heater 66 maintains a temperature below the melting point of the semiconductor material. However, the temperature is high enough to slow the cooling process of the semiconductor material to thereby reduce the number of different crystalline growth directions formed during solidification.
Connected to the first drop section 16 a is the second drop section 16 b, which includes a second heater 70 . The second drop section 16 b may also be stainless steel with an electro-polished inside finish, about five to ten centimeters in diameter and about ten meters in length. The second heater 70 maintains a temperature above the melting point of the semiconductor material. It is understood, however, that in some embodiments, the first heater 66 does not exist. Therefore, in these embodiments, the second heater 70 is the only heater in the drop section 16 .
The second drop section 16 b also includes an inlet 72 for providing a dopant gas. The dopant gas includes impurities for doping semiconductor material in the drop section 16 b.
In some embodiments, the first and second drop sections 16 a, 16 b are connected to form one single drop tube 16 . In other embodiments, the drop sections 16 a, 16 b are separated, and material must be transported from the first drop section to the second.
In some embodiments, a polishing system 80 is provided between the first and second drop sections 16 a, 16 b. For example, the polishing system 80 may be a simple “barreling” type of polisher that roughly polishes the outer surface of a spherical substrate. One such polishing system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,955,776, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
In operation, material 104 is placed into the receiver tube 18 . For the sake of example, the material includes silicon, it being understood that different types of semiconductor material may also be used. The material 104 may also include an inert carrier gas, such as argon, and one or more dopant materials. The material 104 passes through the lid 26 and into the main furnace section 14 . The furnace 30 can produce temperatures of about 1600° C., which far exceed the melting point of silicon (about 1410° C.). This high temperature causes the material 104 to become a molten mass 108 .
Referring also to FIG. 3 a, the nozzle 40 allows droplets 112 of the molten mass to leave the crucible 24 and enter the drop section 16 . The droplets 112 fall down the drop tube 62 . The drop tube will allow the droplets to cool and form a polycrystalline structure. The cooling gases 64 may be, for example, helium, hydrogen, argon, or nitrogen to facilitate the cooling of the droplets. The cooling gases 64 may also be used to control the rate of descent of the droplets 112 .
In some embodiments, the processor 10 controls the rate at which the droplets 112 cool. This may occur by many different methods. For example, the cooling gases 64 may be heated. Also, the drop tube 62 may be heated by the heaters 66 . As a result, the droplets 112 will cool very slowly, thereby forming crystals.
Referring to also to FIG. 3 b, as the droplets 112 approach the bottom portion of the first drop section 16 a, as seen in FIG. 2, the cooled droplets form a solid, spherical shaped crystal substrate 114 . In the present example, the spherical shaped crystal substrate 114 has a diameter of about 1 millimeter. In some embodiments, the substrate 114 is a single crystal, while in other embodiments, the substrate is a polycrystal. The substrate 114 has been doped by one or more of the materials provided in the receiver tube 18 , and/or the cooling gas 64 . For the sake of example, the substrate 114 will be deemed to be doped with P-type material.
It is noted that sometimes, a plurality of deformities, such as spikes 116 , are formed during the cooling process. These spikes 116 can be removed by the polishing system 80 . By removing the spikes, later processing of the device can be more precisely controlled. However, as will become more evident in the following discussion, the spikes 116 may eventually be removed from the substrate 114 by later processing. The substrate 114 (polished or not) is then provided into the second drop section 16 b.
Referring now to FIG. 3 c, the relatively high temperature created by the second heater 70 exceeds the melting point of the semiconductor material. As a result, the substrate, now designated with the reference numeral 118 , has a solid core portion 120 and a melted outer layer 122 . The thickness of the melted outer layer 122 can be precisely controlled by the amount of time the substrate 118 is in the second drop section 16 b and the temperature inside the second drop section. For example, the dopant gas from inlet 72 may serve to float (to control or sustain the descent of) the substrate 118 inside the second drop section 16 b for a predetermined period of time. In another example, the overall length of the second drop section 16 b can be precisely determined to accommodate the desired thickness of the melted outer layer 122 .
Once the melted outer layer 122 is formed, it is susceptible to receive impurities. These impurities can be provided by the dopant gas from the inlet 72 . In continuance of the previous example, the impurities may be ntype, as contrasted with the p-type core portion 120 .
Referring now to FIG. 3 d, once the impurities have been deposited into the melted outer layer 122 , the substrate, now designated with the reference numeral 124 , can be cooled. Once cooled, a solidified outer layer 126 is formed, having a precise and uniform thickness. In the present example, a P-N diode of precise dimension has thereby been formed.
It is understood that several variations may be made in the foregoing. For example, different heating steps may be used in different parts of the processor. Further still, a catcher (not shown) may be included to receive the material and facilitate the heating or cooling process. The catcher may also be used to return the material to a furnace section for additional processing. Other modifications, changes and substitutions are also intended in the foregoing disclosure and in some instances some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention. | A system and method for performing diffusion on a three-dimensional substrate is provided. The system includes a furnace for providing a doped (e.g., p-type) molten semiconductor material and a dropper for converting the molten semiconductor material into a series of uniformly sized droplets. The droplets are then provided to a first tube where they solidify into a semiconductor crystals. The semiconductor crystals are then heated for a predetermined period of time until an outer layer of the semiconductor crystals is melted. The melted outer layer can then be doped (e.g., n-type) and then allowed to re-solidify. As a result, a plurality of spherical shaped p-n devices is created. | Briefly summarize the invention's components and working principles as described in the document. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates generally to semiconductor devices, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for performing diffusion on a device such as a spherical-shaped semiconductor diode.",
"Conventional integrated circuits, or “chips,” are formed from a flat surface semiconductor wafer.",
"The semiconductor wafer is first manufactured in a semiconductor material manufacturing facility and is then provided to a fabrication facility.",
"At the latter facility, several layers are processed onto the semiconductor wafer surface.",
"Once completed, the wafer is then cut into one or more chips and assembled into packages.",
"Although the processed chip includes several layers fabricated thereon, the chip still remains relatively flat.",
"Manufacturing the wafers requires creating rod-form polycrystalline semiconductor material;",
"precisely cutting ingots from the semiconductor rods;",
"cleaning and drying the cut ingots;",
"manufacturing a large single crystal from the ingots by melting them in a quartz crucible;",
"grinding, etching, and cleaning the surface of the crystal;",
"cutting, lapping and polishing wafers from the crystal;",
"and heat processing the wafers.",
"Moreover, the wafers produced by the above process typically have many defects.",
"These defects can be attributed to the difficulty in making a single, highly pure crystal due to the cutting, grinding and cleaning processes as well as impurities associated with containers used in forming the crystals.",
"These defects become more and more prevalent as the integrated circuits formed on these wafers contain smaller and smaller dimensions.",
"In U.S. Pat. No. 5,955,776, which is hereby incorporated by reference, a method and apparatus for manufacturing spherical-shaped semiconductor integrated circuit devices is disclosed.",
"Although certain systems and methods for performing various processing operations are discussed in the above-referenced patent, it is desired to further improve on the operations.",
"For example, in making a p-n junction diode, a first type (e.g. n-type) outer layer is diffused onto a second type (e.g., p-type) spherical shaped semiconductor substrate.",
"It is desired that both the outer layer and the inner substrate are maintained at an appropriate shape, thickness, and diffusion concentration.",
"U.S. Pat. Ser.",
"Nos. 09/490,650 and 09/489,782, which are hereby incorporated by reference, provide improved methods for doping material on a spherical shaped substrate in a non-contact environment.",
"These methods can be used to make spherical p-n junction diodes for solar cell applications.",
"It is desired, however, to make uniform sized spherical p-n diodes in a continuous operation (e.g., a single step).",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention, accordingly, provides a system and method for performing diffusion on a three-dimensional substrate.",
"In one embodiment, the system includes a furnace for providing a doped (e.g., p-type) molten semiconductor material and a dropper for converting the molten semiconductor material into a series of uniformly sized-droplets.",
"The droplets are then provided to a first tube where they solidify into semiconductor crystals.",
"The semiconductor crystals are then heated for a predetermined period of time until an outer layer of the semiconductor crystals is melted.",
"The melted outer layer can be doped (e.g., n-type) using liquid state diffusion, and then allowed to re-solidify.",
"As a result, a plurality of spherical shaped p-n devices is created.",
"In some embodiments, the semiconductor crystals are polished before they are melted.",
"The polishing helps to remove deformities and better insure that the outer layer is of a desired thickness.",
"In some embodiments, the dropper utilizes a vibrating nozzle.",
"One embodiment of the method for making a p-n junction on a three-dimensional substrate includes forming a solid spherical shaped semiconductor crystal of a first dopant type.",
"An outer layer of the spherical shaped semiconductor crystal is then melted to a predetermined thickness.",
"A second dopant type can then be provided to the melted outer layer to be diffused into the outer layer.",
"As a result, the doped and melted outer layer can be solidified to form the a p-n junction device.",
"Therefore, what is provided is an improved system and method for performing diffusion on a three-dimensional substrate.",
"In the present example, the system and method can be used to make spherical shaped diodes with a uniform layer thickness in a single step operation.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 illustrates a side, cut-away view of a processor according to one embodiment of the invention.",
"FIG. 2 is an extended view of the processor of FIG. 1 .",
"FIGS. 3 a - 3 d illustrate different stages of a semiconductor device being processed by the processor of FIGS. 1 and 2 .",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The present disclosure relates to semiconductor processing.",
"It is understood that the following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of the invention.",
"Specific examples of components, sizes, and arrangements are described below to simplify the present disclosure.",
"These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to limit the invention from that described in the claims.",
"Referring to FIG. 1, the reference numeral 10 designates, in general, one embodiment of a processor for forming spherical shaped semiconductor substrates.",
"Formation of the substrates may be facilitated in different manners by varying parameters described herein, including repetitive processing through portions of the processor 10 .",
"The processor 10 can be separated into three sections: an input section 12 , a main furnace section 14 , and a drop section 16 .",
"The input section 12 includes a receiver tube 18 for receiving processing materials, such as granules, gases and the like.",
"The receiver tube 18 is about 2 centimeters in diameter and registers with the main furnace section 14 .",
"An enclosure 20 surrounds the main furnace section 14 and supports a general environment for processing.",
"The enclosure is filled with an insulative material 22 to contain the relatively high temperatures produced in the main furnace section.",
"The enclosure 20 and insulative material 22 provide an inert atmosphere, which prevents burnout of the insulation material 22 and other components stored therein.",
"Disposed within the insulative material is a crucible 24 .",
"The crucible serves to hold molten semiconductor material, yet not react with the material.",
"A lid 26 of the crucible 24 connects to the receiver tube 18 .",
"In the present embodiment, the lid is threadably engaged to the receiver tube to facilitate removal and separation of the various components.",
"The lid 26 further maintains the inert atmosphere inside the enclosure.",
"Alternative embodiments may have other types of lids that either temporarily or permanently secure the receiver tube 18 to the crucible 24 .",
"The receiver tube 18 can either batch feed or continuously feed raw semiconductor material from the crucible 24 .",
"For each type of feeding, a different lid 26 may be required.",
"Immediately surrounding the outside of the crucible 24 is a furnace 30 .",
"In the present embodiment, the furnace is a fluid-heat type furnace, although other sources of heat may be used.",
"The furnace 30 includes a fluid nozzle 32 through which the fluid may pass.",
"The fluid nozzle 32 further maintains the inert atmosphere inside the enclosure 20 .",
"Although not shown, another device may be used to heat the fluid before it passes through the fluid nozzle 32 .",
"Also, a heat measurement device 34 , such as a thermocouple, is attached to the furnace 30 for monitoring the temperature of the furnace 30 and of the crucible 24 .",
"The enclosure 20 , along with the crucible 24 , rests-on a support platform 36 .",
"The platform has several apertures to facilitate the various devices and processes herein disclosed.",
"The platform 36 is also able to withstand some of the severe heat that radiates from the furnace 30 while maintaining the inert atmosphere inside the enclosure 20 .",
"Referring also to FIG. 2, attached to a bottom portion of the crucible 24 , as seen in FIG. 1, is a dropper 40 .",
"The dropper 40 may include a nozzle 50 that injects precise sized droplets of molten semiconductor material from the crucible 24 and into the drop section 16 .",
"In one embodiment, the nozzle 50 is further connected to a vibrating plate 52 connected to a piezo-electric (PZT) vibrator 54 .",
"The vibrating plate 52 can be positioned in several different locations, such as a position 52 a illustrated in FIG. 2 in phantom.",
"The PZT vibrator 54 can be controlled to produce a precise movement, which in turn creates a precise size droplet.",
"Alternatively, or in combination with the nozzle, inert gas may also be applied to facilitate the precise amounts of molten semiconductor material being injected into the drop section 16 .",
"The drop section 16 may be further divided into a first drop section 16 a;",
"and a second drop section 16 b. The first drop section 16 a includes a long drop tube 62 .",
"For example, the drop tube 62 may be stainless steel with an electro-polished inside finish, about five to ten centimeters in diameter and about ten meters in length.",
"The drop tube 62 may include apertures through which a cooling gas 64 may flow.",
"The cooling gas may also include impurities for doping the semiconductor material to a desired level.",
"In some embodiments, a first heater 66 is placed adjacent to the drop tube 62 .",
"The first heater 66 maintains a temperature below the melting point of the semiconductor material.",
"However, the temperature is high enough to slow the cooling process of the semiconductor material to thereby reduce the number of different crystalline growth directions formed during solidification.",
"Connected to the first drop section 16 a is the second drop section 16 b, which includes a second heater 70 .",
"The second drop section 16 b may also be stainless steel with an electro-polished inside finish, about five to ten centimeters in diameter and about ten meters in length.",
"The second heater 70 maintains a temperature above the melting point of the semiconductor material.",
"It is understood, however, that in some embodiments, the first heater 66 does not exist.",
"Therefore, in these embodiments, the second heater 70 is the only heater in the drop section 16 .",
"The second drop section 16 b also includes an inlet 72 for providing a dopant gas.",
"The dopant gas includes impurities for doping semiconductor material in the drop section 16 b. In some embodiments, the first and second drop sections 16 a, 16 b are connected to form one single drop tube 16 .",
"In other embodiments, the drop sections 16 a, 16 b are separated, and material must be transported from the first drop section to the second.",
"In some embodiments, a polishing system 80 is provided between the first and second drop sections 16 a, 16 b. For example, the polishing system 80 may be a simple “barreling”",
"type of polisher that roughly polishes the outer surface of a spherical substrate.",
"One such polishing system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,955,776, which is hereby incorporated by reference.",
"In operation, material 104 is placed into the receiver tube 18 .",
"For the sake of example, the material includes silicon, it being understood that different types of semiconductor material may also be used.",
"The material 104 may also include an inert carrier gas, such as argon, and one or more dopant materials.",
"The material 104 passes through the lid 26 and into the main furnace section 14 .",
"The furnace 30 can produce temperatures of about 1600° C., which far exceed the melting point of silicon (about 1410° C.).",
"This high temperature causes the material 104 to become a molten mass 108 .",
"Referring also to FIG. 3 a, the nozzle 40 allows droplets 112 of the molten mass to leave the crucible 24 and enter the drop section 16 .",
"The droplets 112 fall down the drop tube 62 .",
"The drop tube will allow the droplets to cool and form a polycrystalline structure.",
"The cooling gases 64 may be, for example, helium, hydrogen, argon, or nitrogen to facilitate the cooling of the droplets.",
"The cooling gases 64 may also be used to control the rate of descent of the droplets 112 .",
"In some embodiments, the processor 10 controls the rate at which the droplets 112 cool.",
"This may occur by many different methods.",
"For example, the cooling gases 64 may be heated.",
"Also, the drop tube 62 may be heated by the heaters 66 .",
"As a result, the droplets 112 will cool very slowly, thereby forming crystals.",
"Referring to also to FIG. 3 b, as the droplets 112 approach the bottom portion of the first drop section 16 a, as seen in FIG. 2, the cooled droplets form a solid, spherical shaped crystal substrate 114 .",
"In the present example, the spherical shaped crystal substrate 114 has a diameter of about 1 millimeter.",
"In some embodiments, the substrate 114 is a single crystal, while in other embodiments, the substrate is a polycrystal.",
"The substrate 114 has been doped by one or more of the materials provided in the receiver tube 18 , and/or the cooling gas 64 .",
"For the sake of example, the substrate 114 will be deemed to be doped with P-type material.",
"It is noted that sometimes, a plurality of deformities, such as spikes 116 , are formed during the cooling process.",
"These spikes 116 can be removed by the polishing system 80 .",
"By removing the spikes, later processing of the device can be more precisely controlled.",
"However, as will become more evident in the following discussion, the spikes 116 may eventually be removed from the substrate 114 by later processing.",
"The substrate 114 (polished or not) is then provided into the second drop section 16 b. Referring now to FIG. 3 c, the relatively high temperature created by the second heater 70 exceeds the melting point of the semiconductor material.",
"As a result, the substrate, now designated with the reference numeral 118 , has a solid core portion 120 and a melted outer layer 122 .",
"The thickness of the melted outer layer 122 can be precisely controlled by the amount of time the substrate 118 is in the second drop section 16 b and the temperature inside the second drop section.",
"For example, the dopant gas from inlet 72 may serve to float (to control or sustain the descent of) the substrate 118 inside the second drop section 16 b for a predetermined period of time.",
"In another example, the overall length of the second drop section 16 b can be precisely determined to accommodate the desired thickness of the melted outer layer 122 .",
"Once the melted outer layer 122 is formed, it is susceptible to receive impurities.",
"These impurities can be provided by the dopant gas from the inlet 72 .",
"In continuance of the previous example, the impurities may be ntype, as contrasted with the p-type core portion 120 .",
"Referring now to FIG. 3 d, once the impurities have been deposited into the melted outer layer 122 , the substrate, now designated with the reference numeral 124 , can be cooled.",
"Once cooled, a solidified outer layer 126 is formed, having a precise and uniform thickness.",
"In the present example, a P-N diode of precise dimension has thereby been formed.",
"It is understood that several variations may be made in the foregoing.",
"For example, different heating steps may be used in different parts of the processor.",
"Further still, a catcher (not shown) may be included to receive the material and facilitate the heating or cooling process.",
"The catcher may also be used to return the material to a furnace section for additional processing.",
"Other modifications, changes and substitutions are also intended in the foregoing disclosure and in some instances some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features.",
"Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention."
] |
This invention is a bicycle-mounted exerciser that provides an adjustable, variable resistance to a bicycle wheel, thereby requiring a bicycle rider to exert more or less energy to pedal the bicycle. By working against a resistance, a bicycle rider can get exercise and training for leg strength and overall endurance as part of a physical training program while riding a bicycle. The exerciser device is mounted to the post supporting the bicycle seat, and is adjustable to enable a friction wheel to be pressed downward against the bicycle's driving wheel with sufficient force to substantially eliminate slippage between the bicycle's driving wheel and the exerciser's friction wheel. If desired, the exercise device may be raised above the bicycle wheel to allow the driving wheel to turn without being in contact with the exercise device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many kinds of exercise devices have been used on bicycles and other pedal-operated equipment to artificially increase resistance to pedaling whereby a rider will have to exert greater force upon the bicycle pedals in order to turn them. Some such devices are found in so-called “stationary” bicycles which are designed to be used in a gymnasium or other enclosed area, and which serve the sole purpose of providing resistance to a pedaling movement. Other exercise devices have been designed as stationary platforms for standard bicycles that can be placed upon the platform to provide resistance to pedaling. Because stationary bikes and standard bicycles placed upon a stationary platform are not mobile, and are used within a controlled physical space, the friction generating mechanisms can be as large, heavy, or intricate as may be required to provide the necessary resistance to motion. However, bicycles are primarily used for traversing terrain, and many riders enjoy the freedom of being able to cover distances on a bicycle while also obtaining exercise. For such riders, a suitable exercise device must be mounted upon the bicycle and must be operable by a rider under varying conditions of speed and terrain. For a bicycle-mounted exercise device, factors such as weight, simplicity of operation, ruggedness, and efficiency in dissipating heat that is generated through the friction of restraining the circular motion of the bicycle driving wheel take on added importance.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The exercise device of this invention is a seat-post mounted frame supporting a friction wheel and a braking wheel that are rigidly joined with a common axle. The friction wheel is held in non-slipping contact with a bicycle wheel while the braking wheel is subjected to a braking force applied through an adjustable brake pad. Although it is preferred that the friction be in non-slipping contact with the rear (driving) wheel of a bicycle, the device will provide adequate resistance to pedaling when placed in non-slipping contact with a non-driving bicycle wheel. The rotation of the exerciser's braking wheel is retarded by a brake pad mounted within the braking wheel. The brake pad has a linkage to a hand lever operated by the rider for adjusting the amount of resistance to rotation being provided at any given time. A turn screw on the exercise device is used to adjust the downward force of the friction wheel against a wheel of the bicycle to ensure sufficient pressure to avoid slippage during operation of the exercise device. When the exercise device is not being used, the turn screw can be adjusted to hold it out of the way, above the driving wheel.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a right elevational view showing the exercising device in relation to a bicycle rear wheel and seat mounting post.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the exercise device of this invention.
FIG. 3 is a detailed right elevational view depicting the friction wheel of the exercise device being held out of contact with a bicycle tire.
FIG. 4 is a detailed right elevational view showing the friction wheel of the exercise device being held against a bicycle tire.
FIG. 5 is a left elevational view showing the braking wheel with the spring linkage holding the brake pad away from contact with the braking wheel.
FIG. 6 is a left elevational view showing the brake pad being pressed into operating engagement with the braking wheel.
FIG. 7 is a plan view of the exercise device with the mounting clamp in an open position.
FIG. 8 is a plan view of the exercise device with the mounting clamp closed and tightened.
FIG. 9 is a detailed perspective view of the friction wheel and braking wheel of the invention.
FIG. 10 is a cutaway front view of the braking wheel taken along plane A-A′.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
As shown in FIG. 1 , the exercise device of this invention 10 is mounted on a bicycle by being attached to the bicycle seat post where it can be positioned in relation to the rear wheel of a bicycle. An adjustment turn screw 40 may be tightened to press the device against the bicycle wheel, or may be released to relieve the downward pressure and permit the device to be raised above the bicycle wheel.
FIG. 2 shows the exercise device in perspective view. A friction wheel 20 and a braking wheel 30 are maintained in rigid co-axial relationship upon a single axle 50 . The friction wheel is in contact with the bicycle tire during operation. Although the diameters of the friction wheel 20 and the braking wheel 30 are shown as being substantially equal in FIG. 2 , this is not a requirement for acceptable operation of the exercise device, and the braking and friction wheels of the device may be of different sizes in order to achieve a desired combination of rotational speed and braking forces.
The exercise device has three framing pieces that may be adjusted to properly position the friction and braking wheels above the rear wheel of a bicycle. An upper frame 90 is rigidly attached to an adjustable clamp 60 that secures the device to the post of a bicycle seat. Middle frame 100 is securely fastened to upper frame 90 . Middle frame 90 also includes an adjustment bracket 70 through which is threaded a turn screw 40 that is used to make fine adjustments to the positioning of the friction wheel 20 upon a bicycle tire. Lower frame 110 is pivotably joined to middle frame 100 at pin 180 , and has a pressure plate 160 rigidly attached to the lower frame below tuna screw 40 . Brake piston 120 and brake cylinder 190 are visible adjacent to lower frame 110 .
As seen in FIG. 2 , the upper frame 90 , middle frame 100 , and lower frame 110 have large open cavities which result in an overall weight reduction for the device. Strong, lightweight materials are desirable, as they provide sufficient retarding forces when the device is applying friction, yet do not otherwise hinder operation of the bicycle when the device is raised to eliminate additional friction that is supplied by the exercise device.
As shown in FIG. 5 , lower frame 110 securely supports braking wheel 30 and friction wheel 20 while permitting them to rotate together, and also supports the braking assembly comprising brake piston 120 , brake spring 130 , brake cable 140 , brake cylinder 190 , and brake pad 150 . In FIG. 5 , brake pad 150 is being held away from contact with the inner portion of braking wheel 30 by brake spring 130 , allowing braking wheel 30 to rotate freely. Also, FIG. 5 shows the braking wheel being a spoked wheel, rather than a solid disc, thereby reducing the mass of the wheel and the overall weight of the exerciser.
FIG. 6 shows brake pad 150 being drawn against the inner circumference of braking wheel 30 when brake cable 140 is tightened. A conventional hand lever or turning knob 1000 can be mounted on the bicycle handle bars or some other convenient location, and may be adjustable to increase or decrease resistance to the rotation of braking wheel 30 and, through axle 50 , with friction wheel 20 . As brake pressure is applied, resistance causes the braking wheel 30 to transmit a retarding force to the friction wheel 20 through common axle 50 , thereby placing additional resistance upon the friction wheel 20 and the bicycle tire, requiring the rider to exert more effort while riding and obtain the desired exercise and training.
A turn screw 40 is threaded into adjustment bracket 70 which is rigidly attached to middle frame 100 . Turn screw 40 protrudes downwardly to contact pressure plate 160 which is rigidly attached to lower frame 110 . When tightened downwardly, turn screw 40 presses against pressure plate 160 , causing lower frame 110 to pivot about pin 180 toward the bicycle tire, bringing friction wheel 20 into contact with the tire, as is depicted in FIG. 4 . Pin 180 is a bolt having a locking nut that may be tightened or loosened, as circumstances require, to allow lower frame 110 to be pivoted about rotating pin 180 with a slight amount of force. FIG. 3 also shows a raising spring 170 (in phantom) behind middle frame 100 . Raising spring 170 places upward pressure on lower frame 110 and holds pressure plate 160 against turn screw 40 . When the friction wheel 20 is to be raised above the bicycle tire, turn screw 40 is backed partially out of adjustment bracket 70 , allowing raising spring 170 to force lower frame 110 upwards. Friction wheel 20 will then be raised above the bicycle tire. FIGS. 3 and 4 depict the friction wheel as having spokes, although the friction wheel may be a solid disc, depending upon engineering preferences.
When the bicycle to which the exercise device is mounted is being operated over open terrain, turn screw 40 is subject to vibration that may cause unwanted tightening into adjustment plate 70 , changing the setting previously applied by the rider, and increasing the pressure holding friction wheel 20 against the bicycle tire. To prevent such inadvertent tightening of the turn screw, a turn screw spring 80 may be coiled about the shaft of the turn screw, and will operate to counteract the force of gravity that would otherwise cause turn screw 40 to tighten.
The exercise device of this invention is portable from bicycle to bicycle, and has sufficient adjustment pins, levers, and screws to make it suitable for nearly all conventional bicycles. As is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 , a quick-release clamp 40 is used to secure the exercise device to the post of a bicycle seat. A cambered lever 200 is pivotally connected to a shaft 220 which is itself pivotally attached to one of two opposing clamp arms 210 . Each of the clamp arms pivots between an open and closed position, depicted respectively in FIGS. 7 and 8 . If desired, shaft 220 can be threaded to permit the distance between clamp arm 220 and cambered lever 200 to be lengthened or shortened to accommodate larger or smaller diameter bicycle seat posts. When clamp 40 is closed, as shown in FIG. 8 , cambered lever 200 will pivot to an over-center position in which the clamp will remain closed until manually released.
A detailed depiction of the braking wheel 30 and the friction wheel 20 is given in FIG. 9 . Friction wheel 20 may have an abraded or other non-slip circumferential surface to prevent slippage between friction wheel 20 and a bicycle tire. Friction wheel 30 has a cylindrical configuration extending around the circumference of the wheel. Brake pad 150 fits within the circumference defined by the inner cylindrical surface and, when activated through brake piston 120 , will exert a frictional force against the inner portion of the cylindrical surface to retard rotation of the braking wheel. FIG. 10 shows a cutaway front view of the braking wheel taken along line A-A′. In one embodiment, the cylindrical surface of braking wheel 30 extends beyond the disc of the wheel on both sides of the disc to create spaces for brake pads 150 on both sides of the disc. This embodiment may be used where strong braking forces are desired, or to maintain symmetrical braking forces upon braking wheel 30 . Where dual brake pads are used, brake piston 120 will attach to both brake pads using a “U” shaped harness, enabling both brake pads 150 to apply force to braking wheel 30 with a single movement of the brake cable 140 .
It will be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein are exemplary, and that persons of ordinary skill may conceive additional embodiments not explicitly described herein, but which fall within the disclosure and scope of the invention. The invention is therefore limited only by the claims appended hereto. | A bicycle trainer is a bicycle-mounted apparatus used to produce friction to resist the turning of a wheel of a bicycle, thereby requiring the rider to exert more energy than would otherwise be necessary. The bicycle trainer is adjustable by the rider while riding, and can simulate hill or mountain climbing at any positive grade. | Summarize the key points of the given document. | [
"This invention is a bicycle-mounted exerciser that provides an adjustable, variable resistance to a bicycle wheel, thereby requiring a bicycle rider to exert more or less energy to pedal the bicycle.",
"By working against a resistance, a bicycle rider can get exercise and training for leg strength and overall endurance as part of a physical training program while riding a bicycle.",
"The exerciser device is mounted to the post supporting the bicycle seat, and is adjustable to enable a friction wheel to be pressed downward against the bicycle's driving wheel with sufficient force to substantially eliminate slippage between the bicycle's driving wheel and the exerciser's friction wheel.",
"If desired, the exercise device may be raised above the bicycle wheel to allow the driving wheel to turn without being in contact with the exercise device.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Many kinds of exercise devices have been used on bicycles and other pedal-operated equipment to artificially increase resistance to pedaling whereby a rider will have to exert greater force upon the bicycle pedals in order to turn them.",
"Some such devices are found in so-called “stationary”",
"bicycles which are designed to be used in a gymnasium or other enclosed area, and which serve the sole purpose of providing resistance to a pedaling movement.",
"Other exercise devices have been designed as stationary platforms for standard bicycles that can be placed upon the platform to provide resistance to pedaling.",
"Because stationary bikes and standard bicycles placed upon a stationary platform are not mobile, and are used within a controlled physical space, the friction generating mechanisms can be as large, heavy, or intricate as may be required to provide the necessary resistance to motion.",
"However, bicycles are primarily used for traversing terrain, and many riders enjoy the freedom of being able to cover distances on a bicycle while also obtaining exercise.",
"For such riders, a suitable exercise device must be mounted upon the bicycle and must be operable by a rider under varying conditions of speed and terrain.",
"For a bicycle-mounted exercise device, factors such as weight, simplicity of operation, ruggedness, and efficiency in dissipating heat that is generated through the friction of restraining the circular motion of the bicycle driving wheel take on added importance.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The exercise device of this invention is a seat-post mounted frame supporting a friction wheel and a braking wheel that are rigidly joined with a common axle.",
"The friction wheel is held in non-slipping contact with a bicycle wheel while the braking wheel is subjected to a braking force applied through an adjustable brake pad.",
"Although it is preferred that the friction be in non-slipping contact with the rear (driving) wheel of a bicycle, the device will provide adequate resistance to pedaling when placed in non-slipping contact with a non-driving bicycle wheel.",
"The rotation of the exerciser's braking wheel is retarded by a brake pad mounted within the braking wheel.",
"The brake pad has a linkage to a hand lever operated by the rider for adjusting the amount of resistance to rotation being provided at any given time.",
"A turn screw on the exercise device is used to adjust the downward force of the friction wheel against a wheel of the bicycle to ensure sufficient pressure to avoid slippage during operation of the exercise device.",
"When the exercise device is not being used, the turn screw can be adjusted to hold it out of the way, above the driving wheel.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a right elevational view showing the exercising device in relation to a bicycle rear wheel and seat mounting post.",
"FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the exercise device of this invention.",
"FIG. 3 is a detailed right elevational view depicting the friction wheel of the exercise device being held out of contact with a bicycle tire.",
"FIG. 4 is a detailed right elevational view showing the friction wheel of the exercise device being held against a bicycle tire.",
"FIG. 5 is a left elevational view showing the braking wheel with the spring linkage holding the brake pad away from contact with the braking wheel.",
"FIG. 6 is a left elevational view showing the brake pad being pressed into operating engagement with the braking wheel.",
"FIG. 7 is a plan view of the exercise device with the mounting clamp in an open position.",
"FIG. 8 is a plan view of the exercise device with the mounting clamp closed and tightened.",
"FIG. 9 is a detailed perspective view of the friction wheel and braking wheel of the invention.",
"FIG. 10 is a cutaway front view of the braking wheel taken along plane A-A′.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. 1 , the exercise device of this invention 10 is mounted on a bicycle by being attached to the bicycle seat post where it can be positioned in relation to the rear wheel of a bicycle.",
"An adjustment turn screw 40 may be tightened to press the device against the bicycle wheel, or may be released to relieve the downward pressure and permit the device to be raised above the bicycle wheel.",
"FIG. 2 shows the exercise device in perspective view.",
"A friction wheel 20 and a braking wheel 30 are maintained in rigid co-axial relationship upon a single axle 50 .",
"The friction wheel is in contact with the bicycle tire during operation.",
"Although the diameters of the friction wheel 20 and the braking wheel 30 are shown as being substantially equal in FIG. 2 , this is not a requirement for acceptable operation of the exercise device, and the braking and friction wheels of the device may be of different sizes in order to achieve a desired combination of rotational speed and braking forces.",
"The exercise device has three framing pieces that may be adjusted to properly position the friction and braking wheels above the rear wheel of a bicycle.",
"An upper frame 90 is rigidly attached to an adjustable clamp 60 that secures the device to the post of a bicycle seat.",
"Middle frame 100 is securely fastened to upper frame 90 .",
"Middle frame 90 also includes an adjustment bracket 70 through which is threaded a turn screw 40 that is used to make fine adjustments to the positioning of the friction wheel 20 upon a bicycle tire.",
"Lower frame 110 is pivotably joined to middle frame 100 at pin 180 , and has a pressure plate 160 rigidly attached to the lower frame below tuna screw 40 .",
"Brake piston 120 and brake cylinder 190 are visible adjacent to lower frame 110 .",
"As seen in FIG. 2 , the upper frame 90 , middle frame 100 , and lower frame 110 have large open cavities which result in an overall weight reduction for the device.",
"Strong, lightweight materials are desirable, as they provide sufficient retarding forces when the device is applying friction, yet do not otherwise hinder operation of the bicycle when the device is raised to eliminate additional friction that is supplied by the exercise device.",
"As shown in FIG. 5 , lower frame 110 securely supports braking wheel 30 and friction wheel 20 while permitting them to rotate together, and also supports the braking assembly comprising brake piston 120 , brake spring 130 , brake cable 140 , brake cylinder 190 , and brake pad 150 .",
"In FIG. 5 , brake pad 150 is being held away from contact with the inner portion of braking wheel 30 by brake spring 130 , allowing braking wheel 30 to rotate freely.",
"Also, FIG. 5 shows the braking wheel being a spoked wheel, rather than a solid disc, thereby reducing the mass of the wheel and the overall weight of the exerciser.",
"FIG. 6 shows brake pad 150 being drawn against the inner circumference of braking wheel 30 when brake cable 140 is tightened.",
"A conventional hand lever or turning knob 1000 can be mounted on the bicycle handle bars or some other convenient location, and may be adjustable to increase or decrease resistance to the rotation of braking wheel 30 and, through axle 50 , with friction wheel 20 .",
"As brake pressure is applied, resistance causes the braking wheel 30 to transmit a retarding force to the friction wheel 20 through common axle 50 , thereby placing additional resistance upon the friction wheel 20 and the bicycle tire, requiring the rider to exert more effort while riding and obtain the desired exercise and training.",
"A turn screw 40 is threaded into adjustment bracket 70 which is rigidly attached to middle frame 100 .",
"Turn screw 40 protrudes downwardly to contact pressure plate 160 which is rigidly attached to lower frame 110 .",
"When tightened downwardly, turn screw 40 presses against pressure plate 160 , causing lower frame 110 to pivot about pin 180 toward the bicycle tire, bringing friction wheel 20 into contact with the tire, as is depicted in FIG. 4 .",
"Pin 180 is a bolt having a locking nut that may be tightened or loosened, as circumstances require, to allow lower frame 110 to be pivoted about rotating pin 180 with a slight amount of force.",
"FIG. 3 also shows a raising spring 170 (in phantom) behind middle frame 100 .",
"Raising spring 170 places upward pressure on lower frame 110 and holds pressure plate 160 against turn screw 40 .",
"When the friction wheel 20 is to be raised above the bicycle tire, turn screw 40 is backed partially out of adjustment bracket 70 , allowing raising spring 170 to force lower frame 110 upwards.",
"Friction wheel 20 will then be raised above the bicycle tire.",
"FIGS. 3 and 4 depict the friction wheel as having spokes, although the friction wheel may be a solid disc, depending upon engineering preferences.",
"When the bicycle to which the exercise device is mounted is being operated over open terrain, turn screw 40 is subject to vibration that may cause unwanted tightening into adjustment plate 70 , changing the setting previously applied by the rider, and increasing the pressure holding friction wheel 20 against the bicycle tire.",
"To prevent such inadvertent tightening of the turn screw, a turn screw spring 80 may be coiled about the shaft of the turn screw, and will operate to counteract the force of gravity that would otherwise cause turn screw 40 to tighten.",
"The exercise device of this invention is portable from bicycle to bicycle, and has sufficient adjustment pins, levers, and screws to make it suitable for nearly all conventional bicycles.",
"As is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 , a quick-release clamp 40 is used to secure the exercise device to the post of a bicycle seat.",
"A cambered lever 200 is pivotally connected to a shaft 220 which is itself pivotally attached to one of two opposing clamp arms 210 .",
"Each of the clamp arms pivots between an open and closed position, depicted respectively in FIGS. 7 and 8 .",
"If desired, shaft 220 can be threaded to permit the distance between clamp arm 220 and cambered lever 200 to be lengthened or shortened to accommodate larger or smaller diameter bicycle seat posts.",
"When clamp 40 is closed, as shown in FIG. 8 , cambered lever 200 will pivot to an over-center position in which the clamp will remain closed until manually released.",
"A detailed depiction of the braking wheel 30 and the friction wheel 20 is given in FIG. 9 .",
"Friction wheel 20 may have an abraded or other non-slip circumferential surface to prevent slippage between friction wheel 20 and a bicycle tire.",
"Friction wheel 30 has a cylindrical configuration extending around the circumference of the wheel.",
"Brake pad 150 fits within the circumference defined by the inner cylindrical surface and, when activated through brake piston 120 , will exert a frictional force against the inner portion of the cylindrical surface to retard rotation of the braking wheel.",
"FIG. 10 shows a cutaway front view of the braking wheel taken along line A-A′.",
"In one embodiment, the cylindrical surface of braking wheel 30 extends beyond the disc of the wheel on both sides of the disc to create spaces for brake pads 150 on both sides of the disc.",
"This embodiment may be used where strong braking forces are desired, or to maintain symmetrical braking forces upon braking wheel 30 .",
"Where dual brake pads are used, brake piston 120 will attach to both brake pads using a “U”",
"shaped harness, enabling both brake pads 150 to apply force to braking wheel 30 with a single movement of the brake cable 140 .",
"It will be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein are exemplary, and that persons of ordinary skill may conceive additional embodiments not explicitly described herein, but which fall within the disclosure and scope of the invention.",
"The invention is therefore limited only by the claims appended hereto."
] |
BACKGROUND
1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure generally relates to structures and methods for forming good electrical connections between an integrated circuit (IC) chip and a chip carrier of a flip chip package. More particularly, addition of one of: tensile layers and a compressive layer, to selected surfaces of IC chips in a wafer prior to solder bump re-heating, may reduce or modulate warpage of the IC chip and enhance wetting of opposing solder surfaces of solder bumps on the IC chip and solder formed on flip chip (FC) attaches of a chip carrier in a flip chip package.
2. Description of Related Art
The semiconductor marketplace continues to demand smaller devices, which require greater connectivity densities for packaging design. The increased functionality of smaller semiconductor devices requires an increased number of signal, power, and ground connections, and a corresponding decrease in connection pitch is required to maintain reasonable chip size. The combination of these requirements results in greater complexity of semiconductor packaging design.
Referring to FIG. 1 , the packaging design requirement is especially critical in flip chip packages, where demand for a greater density of connections must coexist with good electrical and reliability performance. When compared to other packaging technologies, flip chip packaging significantly increases the number of signal, power and ground connections of the integrated circuit (IC) chip that are connected to the chip carrier through solder bumps or controlled collapse chip connections (C4s). Following solder re-heating, chip-join and cool-down, the solder bumps of the IC chip and the solder of the flip chip (FC) attaches of the chip carrier form electrical and mechanical connections between the IC chip and the chip carrier of the flip chip package. In turn, the FC attaches electrically connect through various pathways of the chip carrier to, for example, a ball grid array or land grid array that connect to a system board.
Typically, the process steps for a flip chip package include: creating IC chips on a silicon wafer; forming underbumps on a front side surface of the IC chip, i.e., above the silicon layers of the IC chip; depositing solder bumps or C4 connections on each of the underbumps; singulating or cutting the IC chips from the silicon wafer; “flipping” and positioning each IC chip, so that the solder bumps of the IC chip oppose the solder layers formed on the FC attaches of a chip carrier; and re-heating the solder bumps and the solder layers formed on the FC attaches to effect chip-join. Optionally, an electrically insulating underfill is subsequently introduced between the overlying IC chip and the underlying chip carrier, to prevent mechanical flexion of the solder connections between the IC chip and the chip carrier of the flip chip package.
Joining of the IC chip to the chip carrier requires re-heating of the solder bumps and the solder layers of the FC attaches, so as to “wet” the opposing solder surfaces of the solder bumps and the solder layers of the FC attaches. This wetting allows the miscible solders of the opposing solder surfaces to form an effective electrical connection upon subsequent cooling.
During heating, both the IC chip and the chip carrier can warp because of mismatches between the coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) of their constituent layers. Relative to room temperature, as shown in the cross section of FIG. 2 , the IC chip 220 , at a temperature of 245° C., shows a slight negative warp, i.e., the IC chip's center is lower than the corners; whereas, the chip carrier 240 shows a positive warp, i.e., the chip carrier's center is higher than its corners. The relatively more compliant chip carrier typically warps to a greater extent than does the IC chip. Warping represents a change in height of sub-areas across the surface area of either the IC chip or the chip carrier relative to a reference plane at room temperature and at an elevated temperature. The extent of warping of the IC chip and the chip carrier is proportional to a radial distance from a centrally located neutral point, i.e., DNP, of each of the IC chip and the chip carrier. Hence, the relative movement between the opposing solders on the IC chip and the chip carrier is greatest at the edges of the IC chip. At peak elevated temperatures, e.g., 250° C., the solder of the solder bumps, along the edges of the IC chip, and the solder of the opposing FC attaches are physically separated and contact is impossible.
During subsequent cooling, the respective solders of the physically separated solder bumps of the IC chip and the opposing FC attaches of the chip carrier can solidify; thus, precluding any “wetting” of the two opposing solders to form a high quality electrical solder connection. Upon subsequent cooling to room temperature, the IC chip and the chip carrier can flatten; thus, providing physical contact (possibly, with mechanical deformation) at interfaces formed between the previously solidified solder bumps of the IC chip and the previously solidified solder layers of the FC attaches, i.e., a non-wet interface. However, the quality of the electrical contacts between these previously solidified solder contacts is not as good as that of “wetted” contacts between the two opposing miscible solders of the heated solder bumps of the IC chip and the heated solder layers of the FC attaches.
There remains a need to reliably form a “wet” contact between solder bumps of the integrated circuit (IC) chip and the solder layers of the opposing flip chip (FC) attaches of the chip carrier at an elevated temperature, where warping of the IC chip and the chip carrier may occur in a flip chip package.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
In view of the foregoing, an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may provide a flip chip package that includes a chip carrier and an integrated circuit (IC) chip positioned above the chip carrier, in which the IC chip has a front side that faces the chip carrier and a backside that is opposite the front side. The flip chip package may also include one of: a tensile film formed on the front side of the IC chip, in which the tensile film has a plurality of openings, each of the openings exposing the front side, and a compressive film formed on the backside of the IC chip. The flip chip package may further include a plurality of continuous solder columns located between the IC chip and the chip carrier, where each of the continuous solder columns extends from a flip chip (FC) attach on a top surface of the chip carrier to an opposing underbump formed on the front side of the IC chip.
Another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may provide a method of making a flip chip package that includes forming a chip carrier with a plurality of flip chip (FC) attaches located on a top surface of the chip carrier, where a solder layer is formed on each FC attach. The method may also include forming a first tensile film on a front side of an integrated circuit (IC) chip and a second tensile film on a backside of the IC chip. The method may further include forming a plurality of openings in the first tensile film that expose portions of the front side of the IC chip. The method may yet further include forming a plurality of solder bumps on a corresponding plurality of underbumps, which are formed on the first side of the IC chip within each of the openings. Subsequently, the method may yet further include removing the second tensile film from the backside of the IC chip. The method may yet further include flipping and positioning the IC chip over the chip carrier, where the front side of the IC chip faces the top surface of the chip carrier, and each of the solder bumps opposes a solder layer formed on one of the FC attaches of the chip carrier. The method may yet further include heating the IC chip, the underbumps, the solder bumps, the solder layers formed on the FC attaches, and the chip carrier to an elevated temperature, to produce one of a flat IC chip and a positively warped IC chip. Finally, the method may include forming a plurality of continuous solder columns at room temperature from the underbumps to the opposing FC attaches, to form the flip chip package.
Yet another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may provide a method of making a flip chip package that includes forming a chip carrier with a plurality of flip chip (FC) attaches located on a top surface of the chip carrier, where a solder layer is formed on each FC attach. The method may also include forming a plurality of solder bumps on a corresponding plurality of underbumps, which are formed on a front side of an integrated circuit (IC) chip. Subsequently, the method may further include forming a compressive film on a backside of the IC chip. The method may yet further include flipping and positioning the IC chip over the chip carrier, where the front side of the IC chip faces the top surface of the chip carrier, and each of the solder bumps opposes a solder layer formed on one of the FC attaches of the chip carrier. The method may yet further include heating the IC chip, the underbumps, the solder bumps, the solder layers formed on the FC attaches, and the chip carrier to an elevated temperature, to produce one of a flat IC chip and a positively warped IC chip. Finally, the method may include forming a plurality of continuous solder columns at room temperature from the underbumps to the opposing FC attaches, to form the flip chip package.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The exemplary embodiments of the disclosures herein will be better understood from the following detailed description with reference to the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale and in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of a flip chip package in the related art;
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a flip chip package at room temperature, showing no warpage, and a flip package at an elevated temperature, showing warpage, in the related art;
FIG. 3 is a graph illustrating measures of warping of a wafer upon which a photosensitive polyimide (PSPI) layer is formed to heating and cooling, in an exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating measures of warping of a product wafer with multiple BEOL (back end of line) layers to heating and cooling in an exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of a flip chip package, including an IC chip on which a tensile layer is formed on a front side of the IC chip, that produces a flat IC chip relative to a positively warped chip carrier at an elevated temperature in an exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of a flip chip package, including an IC chip on which a tensile layer is formed on a front side of the IC chip, that produces a positively warped IC chip relative to a positively warped chip carrier at an elevated temperature in an exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of a flip chip package, including an IC chip on which a compressive layer is formed on a backside of the IC chip, that produces a flat IC chip relative to a positively warped chip carrier at an elevated temperature in an exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of a flip chip package, including an IC chip on which a compressive layer is formed on a backside of the IC chip, that produces a positively warped IC chip relative to a positively warped chip carrier at an elevated temperature in an exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of a flip chip package at room temperature, including an IC chip on which a tensile layer is formed on a front side of the IC chip, and a plurality of continuous solder columns between the IC chip and the chip carrier in an exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of a flip chip package at room temperature, including an IC chip on which a compressive layer is formed on a backside of the IC chip, and a plurality of continuous solder columns between the IC chip and the chip carrier in an exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 8 is a flowchart 800 illustrating a method of making a flip chip package that reduces warpage of an IC chip on which a tensile layer is formed on a front side of the IC chip in an exemplary embodiment; and
FIG. 9 is a flowchart 900 illustrating a method of making a flip chip package that reduces warpage of an IC chip on which a compressive layer is formed on a backside of the IC chip in an exemplary embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The exemplary embodiments of the disclosure and their various features and advantageous details are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting exemplary embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. It should be noted that the features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. Descriptions of well-known materials, components, and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure. The examples used herein are intended to merely facilitate an understanding of ways in which the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.
As described above, there remains a need to reliably form a “wet” contact between solder bumps of the integrated circuit (IC) chip and the solder layers of the opposing flip chip (FC) attaches of the chip carrier at an elevated temperature, where warping of the IC chip and the chip carrier may occur in a flip chip package.
A series of experiments was conducted to understand the effects of various materials and processes on the warpage of IC chips. When photosensitive polyimide (PSPI) monitor wafers, which had a PSPS layer formed on the front side of the wafer, were compared to fully processed wafers, designated “Cuba” wafers, the singulated dies from the PSPS monitor wafers warped less than those from the Cuba wafers over a heating and cooling cycle from room temperature to 250° C. The die backside warpage of singulated dies from the PSPI monitor wafers showed less warpage, i.e., less than 2 μm in FIG. 3 , when compared to the singulated dies from the Cuba wafers, i.e., approximately 4 μm in FIG. 4 , even when both types of dies had solder bumps using the same tin-silver (Sn—Ag) solder composition.
The PSPI layer on the front side of PSPI monitor wafers has the physical characteristics of a tensile film, which may counteract and even overcome the negative warpage of a wafer upon heating. Conceptually, a tensile film wants to be “smaller” than the substrate, e.g., the front side of the IC chip, upon which it may be deposited. Referring to FIG. 2 , at an elevated temperature of 245° C., the IC chip 220 shows a slight negative warp; whereas, the chip carrier 240 shows a positive warp. However, as FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate, respectively, a tensile film 510 formed on the front side of the IC chip 520 may produce tensile forces (inwardly directed arrows) that may counteract and even overcome the negative warpage at an elevated temperature, to produce a flat IC chip or an IC chip with positive warpage. Such a flat or positively warped IC chip 520 may significantly reduce the distance between the solder of the solder bumps of the IC chip 520 and the solder of the opposing FC attaches on the flat or positively warped chip carrier 540 , to make possible “wetting” of the two opposing solders in a high quality electrical solder connection.
Prior to forming the flip chip package, the IC chip should remain flat during its processing, so as to more uniformly form, for example, the underbumps and solder bumps on the top side of the IC chip. In particular, forming the solder bumps requires heating of the solder being applied to the FC attaches and this heating could induce negative warping of the IC chip. To achieve a flat IC chip, tensile films may be formed on both the front side and backside of the IC chip, prior to forming the underbumps and the solder bumps on the top side of the IC chip. The backside tensile film may subsequently be removed by, for example, grinding of the backside of the IC chip, to leave only a single tensile film on the front side of the IC chip. Re-heating of the solders of the solder bumps and the FC attaches of the flip chip package may then effect better “wetting”, when the IC chip, having a single front side tensile layer that provides one of: a flat and positive warpage, and the chip carrier having an inherent positive warpage are joined.
Similar in conception, is the deposition of a compressive film on the backside of the IC chip, after IC chip fabrication, formation of underbumps and solder bumps on the IC chip, and testing of the IC chip, and before re-heating of the solders of the solder bumps and the FC attaches of the flip chip package, to effect better “wetting” and chip-join of the flip chip package. A compressive film wants to be “larger” than the substrate, i.e., the backside of the IC chip, upon which it is deposited. As FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate, respectively, a compressive film 610 formed on the backside of the IC chip 620 produces compressive forces (outwardly directed arrows) that may counteract and even overcome the negative warpage at an elevated temperature, to produce a flat IC chip or an IC chip with positive warpage. Such a positive warpage of the IC chip 620 may significantly reduce the distance between the solder of the solder bumps of the IC chip 620 and the solder of the opposing FC attaches on the positively warped chip carrier 640 , to make possible “wetting” of the two opposing solders in a high quality electrical solder connection.
Referring to the cross section illustrated in FIG. 7A , a flip chip package at room temperature may comprise a chip carrier 740 , on which flip chip (FC) attaches 770 are formed on a top surface of the chip carrier 740 . The flip chip package may also comprise an integrated circuit (IC) chip 720 that is positioned above the chip carrier 740 . The IC chip 720 may have a front side that faces the chip carrier 740 and a backside, which is adjacent to silicon layers of the IC chip 720 . A tensile film 710 may be formed on the front side of the IC chip 720 and may range from a thickness of 1 micrometer to 10 micrometers. The tensile film may comprise one of: silicon nitride (SiN), aluminum (Al), and photosensitive polyimide (PSPI). The tensile film 710 may contain a plurality of openings, each of which exposes a portion of the front side of the IC chip 720 and in each of which an underbump 750 may be formed. A plurality of continuous solder columns 760 may be located between the IC chip 720 and the chip carrier 740 . Each of the continuous solder columns 760 may extend from an FC attach on a top surface of the chip carrier 740 to an opposing, i.e., vertically-aligned, underbump 750 formed on the front side of the IC chip 720 within an opening of the tensile film 710 . Each of the plurality of continuous solder columns 760 may be devoid of an interface, caused by non-wetting.
Alternatively, as illustrated in the cross section of FIG. 7B , a flip chip package at room temperature may comprise a chip carrier 740 , on which flip chip (FC) attaches 770 are formed on a top surface of the chip carrier 740 . The flip chip package may also comprise an integrated circuit (IC) chip 720 that is positioned above the chip carrier 740 . The IC chip 720 may have a front side that faces the chip carrier 740 and a backside, which is adjacent to silicon layers of the IC chip 720 . A compressive film 730 may be formed on the backside of the IC chip 720 and may range from a thickness of 1 micrometer to 10 micrometers. The compressive film 730 may comprise an oxide. A plurality of continuous solder columns 760 may be located between the IC chip 720 and the chip carrier 740 . Each of the continuous solder columns 760 may extend from an FC attach on a top surface of the chip carrier 740 to an opposing underbump 750 formed on the front side of the IC chip 720 . Each of the plurality of continuous solder columns 760 may be devoid of an interface, caused by non-wetting.
Referring to the flowchart 800 of FIG. 8 , a method of making a flip chip package may comprise, forming a chip carrier including a plurality of flip chip (FC) attaches that are formed on a top surface of the chip carrier, 810 . A solder layer may be formed on each of the plurality of FC attaches. The method may also comprise forming a first tensile film on a front side of an integrated circuit (IC) chip and a second tensile film on a backside of the IC chip, 820 . The method may further comprise forming a plurality of openings in the first tensile film by, for example, patterned etching, that expose the front side of the IC chip, 830 . The method may yet further comprise forming a plurality of solder bumps on a corresponding plurality of underbumps, which are formed on the front side of the IC chip within each of the plurality of openings in the first tensile film, 840 . Each of the solder bumps may be formed by applying heated solder to each of the underbumps. Subsequently, the method may yet further comprise, removing the second tensile film from the backside of the IC chip 850 , by, for example, grinding of the second tensile film. The method may yet further comprise, “flipping” and positioning the IC chip over the chip carrier, such that the front side of the IC chip faces the top surface of the chip carrier, and each of the solder bumps formed on the IC chip opposes a solder layer formed on a corresponding one, i.e., vertically-aligned, of the plurality of FC attaches of the chip carrier, 860 . The method may yet further comprise, heating the IC chip, the underbumps, the solder bumps, the solder layers formed on each of the plurality of FC attaches and the chip carrier to an elevated temperature, for example, from 170° C. to 250° C., to produce one of a flat IC chip and a positively warped IC chip, 870 . The producing of one of a flat IC chip and a positively warped IC chip may result from reducing a distance, i.e., reducing a negative warpage of the IC chip, between the solder bumps on the IC chip and the opposing FC attaches on the positively warped chip carrier. This reduction in distance between the solder bumps and the opposing FC attaches may enhance a probability of wetting the opposing solders of the vertically-aligned solder bumps and solder layers of the FC attaches. The method may yet further comprise, forming a plurality of continuous solder columns at room temperature from the underbumps to the opposing FC attaches, to form the flip chip package, 880 . The forming of the plurality of continuous solder columns, which are devoid of a non-wetted interface, may come about by the contacting of “wetted” opposing solders from the solder bumps and the FC attaches.
Referring to the flowchart 900 of FIG. 9 , a method of making a flip chip package may comprise, forming a chip carrier including a plurality of flip chip (FC) attaches that are formed on a top surface of the chip carrier, 910 . A solder layer may be formed on each of the plurality of FC attaches. The method may also comprise forming a plurality of solder bumps on a corresponding plurality of underbumps, which are formed on the front side of the IC chip, 920 . Subsequently, the method may further comprise, forming a compressive film on a backside of the IC chip, 930 . The method may yet further comprise, “flipping” and positioning the IC chip over the chip carrier, such that the front side of the IC chip faces the top surface of the chip carrier, and each of the solder bumps formed on the IC chip opposes a solder layer formed on a corresponding one, i.e., being vertically-aligned, of the plurality of FC attaches of the chip carrier, 940 . The method may yet further comprise, heating the IC chip, the underbumps, the solder bumps, the solder layers formed on each of the plurality of FC attaches and the chip carrier to an elevated temperature, for example, from 170° C. to 250° C., to produce one of a flat IC chip and a positively warped IC chip, 950 . The producing of one of a flat IC chip and a positively warped IC chip may result from reducing a distance, i.e., reducing a negative warpage of the IC chip, between the solder bumps on the IC chip and the opposing FC attaches on the positively warped chip carrier. This reduction in distance between the solder bumps and the opposing FC attaches may enhance a probability of wetting the opposing solders of the vertically-aligned solder bumps and solder layers of the FC attaches. The method may yet further comprise, forming a plurality of continuous solder columns at room temperature from the underbumps to the opposing FC attaches, to form the flip chip package, 960 . The forming of the plurality of continuous solder columns, which are devoid of a non-wetted interface, may come about by the contacting of “wetted” opposing solders from the solder bumps and the FC attaches.
In the packaging, the chip may be mounted in a single chip package (such as a plastic carrier, with leads that are affixed to a motherboard or other higher level carrier) or in a multichip package (such as a ceramic carrier that has either or both surface interconnections or buried interconnections). In any case the chip may then integrated with other chips, discrete circuit elements, and/or other signal processing devices as part of either (a) an intermediate product, such as a motherboard, or (b) an end product. The end product can be any product that includes integrated circuit chips, ranging from toys and other low-end applications to advanced computer products having a display, a keyboard or other input device, and a central processor.
When patterning any material herein, the material to be patterned can be grown or deposited in any known manner and a patterning layer (such as an organic photoresist) can be formed over the material. The patterning layer (resist) can be exposed to some pattern of light radiation (e.g., patterned exposure, laser exposure, etc.) provided in a light exposure pattern, and then the resist is developed using a chemical agent. This process changes the physical characteristics of the portion of the resist that was exposed to the light. Then one portion of the resist can be rinsed off, leaving the other portion of the resist to protect the material to be patterned. A material removal process is then performed (e.g., plasma etching, etc.) to remove the unprotected portions of the material to be patterned. The resist is subsequently removed to leave the underlying material patterned according to the light exposure pattern.
In addition, terms such as “right”, “left”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “upper”, “lower”, “under”, “below”, “underlying”, “over”, “overlying”, “parallel”, “perpendicular”, etc., used herein are understood to be relative locations as they are oriented and illustrated in the drawings (unless otherwise indicated). Terms such as “touching”, “on”, “in direct contact”, “abutting”, “directly adjacent to”, etc., mean that at least one element physically contacts another element (without other elements separating the described elements). | Structures and methods for forming good electrical connections between an integrated circuit (IC) chip and a chip carrier of a flip chip package include forming one of: a tensile layer on a front side of the IC chip, which faces a tops surface of the chip carrier, and a compressive layer on the backside of the IC chip. Addition of one of: a tensile layer to the front side of the IC chip and a compressive layer the backside of the IC chip, may reduce or modulate warpage of the IC chip and enhance wetting of opposing solder surfaces of solder bumps on the IC chip and solder formed on flip chip (FC) attaches of a chip carrier during making of the flip chip package. | Briefly summarize the main idea's components and working principles as described in the context. | [
"BACKGROUND 1.",
"Field of the Invention This disclosure generally relates to structures and methods for forming good electrical connections between an integrated circuit (IC) chip and a chip carrier of a flip chip package.",
"More particularly, addition of one of: tensile layers and a compressive layer, to selected surfaces of IC chips in a wafer prior to solder bump re-heating, may reduce or modulate warpage of the IC chip and enhance wetting of opposing solder surfaces of solder bumps on the IC chip and solder formed on flip chip (FC) attaches of a chip carrier in a flip chip package.",
"Description of Related Art The semiconductor marketplace continues to demand smaller devices, which require greater connectivity densities for packaging design.",
"The increased functionality of smaller semiconductor devices requires an increased number of signal, power, and ground connections, and a corresponding decrease in connection pitch is required to maintain reasonable chip size.",
"The combination of these requirements results in greater complexity of semiconductor packaging design.",
"Referring to FIG. 1 , the packaging design requirement is especially critical in flip chip packages, where demand for a greater density of connections must coexist with good electrical and reliability performance.",
"When compared to other packaging technologies, flip chip packaging significantly increases the number of signal, power and ground connections of the integrated circuit (IC) chip that are connected to the chip carrier through solder bumps or controlled collapse chip connections (C4s).",
"Following solder re-heating, chip-join and cool-down, the solder bumps of the IC chip and the solder of the flip chip (FC) attaches of the chip carrier form electrical and mechanical connections between the IC chip and the chip carrier of the flip chip package.",
"In turn, the FC attaches electrically connect through various pathways of the chip carrier to, for example, a ball grid array or land grid array that connect to a system board.",
"Typically, the process steps for a flip chip package include: creating IC chips on a silicon wafer;",
"forming underbumps on a front side surface of the IC chip, i.e., above the silicon layers of the IC chip;",
"depositing solder bumps or C4 connections on each of the underbumps;",
"singulating or cutting the IC chips from the silicon wafer;",
"“flipping”",
"and positioning each IC chip, so that the solder bumps of the IC chip oppose the solder layers formed on the FC attaches of a chip carrier;",
"and re-heating the solder bumps and the solder layers formed on the FC attaches to effect chip-join.",
"Optionally, an electrically insulating underfill is subsequently introduced between the overlying IC chip and the underlying chip carrier, to prevent mechanical flexion of the solder connections between the IC chip and the chip carrier of the flip chip package.",
"Joining of the IC chip to the chip carrier requires re-heating of the solder bumps and the solder layers of the FC attaches, so as to “wet”",
"the opposing solder surfaces of the solder bumps and the solder layers of the FC attaches.",
"This wetting allows the miscible solders of the opposing solder surfaces to form an effective electrical connection upon subsequent cooling.",
"During heating, both the IC chip and the chip carrier can warp because of mismatches between the coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) of their constituent layers.",
"Relative to room temperature, as shown in the cross section of FIG. 2 , the IC chip 220 , at a temperature of 245° C., shows a slight negative warp, i.e., the IC chip's center is lower than the corners;",
"whereas, the chip carrier 240 shows a positive warp, i.e., the chip carrier's center is higher than its corners.",
"The relatively more compliant chip carrier typically warps to a greater extent than does the IC chip.",
"Warping represents a change in height of sub-areas across the surface area of either the IC chip or the chip carrier relative to a reference plane at room temperature and at an elevated temperature.",
"The extent of warping of the IC chip and the chip carrier is proportional to a radial distance from a centrally located neutral point, i.e., DNP, of each of the IC chip and the chip carrier.",
"Hence, the relative movement between the opposing solders on the IC chip and the chip carrier is greatest at the edges of the IC chip.",
"At peak elevated temperatures, e.g., 250° C., the solder of the solder bumps, along the edges of the IC chip, and the solder of the opposing FC attaches are physically separated and contact is impossible.",
"During subsequent cooling, the respective solders of the physically separated solder bumps of the IC chip and the opposing FC attaches of the chip carrier can solidify;",
"thus, precluding any “wetting”",
"of the two opposing solders to form a high quality electrical solder connection.",
"Upon subsequent cooling to room temperature, the IC chip and the chip carrier can flatten;",
"thus, providing physical contact (possibly, with mechanical deformation) at interfaces formed between the previously solidified solder bumps of the IC chip and the previously solidified solder layers of the FC attaches, i.e., a non-wet interface.",
"However, the quality of the electrical contacts between these previously solidified solder contacts is not as good as that of “wetted”",
"contacts between the two opposing miscible solders of the heated solder bumps of the IC chip and the heated solder layers of the FC attaches.",
"There remains a need to reliably form a “wet”",
"contact between solder bumps of the integrated circuit (IC) chip and the solder layers of the opposing flip chip (FC) attaches of the chip carrier at an elevated temperature, where warping of the IC chip and the chip carrier may occur in a flip chip package.",
"SUMMARY OF INVENTION In view of the foregoing, an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may provide a flip chip package that includes a chip carrier and an integrated circuit (IC) chip positioned above the chip carrier, in which the IC chip has a front side that faces the chip carrier and a backside that is opposite the front side.",
"The flip chip package may also include one of: a tensile film formed on the front side of the IC chip, in which the tensile film has a plurality of openings, each of the openings exposing the front side, and a compressive film formed on the backside of the IC chip.",
"The flip chip package may further include a plurality of continuous solder columns located between the IC chip and the chip carrier, where each of the continuous solder columns extends from a flip chip (FC) attach on a top surface of the chip carrier to an opposing underbump formed on the front side of the IC chip.",
"Another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may provide a method of making a flip chip package that includes forming a chip carrier with a plurality of flip chip (FC) attaches located on a top surface of the chip carrier, where a solder layer is formed on each FC attach.",
"The method may also include forming a first tensile film on a front side of an integrated circuit (IC) chip and a second tensile film on a backside of the IC chip.",
"The method may further include forming a plurality of openings in the first tensile film that expose portions of the front side of the IC chip.",
"The method may yet further include forming a plurality of solder bumps on a corresponding plurality of underbumps, which are formed on the first side of the IC chip within each of the openings.",
"Subsequently, the method may yet further include removing the second tensile film from the backside of the IC chip.",
"The method may yet further include flipping and positioning the IC chip over the chip carrier, where the front side of the IC chip faces the top surface of the chip carrier, and each of the solder bumps opposes a solder layer formed on one of the FC attaches of the chip carrier.",
"The method may yet further include heating the IC chip, the underbumps, the solder bumps, the solder layers formed on the FC attaches, and the chip carrier to an elevated temperature, to produce one of a flat IC chip and a positively warped IC chip.",
"Finally, the method may include forming a plurality of continuous solder columns at room temperature from the underbumps to the opposing FC attaches, to form the flip chip package.",
"Yet another exemplary embodiment of the disclosure may provide a method of making a flip chip package that includes forming a chip carrier with a plurality of flip chip (FC) attaches located on a top surface of the chip carrier, where a solder layer is formed on each FC attach.",
"The method may also include forming a plurality of solder bumps on a corresponding plurality of underbumps, which are formed on a front side of an integrated circuit (IC) chip.",
"Subsequently, the method may further include forming a compressive film on a backside of the IC chip.",
"The method may yet further include flipping and positioning the IC chip over the chip carrier, where the front side of the IC chip faces the top surface of the chip carrier, and each of the solder bumps opposes a solder layer formed on one of the FC attaches of the chip carrier.",
"The method may yet further include heating the IC chip, the underbumps, the solder bumps, the solder layers formed on the FC attaches, and the chip carrier to an elevated temperature, to produce one of a flat IC chip and a positively warped IC chip.",
"Finally, the method may include forming a plurality of continuous solder columns at room temperature from the underbumps to the opposing FC attaches, to form the flip chip package.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The exemplary embodiments of the disclosures herein will be better understood from the following detailed description with reference to the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale and in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of a flip chip package in the related art;",
"FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a flip chip package at room temperature, showing no warpage, and a flip package at an elevated temperature, showing warpage, in the related art;",
"FIG. 3 is a graph illustrating measures of warping of a wafer upon which a photosensitive polyimide (PSPI) layer is formed to heating and cooling, in an exemplary embodiment;",
"FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating measures of warping of a product wafer with multiple BEOL (back end of line) layers to heating and cooling in an exemplary embodiment;",
"FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of a flip chip package, including an IC chip on which a tensile layer is formed on a front side of the IC chip, that produces a flat IC chip relative to a positively warped chip carrier at an elevated temperature in an exemplary embodiment;",
"FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of a flip chip package, including an IC chip on which a tensile layer is formed on a front side of the IC chip, that produces a positively warped IC chip relative to a positively warped chip carrier at an elevated temperature in an exemplary embodiment;",
"FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of a flip chip package, including an IC chip on which a compressive layer is formed on a backside of the IC chip, that produces a flat IC chip relative to a positively warped chip carrier at an elevated temperature in an exemplary embodiment;",
"FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of a flip chip package, including an IC chip on which a compressive layer is formed on a backside of the IC chip, that produces a positively warped IC chip relative to a positively warped chip carrier at an elevated temperature in an exemplary embodiment;",
"FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of a flip chip package at room temperature, including an IC chip on which a tensile layer is formed on a front side of the IC chip, and a plurality of continuous solder columns between the IC chip and the chip carrier in an exemplary embodiment;",
"FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of a flip chip package at room temperature, including an IC chip on which a compressive layer is formed on a backside of the IC chip, and a plurality of continuous solder columns between the IC chip and the chip carrier in an exemplary embodiment;",
"FIG. 8 is a flowchart 800 illustrating a method of making a flip chip package that reduces warpage of an IC chip on which a tensile layer is formed on a front side of the IC chip in an exemplary embodiment;",
"and FIG. 9 is a flowchart 900 illustrating a method of making a flip chip package that reduces warpage of an IC chip on which a compressive layer is formed on a backside of the IC chip in an exemplary embodiment.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION The exemplary embodiments of the disclosure and their various features and advantageous details are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting exemplary embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description.",
"It should be noted that the features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.",
"Descriptions of well-known materials, components, and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.",
"The examples used herein are intended to merely facilitate an understanding of ways in which the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.",
"Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.",
"As described above, there remains a need to reliably form a “wet”",
"contact between solder bumps of the integrated circuit (IC) chip and the solder layers of the opposing flip chip (FC) attaches of the chip carrier at an elevated temperature, where warping of the IC chip and the chip carrier may occur in a flip chip package.",
"A series of experiments was conducted to understand the effects of various materials and processes on the warpage of IC chips.",
"When photosensitive polyimide (PSPI) monitor wafers, which had a PSPS layer formed on the front side of the wafer, were compared to fully processed wafers, designated “Cuba”",
"wafers, the singulated dies from the PSPS monitor wafers warped less than those from the Cuba wafers over a heating and cooling cycle from room temperature to 250° C. The die backside warpage of singulated dies from the PSPI monitor wafers showed less warpage, i.e., less than 2 μm in FIG. 3 , when compared to the singulated dies from the Cuba wafers, i.e., approximately 4 μm in FIG. 4 , even when both types of dies had solder bumps using the same tin-silver (Sn—Ag) solder composition.",
"The PSPI layer on the front side of PSPI monitor wafers has the physical characteristics of a tensile film, which may counteract and even overcome the negative warpage of a wafer upon heating.",
"Conceptually, a tensile film wants to be “smaller”",
"than the substrate, e.g., the front side of the IC chip, upon which it may be deposited.",
"Referring to FIG. 2 , at an elevated temperature of 245° C., the IC chip 220 shows a slight negative warp;",
"whereas, the chip carrier 240 shows a positive warp.",
"However, as FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate, respectively, a tensile film 510 formed on the front side of the IC chip 520 may produce tensile forces (inwardly directed arrows) that may counteract and even overcome the negative warpage at an elevated temperature, to produce a flat IC chip or an IC chip with positive warpage.",
"Such a flat or positively warped IC chip 520 may significantly reduce the distance between the solder of the solder bumps of the IC chip 520 and the solder of the opposing FC attaches on the flat or positively warped chip carrier 540 , to make possible “wetting”",
"of the two opposing solders in a high quality electrical solder connection.",
"Prior to forming the flip chip package, the IC chip should remain flat during its processing, so as to more uniformly form, for example, the underbumps and solder bumps on the top side of the IC chip.",
"In particular, forming the solder bumps requires heating of the solder being applied to the FC attaches and this heating could induce negative warping of the IC chip.",
"To achieve a flat IC chip, tensile films may be formed on both the front side and backside of the IC chip, prior to forming the underbumps and the solder bumps on the top side of the IC chip.",
"The backside tensile film may subsequently be removed by, for example, grinding of the backside of the IC chip, to leave only a single tensile film on the front side of the IC chip.",
"Re-heating of the solders of the solder bumps and the FC attaches of the flip chip package may then effect better “wetting”, when the IC chip, having a single front side tensile layer that provides one of: a flat and positive warpage, and the chip carrier having an inherent positive warpage are joined.",
"Similar in conception, is the deposition of a compressive film on the backside of the IC chip, after IC chip fabrication, formation of underbumps and solder bumps on the IC chip, and testing of the IC chip, and before re-heating of the solders of the solder bumps and the FC attaches of the flip chip package, to effect better “wetting”",
"and chip-join of the flip chip package.",
"A compressive film wants to be “larger”",
"than the substrate, i.e., the backside of the IC chip, upon which it is deposited.",
"As FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate, respectively, a compressive film 610 formed on the backside of the IC chip 620 produces compressive forces (outwardly directed arrows) that may counteract and even overcome the negative warpage at an elevated temperature, to produce a flat IC chip or an IC chip with positive warpage.",
"Such a positive warpage of the IC chip 620 may significantly reduce the distance between the solder of the solder bumps of the IC chip 620 and the solder of the opposing FC attaches on the positively warped chip carrier 640 , to make possible “wetting”",
"of the two opposing solders in a high quality electrical solder connection.",
"Referring to the cross section illustrated in FIG. 7A , a flip chip package at room temperature may comprise a chip carrier 740 , on which flip chip (FC) attaches 770 are formed on a top surface of the chip carrier 740 .",
"The flip chip package may also comprise an integrated circuit (IC) chip 720 that is positioned above the chip carrier 740 .",
"The IC chip 720 may have a front side that faces the chip carrier 740 and a backside, which is adjacent to silicon layers of the IC chip 720 .",
"A tensile film 710 may be formed on the front side of the IC chip 720 and may range from a thickness of 1 micrometer to 10 micrometers.",
"The tensile film may comprise one of: silicon nitride (SiN), aluminum (Al), and photosensitive polyimide (PSPI).",
"The tensile film 710 may contain a plurality of openings, each of which exposes a portion of the front side of the IC chip 720 and in each of which an underbump 750 may be formed.",
"A plurality of continuous solder columns 760 may be located between the IC chip 720 and the chip carrier 740 .",
"Each of the continuous solder columns 760 may extend from an FC attach on a top surface of the chip carrier 740 to an opposing, i.e., vertically-aligned, underbump 750 formed on the front side of the IC chip 720 within an opening of the tensile film 710 .",
"Each of the plurality of continuous solder columns 760 may be devoid of an interface, caused by non-wetting.",
"Alternatively, as illustrated in the cross section of FIG. 7B , a flip chip package at room temperature may comprise a chip carrier 740 , on which flip chip (FC) attaches 770 are formed on a top surface of the chip carrier 740 .",
"The flip chip package may also comprise an integrated circuit (IC) chip 720 that is positioned above the chip carrier 740 .",
"The IC chip 720 may have a front side that faces the chip carrier 740 and a backside, which is adjacent to silicon layers of the IC chip 720 .",
"A compressive film 730 may be formed on the backside of the IC chip 720 and may range from a thickness of 1 micrometer to 10 micrometers.",
"The compressive film 730 may comprise an oxide.",
"A plurality of continuous solder columns 760 may be located between the IC chip 720 and the chip carrier 740 .",
"Each of the continuous solder columns 760 may extend from an FC attach on a top surface of the chip carrier 740 to an opposing underbump 750 formed on the front side of the IC chip 720 .",
"Each of the plurality of continuous solder columns 760 may be devoid of an interface, caused by non-wetting.",
"Referring to the flowchart 800 of FIG. 8 , a method of making a flip chip package may comprise, forming a chip carrier including a plurality of flip chip (FC) attaches that are formed on a top surface of the chip carrier, 810 .",
"A solder layer may be formed on each of the plurality of FC attaches.",
"The method may also comprise forming a first tensile film on a front side of an integrated circuit (IC) chip and a second tensile film on a backside of the IC chip, 820 .",
"The method may further comprise forming a plurality of openings in the first tensile film by, for example, patterned etching, that expose the front side of the IC chip, 830 .",
"The method may yet further comprise forming a plurality of solder bumps on a corresponding plurality of underbumps, which are formed on the front side of the IC chip within each of the plurality of openings in the first tensile film, 840 .",
"Each of the solder bumps may be formed by applying heated solder to each of the underbumps.",
"Subsequently, the method may yet further comprise, removing the second tensile film from the backside of the IC chip 850 , by, for example, grinding of the second tensile film.",
"The method may yet further comprise, “flipping”",
"and positioning the IC chip over the chip carrier, such that the front side of the IC chip faces the top surface of the chip carrier, and each of the solder bumps formed on the IC chip opposes a solder layer formed on a corresponding one, i.e., vertically-aligned, of the plurality of FC attaches of the chip carrier, 860 .",
"The method may yet further comprise, heating the IC chip, the underbumps, the solder bumps, the solder layers formed on each of the plurality of FC attaches and the chip carrier to an elevated temperature, for example, from 170° C. to 250° C., to produce one of a flat IC chip and a positively warped IC chip, 870 .",
"The producing of one of a flat IC chip and a positively warped IC chip may result from reducing a distance, i.e., reducing a negative warpage of the IC chip, between the solder bumps on the IC chip and the opposing FC attaches on the positively warped chip carrier.",
"This reduction in distance between the solder bumps and the opposing FC attaches may enhance a probability of wetting the opposing solders of the vertically-aligned solder bumps and solder layers of the FC attaches.",
"The method may yet further comprise, forming a plurality of continuous solder columns at room temperature from the underbumps to the opposing FC attaches, to form the flip chip package, 880 .",
"The forming of the plurality of continuous solder columns, which are devoid of a non-wetted interface, may come about by the contacting of “wetted”",
"opposing solders from the solder bumps and the FC attaches.",
"Referring to the flowchart 900 of FIG. 9 , a method of making a flip chip package may comprise, forming a chip carrier including a plurality of flip chip (FC) attaches that are formed on a top surface of the chip carrier, 910 .",
"A solder layer may be formed on each of the plurality of FC attaches.",
"The method may also comprise forming a plurality of solder bumps on a corresponding plurality of underbumps, which are formed on the front side of the IC chip, 920 .",
"Subsequently, the method may further comprise, forming a compressive film on a backside of the IC chip, 930 .",
"The method may yet further comprise, “flipping”",
"and positioning the IC chip over the chip carrier, such that the front side of the IC chip faces the top surface of the chip carrier, and each of the solder bumps formed on the IC chip opposes a solder layer formed on a corresponding one, i.e., being vertically-aligned, of the plurality of FC attaches of the chip carrier, 940 .",
"The method may yet further comprise, heating the IC chip, the underbumps, the solder bumps, the solder layers formed on each of the plurality of FC attaches and the chip carrier to an elevated temperature, for example, from 170° C. to 250° C., to produce one of a flat IC chip and a positively warped IC chip, 950 .",
"The producing of one of a flat IC chip and a positively warped IC chip may result from reducing a distance, i.e., reducing a negative warpage of the IC chip, between the solder bumps on the IC chip and the opposing FC attaches on the positively warped chip carrier.",
"This reduction in distance between the solder bumps and the opposing FC attaches may enhance a probability of wetting the opposing solders of the vertically-aligned solder bumps and solder layers of the FC attaches.",
"The method may yet further comprise, forming a plurality of continuous solder columns at room temperature from the underbumps to the opposing FC attaches, to form the flip chip package, 960 .",
"The forming of the plurality of continuous solder columns, which are devoid of a non-wetted interface, may come about by the contacting of “wetted”",
"opposing solders from the solder bumps and the FC attaches.",
"In the packaging, the chip may be mounted in a single chip package (such as a plastic carrier, with leads that are affixed to a motherboard or other higher level carrier) or in a multichip package (such as a ceramic carrier that has either or both surface interconnections or buried interconnections).",
"In any case the chip may then integrated with other chips, discrete circuit elements, and/or other signal processing devices as part of either (a) an intermediate product, such as a motherboard, or (b) an end product.",
"The end product can be any product that includes integrated circuit chips, ranging from toys and other low-end applications to advanced computer products having a display, a keyboard or other input device, and a central processor.",
"When patterning any material herein, the material to be patterned can be grown or deposited in any known manner and a patterning layer (such as an organic photoresist) can be formed over the material.",
"The patterning layer (resist) can be exposed to some pattern of light radiation (e.g., patterned exposure, laser exposure, etc.) provided in a light exposure pattern, and then the resist is developed using a chemical agent.",
"This process changes the physical characteristics of the portion of the resist that was exposed to the light.",
"Then one portion of the resist can be rinsed off, leaving the other portion of the resist to protect the material to be patterned.",
"A material removal process is then performed (e.g., plasma etching, etc.) to remove the unprotected portions of the material to be patterned.",
"The resist is subsequently removed to leave the underlying material patterned according to the light exposure pattern.",
"In addition, terms such as “right”, “left”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “upper”, “lower”, “under”, “below”, “underlying”, “over”, “overlying”, “parallel”, “perpendicular”, etc.",
", used herein are understood to be relative locations as they are oriented and illustrated in the drawings (unless otherwise indicated).",
"Terms such as “touching”, “on”, “in direct contact”, “abutting”, “directly adjacent to”, etc.",
", mean that at least one element physically contacts another element (without other elements separating the described elements)."
] |
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a Continuation of PCT application serial number PCT/UA2004/000067, filed on Sep. 10, 2004, which in turn claims priority to Ukranian application serial number UA2003098472 filed on Sep. 15, 2003 and Ukranian application serial number UA20040806842 filed on Aug. 16, 2004, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates to volumetric-displacement rotary internal combustion engines and can be used for transport means, sports cars, and power-generating installations.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Known in the art are reciprocating internal combustion engines provided with pistons carrying out reciprocal motion inside cylinders, and an output crankshaft.
[0004] Also known in the art is a rotary internal combustion engine comprising a hollow torus-shaped working cylinder provided with a water jacket; a through continuous circular slot whose walls are symmetrically disposed relative to the central plane of the cylinder around the smallest-diameter surface thereof; an injector or a spark plug; arc-shaped extended intake and exhaust ports provided in the wall for intake of air or an air-fuel mixture and for exhaust of combustion gases; a circular housing symmetrically disposed relative to-the central axis of the cylinder and provided with side walls, mounted in the working cylinder for displacement along the internal surface thereof; four pistons shaped to conform this surface and provided with compression and oil-scraper rings close to ends thereof (U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,249). In addition, this prior art engine is provided with an output shaft mounted for rotation within side walls of the housing about the central axis of the working cylinder and provided with a flywheel disposed symmetrically relative to the central plane of the cylinder; two bearing members disposed on both sides of the flywheel, each of said members comprising radially arranged ring and a disc-shaped C-wall provided with diametrically opposite slots and mounted on the output shaft for rotation thereabout. Two pistons of this engine are fastened in a diametrically opposite relationship on one ring, and two pistons, on the other ring, thereby forming inter-piston chambers between the pistons that are fastened on different bearing members. In such design, shape and size of the rings are chosen proceeding from the condition of their mounting inside the circular slot for tight contact between external surfaces of the rings and compression and oil-scraper rings, and for sealing the gaps between end faces of said rings, as well as between other end faces thereof and circular slot walls. This rotary engine is provided with a transmission gear joining the bearing members with the output shaft and comprising two toothed gearwheels in the form of external-mesh gearwheels that are fastened on the side walls of the housing, four satellite gears coupled with the flywheel, two of said satellite gears being in engagement with one toothed gearwheel and coupled with one bearing member, and two other gearwheels engaged with the other toothed gearwheel and coupled with the other bearing member. The pivot pin of each satellite gear connected with one bearing member is disposed between pivot pins of the satellite gears coupled with the other bearing member. In addition, the engine comprises two eccentric members provided with two main journals mounted for rotation inside flywheel openings, said openings being parallel to the flywheel axis and disposed in a diametrically opposite arrangement on the same circumference, and four crankpins disposed at the ends of the main journals in eccentric arrangement, each said crankpin being passed through one of the radial slots provided in the wall of one of the bearing members, and into the opening of one of the satellite gears. In this prior-art design of the rotary internal combustion engine, the ratio between diameters of satellite gears and toothed gearwheels is 1:2; the planes passing through the axes of main journals and crankpins of each pair of adjacent eccentric members intersect at an angle of 90°, and the distance between the crankpins in the areas of top and bottom dead centers is minimal.
[0005] In the above-described rotary engine, all the pistons are rotating in the same direction; in so doing, adjacent pistons are either drawing together or moving away from one another, thereby providing a decrease/increase in the volumes of inter-piston chambers, and thereby ensuring, in the process of rotation of each of the inter-piston chambers, the possibility of executing successive strokes: intake of air and fuel or an air-fuel mixture in the chamber, compression of the air-fuel mixture; ignition of the above mixture accompanied by expansion of combustion gases, and exhaust of said gases from the chamber.
[0006] As against a regular reciprocating engine, the rotary engine features the following advantages. First, in the rotary engine all the pistons are disposed within the same cylinder, i.e. they are arranged in the circular rather than longitudinal direction, thereby allowing to reduce longitudinal dimensions of the engine; second, the pistons are moving in the circular rather than radial direction; as a result, the rotary engine is much more compact than the reciprocating one. In addition, arrangement of all the pistons within one cylinder and their rotation in the circular direction result in a lower materials consumption of such engine. At the same time, conversion of rotation of the pistons to rotation of the output shaft is accomplished through the use of four eccentric members rather than via a massive crankshaft, thereby also reducing the materials consumption of the engine. Meanwhile, the major advantage of the rotary engine consists in that its pistons are not reciprocating but rather constantly moving in one direction, although at alternate speeds, thereby resulting in substantially lower consumption of energy required to overcome the inertia of pistons in a change of the sign of their acceleration for an opposite one, and hence in an increase of the engine specific power and performance index. In the rotary engine, supply of air or air-fuel mixture to the cylinder and exhaust of combustion gases are carried out by closing and opening intake and exhaust ports by pistons in the course of their travel within the cylinder, thereby eliminating the need in a complicated multicomponent control gear comprising a camshaft coupled with the crankshaft, as well as lifters, rocker arms, and valves: all this simplifies engine design and improves reliability of its operation, while eliminating consumption of energy for driving this control gear.
[0007] However, in the above-described engine the couplings between the flywheel, bearing members, and satellite gears are executed via crankpin—radial slot kinematic pairs that operate under kinetic friction conditions and great contact loads, thereby causing substantial friction in these pairs and resulting in substantial abrasion of the walls of radial slots and crankpins, and hence in an increase of gaps therebetween; all this results in emergence of impact loads that disturb normal operation of the engine. At the same time, satellite gears do not have any axial bearings since these satellite gears are coupled with the flywheel by means of crankpins disposed in these satellite gears in eccentric arrangement relative to the axes of rotation thereof; therefore, the crankpins exert high pressure forces to hold satellite gears together with the toothed gearwheels during rotational movements of the crankpins toward said toothed gearwheels, and pull the crankpins away from the toothed gearwheels during rotational movements of the crankpins in the opposite direction. Such an arrangement creates great radial loads on the satellite gears and toothed gearwheels, and causes fluctuating bending stresses in the crankpins, and hence fluctuating loads on all the components of the transmission gear. Elevated loads in meshes between satellite gears and gearwheels cause substantial friction forces in such meshes, which in addition to substantial friction forces in the crankpin—radial slot kinematic pairs results in considerable losses of energy, and hence in an insufficient performance index of the engine. Considerable loads in meshes, as well as impact loads in crankpin—radial slot pairs result in an inadequate reliability of the engine and insufficient interrepair life thereof. At the same time, rigid couplings between the components of the transmission gear, carried out via two eccentric members, impose restraints on setting a mode of variation of the speed of relative travel of the bearing members, and result in an additional increase in the loads on the transmission gear components.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Proceeding from aforementioned, the present invention is based on the object of improving the rotary internal combustion engine by way of providing rotational couplings between each of satellite gears and the flywheel and the bearing member, with inclusion of axial bearings for satellite gears in the transmission gear, thereby allowing to eliminate impact loads on the components of said transmission gear, to reduce loads on said components and power consumption required for overcoming friction in said components, and to provide more flexible couplings therebetween, and hence to increase the performance index of the engine, reliability and interrepair time thereof, while reducing dimensions and mass of the components of the transmission gear, and to extend the capabilities of setting the mode of variation of the speed of relative travel of the bearing members.
[0009] The object set forth is attained by that in a rotary internal combustion engine comprising a hollow torus-shaped working cylinder provided with a water jacket; a through continuous circular slot whose walls are symmetrically arranged relative to the central plane of the cylinder around the smallest-diameter surface thereof; an injector or a spark plug; arc-shaped extended intake and exhaust ports provided in the wall for intake of air or an air-fuel mixture and for exhaust of combustion gases; a circular housing symmetrically disposed relative to the central axis of the cylinder and provided with side walls, and also provided with four pistons mounted in the working cylinder for travel along the internal surface thereof and shaped to conform this surface and provided with compression and oil-scraper rings near end faces thereof, and in addition provided with an output shaft mounted for rotation within said side walls of the housing along the central axis of the working cylinder, and a flywheel fastened on the output shaft or being integral therewith, and two bearing members symmetrically arranged relative to the central plane of the cylinder, each of said members comprising radially arranged ring and a C-wall mounted for rotation about the axis of the output shaft, and wherein, in addition to the above-listed, two pistons are fastened in a diametrically opposite arrangement on one ring, and two pistons, on the other ring, thereby forming inter-piston chambers between the pistons that are fastened on different bearing members; in so doing, shape and size of the rings are chosen proceeding from the condition of their mounting within the circular slot for tight contact between external surfaces of the rings and compression and oil-scraper rings, and for sealing the gaps between end faces of said rings, as well as between other end faces thereof and circular slot walls, and finally wherein there is provided a transmission gear comprising two toothed gearwheels in the form of external-mesh gearwheels that are fastened on the side walls of the housing and are provided with axial openings for the passage of the output shaft; four satellite gears coupled with the flywheel, two of said satellite gears being in engagement with one toothed gearwheel and coupled with one bearing member, and two other gearwheels engaged with the other toothed gearwheel and coupled with the other bearing member, the axis of rotation of each satellite gear coupled with one bearing member being disposed between axes of rotation of the satellite gears coupled with the other bearing member; eccentric members coupling the satellite gears with the flywheel and the bearing members, and provided with two main journals mounted within flywheel openings, said openings being parallel to the flywheel axis, and four crankpins coupled with the bearing members, the ratio between diameters of satellite gears and toothed gearwheels being 1:2; the planes passing through the axes of the main journals and crankpins of each pair of adjacent eccentric members intersecting at an angle of 90°, and the distance between crankpins in the areas of top and bottom dead centers being minimal, wherein according to the present invention, the transmission gear is provided with four eccentric members whose main journals are disposed at a uniform pitch along circumference and are either fastened within the axial openings of the satellite gears or made integral therewith, and the crankpins are coupled with the bearing members by means of coupler links, each coupler link being mounted with the ends thereof for rotation on the crankpin and about the pivot pin disposed in the wall of one of the bearing members.
[0010] Provision of the transmission gear with four instead of two eccentric members mounted with main journals thereof within four openings provided in the flywheel and having no rigid coupling therebetween, and availability of couplings between the crankpins and the bearing members via the coupler links result in elimination of the crankpin—radial slot pairs that operate under conditions of kinetic friction and great contact loads, thereby imparting all the couplings between the bearing members and the flywheel rotational nature and making them more loose, which results in a decrease in consumption of energy required to overcome the friction between the components of the transmission gear, and expands the possibilities of setting a mode of variation of the speed of relative travel of the bearing members provided with the pistons. At the same time, the above rotational couplings eliminate abrasion of interacting surfaces and resulting emergence of impact loads within the transmission gear. Fastening of the main journals within the satellite gears along axes of rotation thereof results in the reduction of loads, and hence of the friction in toothed meshes, and eliminates any substantial alternate stresses in the transmission gear components. All this permits to reduce costs required to overcome the friction between the transmission gear components, to reduce the loads exerted thereon, and hence to increase the performance index of the engine, reliability and interrepair life thereof, while decreasing dimensions and mass of the transmission gear components.
[0011] In so doing, the bearing members of the inventive rotary engine may be disposed on both sides of the central plane of the cylinder, with a gap provided between the walls of said bearing members; the flywheel is composed of two radially arranged discs, each of them being disposed between one of the toothed gearwheels and one of the bearing members, and two radially arranged rings, each of them being disposed between one of the housing side walls and one pair of the satellite gears, and coupled with one of the discs by means of two arc-shaped plates passed between the points of engagement of toothed gearwheels with satellite gears, the main journals of the satellite gears meshed with one toothed gearwheel being mounted within the openings of one ring, and the main journals of the satellite gears meshed with the other toothed gearwheel, within the openings of the other wheel. Such arrangement results in a small axial length of the bearing members since their walls are disposed at an insignificant distance from one another in the axial direction; this however also somewhat complicates the flywheel design, increases the number of parts, and complicates the technology of assembling such engine.
[0012] In the best mode of the engine, the bearing members are disposed on both sides of the central plane of the cylinder, with a gap provided between the walls of said bearing members; the flywheel is composed of two radially arranged discs and two radially arranged rings, each of the discs being disposed between one of the toothed gearwheels and one of the bearing members, and each of the rings, between one of the housing side walls and the satellite gears, and coupled with one of the discs by means of four arc-shaped plates passed between four points of engagement of toothed gearwheels and satellite gears, each of the satellite gears being composed of two twin gearwheels fastened on the main journal thereof on both sides of the pair of the bearing members, and the main journal rigidly connected with the crankpin, the main journal of each satellite gear being mounted within coaxial openings of both flywheel rings; one of the twin gearwheels is meshed with one of the toothed gearwheels, and the other gearwheel, with the other toothed gearwheel; the coupler link connecting each of the satellite gears with the bearing member is disposed within the gap between twin gearwheels of the satellite gear and is composed of two parallel plates that are rigidly interconnected with formation of a gap therebetween, said gap enclosing the wall of the bearing member, coupled with this satellite gear, the walls of the bearing members being made in the shape of plates or discs connecting the piston pairs, each of the discs being provided with four openings; arrangement and sizes of the plates or openings provided in the discs are chosen proceeding from the condition of absence of any contacts between main journals and crankpins of the satellite gears coupled with one bearing member, and plates or edges of the openings provided in the discs of the other bearing member in the course of relative travel of the bearing members.
[0013] The advantage of such embodiment of the engine consists in that the load on the teeth of satellite gears and toothed gearwheels, exerted by the bearing members, is evenly distributed between the twin gearwheels, thereby halving the load in the meshes between the satellite gears and the toothed gearwheels, and hence permitting to substantially reduce the sizes of the satellite gears and the toothed gearwheels, thereby decreasing radial dimensions of the transmission gear. In addition, making satellite gears in the twin form, their gearwheels being symmetrically arranged relative to the central plane of the cylinder, ensures symmetrical arrangement of masses of the transmission gear components on both sides of this plane along axial and radial coordinates, and hence substantially simplifies static and dynamic balancing of the engine, and reduces the timetable and costs required for such balancing. This however somewhat complicates the design of the transmission gear and assembling of the engine.
[0014] As an alternative, the flywheel may be disposed in the central plane of the cylinder, each toothed gearwheel being provided with a bushing fastened on the side wall of the housing, and the bearing members are mounted for rotation on the bushings of the toothed gearwheels between these gearwheels and housing side walls. Such arrangement results in a substantial axial length of the bearing members and their mounting on the bushings of the toothed gearwheels rather than on the output shaft, at the same time however simplifying the flywheel design and couplings thereof with satellite gears, and hence simplifies the technology of assembling such engine.
[0015] To ensure unhindered travel of the pistons within the cylinder and tightness of the inter-piston chambers from the side of end faces of the pistons, external surfaces of the rings of the bearing members may be made along the moving line in the shape of a circular arc having a diameter equal to the diameter of the internal surface of the working cylinder, and the rings are mounted within the circular slot, external surfaces thereof forming an extension of the internal surface of the cylinder. Such arrangement results in a complicated shape of external surfaces of the rings, thereby requiring a high working accuracy and precise fitting of these surfaces to the internal surface of the cylinder in the process of mounting the rings inside the circular slot.
[0016] Alternatively, the external surface of each piston may be made along the moving line in the shape of circumference, and be provided with a rectilinear section facing the circular slot, the width of said section being equal to the width of the circular slot, and external surfaces of the rings, along the moving lines in the shape of rectilinear lengths. Such arrangement simplifies the shape of rings and hence machining of their external surfaces; however it complicates the shapes of pistons, compression and oil-scraper rings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] The invention is further explained by way of the drawings, in which FIG. 1 shows the engine in section along the output shaft axis; FIG. 2 shows section I-I of FIG. 1 ; FIG. 3 shows enlarged area II of FIG. 1 ; FIG. 4 shows enlarged area II of FIG. 1 , where external surfaces of the rings of the bearing members are made along rectilinear moving lines; FIGS. 5 through 8 show the kinematics of the engine with four various positions of its components during one revolution of the output shaft; FIG. 9 shows the engine diagram with the flywheel disposed along the central plane of the working cylinder, while the bearing members are arranged between the side walls and the toothed gearwheels; FIG. 10 shows axonometric view of the engine in which the satellite gears are made as twin gearwheels; FIG. 11 shows the assembly configuration of the engine shown in FIG. 10 .:
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0018] The rotary internal combustion engine comprises hollow torus-shaped working cylinder 1 ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) provided with through continuous circular slot 2 whose walls are symmetrically arranged relative to the central plane of cylinder 1 about the smallest-diameter surface 3 thereof; four pistons 4 , 5 , 6 , and 7 mounted in the working cylinder for travel along the internal surface thereof, shaped to conform this surface and provided with compression and oil-scraper rings 8 near the ends thereof. The inventive engine is also provided with circular housing 10 with side walls 11 and 12 , symmetrically disposed relative to central axis 9 of working cylinder 1 ; output shaft 13 with flywheel 14 , symmetrically mounted relative to line 15 and for rotation about central axis 9 of working cylinder 1 in side walls 11 and 12 ; two bearing members 16 and 17 provided with rings 18 and 19 , and walls 20 and 21 . The engine is also provided with a transmission gear comprising two toothed gearwheels in the form of external-mesh gearwheels 22 and 23 that are fastened within housing 1 in symmetrical arrangement relative to the central plane of circular slot 2 ; four satellite gears 24 , 25 , 26 , and 27 , coupled with the flywheel, and four eccentric members 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 provided with main journals 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 and crankpins 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 . For the carburetor engine and the injection engine, spark plug 40 is mounted in the wall of cylinder 1 , and arc-shaped extended intake port 41 and exhaust port 42 are provided in said wall for intake of air-fuel mixture into cylinder 1 and for exhaust of combustion gases therefrom, respectively. For the diesel engine, the spark plug is replaced by a fuel injection nozzle, and port 41 serves for intake of air into cylinder 1 . Walls 20 and 21 of bearing members 16 and 17 are made in the form of plates coupling piston pairs 4 , 6 and 5 , 7 . However, for the purpose of increasing the strength of walls 20 and 21 , while keeping their thickness minimal,-these walls may be made in the shape of discs provided with ports designed to reduce the mass of discs and to facilitate access to engine components in the course of maintenance activities.
[0019] Bearing members 16 and 17 are made C-shaped in radial sections thereof and mounted on output shaft 13 for rotation thereabout and in symmetrical relationship with central plane 15 of circular slot 2 , a gap being provided between their walls 20 and 21 that are coupled with rings 18 and 19 along open end faces thereof. External surfaces 43 and 44 (FIG. 3 ) of rings 18 and 19 of bearing members 16 and 17 are provided along the moving lines in the shape of arcs of a circumference having a diameter equal to the diameter of the internal surface of working cylinder 1 , and radial sizes of rings 18 and 19 , i.e. distances of their external surfaces 43 and 44 from central shaft 9 of cylinder 1 are so selected that when mounting rings 18 and 19 in circular slot 2 their external surfaces 43 and 44 form, inside slot 2 , an extension of the internal surface of cylinder 1 , thereby providing a tight contact between surfaces 43 , 44 and compression and oil-scraper rings 8 of pistons 4 through 7 , and hence sealing of the inter-piston chambers and free travel of pistons 4 through 7 inside cylinder 1 . However, the complicated shape of external surfaces 43 , 44 of rings 18 , 19 requires a high accuracy of their machining and fitting of these surfaces to the internal surface of cylinder 1 in the course of mounting rings 18 , 19 in circular slot 2 .
[0020] To eliminate the above shortcomings, the surface of each of pistons 4 through 7 may be made ( FIG. 4 ) along a moving line in the form of a circumference with rectilinear section 45 facing circular slot 2 , the width of this section being equal to the width of circular slot 2 , and external surfaces 43 a , 44 a of rings 18 , 19 in the radial section thereof, in the form of rectilinear lengths along moving lines. This solution however results in a complication of shapes of pistons 4 through 7 .
[0021] End faces of rings 18 and 19 , as well as of the walls of circular slot 2 ( FIG. 3 ) are provided with circular concentric grooves 47 which, upon mounting of rings 18 and 19 in circular slot 2 , form labyrinth seal 48 between the end faces of rings 18 and 19 , and labyrinth seals 49 and 50 between the end faces of rings 18 , 19 and the walls of circular slot 2 . Labyrinth seals 49 and 50 are supplied with a lubricant via circular ducts 51 and 52 , provided in housing 10 , and via a set of ducts 53 , 54 that are connected with ducts 51 , 52 and open into seals 49 and 50 . Seal 48 is supplied with lubricant from circular gap 55 provided between pistons 4 through 7 and the internal surface of cylinder 1 . Gap 55 is supplied with lubricant via radial duct 56 provided in wall 21 of bearing member 17 , said radial duct being supplied with lubricant via an axial duct provided in shaft 13 ( FIG. 2 ). Under the effect of centrifugal forces resulting from rotation of bearing members 16 , 17 , the lubricant is vented from seals 49 , 50 into circular gap 55 . Labyrinth seals 48 , 49 , 50 form ducts of variable cross-section, which fact, taken in combination with an oil film formed therein, results in a high hydraulic resistance in the way of combustion gases. Labyrinth seals may be replaced by O-rings fastened on end faces of rings 18 , 19 and made of a heat-resisting material having low coefficients of thermal expansion and friction.
[0022] Pistons 4 and 6 ( FIGS. 1, 2 ) are fastened in a diametrically opposite relationship on bearing member 16 , and pistons 5 and 7 , on bearing member 17 , thereby forming variable-volume inter-piston chambers 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 between pistons 4 , 5 , 6 , and 7 .
[0023] Satellite gears 24 and 26 are meshed with gearwheel 22 , and satellite gears 25 and 27 , with gearwheel 23 .
[0024] Flywheel 14 ( FIGS. 1, 5 ) is composed of two radially arranged discs 64 and 65 , disc 64 being disposed between gearwheel 22 and bearing member 16 , and disc 65 , between gearwheel 23 and bearing member 17 , and two radially arranged rings 66 and 67 , ring 66 being disposed between side wall 11 of housing 1 and a pair of satellite gears 24 , 25 , and ring 67 , between side wall 12 and a pair of satellite gears 26 , 27 . Ring 66 is coupled with disc 64 by two arc-shaped plates 68 passed between the points of engagement of gearwheel 22 with satellite gears 24 , 26 , and ring 67 is coupled with disc 65 by two arc-shaped plates 68 passed between the point of engagement of gearwheel 23 with satellite gears 26 , 27 . Main journals 32 and 34 are mounted for rotation in openings of ring 66 , and main journals 33 and 35 , in openings of ring 67 . Axes of openings in both rings are disposed at a uniform circular pitch. Satellite gears 24 and 26 are fastened on main journals 32 and 34 of eccentric members 28 and 30 , and their crankpins 36 and 38 are coupled with wall 20 of bearing member 16 by coupler links 69 and 70 , mounted with their ends for rotation on these crankpins and on pins 71 and 72 , fastened in wall 20 of bearing member 16 . Satellite gears 25 and 27 are fastened on main journals 33 and 35 of eccentric members 29 and 31 , and their crankpins 37 and 39 are coupled with wall 21 of bearing member 17 by coupler links 73 and 74 , mounted with the ends thereof for rotation on these crankpins and on pins 75 and 76 , fastened on wall 21 of bearing member 17 . Such design of the engine makes for compactness of the pair of bearing members 16 , 17 , since these members are disposed at an insignificant axial distance from one another; at the same time however it also results in a complication of the design of flywheel 14 , an increase in the number of parts, complication of engine design and engine assembling technology.
[0025] To ensure cycling operation of engine components in the function of angles of flywheel rotation from the top dead center, the following parameters of these components have been established. The ratio between diameters of satellite gears 24 through 27 and toothed gearwheels 22 , 23 is 1:2, so that during one revolution of output shaft 13 and hence flywheel 14 , each satellite gear performs two revolutions about its axis. Plane 77 passing through the axes of main journal 33 and crankpin 37 of eccentric member 29 of satellite gear 25 , intersects at an angle of 90 o plane 78 passing through the axes of main journal 34 and crankpin 38 of eccentric member 30 . The planes passing through the axes of main journals and crankpins of each pair of adjacent eccentric members intersect at the same angle. Such arrangement of the above planes causes the arrangement of longitudinal axes of adjacent eccentric members (being projections of the above planes to the plane perpendicular to the axis of the output shaft) at an angle of 90°. When designing the engine by way of calculations or using a mock-up of the engine, circular sizes of pistons 4 through 7 are set depending on a selected compression ratio of the air-fuel mixture. In so doing, selected in the cylinder are locations of top and bottom dead centers (M) in the area of maximum approach of adjacent pistons, i.e. in the minimal distance between crankpins of adjacent satellite gears, and on the basis of these dead centers, determined are angular data for spark plug or incandescent plug 40 , as well as angular data for intake port 41 and exhaust port 42 . Selection of the lengths of coupler links 69 , 70 , 73 , 74 and locations of their axes of rotation on walls 20 and 21 of bearing members 16 , 17 is used for presetting the directions of forces applied to crankpins 35 through 39 of satellite gears 24 through 27 by bearing members 16 and 17 in the function of the angles of rotation of the output shaft, thereby defining the nature of changes of the arms of these forces, and hence the nature of changes of torques transferred to satellite gears, in the function of the angles of rotation of the output shaft, and thereby permitting to preset the nature of variation of the speed of relative travel of the bearing members, and hence to optimize parameters of the processes occurring inside the inter-piston chambers.
[0026] The cooling system of the engine is made in the same way as the system described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,249, and therefore is not given in this Specification. The lubricating system is constructed in compliance with the prior art principles, and is only partially presented in this Specification.
[0027] Working cylinder 1 and housing 10 are made of two halves 82 and 83 ( FIGS. 1, 3 , and 11 ) provided with circular flanges 84 and 85 , and with circular sealing washer 86 mounted therebetween. Flanges 84 and 85 are interconnected by way of bolted joints 87 . Washer 86 , together with labyrinth seals 48 , 49 , 50 , provide tightness of the cavity of working cylinder 1 .
[0028] When assembling the engine, pistons 4 and 6 with bearing member 16 made integral therewith are mounted into one of halves 82 , 83 , and pistons 5 and 7 with bearing member 17 , into the other half. Output shaft 13 with flywheel 14 , and components of the transmission gear are inserted into the space between side walls 11 and 12 ; washer 86 is mounted between flanges 84 and 85 ; both halves of working cylinder 1 are connected to dispose pistons 4 and 6 between pistons 5 and 7 , and rings 18 and 19 , in circular slot 2 ; following this, and halves 82 and 83 of cylinder 1 are fastened together by bolted joints 87 .
[0029] The engine operates as follows.
[0030] FIG. 5 demonstrates the kinematics of the engine at the moment when, upon spinup thereof by the starter, pistons 5 and 6 are disposed in the area of the top dead center, M, and inter-piston chamber 61 formed between said pistons and containing an air-fuel mixture compressed to a maximum extent is at the beginning of the area of ignition of the air-fuel mixture and expansion of combustion gases. Piston 7 has opened exhaust port 42 , and inter-piston chamber 62 is disposed at the end of the area of exhaust of combustion gases. Piston 4 starts opening intake port 41 , and inter-piston chamber 63 is disposed at the beginning of the area of intake of the air-fuel mixture. Inter-piston chamber 60 is disposed before the beginning of the compression area. The distances between crankpins 36 , 39 of eccentric members 28 , 31 of adjacent satellite gears 24 , 27 , and between crankpins 37 , 38 of eccentric members 29 , 30 of satellite gears 25 , 26 are minimal. In the process of engine operation, longitudinal axes of eccentric members of adjacent satellite gears are constantly taking positions in which axes thereof intersect at an angle of 90°. FIG. 6 shows the kinematics of the engine at the moment when the process of expansion of combustion gases in inter-piston chamber 61 comes to an end, exhaust of combustion gases in chamber 62 comes to an end, intake of the air-fuel mixture in chamber 63 comes to an end, and the process of mixture compression in chamber 64 comes to an end.
[0031] The air-fuel mixture in inter-piston chamber 61 is igniting, and expanding combustion gases exert pressure on pistons 5 and 6 , said pressure being of the same magnitude and acting in opposite directions. Here, piston 6 together with bearing member 16 rotates clockwise. Coupler link 73 turns eccentric member 30 clockwise, and as a result satellite gear 26 , while rotating about its axis, is rolling clockwise together with main journal 34 about gearwheel 22 ; here, main journal 34 , by acting upon the wall of the opening provided in ring 66 of flywheel 14 , rotates said flywheel clockwise. At the same time, under the effect of the pressure exerted by combustion gases, piston 5 with bearing member 17 rotates counter-clockwise. Coupler link 70 rotates eccentric member 29 together with satellite gear 25 clockwise. Similarly to satellite gear 26 , satellite gear 25 , while rotating about its axis, is rolling clockwise together with main journal 33 of eccentric member 29 about gearwheel 23 , main journal 33 also rotating flywheel 14 clockwise. Thus, pistons 6 and 5 transfer clockwise-directed torques, i.e. an overall torque, to flywheel 14 . Here, forces exerted by coupler link 73 on eccentric member 30 , and by coupler link 70 on eccentric member 29 , are of equal magnitude; however, the arm of the force acting on eccentric member 30 is longer than the arm of force acting on eccentric member 29 , and therefore the torque on eccentric member 30 is greater than the one acting on eccentric member 29 . As a result, the torque transferred to flywheel 14 by eccentric member 30 is greater than the torque transferred by eccentric member 29 . Bearing member 17 is acted upon by a torque created by the pressure of combustion gases on piston 5 and directed counter-clockwise, as well as by the clockwise torque from eccentric member 29 , and the torque from eccentric member 29 , and the torque from flywheel 14 , transferred to said bearing member by main journal 34 of eccentric member 30 . As a result of all the aforementioned, in the process of expansion of combustion gases inside inter-piston chamber 61 , bearing member 16 with piston 6 considerably out-distance bearing member 17 with piston 5 , and therefore piston 5 moves very slowly in clockwise direction, following piston 6 .
[0032] At the same time, bearing member 17 moves piston 7 clockwise by the same angle as piston 5 . In so doing, bearing member 17 is acted upon by an oppositely directed torque since rotating flywheel 14 is moving main journal 35 of eccentric member 31 clockwise, while eccentric member 31 rotating clockwise about its axis together with satellite gear 27 , is pushing bearing member 17 counter-clockwise via coupler link 74 , which constitutes another factor promoting a considerable lag of piston 5 from piston 6 . Piston 6 is traveling clockwise toward almost immovable piston 7 , thereby resulting in ejection of combustion gases from inter-piston chamber 62 . Piston 4 is moved by bearing member 16 together with piston 6 by the same angle, while gradually opening intake port 41 , and thereby carrying out supply of the air-fuel mixture into chamber 63 , and at the same time approaching almost immovable piston 5 , thereby carrying out compression of the air-fuel mixture inside inter-piston chamber 60 .
[0033] Further on, piston 5 takes the position of piston 6 ( FIG. 7 ); piston 4 takes the position of piston 5 ; piston 7 takes the position of piston 4 ; and piston 6 takes the position of piston 7 , correspondingly changing the positions of bearing members 16 and 17 , and the processes that took place inside inter-piston chambers and described above for the sequence of chambers 61 - 62 - 63 - 60 , are repeated for the sequence of chambers 60 - 61 - 62 - 63 ; as a result, pistons 5 and 7 in the course of their motion outdistance pistons 6 and 4 , and components of the transmission gear, coupled with pistons 5 and 7 , repeat the motions of components coupled with pistons 6 and 4 . FIG. 8 shows subsequent positions of engine components, similar to those given in Fig.6 . Thus, during one revolution of output shaft 13 , in each of the inter-piston chambers there occurs a sequence of processes of intake of the air-fuel mixture, its compression, ignition accompanied by expansion of combustion gases, and exhaust of these gases; during one revolution of output shaft 13 , four explosion strokes occur inside various inter-piston chambers, accompanied by transfer of the energy of pistons' motion to output shaft 13 .
[0034] Thus, transfer of power from pistons 4 through 7 to output shaft 13 is carried out via bearing members 16 , 17 and the transmission gear containing only pairs operating with rolling friction, i.e. via coupler links 69 , 70 and 73 , 74 , rotating with ends thereof about pins 71 , 72 and 75 , 76 in bearing members 16 , 17 , and about crankpins 36 , 37 and 38 , 39 of eccentric members 28 , 30 , 31 , 33 , whose main journals 32 through 35 are rotating in the openings of two rings 66 , 67 of flywheel 14 . As compared to the prototype engine, such arrangement considerably reduces friction in the transmission gear components and eliminates increased wear thereof. Satellite gears 24 through 27 are provided with axial supports in the form of main journals 32 through 35 , thereby eliminating emergence of substantial alternate loads acting upon the transmission gear components. Couplings between eccentric members 28 through 31 and the bearing members via coupler links 69 , 70 , 73 , 74 eliminate the need in crankpin—radial slot pairs in the bearing members, operating under kinetic friction conditions and great contact loads.
[0035] As can be seen from the description of design and operation of the internal combustion engine, it has the following main advantage over a regular reciprocating engine. In a regular reciprocating engine, the pistons are performing reciprocal motion, thereby causing great consumption of energy required to overcome the inertia of pistons in a change of the direction of their travel for an opposite one. In the course of operation of the rotary engine, pistons 4 through 7 are constantly traveling in the same direction, although at variable speeds; in so doing, consumption of energy required to overcome the inertia of pistons in a change of the sign of their acceleration for an opposite one is considerably lower, and hence the performance index of the rotary engine is much higher than in case of a regular one.
[0036] It is also possible to use a different arrangement of engine components ( FIG. 9 ), wherein flywheel 14 is disposed in central plane 15 of circular slot 2 , and bearing members are disposed behind gearwheels 22 , 23 and between side walls 11 , 12 of housing 1 . FIG. 9 shows a diagram presenting flywheel 14 , gearwheel 22 , one satellite gear 25 with main journal 34 mounted for rotation in one of the openings provided in flywheel 14 , and with crankpin 37 , and bearing member 16 with pin 72 fastened in wall 20 , and crosshead 70 whose ends are mounted for rotation on crankpin 37 and pin 72 . Bearing members 16 and 17 are mounted for rotation on flanged bushings 90 of gearwheels 22 and 23 , used for fastening these gearwheels on side walls 11 and 12 of housing 1 . The engine having such arrangement of components operates similarly to the above-described one. It differs from the above engine in terms of a simpler design, method of manufacture, and assembling technology; however, bearing members 16 and 17 feature a greater axial length and complicate access to the components disposed therebetween.
[0037] In another embodiment of the invention ( FIGS. 10, 11 ), bearing members 16 , 17 are disposed on both sides of central plane 15 of circular slot 2 and with a clearance between their walls 20 and 21 made in the form of plates connecting the pairs of pistons 4 - 6 and 5 - 7 . Each of the satellite gears is composed of two twin gearwheels fastened on the main journals thereof on both sides of the pair of bearing members 16 and 17 , and rigidly interconnected by a crankpin, one gearwheel of each satellite gear being meshed with toothed gearwheel 22 , and the other gearwheel, with toothed gearwheel 23 . Thus, satellite gear 24 is composed of two twin gearwheels 102 and 103 , mounted on main journals 32 and 32 a of said satellite gear with a gap therebetween and rigidly interconnected by crankpin 36 , gearwheel 102 being meshed with toothed gearwheel 22 , and gearwheel 103 , with toothed gearwheel 23 . Exactly in the same way, satellite gear 26 is composed of two twin gearwheels 106 and 107 ; satellite gear 25 , of two twin gearwheels 108 and 109 , and satellite gear 27 , of two twin gearwheels 110 and 111 , gearwheels 106 , 108 , and 109 being meshed with toothed gearwheel 22 , and gearwheels 107 , 109 , and 111 , with toothed gearwheel 23 . Flywheel 14 is composed of two radially arranged discs 112 and 113 , and two radially arranged rings 114 and 115 , disc 112 being disposed between toothed gearwheel 22 and wall 20 of bearing member 16 , and disc 113 , between toothed gearwheel 23 and wall 21 of bearing member 17 ; ring 114 , between side wall 11 of housing 10 and gearwheels 102 , 106 , 108 , 110 , and ring 115 , between side wall 12 of housing 10 and gearwheels 103 , 107 , 109 , 111 . Ring 114 is coupled with disc 112 by four arc-shaped plates 116 passed between four points 117 of engagement between gearwheels 102 , 106 , 108 , 110 and toothed gearwheel 22 . Exactly in the same way, ring 115 is coupled with disc 113 by arc-shaped plates 118 passed between four points 119 of engagement between gearwheels 103 , 107 , 109 , 111 and toothed gearwheel 23 . Each of main journals 32 through 35 and 32 a through 35 a is mounted for rotation in coaxial openings of rings 114 and 115 , axes of openings of all the four main journals being disposed at a uniform circular pitch. Crankpins 36 and 38 of satellite gears 24 and 26 are coupled with wall 20 of bearing member 16 by coupler links 120 and 121 , and crankpins 37 and 39 of satellite gears 25 and 27 are coupled with wall 21 of bearing member 17 by coupler links 122 and 123 . Each of coupler links 120 through 123 is disposed between twin gearwheels of respective satellite gears and consists of two parallel plates 124 and 125 , rigidly interconnected at one ends thereof by pin 126 with formation of a gap therebetween, the opposite ends of these plates being provided with coaxial openings for crankpins 36 through 39 . Coupler links 120 and 121 are mounted with pins thereof in the openings provided in wall 20 of bearing member 16 , and coupler links 122 and 123 , in the openings provided in the wall of bearing member 17 . Crankpins 36 through 39 are passed through the coaxial openings provided at the other ends of plates 124 , 125 of coupler links 120 through 123 . Thus, coupler links 120 through 123 are mounted with one ends thereof, i.e. pins 126 , for rotation in the openings provided in walls 20 and 21 , and with other ends thereof, for rotation on crankpins 37 through 39 . Here, walls 20 and 21 are disposed between plates 124 and 125 of coupler links 120 through 123 . Arrangement and sizes of walls 20 and 21 of bearing members 16 and 17 , made in the form of walls, are selected proceeding from the condition of lack of any contact between main journals 32 , 32 a , 34 , 34 a and crankpins 36 , 38 of satellite gears 24 and 26 , coupled with wall 20 of bearing member 16 , in the course of relative motion of walls 20 and 21 , and lack of any contact between main journals 33 , 33 a , 35 , 35 a and crankpins 37 , 39 of satellite gears 25 , 27 , coupled with wall 21 of bearing member 17 , with wall 20 of bearing member 16 in the course of their motion. When making the walls of bearing members 16 and 17 in the form of discs, each disc is provided with four ports whose arrangement and sizes are also selected proceeding from the condition of lack of any contact between main journals and crankpins of satellite gears, coupled with the disc of one bearing member, and the edges of the ports provided in the other bearing member.
[0038] In the course of engine operation, the load on the teeth of satellite gears 24 through 27 and toothed gearwheels 22 , 23 from bearing members 16 , 17 is equally distributed between gearwheels 102 , 106 , 108 , 110 , and their twin gearwheels 103 , 107 , 109 , 111 , thereby halving the load within meshes between satellite gears 24 through 27 and toothed gearwheels 22 , 23 , and hence allows to considerably reduce the sizes of these toothed members, and thereby to reduce radial sizes of the transmission gear. In addition, twin arrangement of satellite gears 24 through 27 , their gearwheels being symmetrical relative to central plane 3 of cylinder 1 , ensures symmetrical arrangement of masses of the transmission gear elements on both sides of central plane 3 of cylinder 1 both in axial and radial directions, and therefore considerably simplifies static and dynamic balancing of the engine, and reduces consumption of time and funds required for such balancing. This however somewhat complicates the design of the transmission gear and assembling of the engine. In all other respects, the engine operates similarly to the above-described embodiments thereof. | Said invention can be used for transport means, sports cars and power plants. The inventive engine comprises a hollow toroidal working cylinder provided with a continuous circular slot embodied along the small diameter thereof, a nozzle or a spark plug and arc-wise extended input and output orifices embodied in the wall thereof for admitting air or air-fuel mixture and exhausting combustion gases. The novelty of the inventive engine lies in that the transmission gear thereof is provided with four eccentrics whose crankshaft necks are fixed to the axial holes of the pinions and arranged in the four bores of a fly wheel, whose axes are circumferentially disposed at an even pitch. The crankshaft necks are connected to the bearing elements through connecting rods each of which is arranged by the ends thereof in such a way that they are rotatable about the crankshaft neck and an axis disposed in the wall of one of the bearing elements. The particular embodiments of the invention relates to the relative positions of the fly wheel and bearing elements determining the different forms of the fly wheel embodiment and the connections thereof to the pinions. The invention makes it possible to exclude load impacts to the transmission gear, reduce other loads applied thereto and the friction power loss and to ensure more flexible connections there between, thereby increasing the engine performance, the reliability and overhaul period thereof, reduce the size and mass of the elements of the transmission gear and extend the possibility for specifying the behaviour of speed variation of the relative motion of the bearing elements. | Summarize the document in concise, focusing on the main idea's functionality and advantages. | [
"RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a Continuation of PCT application serial number PCT/UA2004/000067, filed on Sep. 10, 2004, which in turn claims priority to Ukranian application serial number UA2003098472 filed on Sep. 15, 2003 and Ukranian application serial number UA20040806842 filed on Aug. 16, 2004, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The invention relates to volumetric-displacement rotary internal combustion engines and can be used for transport means, sports cars, and power-generating installations.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Known in the art are reciprocating internal combustion engines provided with pistons carrying out reciprocal motion inside cylinders, and an output crankshaft.",
"[0004] Also known in the art is a rotary internal combustion engine comprising a hollow torus-shaped working cylinder provided with a water jacket;",
"a through continuous circular slot whose walls are symmetrically disposed relative to the central plane of the cylinder around the smallest-diameter surface thereof;",
"an injector or a spark plug;",
"arc-shaped extended intake and exhaust ports provided in the wall for intake of air or an air-fuel mixture and for exhaust of combustion gases;",
"a circular housing symmetrically disposed relative to-the central axis of the cylinder and provided with side walls, mounted in the working cylinder for displacement along the internal surface thereof;",
"four pistons shaped to conform this surface and provided with compression and oil-scraper rings close to ends thereof (U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,249).",
"In addition, this prior art engine is provided with an output shaft mounted for rotation within side walls of the housing about the central axis of the working cylinder and provided with a flywheel disposed symmetrically relative to the central plane of the cylinder;",
"two bearing members disposed on both sides of the flywheel, each of said members comprising radially arranged ring and a disc-shaped C-wall provided with diametrically opposite slots and mounted on the output shaft for rotation thereabout.",
"Two pistons of this engine are fastened in a diametrically opposite relationship on one ring, and two pistons, on the other ring, thereby forming inter-piston chambers between the pistons that are fastened on different bearing members.",
"In such design, shape and size of the rings are chosen proceeding from the condition of their mounting inside the circular slot for tight contact between external surfaces of the rings and compression and oil-scraper rings, and for sealing the gaps between end faces of said rings, as well as between other end faces thereof and circular slot walls.",
"This rotary engine is provided with a transmission gear joining the bearing members with the output shaft and comprising two toothed gearwheels in the form of external-mesh gearwheels that are fastened on the side walls of the housing, four satellite gears coupled with the flywheel, two of said satellite gears being in engagement with one toothed gearwheel and coupled with one bearing member, and two other gearwheels engaged with the other toothed gearwheel and coupled with the other bearing member.",
"The pivot pin of each satellite gear connected with one bearing member is disposed between pivot pins of the satellite gears coupled with the other bearing member.",
"In addition, the engine comprises two eccentric members provided with two main journals mounted for rotation inside flywheel openings, said openings being parallel to the flywheel axis and disposed in a diametrically opposite arrangement on the same circumference, and four crankpins disposed at the ends of the main journals in eccentric arrangement, each said crankpin being passed through one of the radial slots provided in the wall of one of the bearing members, and into the opening of one of the satellite gears.",
"In this prior-art design of the rotary internal combustion engine, the ratio between diameters of satellite gears and toothed gearwheels is 1:2;",
"the planes passing through the axes of main journals and crankpins of each pair of adjacent eccentric members intersect at an angle of 90°, and the distance between the crankpins in the areas of top and bottom dead centers is minimal.",
"[0005] In the above-described rotary engine, all the pistons are rotating in the same direction;",
"in so doing, adjacent pistons are either drawing together or moving away from one another, thereby providing a decrease/increase in the volumes of inter-piston chambers, and thereby ensuring, in the process of rotation of each of the inter-piston chambers, the possibility of executing successive strokes: intake of air and fuel or an air-fuel mixture in the chamber, compression of the air-fuel mixture;",
"ignition of the above mixture accompanied by expansion of combustion gases, and exhaust of said gases from the chamber.",
"[0006] As against a regular reciprocating engine, the rotary engine features the following advantages.",
"First, in the rotary engine all the pistons are disposed within the same cylinder, i.e. they are arranged in the circular rather than longitudinal direction, thereby allowing to reduce longitudinal dimensions of the engine;",
"second, the pistons are moving in the circular rather than radial direction;",
"as a result, the rotary engine is much more compact than the reciprocating one.",
"In addition, arrangement of all the pistons within one cylinder and their rotation in the circular direction result in a lower materials consumption of such engine.",
"At the same time, conversion of rotation of the pistons to rotation of the output shaft is accomplished through the use of four eccentric members rather than via a massive crankshaft, thereby also reducing the materials consumption of the engine.",
"Meanwhile, the major advantage of the rotary engine consists in that its pistons are not reciprocating but rather constantly moving in one direction, although at alternate speeds, thereby resulting in substantially lower consumption of energy required to overcome the inertia of pistons in a change of the sign of their acceleration for an opposite one, and hence in an increase of the engine specific power and performance index.",
"In the rotary engine, supply of air or air-fuel mixture to the cylinder and exhaust of combustion gases are carried out by closing and opening intake and exhaust ports by pistons in the course of their travel within the cylinder, thereby eliminating the need in a complicated multicomponent control gear comprising a camshaft coupled with the crankshaft, as well as lifters, rocker arms, and valves: all this simplifies engine design and improves reliability of its operation, while eliminating consumption of energy for driving this control gear.",
"[0007] However, in the above-described engine the couplings between the flywheel, bearing members, and satellite gears are executed via crankpin—radial slot kinematic pairs that operate under kinetic friction conditions and great contact loads, thereby causing substantial friction in these pairs and resulting in substantial abrasion of the walls of radial slots and crankpins, and hence in an increase of gaps therebetween;",
"all this results in emergence of impact loads that disturb normal operation of the engine.",
"At the same time, satellite gears do not have any axial bearings since these satellite gears are coupled with the flywheel by means of crankpins disposed in these satellite gears in eccentric arrangement relative to the axes of rotation thereof;",
"therefore, the crankpins exert high pressure forces to hold satellite gears together with the toothed gearwheels during rotational movements of the crankpins toward said toothed gearwheels, and pull the crankpins away from the toothed gearwheels during rotational movements of the crankpins in the opposite direction.",
"Such an arrangement creates great radial loads on the satellite gears and toothed gearwheels, and causes fluctuating bending stresses in the crankpins, and hence fluctuating loads on all the components of the transmission gear.",
"Elevated loads in meshes between satellite gears and gearwheels cause substantial friction forces in such meshes, which in addition to substantial friction forces in the crankpin—radial slot kinematic pairs results in considerable losses of energy, and hence in an insufficient performance index of the engine.",
"Considerable loads in meshes, as well as impact loads in crankpin—radial slot pairs result in an inadequate reliability of the engine and insufficient interrepair life thereof.",
"At the same time, rigid couplings between the components of the transmission gear, carried out via two eccentric members, impose restraints on setting a mode of variation of the speed of relative travel of the bearing members, and result in an additional increase in the loads on the transmission gear components.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0008] Proceeding from aforementioned, the present invention is based on the object of improving the rotary internal combustion engine by way of providing rotational couplings between each of satellite gears and the flywheel and the bearing member, with inclusion of axial bearings for satellite gears in the transmission gear, thereby allowing to eliminate impact loads on the components of said transmission gear, to reduce loads on said components and power consumption required for overcoming friction in said components, and to provide more flexible couplings therebetween, and hence to increase the performance index of the engine, reliability and interrepair time thereof, while reducing dimensions and mass of the components of the transmission gear, and to extend the capabilities of setting the mode of variation of the speed of relative travel of the bearing members.",
"[0009] The object set forth is attained by that in a rotary internal combustion engine comprising a hollow torus-shaped working cylinder provided with a water jacket;",
"a through continuous circular slot whose walls are symmetrically arranged relative to the central plane of the cylinder around the smallest-diameter surface thereof;",
"an injector or a spark plug;",
"arc-shaped extended intake and exhaust ports provided in the wall for intake of air or an air-fuel mixture and for exhaust of combustion gases;",
"a circular housing symmetrically disposed relative to the central axis of the cylinder and provided with side walls, and also provided with four pistons mounted in the working cylinder for travel along the internal surface thereof and shaped to conform this surface and provided with compression and oil-scraper rings near end faces thereof, and in addition provided with an output shaft mounted for rotation within said side walls of the housing along the central axis of the working cylinder, and a flywheel fastened on the output shaft or being integral therewith, and two bearing members symmetrically arranged relative to the central plane of the cylinder, each of said members comprising radially arranged ring and a C-wall mounted for rotation about the axis of the output shaft, and wherein, in addition to the above-listed, two pistons are fastened in a diametrically opposite arrangement on one ring, and two pistons, on the other ring, thereby forming inter-piston chambers between the pistons that are fastened on different bearing members;",
"in so doing, shape and size of the rings are chosen proceeding from the condition of their mounting within the circular slot for tight contact between external surfaces of the rings and compression and oil-scraper rings, and for sealing the gaps between end faces of said rings, as well as between other end faces thereof and circular slot walls, and finally wherein there is provided a transmission gear comprising two toothed gearwheels in the form of external-mesh gearwheels that are fastened on the side walls of the housing and are provided with axial openings for the passage of the output shaft;",
"four satellite gears coupled with the flywheel, two of said satellite gears being in engagement with one toothed gearwheel and coupled with one bearing member, and two other gearwheels engaged with the other toothed gearwheel and coupled with the other bearing member, the axis of rotation of each satellite gear coupled with one bearing member being disposed between axes of rotation of the satellite gears coupled with the other bearing member;",
"eccentric members coupling the satellite gears with the flywheel and the bearing members, and provided with two main journals mounted within flywheel openings, said openings being parallel to the flywheel axis, and four crankpins coupled with the bearing members, the ratio between diameters of satellite gears and toothed gearwheels being 1:2;",
"the planes passing through the axes of the main journals and crankpins of each pair of adjacent eccentric members intersecting at an angle of 90°, and the distance between crankpins in the areas of top and bottom dead centers being minimal, wherein according to the present invention, the transmission gear is provided with four eccentric members whose main journals are disposed at a uniform pitch along circumference and are either fastened within the axial openings of the satellite gears or made integral therewith, and the crankpins are coupled with the bearing members by means of coupler links, each coupler link being mounted with the ends thereof for rotation on the crankpin and about the pivot pin disposed in the wall of one of the bearing members.",
"[0010] Provision of the transmission gear with four instead of two eccentric members mounted with main journals thereof within four openings provided in the flywheel and having no rigid coupling therebetween, and availability of couplings between the crankpins and the bearing members via the coupler links result in elimination of the crankpin—radial slot pairs that operate under conditions of kinetic friction and great contact loads, thereby imparting all the couplings between the bearing members and the flywheel rotational nature and making them more loose, which results in a decrease in consumption of energy required to overcome the friction between the components of the transmission gear, and expands the possibilities of setting a mode of variation of the speed of relative travel of the bearing members provided with the pistons.",
"At the same time, the above rotational couplings eliminate abrasion of interacting surfaces and resulting emergence of impact loads within the transmission gear.",
"Fastening of the main journals within the satellite gears along axes of rotation thereof results in the reduction of loads, and hence of the friction in toothed meshes, and eliminates any substantial alternate stresses in the transmission gear components.",
"All this permits to reduce costs required to overcome the friction between the transmission gear components, to reduce the loads exerted thereon, and hence to increase the performance index of the engine, reliability and interrepair life thereof, while decreasing dimensions and mass of the transmission gear components.",
"[0011] In so doing, the bearing members of the inventive rotary engine may be disposed on both sides of the central plane of the cylinder, with a gap provided between the walls of said bearing members;",
"the flywheel is composed of two radially arranged discs, each of them being disposed between one of the toothed gearwheels and one of the bearing members, and two radially arranged rings, each of them being disposed between one of the housing side walls and one pair of the satellite gears, and coupled with one of the discs by means of two arc-shaped plates passed between the points of engagement of toothed gearwheels with satellite gears, the main journals of the satellite gears meshed with one toothed gearwheel being mounted within the openings of one ring, and the main journals of the satellite gears meshed with the other toothed gearwheel, within the openings of the other wheel.",
"Such arrangement results in a small axial length of the bearing members since their walls are disposed at an insignificant distance from one another in the axial direction;",
"this however also somewhat complicates the flywheel design, increases the number of parts, and complicates the technology of assembling such engine.",
"[0012] In the best mode of the engine, the bearing members are disposed on both sides of the central plane of the cylinder, with a gap provided between the walls of said bearing members;",
"the flywheel is composed of two radially arranged discs and two radially arranged rings, each of the discs being disposed between one of the toothed gearwheels and one of the bearing members, and each of the rings, between one of the housing side walls and the satellite gears, and coupled with one of the discs by means of four arc-shaped plates passed between four points of engagement of toothed gearwheels and satellite gears, each of the satellite gears being composed of two twin gearwheels fastened on the main journal thereof on both sides of the pair of the bearing members, and the main journal rigidly connected with the crankpin, the main journal of each satellite gear being mounted within coaxial openings of both flywheel rings;",
"one of the twin gearwheels is meshed with one of the toothed gearwheels, and the other gearwheel, with the other toothed gearwheel;",
"the coupler link connecting each of the satellite gears with the bearing member is disposed within the gap between twin gearwheels of the satellite gear and is composed of two parallel plates that are rigidly interconnected with formation of a gap therebetween, said gap enclosing the wall of the bearing member, coupled with this satellite gear, the walls of the bearing members being made in the shape of plates or discs connecting the piston pairs, each of the discs being provided with four openings;",
"arrangement and sizes of the plates or openings provided in the discs are chosen proceeding from the condition of absence of any contacts between main journals and crankpins of the satellite gears coupled with one bearing member, and plates or edges of the openings provided in the discs of the other bearing member in the course of relative travel of the bearing members.",
"[0013] The advantage of such embodiment of the engine consists in that the load on the teeth of satellite gears and toothed gearwheels, exerted by the bearing members, is evenly distributed between the twin gearwheels, thereby halving the load in the meshes between the satellite gears and the toothed gearwheels, and hence permitting to substantially reduce the sizes of the satellite gears and the toothed gearwheels, thereby decreasing radial dimensions of the transmission gear.",
"In addition, making satellite gears in the twin form, their gearwheels being symmetrically arranged relative to the central plane of the cylinder, ensures symmetrical arrangement of masses of the transmission gear components on both sides of this plane along axial and radial coordinates, and hence substantially simplifies static and dynamic balancing of the engine, and reduces the timetable and costs required for such balancing.",
"This however somewhat complicates the design of the transmission gear and assembling of the engine.",
"[0014] As an alternative, the flywheel may be disposed in the central plane of the cylinder, each toothed gearwheel being provided with a bushing fastened on the side wall of the housing, and the bearing members are mounted for rotation on the bushings of the toothed gearwheels between these gearwheels and housing side walls.",
"Such arrangement results in a substantial axial length of the bearing members and their mounting on the bushings of the toothed gearwheels rather than on the output shaft, at the same time however simplifying the flywheel design and couplings thereof with satellite gears, and hence simplifies the technology of assembling such engine.",
"[0015] To ensure unhindered travel of the pistons within the cylinder and tightness of the inter-piston chambers from the side of end faces of the pistons, external surfaces of the rings of the bearing members may be made along the moving line in the shape of a circular arc having a diameter equal to the diameter of the internal surface of the working cylinder, and the rings are mounted within the circular slot, external surfaces thereof forming an extension of the internal surface of the cylinder.",
"Such arrangement results in a complicated shape of external surfaces of the rings, thereby requiring a high working accuracy and precise fitting of these surfaces to the internal surface of the cylinder in the process of mounting the rings inside the circular slot.",
"[0016] Alternatively, the external surface of each piston may be made along the moving line in the shape of circumference, and be provided with a rectilinear section facing the circular slot, the width of said section being equal to the width of the circular slot, and external surfaces of the rings, along the moving lines in the shape of rectilinear lengths.",
"Such arrangement simplifies the shape of rings and hence machining of their external surfaces;",
"however it complicates the shapes of pistons, compression and oil-scraper rings.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0017] The invention is further explained by way of the drawings, in which FIG. 1 shows the engine in section along the output shaft axis;",
"FIG. 2 shows section I-I of FIG. 1 ;",
"FIG. 3 shows enlarged area II of FIG. 1 ;",
"FIG. 4 shows enlarged area II of FIG. 1 , where external surfaces of the rings of the bearing members are made along rectilinear moving lines;",
"FIGS. 5 through 8 show the kinematics of the engine with four various positions of its components during one revolution of the output shaft;",
"FIG. 9 shows the engine diagram with the flywheel disposed along the central plane of the working cylinder, while the bearing members are arranged between the side walls and the toothed gearwheels;",
"FIG. 10 shows axonometric view of the engine in which the satellite gears are made as twin gearwheels;",
"FIG. 11 shows the assembly configuration of the engine shown in FIG. 10 .",
": DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0018] The rotary internal combustion engine comprises hollow torus-shaped working cylinder 1 ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) provided with through continuous circular slot 2 whose walls are symmetrically arranged relative to the central plane of cylinder 1 about the smallest-diameter surface 3 thereof;",
"four pistons 4 , 5 , 6 , and 7 mounted in the working cylinder for travel along the internal surface thereof, shaped to conform this surface and provided with compression and oil-scraper rings 8 near the ends thereof.",
"The inventive engine is also provided with circular housing 10 with side walls 11 and 12 , symmetrically disposed relative to central axis 9 of working cylinder 1 ;",
"output shaft 13 with flywheel 14 , symmetrically mounted relative to line 15 and for rotation about central axis 9 of working cylinder 1 in side walls 11 and 12 ;",
"two bearing members 16 and 17 provided with rings 18 and 19 , and walls 20 and 21 .",
"The engine is also provided with a transmission gear comprising two toothed gearwheels in the form of external-mesh gearwheels 22 and 23 that are fastened within housing 1 in symmetrical arrangement relative to the central plane of circular slot 2 ;",
"four satellite gears 24 , 25 , 26 , and 27 , coupled with the flywheel, and four eccentric members 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 provided with main journals 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 and crankpins 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 .",
"For the carburetor engine and the injection engine, spark plug 40 is mounted in the wall of cylinder 1 , and arc-shaped extended intake port 41 and exhaust port 42 are provided in said wall for intake of air-fuel mixture into cylinder 1 and for exhaust of combustion gases therefrom, respectively.",
"For the diesel engine, the spark plug is replaced by a fuel injection nozzle, and port 41 serves for intake of air into cylinder 1 .",
"Walls 20 and 21 of bearing members 16 and 17 are made in the form of plates coupling piston pairs 4 , 6 and 5 , 7 .",
"However, for the purpose of increasing the strength of walls 20 and 21 , while keeping their thickness minimal,-these walls may be made in the shape of discs provided with ports designed to reduce the mass of discs and to facilitate access to engine components in the course of maintenance activities.",
"[0019] Bearing members 16 and 17 are made C-shaped in radial sections thereof and mounted on output shaft 13 for rotation thereabout and in symmetrical relationship with central plane 15 of circular slot 2 , a gap being provided between their walls 20 and 21 that are coupled with rings 18 and 19 along open end faces thereof.",
"External surfaces 43 and 44 (FIG.",
"3 ) of rings 18 and 19 of bearing members 16 and 17 are provided along the moving lines in the shape of arcs of a circumference having a diameter equal to the diameter of the internal surface of working cylinder 1 , and radial sizes of rings 18 and 19 , i.e. distances of their external surfaces 43 and 44 from central shaft 9 of cylinder 1 are so selected that when mounting rings 18 and 19 in circular slot 2 their external surfaces 43 and 44 form, inside slot 2 , an extension of the internal surface of cylinder 1 , thereby providing a tight contact between surfaces 43 , 44 and compression and oil-scraper rings 8 of pistons 4 through 7 , and hence sealing of the inter-piston chambers and free travel of pistons 4 through 7 inside cylinder 1 .",
"However, the complicated shape of external surfaces 43 , 44 of rings 18 , 19 requires a high accuracy of their machining and fitting of these surfaces to the internal surface of cylinder 1 in the course of mounting rings 18 , 19 in circular slot 2 .",
"[0020] To eliminate the above shortcomings, the surface of each of pistons 4 through 7 may be made ( FIG. 4 ) along a moving line in the form of a circumference with rectilinear section 45 facing circular slot 2 , the width of this section being equal to the width of circular slot 2 , and external surfaces 43 a , 44 a of rings 18 , 19 in the radial section thereof, in the form of rectilinear lengths along moving lines.",
"This solution however results in a complication of shapes of pistons 4 through 7 .",
"[0021] End faces of rings 18 and 19 , as well as of the walls of circular slot 2 ( FIG. 3 ) are provided with circular concentric grooves 47 which, upon mounting of rings 18 and 19 in circular slot 2 , form labyrinth seal 48 between the end faces of rings 18 and 19 , and labyrinth seals 49 and 50 between the end faces of rings 18 , 19 and the walls of circular slot 2 .",
"Labyrinth seals 49 and 50 are supplied with a lubricant via circular ducts 51 and 52 , provided in housing 10 , and via a set of ducts 53 , 54 that are connected with ducts 51 , 52 and open into seals 49 and 50 .",
"Seal 48 is supplied with lubricant from circular gap 55 provided between pistons 4 through 7 and the internal surface of cylinder 1 .",
"Gap 55 is supplied with lubricant via radial duct 56 provided in wall 21 of bearing member 17 , said radial duct being supplied with lubricant via an axial duct provided in shaft 13 ( FIG. 2 ).",
"Under the effect of centrifugal forces resulting from rotation of bearing members 16 , 17 , the lubricant is vented from seals 49 , 50 into circular gap 55 .",
"Labyrinth seals 48 , 49 , 50 form ducts of variable cross-section, which fact, taken in combination with an oil film formed therein, results in a high hydraulic resistance in the way of combustion gases.",
"Labyrinth seals may be replaced by O-rings fastened on end faces of rings 18 , 19 and made of a heat-resisting material having low coefficients of thermal expansion and friction.",
"[0022] Pistons 4 and 6 ( FIGS. 1, 2 ) are fastened in a diametrically opposite relationship on bearing member 16 , and pistons 5 and 7 , on bearing member 17 , thereby forming variable-volume inter-piston chambers 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 between pistons 4 , 5 , 6 , and 7 .",
"[0023] Satellite gears 24 and 26 are meshed with gearwheel 22 , and satellite gears 25 and 27 , with gearwheel 23 .",
"[0024] Flywheel 14 ( FIGS. 1, 5 ) is composed of two radially arranged discs 64 and 65 , disc 64 being disposed between gearwheel 22 and bearing member 16 , and disc 65 , between gearwheel 23 and bearing member 17 , and two radially arranged rings 66 and 67 , ring 66 being disposed between side wall 11 of housing 1 and a pair of satellite gears 24 , 25 , and ring 67 , between side wall 12 and a pair of satellite gears 26 , 27 .",
"Ring 66 is coupled with disc 64 by two arc-shaped plates 68 passed between the points of engagement of gearwheel 22 with satellite gears 24 , 26 , and ring 67 is coupled with disc 65 by two arc-shaped plates 68 passed between the point of engagement of gearwheel 23 with satellite gears 26 , 27 .",
"Main journals 32 and 34 are mounted for rotation in openings of ring 66 , and main journals 33 and 35 , in openings of ring 67 .",
"Axes of openings in both rings are disposed at a uniform circular pitch.",
"Satellite gears 24 and 26 are fastened on main journals 32 and 34 of eccentric members 28 and 30 , and their crankpins 36 and 38 are coupled with wall 20 of bearing member 16 by coupler links 69 and 70 , mounted with their ends for rotation on these crankpins and on pins 71 and 72 , fastened in wall 20 of bearing member 16 .",
"Satellite gears 25 and 27 are fastened on main journals 33 and 35 of eccentric members 29 and 31 , and their crankpins 37 and 39 are coupled with wall 21 of bearing member 17 by coupler links 73 and 74 , mounted with the ends thereof for rotation on these crankpins and on pins 75 and 76 , fastened on wall 21 of bearing member 17 .",
"Such design of the engine makes for compactness of the pair of bearing members 16 , 17 , since these members are disposed at an insignificant axial distance from one another;",
"at the same time however it also results in a complication of the design of flywheel 14 , an increase in the number of parts, complication of engine design and engine assembling technology.",
"[0025] To ensure cycling operation of engine components in the function of angles of flywheel rotation from the top dead center, the following parameters of these components have been established.",
"The ratio between diameters of satellite gears 24 through 27 and toothed gearwheels 22 , 23 is 1:2, so that during one revolution of output shaft 13 and hence flywheel 14 , each satellite gear performs two revolutions about its axis.",
"Plane 77 passing through the axes of main journal 33 and crankpin 37 of eccentric member 29 of satellite gear 25 , intersects at an angle of 90 o plane 78 passing through the axes of main journal 34 and crankpin 38 of eccentric member 30 .",
"The planes passing through the axes of main journals and crankpins of each pair of adjacent eccentric members intersect at the same angle.",
"Such arrangement of the above planes causes the arrangement of longitudinal axes of adjacent eccentric members (being projections of the above planes to the plane perpendicular to the axis of the output shaft) at an angle of 90°.",
"When designing the engine by way of calculations or using a mock-up of the engine, circular sizes of pistons 4 through 7 are set depending on a selected compression ratio of the air-fuel mixture.",
"In so doing, selected in the cylinder are locations of top and bottom dead centers (M) in the area of maximum approach of adjacent pistons, i.e. in the minimal distance between crankpins of adjacent satellite gears, and on the basis of these dead centers, determined are angular data for spark plug or incandescent plug 40 , as well as angular data for intake port 41 and exhaust port 42 .",
"Selection of the lengths of coupler links 69 , 70 , 73 , 74 and locations of their axes of rotation on walls 20 and 21 of bearing members 16 , 17 is used for presetting the directions of forces applied to crankpins 35 through 39 of satellite gears 24 through 27 by bearing members 16 and 17 in the function of the angles of rotation of the output shaft, thereby defining the nature of changes of the arms of these forces, and hence the nature of changes of torques transferred to satellite gears, in the function of the angles of rotation of the output shaft, and thereby permitting to preset the nature of variation of the speed of relative travel of the bearing members, and hence to optimize parameters of the processes occurring inside the inter-piston chambers.",
"[0026] The cooling system of the engine is made in the same way as the system described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,249, and therefore is not given in this Specification.",
"The lubricating system is constructed in compliance with the prior art principles, and is only partially presented in this Specification.",
"[0027] Working cylinder 1 and housing 10 are made of two halves 82 and 83 ( FIGS. 1, 3 , and 11 ) provided with circular flanges 84 and 85 , and with circular sealing washer 86 mounted therebetween.",
"Flanges 84 and 85 are interconnected by way of bolted joints 87 .",
"Washer 86 , together with labyrinth seals 48 , 49 , 50 , provide tightness of the cavity of working cylinder 1 .",
"[0028] When assembling the engine, pistons 4 and 6 with bearing member 16 made integral therewith are mounted into one of halves 82 , 83 , and pistons 5 and 7 with bearing member 17 , into the other half.",
"Output shaft 13 with flywheel 14 , and components of the transmission gear are inserted into the space between side walls 11 and 12 ;",
"washer 86 is mounted between flanges 84 and 85 ;",
"both halves of working cylinder 1 are connected to dispose pistons 4 and 6 between pistons 5 and 7 , and rings 18 and 19 , in circular slot 2 ;",
"following this, and halves 82 and 83 of cylinder 1 are fastened together by bolted joints 87 .",
"[0029] The engine operates as follows.",
"[0030] FIG. 5 demonstrates the kinematics of the engine at the moment when, upon spinup thereof by the starter, pistons 5 and 6 are disposed in the area of the top dead center, M, and inter-piston chamber 61 formed between said pistons and containing an air-fuel mixture compressed to a maximum extent is at the beginning of the area of ignition of the air-fuel mixture and expansion of combustion gases.",
"Piston 7 has opened exhaust port 42 , and inter-piston chamber 62 is disposed at the end of the area of exhaust of combustion gases.",
"Piston 4 starts opening intake port 41 , and inter-piston chamber 63 is disposed at the beginning of the area of intake of the air-fuel mixture.",
"Inter-piston chamber 60 is disposed before the beginning of the compression area.",
"The distances between crankpins 36 , 39 of eccentric members 28 , 31 of adjacent satellite gears 24 , 27 , and between crankpins 37 , 38 of eccentric members 29 , 30 of satellite gears 25 , 26 are minimal.",
"In the process of engine operation, longitudinal axes of eccentric members of adjacent satellite gears are constantly taking positions in which axes thereof intersect at an angle of 90°.",
"FIG. 6 shows the kinematics of the engine at the moment when the process of expansion of combustion gases in inter-piston chamber 61 comes to an end, exhaust of combustion gases in chamber 62 comes to an end, intake of the air-fuel mixture in chamber 63 comes to an end, and the process of mixture compression in chamber 64 comes to an end.",
"[0031] The air-fuel mixture in inter-piston chamber 61 is igniting, and expanding combustion gases exert pressure on pistons 5 and 6 , said pressure being of the same magnitude and acting in opposite directions.",
"Here, piston 6 together with bearing member 16 rotates clockwise.",
"Coupler link 73 turns eccentric member 30 clockwise, and as a result satellite gear 26 , while rotating about its axis, is rolling clockwise together with main journal 34 about gearwheel 22 ;",
"here, main journal 34 , by acting upon the wall of the opening provided in ring 66 of flywheel 14 , rotates said flywheel clockwise.",
"At the same time, under the effect of the pressure exerted by combustion gases, piston 5 with bearing member 17 rotates counter-clockwise.",
"Coupler link 70 rotates eccentric member 29 together with satellite gear 25 clockwise.",
"Similarly to satellite gear 26 , satellite gear 25 , while rotating about its axis, is rolling clockwise together with main journal 33 of eccentric member 29 about gearwheel 23 , main journal 33 also rotating flywheel 14 clockwise.",
"Thus, pistons 6 and 5 transfer clockwise-directed torques, i.e. an overall torque, to flywheel 14 .",
"Here, forces exerted by coupler link 73 on eccentric member 30 , and by coupler link 70 on eccentric member 29 , are of equal magnitude;",
"however, the arm of the force acting on eccentric member 30 is longer than the arm of force acting on eccentric member 29 , and therefore the torque on eccentric member 30 is greater than the one acting on eccentric member 29 .",
"As a result, the torque transferred to flywheel 14 by eccentric member 30 is greater than the torque transferred by eccentric member 29 .",
"Bearing member 17 is acted upon by a torque created by the pressure of combustion gases on piston 5 and directed counter-clockwise, as well as by the clockwise torque from eccentric member 29 , and the torque from eccentric member 29 , and the torque from flywheel 14 , transferred to said bearing member by main journal 34 of eccentric member 30 .",
"As a result of all the aforementioned, in the process of expansion of combustion gases inside inter-piston chamber 61 , bearing member 16 with piston 6 considerably out-distance bearing member 17 with piston 5 , and therefore piston 5 moves very slowly in clockwise direction, following piston 6 .",
"[0032] At the same time, bearing member 17 moves piston 7 clockwise by the same angle as piston 5 .",
"In so doing, bearing member 17 is acted upon by an oppositely directed torque since rotating flywheel 14 is moving main journal 35 of eccentric member 31 clockwise, while eccentric member 31 rotating clockwise about its axis together with satellite gear 27 , is pushing bearing member 17 counter-clockwise via coupler link 74 , which constitutes another factor promoting a considerable lag of piston 5 from piston 6 .",
"Piston 6 is traveling clockwise toward almost immovable piston 7 , thereby resulting in ejection of combustion gases from inter-piston chamber 62 .",
"Piston 4 is moved by bearing member 16 together with piston 6 by the same angle, while gradually opening intake port 41 , and thereby carrying out supply of the air-fuel mixture into chamber 63 , and at the same time approaching almost immovable piston 5 , thereby carrying out compression of the air-fuel mixture inside inter-piston chamber 60 .",
"[0033] Further on, piston 5 takes the position of piston 6 ( FIG. 7 );",
"piston 4 takes the position of piston 5 ;",
"piston 7 takes the position of piston 4 ;",
"and piston 6 takes the position of piston 7 , correspondingly changing the positions of bearing members 16 and 17 , and the processes that took place inside inter-piston chambers and described above for the sequence of chambers 61 - 62 - 63 - 60 , are repeated for the sequence of chambers 60 - 61 - 62 - 63 ;",
"as a result, pistons 5 and 7 in the course of their motion outdistance pistons 6 and 4 , and components of the transmission gear, coupled with pistons 5 and 7 , repeat the motions of components coupled with pistons 6 and 4 .",
"FIG. 8 shows subsequent positions of engine components, similar to those given in Fig[.",
"].6 .",
"Thus, during one revolution of output shaft 13 , in each of the inter-piston chambers there occurs a sequence of processes of intake of the air-fuel mixture, its compression, ignition accompanied by expansion of combustion gases, and exhaust of these gases;",
"during one revolution of output shaft 13 , four explosion strokes occur inside various inter-piston chambers, accompanied by transfer of the energy of pistons'",
"motion to output shaft 13 .",
"[0034] Thus, transfer of power from pistons 4 through 7 to output shaft 13 is carried out via bearing members 16 , 17 and the transmission gear containing only pairs operating with rolling friction, i.e. via coupler links 69 , 70 and 73 , 74 , rotating with ends thereof about pins 71 , 72 and 75 , 76 in bearing members 16 , 17 , and about crankpins 36 , 37 and 38 , 39 of eccentric members 28 , 30 , 31 , 33 , whose main journals 32 through 35 are rotating in the openings of two rings 66 , 67 of flywheel 14 .",
"As compared to the prototype engine, such arrangement considerably reduces friction in the transmission gear components and eliminates increased wear thereof.",
"Satellite gears 24 through 27 are provided with axial supports in the form of main journals 32 through 35 , thereby eliminating emergence of substantial alternate loads acting upon the transmission gear components.",
"Couplings between eccentric members 28 through 31 and the bearing members via coupler links 69 , 70 , 73 , 74 eliminate the need in crankpin—radial slot pairs in the bearing members, operating under kinetic friction conditions and great contact loads.",
"[0035] As can be seen from the description of design and operation of the internal combustion engine, it has the following main advantage over a regular reciprocating engine.",
"In a regular reciprocating engine, the pistons are performing reciprocal motion, thereby causing great consumption of energy required to overcome the inertia of pistons in a change of the direction of their travel for an opposite one.",
"In the course of operation of the rotary engine, pistons 4 through 7 are constantly traveling in the same direction, although at variable speeds;",
"in so doing, consumption of energy required to overcome the inertia of pistons in a change of the sign of their acceleration for an opposite one is considerably lower, and hence the performance index of the rotary engine is much higher than in case of a regular one.",
"[0036] It is also possible to use a different arrangement of engine components ( FIG. 9 ), wherein flywheel 14 is disposed in central plane 15 of circular slot 2 , and bearing members are disposed behind gearwheels 22 , 23 and between side walls 11 , 12 of housing 1 .",
"FIG. 9 shows a diagram presenting flywheel 14 , gearwheel 22 , one satellite gear 25 with main journal 34 mounted for rotation in one of the openings provided in flywheel 14 , and with crankpin 37 , and bearing member 16 with pin 72 fastened in wall 20 , and crosshead 70 whose ends are mounted for rotation on crankpin 37 and pin 72 .",
"Bearing members 16 and 17 are mounted for rotation on flanged bushings 90 of gearwheels 22 and 23 , used for fastening these gearwheels on side walls 11 and 12 of housing 1 .",
"The engine having such arrangement of components operates similarly to the above-described one.",
"It differs from the above engine in terms of a simpler design, method of manufacture, and assembling technology;",
"however, bearing members 16 and 17 feature a greater axial length and complicate access to the components disposed therebetween.",
"[0037] In another embodiment of the invention ( FIGS. 10, 11 ), bearing members 16 , 17 are disposed on both sides of central plane 15 of circular slot 2 and with a clearance between their walls 20 and 21 made in the form of plates connecting the pairs of pistons 4 - 6 and 5 - 7 .",
"Each of the satellite gears is composed of two twin gearwheels fastened on the main journals thereof on both sides of the pair of bearing members 16 and 17 , and rigidly interconnected by a crankpin, one gearwheel of each satellite gear being meshed with toothed gearwheel 22 , and the other gearwheel, with toothed gearwheel 23 .",
"Thus, satellite gear 24 is composed of two twin gearwheels 102 and 103 , mounted on main journals 32 and 32 a of said satellite gear with a gap therebetween and rigidly interconnected by crankpin 36 , gearwheel 102 being meshed with toothed gearwheel 22 , and gearwheel 103 , with toothed gearwheel 23 .",
"Exactly in the same way, satellite gear 26 is composed of two twin gearwheels 106 and 107 ;",
"satellite gear 25 , of two twin gearwheels 108 and 109 , and satellite gear 27 , of two twin gearwheels 110 and 111 , gearwheels 106 , 108 , and 109 being meshed with toothed gearwheel 22 , and gearwheels 107 , 109 , and 111 , with toothed gearwheel 23 .",
"Flywheel 14 is composed of two radially arranged discs 112 and 113 , and two radially arranged rings 114 and 115 , disc 112 being disposed between toothed gearwheel 22 and wall 20 of bearing member 16 , and disc 113 , between toothed gearwheel 23 and wall 21 of bearing member 17 ;",
"ring 114 , between side wall 11 of housing 10 and gearwheels 102 , 106 , 108 , 110 , and ring 115 , between side wall 12 of housing 10 and gearwheels 103 , 107 , 109 , 111 .",
"Ring 114 is coupled with disc 112 by four arc-shaped plates 116 passed between four points 117 of engagement between gearwheels 102 , 106 , 108 , 110 and toothed gearwheel 22 .",
"Exactly in the same way, ring 115 is coupled with disc 113 by arc-shaped plates 118 passed between four points 119 of engagement between gearwheels 103 , 107 , 109 , 111 and toothed gearwheel 23 .",
"Each of main journals 32 through 35 and 32 a through 35 a is mounted for rotation in coaxial openings of rings 114 and 115 , axes of openings of all the four main journals being disposed at a uniform circular pitch.",
"Crankpins 36 and 38 of satellite gears 24 and 26 are coupled with wall 20 of bearing member 16 by coupler links 120 and 121 , and crankpins 37 and 39 of satellite gears 25 and 27 are coupled with wall 21 of bearing member 17 by coupler links 122 and 123 .",
"Each of coupler links 120 through 123 is disposed between twin gearwheels of respective satellite gears and consists of two parallel plates 124 and 125 , rigidly interconnected at one ends thereof by pin 126 with formation of a gap therebetween, the opposite ends of these plates being provided with coaxial openings for crankpins 36 through 39 .",
"Coupler links 120 and 121 are mounted with pins thereof in the openings provided in wall 20 of bearing member 16 , and coupler links 122 and 123 , in the openings provided in the wall of bearing member 17 .",
"Crankpins 36 through 39 are passed through the coaxial openings provided at the other ends of plates 124 , 125 of coupler links 120 through 123 .",
"Thus, coupler links 120 through 123 are mounted with one ends thereof, i.e. pins 126 , for rotation in the openings provided in walls 20 and 21 , and with other ends thereof, for rotation on crankpins 37 through 39 .",
"Here, walls 20 and 21 are disposed between plates 124 and 125 of coupler links 120 through 123 .",
"Arrangement and sizes of walls 20 and 21 of bearing members 16 and 17 , made in the form of walls, are selected proceeding from the condition of lack of any contact between main journals 32 , 32 a , 34 , 34 a and crankpins 36 , 38 of satellite gears 24 and 26 , coupled with wall 20 of bearing member 16 , in the course of relative motion of walls 20 and 21 , and lack of any contact between main journals 33 , 33 a , 35 , 35 a and crankpins 37 , 39 of satellite gears 25 , 27 , coupled with wall 21 of bearing member 17 , with wall 20 of bearing member 16 in the course of their motion.",
"When making the walls of bearing members 16 and 17 in the form of discs, each disc is provided with four ports whose arrangement and sizes are also selected proceeding from the condition of lack of any contact between main journals and crankpins of satellite gears, coupled with the disc of one bearing member, and the edges of the ports provided in the other bearing member.",
"[0038] In the course of engine operation, the load on the teeth of satellite gears 24 through 27 and toothed gearwheels 22 , 23 from bearing members 16 , 17 is equally distributed between gearwheels 102 , 106 , 108 , 110 , and their twin gearwheels 103 , 107 , 109 , 111 , thereby halving the load within meshes between satellite gears 24 through 27 and toothed gearwheels 22 , 23 , and hence allows to considerably reduce the sizes of these toothed members, and thereby to reduce radial sizes of the transmission gear.",
"In addition, twin arrangement of satellite gears 24 through 27 , their gearwheels being symmetrical relative to central plane 3 of cylinder 1 , ensures symmetrical arrangement of masses of the transmission gear elements on both sides of central plane 3 of cylinder 1 both in axial and radial directions, and therefore considerably simplifies static and dynamic balancing of the engine, and reduces consumption of time and funds required for such balancing.",
"This however somewhat complicates the design of the transmission gear and assembling of the engine.",
"In all other respects, the engine operates similarly to the above-described embodiments thereof."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/617,278, filed Dec. 28, 2006, which is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/948,739, filed Sep. 24, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,204,779, issued Apr. 17, 2007, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference thereto.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention relates to a steering transaxle having a hydraulic motor for driving steerable wheels. The invention also relates to a hydraulic driving vehicle, especially a four-wheel driving vehicle, e.g., an agricultural tractor, a riding mower and a construction machine, comprising the steering transaxle.
[0004] 2. Related Art
[0005] As disclosed in the Japanese Patent No. 2594951 (document '951) and the Japanese Laid Open Gazettes Nos. 2002-172946 (document '946) and 2000-1127 (document '127), there are conventional well-known four-wheel driving vehicles, each of which has a front steering transaxle and a rear unsteering transaxle. The front steering transaxle supports steerable front wheels and incorporating a front differential gear unit mutually differentially connecting the front wheels, and the rear unsteering transaxle supports unsteerable rear wheels and incorporating a rear differential gear unit mutually differentially connecting the rear wheels, wherein the speed ratio between the steerable wheels and the unsteerable wheels is changed according to the steered angle of the steerable wheels.
[0006] The vehicle disclosed in the document '946 is provided with a large and complicated mechanical (planetary gearing) center differential gear unit interposed between the front steering transaxle and the rear unsteering transaxle. A large middle space of the vehicle is necessary for arranging the center differential gear unit, and two front and rear propeller shafts for transmitting power of the center differential gear unit to the respective front and rear transaxles, thereby causing designing limitation.
[0007] With respect to the conventional hydraulic driving vehicles disclosed in the documents '951 and '127, instead of the center differential gear unit with the front and rear propeller shafts, each of the vehicles is provided with a variable displacement hydraulic motor for driving the front differential gear unit, a fixed displacement hydraulic motor for driving the rear differential gear unit, and a common hydraulic pump for supplying both the hydraulic motors with hydraulic oil one after another, thereby increasing a free space for arranging various parts.
[0008] With respect to the disclosed conventional hydraulic driving vehicles, it is desired for smoothly driving the steerable front wheels that the displacement of the front hydraulic motor is reduced as far as possible so as to correspond to the reduced hydraulic oil after passing the rear hydraulic motor. However, such displacement of the front hydraulic motor causes increase of the rotary speed of the front hydraulic motor, thereby requiring increase of the deceleration ratio between the front hydraulic motor and the steerable front wheels so as to be balanced with the rotary speed of the unsteerable rear wheels. Upsizing of a deceleration gear train between the front hydraulic motor and the front differential gear unit for ensuring the increased deceleration ratio is not desired because it causes the front steering transaxle incorporating the deceleration gear train to expand the vehicle vertically and lengthwise so as to reduce ground clearance below.
[0009] Further, the rotary axis of the front hydraulic motor (its motor shaft) is disposed perpendicularly to that of the axles of the front wheels. If the front hydraulic motor and the front differential gear unit are disposed in a transaxle casing, the transaxle casing must be large lengthwise of the vehicle so as to ensure the length of the motor shaft.
[0010] Further, if a steering transaxle incorporating a variable displacement hydraulic motor, a deceleration gear train and a differential gear unit is to be constructed, it requires many parts and units to be assembled and properly located. Easy assemblage of the steering transaxle such as to overcome the difficulty of assembling and locating many parts and units is desired for reducing labor and time.
[0011] Further, the vehicle disclosed in the document '127 is provided with brakes in the rear transaxle so as to individually brake the respective unsteerable rear wheels. Since the vehicle has the variable displacement hydraulic motor for driving the steerable front wheels, and the fixed displacement hydraulic motor for driving the unsteerable rear wheels, the steerable front wheels are accelerated and the unsteerable rear wheels are not reduced during turning of the vehicle. In brief, the high speed of the unsteerable rear wheels that occurs during straight traveling of the vehicle is kept even during turning of the vehicle, thereby increasing a centrifugal force applied onto the turning vehicle and making the vehicle unstable. Further, in this condition during turning of the vehicle, if the vehicle brake-turns, i.e., if one of the brakes is actuated for braking, a braking shock may occur.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] A first object of the invention is to provide a hydraulic steering transaxle which is compact and can be easily assembled.
[0013] To achieve the first object, according to a first aspect of the invention, a steering transaxle comprises: left and right drive shafts drivingly connected to respective steerable wheels; a differential gear unit differentially connecting the drive shafts to each other; a transaxle casing having an opening, the transaxle casing incorporating the differential gear unit and the drive shafts; a cover for covering the opening of the transaxle casing; a variable hydraulic motor having a movable swash plate, the hydraulic motor being provided on the inside of the cover so as to drive the differential gear unit; a motor control mechanism for controlling the movable swash plate, the motor control mechanism being provided on the outside of the cover; and a hydraulic oil port for oil supply and delivery of the hydraulic motor, the hydraulic oil port being provided on the outside of the cover. Due to the external arrangement of the motor control mechanism and the hydraulic oil port, the transaxle casing can be slimmed.
[0014] In the first aspect, preferably, according to a second aspect of the invention, the steering transaxle further comprises: left and right axle support units steerably provided on left and right ends of the transaxle casing; left and right axles supported by the respective axle support units, the steerable wheels being provided on the respective axles; and a pair of deceleration gear trains each of which is interposed between each of the drive shafts and each of the axles, each of the deceleration gear trains being disposed in each of the axle support units. Due to the arrangement of the deceleration gear trains in the left and right axle support units, the transaxle casing can be further slimed.
[0015] In the first aspect, preferably, according to a third aspect of the invention, the cover, the hydraulic motor with the movable swash plate, the motor control mechanism and the hydraulic oil port constitute an assembly unit, which is detachably attached to the transaxle casing so that, by covering the opening with the cover, the hydraulic motor is disposed in the transaxle casing so as to be drivingly connected to the differential gear unit, thereby facilitating assembly and disassembly of the steering transaxle.
[0016] In the third aspect, preferably, according to a fourth aspect of the invention, the movable swash plate includes a pair of trunnion shafts, one of which is supported by the cover in the assembly unit. When the assembly unit is attached to the transaxle casing, the other trunnion shaft comes to be supported by the transaxle casing. Therefore, of the two trunnion shafts, only the other trunnion shaft is required to be located and assembled to the transaxle casing, thereby further facilitating assembly and disassembly of the steering transaxle.
[0017] In the fourth aspect, preferably, according to a fifth aspect of the invention, the hydraulic motor includes a motor shaft disposed in parallel to the drive shafts, so that a gear provided on the motor shaft meshes with an input gear of the differential gear unit so as to drivingly connect the hydraulic motor to the differential gear unit. The meshing gears on the motor shaft and the differential gear unit can be economic spur gears.
[0018] In the third aspect, preferably, according to a sixth aspect of the invention, the assembly unit includes a center section of the hydraulic motor fixed to the cover, so that, when the assembly unit is attached to the transaxle casing, the center section is sandwiched between the cover and the transaxle casing.
[0019] In the sixth aspect, preferably, according to a seventh aspect of the invention, the movable swash plate includes a pair of trunnion shafts both of which are supported by the cover in the assembly unit. Therefore, no trunnion shaft needs to be located and assembled to the transaxle casing when the assembly unit is attached to the transaxle casing, thereby further facilitating assembly and disassembly of the steering transaxle.
[0020] In the seventh aspect, preferably, according to an eighth aspect of the invention, the hydraulic motor includes a motor shaft disposed perpendicular to the drive shafts, and a bevel gear provided on the motor shaft meshes with a bevel input gear of the differential gear unit so as to drivingly connect the hydraulic motor to the differential gear unit.
[0021] In the first aspect, preferably, according to a ninth aspect of the invention, the hydraulic motor includes a cylinder block whose rotary center axis is disposed coaxially to the drive shafts. The cylinder block is directly connected to an input portion of the differential gear unit. Therefore, the hydraulic motor, the differentially gear unit and the drive shafts are disposed coaxially so as to slim the steering transaxle.
[0022] In the first aspect, preferably, according to a tenth aspect of the invention, the motor control mechanism is operatively connected to an active portion of a linkage between a steering operation device and each of the steerable wheels so as to control the slant angle of the movable swash plate according to the steered angle of the steerable wheels.
[0023] In the first aspect, preferably, according to an eleventh aspect of the invention, the motor control mechanism includes: a rotary shaft supported by the cover to interlock with the active portion; a cam provided on the rotary shaft; and a control lever supported by the cover to interlock with the movable swash plate. The rotary shaft is rotated by movement of the active portion so that the cam acts to move the control lever with the movable swash plate. Therefore, the motor control mechanism becomes simple and economic.
[0024] In the eleventh aspect, preferably, according to a twelfth aspect of the invention, the motor control mechanism further includes: a torque spring, one end of the torque spring engaging with the control lever; and a retaining member for retaining the other end of the torque spring. When the control lever is rotated by the action of the cam, the one end of the torque spring engaging with the control lever is moved away from the other end of the torque spring retained by the retaining member so as to cause a biasing force of the torque spring for returning the control lever with the movable swash plate.
[0025] In the twelfth aspect, preferably, according to a thirteenth aspect of the invention, the position of the retaining member retaining the other end of the torque spring can be adjusted. Therefore, the position of the movable swash plate, i.e., the displacement of the hydraulic motor during straight traveling of a vehicle can be adjusted.
[0026] In the first aspect, preferably, according to a fourteenth aspect of the invention, the cover is disposed on a proximal side of the transaxle casing lengthwise of a vehicle having the steering transaxle. Alternatively, according to a fifteenth aspect of the invention, the cover is disposed on a distal side of the transaxle casing lengthwise of a vehicle having the steering transaxle. Any of the proximal and distal sides of the transaxle casing can be optionally selected for arranging the cover with the exposed motor control mechanism and hydraulic oil port in consideration of positions of other members, like a tie rod or a power steering actuator, adjacent to the transaxle casing, thereby ensuring a good layout of the steering transaxle.
[0027] A second object of the invention is to provide a hydraulic driving vehicle having front and rear hydraulic motors for steerable wheels and unsteerable wheels, which can turn or brake-turn at a moderate speed while regulating the speed ratio between the steerable wheels and the unsteerable wheels.
[0028] To achieve the second object, according to a sixteenth aspect of the invention, a vehicle comprises: left and right steerable wheels; a fixed displacement hydraulic motor for driving the steerable wheels; left and right unsteerable wheels; a variable displacement hydraulic motor for driving the unsteerable wheels; and a hydraulic pump for supplying oil to the fixed displacement hydraulic motor and the variable displacement hydraulic motor. The displacement of the variable displacement hydraulic motor is changed according to the steered angle of the steerable wheels. Therefore, to regulate the speed ratio between the steerable wheels and the unsteerable wheels during turning of the vehicle so that the vehicle can turn at a moderate speed, the unsteerable wheels are decelerated instead of the steerable wheels being accelerated.
[0029] In the sixteenth aspect of the invention, preferably, according to a seventeenth aspect of the invention, the vehicle further comprises a pair of brakes for braking the respective unsteerable wheels. The brakes can be actuated for braking individually. When one of the brakes is actuated for braking, the displacement of the variable displacement hydraulic motor is changed in addition to the change thereof according to the steered angle of the steerable wheels. Therefore, the speed of the vehicle in brake-turn can be further moderated.
[0030] Alternatively, to achieve the second object, according to an eighteenth aspect of the invention, a vehicle comprises: left and right steerable wheels; a variable displacement hydraulic motor for driving the steerable wheels; left and right unsteerable wheels; a variable displacement hydraulic motor for driving the unsteerable wheels; and a hydraulic pump for supplying oil to the hydraulic motors. The displacement of at least one of the hydraulic motors is changed according to the steered angle of the steerable wheels. Any of the hydraulic motors may be selectively changed in displacement during turning of the vehicle correspondingly to various conditions.
[0031] In the eighteenth aspect, preferably, according to a nineteenth aspect of the invention, the vehicle further comprises a pair of brakes for braking the respective unsteerable wheels. The brakes can be actuated for braking individually. When one of the brakes is actuated for braking, the displacement of at least one of the hydraulic motors is changed in addition to the change of displacement according to the steered angle of the steerable wheels. Any of the hydraulic motors may be selectively changed in displacement during turning and brake-turning of the vehicle correspondingly to various conditions. Further, it is possible to reduce the degree of displacement change of each of the hydraulic motors.
[0032] In the nineteenth aspect of the invention, preferably, according to a twentieth aspect of the invention, the displacement of one of the hydraulic motors is changed according to the steered angle of the steerable wheels, and the displacement of the other hydraulic motor is changed when one of the brakes is actuated for braking. Therefore, the degree of displacement change of each of the hydraulic motors corresponding to turning and brake-turning of the vehicle is reduced.
[0033] These, further and other objects, features and advantages will appear more fully from the following detailed description with reference to accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0034] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a four-wheel driving vehicle 100 equipped with an unsteering transaxle 10 and a steering transaxle 1 , showing its mechanical and hydraulic structure, wherein a variable displacement hydraulic motor 30 is disposed in steering transaxle 1 , and a fixed displacement hydraulic motor 82 in unsteering transaxle 10 .
[0035] FIG. 2 is a fragmental sectional plan view of steering transaxle 1 , showing that variable displacement hydraulic motor 30 supported by a motor support cover 31 is drivingly connected to a differential gear unit 25 in a transaxle casing 21 .
[0036] FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along III-III line of FIG. 2 .
[0037] FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along IV-IV line of FIG. 2 when motor support cover 31 is removed from transaxle casing 21 .
[0038] FIG. 5 is the same view as FIG. 4 when transaxle casing 21 is covered with motor support cover 31 .
[0039] FIG. 6 is a sectional rear view of a right axle support unit 23 R attached to a right end of a right casing part 21 R of transaxle casing 21 .
[0040] FIG. 7 is a sectional rear view of an alternative right axle support unit 23 R′ attached to a right end of an alternative right casing part 21 R′ of transaxle casing 21 .
[0041] FIG. 8 is a fragmental sectional plan view of steering transaxle 1 , showing that variable displacement hydraulic motor 30 supported by an alternative motor support cover 71 is drivingly connected to differential gear unit 25 in transaxle casing 21 .
[0042] FIG. 9 is a fragmental sectional plan view of steering transaxle 1 , showing that an alternative variable displacement hydraulic motor 130 supported by an alternative motor support cover 131 is drivingly connected to an alternative differential gear unit 125 in an alternative transaxle casing 121 .
[0043] FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view taken along IX-IX line of FIG. 9 .
[0044] FIG. 11 is a sectional view of unsteering transaxle 10 with an HST 80 .
[0045] FIG. 12 is a sectional view of a center section 87 for HST 80 .
[0046] FIG. 13 is a diagram of an alternative four-wheel driving vehicle 100 A equipped with an alternative unsteering transaxle 10 A and an alternative steering transaxle 1 A, showing its mechanical and hydraulic structure, wherein mechanical auxiliary transmissions 19 and 95 are disposed in respective transaxles 1 A and 10 A.
[0047] FIG. 14 is a diagram of an alternative four-wheel driving vehicle 100 B equipped with an alternative unsteering transaxle 10 B and an alternative steering transaxle 1 B, showing its mechanical and hydraulic structure, wherein a fixed displacement hydraulic motor 230 is disposed in steering transaxle 1 B, and a variable displacement hydraulic motor 282 in unsteering transaxle 10 B.
[0048] FIG. 15 is a fragmental sectional plan view of steering transaxle 1 B, showing that fixed displacement hydraulic motor 230 supported by an alternative motor support cover 231 is drivingly connected to differential gear unit 25 in transaxle casing 21 .
[0049] FIG. 16 is a sectional view of unsteering transaxle 10 B with an HST 280 .
[0050] FIG. 17 is a diagram of an alternative four-wheel driving vehicle 100 C equipped with unsteering transaxle 10 B and steering transaxle 1 B, showing its mechanical and hydraulic structure, wherein variable displacement hydraulic motor 282 is servo-controlled.
[0051] FIG. 18 is a fragmental sectional plan view of steering transaxle 1 B, showing that fixed displacement hydraulic motor 230 A supported by an alternative motor support cover 271 is drivingly connected to differential gear unit 25 in transaxle casing 21 .
[0052] FIG. 19 is a diagram of an alternative four-wheel driving vehicle 100 D equipped with an alternative unsteering transaxle 10 C and steering transaxle 1 , showing its mechanical and hydraulic structure, wherein servo-controlled variable displacement hydraulic motor 30 is disposed in steering transaxle 1 , and servo-controlled variable displacement hydraulic motor 282 and a mechanical auxiliary transmission 95 a are disposed in unsteering transaxle 10 C.
[0053] FIG. 20 is a table representing a control pattern of movable swash plates 35 and 282 b of hydraulic motors 30 and 282 in vehicle 100 D.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0054] As shown in FIG. 1 , a four-wheel driving vehicle 100 is equipped with a steering transaxle 1 and an unsteering transaxle 10 . In the following description, for convenience, steering transaxle 1 is referred to as a front transaxle, and unsteering transaxle 10 as a rear transaxle, however, they may be exchanged in the fore-and-aft direction of vehicle 100 . The same is said about later-discussed alternative vehicles.
[0055] Front steering transaxle 1 incorporates a variable displacement hydraulic motor 30 for driving front steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R, and rear unsteering transaxle 10 is provided with a fixed displacement hydraulic motor 82 for driving rear unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R. Hydraulic motors 30 and 82 are fluidly connected in tandem to a variable displacement hydraulic pump 81 so as to constitute a hydrostatic transmission (HST) circuit for driving four wheels 22 L, 22 R, 92 L and 92 R. Hydraulic pump 81 has a movable swash plate 81 b operatively connected to a speed control lever 15 provided on vehicle 100 .
[0056] An output shaft of an engine 4 is drivingly connected to an input shaft (a pump shaft) 81 a of hydraulic pump 81 . Pump shaft 81 a also serves as a driving shaft of a charge pump 16 . Hydraulic pump 81 and motor 82 constitute an HST 80 for driving rear unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R of rear unsteering transaxle 10 . HST 80 includes outwardly open ports 87 f and 87 g fluidly connected to a drive mode switching valve 89 which is shiftable between a two-wheel drive position and a four-wheel drive position. Pipes 88 a and 88 b are extended from valve 89 to external ports 37 c and 37 d of front steering transaxle 1 for hydraulic oil supply and delivery to and from hydraulic motor 30 .
[0057] When valve 89 is set at the two-wheel drive position, ports 87 f and 87 g are mutually connected so as to make HST 80 into a closed circuit isolated from hydraulic motor 30 , thereby transmitting the power of engine 4 to only rear unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R. When valve 89 is set at the four-wheel drive position, ports 87 f and 87 g are connected to respective pipes 88 a and 88 b so as to realize the four-wheel driving HST circuit including hydraulic pump 81 and motors 82 and 30 , thereby transmitting the power of engine 4 to all wheels 22 L, 22 R and 92 L ad 92 R.
[0058] HST 80 for driving unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R integrally provided in unsteering transaxle 10 may be alternatively separated from unsteering transaxle 10 , or only one of hydraulic pump 81 and motor 82 may be provided in unsteering transaxle 10 .
[0059] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , steering transaxle 1 includes a transaxle casing 21 and left and right axle support units 23 L and 23 R steerably mounted on respective left and right ends of transaxle casing 21 . A steering wheel 14 is interlockingly connected to axle support units 23 L and 23 R so as to steer them. Axle support units 23 L and 23 R incorporate respective deceleration gear trains (see FIG. 6 ) and support respective front wheels 22 L and 22 R drivingly connected to the deceleration gear trains at the outsides thereof so that front wheels 22 L and 22 R serve as steerable wheels.
[0060] As shown in FIG. 5 , transaxle casing 21 consists of a left casing part 21 L and a right casing part 21 R fastened to each other by bolts. Right casing part 21 R is provided at the top portion thereof with a penetrating hole 21 u through which a center pin 6 is passed so as to suspend transaxle casing 21 from a chassis of vehicle 100 .
[0061] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , transaxle casing 21 incorporates a differential gear unit 25 and left and right drive shafts 24 L and 24 R mutually differentially coupled by differential gear unit 25 . Transaxle casing 21 has an opening 21 d between left and right casing parts 21 L and 21 R, which is covered with a motor support cover 31 . Variable displacement hydraulic motor 30 is fixed onto an inside surface of motor support cover 31 so as to be disposed in transaxle casing 21 . A motor control mechanism 40 for controlling the displacement of hydraulic motor 30 (the slant angle of a movable swash plate 35 of hydraulic motor 30 ), and hydraulic oil ports 37 c and 37 d for supply and delivery of oil to and from hydraulic motor 30 are provided on an outside surface of motor support cover 31 so as to be exposed to the outside of transaxle casing 21 . Hydraulic oil ports 37 c and 37 d serve as pipe connectors connected to hydraulic oil pipes 88 a and 88 b.
[0062] Hydraulic motor 30 , motor control mechanism 40 and hydraulic oil ports 37 c and 37 d are integrated with motor support cover 31 so as to constitute an assembly unit, which is removed from transaxle casing 21 by removing motor support cover 31 from transaxle casing 21 , thereby facilitating their easy maintenance or adjustment. Further, by removing hydraulic motor 30 together with motor support cover 31 from transaxle casing 21 , parts including differential gear unit 25 disposed in transaxle casing 21 are exposed so as to facilitate their easy maintenance.
[0063] Since the deceleration gear train in each of axle support units 23 L and 23 R has a large deceleration ratio, hydraulic motor 30 is allowed to have a small displacement. As a result, hydraulic motor 30 can be downsized and lightened, and its motor shaft 33 can be rotated at high speed and low torque by the hydraulic oil reduced in pressure by driving hydraulic motor 82 preceding hydraulic motor 30 .
[0064] Differential gear unit 25 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2 , differential gear unit 25 differentially coupling drive shafts 24 L and 24 R to each other is disposed in right casing part 21 R. Differential gear unit 25 comprises a differential casing 25 a , a bull gear 25 b , a pinion shaft 25 c , bevel pinions 25 d and bevel differential side gears 25 e . Differential casing 25 a is journalled at left and right ends thereof by transaxle casing 21 (right casing part 21 R) through respective bearings 21 b and relatively rotatably penetrated by drive shafts 24 L and 24 R at the respective left and right ends thereof. Bull gear 25 b is fixed on the outer periphery of differential casing 25 a so as to serve as an input gear of differential gear unit 25 . Pinion shaft 25 c is supported in differential casing 25 a perpendicularly to drive shafts 24 L and 24 R. Pinions 25 d are oppositely pivoted on pinion shaft 25 c . Each of differential side gears 25 e is fixed on each of drive shafts 24 L and 24 R and disposed in differential casing 25 a so as to mesh with both pinions 25 d.
[0065] Bull gear 25 b meshes with a motor gear 33 c fixed on motor shaft 33 of hydraulic motor 30 so as to constitute a deceleration gear train between hydraulic motor 30 and differential gear unit 25 . Since motor shaft 33 and drive shafts 24 L and 24 R are parallel, mutually meshing bull gear 25 b and motor gear 33 c may be inexpensive spur gears or helical gears, and the width of steering transaxle 1 lengthwise of vehicle 100 can be shortened regardless of the length of motor shaft 33 .
[0066] Hydraulic motor 30 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 , right casing part 21 R has a portion 21 e projecting rearward behind differential gear unit 25 such as to form a motor chamber 21 c therein. Opening 21 d is provided at the rear end of portion 21 e so as to open motor chamber 21 c.
[0067] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , a center section 32 is integrally formed of motor support cover 31 . Hydraulic motor 30 is mounted on the inside surface of center section 32 , and hydraulic oil ports 37 c and 37 d on the outside surface of center section 32 .
[0068] Movable swash plate 35 has front and rear trunnion shaft shafts 35 a and 35 b . Trunnion shaft 35 a is rotatably supported by transaxle casing 21 (right casing part 21 R), and trunnion shaft 35 b by motor support cover 31 .
[0069] The interior space of transaxle casing 21 is filled with oil so as to be tightly fluidly isolated from the outside of transaxle casing 21 , including motor chamber 21 c covered with motor support cover 31 , but excluding hydraulic oil ports 37 c and 37 d.
[0070] Left and right bearing support walls 31 a and 31 b are integrally formed of motor support cover 31 so as to project in parallel with center section 32 therebetween. Bearings 33 a and 33 b are fitted in respective bearing support walls 31 a ad 31 b so as to journal left and right ends of motor shaft 33 . Center section 32 has a central axial penetrating hole 32 a through which motor shaft 33 is rotatably passed at its intermediate portion.
[0071] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , center section 32 is formed therein with upper and lower oil passages 32 c and 32 d . Ports 37 c and 37 d are fitted onto respective outer ends of oil passages 32 c and 32 d . Center section 32 is also formed therein with kidney ports 38 c and 38 d open at a right surface thereof in communication with respective oil passages 32 c and 32 d.
[0072] As shown in FIG. 2 , a cylinder block 34 is disposed between center section 32 and bearing support wall 31 a , and slidably rotatably fitted to center section 32 through a valve plate 36 so as to be fluidly connected to kidney ports 38 c and 38 d . Cylinder block 34 is not-relatively rotatably fitted on motor shaft 33 , which serves as the rotary center axis of cylinder block 34 .
[0073] Pistons 39 are reciprocally fitted in cylinder block 34 around motor shaft 33 , and a spring 34 b is wound around motor shaft 33 in cylinder block 34 so as to bias cylinder block 34 toward center section 32 .
[0074] Movable swash plate 35 freely penetrated by motor shaft 33 is disposed between cylinder block 34 and bearing support wall 31 a , and pivotally supported on cylinder block 34 . Movable swash plate 35 has a thrust bearing 35 c fitting heads of pistons 39 . By rotating movable swash plate 35 around trunnion shafts 35 a and 35 b , strokes of pistons 39 are changed so as to change the displacement of hydraulic motor 30 .
[0075] As shown in FIG. 2 , motor gear 33 c meshing with bull gear 25 b of differential gear unit 25 is disposed between center section 32 and bearing support wall 31 b.
[0076] Transaxle casing 21 (right casing part 21 R) is formed with a boss 21 a between motor chamber 21 c and the chamber incorporating drive shaft 24 R in front thereof. When motor support cover 31 is fitted onto transaxle casing 21 (right casing part 21 R), trunnion shaft 35 a is rotatably fitted into boss 21 a , thereby easily locating hydraulic motor 30 in transaxle casing 21 (casing part 21 R).
[0077] Motor control mechanism 40 for controlling the displacement of hydraulic motor 30 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 2 , 4 and 5 , motor control mechanism 40 provided on motor support cover 31 is disposed on the proximal (rear) side of transaxle casing 21 in the longitudinal direction of vehicle 100 so as to be prevented from colliding with obstacles during forward traveling of vehicle 100 .
[0078] To ensure a good balance or compactness, a tie rod and a linkage from steering wheel 14 (such as a power steering cylinder) are appreciated to be disposed opposite to motor control mechanism 40 with respect to transaxle casing 21 . Therefore, the tie rod and the linkage from steering wheel 14 come into a space in front of transaxle casing 21 , i.e., on the distal side of transaxle casing 21 in the longitudinal direction of vehicle 100 . Alternatively, if protection of the tie rod and the like is preferred to that of motor control mechanism 40 , they may be disposed behind transaxle casing 21 (on the proximal side of transaxle casing 21 in the longitudinal direction of vehicle 100 ), and motor control mechanism 40 with motor support cover 31 in front of transaxle casing 21 (on the distal side of transaxle casing 21 in the longitudinal direction of vehicle 100 ). Motor support cover 31 may be also disposed at the front surface of transaxle casing 21 if an engine oil pan or a linkage for suspending a mid-mount working machine, e.g., a mower, must be disposed behind transaxle casing 21 . The same is said about later-discussed various alternative steering transaxles.
[0079] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 , trunnion shaft 35 b supported by motor support cover 31 projects at its rear end rearward from motor support cover 31 . A control lever 42 has a boss portion 42 a fixed on the rear end of trunnion shaft 35 b . Doglegged control lever 42 includes a first arm 42 b extended rightward from boss portion 42 a , and a second arm 42 c extended downwardly leftward from boss portion 42 a.
[0080] On the right side of trunnion shaft 35 b , motor support cover 31 is bored by a penetrating hole 31 g through which a camshaft 41 is rotatably passed. A rear end of camshaft 41 projects rearward from motor support cover 31 and its upper portion is cut away so as to form its lower portion into a semicircular cam 41 a having a flat surface and left and right angled ends of the flat surface. The angled ends serve as cam profiles of cam 41 a.
[0081] An arm 43 is fixed at its bottom end to camshaft 41 in front of cam 41 a . A link rod 44 is pivotally connected at one end thereof to a top end of arm 43 . Link rod 44 is connected at the other end thereof to an active portion of a linkage between steering wheel 14 and steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R. As shown in FIG. 1 , for example, an arm 14 a rotated according to the rotation of steering wheel 14 may be operatively connected link rod 44 . Alternatively, link rod 44 may be connected to a steerable portion (such as a later-discussed steered casing 23 b ) of one of axle support units 23 L and 23 R.
[0082] Referring to FIG. 5 , when vehicle 100 travels straight, the flat surface of semicircular cam 41 a is disposed horizontally and first arm 42 b of control lever 42 is put on the flat surface of cam 41 a . When vehicle 100 turns either left or right so as to move link rod 44 rightward (as expressed by an arrow R in FIG. 5 ), arm 43 rotates clockwise so as to raise the left cam profile of cam 41 a , thereby pushing up first arm 42 b . Therefore, control lever 42 is rotated counterclockwise so as to rotate movable swash plate 35 in the direction for reducing its slant angle, i.e., for reducing the displacement of hydraulic motor 30 (for increasing the rotary speed of hydraulic motor 30 ).
[0083] If the turning direction of vehicle 100 is the other of left and right such as to move link rod 24 leftward (as expressed by an arrow L in FIG. 5 ), arm 43 rotates counterclockwise so as to raise the right cam profile of cam 41 a , thereby pushing up first arm 42 b and rotating control lever 42 counterclockwise. Consequently, whether vehicle 100 turns left or right, swash plate 35 rotates in the direction for reducing its slant angle, i.e., for reducing the displacement of hydraulic motor 30 (for increasing the rotary speed of hydraulic motor 30 ).
[0084] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 , a torque spring 45 is wound around boss portion 42 a of control lever 42 so as to bias control lever 42 toward its initial position defining the maximum slant angle of movable swash plate 35 , i.e., the maximum displacement of hydraulic motor 30 . Both end portions 45 a and 45 b of spring 45 are twisted to cross each other and extended so as to pinch pins 42 d and 46 . Pin 42 d projects from second arm 42 c of control lever 42 . If control lever 42 is rotated for reducing the slant angle of swash plate 35 , i.e., reducing the displacement of hydraulic motor 30 , pin 42 d pushes one of end portions 45 a and 45 b of spring 45 away from the other retained by pin 46 , thereby causing the biasing force of spring 45 for returning control lever 42 to the initial position.
[0085] Pin 46 has a pivot portion 46 a planted in motor support cover 31 and an eccentric portion 46 b . Correctly, the portion of pin 46 pinched by end portions 45 a and 45 b of spring 45 is eccentric portion 46 b . Pivot portion 46 a is screwed into motor support cover 31 and fastened to motor support cover 31 by nuts 47 . By loosening nuts 47 , pivot portion 46 a can be rotated relative to motor support cover 31 so as to revolve eccentric portion 46 b around pivot portion 46 a , thereby adjusting the initial position of control lever 42 .
[0086] Each of symmetric axle support units 23 L and 23 R will be described with reference to representing right axle support unit 23 R shown in FIG. 6 . Each of axle support units 23 L and 23 R includes a kingpin casing 23 a , a steered casing 23 b and an axle casing 23 c . Kingpin casing 23 a is fixed to an outer end of each of transaxle casings 21 L and 21 R and bent downward. Steered casing 23 b is relatively rotatably disposed around the downwardly extending portion of kingpin casing 23 a . Upper and lower bearings 51 a and 51 b are interposed between kingpin casing 23 a and steered casing 23 b therearound. Steered casing 23 b has a vertically cut open surface to which a bowl-like axle casing 23 c is jointed.
[0087] In the bent portion of kingpin casing 23 a , a bevel gear 52 a is formed on the outer end of each of drive shafts 24 L and 24 R. A transmission shaft 52 is disposed on the central axis of the downwardly extending portion of kingpin casing 23 a . A bevel gear 52 b fixed on the top end of transmission shaft 52 is rotatably supported by kingpin casing 23 a through a bearing 51 c , and meshes with bevel gear 52 a . Transmission shaft 53 projects downward from the bottom end of the downwardly extending portion of kingpin casing 23 a so as to be fixedly provided on its bottom end with a bevel gear 52 c and rotatably supported on a bottom portion of steered casing 23 b through a bearing 51 d.
[0088] Bevel gear 52 c meshes with a large bevel final gear 52 d fixed on an axle 53 . Mutually joined steered casing 23 b and axle casing 23 c enclose final gear 52 d . Final gear 52 d is rotatably supported through a bearing 51 c by steered casing 23 b , and through a bearing 51 f by axle casing 23 c . An outer portion of axle 54 projecting outward from axle casing 23 c is formed into a flange 55 to be fixed to each of wheels 22 L and 22 R.
[0089] In this way, gears 52 a , 52 b , 52 c and 52 d in each of axle support units 23 L and 23 R decelerate the output rotation of hydraulic motor 30 transmitted to axle 54 of each of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R through each of drive shafts 24 L and 24 R and transmission shaft 53 . Such an arrangement of deceleration gears in axle support units 23 L and 23 R allow reduction of the displacement of hydraulic motor 30 , which enables high-speed and low-torque rotation of hydraulic motor 30 for saving load on hydraulic pump 81 , and facilitates compactness of transaxle casing 21 disposed just below the vehicle chassis.
[0090] At least one of steered casings 23 b (or axle casings 23 c ) is operatively connected to steering wheel 14 . Steering casings 23 b of both axle support units 23 L and 23 R are mutually connected by a tie rod. Steered casing 23 b of either axle support unit 23 L or 23 R may serve as the above-mentioned active portion to be operatively connected to arm 43 through link rod 44 so as to change the displacement of hydraulic motor 30 in association with the operation of steering wheel 14 .
[0091] FIG. 7 illustrates an alternative right casing part 21 R′ of transaxle casing 21 and an alternative right axle support units 23 R′. They represent respective alternative left ones provided in the left portion of transaxle casing 21 , which are laterally symmetric with the illustrated right ones. A steered casing 61 is laterally rotatably fitted onto an outer end portion of right casing part 21 R′ of transaxle casing 21 through upper and lower coaxial kingpins 62 a and 62 b . A bearing casing 68 and steered casing 61 with a ring gear 66 e therebetween are fastened together by bolts so as to enclose a space 69 for incorporating a planetary gear mechanism 64 including ring gear 66 e.
[0092] Planetary gear mechanism 64 comprises a sun gear 66 a , a planetary gear (or planetary gears) 66 d and a carrier 66 b in addition to ring gear 66 e . Sun gear 66 a is fixed on a distal end of sun gear shaft 63 a rotatably supported by steered casing 61 through a bearing 67 a , and by carrier 66 b through a bearing 67 b . Between steered casing 61 and casing part 21 R′, a universal joint 63 couples sun gear shaft 63 a to drive shaft 24 R. The bending pivot point between sun gear shaft 63 a and drive shaft 24 R is disposed between upper and lower kingpins 62 a and 62 b.
[0093] Carrier 66 b surrounding sun gear 66 a and sun gear shaft 63 a is rotatably supported by steered casing 61 through a bearing 67 c , and by bearing casing 68 through a bearing 67 d . Planetary gear (gears) 66 d is (are) pivoted by carrier 66 b through a pivot pin (respective pivot pins) 66 c . Planetary gear (gears) 66 d meshes (mesh) with sun gear 66 a and an internal gear formed on the inner periphery of ring gear 66 e . A flange 65 to be fixed to each of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R is rotatably fitted on an outer end of steered casing 68 . Flange 65 has an axle portion 65 a axially fitted into carrier 66 b and fastened to carrier 66 b by a bolt (or bolts).
[0094] In this way, carrier 66 d fixed to flange 65 and each of wheels 22 L and 22 R is rotated by revolution of planetary gear (gears) 66 d around sun gear 66 a that is being rotated by each of drive shafts 24 L and 24 R.
[0095] At least one of steered casings 61 is operatively connected to steering wheel 14 . Steering casings 61 are mutually connected by a tie rod. One of steered casings 61 may serve as the above-mentioned active portion to be operatively connected to arm 43 through link rod 44 so as to change the displacement of hydraulic motor 30 in association with the operation of steering wheel 14 .
[0096] When the axle supporting structure shown in FIG. 6 is employed, axles (central axes) of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R are disposed lower than drive shafts 24 L and 24 R. When the axle supporting structure shown in FIG. 7 is employed, axles (central axes) of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R are disposed as high as drive shafts 24 L and 24 R. Any of the two structures may be selected at need.
[0097] FIG. 8 illustrates variable displacement hydraulic motor 30 in an alternative motor support cover 71 attached to transaxle casing 21 . Unless being specified, parts and members designated by the same reference numerals as those of FIG. 2 are identical in structure or function to those of FIG. 2 .
[0098] Motor support cover 71 supporting hydraulic motor 30 is fastened to transaxle casing 21 through a center section 72 of hydraulic motor 30 . A movable swash plate 75 of hydraulic motor 30 has trunnion shafts 75 a and 75 b rotatably supported by motor support cover 71 . Trunnion shafts 75 a and 75 b are disposed in parallel to drive shafts 24 L and 24 R.
[0099] Motor support cover 71 includes a casing part 71 a and a casing cover part 71 b . Casing part 71 a is penetrated by a hole 71 f into which trunnion shaft 75 b is rotatably fitted. Casing cover part 71 b having a recess 71 g , into which trunnion shaft 75 a is rotatably fitted, is fixedly fitted onto an (left) open side surface of casing part 71 a so that casing part 71 a and casing cover part 71 b encloses a motor chamber 71 c for incorporating hydraulic motor 30 . By removing casing cover part 71 b from casing part 71 a , the open side surface of casing part 71 a is exposed so as to facilitate disassembly of hydraulic motor 30 .
[0100] Hydraulic motor 30 has a motor shaft 73 perpendicular to drive shafts 24 L and 24 R. Motor shaft 73 is rotatably passed through a penetrating hole 72 a of center section 72 . Motor shaft 73 is journalled at its rear end by cover part 71 a through a bearing 73 a . A front end of motor shaft 73 is rotatably fitted into a boss portion 21 h formed in transaxle casing 21 (right casing part 21 R) through a bearing collar 73 b . A motor gear 73 c is fixed on motor shaft 73 between bearing collar 73 b and center section 72 . Differential gear unit 25 has an alternative bevel bull gear 25 g fixed on differential casing 25 a meshing with motor gear 73 c.
[0101] Center section 72 is a member separated from motor support cover 71 and transaxle casing 21 (right casing part 21 R) and fixedly sandwiched between motor support cover 71 and casing part 21 R. Hydraulic oil passages 78 c and 78 d are bored in center section 72 , and hydraulic oil ports 78 a serving as pipe connectors are externally fitted on center section 72 so as to communicate with respective passages 78 c and 78 d.
[0102] A cylinder block 74 is not-relatively rotatably fitted on motor shaft 73 serving as the rotary center axis of cylinder block 74 , and slidably rotatably fitted to the rear end of center section 72 through a valve plate 76 . Pistons 79 are reciprocally fitted into respective cylinder holes 74 a formed in cylinder block 74 . Hydraulic oil passages 78 c and 78 d fluidly communicate with cylinder holes 74 a through valve plate 76 . Heads of pistons 79 project rearward from cylinder block 74 and abut against movable swash plate 75 therebehind. Motor shaft 73 is freely passed through movable swash plate 75 .
[0103] Motor control mechanism 40 including camshaft 41 and control lever 42 , similar to that of FIG. 2 , is provided on casing part 71 a of motor support cover 71 . However, since trunnion shaft 75 b serving as the rotary center shaft of control lever 42 is disposed in parallel to drive shafts 24 L and 24 R, camshaft 41 also becomes parallel to drive shafts 24 L and 24 R. Therefore, arm 43 fixed on camshaft 41 is rotatable perpendicularly to drive shafts 24 L and 24 R (lengthwise of vehicle 100 ). Arm 43 may be interlockingly connected to any active portion of the linkage between steering wheel 14 and each of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R. The only important function for arm 43 is to transmit the degree of left and right turning of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R.
[0104] Hydraulic motor 30 including center section 72 , and motor control mechanism 40 are integrated with motor support cover 71 so as to be made into an assembly unit, thereby facilitating their easy maintenance or adjustment. When this assembly unit is assembled with transaxle casing 21 , center section 72 is fixedly fitted onto the rear end of right casing part 21 R so as to cover an opening 21 d ′ formed in right casing part 21 R. The front end of motor shaft 73 is inserted into boss portion 21 h of casing part 21 R through bearing collar 73 b , thereby easily drivingly connecting hydraulic motor 30 to differential gear unit 25 . By separating center section 72 from casing part 21 R, hydraulic motor 30 together with motor support cover 71 can be easily removed from transaxle casing 21 .
[0105] To ensure a good balance or compactness, the tie rod and the linkage from steering wheel 14 are preferably disposed opposite to motor support cover 71 with respect to transaxle casing 21 , i.e., in front of transaxle casing 21 . Alternatively, if the tie rod, an engine oil pan, a linkage for supporting a mid-mount working machine or so on must be disposed behind transaxle casing 21 , motor support cover 71 with motor control mechanism 40 may be disposed in front of transaxle casing 21 .
[0106] FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate steering transaxle 1 having an alternative transaxle casing 121 incorporating an alternative hydraulic motor 130 and an alternative differential gear unit 125 . Transaxle casing 121 has a rear opening 121 d covered with a motor support cover 131 . As shown in FIG. 9 , transaxle casing 121 has a front wall 121 f toward which a center section 132 integrally formed of motor support cover 131 is extended. In transaxle casing 121 , hydraulic motor 130 and differential gear unit 125 are distributed right and left, opposite to each other, with respect to center section 132 .
[0107] Center section 132 has a penetrating hole 132 c through which drive shaft 24 R is freely passed. Further, drive shaft 24 R is disposed on the center axis of cylinder block 134 of hydraulic motor 130 and freely penetrates cylinder block 134 , a movable swash plate 135 , and a guide block 136 supporting movable swash plate 135 .
[0108] Differential gear unit 125 includes a differential casing 125 a . A boss portion 125 z is integrally formed on the right end of differential casing 125 a , and extended into penetrating hole 132 c around drive shaft 24 R so as to rotatably fit center section 132 through a bearing 121 b . Differential casing 125 a is journalled at the left end thereof by a bearing 121 a which is fitted in a support block 131 a fastened to motor support cover 131 by a bolt. Boss portion 125 z surrounding drive shaft 24 R projects rightward from penetrating hole 132 c . Boss portion 125 z is spline-fitted into a center axial hole 134 c of cylinder block 134 slidably rotatably fitted onto the right surface of center section 132 , thereby serving as an axial motor shaft of hydraulic motor 130 . In this way, differential casing 125 a is rotatable integrally with cylinder block 134 . Further, differential casing 125 a and hydraulic motor 130 are disposed coaxially around drive shaft 24 R so as to facilitate compactness of steering transaxle 1 .
[0109] Upper and lower hydraulic oil passages 132 a and 132 b are bored in center section 132 , and outwardly open at a rear surface of motor support cover 131 . Hydraulic oil ports 133 a and 133 b serving as pipe connectors are externally fitted on the rear surface of motor support cover 131 so as to communicate with respective passages 132 a and 132 b.
[0110] Parallel cylinder holes 134 a are bored in cylinder block 134 around center axial hole 134 c . Pistons 139 are reciprocally fitted into respective cylinder holes 134 a and abut at head thereof against a thrust bearing 135 a of movable swash plate 135 . Guide block 136 fixed to motor support cover 131 has an arcuate guide surface 136 a to which movable swash plate 135 is slidably fitted. In this way, movable swash plate 135 is made as a cradle type.
[0111] Hydraulic motor 130 is provided with a motor control mechanism 140 assembled with motor support cover 131 . Referring to motor control mechanism 140 , upper and lower projections 135 b are formed on the rear end of movable swash plate 135 , as shown in FIG. 10 . An arm 137 a is clamped at one end thereof between projections 135 b . Arm 137 a is disposed perpendicular to drive axles 24 L and 24 R and rotatably supported by motor support cover 131 . The other end of arm 137 a is formed into a boss fixed on an inner front end portion of a control shaft 137 . By rotating control shaft 137 , arm 137 a is rotated together with control shaft 137 so as to change the slant angle of movable swash plate 135 , thereby changing the displacement of hydraulic motor 130 .
[0112] A torque spring 145 is wound around the boss of arm 137 a on control shaft 137 . A second arm 137 b is branched from arm 137 a , and a pin 142 d projects from second arm 137 b . Both end portions 145 a and 145 b are twisted to cross each other and extended to clamp pin 142 d and an eccentric portion 146 b of a retaining pin 146 when movable swash plate 135 is disposed at its initial position for defining the maximum displacement of hydraulic motor 130 . If control shaft 137 is rotated for reducing the displacement of hydraulic motor 130 , pin 142 d of arm 137 b rotating together with control shaft 137 pushes one of end portions 145 a and 145 b away from the other end portion 145 b or 145 a retained by eccentric portion 146 a of retaining pin 146 so as to generate the biasing force of spring 145 for returning movable swash plate 135 to its initial position for ensuring the maximum displacement of hydraulic motor 130 .
[0113] Retaining pin 146 has a pivot portion pivotally planted in motor support cover 131 . Eccentric portion 146 a is eccentrically extended from the pivot portion. The pivot portion of retaining pin 146 is normally fastened to motor support cover 131 by a nut, for example. By loosening the nut and letting the pivot portion rotate relative to motor support cover 131 , eccentric portion 146 a revolves around the pivot portion so as to adjust the initial position of arm 137 a with movable swash plate 135 .
[0114] A boss portion 142 a of a control arm 142 is fixed on the rear end of control shaft 137 behind motor support cover 131 . A camshaft 141 is disposed in parallel to control shaft 137 and rotatably supported by motor support cover 131 . The rear end of camshaft 141 projecting rearward from motor support cover 131 is formed into a semicircular cam 141 a whose flat surface confronts an upper edge of control arm 142 . An arm 143 is fixed on camshaft 141 . Arm 143 may be interlockingly connected to any active portion of the linkage between steering wheel 14 and each of wheels 22 L and 22 R if arm 143 is rotated accordingly to the degree of left and right turning of wheels 22 L and 22 R.
[0115] In this way, motor control mechanism 140 , including arms 137 a and 137 b , control shaft 137 , control arm 142 , camshaft 141 and arm 143 , is assembled together with motor support cover 131 and hydraulic motor 130 . Such a resultant assembly unit can be easily attached or removed to and from transaxle casing 121 .
[0116] Cylinder block 134 having center axial hole 134 c for passing boss portion 125 z of differential casing 125 a and drive shaft 24 R becomes diametrically large so as to be reduced in rotary speed, thereby saving the size or parts count of a deceleration gear for ensuring a deceleration ratio between hydraulic motor 130 and axles of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R.
[0117] Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 10 , transaxle casing 121 has hole 21 u through which center pin 6 is passed for hanging down steering transaxle 1 from a chassis of vehicle 100 .
[0118] Unsteering transaxle (main transaxle) 10 integrally provided with HST 80 including mutually fluidly connected hydraulic pump 81 and motor 82 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 , 11 and 12 . A casing of unsteering transaxle 10 is divided into an HST casing 80 a and a differential gear casing 90 R by a plate-like center section 87 .
[0119] HST casing 80 a incorporates HST 80 including hydraulic pump 81 and motor 82 slidably rotatably fitted onto center section 87 . Hydraulic pump 81 has movable swash plate 81 b operatively connected to speed control lever 15 . Hydraulic pump 81 has axial pump shaft 81 a freely passing movable swash plate 81 b and projecting outward from HST casing 80 a to be drivingly connected to engine 4 . Pump shaft 8 l a is journalled by HST casing 80 a and center section 87 . Pump shaft 81 a penetrates center section 87 and extends opposite to HST casing 80 a and adjacent to differential gear casing 90 R so as to serve as the drive shaft of charge pump 16 disposed opposite to hydraulic pump 81 with respect to center section 87 . Hydraulic motor 82 has axial motor shaft 82 a disposed in parallel to pump shaft 81 a and journalled by HST casing 80 a and center section 87 .
[0120] As shown in FIG. 12 , center section 87 is formed therein with kidney ports 87 a and 87 b fluidly open to hydraulic pump 81 , and with kidney ports 87 d and 87 e fluidly open to hydraulic motor 82 . Ports 87 f and 87 g are outwardly open in center section 87 so as to be fluidly connected to drive mode switching valve 89 . In center section 87 are bored an oil passage 87 h interposed between port 87 f and kidney port 87 a , an oil passage 87 c interposed between kidney ports 87 b and 87 d , and an oil passage 87 j interposed between kidney port 87 e and port 87 g . In this way, center section 87 is formed therein with a part of the closed circuit of HST 80 .
[0121] In center section 87 is also bored a charge oil passage 87 k which can communicate with oil passages 87 h and 87 c . A pair of check valves 99 are interposed between oil passage 87 c and charge oil passage 87 k , and between oil passage 87 h and charge oil passage 87 k , respectively. Charge oil passage 87 k is supplied with oil from charge pump 16 , as shown in FIG. 1 . Each of check valves 99 is opened to pass oil from charge oil passage 87 k into corresponding oil passage 87 h or 87 c when corresponding oil passage 87 h or 87 c is hydraulically depressed.
[0122] HST casing 80 a also incorporates a PTO shaft 85 disposed in parallel to pump shaft 81 a and motor shaft 82 a . PTO shaft 85 projects outward from HST casing 80 a adjacent to center section 87 . In HST casing 80 a , a PTO clutch 85 a and a PTO brake 85 b are provided on PTO shaft 85 . PTO clutch 85 a has a clutch input gear 86 b relatively rotatably provided on PTO shaft 85 . A gear 86 a is fixed on pump shaft 81 a and meshes with gear 86 b so as to transmit the power of engine 4 to PTO shaft 85 through PTO clutch 85 a.
[0123] Motor shaft 82 a is extended from center section 87 into differential gear casing 90 R opposite to hydraulic motor 82 so as to be fixedly provided on its end with a bevel motor gear 82 c . Differential gear casing 90 R incorporates a differential gear unit 84 differentially connecting axles 83 L and 83 R to each other. Unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R are fixed onto outer ends of respective axles 82 L and 82 R. A deceleration gear train including large and small gears 93 a and 93 b is interposed between motor shaft 82 a and differential gear unit 84 . A deceleration gear shaft 93 is disposed in parallel to axles 83 L and 83 R. Large bevel gear 93 a is fixed on deceleration gear shaft 93 and meshes with bevel motor gear 82 c . Small bevel gear 93 b is formed on deceleration gear shaft 93 and meshes with a bull gear 84 a of differential gear unit 84 .
[0124] Differential gear casing 90 R has a large opening open at one of left and right sides (in this embodiment, the left side) thereof, and casing cover 90 L is attached to differential gear casing 90 R so as to cover the large opening, thereby supporting deceleration gear shaft 93 and differential gear unit 84 . By removing casing cover 90 L from differential gear casing 90 R, the large opening of differential gear casing 90 R is exposed so as to facilitate disassembly of differential gear unit 84 and deceleration gear shaft 93 with the deceleration gears. An axle casing 11 L incorporating axle 83 L is fixed at its proximate end to casing cover 90 L, and an axle casing 11 R incorporating axle 83 R to differential gear casing 90 R. The interior space of the joint portion of left axle casing 11 L and casing cover 90 L serves as a left brake chamber 27 L for incorporating a left brake 5 L for braking left axle 83 L, and the interior space of the joint portion of right axle casing 11 R and differential gear casing 90 R serves as a right brake chamber 27 R for incorporating a right brake 5 R for braking right axle 83 R, so that left and right brakes 5 L and 5 R are disposed symmetrically.
[0125] With respect left brake 5 L in brake chamber 27 L between axle casing 11 L and casing cover 90 L, brake pads 8 L fitted to axle casing 11 L and brake disks 9 L fitted on axle 83 L are alternately aligned in the proximal portion of axle casing 11 L, and a pressure ring 7 L disposed around axle 83 L is fitted to casing cover 90 L so as to confront brake disks 9 L and pads 8 L. A brake shaft 3 L is rotatably supported by axle casing 11 L and casing cover 90 L, and a brake arm 12 L is fixed on the outer end of brake shaft 3 L. Brake shaft 3 L is partly formed into a cam 3 a confronting a part of pressure ring 7 L. By rotating brake arm 12 L for braking, cam 3 a acts to move pressure ring 7 L so as to press brake disks 9 L and pads 8 L against one another, thereby braking axle 83 L. Similar to left brake 5 L, right brake SR in brake chamber 27 R between differential gear casing 90 R and axle casing 11 R includes brake pads 8 R, brake disks 9 R, pressure ring 7 R, a brake shaft 3 R with a cam 3 a , and a brake arm 12 R. A parking brake manipulator is operatively connected to both brake arms 12 L and 12 R so as to brake axles 83 L and 83 R simultaneously.
[0126] An alternative four-wheel driving vehicle 100 A shown in FIG. 13 will be described. The same parts and members as those of FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals of FIG. 1 , and so description of them will be omitted.
[0127] Vehicle 100 A is equipped with a steering transaxle 1 A and an unsteering transaxle 10 A distributed before and behind. Steering transaxle 1 A and unsteering transaxle 10 A incorporate respective mechanical (multi-speed stage) auxiliary transmissions 19 and 95 , which are operatively connected to an auxiliary speed control lever 17 .
[0128] In steering transaxle 1 A, an alternative motor supply cover 31 A supports hydraulic motor 30 and mechanical auxiliary transmission 19 driven by hydraulic motor 30 so as to constitute an assembly unit to be detachably attached to transaxle casing 21 . When the assembly unit is attached to transaxle casing 21 , motor supply cover 31 A is disposed to cover the opening (such as opening 21 d or 21 d ′) of transaxle casing 21 so as to drivingly connect mechanical auxiliary transmission 19 to differential gear unit 25 in transaxle casing 21 through the opening of transaxle casing 21 . In this way, in steering transaxle 1 , mechanical auxiliary transmission 19 is drivingly interposed between hydraulic motor 30 and differential gear unit 25 .
[0129] In unsteering transaxle 10 A, mechanical auxiliary transmission 95 is drivingly interposed between motor shaft 82 a of hydraulic motor 82 and deceleration gear shaft 93 . Alternatively, it may be drivingly interposed between deceleration gear shaft 93 and differential gear unit 84 .
[0130] An alternative four-wheel driving vehicle 100 B shown in FIG. 14 , 15 and 16 will be described. FIGS. 14 , 15 and 16 illustrate the same parts and members as those of FIGS. 1 , 2 and 11 , which are designated by the same reference numerals of FIGS. 1 , 2 and 11 , and so description of the parts and members will be omitted. Further, FIGS. 3 , 6 and 12 are applied for description of vehicle 100 B.
[0131] The important distinctive point of vehicle 100 B compared with vehicle 100 is that an alternative steering transaxle 1 incorporates a fixed displacement hydraulic motor 230 , and an HST 280 in an unsteering transaxle 10 B includes a variable displacement hydraulic motor 282 fluidly connected to hydraulic pump 81 . In this regard, hydraulic motor 230 has a fixed swash plate 231 c and axial motor shaft 33 in parallel to drive shafts 24 L and 24 R as shown in FIG. 15 , and hydraulic motor 282 has a movable swash plate 282 b and axial motor shaft 82 a as shown in FIG. 16 .
[0132] With respect to steering transaxle 1 B having fixed displacement hydraulic motor 230 , a motor support cover 231 supporting hydraulic motor 230 is slimmed in comparison with motor support cover 31 shown in FIG. 2 because hydraulic motor 230 needs no mechanism for controlling the slant angle of swash plate 231 c . A motor shaft support portion 231 a formed of motor support cover 231 and a motor shaft support block 231 b fixed to motor support cover 231 journal respective ends of motor shaft 33 of hydraulic motor 230 . Center section 32 formed of motor support cover 231 between motor shaft support portion 231 a and motor shaft support block 231 b passes motor shaft 33 therethrough and fits cylinder block 34 through valve plate 36 so as to constitute hydraulic motor 230 , similar to that of FIG. 2 . Hydraulic motor 230 is disposed between center section 32 and fixed swash plate 231 c on motor shaft support block 231 b, and motor gear 33 c meshing with bull gear 25 b of differential gear unit 25 is fixed on motor shaft 33 between motor support portion 231 a and center section 32 .
[0133] As shown in FIG. 14 , a motor control unit 29 is provided for movable swash plate 282 b of hydraulic motor 282 for reducing the rotary speed of unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R to balance with the rotary speed of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R during turning of vehicle 100 B. A link rod 44 A is operatively interposed between steering wheel 14 and one of axle supply units 23 L and 23 R so as to steer axle supply units 23 L and 23 R according to rotation of steering wheel 14 . Link rod 44 A is also operatively connected to motor control unit 29 so as to change the slant angle of swash plate 282 according to the steered angle of axle supply units 23 L and 23 R. Instead of link rod 44 A connected to one of axle supply units 23 L and 23 R, motor control unit 29 may be operatively connected to any active portion of the linkage from steering wheel 14 to each of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R.
[0134] When vehicle 100 B travels straight, movable swash plate 282 b is disposed at the minimum slant angle for defining the minimum displacement of hydraulic motor 282 . During turning of vehicle 100 B, the slant angle of movable swash plate 282 b is increased to increase the displacement of hydraulic motor 282 , thereby decelerating unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R.
[0135] Referring to FIG. 17 , in an alternative vehicle 100 C having fixed displacement hydraulic motor 230 and variable displacement hydraulic motor 282 , left and right brakes 5 L and 5 R for braking respective axles 83 L and 83 R are operated individually, thereby enabling brake-turn of vehicle 100 C. In this regard, left and right brake pedals 59 L and 59 R are interlockingly connected to respective brake arms 12 L and 12 R.
[0136] The slant angle of movable swash plate 282 b of hydraulic motor 282 is controlled by actuation of a servo actuator 18 . Vehicle 100 C is equipped with a controller 19 from which a communication line 45 is extended to servo actuator 18 . The angle of link rod 44 A operatively interposed between steering wheel 14 and one of axle support units 23 L and 23 R is detected by a potentiometer, and its detection signal is inputted to controller 19 . Controller 19 outputs a command signal to servo actuator 18 according the detection signal about the angle of link rod 44 A. Alternatively, any active portion of the linkage from steering wheel 14 to each of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R may serve as a detection target for controlling servo actuator 18 .
[0137] Brake pedals 59 L and 59 R and an accelerator pedal 58 are provided with respective potentiometers electrically connected to controller 19 . Due to the setting of controller 19 for controlling servo actuator 18 , when steering wheel 14 is fully rotated and neither brake pedal 59 L nor 59 R is depressed, the periphery speed of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R becomes about 1.5 to 1.7 times as large as that of unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R. If steering wheel 14 is fully rotated and one of brake pedals 59 L and 59 R is depressed, the slant angle of swash plate 282 b is further increased to reduce the rotary speed of unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R so that the periphery speed of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R becomes about twice as large as that of unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R. Therefore, reduction of depression of accelerator pedal 58 is unnecessary for brake-turn of vehicle 100 C. The deceleration rate of unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R by controlling of servo actuator 18 for brake-turn of vehicle 100 C may be inversely proportional to the traveling speed of vehicle 100 C. Further, vehicle 100 C includes an adjusting dial 17 for setting the actuation speed of servo actuator 18 . For example, adjusting dial 17 may be rotatable among low, medium and high speed positions.
[0138] FIG. 18 illustrates transaxle casing 21 with an alternative motor support cover 271 incorporating an alternative fixed displacement hydraulic motor 230 A, in comparison with FIG. 8 . Hydraulic motor 230 A has motor shaft 73 , which is perpendicular to drive shafts 24 L and 24 R. An open end of motor support cover 271 toward transaxle casing 21 is fixed to center section 72 so as to form a motor chamber 271 c enclosed by motor support cover 271 and center section 71 . Hydraulic motor 230 A with a fixed swash plate 271 d and a retainer 271 b holding fixed swash plate 271 d is supported between center section 72 and motor support cover 271 in motor chamber 271 c . Other part and members designated by the same reference numerals of FIG. 8 are identical with those of FIG. 8 , and so description of them is omitted.
[0139] In comparison with motor support cover 71 of FIG. 8 , motor support cover 271 of FIG. 18 is slimmed because it supports fixed displacement hydraulic motor 230 A and no mechanism for controlling the slant angle of swash plate 271 d.
[0140] An alternative vehicle 100 D shown in FIG. 19 includes variable displacement hydraulic motor 30 for driving steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R and variable displacement hydraulic motor 282 for driving unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R. A servo actuator 18 A for controlling movable swash plate 35 of hydraulic motor 30 is connected to controller 19 through a communication line 45 A, and a servo actuator 10 B for controlling movable swash plate 282 b of hydraulic motor 282 is connected to controller 19 through a communication line 45 B.
[0141] Controller 19 controls servo actuator 18 A and 18 B based on the detection of the angle of link rod 44 A (or the detection of movement of any active portion of the linkage from steering wheel 14 to each of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R) so that the periphery speed of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R is balanced with that of unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R during turning of vehicle 100 D. Further, controller 19 controls servo actuator 18 A and 18 B based on the detection of depression of brake pedals 59 L and 59 R as well as the detection of the angle of link rod 44 A so that the periphery speed of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R is balanced with that of unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R during the brake-turn of vehicle 100 D.
[0142] Referring to FIG. 20 , an example of control pattern of movable swash plates 35 and 282 b will be described. While vehicle 100 D travels straight, slant angles D 2 of swash plates 35 and 282 b are kept in constant. As steering wheel 14 is rotated for turning, the slant angle of swash plate 35 is reduced from angle D 2 so as to accelerate steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R while angle D 2 of swash plate 282 b is kept. When steering wheel 14 is fully rotated without depression of brake pedals 59 L and 59 R, the reduced slant angle of swash plate 35 reaches minimum angle D 1 so that the periphery speed of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R becomes about 1.5 to 1.7 times as large as that of unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R, for example. As one of brake pedals 59 L and 59 R is depressed during the full rotation of steering wheel 14 , the slant angle of swash plate 282 b is increased from angle D 2 so as to decelerate unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R while minimum angle D 1 of swash plate 35 is kept. When the one of brake pedals 59 L and 59 R is fully depressed, the increased slant angle of swash plate 282 b reaches maximum angle D 3 so that the periphery speed of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R becomes about twice as large as that of unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R, for example.
[0143] In comparison with the control of movable swash plate 35 of hydraulic motor 30 in vehicle 100 as shown in FIG. 1 and with the control of movable swash plate 282 b of hydraulic motor 282 in vehicle 100 B or 100 C as shown in FIG. 14 or 17 , the movement of each of movable swash plates 35 and 282 b in vehicle 100 D can be reduced because of cooperation of movable swash plates 35 and 282 b.
[0144] Further, vehicle 100 D shown in FIG. 19 is equipped with steering transaxle 1 (shown also in FIG. 1 ) and an alternative unsteering transaxle 10 C. Unsteering transaxle 10 C is provided with HST 280 including hydraulic pump 81 and motor 282 , and incorporates a mechanical auxiliary transmission 95 a including deceleration gear shaft 93 and a clutch shaft 98 . On deceleration gear shaft 93 are fixed bevel gear 93 a meshing with bevel motor gear 82 c fixed on motor shaft 82 a , a small low-speed gear 93 c and a large high-speed gear 93 d . Clutch shaft 98 is disposed in parallel to deceleration gear shaft 93 . A large low-speed clutch gear 98 b and a small high-speed clutch gear 98 c are fixed together on a slider 98 a slidably fitted on clutch shaft 98 . One of clutch gears 98 b and 98 c selectively mesh with corresponding gear 93 c or 93 d . When clutch gear 98 b meshes with gear 93 c , auxiliary transmission 95 a is set at a low speed stage. When clutch gear 98 c meshes with gear 93 d , auxiliary transmission 95 a is set at a high speed stage. A gear 98 d is fixed on clutch shaft 98 and meshes with bull gear 84 a of differential gear unit 84 .
[0145] In vehicle 100 D of FIG. 19 , other parts and members designated by the same reference numerals of FIGS. 1 , 14 and 17 are identical with those of vehicles 100 , 100 B and 100 C, and so description of them is omitted. | A fluid passage member includes a pump mounting surface onto which a hydraulic pump having a rotary axis is mounted; first and second kidney ports opened at the pump mounting surface; a first fluid extraction port outwardly opened and connected to the first kidney port; a motor mounting surface onto which a hydraulic motor having a rotary axis is mounted so that the rotary axis of the hydraulic motor is parallel to the rotary axis of the hydraulic pump; third and fourth kidney ports opened at the motor mounting surface; and a second fluid extraction port outwardly opened and connected to the third kidney port. | Summarize the information, clearly outlining the challenges and proposed solutions. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 11/617,278, filed Dec. 28, 2006, which is a divisional of U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 10/948,739, filed Sep. 24, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,204,779, issued Apr. 17, 2007, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference thereto.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1.",
"Field of the Invention [0003] The invention relates to a steering transaxle having a hydraulic motor for driving steerable wheels.",
"The invention also relates to a hydraulic driving vehicle, especially a four-wheel driving vehicle, e.g., an agricultural tractor, a riding mower and a construction machine, comprising the steering transaxle.",
"[0004] 2.",
"Related Art [0005] As disclosed in the Japanese Patent No. 2594951 (document '951) and the Japanese Laid Open Gazettes Nos. 2002-172946 (document '946) and 2000-1127 (document '127), there are conventional well-known four-wheel driving vehicles, each of which has a front steering transaxle and a rear unsteering transaxle.",
"The front steering transaxle supports steerable front wheels and incorporating a front differential gear unit mutually differentially connecting the front wheels, and the rear unsteering transaxle supports unsteerable rear wheels and incorporating a rear differential gear unit mutually differentially connecting the rear wheels, wherein the speed ratio between the steerable wheels and the unsteerable wheels is changed according to the steered angle of the steerable wheels.",
"[0006] The vehicle disclosed in the document '946 is provided with a large and complicated mechanical (planetary gearing) center differential gear unit interposed between the front steering transaxle and the rear unsteering transaxle.",
"A large middle space of the vehicle is necessary for arranging the center differential gear unit, and two front and rear propeller shafts for transmitting power of the center differential gear unit to the respective front and rear transaxles, thereby causing designing limitation.",
"[0007] With respect to the conventional hydraulic driving vehicles disclosed in the documents '951 and '127, instead of the center differential gear unit with the front and rear propeller shafts, each of the vehicles is provided with a variable displacement hydraulic motor for driving the front differential gear unit, a fixed displacement hydraulic motor for driving the rear differential gear unit, and a common hydraulic pump for supplying both the hydraulic motors with hydraulic oil one after another, thereby increasing a free space for arranging various parts.",
"[0008] With respect to the disclosed conventional hydraulic driving vehicles, it is desired for smoothly driving the steerable front wheels that the displacement of the front hydraulic motor is reduced as far as possible so as to correspond to the reduced hydraulic oil after passing the rear hydraulic motor.",
"However, such displacement of the front hydraulic motor causes increase of the rotary speed of the front hydraulic motor, thereby requiring increase of the deceleration ratio between the front hydraulic motor and the steerable front wheels so as to be balanced with the rotary speed of the unsteerable rear wheels.",
"Upsizing of a deceleration gear train between the front hydraulic motor and the front differential gear unit for ensuring the increased deceleration ratio is not desired because it causes the front steering transaxle incorporating the deceleration gear train to expand the vehicle vertically and lengthwise so as to reduce ground clearance below.",
"[0009] Further, the rotary axis of the front hydraulic motor (its motor shaft) is disposed perpendicularly to that of the axles of the front wheels.",
"If the front hydraulic motor and the front differential gear unit are disposed in a transaxle casing, the transaxle casing must be large lengthwise of the vehicle so as to ensure the length of the motor shaft.",
"[0010] Further, if a steering transaxle incorporating a variable displacement hydraulic motor, a deceleration gear train and a differential gear unit is to be constructed, it requires many parts and units to be assembled and properly located.",
"Easy assemblage of the steering transaxle such as to overcome the difficulty of assembling and locating many parts and units is desired for reducing labor and time.",
"[0011] Further, the vehicle disclosed in the document '127 is provided with brakes in the rear transaxle so as to individually brake the respective unsteerable rear wheels.",
"Since the vehicle has the variable displacement hydraulic motor for driving the steerable front wheels, and the fixed displacement hydraulic motor for driving the unsteerable rear wheels, the steerable front wheels are accelerated and the unsteerable rear wheels are not reduced during turning of the vehicle.",
"In brief, the high speed of the unsteerable rear wheels that occurs during straight traveling of the vehicle is kept even during turning of the vehicle, thereby increasing a centrifugal force applied onto the turning vehicle and making the vehicle unstable.",
"Further, in this condition during turning of the vehicle, if the vehicle brake-turns, i.e., if one of the brakes is actuated for braking, a braking shock may occur.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0012] A first object of the invention is to provide a hydraulic steering transaxle which is compact and can be easily assembled.",
"[0013] To achieve the first object, according to a first aspect of the invention, a steering transaxle comprises: left and right drive shafts drivingly connected to respective steerable wheels;",
"a differential gear unit differentially connecting the drive shafts to each other;",
"a transaxle casing having an opening, the transaxle casing incorporating the differential gear unit and the drive shafts;",
"a cover for covering the opening of the transaxle casing;",
"a variable hydraulic motor having a movable swash plate, the hydraulic motor being provided on the inside of the cover so as to drive the differential gear unit;",
"a motor control mechanism for controlling the movable swash plate, the motor control mechanism being provided on the outside of the cover;",
"and a hydraulic oil port for oil supply and delivery of the hydraulic motor, the hydraulic oil port being provided on the outside of the cover.",
"Due to the external arrangement of the motor control mechanism and the hydraulic oil port, the transaxle casing can be slimmed.",
"[0014] In the first aspect, preferably, according to a second aspect of the invention, the steering transaxle further comprises: left and right axle support units steerably provided on left and right ends of the transaxle casing;",
"left and right axles supported by the respective axle support units, the steerable wheels being provided on the respective axles;",
"and a pair of deceleration gear trains each of which is interposed between each of the drive shafts and each of the axles, each of the deceleration gear trains being disposed in each of the axle support units.",
"Due to the arrangement of the deceleration gear trains in the left and right axle support units, the transaxle casing can be further slimed.",
"[0015] In the first aspect, preferably, according to a third aspect of the invention, the cover, the hydraulic motor with the movable swash plate, the motor control mechanism and the hydraulic oil port constitute an assembly unit, which is detachably attached to the transaxle casing so that, by covering the opening with the cover, the hydraulic motor is disposed in the transaxle casing so as to be drivingly connected to the differential gear unit, thereby facilitating assembly and disassembly of the steering transaxle.",
"[0016] In the third aspect, preferably, according to a fourth aspect of the invention, the movable swash plate includes a pair of trunnion shafts, one of which is supported by the cover in the assembly unit.",
"When the assembly unit is attached to the transaxle casing, the other trunnion shaft comes to be supported by the transaxle casing.",
"Therefore, of the two trunnion shafts, only the other trunnion shaft is required to be located and assembled to the transaxle casing, thereby further facilitating assembly and disassembly of the steering transaxle.",
"[0017] In the fourth aspect, preferably, according to a fifth aspect of the invention, the hydraulic motor includes a motor shaft disposed in parallel to the drive shafts, so that a gear provided on the motor shaft meshes with an input gear of the differential gear unit so as to drivingly connect the hydraulic motor to the differential gear unit.",
"The meshing gears on the motor shaft and the differential gear unit can be economic spur gears.",
"[0018] In the third aspect, preferably, according to a sixth aspect of the invention, the assembly unit includes a center section of the hydraulic motor fixed to the cover, so that, when the assembly unit is attached to the transaxle casing, the center section is sandwiched between the cover and the transaxle casing.",
"[0019] In the sixth aspect, preferably, according to a seventh aspect of the invention, the movable swash plate includes a pair of trunnion shafts both of which are supported by the cover in the assembly unit.",
"Therefore, no trunnion shaft needs to be located and assembled to the transaxle casing when the assembly unit is attached to the transaxle casing, thereby further facilitating assembly and disassembly of the steering transaxle.",
"[0020] In the seventh aspect, preferably, according to an eighth aspect of the invention, the hydraulic motor includes a motor shaft disposed perpendicular to the drive shafts, and a bevel gear provided on the motor shaft meshes with a bevel input gear of the differential gear unit so as to drivingly connect the hydraulic motor to the differential gear unit.",
"[0021] In the first aspect, preferably, according to a ninth aspect of the invention, the hydraulic motor includes a cylinder block whose rotary center axis is disposed coaxially to the drive shafts.",
"The cylinder block is directly connected to an input portion of the differential gear unit.",
"Therefore, the hydraulic motor, the differentially gear unit and the drive shafts are disposed coaxially so as to slim the steering transaxle.",
"[0022] In the first aspect, preferably, according to a tenth aspect of the invention, the motor control mechanism is operatively connected to an active portion of a linkage between a steering operation device and each of the steerable wheels so as to control the slant angle of the movable swash plate according to the steered angle of the steerable wheels.",
"[0023] In the first aspect, preferably, according to an eleventh aspect of the invention, the motor control mechanism includes: a rotary shaft supported by the cover to interlock with the active portion;",
"a cam provided on the rotary shaft;",
"and a control lever supported by the cover to interlock with the movable swash plate.",
"The rotary shaft is rotated by movement of the active portion so that the cam acts to move the control lever with the movable swash plate.",
"Therefore, the motor control mechanism becomes simple and economic.",
"[0024] In the eleventh aspect, preferably, according to a twelfth aspect of the invention, the motor control mechanism further includes: a torque spring, one end of the torque spring engaging with the control lever;",
"and a retaining member for retaining the other end of the torque spring.",
"When the control lever is rotated by the action of the cam, the one end of the torque spring engaging with the control lever is moved away from the other end of the torque spring retained by the retaining member so as to cause a biasing force of the torque spring for returning the control lever with the movable swash plate.",
"[0025] In the twelfth aspect, preferably, according to a thirteenth aspect of the invention, the position of the retaining member retaining the other end of the torque spring can be adjusted.",
"Therefore, the position of the movable swash plate, i.e., the displacement of the hydraulic motor during straight traveling of a vehicle can be adjusted.",
"[0026] In the first aspect, preferably, according to a fourteenth aspect of the invention, the cover is disposed on a proximal side of the transaxle casing lengthwise of a vehicle having the steering transaxle.",
"Alternatively, according to a fifteenth aspect of the invention, the cover is disposed on a distal side of the transaxle casing lengthwise of a vehicle having the steering transaxle.",
"Any of the proximal and distal sides of the transaxle casing can be optionally selected for arranging the cover with the exposed motor control mechanism and hydraulic oil port in consideration of positions of other members, like a tie rod or a power steering actuator, adjacent to the transaxle casing, thereby ensuring a good layout of the steering transaxle.",
"[0027] A second object of the invention is to provide a hydraulic driving vehicle having front and rear hydraulic motors for steerable wheels and unsteerable wheels, which can turn or brake-turn at a moderate speed while regulating the speed ratio between the steerable wheels and the unsteerable wheels.",
"[0028] To achieve the second object, according to a sixteenth aspect of the invention, a vehicle comprises: left and right steerable wheels;",
"a fixed displacement hydraulic motor for driving the steerable wheels;",
"left and right unsteerable wheels;",
"a variable displacement hydraulic motor for driving the unsteerable wheels;",
"and a hydraulic pump for supplying oil to the fixed displacement hydraulic motor and the variable displacement hydraulic motor.",
"The displacement of the variable displacement hydraulic motor is changed according to the steered angle of the steerable wheels.",
"Therefore, to regulate the speed ratio between the steerable wheels and the unsteerable wheels during turning of the vehicle so that the vehicle can turn at a moderate speed, the unsteerable wheels are decelerated instead of the steerable wheels being accelerated.",
"[0029] In the sixteenth aspect of the invention, preferably, according to a seventeenth aspect of the invention, the vehicle further comprises a pair of brakes for braking the respective unsteerable wheels.",
"The brakes can be actuated for braking individually.",
"When one of the brakes is actuated for braking, the displacement of the variable displacement hydraulic motor is changed in addition to the change thereof according to the steered angle of the steerable wheels.",
"Therefore, the speed of the vehicle in brake-turn can be further moderated.",
"[0030] Alternatively, to achieve the second object, according to an eighteenth aspect of the invention, a vehicle comprises: left and right steerable wheels;",
"a variable displacement hydraulic motor for driving the steerable wheels;",
"left and right unsteerable wheels;",
"a variable displacement hydraulic motor for driving the unsteerable wheels;",
"and a hydraulic pump for supplying oil to the hydraulic motors.",
"The displacement of at least one of the hydraulic motors is changed according to the steered angle of the steerable wheels.",
"Any of the hydraulic motors may be selectively changed in displacement during turning of the vehicle correspondingly to various conditions.",
"[0031] In the eighteenth aspect, preferably, according to a nineteenth aspect of the invention, the vehicle further comprises a pair of brakes for braking the respective unsteerable wheels.",
"The brakes can be actuated for braking individually.",
"When one of the brakes is actuated for braking, the displacement of at least one of the hydraulic motors is changed in addition to the change of displacement according to the steered angle of the steerable wheels.",
"Any of the hydraulic motors may be selectively changed in displacement during turning and brake-turning of the vehicle correspondingly to various conditions.",
"Further, it is possible to reduce the degree of displacement change of each of the hydraulic motors.",
"[0032] In the nineteenth aspect of the invention, preferably, according to a twentieth aspect of the invention, the displacement of one of the hydraulic motors is changed according to the steered angle of the steerable wheels, and the displacement of the other hydraulic motor is changed when one of the brakes is actuated for braking.",
"Therefore, the degree of displacement change of each of the hydraulic motors corresponding to turning and brake-turning of the vehicle is reduced.",
"[0033] These, further and other objects, features and advantages will appear more fully from the following detailed description with reference to accompanying drawings.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0034] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a four-wheel driving vehicle 100 equipped with an unsteering transaxle 10 and a steering transaxle 1 , showing its mechanical and hydraulic structure, wherein a variable displacement hydraulic motor 30 is disposed in steering transaxle 1 , and a fixed displacement hydraulic motor 82 in unsteering transaxle 10 .",
"[0035] FIG. 2 is a fragmental sectional plan view of steering transaxle 1 , showing that variable displacement hydraulic motor 30 supported by a motor support cover 31 is drivingly connected to a differential gear unit 25 in a transaxle casing 21 .",
"[0036] FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along III-III line of FIG. 2 .",
"[0037] FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along IV-IV line of FIG. 2 when motor support cover 31 is removed from transaxle casing 21 .",
"[0038] FIG. 5 is the same view as FIG. 4 when transaxle casing 21 is covered with motor support cover 31 .",
"[0039] FIG. 6 is a sectional rear view of a right axle support unit 23 R attached to a right end of a right casing part 21 R of transaxle casing 21 .",
"[0040] FIG. 7 is a sectional rear view of an alternative right axle support unit 23 R′ attached to a right end of an alternative right casing part 21 R′ of transaxle casing 21 .",
"[0041] FIG. 8 is a fragmental sectional plan view of steering transaxle 1 , showing that variable displacement hydraulic motor 30 supported by an alternative motor support cover 71 is drivingly connected to differential gear unit 25 in transaxle casing 21 .",
"[0042] FIG. 9 is a fragmental sectional plan view of steering transaxle 1 , showing that an alternative variable displacement hydraulic motor 130 supported by an alternative motor support cover 131 is drivingly connected to an alternative differential gear unit 125 in an alternative transaxle casing 121 .",
"[0043] FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view taken along IX-IX line of FIG. 9 .",
"[0044] FIG. 11 is a sectional view of unsteering transaxle 10 with an HST 80 .",
"[0045] FIG. 12 is a sectional view of a center section 87 for HST 80 .",
"[0046] FIG. 13 is a diagram of an alternative four-wheel driving vehicle 100 A equipped with an alternative unsteering transaxle 10 A and an alternative steering transaxle 1 A, showing its mechanical and hydraulic structure, wherein mechanical auxiliary transmissions 19 and 95 are disposed in respective transaxles 1 A and 10 A. [0047] FIG. 14 is a diagram of an alternative four-wheel driving vehicle 100 B equipped with an alternative unsteering transaxle 10 B and an alternative steering transaxle 1 B, showing its mechanical and hydraulic structure, wherein a fixed displacement hydraulic motor 230 is disposed in steering transaxle 1 B, and a variable displacement hydraulic motor 282 in unsteering transaxle 10 B. [0048] FIG. 15 is a fragmental sectional plan view of steering transaxle 1 B, showing that fixed displacement hydraulic motor 230 supported by an alternative motor support cover 231 is drivingly connected to differential gear unit 25 in transaxle casing 21 .",
"[0049] FIG. 16 is a sectional view of unsteering transaxle 10 B with an HST 280 .",
"[0050] FIG. 17 is a diagram of an alternative four-wheel driving vehicle 100 C equipped with unsteering transaxle 10 B and steering transaxle 1 B, showing its mechanical and hydraulic structure, wherein variable displacement hydraulic motor 282 is servo-controlled.",
"[0051] FIG. 18 is a fragmental sectional plan view of steering transaxle 1 B, showing that fixed displacement hydraulic motor 230 A supported by an alternative motor support cover 271 is drivingly connected to differential gear unit 25 in transaxle casing 21 .",
"[0052] FIG. 19 is a diagram of an alternative four-wheel driving vehicle 100 D equipped with an alternative unsteering transaxle 10 C and steering transaxle 1 , showing its mechanical and hydraulic structure, wherein servo-controlled variable displacement hydraulic motor 30 is disposed in steering transaxle 1 , and servo-controlled variable displacement hydraulic motor 282 and a mechanical auxiliary transmission 95 a are disposed in unsteering transaxle 10 C. [0053] FIG. 20 is a table representing a control pattern of movable swash plates 35 and 282 b of hydraulic motors 30 and 282 in vehicle 100 D. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0054] As shown in FIG. 1 , a four-wheel driving vehicle 100 is equipped with a steering transaxle 1 and an unsteering transaxle 10 .",
"In the following description, for convenience, steering transaxle 1 is referred to as a front transaxle, and unsteering transaxle 10 as a rear transaxle, however, they may be exchanged in the fore-and-aft direction of vehicle 100 .",
"The same is said about later-discussed alternative vehicles.",
"[0055] Front steering transaxle 1 incorporates a variable displacement hydraulic motor 30 for driving front steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R, and rear unsteering transaxle 10 is provided with a fixed displacement hydraulic motor 82 for driving rear unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R. Hydraulic motors 30 and 82 are fluidly connected in tandem to a variable displacement hydraulic pump 81 so as to constitute a hydrostatic transmission (HST) circuit for driving four wheels 22 L, 22 R, 92 L and 92 R. Hydraulic pump 81 has a movable swash plate 81 b operatively connected to a speed control lever 15 provided on vehicle 100 .",
"[0056] An output shaft of an engine 4 is drivingly connected to an input shaft (a pump shaft) 81 a of hydraulic pump 81 .",
"Pump shaft 81 a also serves as a driving shaft of a charge pump 16 .",
"Hydraulic pump 81 and motor 82 constitute an HST 80 for driving rear unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R of rear unsteering transaxle 10 .",
"HST 80 includes outwardly open ports 87 f and 87 g fluidly connected to a drive mode switching valve 89 which is shiftable between a two-wheel drive position and a four-wheel drive position.",
"Pipes 88 a and 88 b are extended from valve 89 to external ports 37 c and 37 d of front steering transaxle 1 for hydraulic oil supply and delivery to and from hydraulic motor 30 .",
"[0057] When valve 89 is set at the two-wheel drive position, ports 87 f and 87 g are mutually connected so as to make HST 80 into a closed circuit isolated from hydraulic motor 30 , thereby transmitting the power of engine 4 to only rear unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R. When valve 89 is set at the four-wheel drive position, ports 87 f and 87 g are connected to respective pipes 88 a and 88 b so as to realize the four-wheel driving HST circuit including hydraulic pump 81 and motors 82 and 30 , thereby transmitting the power of engine 4 to all wheels 22 L, 22 R and 92 L ad 92 R. [0058] HST 80 for driving unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R integrally provided in unsteering transaxle 10 may be alternatively separated from unsteering transaxle 10 , or only one of hydraulic pump 81 and motor 82 may be provided in unsteering transaxle 10 .",
"[0059] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , steering transaxle 1 includes a transaxle casing 21 and left and right axle support units 23 L and 23 R steerably mounted on respective left and right ends of transaxle casing 21 .",
"A steering wheel 14 is interlockingly connected to axle support units 23 L and 23 R so as to steer them.",
"Axle support units 23 L and 23 R incorporate respective deceleration gear trains (see FIG. 6 ) and support respective front wheels 22 L and 22 R drivingly connected to the deceleration gear trains at the outsides thereof so that front wheels 22 L and 22 R serve as steerable wheels.",
"[0060] As shown in FIG. 5 , transaxle casing 21 consists of a left casing part 21 L and a right casing part 21 R fastened to each other by bolts.",
"Right casing part 21 R is provided at the top portion thereof with a penetrating hole 21 u through which a center pin 6 is passed so as to suspend transaxle casing 21 from a chassis of vehicle 100 .",
"[0061] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , transaxle casing 21 incorporates a differential gear unit 25 and left and right drive shafts 24 L and 24 R mutually differentially coupled by differential gear unit 25 .",
"Transaxle casing 21 has an opening 21 d between left and right casing parts 21 L and 21 R, which is covered with a motor support cover 31 .",
"Variable displacement hydraulic motor 30 is fixed onto an inside surface of motor support cover 31 so as to be disposed in transaxle casing 21 .",
"A motor control mechanism 40 for controlling the displacement of hydraulic motor 30 (the slant angle of a movable swash plate 35 of hydraulic motor 30 ), and hydraulic oil ports 37 c and 37 d for supply and delivery of oil to and from hydraulic motor 30 are provided on an outside surface of motor support cover 31 so as to be exposed to the outside of transaxle casing 21 .",
"Hydraulic oil ports 37 c and 37 d serve as pipe connectors connected to hydraulic oil pipes 88 a and 88 b. [0062] Hydraulic motor 30 , motor control mechanism 40 and hydraulic oil ports 37 c and 37 d are integrated with motor support cover 31 so as to constitute an assembly unit, which is removed from transaxle casing 21 by removing motor support cover 31 from transaxle casing 21 , thereby facilitating their easy maintenance or adjustment.",
"Further, by removing hydraulic motor 30 together with motor support cover 31 from transaxle casing 21 , parts including differential gear unit 25 disposed in transaxle casing 21 are exposed so as to facilitate their easy maintenance.",
"[0063] Since the deceleration gear train in each of axle support units 23 L and 23 R has a large deceleration ratio, hydraulic motor 30 is allowed to have a small displacement.",
"As a result, hydraulic motor 30 can be downsized and lightened, and its motor shaft 33 can be rotated at high speed and low torque by the hydraulic oil reduced in pressure by driving hydraulic motor 82 preceding hydraulic motor 30 .",
"[0064] Differential gear unit 25 will be described.",
"As shown in FIG. 2 , differential gear unit 25 differentially coupling drive shafts 24 L and 24 R to each other is disposed in right casing part 21 R. Differential gear unit 25 comprises a differential casing 25 a , a bull gear 25 b , a pinion shaft 25 c , bevel pinions 25 d and bevel differential side gears 25 e .",
"Differential casing 25 a is journalled at left and right ends thereof by transaxle casing 21 (right casing part 21 R) through respective bearings 21 b and relatively rotatably penetrated by drive shafts 24 L and 24 R at the respective left and right ends thereof.",
"Bull gear 25 b is fixed on the outer periphery of differential casing 25 a so as to serve as an input gear of differential gear unit 25 .",
"Pinion shaft 25 c is supported in differential casing 25 a perpendicularly to drive shafts 24 L and 24 R. Pinions 25 d are oppositely pivoted on pinion shaft 25 c .",
"Each of differential side gears 25 e is fixed on each of drive shafts 24 L and 24 R and disposed in differential casing 25 a so as to mesh with both pinions 25 d. [0065] Bull gear 25 b meshes with a motor gear 33 c fixed on motor shaft 33 of hydraulic motor 30 so as to constitute a deceleration gear train between hydraulic motor 30 and differential gear unit 25 .",
"Since motor shaft 33 and drive shafts 24 L and 24 R are parallel, mutually meshing bull gear 25 b and motor gear 33 c may be inexpensive spur gears or helical gears, and the width of steering transaxle 1 lengthwise of vehicle 100 can be shortened regardless of the length of motor shaft 33 .",
"[0066] Hydraulic motor 30 will be described.",
"As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 , right casing part 21 R has a portion 21 e projecting rearward behind differential gear unit 25 such as to form a motor chamber 21 c therein.",
"Opening 21 d is provided at the rear end of portion 21 e so as to open motor chamber 21 c. [0067] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , a center section 32 is integrally formed of motor support cover 31 .",
"Hydraulic motor 30 is mounted on the inside surface of center section 32 , and hydraulic oil ports 37 c and 37 d on the outside surface of center section 32 .",
"[0068] Movable swash plate 35 has front and rear trunnion shaft shafts 35 a and 35 b .",
"Trunnion shaft 35 a is rotatably supported by transaxle casing 21 (right casing part 21 R), and trunnion shaft 35 b by motor support cover 31 .",
"[0069] The interior space of transaxle casing 21 is filled with oil so as to be tightly fluidly isolated from the outside of transaxle casing 21 , including motor chamber 21 c covered with motor support cover 31 , but excluding hydraulic oil ports 37 c and 37 d. [0070] Left and right bearing support walls 31 a and 31 b are integrally formed of motor support cover 31 so as to project in parallel with center section 32 therebetween.",
"Bearings 33 a and 33 b are fitted in respective bearing support walls 31 a ad 31 b so as to journal left and right ends of motor shaft 33 .",
"Center section 32 has a central axial penetrating hole 32 a through which motor shaft 33 is rotatably passed at its intermediate portion.",
"[0071] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , center section 32 is formed therein with upper and lower oil passages 32 c and 32 d .",
"Ports 37 c and 37 d are fitted onto respective outer ends of oil passages 32 c and 32 d .",
"Center section 32 is also formed therein with kidney ports 38 c and 38 d open at a right surface thereof in communication with respective oil passages 32 c and 32 d. [0072] As shown in FIG. 2 , a cylinder block 34 is disposed between center section 32 and bearing support wall 31 a , and slidably rotatably fitted to center section 32 through a valve plate 36 so as to be fluidly connected to kidney ports 38 c and 38 d .",
"Cylinder block 34 is not-relatively rotatably fitted on motor shaft 33 , which serves as the rotary center axis of cylinder block 34 .",
"[0073] Pistons 39 are reciprocally fitted in cylinder block 34 around motor shaft 33 , and a spring 34 b is wound around motor shaft 33 in cylinder block 34 so as to bias cylinder block 34 toward center section 32 .",
"[0074] Movable swash plate 35 freely penetrated by motor shaft 33 is disposed between cylinder block 34 and bearing support wall 31 a , and pivotally supported on cylinder block 34 .",
"Movable swash plate 35 has a thrust bearing 35 c fitting heads of pistons 39 .",
"By rotating movable swash plate 35 around trunnion shafts 35 a and 35 b , strokes of pistons 39 are changed so as to change the displacement of hydraulic motor 30 .",
"[0075] As shown in FIG. 2 , motor gear 33 c meshing with bull gear 25 b of differential gear unit 25 is disposed between center section 32 and bearing support wall 31 b. [0076] Transaxle casing 21 (right casing part 21 R) is formed with a boss 21 a between motor chamber 21 c and the chamber incorporating drive shaft 24 R in front thereof.",
"When motor support cover 31 is fitted onto transaxle casing 21 (right casing part 21 R), trunnion shaft 35 a is rotatably fitted into boss 21 a , thereby easily locating hydraulic motor 30 in transaxle casing 21 (casing part 21 R).",
"[0077] Motor control mechanism 40 for controlling the displacement of hydraulic motor 30 will be described.",
"As shown in FIGS. 2 , 4 and 5 , motor control mechanism 40 provided on motor support cover 31 is disposed on the proximal (rear) side of transaxle casing 21 in the longitudinal direction of vehicle 100 so as to be prevented from colliding with obstacles during forward traveling of vehicle 100 .",
"[0078] To ensure a good balance or compactness, a tie rod and a linkage from steering wheel 14 (such as a power steering cylinder) are appreciated to be disposed opposite to motor control mechanism 40 with respect to transaxle casing 21 .",
"Therefore, the tie rod and the linkage from steering wheel 14 come into a space in front of transaxle casing 21 , i.e., on the distal side of transaxle casing 21 in the longitudinal direction of vehicle 100 .",
"Alternatively, if protection of the tie rod and the like is preferred to that of motor control mechanism 40 , they may be disposed behind transaxle casing 21 (on the proximal side of transaxle casing 21 in the longitudinal direction of vehicle 100 ), and motor control mechanism 40 with motor support cover 31 in front of transaxle casing 21 (on the distal side of transaxle casing 21 in the longitudinal direction of vehicle 100 ).",
"Motor support cover 31 may be also disposed at the front surface of transaxle casing 21 if an engine oil pan or a linkage for suspending a mid-mount working machine, e.g., a mower, must be disposed behind transaxle casing 21 .",
"The same is said about later-discussed various alternative steering transaxles.",
"[0079] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 , trunnion shaft 35 b supported by motor support cover 31 projects at its rear end rearward from motor support cover 31 .",
"A control lever 42 has a boss portion 42 a fixed on the rear end of trunnion shaft 35 b .",
"Doglegged control lever 42 includes a first arm 42 b extended rightward from boss portion 42 a , and a second arm 42 c extended downwardly leftward from boss portion 42 a. [0080] On the right side of trunnion shaft 35 b , motor support cover 31 is bored by a penetrating hole 31 g through which a camshaft 41 is rotatably passed.",
"A rear end of camshaft 41 projects rearward from motor support cover 31 and its upper portion is cut away so as to form its lower portion into a semicircular cam 41 a having a flat surface and left and right angled ends of the flat surface.",
"The angled ends serve as cam profiles of cam 41 a. [0081] An arm 43 is fixed at its bottom end to camshaft 41 in front of cam 41 a .",
"A link rod 44 is pivotally connected at one end thereof to a top end of arm 43 .",
"Link rod 44 is connected at the other end thereof to an active portion of a linkage between steering wheel 14 and steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R. As shown in FIG. 1 , for example, an arm 14 a rotated according to the rotation of steering wheel 14 may be operatively connected link rod 44 .",
"Alternatively, link rod 44 may be connected to a steerable portion (such as a later-discussed steered casing 23 b ) of one of axle support units 23 L and 23 R. [0082] Referring to FIG. 5 , when vehicle 100 travels straight, the flat surface of semicircular cam 41 a is disposed horizontally and first arm 42 b of control lever 42 is put on the flat surface of cam 41 a .",
"When vehicle 100 turns either left or right so as to move link rod 44 rightward (as expressed by an arrow R in FIG. 5 ), arm 43 rotates clockwise so as to raise the left cam profile of cam 41 a , thereby pushing up first arm 42 b .",
"Therefore, control lever 42 is rotated counterclockwise so as to rotate movable swash plate 35 in the direction for reducing its slant angle, i.e., for reducing the displacement of hydraulic motor 30 (for increasing the rotary speed of hydraulic motor 30 ).",
"[0083] If the turning direction of vehicle 100 is the other of left and right such as to move link rod 24 leftward (as expressed by an arrow L in FIG. 5 ), arm 43 rotates counterclockwise so as to raise the right cam profile of cam 41 a , thereby pushing up first arm 42 b and rotating control lever 42 counterclockwise.",
"Consequently, whether vehicle 100 turns left or right, swash plate 35 rotates in the direction for reducing its slant angle, i.e., for reducing the displacement of hydraulic motor 30 (for increasing the rotary speed of hydraulic motor 30 ).",
"[0084] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 , a torque spring 45 is wound around boss portion 42 a of control lever 42 so as to bias control lever 42 toward its initial position defining the maximum slant angle of movable swash plate 35 , i.e., the maximum displacement of hydraulic motor 30 .",
"Both end portions 45 a and 45 b of spring 45 are twisted to cross each other and extended so as to pinch pins 42 d and 46 .",
"Pin 42 d projects from second arm 42 c of control lever 42 .",
"If control lever 42 is rotated for reducing the slant angle of swash plate 35 , i.e., reducing the displacement of hydraulic motor 30 , pin 42 d pushes one of end portions 45 a and 45 b of spring 45 away from the other retained by pin 46 , thereby causing the biasing force of spring 45 for returning control lever 42 to the initial position.",
"[0085] Pin 46 has a pivot portion 46 a planted in motor support cover 31 and an eccentric portion 46 b .",
"Correctly, the portion of pin 46 pinched by end portions 45 a and 45 b of spring 45 is eccentric portion 46 b .",
"Pivot portion 46 a is screwed into motor support cover 31 and fastened to motor support cover 31 by nuts 47 .",
"By loosening nuts 47 , pivot portion 46 a can be rotated relative to motor support cover 31 so as to revolve eccentric portion 46 b around pivot portion 46 a , thereby adjusting the initial position of control lever 42 .",
"[0086] Each of symmetric axle support units 23 L and 23 R will be described with reference to representing right axle support unit 23 R shown in FIG. 6 .",
"Each of axle support units 23 L and 23 R includes a kingpin casing 23 a , a steered casing 23 b and an axle casing 23 c .",
"Kingpin casing 23 a is fixed to an outer end of each of transaxle casings 21 L and 21 R and bent downward.",
"Steered casing 23 b is relatively rotatably disposed around the downwardly extending portion of kingpin casing 23 a .",
"Upper and lower bearings 51 a and 51 b are interposed between kingpin casing 23 a and steered casing 23 b therearound.",
"Steered casing 23 b has a vertically cut open surface to which a bowl-like axle casing 23 c is jointed.",
"[0087] In the bent portion of kingpin casing 23 a , a bevel gear 52 a is formed on the outer end of each of drive shafts 24 L and 24 R. A transmission shaft 52 is disposed on the central axis of the downwardly extending portion of kingpin casing 23 a .",
"A bevel gear 52 b fixed on the top end of transmission shaft 52 is rotatably supported by kingpin casing 23 a through a bearing 51 c , and meshes with bevel gear 52 a .",
"Transmission shaft 53 projects downward from the bottom end of the downwardly extending portion of kingpin casing 23 a so as to be fixedly provided on its bottom end with a bevel gear 52 c and rotatably supported on a bottom portion of steered casing 23 b through a bearing 51 d. [0088] Bevel gear 52 c meshes with a large bevel final gear 52 d fixed on an axle 53 .",
"Mutually joined steered casing 23 b and axle casing 23 c enclose final gear 52 d .",
"Final gear 52 d is rotatably supported through a bearing 51 c by steered casing 23 b , and through a bearing 51 f by axle casing 23 c .",
"An outer portion of axle 54 projecting outward from axle casing 23 c is formed into a flange 55 to be fixed to each of wheels 22 L and 22 R. [0089] In this way, gears 52 a , 52 b , 52 c and 52 d in each of axle support units 23 L and 23 R decelerate the output rotation of hydraulic motor 30 transmitted to axle 54 of each of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R through each of drive shafts 24 L and 24 R and transmission shaft 53 .",
"Such an arrangement of deceleration gears in axle support units 23 L and 23 R allow reduction of the displacement of hydraulic motor 30 , which enables high-speed and low-torque rotation of hydraulic motor 30 for saving load on hydraulic pump 81 , and facilitates compactness of transaxle casing 21 disposed just below the vehicle chassis.",
"[0090] At least one of steered casings 23 b (or axle casings 23 c ) is operatively connected to steering wheel 14 .",
"Steering casings 23 b of both axle support units 23 L and 23 R are mutually connected by a tie rod.",
"Steered casing 23 b of either axle support unit 23 L or 23 R may serve as the above-mentioned active portion to be operatively connected to arm 43 through link rod 44 so as to change the displacement of hydraulic motor 30 in association with the operation of steering wheel 14 .",
"[0091] FIG. 7 illustrates an alternative right casing part 21 R′ of transaxle casing 21 and an alternative right axle support units 23 R′.",
"They represent respective alternative left ones provided in the left portion of transaxle casing 21 , which are laterally symmetric with the illustrated right ones.",
"A steered casing 61 is laterally rotatably fitted onto an outer end portion of right casing part 21 R′ of transaxle casing 21 through upper and lower coaxial kingpins 62 a and 62 b .",
"A bearing casing 68 and steered casing 61 with a ring gear 66 e therebetween are fastened together by bolts so as to enclose a space 69 for incorporating a planetary gear mechanism 64 including ring gear 66 e. [0092] Planetary gear mechanism 64 comprises a sun gear 66 a , a planetary gear (or planetary gears) 66 d and a carrier 66 b in addition to ring gear 66 e .",
"Sun gear 66 a is fixed on a distal end of sun gear shaft 63 a rotatably supported by steered casing 61 through a bearing 67 a , and by carrier 66 b through a bearing 67 b .",
"Between steered casing 61 and casing part 21 R′, a universal joint 63 couples sun gear shaft 63 a to drive shaft 24 R. The bending pivot point between sun gear shaft 63 a and drive shaft 24 R is disposed between upper and lower kingpins 62 a and 62 b. [0093] Carrier 66 b surrounding sun gear 66 a and sun gear shaft 63 a is rotatably supported by steered casing 61 through a bearing 67 c , and by bearing casing 68 through a bearing 67 d .",
"Planetary gear (gears) 66 d is (are) pivoted by carrier 66 b through a pivot pin (respective pivot pins) 66 c .",
"Planetary gear (gears) 66 d meshes (mesh) with sun gear 66 a and an internal gear formed on the inner periphery of ring gear 66 e .",
"A flange 65 to be fixed to each of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R is rotatably fitted on an outer end of steered casing 68 .",
"Flange 65 has an axle portion 65 a axially fitted into carrier 66 b and fastened to carrier 66 b by a bolt (or bolts).",
"[0094] In this way, carrier 66 d fixed to flange 65 and each of wheels 22 L and 22 R is rotated by revolution of planetary gear (gears) 66 d around sun gear 66 a that is being rotated by each of drive shafts 24 L and 24 R. [0095] At least one of steered casings 61 is operatively connected to steering wheel 14 .",
"Steering casings 61 are mutually connected by a tie rod.",
"One of steered casings 61 may serve as the above-mentioned active portion to be operatively connected to arm 43 through link rod 44 so as to change the displacement of hydraulic motor 30 in association with the operation of steering wheel 14 .",
"[0096] When the axle supporting structure shown in FIG. 6 is employed, axles (central axes) of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R are disposed lower than drive shafts 24 L and 24 R. When the axle supporting structure shown in FIG. 7 is employed, axles (central axes) of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R are disposed as high as drive shafts 24 L and 24 R. Any of the two structures may be selected at need.",
"[0097] FIG. 8 illustrates variable displacement hydraulic motor 30 in an alternative motor support cover 71 attached to transaxle casing 21 .",
"Unless being specified, parts and members designated by the same reference numerals as those of FIG. 2 are identical in structure or function to those of FIG. 2 .",
"[0098] Motor support cover 71 supporting hydraulic motor 30 is fastened to transaxle casing 21 through a center section 72 of hydraulic motor 30 .",
"A movable swash plate 75 of hydraulic motor 30 has trunnion shafts 75 a and 75 b rotatably supported by motor support cover 71 .",
"Trunnion shafts 75 a and 75 b are disposed in parallel to drive shafts 24 L and 24 R. [0099] Motor support cover 71 includes a casing part 71 a and a casing cover part 71 b .",
"Casing part 71 a is penetrated by a hole 71 f into which trunnion shaft 75 b is rotatably fitted.",
"Casing cover part 71 b having a recess 71 g , into which trunnion shaft 75 a is rotatably fitted, is fixedly fitted onto an (left) open side surface of casing part 71 a so that casing part 71 a and casing cover part 71 b encloses a motor chamber 71 c for incorporating hydraulic motor 30 .",
"By removing casing cover part 71 b from casing part 71 a , the open side surface of casing part 71 a is exposed so as to facilitate disassembly of hydraulic motor 30 .",
"[0100] Hydraulic motor 30 has a motor shaft 73 perpendicular to drive shafts 24 L and 24 R. Motor shaft 73 is rotatably passed through a penetrating hole 72 a of center section 72 .",
"Motor shaft 73 is journalled at its rear end by cover part 71 a through a bearing 73 a .",
"A front end of motor shaft 73 is rotatably fitted into a boss portion 21 h formed in transaxle casing 21 (right casing part 21 R) through a bearing collar 73 b .",
"A motor gear 73 c is fixed on motor shaft 73 between bearing collar 73 b and center section 72 .",
"Differential gear unit 25 has an alternative bevel bull gear 25 g fixed on differential casing 25 a meshing with motor gear 73 c. [0101] Center section 72 is a member separated from motor support cover 71 and transaxle casing 21 (right casing part 21 R) and fixedly sandwiched between motor support cover 71 and casing part 21 R. Hydraulic oil passages 78 c and 78 d are bored in center section 72 , and hydraulic oil ports 78 a serving as pipe connectors are externally fitted on center section 72 so as to communicate with respective passages 78 c and 78 d. [0102] A cylinder block 74 is not-relatively rotatably fitted on motor shaft 73 serving as the rotary center axis of cylinder block 74 , and slidably rotatably fitted to the rear end of center section 72 through a valve plate 76 .",
"Pistons 79 are reciprocally fitted into respective cylinder holes 74 a formed in cylinder block 74 .",
"Hydraulic oil passages 78 c and 78 d fluidly communicate with cylinder holes 74 a through valve plate 76 .",
"Heads of pistons 79 project rearward from cylinder block 74 and abut against movable swash plate 75 therebehind.",
"Motor shaft 73 is freely passed through movable swash plate 75 .",
"[0103] Motor control mechanism 40 including camshaft 41 and control lever 42 , similar to that of FIG. 2 , is provided on casing part 71 a of motor support cover 71 .",
"However, since trunnion shaft 75 b serving as the rotary center shaft of control lever 42 is disposed in parallel to drive shafts 24 L and 24 R, camshaft 41 also becomes parallel to drive shafts 24 L and 24 R. Therefore, arm 43 fixed on camshaft 41 is rotatable perpendicularly to drive shafts 24 L and 24 R (lengthwise of vehicle 100 ).",
"Arm 43 may be interlockingly connected to any active portion of the linkage between steering wheel 14 and each of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R. The only important function for arm 43 is to transmit the degree of left and right turning of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R. [0104] Hydraulic motor 30 including center section 72 , and motor control mechanism 40 are integrated with motor support cover 71 so as to be made into an assembly unit, thereby facilitating their easy maintenance or adjustment.",
"When this assembly unit is assembled with transaxle casing 21 , center section 72 is fixedly fitted onto the rear end of right casing part 21 R so as to cover an opening 21 d ′ formed in right casing part 21 R. The front end of motor shaft 73 is inserted into boss portion 21 h of casing part 21 R through bearing collar 73 b , thereby easily drivingly connecting hydraulic motor 30 to differential gear unit 25 .",
"By separating center section 72 from casing part 21 R, hydraulic motor 30 together with motor support cover 71 can be easily removed from transaxle casing 21 .",
"[0105] To ensure a good balance or compactness, the tie rod and the linkage from steering wheel 14 are preferably disposed opposite to motor support cover 71 with respect to transaxle casing 21 , i.e., in front of transaxle casing 21 .",
"Alternatively, if the tie rod, an engine oil pan, a linkage for supporting a mid-mount working machine or so on must be disposed behind transaxle casing 21 , motor support cover 71 with motor control mechanism 40 may be disposed in front of transaxle casing 21 .",
"[0106] FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate steering transaxle 1 having an alternative transaxle casing 121 incorporating an alternative hydraulic motor 130 and an alternative differential gear unit 125 .",
"Transaxle casing 121 has a rear opening 121 d covered with a motor support cover 131 .",
"As shown in FIG. 9 , transaxle casing 121 has a front wall 121 f toward which a center section 132 integrally formed of motor support cover 131 is extended.",
"In transaxle casing 121 , hydraulic motor 130 and differential gear unit 125 are distributed right and left, opposite to each other, with respect to center section 132 .",
"[0107] Center section 132 has a penetrating hole 132 c through which drive shaft 24 R is freely passed.",
"Further, drive shaft 24 R is disposed on the center axis of cylinder block 134 of hydraulic motor 130 and freely penetrates cylinder block 134 , a movable swash plate 135 , and a guide block 136 supporting movable swash plate 135 .",
"[0108] Differential gear unit 125 includes a differential casing 125 a .",
"A boss portion 125 z is integrally formed on the right end of differential casing 125 a , and extended into penetrating hole 132 c around drive shaft 24 R so as to rotatably fit center section 132 through a bearing 121 b .",
"Differential casing 125 a is journalled at the left end thereof by a bearing 121 a which is fitted in a support block 131 a fastened to motor support cover 131 by a bolt.",
"Boss portion 125 z surrounding drive shaft 24 R projects rightward from penetrating hole 132 c .",
"Boss portion 125 z is spline-fitted into a center axial hole 134 c of cylinder block 134 slidably rotatably fitted onto the right surface of center section 132 , thereby serving as an axial motor shaft of hydraulic motor 130 .",
"In this way, differential casing 125 a is rotatable integrally with cylinder block 134 .",
"Further, differential casing 125 a and hydraulic motor 130 are disposed coaxially around drive shaft 24 R so as to facilitate compactness of steering transaxle 1 .",
"[0109] Upper and lower hydraulic oil passages 132 a and 132 b are bored in center section 132 , and outwardly open at a rear surface of motor support cover 131 .",
"Hydraulic oil ports 133 a and 133 b serving as pipe connectors are externally fitted on the rear surface of motor support cover 131 so as to communicate with respective passages 132 a and 132 b. [0110] Parallel cylinder holes 134 a are bored in cylinder block 134 around center axial hole 134 c .",
"Pistons 139 are reciprocally fitted into respective cylinder holes 134 a and abut at head thereof against a thrust bearing 135 a of movable swash plate 135 .",
"Guide block 136 fixed to motor support cover 131 has an arcuate guide surface 136 a to which movable swash plate 135 is slidably fitted.",
"In this way, movable swash plate 135 is made as a cradle type.",
"[0111] Hydraulic motor 130 is provided with a motor control mechanism 140 assembled with motor support cover 131 .",
"Referring to motor control mechanism 140 , upper and lower projections 135 b are formed on the rear end of movable swash plate 135 , as shown in FIG. 10 .",
"An arm 137 a is clamped at one end thereof between projections 135 b .",
"Arm 137 a is disposed perpendicular to drive axles 24 L and 24 R and rotatably supported by motor support cover 131 .",
"The other end of arm 137 a is formed into a boss fixed on an inner front end portion of a control shaft 137 .",
"By rotating control shaft 137 , arm 137 a is rotated together with control shaft 137 so as to change the slant angle of movable swash plate 135 , thereby changing the displacement of hydraulic motor 130 .",
"[0112] A torque spring 145 is wound around the boss of arm 137 a on control shaft 137 .",
"A second arm 137 b is branched from arm 137 a , and a pin 142 d projects from second arm 137 b .",
"Both end portions 145 a and 145 b are twisted to cross each other and extended to clamp pin 142 d and an eccentric portion 146 b of a retaining pin 146 when movable swash plate 135 is disposed at its initial position for defining the maximum displacement of hydraulic motor 130 .",
"If control shaft 137 is rotated for reducing the displacement of hydraulic motor 130 , pin 142 d of arm 137 b rotating together with control shaft 137 pushes one of end portions 145 a and 145 b away from the other end portion 145 b or 145 a retained by eccentric portion 146 a of retaining pin 146 so as to generate the biasing force of spring 145 for returning movable swash plate 135 to its initial position for ensuring the maximum displacement of hydraulic motor 130 .",
"[0113] Retaining pin 146 has a pivot portion pivotally planted in motor support cover 131 .",
"Eccentric portion 146 a is eccentrically extended from the pivot portion.",
"The pivot portion of retaining pin 146 is normally fastened to motor support cover 131 by a nut, for example.",
"By loosening the nut and letting the pivot portion rotate relative to motor support cover 131 , eccentric portion 146 a revolves around the pivot portion so as to adjust the initial position of arm 137 a with movable swash plate 135 .",
"[0114] A boss portion 142 a of a control arm 142 is fixed on the rear end of control shaft 137 behind motor support cover 131 .",
"A camshaft 141 is disposed in parallel to control shaft 137 and rotatably supported by motor support cover 131 .",
"The rear end of camshaft 141 projecting rearward from motor support cover 131 is formed into a semicircular cam 141 a whose flat surface confronts an upper edge of control arm 142 .",
"An arm 143 is fixed on camshaft 141 .",
"Arm 143 may be interlockingly connected to any active portion of the linkage between steering wheel 14 and each of wheels 22 L and 22 R if arm 143 is rotated accordingly to the degree of left and right turning of wheels 22 L and 22 R. [0115] In this way, motor control mechanism 140 , including arms 137 a and 137 b , control shaft 137 , control arm 142 , camshaft 141 and arm 143 , is assembled together with motor support cover 131 and hydraulic motor 130 .",
"Such a resultant assembly unit can be easily attached or removed to and from transaxle casing 121 .",
"[0116] Cylinder block 134 having center axial hole 134 c for passing boss portion 125 z of differential casing 125 a and drive shaft 24 R becomes diametrically large so as to be reduced in rotary speed, thereby saving the size or parts count of a deceleration gear for ensuring a deceleration ratio between hydraulic motor 130 and axles of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R. [0117] Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 10 , transaxle casing 121 has hole 21 u through which center pin 6 is passed for hanging down steering transaxle 1 from a chassis of vehicle 100 .",
"[0118] Unsteering transaxle (main transaxle) 10 integrally provided with HST 80 including mutually fluidly connected hydraulic pump 81 and motor 82 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 , 11 and 12 .",
"A casing of unsteering transaxle 10 is divided into an HST casing 80 a and a differential gear casing 90 R by a plate-like center section 87 .",
"[0119] HST casing 80 a incorporates HST 80 including hydraulic pump 81 and motor 82 slidably rotatably fitted onto center section 87 .",
"Hydraulic pump 81 has movable swash plate 81 b operatively connected to speed control lever 15 .",
"Hydraulic pump 81 has axial pump shaft 81 a freely passing movable swash plate 81 b and projecting outward from HST casing 80 a to be drivingly connected to engine 4 .",
"Pump shaft 8 l a is journalled by HST casing 80 a and center section 87 .",
"Pump shaft 81 a penetrates center section 87 and extends opposite to HST casing 80 a and adjacent to differential gear casing 90 R so as to serve as the drive shaft of charge pump 16 disposed opposite to hydraulic pump 81 with respect to center section 87 .",
"Hydraulic motor 82 has axial motor shaft 82 a disposed in parallel to pump shaft 81 a and journalled by HST casing 80 a and center section 87 .",
"[0120] As shown in FIG. 12 , center section 87 is formed therein with kidney ports 87 a and 87 b fluidly open to hydraulic pump 81 , and with kidney ports 87 d and 87 e fluidly open to hydraulic motor 82 .",
"Ports 87 f and 87 g are outwardly open in center section 87 so as to be fluidly connected to drive mode switching valve 89 .",
"In center section 87 are bored an oil passage 87 h interposed between port 87 f and kidney port 87 a , an oil passage 87 c interposed between kidney ports 87 b and 87 d , and an oil passage 87 j interposed between kidney port 87 e and port 87 g .",
"In this way, center section 87 is formed therein with a part of the closed circuit of HST 80 .",
"[0121] In center section 87 is also bored a charge oil passage 87 k which can communicate with oil passages 87 h and 87 c .",
"A pair of check valves 99 are interposed between oil passage 87 c and charge oil passage 87 k , and between oil passage 87 h and charge oil passage 87 k , respectively.",
"Charge oil passage 87 k is supplied with oil from charge pump 16 , as shown in FIG. 1 .",
"Each of check valves 99 is opened to pass oil from charge oil passage 87 k into corresponding oil passage 87 h or 87 c when corresponding oil passage 87 h or 87 c is hydraulically depressed.",
"[0122] HST casing 80 a also incorporates a PTO shaft 85 disposed in parallel to pump shaft 81 a and motor shaft 82 a .",
"PTO shaft 85 projects outward from HST casing 80 a adjacent to center section 87 .",
"In HST casing 80 a , a PTO clutch 85 a and a PTO brake 85 b are provided on PTO shaft 85 .",
"PTO clutch 85 a has a clutch input gear 86 b relatively rotatably provided on PTO shaft 85 .",
"A gear 86 a is fixed on pump shaft 81 a and meshes with gear 86 b so as to transmit the power of engine 4 to PTO shaft 85 through PTO clutch 85 a. [0123] Motor shaft 82 a is extended from center section 87 into differential gear casing 90 R opposite to hydraulic motor 82 so as to be fixedly provided on its end with a bevel motor gear 82 c .",
"Differential gear casing 90 R incorporates a differential gear unit 84 differentially connecting axles 83 L and 83 R to each other.",
"Unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R are fixed onto outer ends of respective axles 82 L and 82 R. A deceleration gear train including large and small gears 93 a and 93 b is interposed between motor shaft 82 a and differential gear unit 84 .",
"A deceleration gear shaft 93 is disposed in parallel to axles 83 L and 83 R. Large bevel gear 93 a is fixed on deceleration gear shaft 93 and meshes with bevel motor gear 82 c .",
"Small bevel gear 93 b is formed on deceleration gear shaft 93 and meshes with a bull gear 84 a of differential gear unit 84 .",
"[0124] Differential gear casing 90 R has a large opening open at one of left and right sides (in this embodiment, the left side) thereof, and casing cover 90 L is attached to differential gear casing 90 R so as to cover the large opening, thereby supporting deceleration gear shaft 93 and differential gear unit 84 .",
"By removing casing cover 90 L from differential gear casing 90 R, the large opening of differential gear casing 90 R is exposed so as to facilitate disassembly of differential gear unit 84 and deceleration gear shaft 93 with the deceleration gears.",
"An axle casing 11 L incorporating axle 83 L is fixed at its proximate end to casing cover 90 L, and an axle casing 11 R incorporating axle 83 R to differential gear casing 90 R. The interior space of the joint portion of left axle casing 11 L and casing cover 90 L serves as a left brake chamber 27 L for incorporating a left brake 5 L for braking left axle 83 L, and the interior space of the joint portion of right axle casing 11 R and differential gear casing 90 R serves as a right brake chamber 27 R for incorporating a right brake 5 R for braking right axle 83 R, so that left and right brakes 5 L and 5 R are disposed symmetrically.",
"[0125] With respect left brake 5 L in brake chamber 27 L between axle casing 11 L and casing cover 90 L, brake pads 8 L fitted to axle casing 11 L and brake disks 9 L fitted on axle 83 L are alternately aligned in the proximal portion of axle casing 11 L, and a pressure ring 7 L disposed around axle 83 L is fitted to casing cover 90 L so as to confront brake disks 9 L and pads 8 L. A brake shaft 3 L is rotatably supported by axle casing 11 L and casing cover 90 L, and a brake arm 12 L is fixed on the outer end of brake shaft 3 L. Brake shaft 3 L is partly formed into a cam 3 a confronting a part of pressure ring 7 L. By rotating brake arm 12 L for braking, cam 3 a acts to move pressure ring 7 L so as to press brake disks 9 L and pads 8 L against one another, thereby braking axle 83 L. Similar to left brake 5 L, right brake SR in brake chamber 27 R between differential gear casing 90 R and axle casing 11 R includes brake pads 8 R, brake disks 9 R, pressure ring 7 R, a brake shaft 3 R with a cam 3 a , and a brake arm 12 R. A parking brake manipulator is operatively connected to both brake arms 12 L and 12 R so as to brake axles 83 L and 83 R simultaneously.",
"[0126] An alternative four-wheel driving vehicle 100 A shown in FIG. 13 will be described.",
"The same parts and members as those of FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals of FIG. 1 , and so description of them will be omitted.",
"[0127] Vehicle 100 A is equipped with a steering transaxle 1 A and an unsteering transaxle 10 A distributed before and behind.",
"Steering transaxle 1 A and unsteering transaxle 10 A incorporate respective mechanical (multi-speed stage) auxiliary transmissions 19 and 95 , which are operatively connected to an auxiliary speed control lever 17 .",
"[0128] In steering transaxle 1 A, an alternative motor supply cover 31 A supports hydraulic motor 30 and mechanical auxiliary transmission 19 driven by hydraulic motor 30 so as to constitute an assembly unit to be detachably attached to transaxle casing 21 .",
"When the assembly unit is attached to transaxle casing 21 , motor supply cover 31 A is disposed to cover the opening (such as opening 21 d or 21 d ′) of transaxle casing 21 so as to drivingly connect mechanical auxiliary transmission 19 to differential gear unit 25 in transaxle casing 21 through the opening of transaxle casing 21 .",
"In this way, in steering transaxle 1 , mechanical auxiliary transmission 19 is drivingly interposed between hydraulic motor 30 and differential gear unit 25 .",
"[0129] In unsteering transaxle 10 A, mechanical auxiliary transmission 95 is drivingly interposed between motor shaft 82 a of hydraulic motor 82 and deceleration gear shaft 93 .",
"Alternatively, it may be drivingly interposed between deceleration gear shaft 93 and differential gear unit 84 .",
"[0130] An alternative four-wheel driving vehicle 100 B shown in FIG. 14 , 15 and 16 will be described.",
"FIGS. 14 , 15 and 16 illustrate the same parts and members as those of FIGS. 1 , 2 and 11 , which are designated by the same reference numerals of FIGS. 1 , 2 and 11 , and so description of the parts and members will be omitted.",
"Further, FIGS. 3 , 6 and 12 are applied for description of vehicle 100 B. [0131] The important distinctive point of vehicle 100 B compared with vehicle 100 is that an alternative steering transaxle 1 incorporates a fixed displacement hydraulic motor 230 , and an HST 280 in an unsteering transaxle 10 B includes a variable displacement hydraulic motor 282 fluidly connected to hydraulic pump 81 .",
"In this regard, hydraulic motor 230 has a fixed swash plate 231 c and axial motor shaft 33 in parallel to drive shafts 24 L and 24 R as shown in FIG. 15 , and hydraulic motor 282 has a movable swash plate 282 b and axial motor shaft 82 a as shown in FIG. 16 .",
"[0132] With respect to steering transaxle 1 B having fixed displacement hydraulic motor 230 , a motor support cover 231 supporting hydraulic motor 230 is slimmed in comparison with motor support cover 31 shown in FIG. 2 because hydraulic motor 230 needs no mechanism for controlling the slant angle of swash plate 231 c .",
"A motor shaft support portion 231 a formed of motor support cover 231 and a motor shaft support block 231 b fixed to motor support cover 231 journal respective ends of motor shaft 33 of hydraulic motor 230 .",
"Center section 32 formed of motor support cover 231 between motor shaft support portion 231 a and motor shaft support block 231 b passes motor shaft 33 therethrough and fits cylinder block 34 through valve plate 36 so as to constitute hydraulic motor 230 , similar to that of FIG. 2 .",
"Hydraulic motor 230 is disposed between center section 32 and fixed swash plate 231 c on motor shaft support block 231 b, and motor gear 33 c meshing with bull gear 25 b of differential gear unit 25 is fixed on motor shaft 33 between motor support portion 231 a and center section 32 .",
"[0133] As shown in FIG. 14 , a motor control unit 29 is provided for movable swash plate 282 b of hydraulic motor 282 for reducing the rotary speed of unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R to balance with the rotary speed of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R during turning of vehicle 100 B. A link rod 44 A is operatively interposed between steering wheel 14 and one of axle supply units 23 L and 23 R so as to steer axle supply units 23 L and 23 R according to rotation of steering wheel 14 .",
"Link rod 44 A is also operatively connected to motor control unit 29 so as to change the slant angle of swash plate 282 according to the steered angle of axle supply units 23 L and 23 R. Instead of link rod 44 A connected to one of axle supply units 23 L and 23 R, motor control unit 29 may be operatively connected to any active portion of the linkage from steering wheel 14 to each of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R. [0134] When vehicle 100 B travels straight, movable swash plate 282 b is disposed at the minimum slant angle for defining the minimum displacement of hydraulic motor 282 .",
"During turning of vehicle 100 B, the slant angle of movable swash plate 282 b is increased to increase the displacement of hydraulic motor 282 , thereby decelerating unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R. [0135] Referring to FIG. 17 , in an alternative vehicle 100 C having fixed displacement hydraulic motor 230 and variable displacement hydraulic motor 282 , left and right brakes 5 L and 5 R for braking respective axles 83 L and 83 R are operated individually, thereby enabling brake-turn of vehicle 100 C. In this regard, left and right brake pedals 59 L and 59 R are interlockingly connected to respective brake arms 12 L and 12 R. [0136] The slant angle of movable swash plate 282 b of hydraulic motor 282 is controlled by actuation of a servo actuator 18 .",
"Vehicle 100 C is equipped with a controller 19 from which a communication line 45 is extended to servo actuator 18 .",
"The angle of link rod 44 A operatively interposed between steering wheel 14 and one of axle support units 23 L and 23 R is detected by a potentiometer, and its detection signal is inputted to controller 19 .",
"Controller 19 outputs a command signal to servo actuator 18 according the detection signal about the angle of link rod 44 A. Alternatively, any active portion of the linkage from steering wheel 14 to each of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R may serve as a detection target for controlling servo actuator 18 .",
"[0137] Brake pedals 59 L and 59 R and an accelerator pedal 58 are provided with respective potentiometers electrically connected to controller 19 .",
"Due to the setting of controller 19 for controlling servo actuator 18 , when steering wheel 14 is fully rotated and neither brake pedal 59 L nor 59 R is depressed, the periphery speed of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R becomes about 1.5 to 1.7 times as large as that of unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R. If steering wheel 14 is fully rotated and one of brake pedals 59 L and 59 R is depressed, the slant angle of swash plate 282 b is further increased to reduce the rotary speed of unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R so that the periphery speed of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R becomes about twice as large as that of unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R. Therefore, reduction of depression of accelerator pedal 58 is unnecessary for brake-turn of vehicle 100 C. The deceleration rate of unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R by controlling of servo actuator 18 for brake-turn of vehicle 100 C may be inversely proportional to the traveling speed of vehicle 100 C. Further, vehicle 100 C includes an adjusting dial 17 for setting the actuation speed of servo actuator 18 .",
"For example, adjusting dial 17 may be rotatable among low, medium and high speed positions.",
"[0138] FIG. 18 illustrates transaxle casing 21 with an alternative motor support cover 271 incorporating an alternative fixed displacement hydraulic motor 230 A, in comparison with FIG. 8 .",
"Hydraulic motor 230 A has motor shaft 73 , which is perpendicular to drive shafts 24 L and 24 R. An open end of motor support cover 271 toward transaxle casing 21 is fixed to center section 72 so as to form a motor chamber 271 c enclosed by motor support cover 271 and center section 71 .",
"Hydraulic motor 230 A with a fixed swash plate 271 d and a retainer 271 b holding fixed swash plate 271 d is supported between center section 72 and motor support cover 271 in motor chamber 271 c .",
"Other part and members designated by the same reference numerals of FIG. 8 are identical with those of FIG. 8 , and so description of them is omitted.",
"[0139] In comparison with motor support cover 71 of FIG. 8 , motor support cover 271 of FIG. 18 is slimmed because it supports fixed displacement hydraulic motor 230 A and no mechanism for controlling the slant angle of swash plate 271 d. [0140] An alternative vehicle 100 D shown in FIG. 19 includes variable displacement hydraulic motor 30 for driving steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R and variable displacement hydraulic motor 282 for driving unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R. A servo actuator 18 A for controlling movable swash plate 35 of hydraulic motor 30 is connected to controller 19 through a communication line 45 A, and a servo actuator 10 B for controlling movable swash plate 282 b of hydraulic motor 282 is connected to controller 19 through a communication line 45 B. [0141] Controller 19 controls servo actuator 18 A and 18 B based on the detection of the angle of link rod 44 A (or the detection of movement of any active portion of the linkage from steering wheel 14 to each of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R) so that the periphery speed of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R is balanced with that of unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R during turning of vehicle 100 D. Further, controller 19 controls servo actuator 18 A and 18 B based on the detection of depression of brake pedals 59 L and 59 R as well as the detection of the angle of link rod 44 A so that the periphery speed of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R is balanced with that of unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R during the brake-turn of vehicle 100 D. [0142] Referring to FIG. 20 , an example of control pattern of movable swash plates 35 and 282 b will be described.",
"While vehicle 100 D travels straight, slant angles D 2 of swash plates 35 and 282 b are kept in constant.",
"As steering wheel 14 is rotated for turning, the slant angle of swash plate 35 is reduced from angle D 2 so as to accelerate steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R while angle D 2 of swash plate 282 b is kept.",
"When steering wheel 14 is fully rotated without depression of brake pedals 59 L and 59 R, the reduced slant angle of swash plate 35 reaches minimum angle D 1 so that the periphery speed of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R becomes about 1.5 to 1.7 times as large as that of unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R, for example.",
"As one of brake pedals 59 L and 59 R is depressed during the full rotation of steering wheel 14 , the slant angle of swash plate 282 b is increased from angle D 2 so as to decelerate unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R while minimum angle D 1 of swash plate 35 is kept.",
"When the one of brake pedals 59 L and 59 R is fully depressed, the increased slant angle of swash plate 282 b reaches maximum angle D 3 so that the periphery speed of steerable wheels 22 L and 22 R becomes about twice as large as that of unsteerable wheels 92 L and 92 R, for example.",
"[0143] In comparison with the control of movable swash plate 35 of hydraulic motor 30 in vehicle 100 as shown in FIG. 1 and with the control of movable swash plate 282 b of hydraulic motor 282 in vehicle 100 B or 100 C as shown in FIG. 14 or 17 , the movement of each of movable swash plates 35 and 282 b in vehicle 100 D can be reduced because of cooperation of movable swash plates 35 and 282 b. [0144] Further, vehicle 100 D shown in FIG. 19 is equipped with steering transaxle 1 (shown also in FIG. 1 ) and an alternative unsteering transaxle 10 C. Unsteering transaxle 10 C is provided with HST 280 including hydraulic pump 81 and motor 282 , and incorporates a mechanical auxiliary transmission 95 a including deceleration gear shaft 93 and a clutch shaft 98 .",
"On deceleration gear shaft 93 are fixed bevel gear 93 a meshing with bevel motor gear 82 c fixed on motor shaft 82 a , a small low-speed gear 93 c and a large high-speed gear 93 d .",
"Clutch shaft 98 is disposed in parallel to deceleration gear shaft 93 .",
"A large low-speed clutch gear 98 b and a small high-speed clutch gear 98 c are fixed together on a slider 98 a slidably fitted on clutch shaft 98 .",
"One of clutch gears 98 b and 98 c selectively mesh with corresponding gear 93 c or 93 d .",
"When clutch gear 98 b meshes with gear 93 c , auxiliary transmission 95 a is set at a low speed stage.",
"When clutch gear 98 c meshes with gear 93 d , auxiliary transmission 95 a is set at a high speed stage.",
"A gear 98 d is fixed on clutch shaft 98 and meshes with bull gear 84 a of differential gear unit 84 .",
"[0145] In vehicle 100 D of FIG. 19 , other parts and members designated by the same reference numerals of FIGS. 1 , 14 and 17 are identical with those of vehicles 100 , 100 B and 100 C, and so description of them is omitted."
] |
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0001] The field of the invention relates in general to features and applications of mobile devices. More specifically, the invention relates to a system and method for providing geographically-based sound cues to a user of a mobile device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] GPS based information is widely used and provided by applications of mobile e.g., for assisting a user of a mobile device in finding his driving route to a target location. During his way to his target location, the driver naturally passes other potential points of interest that are well known to the operator of the navigation application, and are located within some short range from the route to the target. Many operators of navigation applications exploit this knowledge to inform, and possibly attract the driver to these points of interest. This is done by the operator, for example, to obtain some advertising income that may assist him in operating the navigation application. For example, operators of navigation applications typically introduce to the users information relating to gas stations, cinemas, restaurants, museums, parking lots, parks, and more. All these points of interest are typically displayed on the map, or in a balloon-type message during the navigation of the user to the target. The points of interest typically appear on the map as visual cues as long as the user is within a predefined range from the respective location. Although less common, navigation applications are also used by walkers, and such GPS-based points of interest information may also be found useful for them.
[0003] Many users of mobile devices tend to use earphones while walking. This is done, for example, to listen to music, a radio program, to conduct a phone call, or just to protect their ears from cold winds. While walking, users of mobile devices tend less to operate a navigation application, as the area is in many cases familiar to them. Therefore, they are less exposed to the map of the area, and are even less exposed to the geographically-based visual cues of points of interest that, as said, are typically introduced within navigation applications for drivers. As a result of this situation, in many cases walking-type users of mobile devices miss those points of interest, and the operator misses some potential source of income.
[0004] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide that are more suitable to walkers.
[0005] It is another object of the present invention to provide said geographic cues of points of interest in a new form which is typically adapted to walkers-type users of mobile devices.
[0006] It is still another object of the present invention to provide said cues in an extended form compared to the prior art cues. More specifically, it is an object of the invention to include within said new type of cues direction information to the point of interest in a manner which is most intuitive to the user.
[0007] It is still another object of the present invention to provide said cues to points of interest in a manner which is particularly adapted to users of mobile devices wearing earphones.
[0008] It is still another object of the present invention to provide said geographically-based cues to points of interest in a manner which is independent of outdoor high illumination that in many cases reduces the visibility of screens of mobile devices.
[0009] Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] In the drawings:
[0011] FIG. 1 illustrates in a block diagram form the structure of the system of the invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The invention relates to a method for providing geographically based sound cues to a user of a mobile device, each sound cue informs the user on a nearby point of interest, the method comprises the steps of (a) assigning to each point of interest a typical sound cue; (b) storing all said points of interest sound cues, each with its respective geographical coordinates, at a sound cue storage; (c) predefining a maximal range; (d) monitoring the location of the mobile device, and the progression direction vector of the user carrying said device; (e) upon arrival of the user at a distance less than said maximal range from a point of interest, extracting the respective point of interest sound cue from said storage; (f) based on said user current location, determining a direction vector leading from the user current location to said point of interest; (g) based on said user progression direction vector and said determined direction vector to the point of interest, calculating a right-left balance level for said sound cue, said balance level emphasizes the side at which the point of interest is located relative to the user; and (h) sounding said sound cue at the right and left earphones of the device at respective levels that are based on said calculated right-left balance.
[0013] Preferably, each of said sound cues is designed to provide a typical sound which will cause association of the user with the nature of the point of interest.
[0014] Preferably, said sound cues storage is located outside of the device. Method according to claim 1 , wherein one or more of said sound cues are stored within the device.
[0015] Preferably, the total volume of the sound cue which is provided at the right and left earphones is inversely proportional to the distance of the user from the point of interest.
[0016] Preferably, the method is particularly adapted for a walker user.
[0017] The invention also related to a system for providing geographically based sound cues to a user of a mobile device, each sound cue hints to the user on a nearby point of interest, the system comprises: (a) a storage for storing plurality of point of interest sound cues and the respective geographic coordinates of each point of interest; (b) a GPS and a monitoring unit for determining the current location of the user carrying the mobile device, and his progression direction; (c) a setup storage for storing a predefined maximal range; (d) a point of interest selection unit for selecting and extracting from said cues storage, based on said current location of the user and said predefined maximal range, a single sound cue which relates to a point of interest which is located within said maximal range from the user; (f) a direction calculation unit for determining, based on said user current location, a direction vector leading from the user current location to said selected point of interest; (g) a balance conversion unit for, based on said user progression direction vector and said determined direction vector to the point of interest, calculating a right-left balance level for said selected sound cue, said balance level emphasizes the side at which the point of interest is located relative to the user carrying the device; and (h) means for sounding said selected sound cue at the right and left earphones of the device at respective right and left levels that are based on said calculated right-left balance.
[0018] Preferably, each of said sound cues is designed to provide a typical sound which will cause association of the user with the nature of the point of interest.
[0019] Preferably, said sound cues storage is located outside of the device.
[0020] Preferably, one or more of said sound cues are stored within the device.
[0021] Preferably, the sounding means provides the sound cue at the right and left earphones respectively at a total volume which is inversely proportional to the distance of the user from the point of interest.
[0022] Preferably, the system is particularly adapted for a walker user.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0023] As noted above, typical navigation applications provide visual cues of points of interest on the map directing a driver to a target. However, these visual cues are typically not suitable for walkers, for the following reasons: (a) walkers do not watch the display while they are walking (b) displays of mobile devices have limited visibility when high illumination exists outdoors; in any case, an increase of the screen brightness results in fast exhaustion of the device battery; (c) moreover, navigation applications are not suited for operation in closed and limited space locations, such as malls. To overcome the above drawbacks, the present invention provides to a user of a mobile device geographic-type cues in a more convenient and more intuitive manner compared to the prior art.
[0024] FIG. 1 shows in a block diagram form a structure of a system 10 for providing sound cues of points of interest to a walker, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Initially sound cues are recorded for each of the plurality of points of interest, and stored within the cues sound storage 20 , together with their respective geographic coordinates. Each sound cue is selected to reflect the nature of the point of interest, for example:
a. For a water fall, the sound cue may include a sound of flowing or falling water; b. For an Italian or a Mediterranean restaurant, the sound cue may include Italian, or Mediterranean music respectively; c. For a nature park, the sound cue may include a sound of birds; d. For a tennis stadium, the sound cue may include a record of a tennis match; e. For a concert hall, the sound cue may include classical music; etc.
[0030] Each of the sound cue may last about 10-30 seconds.
[0031] GPS unit 30 continuously provides the user location coordinates to user location unit 40 . The user location unit 40 in turn continuously conveys the user location to a Point of Interest (hereinafter “POI”) selection unit 60 , and it further calculates the user progression direction vector. The POI selection unit receives a range definition from range definition unit 50 . More specifically, the range definition contains a maximal range from a point of interest, as defined by the user. Having said maximal range definition 50 , and the present location 40 of the user, the POI selection unit accesses the sound cues storage 20 to find all the POIs that are located within said maximal range, and further selects a single sound cue from said cue storage. Said selection is made randomly or according to some predefined algorithm. The selected sound cue is conveyed to sound cue unit 70 , together with its associated location coordinates.
[0032] The direction calculation unit 80 receives the user location and a direction progression vector from the user location unit 40 , and the respective POI coordinates of the selected sound cue from selected sound cue unit 70 , and it calculates the direction vector from the present user location to the selected point of interest. In such a manner, unit 80 in fact determines whether the selected point of interest is located to the right of the walker, to his left, in front, or rear of the user, or any combination thereof. The calculated direction vector to the POI is conveyed to balance conversion unit 90 . The balance conversion unit 90 also receives the selected sound cue from POI selection unit 60 , typically in a mono sound form, and based on this information it calculates a respective balance rate for the sound cue, and based on this rate, the cue sound total volume is divided between the right and left channels, leading to right and left earphones 100 and 101 respectively. For example, if the POI is located exactly to the right of the walker, the cue sound will be provided only to the right earphone. Alternatively, if the POI is located only mostly, but not exactly to the right, the sound will be balanced accordingly.
[0033] In such a manner, the walker-type user of a mobile phone receives the POI sound cue in a form which is balanced based to the calculated direction to the POI. More specifically, the cue which is provided to the user via his earphones reflects not only the nature of the POI, but also the direction to the POI. This manner of cue provision is very intuitive and convenient, and is particularly adapted to the environment and situation at which the walker is located.
[0034] In one alternative on the invention, the volume of the sound cue is also depends on the distance from the POI. More specifically, the total volume of the cue may increase as the user becomes closer to the POI, and the balance between the two channels may change as the orientation of the user with respect to the POI changes.
[0035] The invention may be provided in a form of an application on a mobile phone. The functionalities between the various units of the invention may be divided between a remote server and the mobile device itself, in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. For example, having knowledge of the general location of the user, the various most relevant sound cues may be pre-stored at the device of the user, to reduce the need for real time transfer of somewhat large sound files.
[0036] Furthermore, in closed locations (such as malls), where the GPS is not so effective, other equivalent means may be used to determine the user location and orientation.
[0037] While some embodiments of the invention have been described by way of illustration, it will be apparent that the invention can be carried into practice with many modifications, variations and adaptations, and with the use of numerous equivalents or alternative solutions that are within the scope of persons skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention or exceeding the scope of the claims. | A method for providing geographically based sound cues to a user of a mobile device, each sound cue informs the user on a nearby point of interest. The method is an eight step process that has as its eighth step: sounding said sound cue at the right and left earphones of the device at respective levels that are based on said calculated right-left balance. | Identify the most important aspect in the document and summarize the concept accordingly. | [
"FIELD OF INVENTION [0001] The field of the invention relates in general to features and applications of mobile devices.",
"More specifically, the invention relates to a system and method for providing geographically-based sound cues to a user of a mobile device.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] GPS based information is widely used and provided by applications of mobile e.g., for assisting a user of a mobile device in finding his driving route to a target location.",
"During his way to his target location, the driver naturally passes other potential points of interest that are well known to the operator of the navigation application, and are located within some short range from the route to the target.",
"Many operators of navigation applications exploit this knowledge to inform, and possibly attract the driver to these points of interest.",
"This is done by the operator, for example, to obtain some advertising income that may assist him in operating the navigation application.",
"For example, operators of navigation applications typically introduce to the users information relating to gas stations, cinemas, restaurants, museums, parking lots, parks, and more.",
"All these points of interest are typically displayed on the map, or in a balloon-type message during the navigation of the user to the target.",
"The points of interest typically appear on the map as visual cues as long as the user is within a predefined range from the respective location.",
"Although less common, navigation applications are also used by walkers, and such GPS-based points of interest information may also be found useful for them.",
"[0003] Many users of mobile devices tend to use earphones while walking.",
"This is done, for example, to listen to music, a radio program, to conduct a phone call, or just to protect their ears from cold winds.",
"While walking, users of mobile devices tend less to operate a navigation application, as the area is in many cases familiar to them.",
"Therefore, they are less exposed to the map of the area, and are even less exposed to the geographically-based visual cues of points of interest that, as said, are typically introduced within navigation applications for drivers.",
"As a result of this situation, in many cases walking-type users of mobile devices miss those points of interest, and the operator misses some potential source of income.",
"[0004] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide that are more suitable to walkers.",
"[0005] It is another object of the present invention to provide said geographic cues of points of interest in a new form which is typically adapted to walkers-type users of mobile devices.",
"[0006] It is still another object of the present invention to provide said cues in an extended form compared to the prior art cues.",
"More specifically, it is an object of the invention to include within said new type of cues direction information to the point of interest in a manner which is most intuitive to the user.",
"[0007] It is still another object of the present invention to provide said cues to points of interest in a manner which is particularly adapted to users of mobile devices wearing earphones.",
"[0008] It is still another object of the present invention to provide said geographically-based cues to points of interest in a manner which is independent of outdoor high illumination that in many cases reduces the visibility of screens of mobile devices.",
"[0009] Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0010] In the drawings: [0011] FIG. 1 illustrates in a block diagram form the structure of the system of the invention.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0012] The invention relates to a method for providing geographically based sound cues to a user of a mobile device, each sound cue informs the user on a nearby point of interest, the method comprises the steps of (a) assigning to each point of interest a typical sound cue;",
"(b) storing all said points of interest sound cues, each with its respective geographical coordinates, at a sound cue storage;",
"(c) predefining a maximal range;",
"(d) monitoring the location of the mobile device, and the progression direction vector of the user carrying said device;",
"(e) upon arrival of the user at a distance less than said maximal range from a point of interest, extracting the respective point of interest sound cue from said storage;",
"(f) based on said user current location, determining a direction vector leading from the user current location to said point of interest;",
"(g) based on said user progression direction vector and said determined direction vector to the point of interest, calculating a right-left balance level for said sound cue, said balance level emphasizes the side at which the point of interest is located relative to the user;",
"and (h) sounding said sound cue at the right and left earphones of the device at respective levels that are based on said calculated right-left balance.",
"[0013] Preferably, each of said sound cues is designed to provide a typical sound which will cause association of the user with the nature of the point of interest.",
"[0014] Preferably, said sound cues storage is located outside of the device.",
"Method according to claim 1 , wherein one or more of said sound cues are stored within the device.",
"[0015] Preferably, the total volume of the sound cue which is provided at the right and left earphones is inversely proportional to the distance of the user from the point of interest.",
"[0016] Preferably, the method is particularly adapted for a walker user.",
"[0017] The invention also related to a system for providing geographically based sound cues to a user of a mobile device, each sound cue hints to the user on a nearby point of interest, the system comprises: (a) a storage for storing plurality of point of interest sound cues and the respective geographic coordinates of each point of interest;",
"(b) a GPS and a monitoring unit for determining the current location of the user carrying the mobile device, and his progression direction;",
"(c) a setup storage for storing a predefined maximal range;",
"(d) a point of interest selection unit for selecting and extracting from said cues storage, based on said current location of the user and said predefined maximal range, a single sound cue which relates to a point of interest which is located within said maximal range from the user;",
"(f) a direction calculation unit for determining, based on said user current location, a direction vector leading from the user current location to said selected point of interest;",
"(g) a balance conversion unit for, based on said user progression direction vector and said determined direction vector to the point of interest, calculating a right-left balance level for said selected sound cue, said balance level emphasizes the side at which the point of interest is located relative to the user carrying the device;",
"and (h) means for sounding said selected sound cue at the right and left earphones of the device at respective right and left levels that are based on said calculated right-left balance.",
"[0018] Preferably, each of said sound cues is designed to provide a typical sound which will cause association of the user with the nature of the point of interest.",
"[0019] Preferably, said sound cues storage is located outside of the device.",
"[0020] Preferably, one or more of said sound cues are stored within the device.",
"[0021] Preferably, the sounding means provides the sound cue at the right and left earphones respectively at a total volume which is inversely proportional to the distance of the user from the point of interest.",
"[0022] Preferably, the system is particularly adapted for a walker user.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0023] As noted above, typical navigation applications provide visual cues of points of interest on the map directing a driver to a target.",
"However, these visual cues are typically not suitable for walkers, for the following reasons: (a) walkers do not watch the display while they are walking (b) displays of mobile devices have limited visibility when high illumination exists outdoors;",
"in any case, an increase of the screen brightness results in fast exhaustion of the device battery;",
"(c) moreover, navigation applications are not suited for operation in closed and limited space locations, such as malls.",
"To overcome the above drawbacks, the present invention provides to a user of a mobile device geographic-type cues in a more convenient and more intuitive manner compared to the prior art.",
"[0024] FIG. 1 shows in a block diagram form a structure of a system 10 for providing sound cues of points of interest to a walker, according to an embodiment of the present invention.",
"Initially sound cues are recorded for each of the plurality of points of interest, and stored within the cues sound storage 20 , together with their respective geographic coordinates.",
"Each sound cue is selected to reflect the nature of the point of interest, for example: a. For a water fall, the sound cue may include a sound of flowing or falling water;",
"b. For an Italian or a Mediterranean restaurant, the sound cue may include Italian, or Mediterranean music respectively;",
"c. For a nature park, the sound cue may include a sound of birds;",
"d. For a tennis stadium, the sound cue may include a record of a tennis match;",
"e. For a concert hall, the sound cue may include classical music;",
"etc.",
"[0030] Each of the sound cue may last about 10-30 seconds.",
"[0031] GPS unit 30 continuously provides the user location coordinates to user location unit 40 .",
"The user location unit 40 in turn continuously conveys the user location to a Point of Interest (hereinafter “POI”) selection unit 60 , and it further calculates the user progression direction vector.",
"The POI selection unit receives a range definition from range definition unit 50 .",
"More specifically, the range definition contains a maximal range from a point of interest, as defined by the user.",
"Having said maximal range definition 50 , and the present location 40 of the user, the POI selection unit accesses the sound cues storage 20 to find all the POIs that are located within said maximal range, and further selects a single sound cue from said cue storage.",
"Said selection is made randomly or according to some predefined algorithm.",
"The selected sound cue is conveyed to sound cue unit 70 , together with its associated location coordinates.",
"[0032] The direction calculation unit 80 receives the user location and a direction progression vector from the user location unit 40 , and the respective POI coordinates of the selected sound cue from selected sound cue unit 70 , and it calculates the direction vector from the present user location to the selected point of interest.",
"In such a manner, unit 80 in fact determines whether the selected point of interest is located to the right of the walker, to his left, in front, or rear of the user, or any combination thereof.",
"The calculated direction vector to the POI is conveyed to balance conversion unit 90 .",
"The balance conversion unit 90 also receives the selected sound cue from POI selection unit 60 , typically in a mono sound form, and based on this information it calculates a respective balance rate for the sound cue, and based on this rate, the cue sound total volume is divided between the right and left channels, leading to right and left earphones 100 and 101 respectively.",
"For example, if the POI is located exactly to the right of the walker, the cue sound will be provided only to the right earphone.",
"Alternatively, if the POI is located only mostly, but not exactly to the right, the sound will be balanced accordingly.",
"[0033] In such a manner, the walker-type user of a mobile phone receives the POI sound cue in a form which is balanced based to the calculated direction to the POI.",
"More specifically, the cue which is provided to the user via his earphones reflects not only the nature of the POI, but also the direction to the POI.",
"This manner of cue provision is very intuitive and convenient, and is particularly adapted to the environment and situation at which the walker is located.",
"[0034] In one alternative on the invention, the volume of the sound cue is also depends on the distance from the POI.",
"More specifically, the total volume of the cue may increase as the user becomes closer to the POI, and the balance between the two channels may change as the orientation of the user with respect to the POI changes.",
"[0035] The invention may be provided in a form of an application on a mobile phone.",
"The functionalities between the various units of the invention may be divided between a remote server and the mobile device itself, in a manner well known to those skilled in the art.",
"For example, having knowledge of the general location of the user, the various most relevant sound cues may be pre-stored at the device of the user, to reduce the need for real time transfer of somewhat large sound files.",
"[0036] Furthermore, in closed locations (such as malls), where the GPS is not so effective, other equivalent means may be used to determine the user location and orientation.",
"[0037] While some embodiments of the invention have been described by way of illustration, it will be apparent that the invention can be carried into practice with many modifications, variations and adaptations, and with the use of numerous equivalents or alternative solutions that are within the scope of persons skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention or exceeding the scope of the claims."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-313491, filed Dec. 4, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUND
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image processing device that processes an image, an image forming apparatus having an image processing device, an image processing method, and a program causing a computer to execute each process of an image processing method.
2. Related Art
An image processing device that distinguishes characteristics of image data and compresses the image data in a compression format corresponding to the characteristic is proposed in the related art (for example, refer to JP-A-2004-193818). In this device, a high compression rate is realized while maintaining the image quality by counting edge components included in an image using a differential filter, determining whether or not the image is a text image or a natural image on the basis of the edge count value, and performing lossless compression processing based on a PNG method, a run length method, and the like when it is determined that the image is a text image and performing lossy compression processing based on a JPEG method when it is determined that the image is a natural image.
Thus, realizing a high compression rate while maintaining the image quality is very important in making the capacity of a memory, which stores image data, small or increasing the transmission speed at the time of transmission of image data. Accordingly, a further improvement in the processing method is desired.
SUMMARY
An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image processing device, an image forming apparatus, an image processing method, and a program capable of increasing the compression rate of data while securing the image quality of input image data.
In order to achieve the advantage, an image processing device, an image forming apparatus, an image processing method, and a program according to some aspects of the invention are configured as follows.
According to an aspect of the invention, an image processing device that processes input image data includes: an image dividing unit that divides the input image data into a plurality of blocks; an image type determining unit that determines the type of the input image data for every block on the basis of the number of edge elements included in the block; a frequency component conversion unit that converts color components of the input image data into frequency components for every block; and an image compression unit that compresses corresponding image data for every block by specifying unnecessary components of the converted frequency components of the image data on the basis of the determined type of the image data and suppressing or removing the specified unnecessary components.
In the image processing device according to the aspect of the invention, the input image data is divided into a plurality of blocks, the type of the input image data is determined for every block on the basis of the number of edge elements included in the block, color components of the input image data are converted into frequency components for every block, and the image data is compressed for every block by specifying unnecessary components of the converted frequency components of the image data on the basis of the determined type of the image data and suppressing or removing the specified unnecessary components. Accordingly, the compression rate of image data can be raised while maintaining the image quality regardless of the type of image data. In addition, processing can be simplified since it is sufficient only to change unnecessary components among frequency components of image data according to the type of the image data.
In the image processing device according to the aspect of the invention configured as described above, the image type determining unit may be a unit that determines the type of the image data on the basis of the number of edge elements included in the block such that at least two of whether or not the number of monochrome edge elements corresponds to a monochrome text within a predetermined range, whether or not the number of color edge elements corresponds to a color text within a predetermined range, whether or not the edge elements are a large number of complex data regardless of monochrome or color, and whether or not the edge elements are a small number of image data are distinguishable.
In the image processing device according to the aspect of the invention that determines the type of image data such that text can be distinguished, an edge direction determining unit that determines a direction of the edge element detected when the image type determining unit determines that the type of the image data is a text may be further included, and the image compression unit may be a unit that specifies the unnecessary components on the basis of the determined direction of the edge element. In this way, the compression rate can be further raised while maintaining the image quality of a text. Here, the ‘edge direction determining unit’ includes a unit that determines the direction of the edge element using pattern matching. In the image processing device according to the aspect of the invention, the image compression unit may be a unit that specifies components other than frequency components distributed corresponding to the determined direction of the edge element as the unnecessary components. Furthermore, in the image processing device according to the aspect of the invention, the image compression unit may be a unit that adjusts a component value to a small value for a component, which has a component value equal to or larger than a threshold value, among the unnecessary components and adjusts a component value to a value 0 for a component, which has a component value less than the threshold value, among the unnecessary components. In this way, the image quality of a text can be further improved. In this case, the threshold value may be a value set on the basis of a difference between maximum and minimum values of the color components of the image data. This is based on the thought that a change in color components of image data is correlated with the size of a frequency component.
In the image processing device according to the aspect of the invention that determines the type of image data such that image data and complex data can be distinguished, the image compression unit may be a unit that specifies components in a high-frequency region equal to or larger than a predetermined frequency as the unnecessary components when the image data is determined to be the image data and specifies components in a high-frequency region equal to or larger than a frequency, which is higher than the predetermined frequency, as the unnecessary components when the image data is determined to be the complex data. In this way, the compression rate of image data having a small number of edge elements can be raised, and the compression rate of complex data having a large number of edge elements can also be raised while maintaining the image quality to some extent.
Furthermore, in the image processing device according to the aspect of the invention, the image type determining unit may be a unit that determines whether or not all pixels are white blank data, and the image compression unit may be a unit that converts the input image data into fixed data meaning a blank image and compresses the image data when the input image data is determined to be blank data. In this way, the compression rate of image data can be further raised.
Furthermore, in the image processing device according to the aspect of the invention, the image compression unit may be a unit that compresses the image data by sequentially performing quantization processing and coding processing after suppressing or removing the unnecessary components from the frequency components of the image data.
Furthermore, in the image processing device according to the aspect of the invention, the frequency component conversion unit may be a unit that converts the color components of the input image data into frequency components using discrete cosine transform (DCT), and the image compression unit may be a unit that compresses the image data by adjusting a DCT coefficient obtained by conversion into the frequency components. In this way, the image data can be compressed with simple processing.
According to another aspect of the invention, an image forming apparatus includes the image processing device described above, and an image is formed on a target using the image data compressed by the image compression unit.
In the image forming apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the image processing device described above is included. Therefore, the same effects as those achieved by the image processing device described above, for example, an effect that the compression rate of data can be raised while maintaining the image quality regardless of the type of image data or an effect that processing can be simplified since it is sufficient only to change unnecessary components among frequency components of image data according to the type of the image data can be obtained.
According to still another aspect of the invention, an image processing method of processing input image data includes: dividing the input image data into a plurality of blocks; determining the type of the input image data for every block on the basis of the number of edge elements included in the block; converting color components of the input image data into frequency components for every block; and compressing corresponding image data for every block by specifying unnecessary components of the converted frequency components of the image data on the basis of the determined type of the image data and suppressing or removing the specified unnecessary components.
In the image processing method according to the aspect of the invention, the input image data is divided into a plurality of blocks, the type of the input image data is determined for every block on the basis of the number of edge elements included in the block, color components of the input image data are converted into frequency components for every block, and the image data is compressed for every block by specifying unnecessary components of the converted frequency components of the image data on the basis of the determined type of the image data and suppressing or removing the specified unnecessary components. Accordingly, the compression rate of image data can be raised while maintaining the image quality regardless of the type of image data. In addition, processing can be simplified since it is sufficient only to change unnecessary components among frequency components of image data according to the type of the image data.
According to still another aspect of the invention, there is provided a program causing one computer or a plurality of computers to execute each process of the image processing method described above. This program may be stored in computer-readable recording media (for example, a hard disk, a ROM, an FD, a CD, and a DVD), may be distributed from one computer to another computer through a transmission medium (communication network, such as Internet or LAN), or may be transmitted and received in other forms. Since each of the processes of the image processing method described above is executed when one computer is made to execute the program or a plurality of computers are made to share and execute the processes, the same operations and effects as the control method can be obtained.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements.
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating the configuration of a multifunction printer according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the multifunction printer.
FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a processing routine in copy mode.
FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an example of an object determination processing routine.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory view illustrating an example of a filter for edge detection.
FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example of an image compression processing routine.
FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a complex data compression processing routine.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory view illustrating an example of an image adjustment coefficient.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory view illustrating an example of a complex data adjustment coefficient.
FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a text compression processing routine.
FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating an example of an important frequency component selection processing routine.
FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a pattern matching processing routine.
FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating example of a pattern used in pattern matching.
FIG. 14 is an explanatory view illustrating the relationship between the direction of a color change of an image and frequency distribution.
FIG. 15 is an explanatory view illustrating the relationship between a pattern number and a threshold value for matching determination.
FIG. 16 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a DCT coefficient adjustment processing routine.
FIGS. 17A and 17B are explanatory views illustrating absolute values of DCT coefficients before and after adjustment.
DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
Hereinafter, embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of a multifunction printer 10 , and FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the multifunction printer 10 .
As shown in the drawing, the multifunction printer 10 according to the present embodiment includes: a printer unit 20 that executes printing on paper S on the basis of a print job; a flat bed type scanner unit 30 that reads a document P placed on a document platen 31 ; a memory card controller 44 that manages input/output of data to/from a memory card 42 inserted in a memory card slot 40 ; an operator panel 50 that displays various kinds of information on a display unit 52 or inputs a user's instruction through an operation of buttons 54 ; and a main controller 60 that makes an overall control of the apparatus. The multifunction printer 10 is configured such that the printer unit 20 or the scanner unit 30 , the memory card controller 44 , and the main controller 60 can exchange various control signals or data through a bus 12 .
The printer unit 20 includes a printer ASIC 22 and a printer engine 24 . The printer ASIC 22 is an integrated circuit that controls the printer engine 24 . When a print command is received from the main controller 60 , the printer ASIC 22 controls the printer engine 24 to perform printing on the paper S on the basis of an image file that is a target of the print command. In addition, the printer engine 24 is formed by a color printer mechanism based on a known ink jet method in which printing is performed by discharging ink from a print head onto the paper. In addition, ASIC is the abbreviation for Application Specific Integrated Circuit.
The scanner unit 30 includes a scanner ASIC 32 and a scanner engine 34 . The scanner ASIC 32 is an integrated circuit that controls the scanner engine 34 . When a scanning command is received from the main controller 60 , the scanner ASIC 32 controls the scanner engine 34 to read the document P placed on the document platen 31 as image data. In addition, the scanner engine 34 is formed by a known image scanner and includes a known color image sensor that divides reflected light, which is generated after light is emitted toward the document P, into colors of red (R), green (G), and blue (B), and uses the light components corresponding to the colors as scanning data. In the present embodiment, a CIS (contact image sensor) type sensor is used as a color image sensor.
The memory card controller 44 performs input and output of data between the memory card controller 44 and the memory card 42 inserted in the memory card slot 40 disposed beside the operator panel 50 . When the memory card 42 is connected to the memory card slot 40 , the memory card controller 44 reads a file stored in the memory card 42 and transmits the file to the main controller 60 or receives a command from the main controller 60 and writes data into the memory card 42 on the basis of the command.
The operator panel 50 includes the display unit 52 and the buttons 54 . The display unit 52 is a liquid crystal display device, and various operation screens for performing selection and setting of a menu are displayed. In addition, the buttons 54 include: a power button 54 a for turning on and off a power supply; a start button 54 b for instructing the start of printing or copy; a setting button 54 c for performing various kinds of print setting or copy setting; a button 54 d for setting the number of sheets of paper that is used to set the number of sheets of paper or the number of copies to be printed with respect to a selected image; a mode selection button 54 e for selecting various modes; an arrow key 54 f with four directions for selecting various items or setting; an OK button 54 g for making selected setting effective; and a back button 54 h for returning to a previous screen. The buttons 54 enables a user's instruction to be input to the main controller 60 through an internal communication interface 69 . Here, examples of a mode that can be selected by the mode selection button 54 e include: a copy mode in which the document P set on the document platen 31 is scanned and copied, a memory card mode in which printing is performed by using an image stored in the memory card 42 or the document P is scanned to obtain data and the data is stored in the memory card 42 , a film mode in which a photographic film is scanned and printed or data is stored in the memory card 42 , and a CD/DVD drive mode in which an image in the CD/DVD is printed.
The main controller 60 is formed by a microprocessor having a CPU 62 as a main component and includes: a ROM 64 that stores various processing programs, various kinds of data, various tables, and the like; a RAM 66 that temporarily stores scan data or print data; a flash memory 68 that is electrically rewritable and stores data even if power is off; and an internal communication interface 69 that enables communication with the operator panel 50 . These are connected to each other through the bus 12 so that signals can be exchanged therebetween. The main controller 60 receives various operation signals or various detection signals from the printer unit 20 , the scanner unit 30 , and the memory card controller 44 or receives an operation signal generated by the operation of the buttons 54 of the operator panel 50 . In addition, the main controller 60 outputs to the memory card controller 44 a command that an image file be read from the memory card 42 and be output to the main controller 60 , outputs to the printer unit 20 a command that printing of image data be executed, outputs to the scanner unit 30 a command that a document placed on the document platen 31 be read as image data on the basis of a scan command of the buttons 54 of the operator panel 50 , or outputs a control command of the display unit 52 to the operator panel 50 .
Next, an operation of the multifunction printer 10 according to the present embodiment, particularly an operation when the copy mode is selected will be described. FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a processing routine in the copy mode executed by the main controller 60 . This processing is executed when the copy mode is selected by the mode selection button 54 e and the OK button 54 g is pressed in a state where the document P is set on the document platen 31 . In addition, when the copy mode is selected by the mode selection button 54 e , the main controller 60 displays a message, such as ‘please set a document on the document platen and press the OK button’, on the display unit 52 .
When the processing routine in copy mode is executed, the CPU 62 of the main controller 60 first outputs a scan command to the scanner unit 30 so that the document P set on the document platen 31 is scanned and read in a line unit (step S 100 ), and image data (RGB data) obtained by the reading is divided in a block unit (step S 102 ). In an example, the division is performed such that one block is formed by 8×8 pixels.
Then, an unprocessed block of the plurality of divided blocks is set to an object block (step S 104 ), and an object determination for determining the type of the set object block is performed (step S 106 ). This determination is performed by executing object determination processing illustrated in FIG. 4 . Here, the explanation on the processing routine in copy mode is stopped, and the object determination processing of FIG. 4 will be described.
In the object determination processing of FIG. 4 , first, it is determined whether or not all pixels in a block are white on the basis of a pixel value of RGB of image data (step S 140 ). If it is determined that all pixels in the block are white, the block is determined to be a blank block (step S 142 ), and the routine is completed. If it is determined that all pixels in the block are not white, a color system of image data in the block is converted from RGB into YUV which is the combination of a brightness signal Y, and a difference U between the brightness signal and a blue component, and a difference V between the brightness signal and a red component (step S 144 ), and an edge in the block is detected by applying a filter for each of the YUV components (step S 146 ). An example of the filter is shown in FIG. 5 . As shown in the drawing, edge detection is performed by multiplying nine pixel values, which are positioned at the left, right, upper, and lower sides of a noted pixel on the center, by a filter coefficient and comparing one obtained by adding the results with a threshold value using a filter based on a second differential system, such as a Laplacian filter. In addition, it is needless to say that a filter to be applied is not limited to the filter based on the second differential system, and a filter based on a first differential system, such as a Sobel filter or a Prewitt filter, may also be used. Then, a monochrome edge number Em and a color edge number Ec are calculated by counting the number of detected edges (step S 148 ). Here, the monochrome edge number Em is calculated as the number of Y-component edges in a block, and the color edge number Ec is calculated as the sum of the number of U-component edges and the number of V-component edges in the block. Then, a sum of the monochrome edge number Em and the color edge number Ec is compared with a threshold value Bd (step S 150 ). When the sum of the monochrome edge number Em and the color edge number Ec is equal to or larger than the threshold value Bd, a determination as complex data, such as a line image in which most of the block is configured by edge elements, is made regardless of a color edge or a monochrome edge (step S 152 ), completing the routine. Here, the threshold value Bd is a threshold value for determining the complex data described above. For example, 60 or 62 is set beforehand as the threshold value Bd for one block of 8×8. When the sum of the monochrome edge number Em and the color edge number Ec is less than the threshold value Bd, it is determined that the image data is not complex data. Then, it is determined whether or not the color edge number Ec is equal to or larger than the threshold value Bc (step S 154 ), and then it is determined whether or not the color edge number Ec is equal to or larger than one obtained by multiplying the monochrome edge number Em by a priority coefficient Pm (step S 156 ). Here, the threshold value Bc is a threshold value for determining whether or not a color text is included in a block. For example, 1 or 2 is set as the threshold value Bc for one block. In addition, the priority coefficient Pm is a priority coefficient for giving a priority to a monochrome text over a color text in determination when the color text and the monochrome text are present together in a block. For example, a value of 3 or 4 is set as the priority coefficient Pm. When the color edge number Ec is equal to or larger than the threshold value Bc and the color edge number Ec is equal to or larger than one obtained by multiplying the monochrome edge number Em by the priority coefficient Pm, the image data in the block is determined to be a color text (step S 158 ), and the routine is completed. If it is determined that the color edge number Ec is less than one obtained by multiplying the monochrome edge number Em by the priority coefficient Pm even if the color edge number Ec is equal to or larger than the threshold value Bc, the image data in the block is determined to be a monochrome text (step S 162 ), and the routine is completed. When the color edge number Ec is determined to be less than the threshold value Bc, the monochrome edge number Em is compared with the threshold value Bm (step S 160 ). If the monochrome edge number Em is larger than the threshold value Bm, the image data in the block is determined to be a monochrome text (step S 162 ). If the monochrome edge number Em is less than the threshold value Bm, the image data in the block is determined to be image data, such as a photograph, since there are few color edge elements and monochrome edge elements in the block, (step S 164 ), and the routine is completed. Here, the threshold value Bm is a threshold value for determining whether or not a monochrome text is included in a block. For example, a value of 9 or 10 is set as the threshold value Bm. Specifically, the threshold values Bd, Bc, and Bm and the priority coefficient Pm are determined on the basis of a method of an image sensor of the scanner unit 30 . For example, in the CIS (contact image sensor) method, the threshold values Bd, Bc, and Bm are set to larger values than those in a CCD (charge coupled device) method since edge detection tends to be easy in the CIS method. In addition, in the CIS method, the coefficient Pm is also set to a larger value than that in the CCD method since a color edge tends to be intense compared with the CCD method. Heretofore, the object determination processing has been described.
The processing routine in copy mode returns to step S 106 in which the type of image data in a block is determined as described above. On the basis of the determination result (step S 108 ), blank compression processing is executed when the image data in an object block is blank (step S 110 ), complex data compression processing is executed when the image data in the object block is complex data (step S 112 ), text compression processing is executed when the image data in the object block is text data (step S 114 ), and image compression processing is executed when the image data in the object block is image data (step S 116 ). Here, the blank compression processing is performed by executing a blank compression processing routine (not shown). Specifically, the blank compression processing can be performed by replacing component values of the YUV components in the block with fixed data that means blank. In addition, compressed blank data is stored in the RAM 66 (step S 122 ). In addition, the complex data compression processing is performed by executing a complex data compression processing routine, the text compression processing is performed by executing a text compression processing routine, and the image compression processing is performed by executing an image compression processing routine. For the convenience of explanation, the image compression processing routine and the complex data compression processing routine will be described first, and then the text compression processing routine will be described. FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example of the image compression processing routine executed by the main controller 60 , and FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating an example of the complex data compression processing routine executed by the main controller 60 .
In the image compression processing routine shown in FIG. 6 , first, component values of YUV components of image data in an object block are converted into DCT coefficient Cof[x] [y] (x and y are index values of 0 to 7 since one block is configured to include 8×8 pixels) using discrete cosine transform (DCT) (step S 200 ). Here, the DCT is processing for conversion into data indicating an occurrence frequency of total 64 frequency components from a low frequency to a high frequency, which are obtained by DCT, as an amount of energy since one block is configured to include 8×8 pixels in the present embodiment. Then, an image adjustment coefficient Iadj[x][y] is set as an adjustment coefficient for adjusting a DCT coefficient (step S 202 ), one obtained by multiplying the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] by the image adjustment coefficient Iadj[x][y] is set as a new DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] for all combinations of the index values x and y (step S 204 ), and the routine is completed. An example of the image adjustment coefficient is shown in FIG. 8 . For the image adjustment coefficient, either a value 1 or a value 0 is set for each frequency component as shown in the drawing, and a DCT coefficient of a frequency component for which the value 1 is set is maintained and a DCT coefficient of a frequency component for which the value 0 is set is cut as an unnecessary component. In the present embodiment, the image adjustment coefficient is set such that a DCT coefficient of a high-frequency component is cut to a large extent, since it is thought that a degree of color change between adjacent pixels is small in the case of an image, such as a photograph, and there is little influence on the image quality even if a high-frequency component is removed.
In the complex data compression processing routine shown in FIG. 7 , component values of the YUV components of image data are converted into the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] using the discrete cosine transform described above (step S 300 ), a complex data adjustment coefficient Cadj[x][y] is set as an adjustment coefficient for adjusting the DCT coefficient (step S 302 ), one obtained by multiplying the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] by the complex data adjustment coefficient Cadj[x][y] is set as a new DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] for all combinations of the index values x and y (step S 304 ), and the routine is completed. An example of the complex data adjustment coefficient is shown in FIG. 9 . For the complex data adjustment coefficient, either a value 1 or a value 0 is set for each frequency component as shown in the drawing, and a DCT coefficient of a frequency component for which the value 1 is set is maintained and a DCT coefficient of a frequency component for which the value 0 is set is cut as an unnecessary component. For complex data, since most of the block is formed by edge elements as described above, it is preferable to make all high-frequency components left in order to secure the image quality of a fine line of the complex data. In this case, however, the amount of data increases. Therefore, the amount of data is made not to be too large by making a high-frequency component left compared with the image compression processing routine but cutting high-frequency components equal to or larger than a predetermined value uniformly.
Next, the text compression processing routine will be described. FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating an example of the text compression processing routine executed by the main controller 60 . In the text compression processing routine, first, a variation width H of component values of the YUV components in a block are calculated (step S 400 ), and the component values of the YUV components of image data in the block are converted into the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] using the discrete cosine transform described above (step S 402 ). Here, one calculated as a difference between maximum and minimum values of the component values of the YUV components may be used as the variation width H. Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the image data in the block is a monochrome text (step S 404 ). If it is determined the image data in the block is a monochrome text, only a Y component of YUV components of the image data is set as an object to be processed in steps S 412 to S 416 which will be described later (step S 406 ), and the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] is set to the value 0 for the UV components, that is, all frequency components are cut for the UV components (step S 408 ). If it is determined that the image data in the block is not a monochrome text, that is, the image data in the block is a color text, all of the YUV components of the image data are set as object to be processed in steps S 412 to S 416 (step S 410 ). Moreover, even though all frequency components are cut for the UV components when the image data is determined to be a monochrome text in the present embodiment, some low-frequency components may be held without being cut. Then, an important frequency component Map[x][y] for the converted DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] is selected (step S 412 ). Here, selection of the important frequency component is performed by executing an important frequency component selection processing routine illustrated in FIG. 11 . Here, the explanation on the text compression processing routine is stopped, and the important frequency component selection processing routine will be described.
In the important frequency component selection processing routine shown in FIG. 11 , first, the index value y is set as a value 0 (step S 420 ) and the index value x is set as a value 0 (step S 422 ). Then, an absolute value abs(Cof[x][y]) of the DCT coefficient in the index values x and y is compared with one (Es×H) obtained by multiplying a coefficient Es by the variation width H (step S 424 ). When the absolute value abs(Cof[x][y]) of the DCT coefficient is larger than the one obtained by multiplying the coefficient Es by the variation width H, a determination as an important frequency component is made to set the important frequency component Map[x][y] to the value 1 (step S 426 ). When the absolute value abs(Cof[x][y]) of the DCT coefficient is equal to or smaller than the one obtained by multiplying the coefficient Es by the variation width H, it is determined not to be an important frequency component to set the important frequency component Map[x][y] to the value 0 (step S 428 ). Here, the coefficient Es is a coefficient for determining whether or not it is an important frequency component. For example, a value 1.0 or a value 1.2 is set as the coefficient Es. In addition, a determination of an important frequency component using the variation width H of YUV components is based on admitting that the variation width H is related with the amplitude of a frequency when the YUV components are converted into frequency components. Then, the index value x is incremented by a value 1 (step S 430 ), and the process returns to step S 424 until the index value x is less than a value 8 and processing of steps S 424 to S 430 is repeated (step S 432 ). When the index value x becomes equal to or larger than the value 8, the index value y is incremented by a value 1 (step S 434 ), and the process returns to step S 422 until the index value y is equal to or larger than the value 8 and processing of steps S 422 to S 434 is repeated (step S 436 ), completing the routine.
When the process returns to step S 408 of the text compression processing routine to select the important frequency component Map[x][y], a pattern matching frequency component Matrix[x][y] is set by performing pattern matching by comparing the selected important frequency component Map[x][y] with an object pattern (step S 414 ). The pattern matching processing is performed by executing a pattern matching processing routine illustrated in FIG. 12 . In the pattern matching processing routine of FIG. 12 , for all of the index values x and y, the pattern matching frequency component Matrix[x][y] is set to a value 0 for initialization (step S 440 ), a pattern number N is set to a value 1 (step S 442 ), and a pattern Pattern(N)[x][y] of the set pattern number N is set as an object pattern (step S 444 ). Examples of a pattern used in pattern matching are shown in FIG. 13 , and examples of the relationship between the frequency distribution of a pattern and the direction of a color change of an original image are shown in FIG. 14 . As shown in the drawing, total eleven patterns of 1 to 11 having different frequency distribution for every pattern are prepared. Each pattern corresponds to the direction of the color change of an original image. Accordingly, the direction in which an edge of a text is formed can be known by checking the frequency distribution of an image. Subsequently, a counter C is set to a value 0 (step S 446 ), the index value y is set to a value 0 (step S 448 ), the index value x is set to a value 0 (step S 450 ), and pattern matching is performed by determining whether or not the important frequency component Map[x][y] is a value 1 and the pattern Pattern(N)[x][y] is a value 1 for the index values x and y (step S 452 ). When the important frequency component Map[x][y] is a value 1 and the pattern Pattern(N)[x][y] is a value 1, it is determined that the important frequency component is included within a range of frequency distribution of an object pattern, and the object pattern matching frequency component Match[x][y] is set to a value 1 (step S 454 ) and the counter C is incremented by the value 1 (step S 456 ). When the important frequency component Map[x][y] is a value 0 and the pattern Pattern(N)[x][y] is a value 0, it is determined that the important frequency component is not included within the range of the frequency distribution of the object pattern, and the object pattern matching frequency component Match[x][y] is set to a value 0 (step S 458 ). Then, the index value x is incremented by a value 1 (step S 460 ), and the process returns to step S 452 until the index value x is less than a value 8 and processing of steps S 452 to S 464 is repeated (step S 462 ). When the index value x becomes equal to or larger than the value 8, the index value y is incremented by a value 1 (step S 464 ), and the process returns to step S 450 until the index value y is equal to or larger than the value 8 and processing of steps S 450 to S 464 is repeated (step S 466 ), completing the routine. Then, a threshold value Cref for matching determination is set on the basis of the pattern number N (step S 468 ), and it is determined whether or not the value of the counter C is equal to or larger than the threshold value Cref for matching determination (step S 470 ). The threshold value Cref for matching determination is a threshold value for determining whether or not the distribution of important frequency components and the object pattern match each other. In the present embodiment, the relationship between the pattern number N and the threshold value Cref for matching determination is set beforehand and is stored as a map in the ROM 64 , such that the corresponding threshold value Cref for matching determination is extracted and set from the stored map when the pattern number N is given. An example of the map is shown in FIG. 15 . When the threshold value Cref for matching determination is set, the value of the counter C is compared with the threshold value Cref for matching determination (step S 470 ). When the value of the counter C is larger than the threshold value Cref for matching determination, it is determined that the distribution of important frequency components matches an object pattern, and the pattern matching frequency component Matrix[x][y] is set to a value 1 for all of the index values x and y whose object pattern matching frequency component Match[x][y] is a value 1 (step S 472 ). When the value of the counter C is equal to or smaller than the threshold value Cref for matching determination, it is determined that the distribution of important frequency components does not match the object pattern, the process proceeds to the next processing without performing any processing. Then, the pattern number N is incremented by the value 1 (step S 474 ). Then, until the last number α (11 in the present embodiment) of the patterns prepared by the pattern number N is exceeded (step S 476 ), the process returns to step S 444 to set a pattern of the pattern number N incremented by the value 1 as an object pattern and repeatedly execute the processing of steps S 446 to S 474 . When the pattern number N exceeds the number α, the routine is completed. In addition, as can be seen from the processing of steps S 444 to S 476 , the distribution of all object patterns to match is reflected on the pattern matching frequency Matrix[x][y] when the important frequency component matches a plurality of object patterns. It is needless to say that one of the object patterns having a largest number of important frequency components distributed may be determined on the basis of the value of the counter C and the object pattern matching frequency Match[x][y] of the determined pattern may be set as the pattern matching frequency Matrix[x][y].
When the pattern matching frequency Matrix[x][y] is set by performing the pattern matching as described above, the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] is adjusted on the basis of the value of the pattern matching frequency Matrix[x][y] (step S 416 ), and the routine is completed. Adjustment of a DCT coefficient is performed by executing a DCT coefficient adjustment processing routine illustrated in FIG. 16 . In the DCT coefficient adjustment processing routine, the index value y is set to a value 0 first (step S 480 ), the index value x is set to a value 0 (step S 482 ), and it is determined whether or not the pattern matching frequency Matrix[x][y] is a value 1 for the index values x and y (step S 484 ). When the pattern matching frequency Matrix[x][y] is a value 1, the process proceeds to next processing while maintaining the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] in the index values x and y. When the pattern matching frequency Matrix[x][y] is a value 0, the absolute value abs(Cof[x][y]) of the DCT coefficient is compared with one obtained by multiplying the variation width H by the coefficient Es (step S 486 ). When the absolute value abs(Cof[x][y]) of the DCT coefficient is larger than the one obtained by multiplying the variation width H by the coefficient Es, it is determined that the frequency component is a frequency component having an influence in determining the image quality of an image to some extent even though the frequency component is basically an unnecessary component, and the frequency component is reduced by multiplying the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] in the index values x and y by a coefficient Er to thereby set a new DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] (step S 488 ). When the absolute value abs(Cof[x][y]) of the DCT coefficient is equal to or smaller than the one obtained by multiplying the variation width H by the coefficient Es, the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] in the index values x and y is set to the value 0 (step S 490 ). Here, the coefficient Er is a coefficient for reducing a frequency component. For example, a value 0.8 or a value 0.7 is set as the coefficient Er. Then, the index value x is incremented by a value 1 (step S 492 ), and the process returns to step S 484 until the index value x is less than a value 8 and processing of steps S 484 to S 492 is repeated (step S 494 ). When the index value x becomes equal to or larger than the value 8, the index value y is incremented by a value 1 (step S 496 ), and the process returns to step S 482 until the index value y is equal to or larger than the value 8 and processing of steps S 482 to S 496 is repeated (step S 498 ), completing the routine. Examples of the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] before and after the adjustment using the pattern matching frequency Matrix[x][y] are shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B . As shown in the drawing, it is understood that the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] is maintained for a component existing within a range of the frequency distribution to be subjected to pattern matching, but the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] is effectively cut for a component out of the range. Heretofore, the text compression processing routine has been described.
Returning to the processing routine in copy mode to adjust a DCT coefficient according to the type of image data as described above, quantization processing is performed (step S 118 ), entropy coding processing, such as Huffman coding, is performed (step S 120 ), and obtained coded data is stored in the RAM 66 (step S 122 ). Here, a quantization table used in quantization processing is created such that each frequency component is not cut to a large extent in the present embodiment, since compression of image data is performed by adjusting a DCT coefficient. Then, it is determined whether or not a next unprocessed block exists (step S 124 ). When the next unprocessed block exists, the process returns to step S 104 and processing of steps S 104 to S 122 is repeated. When the next unprocessed block does not exist, it is determined whether or not a next line to be scanned exists (step S 126 ). When a next line to be scanned exists, the process returns to step S 100 and processing of steps S 100 to S 124 is repeated. When the next line does not exist, the coded data stored in the RAM 66 is expanded in a band unit to generate image data (step S 128 ), printing processing is executed on the basis of the image data generated by outputting a print command to the printer unit 20 (step S 130 ), and the routine is completed. In addition, it is preferable to execute the expansion of coded data in a reverse procedure to the procedure of converting image data into coded data, that is, in the order of entropy decoding processing, reverse quantization processing, and inverse discrete cosine transform.
Here, the correspondence relationship between constituent components of the present embodiment and constituent components of the invention will be clarified. The main controller 60 that executes processing of step S 102 of the processing routine in copy mode shown in FIG. 3 of the present embodiment is equivalent to an image dividing unit of the invention. The main controller 60 that executes processing (object determination processing routine shown in FIG. 4 ) of step S 106 of the processing routine in copy mode is equivalent to an image type determining unit. The main controller 60 that executes step S 200 of the image compression processing routine shown in FIG. 6 , step S 300 of the complex data compression processing routine shown in FIG. 7 , and step S 410 of the text compression processing shown in FIG. 10 is equivalent to a frequency component conversion unit. The main controller 60 that executes processing of steps S 110 and S 120 of the processing routine in copy mode is equivalent to an image compression unit. Moreover, in the present embodiment, an example of the image processing method of the invention is also clarified by describing the operation of the multifunction printer 10 .
In the multifunction printer 10 of according to the present embodiment described above, image data is divided into a plurality of blocks, the image data is determined for each block such that complex data, a color text, a monochrome text, and an image are distinguished from each other, and an unnecessary component of the DCT coefficients Cof[x][y] obtained by converting color components of the image data into frequency components is changed and removed on the basis of the type of the image data determined. Therefore, the compression rate can be raised while maintaining the satisfactory image quality regardless of the type of image data. As a result, the capacity of the RAM 66 can be made small. In addition, the processing can be simplified since it is sufficient only to adjust the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] according to the type of image data.
Furthermore, in the multifunction printer 10 according to the present embodiment, when image data is determined to be text data, the direction of an edge of a text is determined and a frequency component distributed in the direction of the edge is left and the other components are removed as unnecessary components. Therefore, the compression rate can be raised while maintaining the image quality of the text. In addition, since the direction of an edge is determined by using pattern matching, the direction of the edge can be determined by simple processing. In addition, since a component considered to have a relatively large DCT coefficient and have an effect on the image quality even though the component is not a frequency component distributed in the direction of an edge is not completely removed but is reduced, the image quality of a text can be further improved.
Furthermore, in the multifunction printer 10 according to the present embodiment, when all pixels of image data are white blank data, a color component value of the image data is converted into fixed data meaning the blank and is then stored. Therefore, the compression rate can be further raised. Moreover, in this case, since a determination for distinguishing complex data, a color text, a monochrome text, and an image is not performed, the processing speed can be raised.
In the present embodiment, image data is divided into 8×8 pixels to form one block. However, one block may be made to have any size by dividing image data into 4×4 pixels or 16×16 pixels, for example.
In the present embodiment, the RGB color system is converted into the YUV color system and the compression processing is performed by using a YUV component value. However, the invention is not limited thereto, but other color systems, such as the RGB color coordinates and a CMYK color system, may also be used.
In the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not all pixels of image data in a block are white and then the blank compression processing is executed. However, such processing may be omitted.
In the present embodiment, the type of image data is determined by distinguishing complex data, a color text, a monochrome text, and an image from each other. However, some distinction may be omitted as long as the type of image data is determined by distinguishing two of those described above. For example, color and monochrome may not be distinguished for text data.
In the present embodiment, when the color edge number Ec is not equal to or larger than one obtained by multiplying the monochrome edge number Em by the monochrome text priority coefficient Pm and the monochrome edge number Em is equal to or larger than the threshold value Bm even if the color edge number Ec is equal to or larger than the threshold value Bc in the object determination processing routine shown in FIG. 4 , a determination as a monochrome text is made such that the monochrome text is prioritized over a color text. However, a determination may be made such that a color text is prioritized over a monochrome text depending on the specification of the scanner unit 30 , or the priority may not be applied.
In the present embodiment, compression of image data is performed by adjusting a DCT coefficient obtained by converting color components of image data into frequency components using the discrete cosine transform (DCT). However, the invention is not limited to using the discrete cosine transform, but any kind of method, such as wavelet transform or lapped orthogonal transform (LOT), may also be used as long as color components of image data can be converted into frequency components and the analysis is possible.
In the present embodiment, in the pattern matching processing when image data is determined to be a text, some frequency components not matching a pattern among the DCT coefficients Cof[x][y] obtained by converting color components of image data into frequency components are stored according to the size of the absolute value abs(Cof[x][y]) of the DCT coefficient. However, the frequency components may be completely removed as a value 0.
In the present embodiment, a case in which the image processing device according to the embodiment of the invention is applied to the operation in the copy mode has been described. However, the image processing device according to the embodiment of the invention may also be applied to an operation in a memory card mode in which image data obtained by scanning the document P is compressed and the image data is stored in the memory card 42 .
In the present embodiment, a case in which the image processing device according to the embodiment of the invention is applied to the multifunction printer 10 that includes the printer unit 20 and the scanner unit 30 so that copy is possible has been described. However, the image processing device according to the embodiment of the invention may be applied to a scanner device including only a scanner unit, or may be applied to an image input device, such as a digital camera or a camera-mounted mobile phone that performs compression processing on an image that has been imaged. In addition, the invention may be realized in the form of an image processing method or a program.
While the embodiment of the invention has been described, the invention is not limited to the embodiment, but various modifications may be made without departing from the technical scope of the invention. | An image processing device that processes input image data includes: an image dividing unit that divides the input image data into a plurality of blocks; an image type determining unit that determines the type of the input image data for every block on the basis of the number of edge elements included in the block; a frequency component conversion unit that converts color components of the input image data into frequency components for every block; and an image compression unit that compresses corresponding image data for every block by specifying unnecessary components of the converted frequency components of the image data on the basis of the determined type of the image data and suppressing or removing the specified unnecessary components. | Analyze the document's illustrations and descriptions to summarize the main idea's core structure and function. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-313491, filed Dec. 4, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.",
"BACKGROUND 1.",
"Technical Field The present invention relates to an image processing device that processes an image, an image forming apparatus having an image processing device, an image processing method, and a program causing a computer to execute each process of an image processing method.",
"Related Art An image processing device that distinguishes characteristics of image data and compresses the image data in a compression format corresponding to the characteristic is proposed in the related art (for example, refer to JP-A-2004-193818).",
"In this device, a high compression rate is realized while maintaining the image quality by counting edge components included in an image using a differential filter, determining whether or not the image is a text image or a natural image on the basis of the edge count value, and performing lossless compression processing based on a PNG method, a run length method, and the like when it is determined that the image is a text image and performing lossy compression processing based on a JPEG method when it is determined that the image is a natural image.",
"Thus, realizing a high compression rate while maintaining the image quality is very important in making the capacity of a memory, which stores image data, small or increasing the transmission speed at the time of transmission of image data.",
"Accordingly, a further improvement in the processing method is desired.",
"SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image processing device, an image forming apparatus, an image processing method, and a program capable of increasing the compression rate of data while securing the image quality of input image data.",
"In order to achieve the advantage, an image processing device, an image forming apparatus, an image processing method, and a program according to some aspects of the invention are configured as follows.",
"According to an aspect of the invention, an image processing device that processes input image data includes: an image dividing unit that divides the input image data into a plurality of blocks;",
"an image type determining unit that determines the type of the input image data for every block on the basis of the number of edge elements included in the block;",
"a frequency component conversion unit that converts color components of the input image data into frequency components for every block;",
"and an image compression unit that compresses corresponding image data for every block by specifying unnecessary components of the converted frequency components of the image data on the basis of the determined type of the image data and suppressing or removing the specified unnecessary components.",
"In the image processing device according to the aspect of the invention, the input image data is divided into a plurality of blocks, the type of the input image data is determined for every block on the basis of the number of edge elements included in the block, color components of the input image data are converted into frequency components for every block, and the image data is compressed for every block by specifying unnecessary components of the converted frequency components of the image data on the basis of the determined type of the image data and suppressing or removing the specified unnecessary components.",
"Accordingly, the compression rate of image data can be raised while maintaining the image quality regardless of the type of image data.",
"In addition, processing can be simplified since it is sufficient only to change unnecessary components among frequency components of image data according to the type of the image data.",
"In the image processing device according to the aspect of the invention configured as described above, the image type determining unit may be a unit that determines the type of the image data on the basis of the number of edge elements included in the block such that at least two of whether or not the number of monochrome edge elements corresponds to a monochrome text within a predetermined range, whether or not the number of color edge elements corresponds to a color text within a predetermined range, whether or not the edge elements are a large number of complex data regardless of monochrome or color, and whether or not the edge elements are a small number of image data are distinguishable.",
"In the image processing device according to the aspect of the invention that determines the type of image data such that text can be distinguished, an edge direction determining unit that determines a direction of the edge element detected when the image type determining unit determines that the type of the image data is a text may be further included, and the image compression unit may be a unit that specifies the unnecessary components on the basis of the determined direction of the edge element.",
"In this way, the compression rate can be further raised while maintaining the image quality of a text.",
"Here, the ‘edge direction determining unit’ includes a unit that determines the direction of the edge element using pattern matching.",
"In the image processing device according to the aspect of the invention, the image compression unit may be a unit that specifies components other than frequency components distributed corresponding to the determined direction of the edge element as the unnecessary components.",
"Furthermore, in the image processing device according to the aspect of the invention, the image compression unit may be a unit that adjusts a component value to a small value for a component, which has a component value equal to or larger than a threshold value, among the unnecessary components and adjusts a component value to a value 0 for a component, which has a component value less than the threshold value, among the unnecessary components.",
"In this way, the image quality of a text can be further improved.",
"In this case, the threshold value may be a value set on the basis of a difference between maximum and minimum values of the color components of the image data.",
"This is based on the thought that a change in color components of image data is correlated with the size of a frequency component.",
"In the image processing device according to the aspect of the invention that determines the type of image data such that image data and complex data can be distinguished, the image compression unit may be a unit that specifies components in a high-frequency region equal to or larger than a predetermined frequency as the unnecessary components when the image data is determined to be the image data and specifies components in a high-frequency region equal to or larger than a frequency, which is higher than the predetermined frequency, as the unnecessary components when the image data is determined to be the complex data.",
"In this way, the compression rate of image data having a small number of edge elements can be raised, and the compression rate of complex data having a large number of edge elements can also be raised while maintaining the image quality to some extent.",
"Furthermore, in the image processing device according to the aspect of the invention, the image type determining unit may be a unit that determines whether or not all pixels are white blank data, and the image compression unit may be a unit that converts the input image data into fixed data meaning a blank image and compresses the image data when the input image data is determined to be blank data.",
"In this way, the compression rate of image data can be further raised.",
"Furthermore, in the image processing device according to the aspect of the invention, the image compression unit may be a unit that compresses the image data by sequentially performing quantization processing and coding processing after suppressing or removing the unnecessary components from the frequency components of the image data.",
"Furthermore, in the image processing device according to the aspect of the invention, the frequency component conversion unit may be a unit that converts the color components of the input image data into frequency components using discrete cosine transform (DCT), and the image compression unit may be a unit that compresses the image data by adjusting a DCT coefficient obtained by conversion into the frequency components.",
"In this way, the image data can be compressed with simple processing.",
"According to another aspect of the invention, an image forming apparatus includes the image processing device described above, and an image is formed on a target using the image data compressed by the image compression unit.",
"In the image forming apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the image processing device described above is included.",
"Therefore, the same effects as those achieved by the image processing device described above, for example, an effect that the compression rate of data can be raised while maintaining the image quality regardless of the type of image data or an effect that processing can be simplified since it is sufficient only to change unnecessary components among frequency components of image data according to the type of the image data can be obtained.",
"According to still another aspect of the invention, an image processing method of processing input image data includes: dividing the input image data into a plurality of blocks;",
"determining the type of the input image data for every block on the basis of the number of edge elements included in the block;",
"converting color components of the input image data into frequency components for every block;",
"and compressing corresponding image data for every block by specifying unnecessary components of the converted frequency components of the image data on the basis of the determined type of the image data and suppressing or removing the specified unnecessary components.",
"In the image processing method according to the aspect of the invention, the input image data is divided into a plurality of blocks, the type of the input image data is determined for every block on the basis of the number of edge elements included in the block, color components of the input image data are converted into frequency components for every block, and the image data is compressed for every block by specifying unnecessary components of the converted frequency components of the image data on the basis of the determined type of the image data and suppressing or removing the specified unnecessary components.",
"Accordingly, the compression rate of image data can be raised while maintaining the image quality regardless of the type of image data.",
"In addition, processing can be simplified since it is sufficient only to change unnecessary components among frequency components of image data according to the type of the image data.",
"According to still another aspect of the invention, there is provided a program causing one computer or a plurality of computers to execute each process of the image processing method described above.",
"This program may be stored in computer-readable recording media (for example, a hard disk, a ROM, an FD, a CD, and a DVD), may be distributed from one computer to another computer through a transmission medium (communication network, such as Internet or LAN), or may be transmitted and received in other forms.",
"Since each of the processes of the image processing method described above is executed when one computer is made to execute the program or a plurality of computers are made to share and execute the processes, the same operations and effects as the control method can be obtained.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements.",
"FIG. 1 is a view illustrating the configuration of a multifunction printer according to an embodiment.",
"FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the multifunction printer.",
"FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a processing routine in copy mode.",
"FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an example of an object determination processing routine.",
"FIG. 5 is an explanatory view illustrating an example of a filter for edge detection.",
"FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example of an image compression processing routine.",
"FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a complex data compression processing routine.",
"FIG. 8 is an explanatory view illustrating an example of an image adjustment coefficient.",
"FIG. 9 is an explanatory view illustrating an example of a complex data adjustment coefficient.",
"FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a text compression processing routine.",
"FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating an example of an important frequency component selection processing routine.",
"FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a pattern matching processing routine.",
"FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating example of a pattern used in pattern matching.",
"FIG. 14 is an explanatory view illustrating the relationship between the direction of a color change of an image and frequency distribution.",
"FIG. 15 is an explanatory view illustrating the relationship between a pattern number and a threshold value for matching determination.",
"FIG. 16 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a DCT coefficient adjustment processing routine.",
"FIGS. 17A and 17B are explanatory views illustrating absolute values of DCT coefficients before and after adjustment.",
"DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.",
"FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of a multifunction printer 10 , and FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the multifunction printer 10 .",
"As shown in the drawing, the multifunction printer 10 according to the present embodiment includes: a printer unit 20 that executes printing on paper S on the basis of a print job;",
"a flat bed type scanner unit 30 that reads a document P placed on a document platen 31 ;",
"a memory card controller 44 that manages input/output of data to/from a memory card 42 inserted in a memory card slot 40 ;",
"an operator panel 50 that displays various kinds of information on a display unit 52 or inputs a user's instruction through an operation of buttons 54 ;",
"and a main controller 60 that makes an overall control of the apparatus.",
"The multifunction printer 10 is configured such that the printer unit 20 or the scanner unit 30 , the memory card controller 44 , and the main controller 60 can exchange various control signals or data through a bus 12 .",
"The printer unit 20 includes a printer ASIC 22 and a printer engine 24 .",
"The printer ASIC 22 is an integrated circuit that controls the printer engine 24 .",
"When a print command is received from the main controller 60 , the printer ASIC 22 controls the printer engine 24 to perform printing on the paper S on the basis of an image file that is a target of the print command.",
"In addition, the printer engine 24 is formed by a color printer mechanism based on a known ink jet method in which printing is performed by discharging ink from a print head onto the paper.",
"In addition, ASIC is the abbreviation for Application Specific Integrated Circuit.",
"The scanner unit 30 includes a scanner ASIC 32 and a scanner engine 34 .",
"The scanner ASIC 32 is an integrated circuit that controls the scanner engine 34 .",
"When a scanning command is received from the main controller 60 , the scanner ASIC 32 controls the scanner engine 34 to read the document P placed on the document platen 31 as image data.",
"In addition, the scanner engine 34 is formed by a known image scanner and includes a known color image sensor that divides reflected light, which is generated after light is emitted toward the document P, into colors of red (R), green (G), and blue (B), and uses the light components corresponding to the colors as scanning data.",
"In the present embodiment, a CIS (contact image sensor) type sensor is used as a color image sensor.",
"The memory card controller 44 performs input and output of data between the memory card controller 44 and the memory card 42 inserted in the memory card slot 40 disposed beside the operator panel 50 .",
"When the memory card 42 is connected to the memory card slot 40 , the memory card controller 44 reads a file stored in the memory card 42 and transmits the file to the main controller 60 or receives a command from the main controller 60 and writes data into the memory card 42 on the basis of the command.",
"The operator panel 50 includes the display unit 52 and the buttons 54 .",
"The display unit 52 is a liquid crystal display device, and various operation screens for performing selection and setting of a menu are displayed.",
"In addition, the buttons 54 include: a power button 54 a for turning on and off a power supply;",
"a start button 54 b for instructing the start of printing or copy;",
"a setting button 54 c for performing various kinds of print setting or copy setting;",
"a button 54 d for setting the number of sheets of paper that is used to set the number of sheets of paper or the number of copies to be printed with respect to a selected image;",
"a mode selection button 54 e for selecting various modes;",
"an arrow key 54 f with four directions for selecting various items or setting;",
"an OK button 54 g for making selected setting effective;",
"and a back button 54 h for returning to a previous screen.",
"The buttons 54 enables a user's instruction to be input to the main controller 60 through an internal communication interface 69 .",
"Here, examples of a mode that can be selected by the mode selection button 54 e include: a copy mode in which the document P set on the document platen 31 is scanned and copied, a memory card mode in which printing is performed by using an image stored in the memory card 42 or the document P is scanned to obtain data and the data is stored in the memory card 42 , a film mode in which a photographic film is scanned and printed or data is stored in the memory card 42 , and a CD/DVD drive mode in which an image in the CD/DVD is printed.",
"The main controller 60 is formed by a microprocessor having a CPU 62 as a main component and includes: a ROM 64 that stores various processing programs, various kinds of data, various tables, and the like;",
"a RAM 66 that temporarily stores scan data or print data;",
"a flash memory 68 that is electrically rewritable and stores data even if power is off;",
"and an internal communication interface 69 that enables communication with the operator panel 50 .",
"These are connected to each other through the bus 12 so that signals can be exchanged therebetween.",
"The main controller 60 receives various operation signals or various detection signals from the printer unit 20 , the scanner unit 30 , and the memory card controller 44 or receives an operation signal generated by the operation of the buttons 54 of the operator panel 50 .",
"In addition, the main controller 60 outputs to the memory card controller 44 a command that an image file be read from the memory card 42 and be output to the main controller 60 , outputs to the printer unit 20 a command that printing of image data be executed, outputs to the scanner unit 30 a command that a document placed on the document platen 31 be read as image data on the basis of a scan command of the buttons 54 of the operator panel 50 , or outputs a control command of the display unit 52 to the operator panel 50 .",
"Next, an operation of the multifunction printer 10 according to the present embodiment, particularly an operation when the copy mode is selected will be described.",
"FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a processing routine in the copy mode executed by the main controller 60 .",
"This processing is executed when the copy mode is selected by the mode selection button 54 e and the OK button 54 g is pressed in a state where the document P is set on the document platen 31 .",
"In addition, when the copy mode is selected by the mode selection button 54 e , the main controller 60 displays a message, such as ‘please set a document on the document platen and press the OK button’, on the display unit 52 .",
"When the processing routine in copy mode is executed, the CPU 62 of the main controller 60 first outputs a scan command to the scanner unit 30 so that the document P set on the document platen 31 is scanned and read in a line unit (step S 100 ), and image data (RGB data) obtained by the reading is divided in a block unit (step S 102 ).",
"In an example, the division is performed such that one block is formed by 8×8 pixels.",
"Then, an unprocessed block of the plurality of divided blocks is set to an object block (step S 104 ), and an object determination for determining the type of the set object block is performed (step S 106 ).",
"This determination is performed by executing object determination processing illustrated in FIG. 4 .",
"Here, the explanation on the processing routine in copy mode is stopped, and the object determination processing of FIG. 4 will be described.",
"In the object determination processing of FIG. 4 , first, it is determined whether or not all pixels in a block are white on the basis of a pixel value of RGB of image data (step S 140 ).",
"If it is determined that all pixels in the block are white, the block is determined to be a blank block (step S 142 ), and the routine is completed.",
"If it is determined that all pixels in the block are not white, a color system of image data in the block is converted from RGB into YUV which is the combination of a brightness signal Y, and a difference U between the brightness signal and a blue component, and a difference V between the brightness signal and a red component (step S 144 ), and an edge in the block is detected by applying a filter for each of the YUV components (step S 146 ).",
"An example of the filter is shown in FIG. 5 .",
"As shown in the drawing, edge detection is performed by multiplying nine pixel values, which are positioned at the left, right, upper, and lower sides of a noted pixel on the center, by a filter coefficient and comparing one obtained by adding the results with a threshold value using a filter based on a second differential system, such as a Laplacian filter.",
"In addition, it is needless to say that a filter to be applied is not limited to the filter based on the second differential system, and a filter based on a first differential system, such as a Sobel filter or a Prewitt filter, may also be used.",
"Then, a monochrome edge number Em and a color edge number Ec are calculated by counting the number of detected edges (step S 148 ).",
"Here, the monochrome edge number Em is calculated as the number of Y-component edges in a block, and the color edge number Ec is calculated as the sum of the number of U-component edges and the number of V-component edges in the block.",
"Then, a sum of the monochrome edge number Em and the color edge number Ec is compared with a threshold value Bd (step S 150 ).",
"When the sum of the monochrome edge number Em and the color edge number Ec is equal to or larger than the threshold value Bd, a determination as complex data, such as a line image in which most of the block is configured by edge elements, is made regardless of a color edge or a monochrome edge (step S 152 ), completing the routine.",
"Here, the threshold value Bd is a threshold value for determining the complex data described above.",
"For example, 60 or 62 is set beforehand as the threshold value Bd for one block of 8×8.",
"When the sum of the monochrome edge number Em and the color edge number Ec is less than the threshold value Bd, it is determined that the image data is not complex data.",
"Then, it is determined whether or not the color edge number Ec is equal to or larger than the threshold value Bc (step S 154 ), and then it is determined whether or not the color edge number Ec is equal to or larger than one obtained by multiplying the monochrome edge number Em by a priority coefficient Pm (step S 156 ).",
"Here, the threshold value Bc is a threshold value for determining whether or not a color text is included in a block.",
"For example, 1 or 2 is set as the threshold value Bc for one block.",
"In addition, the priority coefficient Pm is a priority coefficient for giving a priority to a monochrome text over a color text in determination when the color text and the monochrome text are present together in a block.",
"For example, a value of 3 or 4 is set as the priority coefficient Pm.",
"When the color edge number Ec is equal to or larger than the threshold value Bc and the color edge number Ec is equal to or larger than one obtained by multiplying the monochrome edge number Em by the priority coefficient Pm, the image data in the block is determined to be a color text (step S 158 ), and the routine is completed.",
"If it is determined that the color edge number Ec is less than one obtained by multiplying the monochrome edge number Em by the priority coefficient Pm even if the color edge number Ec is equal to or larger than the threshold value Bc, the image data in the block is determined to be a monochrome text (step S 162 ), and the routine is completed.",
"When the color edge number Ec is determined to be less than the threshold value Bc, the monochrome edge number Em is compared with the threshold value Bm (step S 160 ).",
"If the monochrome edge number Em is larger than the threshold value Bm, the image data in the block is determined to be a monochrome text (step S 162 ).",
"If the monochrome edge number Em is less than the threshold value Bm, the image data in the block is determined to be image data, such as a photograph, since there are few color edge elements and monochrome edge elements in the block, (step S 164 ), and the routine is completed.",
"Here, the threshold value Bm is a threshold value for determining whether or not a monochrome text is included in a block.",
"For example, a value of 9 or 10 is set as the threshold value Bm.",
"Specifically, the threshold values Bd, Bc, and Bm and the priority coefficient Pm are determined on the basis of a method of an image sensor of the scanner unit 30 .",
"For example, in the CIS (contact image sensor) method, the threshold values Bd, Bc, and Bm are set to larger values than those in a CCD (charge coupled device) method since edge detection tends to be easy in the CIS method.",
"In addition, in the CIS method, the coefficient Pm is also set to a larger value than that in the CCD method since a color edge tends to be intense compared with the CCD method.",
"Heretofore, the object determination processing has been described.",
"The processing routine in copy mode returns to step S 106 in which the type of image data in a block is determined as described above.",
"On the basis of the determination result (step S 108 ), blank compression processing is executed when the image data in an object block is blank (step S 110 ), complex data compression processing is executed when the image data in the object block is complex data (step S 112 ), text compression processing is executed when the image data in the object block is text data (step S 114 ), and image compression processing is executed when the image data in the object block is image data (step S 116 ).",
"Here, the blank compression processing is performed by executing a blank compression processing routine (not shown).",
"Specifically, the blank compression processing can be performed by replacing component values of the YUV components in the block with fixed data that means blank.",
"In addition, compressed blank data is stored in the RAM 66 (step S 122 ).",
"In addition, the complex data compression processing is performed by executing a complex data compression processing routine, the text compression processing is performed by executing a text compression processing routine, and the image compression processing is performed by executing an image compression processing routine.",
"For the convenience of explanation, the image compression processing routine and the complex data compression processing routine will be described first, and then the text compression processing routine will be described.",
"FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example of the image compression processing routine executed by the main controller 60 , and FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating an example of the complex data compression processing routine executed by the main controller 60 .",
"In the image compression processing routine shown in FIG. 6 , first, component values of YUV components of image data in an object block are converted into DCT coefficient Cof[x] [y] (x and y are index values of 0 to 7 since one block is configured to include 8×8 pixels) using discrete cosine transform (DCT) (step S 200 ).",
"Here, the DCT is processing for conversion into data indicating an occurrence frequency of total 64 frequency components from a low frequency to a high frequency, which are obtained by DCT, as an amount of energy since one block is configured to include 8×8 pixels in the present embodiment.",
"Then, an image adjustment coefficient Iadj[x][y] is set as an adjustment coefficient for adjusting a DCT coefficient (step S 202 ), one obtained by multiplying the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] by the image adjustment coefficient Iadj[x][y] is set as a new DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] for all combinations of the index values x and y (step S 204 ), and the routine is completed.",
"An example of the image adjustment coefficient is shown in FIG. 8 .",
"For the image adjustment coefficient, either a value 1 or a value 0 is set for each frequency component as shown in the drawing, and a DCT coefficient of a frequency component for which the value 1 is set is maintained and a DCT coefficient of a frequency component for which the value 0 is set is cut as an unnecessary component.",
"In the present embodiment, the image adjustment coefficient is set such that a DCT coefficient of a high-frequency component is cut to a large extent, since it is thought that a degree of color change between adjacent pixels is small in the case of an image, such as a photograph, and there is little influence on the image quality even if a high-frequency component is removed.",
"In the complex data compression processing routine shown in FIG. 7 , component values of the YUV components of image data are converted into the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] using the discrete cosine transform described above (step S 300 ), a complex data adjustment coefficient Cadj[x][y] is set as an adjustment coefficient for adjusting the DCT coefficient (step S 302 ), one obtained by multiplying the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] by the complex data adjustment coefficient Cadj[x][y] is set as a new DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] for all combinations of the index values x and y (step S 304 ), and the routine is completed.",
"An example of the complex data adjustment coefficient is shown in FIG. 9 .",
"For the complex data adjustment coefficient, either a value 1 or a value 0 is set for each frequency component as shown in the drawing, and a DCT coefficient of a frequency component for which the value 1 is set is maintained and a DCT coefficient of a frequency component for which the value 0 is set is cut as an unnecessary component.",
"For complex data, since most of the block is formed by edge elements as described above, it is preferable to make all high-frequency components left in order to secure the image quality of a fine line of the complex data.",
"In this case, however, the amount of data increases.",
"Therefore, the amount of data is made not to be too large by making a high-frequency component left compared with the image compression processing routine but cutting high-frequency components equal to or larger than a predetermined value uniformly.",
"Next, the text compression processing routine will be described.",
"FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating an example of the text compression processing routine executed by the main controller 60 .",
"In the text compression processing routine, first, a variation width H of component values of the YUV components in a block are calculated (step S 400 ), and the component values of the YUV components of image data in the block are converted into the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] using the discrete cosine transform described above (step S 402 ).",
"Here, one calculated as a difference between maximum and minimum values of the component values of the YUV components may be used as the variation width H. Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the image data in the block is a monochrome text (step S 404 ).",
"If it is determined the image data in the block is a monochrome text, only a Y component of YUV components of the image data is set as an object to be processed in steps S 412 to S 416 which will be described later (step S 406 ), and the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] is set to the value 0 for the UV components, that is, all frequency components are cut for the UV components (step S 408 ).",
"If it is determined that the image data in the block is not a monochrome text, that is, the image data in the block is a color text, all of the YUV components of the image data are set as object to be processed in steps S 412 to S 416 (step S 410 ).",
"Moreover, even though all frequency components are cut for the UV components when the image data is determined to be a monochrome text in the present embodiment, some low-frequency components may be held without being cut.",
"Then, an important frequency component Map[x][y] for the converted DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] is selected (step S 412 ).",
"Here, selection of the important frequency component is performed by executing an important frequency component selection processing routine illustrated in FIG. 11 .",
"Here, the explanation on the text compression processing routine is stopped, and the important frequency component selection processing routine will be described.",
"In the important frequency component selection processing routine shown in FIG. 11 , first, the index value y is set as a value 0 (step S 420 ) and the index value x is set as a value 0 (step S 422 ).",
"Then, an absolute value abs(Cof[x][y]) of the DCT coefficient in the index values x and y is compared with one (Es×H) obtained by multiplying a coefficient Es by the variation width H (step S 424 ).",
"When the absolute value abs(Cof[x][y]) of the DCT coefficient is larger than the one obtained by multiplying the coefficient Es by the variation width H, a determination as an important frequency component is made to set the important frequency component Map[x][y] to the value 1 (step S 426 ).",
"When the absolute value abs(Cof[x][y]) of the DCT coefficient is equal to or smaller than the one obtained by multiplying the coefficient Es by the variation width H, it is determined not to be an important frequency component to set the important frequency component Map[x][y] to the value 0 (step S 428 ).",
"Here, the coefficient Es is a coefficient for determining whether or not it is an important frequency component.",
"For example, a value 1.0 or a value 1.2 is set as the coefficient Es.",
"In addition, a determination of an important frequency component using the variation width H of YUV components is based on admitting that the variation width H is related with the amplitude of a frequency when the YUV components are converted into frequency components.",
"Then, the index value x is incremented by a value 1 (step S 430 ), and the process returns to step S 424 until the index value x is less than a value 8 and processing of steps S 424 to S 430 is repeated (step S 432 ).",
"When the index value x becomes equal to or larger than the value 8, the index value y is incremented by a value 1 (step S 434 ), and the process returns to step S 422 until the index value y is equal to or larger than the value 8 and processing of steps S 422 to S 434 is repeated (step S 436 ), completing the routine.",
"When the process returns to step S 408 of the text compression processing routine to select the important frequency component Map[x][y], a pattern matching frequency component Matrix[x][y] is set by performing pattern matching by comparing the selected important frequency component Map[x][y] with an object pattern (step S 414 ).",
"The pattern matching processing is performed by executing a pattern matching processing routine illustrated in FIG. 12 .",
"In the pattern matching processing routine of FIG. 12 , for all of the index values x and y, the pattern matching frequency component Matrix[x][y] is set to a value 0 for initialization (step S 440 ), a pattern number N is set to a value 1 (step S 442 ), and a pattern Pattern(N)[x][y] of the set pattern number N is set as an object pattern (step S 444 ).",
"Examples of a pattern used in pattern matching are shown in FIG. 13 , and examples of the relationship between the frequency distribution of a pattern and the direction of a color change of an original image are shown in FIG. 14 .",
"As shown in the drawing, total eleven patterns of 1 to 11 having different frequency distribution for every pattern are prepared.",
"Each pattern corresponds to the direction of the color change of an original image.",
"Accordingly, the direction in which an edge of a text is formed can be known by checking the frequency distribution of an image.",
"Subsequently, a counter C is set to a value 0 (step S 446 ), the index value y is set to a value 0 (step S 448 ), the index value x is set to a value 0 (step S 450 ), and pattern matching is performed by determining whether or not the important frequency component Map[x][y] is a value 1 and the pattern Pattern(N)[x][y] is a value 1 for the index values x and y (step S 452 ).",
"When the important frequency component Map[x][y] is a value 1 and the pattern Pattern(N)[x][y] is a value 1, it is determined that the important frequency component is included within a range of frequency distribution of an object pattern, and the object pattern matching frequency component Match[x][y] is set to a value 1 (step S 454 ) and the counter C is incremented by the value 1 (step S 456 ).",
"When the important frequency component Map[x][y] is a value 0 and the pattern Pattern(N)[x][y] is a value 0, it is determined that the important frequency component is not included within the range of the frequency distribution of the object pattern, and the object pattern matching frequency component Match[x][y] is set to a value 0 (step S 458 ).",
"Then, the index value x is incremented by a value 1 (step S 460 ), and the process returns to step S 452 until the index value x is less than a value 8 and processing of steps S 452 to S 464 is repeated (step S 462 ).",
"When the index value x becomes equal to or larger than the value 8, the index value y is incremented by a value 1 (step S 464 ), and the process returns to step S 450 until the index value y is equal to or larger than the value 8 and processing of steps S 450 to S 464 is repeated (step S 466 ), completing the routine.",
"Then, a threshold value Cref for matching determination is set on the basis of the pattern number N (step S 468 ), and it is determined whether or not the value of the counter C is equal to or larger than the threshold value Cref for matching determination (step S 470 ).",
"The threshold value Cref for matching determination is a threshold value for determining whether or not the distribution of important frequency components and the object pattern match each other.",
"In the present embodiment, the relationship between the pattern number N and the threshold value Cref for matching determination is set beforehand and is stored as a map in the ROM 64 , such that the corresponding threshold value Cref for matching determination is extracted and set from the stored map when the pattern number N is given.",
"An example of the map is shown in FIG. 15 .",
"When the threshold value Cref for matching determination is set, the value of the counter C is compared with the threshold value Cref for matching determination (step S 470 ).",
"When the value of the counter C is larger than the threshold value Cref for matching determination, it is determined that the distribution of important frequency components matches an object pattern, and the pattern matching frequency component Matrix[x][y] is set to a value 1 for all of the index values x and y whose object pattern matching frequency component Match[x][y] is a value 1 (step S 472 ).",
"When the value of the counter C is equal to or smaller than the threshold value Cref for matching determination, it is determined that the distribution of important frequency components does not match the object pattern, the process proceeds to the next processing without performing any processing.",
"Then, the pattern number N is incremented by the value 1 (step S 474 ).",
"Then, until the last number α (11 in the present embodiment) of the patterns prepared by the pattern number N is exceeded (step S 476 ), the process returns to step S 444 to set a pattern of the pattern number N incremented by the value 1 as an object pattern and repeatedly execute the processing of steps S 446 to S 474 .",
"When the pattern number N exceeds the number α, the routine is completed.",
"In addition, as can be seen from the processing of steps S 444 to S 476 , the distribution of all object patterns to match is reflected on the pattern matching frequency Matrix[x][y] when the important frequency component matches a plurality of object patterns.",
"It is needless to say that one of the object patterns having a largest number of important frequency components distributed may be determined on the basis of the value of the counter C and the object pattern matching frequency Match[x][y] of the determined pattern may be set as the pattern matching frequency Matrix[x][y].",
"When the pattern matching frequency Matrix[x][y] is set by performing the pattern matching as described above, the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] is adjusted on the basis of the value of the pattern matching frequency Matrix[x][y] (step S 416 ), and the routine is completed.",
"Adjustment of a DCT coefficient is performed by executing a DCT coefficient adjustment processing routine illustrated in FIG. 16 .",
"In the DCT coefficient adjustment processing routine, the index value y is set to a value 0 first (step S 480 ), the index value x is set to a value 0 (step S 482 ), and it is determined whether or not the pattern matching frequency Matrix[x][y] is a value 1 for the index values x and y (step S 484 ).",
"When the pattern matching frequency Matrix[x][y] is a value 1, the process proceeds to next processing while maintaining the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] in the index values x and y. When the pattern matching frequency Matrix[x][y] is a value 0, the absolute value abs(Cof[x][y]) of the DCT coefficient is compared with one obtained by multiplying the variation width H by the coefficient Es (step S 486 ).",
"When the absolute value abs(Cof[x][y]) of the DCT coefficient is larger than the one obtained by multiplying the variation width H by the coefficient Es, it is determined that the frequency component is a frequency component having an influence in determining the image quality of an image to some extent even though the frequency component is basically an unnecessary component, and the frequency component is reduced by multiplying the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] in the index values x and y by a coefficient Er to thereby set a new DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] (step S 488 ).",
"When the absolute value abs(Cof[x][y]) of the DCT coefficient is equal to or smaller than the one obtained by multiplying the variation width H by the coefficient Es, the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] in the index values x and y is set to the value 0 (step S 490 ).",
"Here, the coefficient Er is a coefficient for reducing a frequency component.",
"For example, a value 0.8 or a value 0.7 is set as the coefficient Er.",
"Then, the index value x is incremented by a value 1 (step S 492 ), and the process returns to step S 484 until the index value x is less than a value 8 and processing of steps S 484 to S 492 is repeated (step S 494 ).",
"When the index value x becomes equal to or larger than the value 8, the index value y is incremented by a value 1 (step S 496 ), and the process returns to step S 482 until the index value y is equal to or larger than the value 8 and processing of steps S 482 to S 496 is repeated (step S 498 ), completing the routine.",
"Examples of the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] before and after the adjustment using the pattern matching frequency Matrix[x][y] are shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B .",
"As shown in the drawing, it is understood that the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] is maintained for a component existing within a range of the frequency distribution to be subjected to pattern matching, but the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] is effectively cut for a component out of the range.",
"Heretofore, the text compression processing routine has been described.",
"Returning to the processing routine in copy mode to adjust a DCT coefficient according to the type of image data as described above, quantization processing is performed (step S 118 ), entropy coding processing, such as Huffman coding, is performed (step S 120 ), and obtained coded data is stored in the RAM 66 (step S 122 ).",
"Here, a quantization table used in quantization processing is created such that each frequency component is not cut to a large extent in the present embodiment, since compression of image data is performed by adjusting a DCT coefficient.",
"Then, it is determined whether or not a next unprocessed block exists (step S 124 ).",
"When the next unprocessed block exists, the process returns to step S 104 and processing of steps S 104 to S 122 is repeated.",
"When the next unprocessed block does not exist, it is determined whether or not a next line to be scanned exists (step S 126 ).",
"When a next line to be scanned exists, the process returns to step S 100 and processing of steps S 100 to S 124 is repeated.",
"When the next line does not exist, the coded data stored in the RAM 66 is expanded in a band unit to generate image data (step S 128 ), printing processing is executed on the basis of the image data generated by outputting a print command to the printer unit 20 (step S 130 ), and the routine is completed.",
"In addition, it is preferable to execute the expansion of coded data in a reverse procedure to the procedure of converting image data into coded data, that is, in the order of entropy decoding processing, reverse quantization processing, and inverse discrete cosine transform.",
"Here, the correspondence relationship between constituent components of the present embodiment and constituent components of the invention will be clarified.",
"The main controller 60 that executes processing of step S 102 of the processing routine in copy mode shown in FIG. 3 of the present embodiment is equivalent to an image dividing unit of the invention.",
"The main controller 60 that executes processing (object determination processing routine shown in FIG. 4 ) of step S 106 of the processing routine in copy mode is equivalent to an image type determining unit.",
"The main controller 60 that executes step S 200 of the image compression processing routine shown in FIG. 6 , step S 300 of the complex data compression processing routine shown in FIG. 7 , and step S 410 of the text compression processing shown in FIG. 10 is equivalent to a frequency component conversion unit.",
"The main controller 60 that executes processing of steps S 110 and S 120 of the processing routine in copy mode is equivalent to an image compression unit.",
"Moreover, in the present embodiment, an example of the image processing method of the invention is also clarified by describing the operation of the multifunction printer 10 .",
"In the multifunction printer 10 of according to the present embodiment described above, image data is divided into a plurality of blocks, the image data is determined for each block such that complex data, a color text, a monochrome text, and an image are distinguished from each other, and an unnecessary component of the DCT coefficients Cof[x][y] obtained by converting color components of the image data into frequency components is changed and removed on the basis of the type of the image data determined.",
"Therefore, the compression rate can be raised while maintaining the satisfactory image quality regardless of the type of image data.",
"As a result, the capacity of the RAM 66 can be made small.",
"In addition, the processing can be simplified since it is sufficient only to adjust the DCT coefficient Cof[x][y] according to the type of image data.",
"Furthermore, in the multifunction printer 10 according to the present embodiment, when image data is determined to be text data, the direction of an edge of a text is determined and a frequency component distributed in the direction of the edge is left and the other components are removed as unnecessary components.",
"Therefore, the compression rate can be raised while maintaining the image quality of the text.",
"In addition, since the direction of an edge is determined by using pattern matching, the direction of the edge can be determined by simple processing.",
"In addition, since a component considered to have a relatively large DCT coefficient and have an effect on the image quality even though the component is not a frequency component distributed in the direction of an edge is not completely removed but is reduced, the image quality of a text can be further improved.",
"Furthermore, in the multifunction printer 10 according to the present embodiment, when all pixels of image data are white blank data, a color component value of the image data is converted into fixed data meaning the blank and is then stored.",
"Therefore, the compression rate can be further raised.",
"Moreover, in this case, since a determination for distinguishing complex data, a color text, a monochrome text, and an image is not performed, the processing speed can be raised.",
"In the present embodiment, image data is divided into 8×8 pixels to form one block.",
"However, one block may be made to have any size by dividing image data into 4×4 pixels or 16×16 pixels, for example.",
"In the present embodiment, the RGB color system is converted into the YUV color system and the compression processing is performed by using a YUV component value.",
"However, the invention is not limited thereto, but other color systems, such as the RGB color coordinates and a CMYK color system, may also be used.",
"In the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not all pixels of image data in a block are white and then the blank compression processing is executed.",
"However, such processing may be omitted.",
"In the present embodiment, the type of image data is determined by distinguishing complex data, a color text, a monochrome text, and an image from each other.",
"However, some distinction may be omitted as long as the type of image data is determined by distinguishing two of those described above.",
"For example, color and monochrome may not be distinguished for text data.",
"In the present embodiment, when the color edge number Ec is not equal to or larger than one obtained by multiplying the monochrome edge number Em by the monochrome text priority coefficient Pm and the monochrome edge number Em is equal to or larger than the threshold value Bm even if the color edge number Ec is equal to or larger than the threshold value Bc in the object determination processing routine shown in FIG. 4 , a determination as a monochrome text is made such that the monochrome text is prioritized over a color text.",
"However, a determination may be made such that a color text is prioritized over a monochrome text depending on the specification of the scanner unit 30 , or the priority may not be applied.",
"In the present embodiment, compression of image data is performed by adjusting a DCT coefficient obtained by converting color components of image data into frequency components using the discrete cosine transform (DCT).",
"However, the invention is not limited to using the discrete cosine transform, but any kind of method, such as wavelet transform or lapped orthogonal transform (LOT), may also be used as long as color components of image data can be converted into frequency components and the analysis is possible.",
"In the present embodiment, in the pattern matching processing when image data is determined to be a text, some frequency components not matching a pattern among the DCT coefficients Cof[x][y] obtained by converting color components of image data into frequency components are stored according to the size of the absolute value abs(Cof[x][y]) of the DCT coefficient.",
"However, the frequency components may be completely removed as a value 0.",
"In the present embodiment, a case in which the image processing device according to the embodiment of the invention is applied to the operation in the copy mode has been described.",
"However, the image processing device according to the embodiment of the invention may also be applied to an operation in a memory card mode in which image data obtained by scanning the document P is compressed and the image data is stored in the memory card 42 .",
"In the present embodiment, a case in which the image processing device according to the embodiment of the invention is applied to the multifunction printer 10 that includes the printer unit 20 and the scanner unit 30 so that copy is possible has been described.",
"However, the image processing device according to the embodiment of the invention may be applied to a scanner device including only a scanner unit, or may be applied to an image input device, such as a digital camera or a camera-mounted mobile phone that performs compression processing on an image that has been imaged.",
"In addition, the invention may be realized in the form of an image processing method or a program.",
"While the embodiment of the invention has been described, the invention is not limited to the embodiment, but various modifications may be made without departing from the technical scope of the invention."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Disclosure
The subject disclosure relates to a self-learning medication dispenser device that will remind the user with an alarm in case the user has not taken medication within a certain block of time around a target time for taking the medication.
2. Related Art
Medication storage boxes for storing pills have been devised in the past.
SUMMARY
The following is a summary of description of illustrative embodiments of a self-learning medication storage device that tracks user's activity and provides an alarm or alert if the user has not taken his medication within a selected time interval. It is provided as a preface to assist those skilled in the art to more rapidly assimilate the detailed design discussion which ensues and is not intended in any way to limit the scope of the claims which are appended hereto in order to particularly point out the invention.
A device according to an illustrative embodiment has seven compartments that each can hold medication for the user. Each compartment has a built-in sensor that detects if any medication is present or if the compartment is empty. A door or lid switch may also be provided to detect whether if the compartment door or lid is open or closed. In one embodiment, the first compartment is for Sunday, the second for Monday etc., all the way to the seventh compartment for Saturday. Various embodiments may additionally include an optional electronically programmable locking system on each of the compartments, for example, to keep users from accidentally overmedicating.
According to an illustrative implementation, after filling the compartments, the user begins taking his medication at the prescribed time each day. Beginning with the first day the user uses the device, the device logs the time that the user takes the medication each day and, based on this stored information, the device calculates a “target time” for the medication with a variance window before and after this target time. If the medication in the next compartment is not completely removed within this variance window after the target time, the device warns the user with an alarm/reminder.
In one embodiment, if the user needs medication in the morning and in the evening, he or she may connect two of the devices together and use the first device for the morning medication, and the second device for the evening medication. The user can connect as many of the devices together as needed. In one embodiment, the devices do not interact with each other; i.e., each will be for a dedicated medication time regimen (morning, afternoon, evening, before bed, etc.)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an illustrative embodiment of a medication dispenser;
FIG. 2 is a side schematic view of cascaded medication dispensers of an illustrative embodiment with lids closed;
FIG. 3 is a side schematic view of cascaded medication dispensers of an illustrative embodiment with lids opened;
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a sensor array according to an illustrative embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a circuit schematic diagram illustrative of electronic componentry of an illustrative medication dispenser embodiment;
FIG. 6 is part of a flow diagram illustrative of operation of an illustrative embodiment;
FIG. 7 is a continuation of the flow diagram of FIG. 6 ;
FIG. 8 is a continuation of the flow diagram of FIG. 7 ; and
FIG. 9 is a continuation of the flow diagram of FIG. 8 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
As shown in FIG. 1 , an illustrative self-learning medication storage device 20 has seven compartments 1 - 7 , each with a movable cover 8 - 14 , which may be opened to allow insertion and removal of medication such as pills or capsules from each compartment. In one embodiment, the movable compartment cover may be a “door” which slides in and out to open or close a compartment. In another embodiment, the movable compartment cover may be a hinged lid. In the illustrative embodiment discussed hereafter, the movable compartment covers are slidable doors and will be referenced to hereinafter simply as “doors 8 - 14 .”
Each compartment 1 - 7 further has a built-in sensor, e.g. 31 ( FIG. 2 ) that will detect if any medication is present. Each compartment 1 - 7 may also have a door sensor, e.g. 34 , which provides a signal that indicates whether one of the doors 8 - 14 is opened or not.
The illustrative device 20 has one or more control buttons on an alarm button panel 17 that can be located on the side or on the bottom or top of the device 20 . The electronic circuitry, battery 19 , and alarm buzzer 20 ( FIG. 5 ) can be located anywhere on the device 20 .
In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 , the doors, e.g. 8 , may slide in and out horizontally and may optionally be locked in place by respective electromagnetic cylinder locks 33 , which can be released, for example, upon activation of the device by depressing an ON-OFF button 35 ( FIG. 5 ). Such sliding action can be achieved, for example, by forming edges on the respective sides of the door 8 which can slide in grooves formed in the side walls of the pill compartments (“tongue and groove”), or in other manners, and whose length of extension may be determined by the position of a suitable stop 32 . Alternatively, the compartment doors, e.g., 8 , can pivotally attach to the back edge 35 of a medication container and can be configured to snap open and shut. In various embodiments, the sensors 31 may comprise coated-on electrical touch sensors, electrostatic sensors, or optical sensors.
FIG. 4 schematically shows the output signals S 1 . . . S 7 produced by the respective sensors 31 in each pill compartment 1 - 8 , as well as signals L 1 . . . L 7 generated by sensors 34 . As illustrated in FIG. 5 , these signals are supplied to a controller 41 , which monitors the state of the signal (“1” or “0”) to determine if, for example, a pill is present in a compartment or has been removed from a compartment. The “status” (full or empty) of all compartments 1 - 8 is stored in an internal register as described in more detail below, so that the controller 41 can compare a new state against an old state. In an illustrative embodiment, the controller 41 may be a microprocessor or microcontroller with suitable software stored in memory 43 to perform various functions and routines as described herein. In one embodiment, a suitable visual display 45 controlled by the controller 41 may also be provided.
In one illustrative embodiment, the system software and controller are configured to perform the operations reflected in the flow charts of FIGS. 6-9 as will now be described in further detail. Assume that the user needs to take medication once per day and chooses to take the medication around 8 PM. The user opens all doors ( 8 ) thru ( 14 ) and fills compartments ( 1 ) thru ( 7 ) with the needed medication. According to FIG. 6 , the controller 41 detects main button actuation (step 102 ) and then detects that all compartments are filled (step 103 ) and records the status of the doors (step 104 ). The controller 41 then enables either a “Locking Mode” of operation or a “Non-Locking Mode” of operation according to the user setting (test 105 ). The illustrative software functionality discussed hereafter is for the Non-Locking Mode. Further discussion is also presented below regarding the optional “Locking Mode” of operation.
Continuing the example, assume that Non Locking Mode is selected. A test 107 is performed to detect a main button actuation, which gives the user to option to step through a number of steps 108 , 109 , 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 , ( FIGS. 6 & 7 ) which permit the user to reset the clock/day, the mode of operation, and various registers. Assuming no button press is detected at test 107 , the flow proceeds to test for a door status change at test 118 . If today is Wednesday, the user will open the door ( 11 ) which is labeled “W” around 8 PM, take the medication and close the door ( 11 ) again. Using the sensor and door switch signals S 1 . . . S 7 ; L 1 . . . L 7 , the controller 41 will register that the medication is removed and it will log the time internally. Such operation is illustrated in steps 121 , 122 , 146 , 124 , 125 and 128 of the flowchart of FIGS. 7 & 8 where the controller 41 detects that the status of Register B 1 - 7 has changed as compared to Register A 1 - 7 (step 128 ). The controller 41 then proceeds through steps 130 , and 132 , or 132 and 136 to record the opening time “T 0 ” in memory Register G for today's day (steps 134 or 137 , FIG. 9 ).
On the next day, if the user opens the door ( 12 ) labeled “T” and remove the medication at, for example, 8:20 PM, the device will mark this as a new time T 0 in Register G according to step 137 of the flowchart of FIG. 9 . As illustrated at step 140 of FIG. 9 , the learning algorithm then creates new estimated T e — early and T e — late time points for Friday based on various timestamps of the days before. In this example, the new estimated T e — early time could be 7:10 PM and the new estimated T e — late could be 9:10 PM, and the new T e — day would be 06 (Friday).
More specifically, at test 136 , the controller 41 tests to determine whether there are entries in register H 1 - 2 for T e — early or T e — late, which define the range within which removal of a pill is considered to be timely. If the detected time “T” is within this range, the flow proceeds through steps 137 , 139 , 140 , 141 , 142 , and 144 ( FIG. 9 ). In step 139 , Registers A 1 - 7 are overwritten with the contents of Register B 1 - 7 (new medication status in compartments because medication was taken). A new T e — early and T e — late are calculated in step 140 using a special algorithm applied to the records in Register G. An illustrative special algorithm is: Take the AVERAGE to from Registers G 1 - 7 , calculate a Standard Deviation for values in G 1 - 7 , then take T e — early=T_average−(60 min*Standard Deviation) and T e — late=T_average+(60 min*Standard Deviation) where T e — early and T e — late are no longer than 3 hours apart.
At step 141 , the new T e — early and T e — late are stored in Registers H 1 , H 2 , and the T e — day is stored in Register H 3 . Finally, register F is set to “zero” in step 144 . It will be noted that, if it is the first time through the flow, there will be no T e — early or T e — late set in Registers H 1 and H 2 . Therefore, at test 132 , the flow is directed through steps 134 , 135 , and 133 , and then to step 141 . Step 135 is the same as step 139 , while step 133 sets H 1 and H 2 to T 0 +23 h and T 0 +25 h such that test 132 will be satisfied the next time through the procedure. Step 133 is performed in order to derive values for T e — early and T e — late based on only one previous record To. The simplest approach is to estimate that the next T e will be the same time as the previous T e plus or minus the variance. Allowing for +/−1 hour variance, the next T e — early is today's T 0 plus 23 hours, and tomorrow's T e — late is today's T 0 plus 25 hours. Put another way, TOMORROW'S T e — early is identical to today's T 0 minus 1 hour, and tomorrow's T e — late is identical to today's T 0 plus 1 hour, depends on which way you look at it.
If, on Friday (T e — day=06), the device does not see Register D 06 (lid status for Compartment labeled “F”) changing state at steps 118 , 145 , and 119 of FIGS. 7 and 8 before the Time Clock goes past T e — late in Register H 2 , the device will begin sounding an alarm and/or give a vibrating alert as reflected in step 120 ( FIG. 8 ) to indicate to the user that it is past time to take the mediation.
If, at test 122 , it is determined that the door status did not change from “OPEN” to “CLOSED,” steps 126 , 127 , and 129 ( FIGS. 7 & 8 ) may be performed. At test 126 , it is determined whether the difference between Registers C 1 - 7 and D 1 - 7 is for Today's door. If not, an alarm (“beep”) is sounded and the contents of C 1 - 7 are overwritten with the contents of D 1 - 7 at step 129 . This step is performed because, in the next procedure loop, the controller 41 needs to be able to detect the next change in door status, so it will need to overwrite C 1 - 7 with D 1 - 7 because it can only detect these changes by comparing C 1 - 7 with D 1 - 7 . If the result of test 126 is “yes”, no “beep’” is sounded and step 129 is still performed. Note that step 129 is also performed as a result of a negative determination at test 126 and a positive determination at test 130 , after overwriting Register A 1 - 7 with B 1 - 7 at step 131 .
In one embodiment, the Audible Reminder (Alarm) is turned off if the user opens and closes a compartment door (Step 123 — FIG. 8 ). At this point, the device 20 will not sound the alarm again until there is a NEW T e — early and T e — late and T e — day in Register H 1 - 3 and the Time Clock is past the time and day set in Registers H 2 and H 3 . If the user takes the medication past T e — late, that day's T 0 time stamp will be disregarded for the learning cycle and instead T 0 from the previous day will be recorded for that day.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are many different ways to create the functionality shown in the Flowcharts of FIGS. 6-9 . Reviewing the operation described above in conjunction with those flowcharts, a number of functional aspects may be noted:
1. The functionality includes checking door status before checking compartment status to save on battery power. 2. Upon startup, the device 20 , and in particular, controller 41 in the illustrative embodiment, checks the status of all compartments (Full=1, Empty=0) and stores these in Register A 1 - 7 and a copy in Register B 1 - 7 . 3. Upon startup, the controller 41 checks the status of all compartments (Open=1, Closed=0) and stores these in Register C 1 - 7 and a copy in Register D 1 - 7 . 4. In a device, the controller 41 checks which mode is selected in Register E 1 and if E 1 =1, device will LOCK the doors that are closed above a full compartment. 5. The controller 41 always checks for door movement (a simple door switch is very battery friendly) as compared to constantly scanning the contents of the compartments (very battery unfriendly). 6. The first day the user will open a door at the appropriate time and remove his medication. The controller 41 will record the status of all doors in Register D 1 - 7 and compare to Register C 1 - 7 . If the controller 41 recognizes the door closing again, it will scan the compartment and update Register B. By comparing Register B (new status) to Register A (old status) the controller 41 can see if medication was removed and it will then calculate a new T e — early, T e — late and T e — day which are stored in Registers H 1 - 3 . Then the controller 41 will overwrite C 1 - 7 with D 1 - 7 values, and overwrite A 1 - 7 with B 1 - 7 values. These overwrites enable the controller to detect new changes in door status and compartment status. 7. Going forward, when the controller 41 senses or detects a door open, it will record the door status in Register D. It will then compare Register D 1 - 7 to Register C 1 - 7 and SOUND a BEEP at the user if the door is the wrong one for the day (based on value in Register H 3 ). The controller 41 then overwrites Register C 1 - 7 with Register D 1 - 7 , values which allow the controller to recognize new door movement again. 8. When a door is closed after being opened, the controller 41 will scan the particular compartment, and will update Register B for this compartment, and, if medication is added, will overwrite Register A 1 - 7 with the values of Register B 1 - 7 . If medication is removed, the controller 41 will proceed with calculating new values for Te_early, Te_late and Te_day which will be updated in Registers H 1 - 3 . The controller will also overwrite Register C 1 - 7 with Register D 1 - 7 values so that it can recognize door movement again. 9. If the controller 41 does not recognize door movement by the time the internal Time
Clock passes T e — late on T e — day, the controller checks Register F 1 if the alarm has sounded before. If F 1 =1, no alarm will sound, and the controller 41 will continue monitoring. If F 1 =0, then the alarm will sound until the user opens and closes ANY door (see flowchart). This will then set F 1 =1 and the alarm will not sound again until there is a new value for T e — early, T e — late and T e — day in Registers H 1 - 3 .
10. If medication is removed after T e — late on T e — day before T e — early on T e — day, then the current time T will not be recorded for T 0 in Today's field in Register G. Instead, yesterday's value for T 0 will be copied into Today's field in Register G.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various “Registers” described above may be located in various memory locations. In an illustrative embodiment, the Registers are internal memory registers in a selected microcontroller.
In one embodiment, the device 20 expects the compartments to be emptied in a particular order, for instance starting on Tuesday: On Tuesday compartment ( 3 ), on Wednesday compartment ( 4 ), on Thursday compartment ( 5 ), on Friday compartment ( 6 ), on Saturday compartment ( 7 ), on Sunday compartment ( 1 ), on Monday, compartment ( 2 ), etc. If a user skips a compartment accidentally, the device will still log the time To in Register G and calculate a new T e — early and T e — late and T e — day.
In one embodiment, device has a removable battery 19 which can be replaced when needed. A low battery reminder with a flashing LED may also be provided. In one embodiment, removing the battery 19 will not delete the program stored in memory 43 since a built-in capacitor is provide to supply voltage to the internal clock of the controller 41 long enough to allow for a battery change. Leaving the battery out for a longer period will erase the user data and the unit will behave as it did when new from the factory.
In various embodiments, software for implementing the disclosed processes, procedures and functionality described above may be stored on various forms of computer readable medium or media or computer readable storage medium or media. For the purposes of this disclosure, a computer readable medium stores computer data, which data can and typically does include computer program code that is executable by a computer, in machine readable form. By way of example, and not limitation, a computer readable medium may comprise computer readable storage media, for tangible or fixed storage of data, or communication media for transient interpretation of code-containing signals. Computer readable storage media, as used herein, refers to physical or tangible storage (as opposed to signals) and includes without limitation volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable storage media implemented in any method or technology for the tangible storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer readable storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other solid state memory technology, CD-ROM, DVD, or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other physical or material medium which can be used to tangibly store the desire information or data or instructions and which can be accessed by a computer or processor. In various embodiments, when suitable computer program code is loaded into and executed by a computer, the computer becomes a specially configured apparatus.
In one embodiment, the user can factory reset the device 20 by selecting the “RESET” option in the key menu system. Additionally, a locking mode can be provided as noted above and a procedure similar to that of FIGS. 6 to 9 and items 1-10 can be implemented to control operation of the device. The “Locking Mode” is technically simpler than the “Non-Locking Mode” since it prevents the user from opening any door, except for after Te_early on day Te_ay at which time that day's door will be unlocked. The device will keep doors above empty compartments unlocked to make refilling easy. After noting contents in any compartment, the device will lock the corresponding door.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the just described preferred embodiment can be configured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein. | Compartments of a medication storage device are fitted with sensors to detect the presence of medication and the opening of compartment lids or doors. A controller monitors the sensor signals and sounds an alarm if medication is not removed from a compartment within a variance range about a target time. | Provide a concise summary of the essential information conveyed in the given context. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Disclosure The subject disclosure relates to a self-learning medication dispenser device that will remind the user with an alarm in case the user has not taken medication within a certain block of time around a target time for taking the medication.",
"Related Art Medication storage boxes for storing pills have been devised in the past.",
"SUMMARY The following is a summary of description of illustrative embodiments of a self-learning medication storage device that tracks user's activity and provides an alarm or alert if the user has not taken his medication within a selected time interval.",
"It is provided as a preface to assist those skilled in the art to more rapidly assimilate the detailed design discussion which ensues and is not intended in any way to limit the scope of the claims which are appended hereto in order to particularly point out the invention.",
"A device according to an illustrative embodiment has seven compartments that each can hold medication for the user.",
"Each compartment has a built-in sensor that detects if any medication is present or if the compartment is empty.",
"A door or lid switch may also be provided to detect whether if the compartment door or lid is open or closed.",
"In one embodiment, the first compartment is for Sunday, the second for Monday etc.",
", all the way to the seventh compartment for Saturday.",
"Various embodiments may additionally include an optional electronically programmable locking system on each of the compartments, for example, to keep users from accidentally overmedicating.",
"According to an illustrative implementation, after filling the compartments, the user begins taking his medication at the prescribed time each day.",
"Beginning with the first day the user uses the device, the device logs the time that the user takes the medication each day and, based on this stored information, the device calculates a “target time”",
"for the medication with a variance window before and after this target time.",
"If the medication in the next compartment is not completely removed within this variance window after the target time, the device warns the user with an alarm/reminder.",
"In one embodiment, if the user needs medication in the morning and in the evening, he or she may connect two of the devices together and use the first device for the morning medication, and the second device for the evening medication.",
"The user can connect as many of the devices together as needed.",
"In one embodiment, the devices do not interact with each other;",
"i.e., each will be for a dedicated medication time regimen (morning, afternoon, evening, before bed, etc.) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an illustrative embodiment of a medication dispenser;",
"FIG. 2 is a side schematic view of cascaded medication dispensers of an illustrative embodiment with lids closed;",
"FIG. 3 is a side schematic view of cascaded medication dispensers of an illustrative embodiment with lids opened;",
"FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a sensor array according to an illustrative embodiment;",
"FIG. 5 is a circuit schematic diagram illustrative of electronic componentry of an illustrative medication dispenser embodiment;",
"FIG. 6 is part of a flow diagram illustrative of operation of an illustrative embodiment;",
"FIG. 7 is a continuation of the flow diagram of FIG. 6 ;",
"FIG. 8 is a continuation of the flow diagram of FIG. 7 ;",
"and FIG. 9 is a continuation of the flow diagram of FIG. 8 .",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION As shown in FIG. 1 , an illustrative self-learning medication storage device 20 has seven compartments 1 - 7 , each with a movable cover 8 - 14 , which may be opened to allow insertion and removal of medication such as pills or capsules from each compartment.",
"In one embodiment, the movable compartment cover may be a “door”",
"which slides in and out to open or close a compartment.",
"In another embodiment, the movable compartment cover may be a hinged lid.",
"In the illustrative embodiment discussed hereafter, the movable compartment covers are slidable doors and will be referenced to hereinafter simply as “doors 8 - 14 .”",
"Each compartment 1 - 7 further has a built-in sensor, e.g. 31 ( FIG. 2 ) that will detect if any medication is present.",
"Each compartment 1 - 7 may also have a door sensor, e.g. 34 , which provides a signal that indicates whether one of the doors 8 - 14 is opened or not.",
"The illustrative device 20 has one or more control buttons on an alarm button panel 17 that can be located on the side or on the bottom or top of the device 20 .",
"The electronic circuitry, battery 19 , and alarm buzzer 20 ( FIG. 5 ) can be located anywhere on the device 20 .",
"In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 , the doors, e.g. 8 , may slide in and out horizontally and may optionally be locked in place by respective electromagnetic cylinder locks 33 , which can be released, for example, upon activation of the device by depressing an ON-OFF button 35 ( FIG. 5 ).",
"Such sliding action can be achieved, for example, by forming edges on the respective sides of the door 8 which can slide in grooves formed in the side walls of the pill compartments (“tongue and groove”), or in other manners, and whose length of extension may be determined by the position of a suitable stop 32 .",
"Alternatively, the compartment doors, e.g., 8 , can pivotally attach to the back edge 35 of a medication container and can be configured to snap open and shut.",
"In various embodiments, the sensors 31 may comprise coated-on electrical touch sensors, electrostatic sensors, or optical sensors.",
"FIG. 4 schematically shows the output signals S 1 .",
"S 7 produced by the respective sensors 31 in each pill compartment 1 - 8 , as well as signals L 1 .",
"L 7 generated by sensors 34 .",
"As illustrated in FIG. 5 , these signals are supplied to a controller 41 , which monitors the state of the signal (“1”",
"or “0”) to determine if, for example, a pill is present in a compartment or has been removed from a compartment.",
"The “status”",
"(full or empty) of all compartments 1 - 8 is stored in an internal register as described in more detail below, so that the controller 41 can compare a new state against an old state.",
"In an illustrative embodiment, the controller 41 may be a microprocessor or microcontroller with suitable software stored in memory 43 to perform various functions and routines as described herein.",
"In one embodiment, a suitable visual display 45 controlled by the controller 41 may also be provided.",
"In one illustrative embodiment, the system software and controller are configured to perform the operations reflected in the flow charts of FIGS. 6-9 as will now be described in further detail.",
"Assume that the user needs to take medication once per day and chooses to take the medication around 8 PM.",
"The user opens all doors ( 8 ) thru ( 14 ) and fills compartments ( 1 ) thru ( 7 ) with the needed medication.",
"According to FIG. 6 , the controller 41 detects main button actuation (step 102 ) and then detects that all compartments are filled (step 103 ) and records the status of the doors (step 104 ).",
"The controller 41 then enables either a “Locking Mode”",
"of operation or a “Non-Locking Mode”",
"of operation according to the user setting (test 105 ).",
"The illustrative software functionality discussed hereafter is for the Non-Locking Mode.",
"Further discussion is also presented below regarding the optional “Locking Mode”",
"of operation.",
"Continuing the example, assume that Non Locking Mode is selected.",
"A test 107 is performed to detect a main button actuation, which gives the user to option to step through a number of steps 108 , 109 , 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 , ( FIGS. 6 &",
"7 ) which permit the user to reset the clock/day, the mode of operation, and various registers.",
"Assuming no button press is detected at test 107 , the flow proceeds to test for a door status change at test 118 .",
"If today is Wednesday, the user will open the door ( 11 ) which is labeled “W”",
"around 8 PM, take the medication and close the door ( 11 ) again.",
"Using the sensor and door switch signals S 1 .",
"S 7 ;",
"L 1 .",
"L 7 , the controller 41 will register that the medication is removed and it will log the time internally.",
"Such operation is illustrated in steps 121 , 122 , 146 , 124 , 125 and 128 of the flowchart of FIGS. 7 &",
"8 where the controller 41 detects that the status of Register B 1 - 7 has changed as compared to Register A 1 - 7 (step 128 ).",
"The controller 41 then proceeds through steps 130 , and 132 , or 132 and 136 to record the opening time “T 0 ”",
"in memory Register G for today's day (steps 134 or 137 , FIG. 9 ).",
"On the next day, if the user opens the door ( 12 ) labeled “T”",
"and remove the medication at, for example, 8:20 PM, the device will mark this as a new time T 0 in Register G according to step 137 of the flowchart of FIG. 9 .",
"As illustrated at step 140 of FIG. 9 , the learning algorithm then creates new estimated T e — early and T e — late time points for Friday based on various timestamps of the days before.",
"In this example, the new estimated T e — early time could be 7:10 PM and the new estimated T e — late could be 9:10 PM, and the new T e — day would be 06 (Friday).",
"More specifically, at test 136 , the controller 41 tests to determine whether there are entries in register H 1 - 2 for T e — early or T e — late, which define the range within which removal of a pill is considered to be timely.",
"If the detected time “T”",
"is within this range, the flow proceeds through steps 137 , 139 , 140 , 141 , 142 , and 144 ( FIG. 9 ).",
"In step 139 , Registers A 1 - 7 are overwritten with the contents of Register B 1 - 7 (new medication status in compartments because medication was taken).",
"A new T e — early and T e — late are calculated in step 140 using a special algorithm applied to the records in Register G. An illustrative special algorithm is: Take the AVERAGE to from Registers G 1 - 7 , calculate a Standard Deviation for values in G 1 - 7 , then take T e — early=T_average−(60 min*Standard Deviation) and T e — late=T_average+(60 min*Standard Deviation) where T e — early and T e — late are no longer than 3 hours apart.",
"At step 141 , the new T e — early and T e — late are stored in Registers H 1 , H 2 , and the T e — day is stored in Register H 3 .",
"Finally, register F is set to “zero”",
"in step 144 .",
"It will be noted that, if it is the first time through the flow, there will be no T e — early or T e — late set in Registers H 1 and H 2 .",
"Therefore, at test 132 , the flow is directed through steps 134 , 135 , and 133 , and then to step 141 .",
"Step 135 is the same as step 139 , while step 133 sets H 1 and H 2 to T 0 +23 h and T 0 +25 h such that test 132 will be satisfied the next time through the procedure.",
"Step 133 is performed in order to derive values for T e — early and T e — late based on only one previous record To.",
"The simplest approach is to estimate that the next T e will be the same time as the previous T e plus or minus the variance.",
"Allowing for +/−1 hour variance, the next T e — early is today's T 0 plus 23 hours, and tomorrow's T e — late is today's T 0 plus 25 hours.",
"Put another way, TOMORROW'S T e — early is identical to today's T 0 minus 1 hour, and tomorrow's T e — late is identical to today's T 0 plus 1 hour, depends on which way you look at it.",
"If, on Friday (T e — day=06), the device does not see Register D 06 (lid status for Compartment labeled “F”) changing state at steps 118 , 145 , and 119 of FIGS. 7 and 8 before the Time Clock goes past T e — late in Register H 2 , the device will begin sounding an alarm and/or give a vibrating alert as reflected in step 120 ( FIG. 8 ) to indicate to the user that it is past time to take the mediation.",
"If, at test 122 , it is determined that the door status did not change from “OPEN”",
"to “CLOSED,” steps 126 , 127 , and 129 ( FIGS. 7 &",
"8 ) may be performed.",
"At test 126 , it is determined whether the difference between Registers C 1 - 7 and D 1 - 7 is for Today's door.",
"If not, an alarm (“beep”) is sounded and the contents of C 1 - 7 are overwritten with the contents of D 1 - 7 at step 129 .",
"This step is performed because, in the next procedure loop, the controller 41 needs to be able to detect the next change in door status, so it will need to overwrite C 1 - 7 with D 1 - 7 because it can only detect these changes by comparing C 1 - 7 with D 1 - 7 .",
"If the result of test 126 is “yes”, no “beep’”",
"is sounded and step 129 is still performed.",
"Note that step 129 is also performed as a result of a negative determination at test 126 and a positive determination at test 130 , after overwriting Register A 1 - 7 with B 1 - 7 at step 131 .",
"In one embodiment, the Audible Reminder (Alarm) is turned off if the user opens and closes a compartment door (Step 123 — FIG. 8 ).",
"At this point, the device 20 will not sound the alarm again until there is a NEW T e — early and T e — late and T e — day in Register H 1 - 3 and the Time Clock is past the time and day set in Registers H 2 and H 3 .",
"If the user takes the medication past T e — late, that day's T 0 time stamp will be disregarded for the learning cycle and instead T 0 from the previous day will be recorded for that day.",
"Those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are many different ways to create the functionality shown in the Flowcharts of FIGS. 6-9 .",
"Reviewing the operation described above in conjunction with those flowcharts, a number of functional aspects may be noted: 1.",
"The functionality includes checking door status before checking compartment status to save on battery power.",
"Upon startup, the device 20 , and in particular, controller 41 in the illustrative embodiment, checks the status of all compartments (Full=1, Empty=0) and stores these in Register A 1 - 7 and a copy in Register B 1 - 7 .",
"Upon startup, the controller 41 checks the status of all compartments (Open=1, Closed=0) and stores these in Register C 1 - 7 and a copy in Register D 1 - 7 .",
"In a device, the controller 41 checks which mode is selected in Register E 1 and if E 1 =1, device will LOCK the doors that are closed above a full compartment.",
"The controller 41 always checks for door movement (a simple door switch is very battery friendly) as compared to constantly scanning the contents of the compartments (very battery unfriendly).",
"The first day the user will open a door at the appropriate time and remove his medication.",
"The controller 41 will record the status of all doors in Register D 1 - 7 and compare to Register C 1 - 7 .",
"If the controller 41 recognizes the door closing again, it will scan the compartment and update Register B. By comparing Register B (new status) to Register A (old status) the controller 41 can see if medication was removed and it will then calculate a new T e — early, T e — late and T e — day which are stored in Registers H 1 - 3 .",
"Then the controller 41 will overwrite C 1 - 7 with D 1 - 7 values, and overwrite A 1 - 7 with B 1 - 7 values.",
"These overwrites enable the controller to detect new changes in door status and compartment status.",
"Going forward, when the controller 41 senses or detects a door open, it will record the door status in Register D. It will then compare Register D 1 - 7 to Register C 1 - 7 and SOUND a BEEP at the user if the door is the wrong one for the day (based on value in Register H 3 ).",
"The controller 41 then overwrites Register C 1 - 7 with Register D 1 - 7 , values which allow the controller to recognize new door movement again.",
"When a door is closed after being opened, the controller 41 will scan the particular compartment, and will update Register B for this compartment, and, if medication is added, will overwrite Register A 1 - 7 with the values of Register B 1 - 7 .",
"If medication is removed, the controller 41 will proceed with calculating new values for Te_early, Te_late and Te_day which will be updated in Registers H 1 - 3 .",
"The controller will also overwrite Register C 1 - 7 with Register D 1 - 7 values so that it can recognize door movement again.",
"If the controller 41 does not recognize door movement by the time the internal Time Clock passes T e — late on T e — day, the controller checks Register F 1 if the alarm has sounded before.",
"If F 1 =1, no alarm will sound, and the controller 41 will continue monitoring.",
"If F 1 =0, then the alarm will sound until the user opens and closes ANY door (see flowchart).",
"This will then set F 1 =1 and the alarm will not sound again until there is a new value for T e — early, T e — late and T e — day in Registers H 1 - 3 .",
"10.",
"If medication is removed after T e — late on T e — day before T e — early on T e — day, then the current time T will not be recorded for T 0 in Today's field in Register G. Instead, yesterday's value for T 0 will be copied into Today's field in Register G. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various “Registers”",
"described above may be located in various memory locations.",
"In an illustrative embodiment, the Registers are internal memory registers in a selected microcontroller.",
"In one embodiment, the device 20 expects the compartments to be emptied in a particular order, for instance starting on Tuesday: On Tuesday compartment ( 3 ), on Wednesday compartment ( 4 ), on Thursday compartment ( 5 ), on Friday compartment ( 6 ), on Saturday compartment ( 7 ), on Sunday compartment ( 1 ), on Monday, compartment ( 2 ), etc.",
"If a user skips a compartment accidentally, the device will still log the time To in Register G and calculate a new T e — early and T e — late and T e — day.",
"In one embodiment, device has a removable battery 19 which can be replaced when needed.",
"A low battery reminder with a flashing LED may also be provided.",
"In one embodiment, removing the battery 19 will not delete the program stored in memory 43 since a built-in capacitor is provide to supply voltage to the internal clock of the controller 41 long enough to allow for a battery change.",
"Leaving the battery out for a longer period will erase the user data and the unit will behave as it did when new from the factory.",
"In various embodiments, software for implementing the disclosed processes, procedures and functionality described above may be stored on various forms of computer readable medium or media or computer readable storage medium or media.",
"For the purposes of this disclosure, a computer readable medium stores computer data, which data can and typically does include computer program code that is executable by a computer, in machine readable form.",
"By way of example, and not limitation, a computer readable medium may comprise computer readable storage media, for tangible or fixed storage of data, or communication media for transient interpretation of code-containing signals.",
"Computer readable storage media, as used herein, refers to physical or tangible storage (as opposed to signals) and includes without limitation volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable storage media implemented in any method or technology for the tangible storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data.",
"Computer readable storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other solid state memory technology, CD-ROM, DVD, or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other physical or material medium which can be used to tangibly store the desire information or data or instructions and which can be accessed by a computer or processor.",
"In various embodiments, when suitable computer program code is loaded into and executed by a computer, the computer becomes a specially configured apparatus.",
"In one embodiment, the user can factory reset the device 20 by selecting the “RESET”",
"option in the key menu system.",
"Additionally, a locking mode can be provided as noted above and a procedure similar to that of FIGS. 6 to 9 and items 1-10 can be implemented to control operation of the device.",
"The “Locking Mode”",
"is technically simpler than the “Non-Locking Mode”",
"since it prevents the user from opening any door, except for after Te_early on day Te_ay at which time that day's door will be unlocked.",
"The device will keep doors above empty compartments unlocked to make refilling easy.",
"After noting contents in any compartment, the device will lock the corresponding door.",
"Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the just described preferred embodiment can be configured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.",
"Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/696,479, filed Aug. 14, 1996, issue as U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,956, now which is based upon U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/002771 filed Aug. 24, 1995.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to syringe drivers and systems for effecting a controlled infusion of a medical fluid from a syringe.
Certain medical fluids are administered by controlled parenteral infusion and require a slow but non-rate critical flow. Infusion of a medical fluid in this manner has been generally accomplished by use of a drip bag gravity-feed system or an electronic infusion pump. The drip bag provides non-rate critical flow with a simple and relatively inexpensive apparatus.
In certain applications, particularly those involving small fluid volumes, the use of disposable syringes is preferred to drip bags. The disposable syringe is a commodity item. Syringes may be prepared in large quantities and stored for later use, thereby reducing costs and providing greater reliability and repeatability of preparation. Also, a single syringe may be used to provide multiple doses, simply by advancing the syringe plunger in fixed increments. For example, it may be desired to fill a 60 cc syringe with 40 cc of fluid and to then administer the fluid in 10 cc doses, with a flow rate such that a single dose is delivered in twenty to forty minutes. Doses may then be repeated at fixed intervals, with four doses being delivered from a single disposable syringe.
There exist several advantages to delivering multiple doses from a single dose delivery system. A single large syringe is less expensive than several small syringes or other single dose devices. Significant time savings can be realized in filling, handling, and administering the syringes since the overall number of operations is greatly reduced. There may also be a decrease in patient risk due to the fact that the intravenous delivery system must be opened fewer times for component changes, and so there are fewer opportunities for contamination or handling errors.
Administration of medical fluids at a low flow rate using a syringe is generally accomplished by the use of a syringe pump. A typical syringe pump is a motorized, programmable device on which a syringe is mounted, and which expels fluid from the syringe by advancing the syringe plunger at a controlled rate. The motorized pump advances the syringe plunger at a predetermined velocity, applying force as required to maintain this velocity. The flow rate is therefore independent of fluid resistance unless the resistance becomes so high that the pump cannot safely provide the corresponding force required. The advantages of using disposable syringes for non-rate critical applications are diminished by the cost and complexity of existing syringe pumps. Typical pumps are battery powered, microprocessor controlled, provide numerous programming options and annunciators, and require detailed operator training and ongoing maintenance and inspection. Much of the cost and complexity of the syringe pump is directed to the requirements of rate critical applications and is not required for non-rate critical applications. See, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,804,368 (Skakoon); 4,544,369 (Skakoon); and 4,943,279 (Samiotes).
Several devices have been developed that are intended to provide less complex and expensive means of providing non-rate critical infusion with a disposable syringe. One option is to replace the electronic components of a typical infusion pump with a spring driven clockwork mechanism. While this type of device has been described, no actual devices are known to have been commercialized. See, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,059,110 (Wuthrich) and 4,676,122 (Szabo).
A second option is based the use of a predetermined force, rather than a predetermined velocity, that is applied to the syringe plunger so that fluid resistance acts to control the flow rate. This force may be applied by a simple mechanism, such as a weight, or compressed or extended spring of appropriate stiffness. See, U.S. Pat. No. 4,132,231 (Puccio). By appropriate selection of applied force and fluid resistance, the resulting flow rate can be engineered to a desired level. Fluid resistance may be controlled by varying the length and internal diameter of the tubing that connects the syringe to the patient. Appropriate tubing for this application is known as precision microbore tubing because it has a significantly smaller bore diameter than standard tubing used with drip bags or motorized pumps, and because it is manufactured to defined tolerances and specific end points having to do with resistance to fluid flow.
A commercial device based on this alternative is the "Medifuse" device available from 3M Healthcare. In this device, a "Neg'ator" rolled spring is used to apply an approximately constant force to a syringe plunger. This is combined with a selection of microbore tubing sizes, each with a different internal diameter to provide control of flow rate. A somewhat complicated roller and track mechanism is required to counteract the applied torque that is a consequence of the use of the "Neg'ator" spring. The "Medifuse" device functions as intended but its applicability is limited because it does not provide control of multiple doses from a single syringe. The "Neg'ator" spring, because of its rolled design, is susceptible to changes in spring force due to contamination by sticky, abrasive, or particulate material. Moreover, a spring of this type may be easily damaged by improper handling during cleaning. An additional limitation is that the activating mechanism for initiating a dose on the "Medifuse" device involves pivoting a large cover component, which can be clumsy and which requires additional clearance. Also, a syringe cannot be mounted within a "Medifuse" device without initiating fluid delivery from the syringe. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,202,333 (Thill); 4,298,000 (Thill); 4,430,079 (Thill); and 4,597,754 (Thill).
Another commercial device, the "Band-It" from I-Flow, Inc., described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,607 (McPhee), employs microbore tubing but applies force to the syringe plunger using an elastomeric element, such as a stretched band of latex rubber. This device is extremely simple but, again, does not enable delivery of multiple doses. Also, it does not provide a constant or nearly constant flow rate because the force applied by the elastomeric element varies significantly over the range of plunger travel. This device further requires manual stretching of the elastomeric element and provides no mechanism to assist in this action. Like the "Medifuse" device, a syringe cannot be mounted in a "Band-It" unit without causing fluid to be delivered from the syringe.
Other syringe driver systems and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,636,197 (Chu); 4,608,042 (Vanderveen); and 5,318,539 (O'Neil).
Known mechanical, predetermined force-applying devices are not well suited to the delivery of multiple doses from a single syringe. Conversion of these devices to achieve multiple dose control might be accomplished using removable stops to limit the range of plunger travel. By sequentially removing the stops, the plunger could move in a series of fixed increments. Such stops, however, are not intrinsically safe. It is possible to remove several stops at the same time, or to remove the stops in the wrong order. The result can be an overinfusion condition involving the delivery of two or more doses in a continuous manner.
Another drawback of such devices is that the force applied to the plunger can decrease over the range of travel of the plunger. The result is that successive doses will be delivered from the same syringe at increasingly lower flow rates. Various additional references that describe dose setting include U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,632,445 (Kas); 4,498,904 (Turner); 5,232,459 (Hjertman); 5,300,041 (Haber); 5,328,486 (Woodruff); and 5,092,842 (Bechtold).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a driver device for effecting a controlled, parenteral infusion of a medical fluid using an available disposable syringe. The driver device is intended for non-rate critical applications, and provides ease of use, intrinsic safety, robustness, and low cost.
The invention consists of two main components: (i) a syringe driver device within which a syringe is removably mountable and which employs a compressed spring element to apply a driving force to the syringe plunger, and (ii) a length of microbore tubing having a small inner diameter through which fluid flows after exiting the syringe, and which provides resistance to limit the rate of flow. Specific features of the invention facilitate delivery of multiple doses, control of dose volume, easy two-handed operation, and protection against unintentional syringe plunger travel.
In particular, the syringe driver device of the invention includes a frame and a selectively positionable carriage that is slidably mounted on the frame, preferably adjacent to the proximal end of the frame. A force applying element that is preferably disposed in or on the carriage is biased to extend from the distal end of the carriage. Preferably, a spring element, disposed within the carriage, applies a biasing force to the force applying element. Cooperating locking elements are disposed on the frame and carriage to secure the carriage to the frame in a desired position. One or more elements for securing and maintaining a syringe within the frame are associated with the frame.
Desired carriage positions include (i) an unlocked, slidable position; (ii) at least one locked, force applying position in which the force applying element is at least partially retracted within the carriage; and (iii) a locked, non-force applying position in which the force applying element is fully extended from the carriage.
In its operative condition, the syringe driver system constructed according to the present invention includes a syringe, which is secured within the frame, and a microbore tubing assembly secured to the distal end of the syringe. The microbore tubing assembly has proximal and distal ends with a fluid passageway extending there between. The proximal end typically includes a mechanism, such as a "Luer Lock," to facilitate detachable coupling to an outlet end of the syringe. Optionally, a family of microbore tubing assemblies is provided. Additionally, each type of microbore tubing has an internal passageway with a different inner diameter and other characteristics necessary to achieve a specified resistance to fluid flow. Each type of microbore tubing assembly may have an adapter mechanism with a different external geometry and/or dimensions corresponding to a given resistance to fluid flow. The various adapter mechanisms may cooperate selectively with a socket or other engagement means associated with an appropriate driver device having mechanical characteristics suitable to the intended fluid delivery application.
The present invention provides a novel driver device that overcomes problems that are presented by the prior art. An ordinary, compression type coil spring, or a similar means, is employed to provide the driving force to the syringe. However, the spring must be moved and recompressed for the delivery of each dose. This mechanism thus enables the magnitude of the spring force to be maintained for sequential doses. The structure of the device that recompresses the spring for each dose is such that it is not possible to set the device to deliver more than one dose continuously. At the end of the delivery of a dose, any further extension of the spring, and resulting delivery of fluid, is prevented by a non-removable stop so that continuous, "run away" delivery of fluid is not possible. Additionally, at the end of a dose delivery, siphoning or drainage of fluid from the syringe or tubing assembly is prevented by non-removable stops which engage the plunger and the syringe barrel, respectively, to counteract any hydrostatic force which may tend to bias the plunger towards full insertion when the carriage is in the locked, non-force applying position.
Accordingly, the invention provides a driver device for slowly ejecting one or more fluid volumes from a specified medical container (e.g., a syringe) having a rigid barrel, graduated markings, an outlet port, a gripping flange, and a plunger with tip and disk mechanism.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a syringe driver assembly constructed according to the present invention.
FIG. 2A is a perspective view from the rear (proximal) end of the syringe driver shown in FIG. 1, without the syringe.
FIG. 2B is a perspective view from the front (distal) end of the syringe driver shown in FIG. 1, without the syringe.
FIGS. 3A through 3D schematically illustrate the operation of the syringe driver assembly shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the syringe driver device shown in FIG. 2A.
FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the syringe driver device shown in FIG. 2B.
FIG. 6 is a side, sectional view of a force-applying element used with the syringe driver assembly shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 7 is a side view, partially cut away, illustrating the internal mechanism of the carriage element of the driver device.
FIG. 8 is a side view of one rail of the track forming the syringe driver assembly of FIG. 1.
FIG. 9 is a side view of the track shown in FIG. 8, rotated 90 in the clockwise direction about the longitudinal axis of the rail.
FIG. 10 is a side view of another embodiment of a syringe driver device constructed according to the present invention, having a folding frame shown in the closed position.
FIG. 11 is a side view of the syringe driver device of FIG. 10, in the partially opened position.
FIG. 12 is a side view of the syringe driver of FIG. 10, in the fully opened position and housing a syringe.
FIG. 13 is a side view of another embodiment of the syringe driver device according to the present invention, having a telescoping frame assembly.
FIG. 14A illustrates a syringe mounted within the front end of the driver device constructed according to one embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 14B is a perspective view of a front end, partially cut away, of the driver device illustrated in FIG. 14A.
FIG. 15A is a detailed view of a male luer lock fitting.
FIGS. 15B and C are detailed views of alternative adapter elements useful with the microbore tubing assembly.
FIG. 16 illustrates another embodiment of the driver device of the invention.
FIG. 17 is an exploded view of the driver device of FIG. 16.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The syringe driver of the invention is useful to facilitate multiple sequential doses of a fluid, such as a medicament, from a syringe at a controlled, predetermined flow rate. The driver device 10, as illustrated in FIGS. 1-9, comprises a frame 12, a carriage 14, a syringe 16, mounted within the frame, and an outflow tubing assembly 18.
The syringe 16 used with the driver device can be any type of syringe used to dispense medical fluids such as medicaments and the like. The syringe can be of any one of a variety of sizes, ranging, for example, from 5 cc to 60 cc volume capacity. The syringe includes a barrel (with graduated markings) 20, an outlet tip 22 at the distal end of the syringe, which connects to outflow tubing assembly 18, a syringe plunger 24, a syringe flange 23, and a plunger disk 26 at a proximal end of the plunger. The plunger is slidable between withdrawn and inserted positions to expel fluid from within the syringe barrel.
As illustrated, the frame 12 has distal 25, and proximal 27 ends, and comprises a track 28, formed of adjacent, parallel rails 30, 32. A carriage 14 is mounted upon the rails 30, 32 of track 28 at the proximal end 27 of the frame, and is able to slide along the track proximally and distally. The distal end 25 of the frame 12 includes a syringe mounting element 36 which secures the syringe within the frame 12.
FIGS. 1-5 illustrate an embodiment in which the syringe mounting element 36 is a yoke element 38 that mates with the syringe flange 23 to help secure the syringe 20 within the frame 12. The yoke element 38 also acts as an end stop for the carriage motion. The yoke element 38 comprises a longitudinal groove structure 40 for receiving the syringe barrel 24 and plunger assembly. The space separating the adjacent gripping flange 46 and the distal flange 48 forms a transverse slot 50 which is able to engage securely the syringe flange 23, such as through a mechanical fit. The yoke element 38 also serves to prevent movement of the syringe barrel 20, in the proximal or distal directions, relative to the syringe plunger 24.
As illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13 the syringe mounting element 36 can also be in the form of a socket element 54 which cooperatively engages and supports the distal end 56 of syringe 16 and/or the proximal portion of outflow tubing assembly 18. The socket element 54 is shaped and dimensioned to cooperatively engage the distal end 56 of the syringe. Socket 54 preferably, includes an aperture 58 through which the outlet tip 22 of the syringe, the male luer 67, and the outflow tubing 18 may extend. Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 14A, 14B, 16, and 17, the socket element 54 may be dimensioned selectively to engage and support an adapter element 34 of the microbore tubing assembly 18 shown in FIGS. 15B and 15C.
The proximal end 27 of the frame 12 includes a stop element 52 for preventing further proximal movement of the carriage 14. Optionally, a hanger device 53 is associated with the stop 52 to enable the apparatus to be suspended.
As illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 4, the carriage 14 includes a structure that enables the carriage to mount and slide upon rails 30, 32 of frame track 28. In one example the carriage may include a longitudinally oriented slot 60 on each side of the carriage. The slot 60 mates with a horizontal lip 62 formed on each rail 30, 32. This engagement allows the carriage to slide freely on the track 28, while at the same time preventing any vertical, dislodging movement of the carriage.
The carriage 14 comprises a housing 15 which contains a spring element 66. A piston device 68 is displaceably positioned within and is biased to project from an aperture 70 formed in a distal end 72 of the housing. Dual finger grip flanges 74 also extend from the distal end of the housing. Each finger grip flange comprises an outwardly flared finger grip element 76. Further, the interior surface of each finger grip flange includes an anti-siphon latch or stop element 78 that prevents further distal movement of the syringe plunger (relative to the syringe barrel) independent of movement of the carriage or piston 68.
Cooperating locking elements are associated with the carriage 14 and the frame 12 to secure the carriage to the frame. The cooperating locking elements enable the carriage to be secured in the following positions: (i) an unlocked position; (ii) at least one locked, force applying position in which the piston 68 is at least partially retracted within the carriage; and (iii) a locked, non-force applying position in which the piston 68 is fully extended from the carriage.
In one embodiment, illustrated in FIGS. 1-5, the cooperating locking elements can comprise the combination of a pawl mechanism 80 formed on the carriage and a plurality of detents 82 formed on at least one of rails 30, 32. Detents 82 can be of virtually any useful shape and dimension. FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate an exemplary detent shape in which a distal part of detents 82 has a wall 201 which angles outwardly at a gradual rate before reaching a rounded out detent area 203 that it bordered, at its proximal end, by wall 205. By way of example, each detent 82 can span a distance, from proximal to distal ends, of about 0.2 to 0.4 inch, and have a depth, at its detent area 203, of about 0.1 to 0.2 inch.
FIGS. 1 through 5 illustrate that the proximal end of the housing contains a release button 64. The release button, which can be mounted on a side of the housing, is a spring loaded pawl mechanism that engages detents or grooves 82 formed in an interior surface of one of rails 30, 32 of the track 28. Compression of the release button 64 retracts the pawl 80 and allows the carriage to move forward (distally) or rearward (proximally) within the track 28. Once the pawl 80 is released it is forced (e.g., by spring biasing) against the interior wall 86 of the rail 30. Linear movement of the carriage is possible until the pawl 80 encounters a detent 82.
As illustrated in FIGS. 4 through 7, the carriage piston 68 can be in the form of a hollow cylinder that is closed at the distal end 88 thereof that projects from the aperture 70 of housing 15. The proximal end of the piston comprises a collar 90 having an increased diameter. The abutment of shoulder 89 of collar 90 with the interior of the wall of the housing, adjacent aperture 70, maintains the piston 68 within the housing in a displaceable condition.
As illustrated in FIG. 7, the interior of the housing 15 optionally includes a dowel 94 which may extend the length of the housing and into the hollow, internal portion of the piston 68. Although not illustrated, the dowel preferably is able to extend through an opening (not shown) in the proximal wall of the housing. FIG. 7 illustrates that a compression spring 66 may be mounted around the dowel 94, which extends from a distal end 98 abutting the interior distal end wall 99 of the piston 68 to the interior proximal wall 100 of the housing. As so configured, the piston is biased by the spring element 96 to the extended position.
As previously described, the driver device is intended to be fitted with a specific syringe and to deliver a single, specific dose of a medical fluid following spring actuation. Such limitations are mainly enforced by (i) the shape and size of the syringe mounting yoke, (ii) the number and locations of ratcheting detents on the track, (iii) the limit of travel of the carriage piston, and (iv) the shape and location of antisiphon stop elements 78.
The syringe mounting element 36 preferably is sized such that a syringe smaller than the correct size for a given driver device will immediately fall out of the driver device, and one of too large a diameter cannot be snapped into place within the driver device. Similarly, a differently proportioned syringe, such as one from a different manufacturer, cannot properly be fitted within the yoke. The syringe mounting element 36 also serves to contact and restrain a portion of the syringe, such as the syringe flange or the distal end of the syringe, to maintain the position of the syringe body longitudinally when force is applied to the syringe plunger, or hydrostatic forces (negative pressure) are applied to the outlet tip 22 by the action of gravity on the column of fluid in the tubing assembly 18.
One of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that by appropriate design of the device, it is possible to provide adaptations to syringes having specific shapes and dimensions, and to adapt the device to deliver different dosages of fluids at various fluid flow rates. The syringe mounting element and the portion of the frame or track containing the detents may be fabricated as separate components that are joined to the remainder of the device during assembly. In addition, a spacer, collar, or other retaining element may be added to the carriage piston to further limit its travel within the housing. In this way, variations of the device may be created with a minimum of additional expense.
An example of one modification is to provide 5 cc, rather than 10 cc, doses for use in pediatric drug delivery. This modification can be accomplished by doubling the number of detents and by adding a collar or other device to limit the travel of the carriage piston to approximately half of its original range.
FIGS. 1-5 illustrate an embodiment of the invention in which the syringe mounting element 36 comprises yoke 38 which engages syringe flange 23. In another embodiment, illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13, the syringe mounting element 36 comprises a socket element 54 formed at a distal end of the frame 12. Socket element 54 preferably engages a distal end 56 of the syringe 20 while an aperture 58 in the socket engages an element, such as a male luer fitting 67, on the outflow tubing 18. Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 14A, 14B, 16, and 17, the socket element 54 may selectively engage an adapter element 34 of the microbore tubing assembly. It is understood that various other embodiments may accomplish the same purpose, which is to engage the distal end of the syringe and/or adapter element 34 of the microbore tubing assembly. For example, an overhanging lip (not shown) disposed on the distal end of the frame 12 may provide antisiphon protection by preventing proximal movement of the barrel under conditions of negative pressure.
One advantage of this embodiment is that the geometry and/or dimensions of the adapter element 34, for example, can be specifically designed to fit a desired driver device. Further, a distal end of frame 12 can include an angled ramp portion 65 which will eject from the driver any syringe that is too large or too small for the driver or any syringe which has mounted to it a tubing assembly with an adapter element 34 which is non-cooperating with socket element 54.
As illustrated in FIGS. 14A and 14B, a syringe can be mounted within frame 12 by angularly inserting the distal end 56 of the syringe into the syringe mounting element 36. Next, the syringe is forced downwardly until the syringe plunger is properly positioned adjacent the piston (not shown).
FIGS. 10-12 illustrate an embodiment of the invention in which frame 12 may include a hinge 106 to facilitate folding of the frame. As illustrated in FIGS. 10-12 the syringe securing element 36 is formed by a socket 54 having an aperture 58 which accommodates a distal end 25 of syringe 16 or a proximal end of the tubing assembly.
FIG. 13 illustrates a similar embodiment in which frame 12 is telescoping rather than folding. The frame includes a female portion 12A and a male portion 12B. A detent tab 121 is formed in a forward end of frame portion 12A. In the open position the detent 121 extends through an aperture 123 formed in the frame portion 12A to lock the frame in the open position. The frame can be closed by simply depressing tab element 121 and sliding frame portion 12B within frame portion 12A.
FIGS. 3A through 3D sequentially illustrate the manner in which the driver device of the invention may be utilized, e.g., to deliver the first of a total of four medication doses.
Before the syringe 16 is mounted, the carriage 14 is placed in its fully retracted position at the proximal end 27 of the track 28. Proper insertion of the syringe places the syringe plunger disk 26 so that it is adjacent to the extended carriage piston 68 and contained by the two anti-siphon latches 78. (See FIG. 3A). The extension of the carriage piston 68 is caused by force applied to it by the main spring 66 and is limited by an internal stop (e.g., the collar 90 of the piston). A length of microbore tubing 18 of known dimensions (i.e., length and internal diameter) and performance (i.e., resistance to flow of a specified fluid) is connected to the outlet port 22 of the syringe.
As shown in FIG. 3B, to activate the device, initiating flow of the first dose of fluid, the carriage is advanced forwardly (distally) along the track 28 by manual external force until the pawl 80 engages a desired detent 82 in the track. The carriage piston 68 exerts a force on the syringe plunger 24 and neither the piston nor the plunger can advance due to the presence of fluid in the syringe, the flow of which is restricted by the small diameter of the microbore tubing. This action causes the main spring 66 within the carriage to compress and thereby to apply a driving force to the plunger through the piston. As the carriage piston 68 becomes fully retracted into the carriage, the sliding pawl 80 in the carriage is forced into a detent 82 in the track by an auxiliary pawl biasing spring (not shown), thereby preventing the main spring 66 from forcing the carriage backwards (proximally) when the external force is removed.
As force is now being applied to the disk 26 of syringe plunger 24, fluid will be expelled through the outlet port 22, with a flow rate dependent on the spring force and the resistance of the outflow tubing 18. The syringe plunger 24 and the carriage piston 68 will advance together until the piston is in the fully extended condition in which the collar of the piston contacts the interior distal wall 98 of the carriage. (See FIG. 3C.) Once this condition is achieved, no further force is applied against the syringe plunger and thus fluid flow is stopped. Additional doses are initiated in turn by repeating the action of advancing the carriage to the next detent by manual applied force. (See FIG. 3D.)
The design of the pawl and the detents in the track, shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, and the biasing force of the auxiliary pawl biasing spring (now shown) are optimized for several considerations. First, a rearward force of the main spring will not free the pawl from a detent. Second, only a moderate advancing force is needed to lift the pawl out of a detent, such as by a human user advancing the carriage distally to begin medication delivery. Third, the force needed to lift the pawl out of a detent is sufficient to resist previously described typical negative pressures within the syringe barrel as may act on the locking elements through the plunger disk, anti-siphon stop elements 78 and carriage housing 15. Fourth, the detents are so positioned that, until a given dose is completed, it is impossible to advance the pawl into the detent corresponding to the following dose. If such an attempt is made, the carriage will advance only a limited distance and will spring back to its correct positions as soon as the external force is removed.
If a dose is to be delivered from a partially-filled syringe (e.g., containing, for example, only two of four possible 10-ml doses), the user first observes (using the graduated markings on the syringe barrel) the fill volume of the syringe, in this instance 20 ml. The carriage is then advanced (by depressing release button 64) distally along the rails of the frame, with a manual sliding motion until the pawl engages the detent corresponding to the locked, non force-applying position for a syringe filled to 20 ml. Preferably, a rail (30)-mounted label (not shown) assists the user in so positioning the carriage. The syringe is then inserted, and the spring is actuated for dose delivery, as described above. Confirmation of dose completion is visual by the user, involving observation of device status and plunger tip position with respect to the graduated markings on the syringe barrel.
One feature of the driver device of the invention is that it delivers multiple doses of fluid from a single syringe and that delivery of each dose is initiated by recompressing a drive spring by a simple, individual, manual action such that inadvertent delivery of multiple doses by an individual action is impossible.
Another feature of the driver device of the invention is that one is able to advance the carriage by applying manual force to the two adjacent grip flanges 74 on the carriage and the two adjacent gripping flanges 46 that form part of the syringe mounting element 36. These elements allow the user to grip the device with the thumb and forefinger of both hands and easily to apply sufficient force to advance the carriage. These grips are positioned so that they are within the natural range of motion of an ordinary adult hand. The apparatus does not require additional space or clearance during the operation of advancing the carriage.
An additional feature of the invention relates to removal of the syringe and retraction of the carriage. After all doses have been expelled from the syringe, the syringe may be lifted away from the apparatus with a snapping action. The release button 64 on the side of the carriage, connected to the pawl 80, is depressed causing the pawl 80 to retract into the carriage body. While holding the release button down, the user may easily slide the carriage to its fully retracted position at the proximal end of the frame 12 so that a new syringe may be inserted.
As noted above, and as illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 5, the driver device of the invention includes an anti-siphon element which prevents movement of the plunger independent of movement of the carriage or the force applying element. This element is intended to prevent the syringe plunger from being drawn into the syringe barrel if negative pressure is applied to the syringe outlet port via the connecting tubing, causing an inadvertent delivery of additional fluid. In one embodiment, described above, the anti-siphon element comprises of a pair of latches 78 formed on the internal surfaces of grip flanges 74 that constrain the syringe plunger disk. The gripping flange 46, in cooperation with the distal flange 48 helps to constrain the syringe flange 23. The combination of these elements prevents the plunger 24 from moving forward into the syringe barrel 20 after a dose is completed, and also prevents the syringe barrel 20 from sliding backwards over the plunger.
The shape of the latches 78 is such that if syringe plunger disk 26 is not fully constrained by the latches 78 during insertion into the device, a sharp advancing force, manually applied, will cause the latches 78 to snap over the plunger disk 26 and to be properly engaged by the latches. The first dose cannot be initiated until this action has been taken.
In another embodiment, illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 17, a pivoting arm 118 has a substantially centrally located pivot 120 mounted on a laterally protruding portion 122 of the arm. A proximal end of arm 118 includes a ratcheting pawl 114 while a distal end of arm 126 includes a tapered catch 116. The arm 118 mounts within carriage 14, as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, such that a spring mechanism (not shown) biases the pawl 114 into contact with detents (not shown) in the track 28. The catch 116 engages the syringe plunger disk 26 whenever the plunger disk 26 is disposed within plunger housing 124 appended to the distal end of carriage 14.
The geometry of the pivoting arm 118 is such that any pulling force on the catch 116 (due to a potential siphoning action) tends to increase the holding force on the detent and thus prevents movement of the carriage. When a user presses the release button 128, which is attached to the pawl, both the pawl 114 and the catch 116 are disengaged, allowing the carriage 14 to be retracted and the syringe to be released for unloading.
One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that further embodiments having similar geometries involving both pivoting and sliding devices can produce the same combination of ratcheting and anti-siphoning actions.
An additional feature of the invention is that the spring force applied to the syringe plunger 24 does not change significantly during the travel required to deliver a dose. Accordingly, the flow rate also does not change significantly during delivery of the dose. This is accomplished by three means. First, as described above, the space provided for the main compression spring 66 is relatively long, despite the compact dimensions of the device. This is partly the result of the use of a hollow carriage piston 68, enabling a portion of the spring to reside within the piston. Second, the spring is compressed to less than about half of its unstressed length before being assembled into the carriage. The additional compression of the spring required to advance the carriage during use is only a small fraction of the total compression applied to the spring, resulting in only a small change in reaction force. Further, the spring is recompressed for each dose. Because the spring need only be compressed sufficiently to deliver a single dose, rather than multiple doses, it must be compressed only a small amount for subsequent doses in addition to the compression provided during assembly of the apparatus.
A further advantage of the driver device of the invention is that a simple coil spring is preferably employed as the main spring 66. This spring acts directly in line with the syringe plunger, minimizing frictional forces that might act to disturb the force applied to the syringe.
Because the invention as described depends on the fluid resistance in the connecting tube to control flow rate, it is important that microbore tubing of proper internal diameter be employed. Many operational strategies, such as co-packaging of pre-filled medication containing syringes with appropriate microbore tubing, may be employed to ensure safe practice. In some applications it may be appropriate to mechanically dedicate syringe drivers of a particular design to a specific type, or family of types, of precision microbore tubing. In one such embodiment, shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, the adapter element 34 of the microbore tubing assembly can have a non-standard geometry and/or dimensions that are adapted to fit only within complementarily sized and shaped sockets 54 of the syringe mounting element 36, as described above.
FIG. 15A illustrates a typical male luer fitting 67 which may form a proximal end of the microbore tubing assembly 18 to facilitate connection to the syringe. FIGS. 15B and C illustrate different embodiments of an adapter element 34 for a microbore tubing assembly 18. In these embodiments the adapter is illustrated to be generally oval or circle-shaped, however various other geometries may be used as well. Proximal to adapter 34 is a male Luer lock fitting 67 which can mate with outlet tip 22 and female luer components of syringe distal end 56.
In one embodiment, filled syringes are distributed with a tubing set attached or in a combined package. Operating protocol would require that such syringes always be used with the tubing sets with which they are packaged, and that any unused syringes or tube sets must be disposed of or returned to the distributor.
Table 1 illustrates the approximate spring force and length requirements for use of 20 cc and 60 cc syringes, in which units are in inches and pounds. The smaller syringe requires lower force because of its smaller piston area. By appropriate choice of spring wire diameter and spring length and pitch, a ratio of maximum to minimum force can be maintained comparable to that used with the 60 cc syringe, without greatly extending the working spring length. Typically, spring force of about 8 pounds is suitable for use with a 60 cc syringe.
TABLE 1__________________________________________________________________________SPRING CALCULATIONS for 10 cc doses from 60 cc and 20 cc syringes (60 cc) (20 cc) (60 cc) (20 cc)__________________________________________________________________________d (wire diameter) 0.048 0.033 plunger diameter 1.05 0.75D (coil diameter) 0.5 0.5 plunger area 0.865901 0.441786n (number of 20 16 F1 (min force) 6 3.061224turns)G (shear modulus) 10.sup.7 10.sup.7 F2 (max force) 8 4.081633(302 Stainless) dx (x1 - x2) 0.775 1.3265K (spring constant) 2.654208 0.741201 K (spring constant) 2.580645 0.769249(from spring (from loadgeometry) requirements) x1 (deflection at F1) 2.325 3.9795 x2 (deflection at F2) 3.1 5.306 Lfree (min. free length) 4.156 5.8868 Lstart (length at x1) 1.831 1.9073 pitch at Lfree 0.2078 0.367925 pitch at x1 0.09155 0.119206 pitch at x2 0.0528 0.0363__________________________________________________________________________
The flow rate through a circular tube under laminar conditions is determined by Poisseuille's law, which can be stated as: ##EQU1## where Q is the volumetric flow rate, r is the internal radius of the tube, μis the fluid viscosity, L is the length of the tube, and p is the pressure drop along the tube length. The pressure drop can be expanded as:
Δp=p.sub.i -p.sub.o +pgz
where p i is the applied pressure at the inlet end, p o is the applied pressure at the outlet end, is the fluid mass density, g is the gravitational constant, and z is the difference in height between the two ends of the tube. In the present case, Po is the venous blood pressure of the patient (typically less than 10 cm H 2 O), and z is the height of the syringe relative to the patient's body.
The inlet pressure, pi , is the force, F, acting on the syringe plunger divided by the plunger surface area, A, and less the friction loss between the plunger and syringe wall, n. The force generated by the compressed spring is known from Hooke's law. In this case Hooke's law may be written as:
F=k(l.sub.p +l.sub.d)
where k is the spring constant (essentially the stiffness of the spring), l p is the pre-load deflection applied during assembly, and L d is the additional deflection applied to activate a dose. Mechanical considerations require that l p always be somewhat less than the unloaded spring length, particularly for compression springs. The value of L d is at a maximum at the start of a dose, and goes to zero at the completion of a dose. The design of the present invention, as described previously, provides for L d to be small compared to L p , and, as can be seen from the above equation, this minimizes the change in force during a dose.
The previous equations can be combined to obtain: ##EQU2## For maximum consistency, the values for k, l p , and L d should be large enough, relative to A, that the other terms within the brackets have a negligible effect on the flow rate. It should be noted that this analysis is only applicable for certain spring types; Hooke's law does not apply to "Neg'ator" type springs, and is only approximate for stretchable rubber springs, which can exhibit highly non-linear behavior.
It is understood that various modifications can be made to the invention described and claimed herein without departing from the intended scope thereof. All references noted herein are expressly incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. | A syringe driver device is able to effect the controlled, parenteral infusion of a medical fluid using an available disposable syringe. The driver device includes a frame heaving a movable carriage, which houses a force applying element, mounted thereto. A disposable syringe mounts upon the frame and a lengthy microbore tubing attaches to the outlet tip of the syringe. As a force is applied to the syringe plunger, fluid is expelled from the syringe, but its flow rate is dependent upon the diameter of the microbore tubing. The driver device enables the delivery of multiple, sequential doses of fluid. | Analyze the document's illustrations and descriptions to summarize the main idea's core structure and function. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of application Ser.",
"No. 08/696,479, filed Aug. 14, 1996, issue as U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,956, now which is based upon U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser.",
"No. 60/002771 filed Aug. 24, 1995.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to syringe drivers and systems for effecting a controlled infusion of a medical fluid from a syringe.",
"Certain medical fluids are administered by controlled parenteral infusion and require a slow but non-rate critical flow.",
"Infusion of a medical fluid in this manner has been generally accomplished by use of a drip bag gravity-feed system or an electronic infusion pump.",
"The drip bag provides non-rate critical flow with a simple and relatively inexpensive apparatus.",
"In certain applications, particularly those involving small fluid volumes, the use of disposable syringes is preferred to drip bags.",
"The disposable syringe is a commodity item.",
"Syringes may be prepared in large quantities and stored for later use, thereby reducing costs and providing greater reliability and repeatability of preparation.",
"Also, a single syringe may be used to provide multiple doses, simply by advancing the syringe plunger in fixed increments.",
"For example, it may be desired to fill a 60 cc syringe with 40 cc of fluid and to then administer the fluid in 10 cc doses, with a flow rate such that a single dose is delivered in twenty to forty minutes.",
"Doses may then be repeated at fixed intervals, with four doses being delivered from a single disposable syringe.",
"There exist several advantages to delivering multiple doses from a single dose delivery system.",
"A single large syringe is less expensive than several small syringes or other single dose devices.",
"Significant time savings can be realized in filling, handling, and administering the syringes since the overall number of operations is greatly reduced.",
"There may also be a decrease in patient risk due to the fact that the intravenous delivery system must be opened fewer times for component changes, and so there are fewer opportunities for contamination or handling errors.",
"Administration of medical fluids at a low flow rate using a syringe is generally accomplished by the use of a syringe pump.",
"A typical syringe pump is a motorized, programmable device on which a syringe is mounted, and which expels fluid from the syringe by advancing the syringe plunger at a controlled rate.",
"The motorized pump advances the syringe plunger at a predetermined velocity, applying force as required to maintain this velocity.",
"The flow rate is therefore independent of fluid resistance unless the resistance becomes so high that the pump cannot safely provide the corresponding force required.",
"The advantages of using disposable syringes for non-rate critical applications are diminished by the cost and complexity of existing syringe pumps.",
"Typical pumps are battery powered, microprocessor controlled, provide numerous programming options and annunciators, and require detailed operator training and ongoing maintenance and inspection.",
"Much of the cost and complexity of the syringe pump is directed to the requirements of rate critical applications and is not required for non-rate critical applications.",
"See, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,804,368 (Skakoon);",
"4,544,369 (Skakoon);",
"and 4,943,279 (Samiotes).",
"Several devices have been developed that are intended to provide less complex and expensive means of providing non-rate critical infusion with a disposable syringe.",
"One option is to replace the electronic components of a typical infusion pump with a spring driven clockwork mechanism.",
"While this type of device has been described, no actual devices are known to have been commercialized.",
"See, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,059,110 (Wuthrich) and 4,676,122 (Szabo).",
"A second option is based the use of a predetermined force, rather than a predetermined velocity, that is applied to the syringe plunger so that fluid resistance acts to control the flow rate.",
"This force may be applied by a simple mechanism, such as a weight, or compressed or extended spring of appropriate stiffness.",
"See, U.S. Pat. No. 4,132,231 (Puccio).",
"By appropriate selection of applied force and fluid resistance, the resulting flow rate can be engineered to a desired level.",
"Fluid resistance may be controlled by varying the length and internal diameter of the tubing that connects the syringe to the patient.",
"Appropriate tubing for this application is known as precision microbore tubing because it has a significantly smaller bore diameter than standard tubing used with drip bags or motorized pumps, and because it is manufactured to defined tolerances and specific end points having to do with resistance to fluid flow.",
"A commercial device based on this alternative is the "Medifuse"",
"device available from 3M Healthcare.",
"In this device, a "Neg'ator"",
"rolled spring is used to apply an approximately constant force to a syringe plunger.",
"This is combined with a selection of microbore tubing sizes, each with a different internal diameter to provide control of flow rate.",
"A somewhat complicated roller and track mechanism is required to counteract the applied torque that is a consequence of the use of the "Neg'ator"",
"spring.",
"The "Medifuse"",
"device functions as intended but its applicability is limited because it does not provide control of multiple doses from a single syringe.",
"The "Neg'ator"",
"spring, because of its rolled design, is susceptible to changes in spring force due to contamination by sticky, abrasive, or particulate material.",
"Moreover, a spring of this type may be easily damaged by improper handling during cleaning.",
"An additional limitation is that the activating mechanism for initiating a dose on the "Medifuse"",
"device involves pivoting a large cover component, which can be clumsy and which requires additional clearance.",
"Also, a syringe cannot be mounted within a "Medifuse"",
"device without initiating fluid delivery from the syringe.",
"U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,202,333 (Thill);",
"4,298,000 (Thill);",
"4,430,079 (Thill);",
"and 4,597,754 (Thill).",
"Another commercial device, the "Band-It"",
"from I-Flow, Inc., described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,607 (McPhee), employs microbore tubing but applies force to the syringe plunger using an elastomeric element, such as a stretched band of latex rubber.",
"This device is extremely simple but, again, does not enable delivery of multiple doses.",
"Also, it does not provide a constant or nearly constant flow rate because the force applied by the elastomeric element varies significantly over the range of plunger travel.",
"This device further requires manual stretching of the elastomeric element and provides no mechanism to assist in this action.",
"Like the "Medifuse"",
"device, a syringe cannot be mounted in a "Band-It"",
"unit without causing fluid to be delivered from the syringe.",
"Other syringe driver systems and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,636,197 (Chu);",
"4,608,042 (Vanderveen);",
"and 5,318,539 (O'Neil).",
"Known mechanical, predetermined force-applying devices are not well suited to the delivery of multiple doses from a single syringe.",
"Conversion of these devices to achieve multiple dose control might be accomplished using removable stops to limit the range of plunger travel.",
"By sequentially removing the stops, the plunger could move in a series of fixed increments.",
"Such stops, however, are not intrinsically safe.",
"It is possible to remove several stops at the same time, or to remove the stops in the wrong order.",
"The result can be an overinfusion condition involving the delivery of two or more doses in a continuous manner.",
"Another drawback of such devices is that the force applied to the plunger can decrease over the range of travel of the plunger.",
"The result is that successive doses will be delivered from the same syringe at increasingly lower flow rates.",
"Various additional references that describe dose setting include U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,632,445 (Kas);",
"4,498,904 (Turner);",
"5,232,459 (Hjertman);",
"5,300,041 (Haber);",
"5,328,486 (Woodruff);",
"and 5,092,842 (Bechtold).",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a driver device for effecting a controlled, parenteral infusion of a medical fluid using an available disposable syringe.",
"The driver device is intended for non-rate critical applications, and provides ease of use, intrinsic safety, robustness, and low cost.",
"The invention consists of two main components: (i) a syringe driver device within which a syringe is removably mountable and which employs a compressed spring element to apply a driving force to the syringe plunger, and (ii) a length of microbore tubing having a small inner diameter through which fluid flows after exiting the syringe, and which provides resistance to limit the rate of flow.",
"Specific features of the invention facilitate delivery of multiple doses, control of dose volume, easy two-handed operation, and protection against unintentional syringe plunger travel.",
"In particular, the syringe driver device of the invention includes a frame and a selectively positionable carriage that is slidably mounted on the frame, preferably adjacent to the proximal end of the frame.",
"A force applying element that is preferably disposed in or on the carriage is biased to extend from the distal end of the carriage.",
"Preferably, a spring element, disposed within the carriage, applies a biasing force to the force applying element.",
"Cooperating locking elements are disposed on the frame and carriage to secure the carriage to the frame in a desired position.",
"One or more elements for securing and maintaining a syringe within the frame are associated with the frame.",
"Desired carriage positions include (i) an unlocked, slidable position;",
"(ii) at least one locked, force applying position in which the force applying element is at least partially retracted within the carriage;",
"and (iii) a locked, non-force applying position in which the force applying element is fully extended from the carriage.",
"In its operative condition, the syringe driver system constructed according to the present invention includes a syringe, which is secured within the frame, and a microbore tubing assembly secured to the distal end of the syringe.",
"The microbore tubing assembly has proximal and distal ends with a fluid passageway extending there between.",
"The proximal end typically includes a mechanism, such as a "Luer Lock,"",
"to facilitate detachable coupling to an outlet end of the syringe.",
"Optionally, a family of microbore tubing assemblies is provided.",
"Additionally, each type of microbore tubing has an internal passageway with a different inner diameter and other characteristics necessary to achieve a specified resistance to fluid flow.",
"Each type of microbore tubing assembly may have an adapter mechanism with a different external geometry and/or dimensions corresponding to a given resistance to fluid flow.",
"The various adapter mechanisms may cooperate selectively with a socket or other engagement means associated with an appropriate driver device having mechanical characteristics suitable to the intended fluid delivery application.",
"The present invention provides a novel driver device that overcomes problems that are presented by the prior art.",
"An ordinary, compression type coil spring, or a similar means, is employed to provide the driving force to the syringe.",
"However, the spring must be moved and recompressed for the delivery of each dose.",
"This mechanism thus enables the magnitude of the spring force to be maintained for sequential doses.",
"The structure of the device that recompresses the spring for each dose is such that it is not possible to set the device to deliver more than one dose continuously.",
"At the end of the delivery of a dose, any further extension of the spring, and resulting delivery of fluid, is prevented by a non-removable stop so that continuous, "run away"",
"delivery of fluid is not possible.",
"Additionally, at the end of a dose delivery, siphoning or drainage of fluid from the syringe or tubing assembly is prevented by non-removable stops which engage the plunger and the syringe barrel, respectively, to counteract any hydrostatic force which may tend to bias the plunger towards full insertion when the carriage is in the locked, non-force applying position.",
"Accordingly, the invention provides a driver device for slowly ejecting one or more fluid volumes from a specified medical container (e.g., a syringe) having a rigid barrel, graduated markings, an outlet port, a gripping flange, and a plunger with tip and disk mechanism.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a syringe driver assembly constructed according to the present invention.",
"FIG. 2A is a perspective view from the rear (proximal) end of the syringe driver shown in FIG. 1, without the syringe.",
"FIG. 2B is a perspective view from the front (distal) end of the syringe driver shown in FIG. 1, without the syringe.",
"FIGS. 3A through 3D schematically illustrate the operation of the syringe driver assembly shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the syringe driver device shown in FIG. 2A.",
"FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the syringe driver device shown in FIG. 2B.",
"FIG. 6 is a side, sectional view of a force-applying element used with the syringe driver assembly shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 7 is a side view, partially cut away, illustrating the internal mechanism of the carriage element of the driver device.",
"FIG. 8 is a side view of one rail of the track forming the syringe driver assembly of FIG. 1. FIG. 9 is a side view of the track shown in FIG. 8, rotated 90 in the clockwise direction about the longitudinal axis of the rail.",
"FIG. 10 is a side view of another embodiment of a syringe driver device constructed according to the present invention, having a folding frame shown in the closed position.",
"FIG. 11 is a side view of the syringe driver device of FIG. 10, in the partially opened position.",
"FIG. 12 is a side view of the syringe driver of FIG. 10, in the fully opened position and housing a syringe.",
"FIG. 13 is a side view of another embodiment of the syringe driver device according to the present invention, having a telescoping frame assembly.",
"FIG. 14A illustrates a syringe mounted within the front end of the driver device constructed according to one embodiment of the invention.",
"FIG. 14B is a perspective view of a front end, partially cut away, of the driver device illustrated in FIG. 14A.",
"FIG. 15A is a detailed view of a male luer lock fitting.",
"FIGS. 15B and C are detailed views of alternative adapter elements useful with the microbore tubing assembly.",
"FIG. 16 illustrates another embodiment of the driver device of the invention.",
"FIG. 17 is an exploded view of the driver device of FIG. 16.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The syringe driver of the invention is useful to facilitate multiple sequential doses of a fluid, such as a medicament, from a syringe at a controlled, predetermined flow rate.",
"The driver device 10, as illustrated in FIGS. 1-9, comprises a frame 12, a carriage 14, a syringe 16, mounted within the frame, and an outflow tubing assembly 18.",
"The syringe 16 used with the driver device can be any type of syringe used to dispense medical fluids such as medicaments and the like.",
"The syringe can be of any one of a variety of sizes, ranging, for example, from 5 cc to 60 cc volume capacity.",
"The syringe includes a barrel (with graduated markings) 20, an outlet tip 22 at the distal end of the syringe, which connects to outflow tubing assembly 18, a syringe plunger 24, a syringe flange 23, and a plunger disk 26 at a proximal end of the plunger.",
"The plunger is slidable between withdrawn and inserted positions to expel fluid from within the syringe barrel.",
"As illustrated, the frame 12 has distal 25, and proximal 27 ends, and comprises a track 28, formed of adjacent, parallel rails 30, 32.",
"A carriage 14 is mounted upon the rails 30, 32 of track 28 at the proximal end 27 of the frame, and is able to slide along the track proximally and distally.",
"The distal end 25 of the frame 12 includes a syringe mounting element 36 which secures the syringe within the frame 12.",
"FIGS. 1-5 illustrate an embodiment in which the syringe mounting element 36 is a yoke element 38 that mates with the syringe flange 23 to help secure the syringe 20 within the frame 12.",
"The yoke element 38 also acts as an end stop for the carriage motion.",
"The yoke element 38 comprises a longitudinal groove structure 40 for receiving the syringe barrel 24 and plunger assembly.",
"The space separating the adjacent gripping flange 46 and the distal flange 48 forms a transverse slot 50 which is able to engage securely the syringe flange 23, such as through a mechanical fit.",
"The yoke element 38 also serves to prevent movement of the syringe barrel 20, in the proximal or distal directions, relative to the syringe plunger 24.",
"As illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13 the syringe mounting element 36 can also be in the form of a socket element 54 which cooperatively engages and supports the distal end 56 of syringe 16 and/or the proximal portion of outflow tubing assembly 18.",
"The socket element 54 is shaped and dimensioned to cooperatively engage the distal end 56 of the syringe.",
"Socket 54 preferably, includes an aperture 58 through which the outlet tip 22 of the syringe, the male luer 67, and the outflow tubing 18 may extend.",
"Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 14A, 14B, 16, and 17, the socket element 54 may be dimensioned selectively to engage and support an adapter element 34 of the microbore tubing assembly 18 shown in FIGS. 15B and 15C.",
"The proximal end 27 of the frame 12 includes a stop element 52 for preventing further proximal movement of the carriage 14.",
"Optionally, a hanger device 53 is associated with the stop 52 to enable the apparatus to be suspended.",
"As illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 4, the carriage 14 includes a structure that enables the carriage to mount and slide upon rails 30, 32 of frame track 28.",
"In one example the carriage may include a longitudinally oriented slot 60 on each side of the carriage.",
"The slot 60 mates with a horizontal lip 62 formed on each rail 30, 32.",
"This engagement allows the carriage to slide freely on the track 28, while at the same time preventing any vertical, dislodging movement of the carriage.",
"The carriage 14 comprises a housing 15 which contains a spring element 66.",
"A piston device 68 is displaceably positioned within and is biased to project from an aperture 70 formed in a distal end 72 of the housing.",
"Dual finger grip flanges 74 also extend from the distal end of the housing.",
"Each finger grip flange comprises an outwardly flared finger grip element 76.",
"Further, the interior surface of each finger grip flange includes an anti-siphon latch or stop element 78 that prevents further distal movement of the syringe plunger (relative to the syringe barrel) independent of movement of the carriage or piston 68.",
"Cooperating locking elements are associated with the carriage 14 and the frame 12 to secure the carriage to the frame.",
"The cooperating locking elements enable the carriage to be secured in the following positions: (i) an unlocked position;",
"(ii) at least one locked, force applying position in which the piston 68 is at least partially retracted within the carriage;",
"and (iii) a locked, non-force applying position in which the piston 68 is fully extended from the carriage.",
"In one embodiment, illustrated in FIGS. 1-5, the cooperating locking elements can comprise the combination of a pawl mechanism 80 formed on the carriage and a plurality of detents 82 formed on at least one of rails 30, 32.",
"Detents 82 can be of virtually any useful shape and dimension.",
"FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate an exemplary detent shape in which a distal part of detents 82 has a wall 201 which angles outwardly at a gradual rate before reaching a rounded out detent area 203 that it bordered, at its proximal end, by wall 205.",
"By way of example, each detent 82 can span a distance, from proximal to distal ends, of about 0.2 to 0.4 inch, and have a depth, at its detent area 203, of about 0.1 to 0.2 inch.",
"FIGS. 1 through 5 illustrate that the proximal end of the housing contains a release button 64.",
"The release button, which can be mounted on a side of the housing, is a spring loaded pawl mechanism that engages detents or grooves 82 formed in an interior surface of one of rails 30, 32 of the track 28.",
"Compression of the release button 64 retracts the pawl 80 and allows the carriage to move forward (distally) or rearward (proximally) within the track 28.",
"Once the pawl 80 is released it is forced (e.g., by spring biasing) against the interior wall 86 of the rail 30.",
"Linear movement of the carriage is possible until the pawl 80 encounters a detent 82.",
"As illustrated in FIGS. 4 through 7, the carriage piston 68 can be in the form of a hollow cylinder that is closed at the distal end 88 thereof that projects from the aperture 70 of housing 15.",
"The proximal end of the piston comprises a collar 90 having an increased diameter.",
"The abutment of shoulder 89 of collar 90 with the interior of the wall of the housing, adjacent aperture 70, maintains the piston 68 within the housing in a displaceable condition.",
"As illustrated in FIG. 7, the interior of the housing 15 optionally includes a dowel 94 which may extend the length of the housing and into the hollow, internal portion of the piston 68.",
"Although not illustrated, the dowel preferably is able to extend through an opening (not shown) in the proximal wall of the housing.",
"FIG. 7 illustrates that a compression spring 66 may be mounted around the dowel 94, which extends from a distal end 98 abutting the interior distal end wall 99 of the piston 68 to the interior proximal wall 100 of the housing.",
"As so configured, the piston is biased by the spring element 96 to the extended position.",
"As previously described, the driver device is intended to be fitted with a specific syringe and to deliver a single, specific dose of a medical fluid following spring actuation.",
"Such limitations are mainly enforced by (i) the shape and size of the syringe mounting yoke, (ii) the number and locations of ratcheting detents on the track, (iii) the limit of travel of the carriage piston, and (iv) the shape and location of antisiphon stop elements 78.",
"The syringe mounting element 36 preferably is sized such that a syringe smaller than the correct size for a given driver device will immediately fall out of the driver device, and one of too large a diameter cannot be snapped into place within the driver device.",
"Similarly, a differently proportioned syringe, such as one from a different manufacturer, cannot properly be fitted within the yoke.",
"The syringe mounting element 36 also serves to contact and restrain a portion of the syringe, such as the syringe flange or the distal end of the syringe, to maintain the position of the syringe body longitudinally when force is applied to the syringe plunger, or hydrostatic forces (negative pressure) are applied to the outlet tip 22 by the action of gravity on the column of fluid in the tubing assembly 18.",
"One of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that by appropriate design of the device, it is possible to provide adaptations to syringes having specific shapes and dimensions, and to adapt the device to deliver different dosages of fluids at various fluid flow rates.",
"The syringe mounting element and the portion of the frame or track containing the detents may be fabricated as separate components that are joined to the remainder of the device during assembly.",
"In addition, a spacer, collar, or other retaining element may be added to the carriage piston to further limit its travel within the housing.",
"In this way, variations of the device may be created with a minimum of additional expense.",
"An example of one modification is to provide 5 cc, rather than 10 cc, doses for use in pediatric drug delivery.",
"This modification can be accomplished by doubling the number of detents and by adding a collar or other device to limit the travel of the carriage piston to approximately half of its original range.",
"FIGS. 1-5 illustrate an embodiment of the invention in which the syringe mounting element 36 comprises yoke 38 which engages syringe flange 23.",
"In another embodiment, illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13, the syringe mounting element 36 comprises a socket element 54 formed at a distal end of the frame 12.",
"Socket element 54 preferably engages a distal end 56 of the syringe 20 while an aperture 58 in the socket engages an element, such as a male luer fitting 67, on the outflow tubing 18.",
"Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 14A, 14B, 16, and 17, the socket element 54 may selectively engage an adapter element 34 of the microbore tubing assembly.",
"It is understood that various other embodiments may accomplish the same purpose, which is to engage the distal end of the syringe and/or adapter element 34 of the microbore tubing assembly.",
"For example, an overhanging lip (not shown) disposed on the distal end of the frame 12 may provide antisiphon protection by preventing proximal movement of the barrel under conditions of negative pressure.",
"One advantage of this embodiment is that the geometry and/or dimensions of the adapter element 34, for example, can be specifically designed to fit a desired driver device.",
"Further, a distal end of frame 12 can include an angled ramp portion 65 which will eject from the driver any syringe that is too large or too small for the driver or any syringe which has mounted to it a tubing assembly with an adapter element 34 which is non-cooperating with socket element 54.",
"As illustrated in FIGS. 14A and 14B, a syringe can be mounted within frame 12 by angularly inserting the distal end 56 of the syringe into the syringe mounting element 36.",
"Next, the syringe is forced downwardly until the syringe plunger is properly positioned adjacent the piston (not shown).",
"FIGS. 10-12 illustrate an embodiment of the invention in which frame 12 may include a hinge 106 to facilitate folding of the frame.",
"As illustrated in FIGS. 10-12 the syringe securing element 36 is formed by a socket 54 having an aperture 58 which accommodates a distal end 25 of syringe 16 or a proximal end of the tubing assembly.",
"FIG. 13 illustrates a similar embodiment in which frame 12 is telescoping rather than folding.",
"The frame includes a female portion 12A and a male portion 12B.",
"A detent tab 121 is formed in a forward end of frame portion 12A.",
"In the open position the detent 121 extends through an aperture 123 formed in the frame portion 12A to lock the frame in the open position.",
"The frame can be closed by simply depressing tab element 121 and sliding frame portion 12B within frame portion 12A.",
"FIGS. 3A through 3D sequentially illustrate the manner in which the driver device of the invention may be utilized, e.g., to deliver the first of a total of four medication doses.",
"Before the syringe 16 is mounted, the carriage 14 is placed in its fully retracted position at the proximal end 27 of the track 28.",
"Proper insertion of the syringe places the syringe plunger disk 26 so that it is adjacent to the extended carriage piston 68 and contained by the two anti-siphon latches 78.",
"(See FIG. 3A).",
"The extension of the carriage piston 68 is caused by force applied to it by the main spring 66 and is limited by an internal stop (e.g., the collar 90 of the piston).",
"A length of microbore tubing 18 of known dimensions (i.e., length and internal diameter) and performance (i.e., resistance to flow of a specified fluid) is connected to the outlet port 22 of the syringe.",
"As shown in FIG. 3B, to activate the device, initiating flow of the first dose of fluid, the carriage is advanced forwardly (distally) along the track 28 by manual external force until the pawl 80 engages a desired detent 82 in the track.",
"The carriage piston 68 exerts a force on the syringe plunger 24 and neither the piston nor the plunger can advance due to the presence of fluid in the syringe, the flow of which is restricted by the small diameter of the microbore tubing.",
"This action causes the main spring 66 within the carriage to compress and thereby to apply a driving force to the plunger through the piston.",
"As the carriage piston 68 becomes fully retracted into the carriage, the sliding pawl 80 in the carriage is forced into a detent 82 in the track by an auxiliary pawl biasing spring (not shown), thereby preventing the main spring 66 from forcing the carriage backwards (proximally) when the external force is removed.",
"As force is now being applied to the disk 26 of syringe plunger 24, fluid will be expelled through the outlet port 22, with a flow rate dependent on the spring force and the resistance of the outflow tubing 18.",
"The syringe plunger 24 and the carriage piston 68 will advance together until the piston is in the fully extended condition in which the collar of the piston contacts the interior distal wall 98 of the carriage.",
"(See FIG. 3C.) Once this condition is achieved, no further force is applied against the syringe plunger and thus fluid flow is stopped.",
"Additional doses are initiated in turn by repeating the action of advancing the carriage to the next detent by manual applied force.",
"(See FIG. 3D.) The design of the pawl and the detents in the track, shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, and the biasing force of the auxiliary pawl biasing spring (now shown) are optimized for several considerations.",
"First, a rearward force of the main spring will not free the pawl from a detent.",
"Second, only a moderate advancing force is needed to lift the pawl out of a detent, such as by a human user advancing the carriage distally to begin medication delivery.",
"Third, the force needed to lift the pawl out of a detent is sufficient to resist previously described typical negative pressures within the syringe barrel as may act on the locking elements through the plunger disk, anti-siphon stop elements 78 and carriage housing 15.",
"Fourth, the detents are so positioned that, until a given dose is completed, it is impossible to advance the pawl into the detent corresponding to the following dose.",
"If such an attempt is made, the carriage will advance only a limited distance and will spring back to its correct positions as soon as the external force is removed.",
"If a dose is to be delivered from a partially-filled syringe (e.g., containing, for example, only two of four possible 10-ml doses), the user first observes (using the graduated markings on the syringe barrel) the fill volume of the syringe, in this instance 20 ml.",
"The carriage is then advanced (by depressing release button 64) distally along the rails of the frame, with a manual sliding motion until the pawl engages the detent corresponding to the locked, non force-applying position for a syringe filled to 20 ml.",
"Preferably, a rail (30)-mounted label (not shown) assists the user in so positioning the carriage.",
"The syringe is then inserted, and the spring is actuated for dose delivery, as described above.",
"Confirmation of dose completion is visual by the user, involving observation of device status and plunger tip position with respect to the graduated markings on the syringe barrel.",
"One feature of the driver device of the invention is that it delivers multiple doses of fluid from a single syringe and that delivery of each dose is initiated by recompressing a drive spring by a simple, individual, manual action such that inadvertent delivery of multiple doses by an individual action is impossible.",
"Another feature of the driver device of the invention is that one is able to advance the carriage by applying manual force to the two adjacent grip flanges 74 on the carriage and the two adjacent gripping flanges 46 that form part of the syringe mounting element 36.",
"These elements allow the user to grip the device with the thumb and forefinger of both hands and easily to apply sufficient force to advance the carriage.",
"These grips are positioned so that they are within the natural range of motion of an ordinary adult hand.",
"The apparatus does not require additional space or clearance during the operation of advancing the carriage.",
"An additional feature of the invention relates to removal of the syringe and retraction of the carriage.",
"After all doses have been expelled from the syringe, the syringe may be lifted away from the apparatus with a snapping action.",
"The release button 64 on the side of the carriage, connected to the pawl 80, is depressed causing the pawl 80 to retract into the carriage body.",
"While holding the release button down, the user may easily slide the carriage to its fully retracted position at the proximal end of the frame 12 so that a new syringe may be inserted.",
"As noted above, and as illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 5, the driver device of the invention includes an anti-siphon element which prevents movement of the plunger independent of movement of the carriage or the force applying element.",
"This element is intended to prevent the syringe plunger from being drawn into the syringe barrel if negative pressure is applied to the syringe outlet port via the connecting tubing, causing an inadvertent delivery of additional fluid.",
"In one embodiment, described above, the anti-siphon element comprises of a pair of latches 78 formed on the internal surfaces of grip flanges 74 that constrain the syringe plunger disk.",
"The gripping flange 46, in cooperation with the distal flange 48 helps to constrain the syringe flange 23.",
"The combination of these elements prevents the plunger 24 from moving forward into the syringe barrel 20 after a dose is completed, and also prevents the syringe barrel 20 from sliding backwards over the plunger.",
"The shape of the latches 78 is such that if syringe plunger disk 26 is not fully constrained by the latches 78 during insertion into the device, a sharp advancing force, manually applied, will cause the latches 78 to snap over the plunger disk 26 and to be properly engaged by the latches.",
"The first dose cannot be initiated until this action has been taken.",
"In another embodiment, illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 17, a pivoting arm 118 has a substantially centrally located pivot 120 mounted on a laterally protruding portion 122 of the arm.",
"A proximal end of arm 118 includes a ratcheting pawl 114 while a distal end of arm 126 includes a tapered catch 116.",
"The arm 118 mounts within carriage 14, as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, such that a spring mechanism (not shown) biases the pawl 114 into contact with detents (not shown) in the track 28.",
"The catch 116 engages the syringe plunger disk 26 whenever the plunger disk 26 is disposed within plunger housing 124 appended to the distal end of carriage 14.",
"The geometry of the pivoting arm 118 is such that any pulling force on the catch 116 (due to a potential siphoning action) tends to increase the holding force on the detent and thus prevents movement of the carriage.",
"When a user presses the release button 128, which is attached to the pawl, both the pawl 114 and the catch 116 are disengaged, allowing the carriage 14 to be retracted and the syringe to be released for unloading.",
"One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that further embodiments having similar geometries involving both pivoting and sliding devices can produce the same combination of ratcheting and anti-siphoning actions.",
"An additional feature of the invention is that the spring force applied to the syringe plunger 24 does not change significantly during the travel required to deliver a dose.",
"Accordingly, the flow rate also does not change significantly during delivery of the dose.",
"This is accomplished by three means.",
"First, as described above, the space provided for the main compression spring 66 is relatively long, despite the compact dimensions of the device.",
"This is partly the result of the use of a hollow carriage piston 68, enabling a portion of the spring to reside within the piston.",
"Second, the spring is compressed to less than about half of its unstressed length before being assembled into the carriage.",
"The additional compression of the spring required to advance the carriage during use is only a small fraction of the total compression applied to the spring, resulting in only a small change in reaction force.",
"Further, the spring is recompressed for each dose.",
"Because the spring need only be compressed sufficiently to deliver a single dose, rather than multiple doses, it must be compressed only a small amount for subsequent doses in addition to the compression provided during assembly of the apparatus.",
"A further advantage of the driver device of the invention is that a simple coil spring is preferably employed as the main spring 66.",
"This spring acts directly in line with the syringe plunger, minimizing frictional forces that might act to disturb the force applied to the syringe.",
"Because the invention as described depends on the fluid resistance in the connecting tube to control flow rate, it is important that microbore tubing of proper internal diameter be employed.",
"Many operational strategies, such as co-packaging of pre-filled medication containing syringes with appropriate microbore tubing, may be employed to ensure safe practice.",
"In some applications it may be appropriate to mechanically dedicate syringe drivers of a particular design to a specific type, or family of types, of precision microbore tubing.",
"In one such embodiment, shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, the adapter element 34 of the microbore tubing assembly can have a non-standard geometry and/or dimensions that are adapted to fit only within complementarily sized and shaped sockets 54 of the syringe mounting element 36, as described above.",
"FIG. 15A illustrates a typical male luer fitting 67 which may form a proximal end of the microbore tubing assembly 18 to facilitate connection to the syringe.",
"FIGS. 15B and C illustrate different embodiments of an adapter element 34 for a microbore tubing assembly 18.",
"In these embodiments the adapter is illustrated to be generally oval or circle-shaped, however various other geometries may be used as well.",
"Proximal to adapter 34 is a male Luer lock fitting 67 which can mate with outlet tip 22 and female luer components of syringe distal end 56.",
"In one embodiment, filled syringes are distributed with a tubing set attached or in a combined package.",
"Operating protocol would require that such syringes always be used with the tubing sets with which they are packaged, and that any unused syringes or tube sets must be disposed of or returned to the distributor.",
"Table 1 illustrates the approximate spring force and length requirements for use of 20 cc and 60 cc syringes, in which units are in inches and pounds.",
"The smaller syringe requires lower force because of its smaller piston area.",
"By appropriate choice of spring wire diameter and spring length and pitch, a ratio of maximum to minimum force can be maintained comparable to that used with the 60 cc syringe, without greatly extending the working spring length.",
"Typically, spring force of about 8 pounds is suitable for use with a 60 cc syringe.",
"TABLE 1__________________________________________________________________________SPRING CALCULATIONS for 10 cc doses from 60 cc and 20 cc syringes (60 cc) (20 cc) (60 cc) (20 cc)__________________________________________________________________________d (wire diameter) 0.048 0.033 plunger diameter 1.05 0.75D (coil diameter) 0.5 0.5 plunger area 0.865901 0.441786n (number of 20 16 F1 (min force) 6 3.061224turns)G (shear modulus) 10.",
"sup[.",
"].7 10.",
"sup[.",
"].7 F2 (max force) 8 4.081633(302 Stainless) dx (x1 - x2) 0.775 1.3265K (spring constant) 2.654208 0.741201 K (spring constant) 2.580645 0.769249(from spring (from loadgeometry) requirements) x1 (deflection at F1) 2.325 3.9795 x2 (deflection at F2) 3.1 5.306 Lfree (min.",
"free length) 4.156 5.8868 Lstart (length at x1) 1.831 1.9073 pitch at Lfree 0.2078 0.367925 pitch at x1 0.09155 0.119206 pitch at x2 0.0528 0.0363__________________________________________________________________________ The flow rate through a circular tube under laminar conditions is determined by Poisseuille's law, which can be stated as: ##EQU1## where Q is the volumetric flow rate, r is the internal radius of the tube, μis the fluid viscosity, L is the length of the tube, and p is the pressure drop along the tube length.",
"The pressure drop can be expanded as: Δp=p.",
"sub.",
"i -p.",
"sub.",
"o +pgz where p i is the applied pressure at the inlet end, p o is the applied pressure at the outlet end, is the fluid mass density, g is the gravitational constant, and z is the difference in height between the two ends of the tube.",
"In the present case, Po is the venous blood pressure of the patient (typically less than 10 cm H 2 O), and z is the height of the syringe relative to the patient's body.",
"The inlet pressure, pi , is the force, F, acting on the syringe plunger divided by the plunger surface area, A, and less the friction loss between the plunger and syringe wall, n. The force generated by the compressed spring is known from Hooke's law.",
"In this case Hooke's law may be written as: F=k(l.",
"sub.",
"p +l.",
"sub.",
"d) where k is the spring constant (essentially the stiffness of the spring), l p is the pre-load deflection applied during assembly, and L d is the additional deflection applied to activate a dose.",
"Mechanical considerations require that l p always be somewhat less than the unloaded spring length, particularly for compression springs.",
"The value of L d is at a maximum at the start of a dose, and goes to zero at the completion of a dose.",
"The design of the present invention, as described previously, provides for L d to be small compared to L p , and, as can be seen from the above equation, this minimizes the change in force during a dose.",
"The previous equations can be combined to obtain: ##EQU2## For maximum consistency, the values for k, l p , and L d should be large enough, relative to A, that the other terms within the brackets have a negligible effect on the flow rate.",
"It should be noted that this analysis is only applicable for certain spring types;",
"Hooke's law does not apply to "Neg'ator"",
"type springs, and is only approximate for stretchable rubber springs, which can exhibit highly non-linear behavior.",
"It is understood that various modifications can be made to the invention described and claimed herein without departing from the intended scope thereof.",
"All references noted herein are expressly incorporated by reference herein in their entirety."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention generally relates to water quality or purity indicators, and specifically to a water quality indicator which is adapted to operate on AC input power to prevent contaminant build-up on the indicator test probes.
Many of the conventional water purifying systems in use in homes or in industries are equipped with a water purity indicator which measures the purity level or level of contaminants in the water. The purity indicators provide useful information as to whether the water is fit for its intended purposes. Typically, the known purity indicators include a pair of test probes or electrodes which are connected to a circuitry, which detects contaminants in the water by measuring the electrical conductivity or resistivity of the water. This is a reliable method for determining the purity of water, since the conductivity of water is directly proportional to the quantity of ionizable dissolved solids, such as minerals, normally found in impure water. The purity level of the water is obtained by comparing the measured conductivity value with a predetermined reference conductivity value. For example, if the measured conductivity falls below the reference value, the condition of the water would be considered acceptable for its intended purposes. On the other hand, if the measured conductivity exceeds the reference value, then it would suggest that the water is contaminated to the point that it would not be acceptable for its intended purposes. Displays such as light emitting diodes (LED) are typically employed to indicate the condition of water to a user.
A common feature of the conventional water purity indicators is that they are operated by DC input power, including the current that is applied to the test probes for measuring the conductivity or resistivity of water. As a consequence, salts or dissolved minerals in the water accumulate on the probes due to electrolytic reaction, thereby degrading the accuracy of the conductivity readings.
One known method for preventing contaminant build-up on the probes is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,885,081, which is a continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,451. These patents teach solving this problem by applying a pulsating DC current to the probes or electrodes to "cancel out" the electrolytic reaction. A disadvantage of this method, however, is that an additional circuitry would have to be implemented for performing the "cancel out" process, thereby increasing the cost and the complexity of the overall circuitry of the purity indicator.
Thus, it is a first object of the present invention to provide an improved water purity indicator which prevents contaminants from coating the test probes of the purity indicator without employing additional circuitry dedicated specifically for this purpose.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved water purity indicator which applies an AC voltage directly to the test probes of the indicator.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved water purity indicator which compares the AC voltage generated by the resistivity of water with an AC reference voltage in determining the purity of the water.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The above-identified objects are met or exceeded by the present water purity indicator which obtains the purity level of water by measuring the conductivity or resistivity of the water. The advantage of the invention is that an AC voltage is applied directly to the test probes which measure the water conductivity. In this manner, contaminants in the water are prevented from adhering to the test probes and causing inaccurate readings. Thus, accurate conductivity readings can be obtained with a relatively decreased number of circuit components.
More specifically, the present invention is directed to a water purity indicating apparatus which is adapted to operate on AC input power, and includes a housing and a pair of test probes extending from the housing for measuring a resistance of water. Also included is circuitry connected to the test probes and provided within the housing for outputting a signal indicating a purity level of the water based on an AC voltage generated as a result of the measured resistance of the water.
The invention also relates to an AC power operated apparatus for measuring a resistance of water, and includes at least one reference resistor for providing a reference resistance. A pair of test probes operatively connectable to the reference resistor measures the resistance of the water. A reference voltage generating circuit is also included for generating an AC reference voltage. A comparator is provided for comparing the reference voltage with a second AC voltage produced by the reference resistance and the water resistance, and generating a signal indicating the resistance of water relative to the reference resistance.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a water purity indicator embodying the present invention; and
FIG. 2 is a detailed electrical schematic diagram of the circuitry of the water purity indicator of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to FIG. 1, a water quality or purity indicator is shown and generally designated 10. The indicator 10 includes a generally cylindrical housing 12 made of an electrically nonconductive material and having a threaded shank portion 14. A pair of spaced probes or electrodes 16, 17 originate from within and extends from a bottom 18 of the housing 12. A grommet 20 holds the probes 16, 17 apart and provides a water tight seal around the bottom 18 of the housing 12. Provided at a top 22 of the housing 12 is a collar 24 which has a greater diameter than that of the housing, and on the top of the collar 24 is a circuit box 26 which encases the circuitry 28 (shown in FIG. 2) of the invention. The circuitry 28 receives its input power from an AC power transformer unit 30. In the preferred embodiment, a pair of light emitting diodes (LED) 32, 33 are also encased in the circuit box 26 and connected to the circuitry 28. When illuminated, the LED's 32, 33 are visible through the top 34 of the circuit box 26, which is transparent.
In operation, the purity indicator 10 is mounted onto a container (not shown) which holds the water to be tested by engaging the threaded shank portions 14 of the housing 12 with complementary threads in a receiving receptacle (not shown) of the container. In this manner, the probes 16, 17, which are electrically connected to the circuitry 28, are made to be immersed in the water. When AC power is applied to the circuitry 28, the conductivity of the water is measured between the probes 16, 17 and one of the two LED's 32, 33 is activated to indicate whether or not the purity level of the water is acceptable with respect to a reference purity level. For example, the LED's 32, 33 might be green and red, indicating acceptable (green) and unacceptable (red) purity levels, respectively.
Referring now to FIG. 2, the circuitry 28 of the purity indicator 10 includes power input terminals 36, 38 which are connected to the power transformer unit 30 (best seen in FIG. 1). The power transformer 30 is adapted to transform a much higher AC voltage, for example, 120 VAC or 220 VAC, into a preferred 6 VAC and supplies this voltage to the input terminals 36, 38. In the preferred embodiment, each of four parallel reference resistors 40, 42, 44, 46 is connected at one end to the input terminal 36 and the other end to four corresponding parallel reference switches 48, 50, 52, 54, which in turn are connected to the electrode 16. The other probe 17 is connected to the terminal 38. It will be appreciated that the number of reference resistors may vary depending on the application. In some cases, a single reference resistor may be selected by the designer or customer, and others broken off during assembly, when the ultimate work environment or the unit 10 is known.
Also included in the circuitry 28 are two fixed resistors 56, 58 connected in series between the power input terminals 36, 38. Additionally, a comparator 60 is also connected between the input terminals 36, 38 via four diodes 62, 64, 66, 68. In the preferred embodiment, the comparator 60 is a conventional operational amplifier configured to operate as a comparator. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the four diodes 62, 64, 66, 68 are arranged to form a full-wave AC to DC rectifier for providing DC operational current to the comparator 60 across terminals 69 and 71.
The comparator 60 has two input terminals 70, 72. The input terminal 70 receives an AC voltage taken between the two resistors 56, 58 as its input, and the input terminal 72 receives an AC voltage taken between the probe 16 and the reference switches 48, 50, 52, 54, as its input. In the preferred embodiment, the two resistors 56, 58 have the same resistance, and accordingly, the voltage applied to the terminal 70 will be proportional to the input voltage supplied to the input terminals 36, 38 by the power transformer unit 30 (best seen in FIG. 1). On the other hand, the voltage supplied to the input terminal 72 will vary according to the reference resistor 40, 42, 44, 46 selected and the resistance of the water. Connected in this manner, the comparator 60 activates the green LED 32 via an output terminal 74 when the purity level of the water is acceptable, and the red LED 33 when the purity level not acceptable.
In the preferred embodiment, the circuitry 28 is realized utilizing the following components:
GRN LED 32 T13/4 Translucent, 8mA LED
RED LED 33 T13/4 Translucent, 8mA LED
Resistor 40 1.0M ohm
Resistor 42 200 k ohm
Resistor 44 50 k ohm
Resistor 46 20 k ohm
Resistor 56 10 k ohm
Resistor 58 10 k ohm
Comparator 60 Type LM358
Diodes 62-68 Type 1N4148
Capacitor 80 0.1 μF
Resistor 82 100 ohm Diodes 84, 86 Type 1N4148
In operation, one of the switches 48, 50, 52, 54 is closed by a user to select one of the reference resistors 40, 42, 44, 46. By selecting a reference resistor with a high resistance, the reference purity level with which the measured contaminant level is compared is set higher. In contrast, selecting a reference resistor with a low resistance lowers the reference purity level. As an example, the reference resistor 40, which preferably has resistance of 1M ohm, is assumed to be selected by closing the switch 48 and leaving the other switches 50, 52, 54 open. As result, a voltage divider circuit is formed by the reference resistor 40 and the resistance of the water across the probes 16, 17.
When the circuitry 28 is supplied with 6 VAC across the power input terminals 36, 38 by the power transformer unit 30, the voltage formed between the switch 40 and the probe 16, the measured voltage, is supplied to the input terminal 72, and the voltage formed between the two resistors 56, 58, the reference voltage, is supplied to the input terminal 70. As noted above, the diodes 62, 64, 66, 68 rectify the 6 VAC into 6 VDC, which is supplied across terminals 69 and 71 of the comparator 60 to make the comparator operational.
When the resistance of the water across the test probes 16, 17 is greater than the reference resistance of 1M ohm, i.e., when the purity level of the water exceeds the reference purity level, the measured voltage applied to the input terminal 72 of the comparator 60 will be greater than the reference voltage applied to the input terminal 70, during the half cycle when the 6 VAC is being applied to the power terminal 36. As a result, the output at the terminal 74 of the comparator 60 will be low during this half cycle. This allows current to flow through the green LED 32 in the direction indicated by an arrow 76 and causing it to light, which indicates to the user that the purity level of the water exceeds the reference purity level.
It should be noted, however, that during the other half of the cycle, i.e., when the 6 VAC is being applied to the terminal 38, the measured voltage applied to the input terminal 72 is less than the reference voltage at the input terminal 70. As a result, the output at the terminal 74 is high, and accordingly, no current flows though the green LED 32 and the diode is not lit. However, the LED 32 will appear to be continually lit to the user.
When the resistance of the water across the probes 16, 17 is less than the reference resistance of 1M ohm, i.e., when the purity level of the water falls below the reference purity level, the measured voltage applied to the input terminal 72 of the comparator 60 will be greater than the reference voltage applied to the input terminal 70, during the half cycle when the 6 VAC is being applied to the input power terminal 38. As a result, the output at the terminal 74 of the comparator 60 will be low during this half cycle. This allows current to flow through the red LED 33 in the direction indicated by an arrow 78 and causing it to light, which indicates to the user that the purity level of the water is below the reference purity level.
Similar to the case when the resistance of the water is greater than the reference resistance, the red LED 33 is not lit during the other half of the cycle, i.e., when the 6 VAC is being applied to the power input terminal 36. This condition also is not noticeable to the user, since the red LED 33 will appear as if it is lit continually.
It will be appreciated that a significant advantage of the present invention is that contaminants in water are prevented from accumulating on the test probes of a purity indicator by applying AC voltage to the probes. Another advantage is that the present invention does not require any additional dedicated circuitry for preventing contaminant accumulation, and thereby simplifying circuit assembly process and reducing manufacturing cost. Also, the accuracy of water purity level detection is not affected by the accuracy of the 6 VAC input power.
While particular embodiments of the water quality indicator of the invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the invention in its broader aspects and as set forth in the following claims. | Water purity indicating apparatus is adapted to operate on AC input power and includes a housing and a pair of test probes extending from the housing for measuring a resistance of water. Also included is a circuit connected to the test probes and provided within the housing for outputting a signal indicating a purity level of the water based on a first AC voltage generated as a result of the measured resistance of the water. | Summarize the document in concise, focusing on the main idea's functionality and advantages. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention generally relates to water quality or purity indicators, and specifically to a water quality indicator which is adapted to operate on AC input power to prevent contaminant build-up on the indicator test probes.",
"Many of the conventional water purifying systems in use in homes or in industries are equipped with a water purity indicator which measures the purity level or level of contaminants in the water.",
"The purity indicators provide useful information as to whether the water is fit for its intended purposes.",
"Typically, the known purity indicators include a pair of test probes or electrodes which are connected to a circuitry, which detects contaminants in the water by measuring the electrical conductivity or resistivity of the water.",
"This is a reliable method for determining the purity of water, since the conductivity of water is directly proportional to the quantity of ionizable dissolved solids, such as minerals, normally found in impure water.",
"The purity level of the water is obtained by comparing the measured conductivity value with a predetermined reference conductivity value.",
"For example, if the measured conductivity falls below the reference value, the condition of the water would be considered acceptable for its intended purposes.",
"On the other hand, if the measured conductivity exceeds the reference value, then it would suggest that the water is contaminated to the point that it would not be acceptable for its intended purposes.",
"Displays such as light emitting diodes (LED) are typically employed to indicate the condition of water to a user.",
"A common feature of the conventional water purity indicators is that they are operated by DC input power, including the current that is applied to the test probes for measuring the conductivity or resistivity of water.",
"As a consequence, salts or dissolved minerals in the water accumulate on the probes due to electrolytic reaction, thereby degrading the accuracy of the conductivity readings.",
"One known method for preventing contaminant build-up on the probes is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,885,081, which is a continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,451.",
"These patents teach solving this problem by applying a pulsating DC current to the probes or electrodes to "cancel out"",
"the electrolytic reaction.",
"A disadvantage of this method, however, is that an additional circuitry would have to be implemented for performing the "cancel out"",
"process, thereby increasing the cost and the complexity of the overall circuitry of the purity indicator.",
"Thus, it is a first object of the present invention to provide an improved water purity indicator which prevents contaminants from coating the test probes of the purity indicator without employing additional circuitry dedicated specifically for this purpose.",
"It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved water purity indicator which applies an AC voltage directly to the test probes of the indicator.",
"Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved water purity indicator which compares the AC voltage generated by the resistivity of water with an AC reference voltage in determining the purity of the water.",
"BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above-identified objects are met or exceeded by the present water purity indicator which obtains the purity level of water by measuring the conductivity or resistivity of the water.",
"The advantage of the invention is that an AC voltage is applied directly to the test probes which measure the water conductivity.",
"In this manner, contaminants in the water are prevented from adhering to the test probes and causing inaccurate readings.",
"Thus, accurate conductivity readings can be obtained with a relatively decreased number of circuit components.",
"More specifically, the present invention is directed to a water purity indicating apparatus which is adapted to operate on AC input power, and includes a housing and a pair of test probes extending from the housing for measuring a resistance of water.",
"Also included is circuitry connected to the test probes and provided within the housing for outputting a signal indicating a purity level of the water based on an AC voltage generated as a result of the measured resistance of the water.",
"The invention also relates to an AC power operated apparatus for measuring a resistance of water, and includes at least one reference resistor for providing a reference resistance.",
"A pair of test probes operatively connectable to the reference resistor measures the resistance of the water.",
"A reference voltage generating circuit is also included for generating an AC reference voltage.",
"A comparator is provided for comparing the reference voltage with a second AC voltage produced by the reference resistance and the water resistance, and generating a signal indicating the resistance of water relative to the reference resistance.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a water purity indicator embodying the present invention;",
"and FIG. 2 is a detailed electrical schematic diagram of the circuitry of the water purity indicator of FIG. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to FIG. 1, a water quality or purity indicator is shown and generally designated 10.",
"The indicator 10 includes a generally cylindrical housing 12 made of an electrically nonconductive material and having a threaded shank portion 14.",
"A pair of spaced probes or electrodes 16, 17 originate from within and extends from a bottom 18 of the housing 12.",
"A grommet 20 holds the probes 16, 17 apart and provides a water tight seal around the bottom 18 of the housing 12.",
"Provided at a top 22 of the housing 12 is a collar 24 which has a greater diameter than that of the housing, and on the top of the collar 24 is a circuit box 26 which encases the circuitry 28 (shown in FIG. 2) of the invention.",
"The circuitry 28 receives its input power from an AC power transformer unit 30.",
"In the preferred embodiment, a pair of light emitting diodes (LED) 32, 33 are also encased in the circuit box 26 and connected to the circuitry 28.",
"When illuminated, the LED's 32, 33 are visible through the top 34 of the circuit box 26, which is transparent.",
"In operation, the purity indicator 10 is mounted onto a container (not shown) which holds the water to be tested by engaging the threaded shank portions 14 of the housing 12 with complementary threads in a receiving receptacle (not shown) of the container.",
"In this manner, the probes 16, 17, which are electrically connected to the circuitry 28, are made to be immersed in the water.",
"When AC power is applied to the circuitry 28, the conductivity of the water is measured between the probes 16, 17 and one of the two LED's 32, 33 is activated to indicate whether or not the purity level of the water is acceptable with respect to a reference purity level.",
"For example, the LED's 32, 33 might be green and red, indicating acceptable (green) and unacceptable (red) purity levels, respectively.",
"Referring now to FIG. 2, the circuitry 28 of the purity indicator 10 includes power input terminals 36, 38 which are connected to the power transformer unit 30 (best seen in FIG. 1).",
"The power transformer 30 is adapted to transform a much higher AC voltage, for example, 120 VAC or 220 VAC, into a preferred 6 VAC and supplies this voltage to the input terminals 36, 38.",
"In the preferred embodiment, each of four parallel reference resistors 40, 42, 44, 46 is connected at one end to the input terminal 36 and the other end to four corresponding parallel reference switches 48, 50, 52, 54, which in turn are connected to the electrode 16.",
"The other probe 17 is connected to the terminal 38.",
"It will be appreciated that the number of reference resistors may vary depending on the application.",
"In some cases, a single reference resistor may be selected by the designer or customer, and others broken off during assembly, when the ultimate work environment or the unit 10 is known.",
"Also included in the circuitry 28 are two fixed resistors 56, 58 connected in series between the power input terminals 36, 38.",
"Additionally, a comparator 60 is also connected between the input terminals 36, 38 via four diodes 62, 64, 66, 68.",
"In the preferred embodiment, the comparator 60 is a conventional operational amplifier configured to operate as a comparator.",
"One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the four diodes 62, 64, 66, 68 are arranged to form a full-wave AC to DC rectifier for providing DC operational current to the comparator 60 across terminals 69 and 71.",
"The comparator 60 has two input terminals 70, 72.",
"The input terminal 70 receives an AC voltage taken between the two resistors 56, 58 as its input, and the input terminal 72 receives an AC voltage taken between the probe 16 and the reference switches 48, 50, 52, 54, as its input.",
"In the preferred embodiment, the two resistors 56, 58 have the same resistance, and accordingly, the voltage applied to the terminal 70 will be proportional to the input voltage supplied to the input terminals 36, 38 by the power transformer unit 30 (best seen in FIG. 1).",
"On the other hand, the voltage supplied to the input terminal 72 will vary according to the reference resistor 40, 42, 44, 46 selected and the resistance of the water.",
"Connected in this manner, the comparator 60 activates the green LED 32 via an output terminal 74 when the purity level of the water is acceptable, and the red LED 33 when the purity level not acceptable.",
"In the preferred embodiment, the circuitry 28 is realized utilizing the following components: GRN LED 32 T13/4 Translucent, 8mA LED RED LED 33 T13/4 Translucent, 8mA LED Resistor 40 1.0M ohm Resistor 42 200 k ohm Resistor 44 50 k ohm Resistor 46 20 k ohm Resistor 56 10 k ohm Resistor 58 10 k ohm Comparator 60 Type LM358 Diodes 62-68 Type 1N4148 Capacitor 80 0.1 μF Resistor 82 100 ohm Diodes 84, 86 Type 1N4148 In operation, one of the switches 48, 50, 52, 54 is closed by a user to select one of the reference resistors 40, 42, 44, 46.",
"By selecting a reference resistor with a high resistance, the reference purity level with which the measured contaminant level is compared is set higher.",
"In contrast, selecting a reference resistor with a low resistance lowers the reference purity level.",
"As an example, the reference resistor 40, which preferably has resistance of 1M ohm, is assumed to be selected by closing the switch 48 and leaving the other switches 50, 52, 54 open.",
"As result, a voltage divider circuit is formed by the reference resistor 40 and the resistance of the water across the probes 16, 17.",
"When the circuitry 28 is supplied with 6 VAC across the power input terminals 36, 38 by the power transformer unit 30, the voltage formed between the switch 40 and the probe 16, the measured voltage, is supplied to the input terminal 72, and the voltage formed between the two resistors 56, 58, the reference voltage, is supplied to the input terminal 70.",
"As noted above, the diodes 62, 64, 66, 68 rectify the 6 VAC into 6 VDC, which is supplied across terminals 69 and 71 of the comparator 60 to make the comparator operational.",
"When the resistance of the water across the test probes 16, 17 is greater than the reference resistance of 1M ohm, i.e., when the purity level of the water exceeds the reference purity level, the measured voltage applied to the input terminal 72 of the comparator 60 will be greater than the reference voltage applied to the input terminal 70, during the half cycle when the 6 VAC is being applied to the power terminal 36.",
"As a result, the output at the terminal 74 of the comparator 60 will be low during this half cycle.",
"This allows current to flow through the green LED 32 in the direction indicated by an arrow 76 and causing it to light, which indicates to the user that the purity level of the water exceeds the reference purity level.",
"It should be noted, however, that during the other half of the cycle, i.e., when the 6 VAC is being applied to the terminal 38, the measured voltage applied to the input terminal 72 is less than the reference voltage at the input terminal 70.",
"As a result, the output at the terminal 74 is high, and accordingly, no current flows though the green LED 32 and the diode is not lit.",
"However, the LED 32 will appear to be continually lit to the user.",
"When the resistance of the water across the probes 16, 17 is less than the reference resistance of 1M ohm, i.e., when the purity level of the water falls below the reference purity level, the measured voltage applied to the input terminal 72 of the comparator 60 will be greater than the reference voltage applied to the input terminal 70, during the half cycle when the 6 VAC is being applied to the input power terminal 38.",
"As a result, the output at the terminal 74 of the comparator 60 will be low during this half cycle.",
"This allows current to flow through the red LED 33 in the direction indicated by an arrow 78 and causing it to light, which indicates to the user that the purity level of the water is below the reference purity level.",
"Similar to the case when the resistance of the water is greater than the reference resistance, the red LED 33 is not lit during the other half of the cycle, i.e., when the 6 VAC is being applied to the power input terminal 36.",
"This condition also is not noticeable to the user, since the red LED 33 will appear as if it is lit continually.",
"It will be appreciated that a significant advantage of the present invention is that contaminants in water are prevented from accumulating on the test probes of a purity indicator by applying AC voltage to the probes.",
"Another advantage is that the present invention does not require any additional dedicated circuitry for preventing contaminant accumulation, and thereby simplifying circuit assembly process and reducing manufacturing cost.",
"Also, the accuracy of water purity level detection is not affected by the accuracy of the 6 VAC input power.",
"While particular embodiments of the water quality indicator of the invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the invention in its broader aspects and as set forth in the following claims."
] |
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/391,461 filed Feb. 21, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,633,856 which is a file wrapper continuation of Ser. No. 08/005,159, filed Jan. 15, 1993, now abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a disc table employed in a disc recording/reproducing apparatus for a recording disc, such as an optical disc or a magneto-optical disc, on which information signals are to be recorded or prerecorded. More particularly, the present invention relates to such disc table having a centering member enabling the recording medium to be loaded and centered with respect to the disc table. The present invention also relates to a method for producing such disc table.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, recording discs, such as optical discs or magneto-optical discs, and a recording/reproducing apparatus employing such recording discs as a recording medium, have been proposed.
In the above-described recording/reproducing apparatus, when recording information signals on the recording disc or reproducing information signals recorded on the recording disc, the disc is rotated with a pickup unit which acts as a recording and/or reproducing means for the information signals facing a signal recording surface of the disc. To this end, there is provided in the disc recording/reproducing apparatus a disc rotating and driving mechanism having a disc table on which the recording disc is loaded and which is adapted to be rotated in unison with the disc. As such disc table employed in the disc rotating and driving mechanism, there is known a disc table disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,851 to Yamamura and U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,955 to Elliott et al.
The disc table constituting the above-described disc rotating and driving mechanism comprises a table section integrated with a driving shaft of a rotating driving motor which functions as a rotating and driving means, and a fitting member mounted at the middle of the table section which engages in a center aperture of the recording disc set on the table section.
The disc table includes a thrusting and supporting mechanism for thrusting and supporting the recording disc set on the table section in a predetermined position. The thrusting and supporting mechanism comprises a chucking plate mounted facing the table section and adapted to clamp the rim of the center aperture of the recording disc set on the table section in position on the table section.
The fitting member is substantially frusto-conical, and tapered towards its upper or distal end.
The fitting member is supported for movement along the axis of the driving shaft, while being resiliently biased by a biasing member, such as a spring, towards its upper end.
With the above-described disc table, in which the outer periphery of the fitting member is tapered and upwardly biased, when the recording disc is set on the table section, with the rim of the center aperture thereof in sliding contact with the outer periphery of the fitting member, the rim of the center aperture is thrust by the outer periphery of the fitting member to effect centering of the recording disc with respect to the driving shaft.
When the driving motor is driven for rotating the driving shaft, the recording disc is rotated in unison with the disc table.
Meanwhile, the above-described disc table in which the fitting member for centering the recording disc with respect to the disc table is supported for movement relative to the table section is complex in construction and difficult to assemble and manufacture. Besides, with this disc table, since it is necessary to provide the spring between the fitting member and the table section, it is difficult to achieve reduction in height of the table section.
To overcome this drawback, a disc table has been proposed in which the fitting member is fixedly provided with respect to the table section to achieve a simplified construction and a reduction in the height of the apparatus. However, it is necessary with this disc table design that the fitting member be smaller in size with respect to the center aperture in order to allow for the dimensional error of the outer diameter of the fitting member and the dimensional error of the inside diameter of the center aperture. Consequently, with such disc table, a very small clearance tends to occur between the outer periphery of the fitting member and annual inner rim of the center aperture when the recording disc is set on the table section.
If such clearance is produced between the fitting member and the center aperture, not only car the centering of the recording disc with respect to the driving shaft not be achieved, but also the recording disc tends to shift relative to the table section in response to external vibrations or shock.
Further, with the above-described recording/reproducing apparatus, if the offset of the recording disc with respect to the driving shaft of the disc rotating and driving mechanism is sufficiently large, the light beam from the pickup unit for writing and/or reading information signals on or from the recording disc cannot follow the recording track of the recording disc and renders it impossible to record and/or reproduce the information signals. Additionally, with such disc recording/reproducing apparatus, if the recording disc shifts with respect to the table section in the course of recording and/or reproduction of the information signals, the light beam undergoes track jump to interrupt recording/reproduction process.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a disc table whereby a recording disc may be loaded on the disc table with a high centering accuracy with respect to the center of rotation of a disc rotating and driving mechanism.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a disc table whereby the effects of extraneous vibrations or shock on the loaded recording disc may be inhibited and thus ensure stable rotation of the recording disc.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a disc table which is simplified in construction and reduced in height and which contributes to reduction in the thickness of the recording/reproducing apparatus.
It is yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a disc table whereby a disc table capable of achieving the above objects may be produced easily.
The present invention provides a disc table for a disc recording/reproducing apparatus which uses a recording disc, such as an optical disc or a magneto-optical disc, on which information signals are pre-recorded or are to be recorded, as a recording medium. The disc table includes a fitting member fitted from its distal end into a circular center aperture of the recording disc, a table section which is integrated to the fitting member at a proximal side of the fitting member and on which a rim around the center aperture of the disc is set, a thrusting supporting unit for thrusting and supporting the recording disc with respect to the table section, and a centering unit provided at a proximal side of the fitting member and adapted for thrusting the rim around the center aperture of the recording disc for coinciding the center of rotation of the recording disc with the center of rotation of the fitting member. The fitting member is gradually tapered towards its distal end where the fitting member is provided with a guide slidingly contacted with the inner rim of the center aperture of the recording disc for guiding the recording disc towards the center of rotation of the fitting member. The recording disc may be positively centered to enable stable rotation of the recording disc while realizing a simplified thin type construction.
As means for thrusting and supporting the recording disc placed on the table section with respect to the table section, a magnet for attracting a magnetic metal plate mounted at the center of the recording disc is employed.
The proximal side of the fitting member fitted in the center aperture of the recording disc is formed as a columnar section having an outside diameter corresponding to the diameter of the center aperture of the recording disc.
The centering members are formed as plural spring plates mounted on the fitting member for being projected out of or receded inwardly of the outer peripheral surface of the proximal attaching said centering means in position with respect to said fitting member.
With the above-described disc table, the fitting member having a gradually tapered distal end and provided with a disc-capturing guide section at the distal end is intruded from the tapered distal end first into the circular center aperture of the recording disc and moved towards the proximal end of the fitting member so as to be guided towards the center region by the disc-capturing guide section. The disc is thrust and supported by thrusting supporting means with respect to the table section provided at the proximal end of the fitting member and has the inner rim of the center aperture thereof thrust by the centering means provided at the proximal end of the fitting member for effecting centering with respect to the disc table.
When a magnet attracting a metallic plate fitted at the center of the recording disc is employed as the thrusting supporting means for the recording disc, the recording disc is held only at one of its sides.
When the proximal side of the fitting member is designed as a columnar section, the recording disc when placed on the table section has its center aperture in intimate abutment contact with the proximal side of the fitting member to inhibit movement of the recording disc with respect to the table section.
When the centering means is constituted by centering members in the form of plural spring plates, arranged for being protruded end of the fitting member.
The plural spring plates of the centering members are arranged on the fitting member in a state in which the spring plates are resiliently biased towards the center of the fitting member and which is controlled by resetting controlling means provided at the mid part of the table section.
The centering members are constituted by spring plates formed of a metallic material.
When the centering members are formed as spring plates of metallic material, both lateral sides of the portions of the centering members abutted against the inner rim of the center inn of the recording disc are bent substantially arcuately towards the center of the fitting member.
The present invention also provides a method for producing a disc table comprising positioning a fitting member by fitting a reference shaft of a positioning jig in a center aperture of said fitting member, placing centering means having plural centering members in the form of spring plates thrusting the inner rim of the center inn of the recording disc so that the centering members are positioned at the peripheral side of the fitting member, abutting each of the centering members with a substantially equal thrusting force on an abutment inner wall section of a positioning hole formed in a positioning jig with said reference shaft as a center for positioning said centering means with respect to said fitting member, and immobilizing and from or receded inwardly of the outer periphery of the fitting member, the centering members may be integrated with the fitting member to simplify the construction of the disc table.
When the centering members in the form of spring plates are provided in the fitting member in a state in which they are resiliently biased towards the center of the fitting member and which is controlled by a controlling section provided at the center of the table section a sufficient thrusting force is applied to the recording disc by the centering members even although the centering members are of a lower spring constant. Besides, the fluctuations in the thrusting force applied to the recording disc as a result of errors in the spring constant may also be diminished.
When the centering members of the disc table are formed as spring plates of a metallic material, the centering members exhibit superior durability even under hostile environment such as elevated temperatures, while satisfactory characteristics with only small error rate may be achieved even although the spring constant of the centering members is increased.
When both lateral sides of the portions of the centering members formed as spring plates of a metallic material abutted against the inner rim of the center aperture of the recording disc are bent substantially arcuately towards the center of the fitting member, the recording disc is not injured by the centering members during disc loading and unloading and may be smoothly loaded or unloaded on the disc table.
The method for producing the disc table according to the present invention comprises positioning a fitting member to be intruded from its distal end first into the circular center opening of the recording disc by fitting a reference shaft of a positioning jig in a center aperture of the fitting member, placing the centering means so that its centering members in the form of plural spring plates thrusting the inner rim of the center aperture of the recording disc are positioned at the peripheral side of the fitting member, abutting each of the centering members with a substantially equal thrusting force on an abutment inner wall section of a positioning hole formed in the positioning jig coaxially with the reference shaft for positioning the centering means with respect to the fitting member, and immobilizing and attaching the centering means in position with respect to the fitting member, so that the centering means may be mounted at a position such that the inner rim of the center aperture of the recording disc may be uniformly thrust by the respective centering members.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become clear from the following description of the preferred embodiments and the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an arrangement of a disc table according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the arrangement of the disc table shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the arrangement of the disc table shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view showing essential portions of the disc table shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing the state in which the loading of the recording disc on the disc table is started.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing the state in which the recording disc is being loaded on the disc table.
FIG. 7 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing the state in which the loading of the recording disc on the disc table is completed.
FIG. 8 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the dias table of the present invention in which the fitting member is integrated to the centering member.
FIG. 9 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the arrangement of the disc table shown in FIG. 8.
FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of the disc table according to the present invention in which plural clamping members make up thrusting supporting means.
FIG. 11 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing arrangements of the disc table shown in FIG. 10 and the disc table loaded thereon.
FIG. 12 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the state in which the loading of a disc cartridge on the disc table shown in FIG. 10 is started.
FIG. 13 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the state in which the disc cartridge is being loaded on the disc table shown in FIG. 10, with the clamping members being in a neutral position.
FIG. 14 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the state in which the disc cartridge is being loaded on the disc table shown in FIG. 10, with the clamping members being biased downwards.
FIG. 15 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the state in which the loading of a disc cartridge on the disc table shown in FIG. 10 is completed.
FIG. 16 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a modification of the essential parts of the disc table showing the state in which the loading of a disc cartridge on the disc table is started.
FIG. 17 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the state in which the loading of a disc cartridge on the disc table shown in FIG. 16, is completed.
FIG. 18 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of another modification of the essential parts of the disc table showing the state in which the loading of the disc cartridge on the disc table is started.
FIG. 19 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the state in which the loading of the disc cartridge on the disc table shown in FIG. 18 is completed.
FIG. 20 is a plan view showing an embodiment in which a disc table according to the present invention is constituted using a centering member consisting in a spring plate formed of a metallic material.
FIG. 21 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a construction of the disc table shown in FIG. 20.
FIG. 22 is an exploded perspective view showing the construction of the disc table shown in FIG. 20.
FIG. 23 is a perspective view illustrating the method for producing the disc table according to the present invention showing the process for producing the disc table shown in FIG. 20.
FIG. 24 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing the recording disc being loaded on the disc table shown in FIG. 20.
FIG. 25 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing the state in which the loading of the recording disc on the disc table shown in FIG. 20 is completed.
FIG. 26 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing another modification of a disc table according to the present invention in which the disc member is constituted using a centering member of a spring plate formed of a metallic material.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to the drawings, illustrative embodiments of the present invention will be explained in detail.
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, showing a first embodiment of the disc table of the present invention, the disc table has a table section 2 fitted on a driving shaft 1 of a spindle motor 5 of a disc recording/reproducing apparatus in which the disc table is fitted. The table section 2 is formed substantially as a disc from synthetic resin or the like material and has an engaging aperture which is a center aperture engaged by the driving shaft 1. An outer peripheral region of an upper surface of the table section 2 is a disc setting surface 3 on which the recording disc 101 as a recording medium is set.
On the lower surface of the table section 2, there is formed a cylindrical supporting section 7, centered about the engaging aperture 8. The function of the supporting section 7 is to increase the length of the engaging aperture 8 so as to be larger than the thickness of the table section 2 for assuring more positive support of the table section 2 by the driving shaft 1.
The recording disc 101 loaded on the disc table comprises a disc-shaped disc substrate 101a formed of a light-transmitting transparent synthetic resin and a signal recording layer formed on one of the major surfaces of the disc substrate 101a, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The disc substrate 101a has a circular center aperture 102. This circular aperture serves as a reference for the loading position of the disc on the disc table provided within the disc recording/reproducing apparatus.
On the opposite major surface of the disc substrate 101a is formed an annular rib surrounding the center aperture 102. On the major surface of the disc substrate carrying the signal recording surface is formed an annular recess 103 surrounding the center aperture 102 in register with the annular rib, as shown in FIG. 3. A substantially disc-shaped magnetic plate 104, formed of a magnetic material, such as metal, is set within the recess 103. The magnetic plate 104 is retained by the disc substrate 101a by means of an adhesive or supporting lugs formed by thermally deforming part of the disc substrate 101a formed e.g. of synthetic resin.
The signal recording layer, deposited on the firstly-mentioned major surface of the disc substrate 101a, is formed of a metallic material for providing a perpendicular recording magnetic film and a reflective layer for reflecting the light beam, and is used for recording desired information signals.
The spindle motor 5 is mounted on the lower surface of a chassis 6 of the disc recording/reproducing apparatus, and has its driving shaft 1 extended above the chassis 6 via a through-hole in the chassis 6, as shown in FIG. 2. Above the chassis 6, an optical pickup device and a magnetic head device, not shown, for recording and/or reproducing information signals with respect to the signal recording layer of the magneto-optical disc 101 placed on the disc setting surface 3, are provided for movement towards and away from the spindle motor 5, that is in a direction spanning the inner and outer peripheries of the recording disc 101.
A fitting member 4 is provided at the center of the upper surface of the table section 2. The fitting member 4 is substantially conically-shaped and integrated to the table section 2. The fitting member 4 is of an outside diameter large enough to be fitted in the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101. The fitting member 4 has its upper end, that is the distal end, as a disc-capturing tapered guide section 4a which is tapered towards its end surface, as shown in FIG. 4. The outer peripheral surface of the disc-capturing guide section 4a is curved smoothly so as to be merged with the end face of the fitting member 4. The fitting member 4 also has its distal side, that is its side proximate to the disc setting surface 3, as a columnar section 4b which is of an outside diameter substantially equal to the inside diameter of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 102.
The outer periphery of the fitting member 4 is formed with a groove 25 engaged by a centering ring 11 constituting centering means, as shown in FIG. 3. The groove 25 has a depth extended from the distal end to a mid part of the fitting member 4 and is in the form of a annulus or toroid coaxial with the fitting member 4. The fitting member 4 has an outer peripheral upright wall delimiting the groove 25. The peripheral wall has plural cut-outs 10 in communication with the groove 25. These cut-outs 10 are extended radially from the groove 25 towards the outer surface of the fitting member 4. These cut-outs 10 are provided at equiangular intervals about an axis of the fitting member 4 as a center.
The centering ring 11, fitted into the groove 25 of the fitting member 4, is also formed as a toroid or annulus from metal or synthetic resin exhibiting flexibility and elasticity. The centering ring 11 is formed integrally with plural outwardly directed centering segments 12 for centering the recording disc loaded on the disc table. These centering segments 12 are tongue-shaped concentric radially extending lugs at equiangular intervals so as to be in register with the cut-outs 10. These centering segments 12 are in the form of spring plates so as to be deformed resiliently.
When the centering ring 11 is fitted in the groove 25, the centering segments 12 are positioned in such a manner that the proximal ends thereof are in proximity to the end face of the fitting member 4 and the distal ends thereof are directed at an angle with respect to the disc setting surface 3 and partially projected outwardly of the cut-outs 10, that is towards the outer periphery of the fitting member 4. The distal end parts of the centering segments 12 are extended on the periphery of the columnar section 4b in the direction of the disc setting surface 3. That is, the centering segments 12 are extend ed outwardly of the fitting member 4 at the proximal side of the fitting member 4. The distal end parts of these centering segments 12 may be intruded into and protruded out of the cut-outs 10 by the elastic deformation of the proximal parts of the centering segments 12.
Meanwhile, a toroidal-shaped groove 14 enveloping the end parts of the centering segments 12 is formed on the upper surface of the table section 2 in order to allow for elastic deformation of the centering segments 12.
The end face of the fitting member 4 is formed with a magnet mounting recess 13 which is a circular recess concentric with the fitting member 4. A magnet 9 for thrusting and supporting the recording disc 101 with respect to the table section 2 is fitted in the mounting recess 13. The magnet 9, in the form of a circular button, is adapted for magnetically attracting a magnetic plate 104 which is mounted at a mid-part of the recording disc 101 for closing the center aperture 102.
For loading the recording disc 101 on the above-described disc table according to the present invention, the recording disc 101 is fitted by its center aperture 102 over the fitting member 4, as shown in FIG. 4. Since the end face section of the fitting member 4 is smoothly merged with its disc capturing taper section 4a, the recording disc 101 is guided towards the mid-part of the fitting member 4 so as to be moved towards the distal end of the fitting member 4, with the inner rim of the center aperture 102 being in sliding contact with the outer surface of the disc capturing taper section 4a, under magnetic attraction exerted by the magnet 9 on the magnetic plate 104, even although the disc 101 is offset with respect to the fitting member 4.
When the recording disc 101 is moved towards the proximal side of the fitting member 4, the inner rim of the center aperture 102 is caused to bear on the centering segments 12, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. The disc 101 is moved towards the proximal side of the fitting member 4, with its inner rim abutting on and elastically deforming the centering segments 12 for intruding the segments 12 into the cut-outs 10. The centering segments 12 thrust the inner rim of the center aperture 102 outwards under their elasticity.
When the recording disc 101 is fitted on the columnar section 4b of the fitting member 4 by its center aperture 102 and the neighboring portion to the aperture 102 of the disc is set on the disc setting surface 3, the disc 101 is centered by the inner rim of its center aperture 102 thrust by the centering segments 12, with the center of the center aperture 102 being then in register with the axis of the fitting member 4, as shown in FIG. 7.
The magnet 9 then attracts the magnetic plate 104 mounted on the recording disc 101 for pressing the disc 101 against the disc setting surface 3.
When the recording disc 101 is loaded in this manner in position on the table section 2, and the driving shaft 1 is run in rotation by spindle motor 5, the recording disc 101 is rotated in unison with the table section 5. The information signals may then be recorded and/or reproduced on or from the signal recording layer of the recording disc 101 by the optical head device or the magnetic head device.
Meanwhile, for satisfactory centering, it is necessary for the centering segments 12 to thrust the inner rim of the center aperture 102 towards the table section 2 with a sufficient pressure before the recording disc 101 is caused to bear against the disc setting surface 3. When the inner rim of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101 abuts on the centering sections 12, a disc attracting force F by which the magnet 9 attracts the magnetic plate 104 as indicated by arrow F in FIG. 5, a reactive force N exerted by the centering segment 12 in a normal direction shown by arrow N in FIG. 5 on the inner rim of the center aperture 102, and a thrusting force f by which the inner rim of the center aperture 102 thrusts the centering segment 12, as indicated by arrow f in FIG. 5, are generated for each of the centering segments 12. Assuming that the centering ring 11 is provided with six centering segments 12, it is necessary that the formula
f=Nsinθ=(F/6)×(sinθ/cosθ) (1)
be satisfied. In the above formula, θ is an angle by which the outer lateral surface of the centering segment 12 is inclined relative to the major surface of the recording disc 101. If the disc attracting force F is 350 gf and the angle θ is 70°, the thrusting force f is given by
f=(350/6)×tan70°=160gf (2)
and hence is 160 gf. That is, it suffices to set the elasticity of the centering segments so that, when the centering segment 12 is thrust by the thrusting force exceeding 160 gf, the centering segment 12 is resiliently biased by an amount a by which the centering segment 12 is protruded beyond the fitting member 4 on a horizontal plane including the disc setting surface 3. It is because the centering segments 12 are resiliently deflected by an amount equal to the amount the segments 12 are protruded from the fitting member 4 on the horizontal plane inclusive of the disc setting surface 3 when the recording disc 101 is set on the disc setting surface 3.
Meanwhile, the centering segments 12, exhibiting the resiliency such that the segments 12 are resiliently protruded by an amount of protrusion from the fitting member 4 on the horizontal plane inclusive of the disc setting surface 3 when the segments are thrust by the thrusting force f equal to about 160 gf, may be formed of a synthetic resin material.
A disc table according to a second embodiment of the present invention is hereinafter explained.
In the second embodiment of the disc table, the centering segments 12 may be integrated with the fitting member 4, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. That is, the fitting member 4 of the present second embodiment is made up of the fitting member 4 integrated to the centering ring 11 of the preceding embodiment.
A disc table according to a third embodiment of the present invention is hereinafter explained.
In the present third embodiment of the disc table, a plurality of clamping members 19 are provided as thrusting and supporting means, as shown in FIGS. 10 to 15. The disc table of the present embodiment is designed to hold the recording disc 101 housed for rotation in a cartridge main body to constitute a disc cartridge. In distinction from the recording disc 101 of the preceding embodiments, the recording disc 101 of the present embodiment is not fitted with the magnetic plate 104.
The disc cartridge is made up of the recording disc 101 and a cartridge main body 104 housing the recording disc 101 therein, as shown in FIG. 11. The cartridge main body 104 is formed as a substantially rectangular casing for accommodating the recording disc 101 therein. That is, the cartridge main body 104 has a substantially square shape having a side of each of the upper and lower major surfaces extending along the major surfaces of the recording disc 101 slightly longer than the diameter of the recording disc 101. The recording disc 101 is accommodated for rotation within the cartridge main body 104.
A substantially circular chucking aperture 108 is formed in the lower major surface of the cartridge main body 104. The chucking aperture 108 is a through-hole slightly larger in diameter than the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101 and functions to expose the center aperture 102 and its rim portion to outside.
A recording/reproducing aperture, not shown, is formed in each of the major surfaces of the cartridge main body 104. Each recording/reproducing aperture is provided for extending from the vicinity of the center of one of the major surfaces of the cartridge main body 104 as far as one of the sides of the major surface, that is the vicinity of one of the lateral sides of the cartridge main body 104. The function of these recording/ reproducing apertures is to cause the optical pickup device or the magnetic head of the disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus to face the recording disc 101 when recording and/or reading the information signals on or from the signal recording surface of the recording disc 101.
A pair of annular ribs 106, 107 for controlling the movement along the thickness of the recording disc 101 within the cartridge main body 101 are formed in the vicinity of the rim of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101 at opposite positions on the inner wall sections of the cartridge main body 104.
The disc table of the present third embodiment is provided with a table section 2, as is the disc table of each of the first and second embodiments, as shown in FIG. 10. The table section 2 has the outer peripheral region of its upper surface as the above-mentioned disc setting surface 3 and has a fitting member 4 protuberantly mounted at the mod part of its upper surface. The fitting member 4 has plural centering segments 12.
With the present disc table, the fitting member 4 has plural clamping members 19, 19, 19 each having its mid-part supported for rotation. These clamping members 19 are mounted in radially extending clamping member mounting slits 15, 15, 15 provided in the fitting member 4. These clamping members 19 are supported by supporting shafts 17 which are provided in the clamping member mounting slits 15 and which are passed through shaft inserting holes 20 provided at the mid part of the clamping members 19. The supporting shafts 17 are formed so that the axial directions thereof extend along the tangent of a circle having the center axis of the table section 2 as a center. The clamping member 19 is formed as a substantially T-shaped member having arms extending in two opposite directions form the mid-part provided with the shaft inserting hole 20 and a third arm extending in a direction substantially normal to these two arms. One of the two arms of the clamping member 19 extending in the two opposite directions functions as the clamping section 23, while the third arm extending in the direction substantially normal to the clamping section 23 functions as a thrust section 22.
Each of the clamping sections 19 in its initial state has the thrust section 22 protruded radially out of the fitting member 4 so as to overlie the disc setting surface 3, while having the clamping section 23 housed within the clamping member mounting slit 15, as shown in FIG. 11. Since each of the clamping sections 19 in its initial state is housed within the clamping member mounting slit 15, there is no fear of the clamping member 19 being rotated or damaged by foreign matter or the user's finger being inadvertently introduced at the distal end of the fitting member 4.
Meanwhile, the clamping member mounting slits 15 are each formed for extending as far as a position of the disc setting surface 3 faced by the thrust sections 22.
Between each clamping member 19 and the table section 2, a torsion coil spring 18 for rotationally biasing the clamping member 19 in a direction away from a neutral rotational position of the clamping member 19 is provided in association with each clamping member 19. Each of the torsion coil springs 18 resiliently biases a retention pin 21, provided on the other of the two arm sections extended in the two opposite directions, that is the arm section opposite to the clamping section 23 with the shaft inserting opening in-between, in a direction outwardly of the table section 2. Each of the torsion coil springs 18 has one of its arm sections engaged with an engaging pin 21 of each of the clamping members 19, while having the other arm section retained by a retention section 24 provided in each of the clamping member mounting slits 15. The clamping members 19, 19, 19 are rotationally biased at this time so that the thrust sections 22 thereof are directed to the upper end face of the fitting member 4 in FIG. 10, as indicated by arrows D in FIGS. 11 and 12.
The neutral rotational position of the clamping member 19 is the position at which it has been turned from the above-mentioned initial state in a direction of shifting the thrust section 22 towards the disc setting surface 3, and at which the retention section 24, retention pin 21 and the supporting shaft 17 are on a straight line, as shown in FIG. 13. In this state, each of the torsion coil springs 18 biases the associated clamping member 19 in a direction proceeding from the retention pin 21 towards the supporting shaft 17, as shown by arrow E in FIG. 13. That is, the torsion coil spring 18 rotationally biases the associated clamping member 19 in a direction shown by arrow D in FIGS. 11 and 12 when the clamping member 19 is at a position rotated in one direction from the neutral position, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. On the other hand, when the clamping member 19 is at a position rotated in the opposite direction from the neutral position, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the torsion coil spring rotationally biases the clamping member 19 in the opposite direction as indicated by arrow in FIGS. 14 and 15.
With the above-described disc table of the third embodiment according to the present invention, when the operation of setting the recording disc 101 on the table setting surface 3 of the table section 2 is initiated, as shown by arrow C in FIG. 12, the distal end of the fitting member 4 is inserted into the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101. The recording disc 101 has its set section 105 around its center aperture 102 on its opposite major surface abutted against the thrust section 22.
When the recording disc 101 is moved towards the disc setting surface 3, each clamping member 19 has its thrust section 22 thrust by the set section 105 of the recording disc so that the thrust section 22 is rotated in a direction of approaching the disc setting surface 3 against the bias of the torsion coil sparing 18, as shown in FIG. 13. Each of the clamping members 19 is rotated in this manner to the above-mentioned neutral rotational position.
When the recording disc 101 is moved towards the disc setting surface 3, each clamping member 19 has its thrust section 22 thrust by the set section 105 of the recording disc 101, as shown in FIG. 13, so that the thrust section 22 is rotated against the bias of the torsion coil spring 18 in a direction of approaching the disc setting surface 3. In this manner, the clamping section 19 is rotated to the above-mentioned neutral rotational position.
When the recording disc 101 further approaches the disc setting surface 3, the thrust section 22 of each of the clamping members 19 is thrust by the set section 105 of the recording disc 105, so that the thrust section 22 is rotated beyond the neutral rotational position in a direction of approaching the thrust section 22 to the disc setting surface 3, as shown in FIG. 14. At this time, each clamping section 19 causes the thrust section 22 to be rotated in a direction of further approaching to the disc setting surface 3, under the bias of the torsion coil spring 18 and under the thrusting force exerted by the set section of the disc on the thrust section 22, as indicated by arrow G in FIG. 14. The cartridge main body 104 is loaded in position on a chassis 6 by being caused to bear against he distal ends of positioning pins 202, 203 mounted upright on the chassis 6.
Meanwhile, the table section 2 is intruded into the inside of the cartridge main body 104 via chucking aperture 108 provided in the cartridge main body 104.
Under the thrust exerted by the set section 105 against the thrust section 22 and the bias exerted by the torsion coil spring 18, each clamping member 19 causes the thrust section 22 to be rotated in a direction of approaching to the disc setting surface 3. The clamping members 19 cause the thrust sections 22 to be moved away from the set section 105, while causing the clamp sections 23 to bear against a recess 103 formed in the rim of the center aperture 102 in one of the major surfaces of the recording disc 101. The result is that the recording disc 101 is thrust and supported on the disc setting surface 3 by the clamping member 19, as shown in FIG. 15. At this time, the recording disc 101 has its center of rotation coincided with the axis of the disc table by the centering segments 12 of the fitting member 4 by way of performing a centering operation.
If the spindle motor 5 rotates the driving shaft 1 at this state, the recording disc 101 is rotated in unison with the table section 2. The information signals may be recorded on or reproduced from the signal recording layer by the optical pickup device or the magnetic head device.
For dismounting the recording disc 101 from the table section 2, it suffices to move the recording disc 101, along with the cartridge main body 104, in an upward direction away from the disc setting surface 3. Each of the clamping members 19 has its clamping section 23 thrust upwards by the recording disc 101 so as to be rotated beyond the above-mentioned neutral rotational position so as to be returned to its initial position.
With the present disc table, not only the recording disc 101 housed within the cartridge main body 104, but also the recording disc 101 not housed within the cartridge main body 104, may be set with correct centering on the disc setting surface 3, as hereinabove described. The number of the clamping members may be at least two or four or more in stead of three in the above described embodiments.
A disc table of a fourth embodiment according to the present invention is hereinafter explained.
In the present embodiment, the centering segments 12 may be mounted in a stressed state, that is in a state of being resiliently flexed inwardly towards the center axis of the fitting member 4, as shown in FIG. 16, instead of in a natural or stress-free state, that is in a state free from resilient flexing. In this case, the centering segments 12 have their distal ends intruded into the cut-outs 10 in the inwardly resiliently flexed or stressed state so that the distal ends are caused to bear against the inner wall sections of the cut-outs 10. That is, with the present disc table, the inner wall sections of the cut-outs 10 act as resetting controlling sections for controlling the resetting of the centering segments 12 to their natural state.
When the recording disc 101 is set on the disc setting surface 3 of the table section 2, as shown by arrow C in FIG. 16, the centering segments 12 are thrust and resiliently flexed by the inner rim of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101, while thrusting the inner rim of the center aperture 102, as shown in FIG. 17. At this time, each of the centering segments 12 has its distal end resiliently biased from the position of being caused to bear against the inner wall section of the cut-out 10 to the position of being caused to bear against the inner rim of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101, as shown by arrow J in FIG. 17.
Since the centering segments 12 are not biased from their unstressed state, it is possible for these centering segments 12 to exhibit a sufficient thrusting force corresponding to the displacement from the unstressed state, which thrusting force may be exerted on the inner rim of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101, even although the segments 12 deemed as spring plates are of a small spring constant. Consequently, the recording disc 101 may be correctly centered by these centering segments 12. Besides, in the initial state in which the recording disc 101 is not loaded, the centering segments 12 are controlled in their positions by the inner wall sections of the cut-outs 10 and hence positioned with great accuracy.
A disc table of a fifth embodiment according to the present invention is hereinafter explained.
By the way, the centering means in the disc table of the present fifth embodiment is not limited to plural centering segments in the form of plural spring plates, as those shown in the above-described embodiments, but may consist in plural centering segments 12 connected to an annular section of the centering ring 11 via hinges 12a, and an elastic member 12b, as shown in FIG. 18.
The centering segments 12 are pawl-shaped lugs disposed at equiangular intervals in register with the cut-outs 10 for extending radially relative to the annular section of the centering ring 1. These centering segments are intruded into the cut-outs 10. Similarly to the centering segments 12 of the preceding embodiments, each of the centering segments of the present embodiment has only its distal end projected out of the fitting member 4 at the proximal part of the fitting member 4. Each hinge 12a is formed at the proximal side of each centering segment 12 by locally reducing the thickness of the centering segment 12. The centering segments 12 may be biased in a direction of being protruded out of or being receded inwardly of the fitting member 4 by resilient flexure of the hinge 12a. The elastic member 12b is formed substantially as an annulus from an elastic material, such as butyl rubber, and is interposed between the centering segments 12 and the annular section of the centering ring 11. That is, the elastic member 12 is fitted to the outer side of the annular section of the centering ring 11 and is disposed inwardly of the centering segments 12.
When the recording disc 101 is set on the disc setting surface 3 of the table section 2 of the disc table, as shown by arrow C in FIG. 18, the centering segments 12 are displaced by being thrust by the inner rim of the centering aperture 102 to compress the elastic member 12b, as shown by arrow K in FIG. 19, with the inner rim of the center aperture 102 in turn being thrust by the elastic recoil of the elastic member 12b.
Since the displacement of the centering segments 12 at this time is not as elastic displacement, the centering segments 12 are not susceptible to creep even after repeated displacement and hence exhibit excellent durability. Since the thrusting force against the inner rim of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101 is obtained by the force of elastic recoiling of the elastic member 12b, the thrusting force may be increased to a sufficient level by suitably selecting the material and/or the shape of the elastic member 12b. Consequently, the recording disc 101 may be satisfactorily centered by the centering segments 12.
A disc table of the sixth embodiment according to the present invention and the method for producing the disc table according to the present invention are hereinafter explained.
The disc table of the sixth embodiment may be constituted using a centering ring 11 formed of a metallic spring plate material, as shown in FIGS. 20 to 22, 24 and 25.
Similarly to the disc tables of the preceding embodiments, the present disc table is also provided with a table section 2 supported by being fitted on the outer surface of the driving shaft 1 of the spindle motor 5. The table section 2 is formed substantially as a disc from a synthetic resin and has a center through-hole 8 engaged by the driving shaft 1. The table section 2 has a perimetral portion of its upper surface as a disc setting surface 3 for setting the recording disc 101 thereon.
Referring to FIG. 21, the spindle motor 5 for rotationally driving the disc table is mainly made up of an outer casing 35, a bearing 34 supported by the outer casing 35 for rotatably supporting the driving shaft, annular magnet 32, 32 mounted on the driving shaft 1 via a magnet supporting member 33 and a coil base plate mounted facing the magnets 32, 32 within the outer casing 35. The spindle motor 5 is supported by having the outer casing 35 mounted on the lower surface of the chassis 6 so that the driving shaft 1 is protruded above the chassis 6 via a through-hole bored in the chassis 6.
A fitting member 4 is projectedly formed at the center of the upper surface of the table section 2, as in the disc tables of the preceding embodiments. That is, the fitting member 4 is formed with the table section 2 in substantially a conical shape and has an outside diameter large enough to be engaged in the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101. The distal part of the fitting member 4 is a guide section for capturing the recording disc 101. The part of the fitting member 4 lying close to the disc setting surface 3 is a columnar section 4b having an outside diameter substantially equal to the inside diameter of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101.
The distal end face of the fitting member 4 has a magnet mounting recess 13 which is formed as an annular groove concentric with the fitting member 4. Within this magnet mounting recess 13 is mounted an annular magnet 9 acting as thrusting and supporting means. The magnet 9 is used for attracting a magnetic plate 104 mounted at the mid part of the recording disc 101 for closing the center aperture 102, as shown in FIGS. 24 and 25. A magnetic yoke formed of a high permeability material may be provided on the lower surface of the magnet 9, that is between the magnet 9 and the fitting member 4.
The fitting member 4 has plural cut-outs 10 in communication with the magnet mounting recess 13. These cut-outs 10 are formed outwardly of the magnet mounting recess 13 for extending radially from the magnet mounting recess 13 through the proximal side of the fitting member 4 as far as a disc-shaped part of the table section 1. These cut-outs 10 are provided at three points at an angular interval of 120° relative to each other.
A centering ring 11, constituting centering means for aligning the center of rotation of the recording disc 101 with the axis of the disc table, is mounted on the lower surface of the table section 2 so that the centering segments 12, 12, 12 functioning as the centering members are located within the cut-outs 10, 10, 10 of the fitting member 4. The centering ring 11 is formed as one from a plate-shaped metallic spring material by punching and press working. The centering ring 11 comprises a substantially disc-shaped base section 26, three upstanding supporting projections 29 provided on the perimetral portions of the base section 26 and three centering segments 12 extending outwardly from the distal ends of these supporting projections 29, as shown in FIG. 22.
The base section 26 has a central through-hole 27 having a diameter sufficiently larger than the outside diameter of the driving shaft 1.
The supporting projections 29, 29, 29 are formed upright around the perimeter of the base section 26 at an equiangular interval of 120° relative to one another. These supporting projections 29 are formed by bending three tongues extending outwardly from the outer perimeter of the base section 26 by press working. These supporting projections 29 are formed with drawn parts 30, 30, 30 extending outwards from the base section 26. These drawn parts are formed by drawing so that part of the spring material of the centering ring 11 is bent to form rib-shaped projections extending from the supporting projections 29 and the base section 26. These drawn parts 30 prevent the supporting projections 29 from being tilted with respect to the base section 26.
The proximal ends of the centering segments 12 are formed as continuation of the distal ends of the supporting projections 29. These centering segments 12 are positioned outwardly of the supporting projections 29, that is at a distance from the base section 26, and are inclined downwardly from the distal ends of the supporting projections 29. The distal end of each of the centering segments 12 is formed with a pair of bent tabs 31 ,31. These tabs 31, 31 are formed as tongues on the opposite lateral sides of the centering segments 12 and arcuately bent towards the center of the base section 26. These centering segments 12 and the tabs 31, 31 of each of these segments are formed by press-working the parts extended horizontally from the supporting projections 29.
The perimetral part of the base section 26 is formed with three equiangular cut-outs 28 for accommodating an adhesive which are disposed between the supporting projections 29. These cut-outs 28 are substantially semicircular in contour.
The centering segments 12 are intruded into the cut-outs 10 by the base section 26 being mounted on the lower surface of the table section 2. The base section 26 is mounted on the table section 2 by applying an adhesive, such as a so-called UV curable resin, in the cut-outs 28 for adhesive, while the major surface of the base section 26 is kept in pressure contact with the lower surface of the table section 2. The distal ends of the supporting projections 29 are positioned at this time around the perimeter of the magnet 9 and are spaced apart from the magnet 9 and the fitting member 4. These centering segments 12 may be biased resiliently.
With the centering ring 11 mounted on the table section 2, each of the centering segments 12 has its proximal end positioned in the vicinity of the distal end face of the fitting member 4, and is supported with a tilt relative to the disc setting surface 3, so that part of the distal end thereof is projected outwardly from the cut-out 10, that is in the direction of the perimeter of the fitting member 4, as shown in FIG. 24. The distal end of each of these centering segments 12 may be projected beyond or receded with respect to the peripheral surface of the fitting member 4 by elastic deformation of the proximal part of each of the segments 12. The distal end of each of these segments 12 is disposed below the disc setting surface 3 so as to be caused to bear against the inner wall of the cut-out 10. The centering segments 12 are resiliently biased at this time closer to the base section 26 than when the segments 12 are in the stress-free state.
The method for producing the disc table having the centering ring 11 formed of the spring plate material is hereinafter explained in detail. For producing the disc table, a positioning jig 50 shown in FIG. 23 is employed. The positioning jig 50 has a block-shaped main body having a recessed positioning hole 51. A reference shaft 53 having a outside diameter substantially equal to that of the driving shaft 1 of the spindle motor 5 is mounted upright on the bottom surface of the positioning hole 51. Part of the inner wall of the positioning hole 51 is formed as wall sections 52, 52, 52 for abutment with the centering segments 12 in register with the cut-outs 10, 10, 10. The portions of the inner wall other than the wall sections 52, 52, 52 are enlarged in diameter radially outwardly of the wall sections 52, 52, 52. These wall sections 52, 52, 52 are designed to form a part of a cylindrical surface coaxial with the reference shaft 53. The diameter of the cylindrical surface enveloping the wall sections 52, shown by arrows L in FIG. 23, is selected to be slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101, and is typically on an order of 10.98 to 10.99 mm for the inside diameter of the center aperture 102.
In the method for producing the disc table according to the present invention, the reference shaft 52 is fitted into the fitting thorough-hole 8 for the table section 2 bored in the fitting member 8, as shown in FIG. 23. At this time, the reference shaft 53 is engaged in the fitting through-hole 8, as the fitting member 4 is faced by the positioning hole 51 so that the fitting member 4 may be fitted into the positioning hole 51. At this time, the cut-outs 10 are in register with the wall sections 52.
The centering ring 11 is then set on the table section 2 loaded on the positioning jig 50. The centering ring 11 has its base section 26 set on the lower surface of the table section 2 so that the centering segments 12 are introduced into the cutouts 10. Each of the centering segments 12 has its distal end abutted against the wall sections 52. Since the centering segments 12 are resiliently biased towards the base section 26, the centering segments 12 thrust the wall sections 52 by their resiliency. Thus, under the elastic recoiling force of the centering segments 12, the centering ring 11 is moved to and halted at a position at which the resilient recoiling forces of the centering segments 12 are in equilibrium, that is a position at which the resilient recoiling forces of the centering segments 12 become equal to one an another. Meanwhile, since the supporting projections 29, the magnet 9 and the fitting member 4 are spaced apart from one another, there is no risk of obstruction of the movement of centering ring 11 under the resilient recoiling force of the centering segments 12.
The centering ring 11 is fixedly mounted on the fitting member 4 by being bonded to the lower surface of the table section 2 by UV resin or thermoplastic adhesive 32 at the position at which the resilient recoiling forces of the centering segments 12 counterbalance one another. For bonding the centering ring 11 to the table section 2 by the adhesive 32, the adhesive in a fluid state is dripped into the cut-outs 28 so that the adhesive 32 is in contact with both the centering ring 11 and the table section 2, the adhesive 12 being then allowed to be cured in situ. The adhesive 32 is cured by irradiation of UV rays by heating.
The table section 2 is then dismounted from the positioning jig 50 along with the centering ring 11. The centering segments 12 of the centering ring 11, thus mounted on the table section 2, are designed to produce outwardly directed resilient recoiling forces of equal magnitude when the segments are deflected as far as a circumference of a circle coaxial as the fitting hole 8 and having a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the recording disc 101.
For setting and loading the recording disc 101 on the disc setting surface 3 of the disc table having the centering ring 11 formed of the spring plate material, the recording disc 101 is fitted on the fitting member 4 so that the rim of the center aperture 102 of the disc 101 is engaged with the fitting member 4, as shown by arrow C in FIG. 24.
When the recording disc 101 is moved towards the proximal side of the fitting member 4, the inner rim of the center aperture 102 is caused to bear against the centering segments 12. as shown in FIG. 25. The inner rim of the center aperture 102 is moved towards the proximal side of the fitting member 4, as it causes the centering segments 12 to be resiliently deformed and intruded into the cut-outs 10. At this time, each of the centering segments 12 is resiliently biased from the position at which it has its distal end abutted against the inner rim of the cut-out 10 to a position at which the centering segment has its distal end abutted against the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101, as shown by arrow J in FIG. 25. On the other hand, the inner rim of the center aperture 102 is thrust outwards under the resilient restoring force of the centering segments 12.
When the recording disc 101 is fitted over the columnar section 4b of the fitting member 4 at the center aperture 102 thereof, with the portion of the recording disc 101 neighboring to the center aperture 102 being set on the disc setting surface 3, as shown in FIG. 25, the inner peripheral portion of the center aperture 102 is thrust against the centering segments 12 to effect a centering operation of aligning the center of the center aperture 102 with the axis of the fitting member 4.
At this time, the magnet 9 attracts the magnetic plate 104 mounted on the recording disc 101 for thrusting and supporting the recording disc 101 with respect to the disc setting surface 3.
When the recording disc 101 is loaded in position on the table section 2, and the driving shaft 1 is run in rotation by the spindle motor 5, the recording disc 101 is rotated in unison with the table section 2. The information signals are recorded on or reproduced from the signal recording layer of the recording disc 101 by the optical head device or the magnetic head device.
Meanwhile, for achieving optimum centering of the recording disc 101 by the centering segments 12 even after setting the disc 101 on the disc setting surface 3, it is necessary for the centering segments 12 to thrust the inner rim of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101 with a sufficient force. On the other hand, if an excess force is applied by the centering segments 12 against the inner rim of the center aperture 102, and an insufficient force of magnetic attraction is applied by the magnet 9 to the magnetic plate 104, the recording disc 101 cannot be moved to a position of abutment with respect to the disc setting surface 3. In this consideration, the spring constant k 0 of the centering segments 12 is selected to be not less than the minimum value k 1 of the spring constant capable of sufficiently correcting an offset of the recording disc 101 with respect to the fitting member 4 and not larger than the maximum value of the spring constant capable of shifting the recording disc 101 to the position of abutting the recording disc 101 against the disc setting surface 3 under the force of magnetic attraction by the magnet 9 of the magnetic plate 104.
It is now assumed that the spring constant of the centering segments 12 is k, the displacement of the centering segments 12 is Δx, the frictional coefficient between the centering segments 12 and the inner rim of the recording disc 101 is μ 1 and the frictional coefficient between the recording disc 101 and the disc setting surface 3 is μ 2 . When the inner rim of the center aperture 102 is caused to bear against the centering segments 12, a force of magnetic attraction F exerted by the magnet 9 on the magnetic plate 104 as indicated by arrow F in FIG. 25 and a reactive force kΔx exerted by the centering segment 12 on the inner rim of the center aperture 102 in a perpendicular direction act for each of the centering segments 12. It is assumed that the angle of tilt of the portion of the centering segment 12 abutted against the inner rim of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101 is indicated as an angle θ from the horizontal, as indicated by arrow θ in FIG. 25. Assuming that three centering segments 12 are provided, the formula
F=μ.sub.1 k.sub.2 ≢xsinθ+k.sub.2 Δxcosθ(3)
holds for the maximum value k 2 , so that
k.sub.2 =F/{Δx(μ.sub.1 sinθ+cosθ)} (4)
and, since k 0 <k 2 , the formula
k.sub.0 <F/{Δx(μ.sub.1 sinθ+cosθ)} (5)
holds.
As for the minimum value k 1 , if an offset of the recording disc 101 with respect to the fitting member 4 is indicated by D and a force of shifting the recording disc 101 towards the center position is indicated by C, the force C is given by
C=2k.sub.1 (Δx+Dcos60° sinθ) sinθcos 60°-k.sub.1 (Δx-Dsinθ) sinθ=(3/2)k.sub.1 Dsin.sup.2 θ (6)
while a force of resistance R against the movement of the recording disc 101 is given by
R=μ.sub.2 (3F-k.sub.1 Δxcosθ) (7)
In order for the recording disc 101 to be moved, it is necessary for the force of movement C to be larger than the force of resistance R. Consequently, from
(3/2)k.sub.1 Dsin.sup.2 θ>μ.sub.2 (3F-k.sub.1 Δxcosθ), the formula
k.sub.1 =6μ.sub.2 F/(3Dsin.sup.2 θ+2μ.sub.2 Δxcosθ)(8)
holds. Since k 1 <k 0 , the formula
k.sub.0 >6μ.sub.2 F/(3Dsin.sup.2 θ+2μ.sub.2 Δxcosθ) (9)
holds.
It is observed that, since the centering segments 12 are formed of a metallic spring plate material, the spring constant of the centering segments 12 set in this manner may be substantially five times as large as the spring constant when the centering segments 12 are formed of a spring plate material of synthetic resin of the same thickness as that of the metallic spring plate material.
With the disc table, constituted with the centering ring 11 of the spring material, the recording disc 101 may be centered satisfactorily by the centering segments 12. Besides, since the distal ends of the centering segments 12 are caused to bear against the inner wall sections of the cut-outs 10, the thrusting force exerted on the inner rim of the center aperture 102 undergoes less fluctuations by an error possibly present in the spring constants. In addition, in the initial state in which the recording disc 101 is not loaded in position, the centering segments 12 are controlled in their positions by the inner wall sections of the cut-outs 10, so that the centering segments 12 may be positioned with great accuracy.
Besides, since the centering segments 12 are formed of a metallic material, they are excellent in creep resistance and exhibit superior durability under high temperature environment. Furthermore, these centering segments 12 may be fabricated with a precise spring constant as compared to the case wherein the segments 12 are fabricated from a synthetic resin.
Each centering segment 12 is provided with the tabs 31, 31, and has the portion abutted against the inner rim of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101 bent substantially arcuately towards the base section 26, so that it becomes possible to prevent a damage from being done to the inner rim of the center aperture 102 as well as to assure smooth movement of the recording disc 101 towards the disc setting surface 3.
A disc table of a seventh embodiment according to the present invention is explained.
When the disc table of the seventh embodiment according to the present invention is fabricated using the centering ring 11 of a spring material, as described above, the distal ends of the centering segments 12 may be provided with pads 34 of synthetic material, as shown in FIG. 26, instead of with the bent tabs 31, 31. These pads 34 may be provided on the centering segments 12 by a so-called outsert molding method. These pads 134 are provided at the portions of the centering segments 12 abutted against the inner rim of the centering aperture 102, so that, in the initial state in which the recording disc 101 is not loaded in position, the pads 134 are projected outwardly of the fitting member 4.
With the present disc table, it is similarly possible t to prevent damages from being inflicted by the centering segments 12 on the inner rim of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101, as well as to assure smooth movement of the recording disc 101 towards the disc setting surface 3. | A disc table employed in a disc recording/reproducing apparatus has, as a recording medium, a recording disc, such as an optical disc or a magneto-optical disc, on which information signals are pre-recorded or are to be recorded. The disc table includes a fitting member fitted from its distal end into a circular center aperture of the recording disc, a table section which is integrated to the fitting member at a proximal side of the fitting member and on which a rim portion around the center aperture of the disc is set, a thrusting and supporting unit for thrusting and supporting the recording disc with respect to the table section, and a centering unit provided at a proximal side of the fitting member and adapted for thrusting the rim portion around the center aperture of the recording disc for aligning the center of rotation of the recording disc with the center of rotation of the fitting member. The fitting member is gradually tapered towards its distal end where the fitting member is provided with a guide slidingly contacted with the inner rim of the center aperture of the recording disc for guiding the recording disc towards the center of rotation of the fitting member. The recording disc may be positively centered to enable stable rotation of the recording disc while realizing a simplified thin type construction. | Summarize the patent information, clearly outlining the technical challenges and proposed solutions. | [
"This application is a continuation of application Ser.",
"No. 08/391,461 filed Feb. 21, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,633,856 which is a file wrapper continuation of Ser.",
"No. 08/005,159, filed Jan. 15, 1993, now abandoned.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention This invention relates to a disc table employed in a disc recording/reproducing apparatus for a recording disc, such as an optical disc or a magneto-optical disc, on which information signals are to be recorded or prerecorded.",
"More particularly, the present invention relates to such disc table having a centering member enabling the recording medium to be loaded and centered with respect to the disc table.",
"The present invention also relates to a method for producing such disc table.",
"Description of the Related Art Recently, recording discs, such as optical discs or magneto-optical discs, and a recording/reproducing apparatus employing such recording discs as a recording medium, have been proposed.",
"In the above-described recording/reproducing apparatus, when recording information signals on the recording disc or reproducing information signals recorded on the recording disc, the disc is rotated with a pickup unit which acts as a recording and/or reproducing means for the information signals facing a signal recording surface of the disc.",
"To this end, there is provided in the disc recording/reproducing apparatus a disc rotating and driving mechanism having a disc table on which the recording disc is loaded and which is adapted to be rotated in unison with the disc.",
"As such disc table employed in the disc rotating and driving mechanism, there is known a disc table disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,851 to Yamamura and U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,955 to Elliott et al.",
"The disc table constituting the above-described disc rotating and driving mechanism comprises a table section integrated with a driving shaft of a rotating driving motor which functions as a rotating and driving means, and a fitting member mounted at the middle of the table section which engages in a center aperture of the recording disc set on the table section.",
"The disc table includes a thrusting and supporting mechanism for thrusting and supporting the recording disc set on the table section in a predetermined position.",
"The thrusting and supporting mechanism comprises a chucking plate mounted facing the table section and adapted to clamp the rim of the center aperture of the recording disc set on the table section in position on the table section.",
"The fitting member is substantially frusto-conical, and tapered towards its upper or distal end.",
"The fitting member is supported for movement along the axis of the driving shaft, while being resiliently biased by a biasing member, such as a spring, towards its upper end.",
"With the above-described disc table, in which the outer periphery of the fitting member is tapered and upwardly biased, when the recording disc is set on the table section, with the rim of the center aperture thereof in sliding contact with the outer periphery of the fitting member, the rim of the center aperture is thrust by the outer periphery of the fitting member to effect centering of the recording disc with respect to the driving shaft.",
"When the driving motor is driven for rotating the driving shaft, the recording disc is rotated in unison with the disc table.",
"Meanwhile, the above-described disc table in which the fitting member for centering the recording disc with respect to the disc table is supported for movement relative to the table section is complex in construction and difficult to assemble and manufacture.",
"Besides, with this disc table, since it is necessary to provide the spring between the fitting member and the table section, it is difficult to achieve reduction in height of the table section.",
"To overcome this drawback, a disc table has been proposed in which the fitting member is fixedly provided with respect to the table section to achieve a simplified construction and a reduction in the height of the apparatus.",
"However, it is necessary with this disc table design that the fitting member be smaller in size with respect to the center aperture in order to allow for the dimensional error of the outer diameter of the fitting member and the dimensional error of the inside diameter of the center aperture.",
"Consequently, with such disc table, a very small clearance tends to occur between the outer periphery of the fitting member and annual inner rim of the center aperture when the recording disc is set on the table section.",
"If such clearance is produced between the fitting member and the center aperture, not only car the centering of the recording disc with respect to the driving shaft not be achieved, but also the recording disc tends to shift relative to the table section in response to external vibrations or shock.",
"Further, with the above-described recording/reproducing apparatus, if the offset of the recording disc with respect to the driving shaft of the disc rotating and driving mechanism is sufficiently large, the light beam from the pickup unit for writing and/or reading information signals on or from the recording disc cannot follow the recording track of the recording disc and renders it impossible to record and/or reproduce the information signals.",
"Additionally, with such disc recording/reproducing apparatus, if the recording disc shifts with respect to the table section in the course of recording and/or reproduction of the information signals, the light beam undergoes track jump to interrupt recording/reproduction process.",
"OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a disc table whereby a recording disc may be loaded on the disc table with a high centering accuracy with respect to the center of rotation of a disc rotating and driving mechanism.",
"It is another object of the present invention to provide a disc table whereby the effects of extraneous vibrations or shock on the loaded recording disc may be inhibited and thus ensure stable rotation of the recording disc.",
"It is a further object of the present invention to provide a disc table which is simplified in construction and reduced in height and which contributes to reduction in the thickness of the recording/reproducing apparatus.",
"It is yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a disc table whereby a disc table capable of achieving the above objects may be produced easily.",
"The present invention provides a disc table for a disc recording/reproducing apparatus which uses a recording disc, such as an optical disc or a magneto-optical disc, on which information signals are pre-recorded or are to be recorded, as a recording medium.",
"The disc table includes a fitting member fitted from its distal end into a circular center aperture of the recording disc, a table section which is integrated to the fitting member at a proximal side of the fitting member and on which a rim around the center aperture of the disc is set, a thrusting supporting unit for thrusting and supporting the recording disc with respect to the table section, and a centering unit provided at a proximal side of the fitting member and adapted for thrusting the rim around the center aperture of the recording disc for coinciding the center of rotation of the recording disc with the center of rotation of the fitting member.",
"The fitting member is gradually tapered towards its distal end where the fitting member is provided with a guide slidingly contacted with the inner rim of the center aperture of the recording disc for guiding the recording disc towards the center of rotation of the fitting member.",
"The recording disc may be positively centered to enable stable rotation of the recording disc while realizing a simplified thin type construction.",
"As means for thrusting and supporting the recording disc placed on the table section with respect to the table section, a magnet for attracting a magnetic metal plate mounted at the center of the recording disc is employed.",
"The proximal side of the fitting member fitted in the center aperture of the recording disc is formed as a columnar section having an outside diameter corresponding to the diameter of the center aperture of the recording disc.",
"The centering members are formed as plural spring plates mounted on the fitting member for being projected out of or receded inwardly of the outer peripheral surface of the proximal attaching said centering means in position with respect to said fitting member.",
"With the above-described disc table, the fitting member having a gradually tapered distal end and provided with a disc-capturing guide section at the distal end is intruded from the tapered distal end first into the circular center aperture of the recording disc and moved towards the proximal end of the fitting member so as to be guided towards the center region by the disc-capturing guide section.",
"The disc is thrust and supported by thrusting supporting means with respect to the table section provided at the proximal end of the fitting member and has the inner rim of the center aperture thereof thrust by the centering means provided at the proximal end of the fitting member for effecting centering with respect to the disc table.",
"When a magnet attracting a metallic plate fitted at the center of the recording disc is employed as the thrusting supporting means for the recording disc, the recording disc is held only at one of its sides.",
"When the proximal side of the fitting member is designed as a columnar section, the recording disc when placed on the table section has its center aperture in intimate abutment contact with the proximal side of the fitting member to inhibit movement of the recording disc with respect to the table section.",
"When the centering means is constituted by centering members in the form of plural spring plates, arranged for being protruded end of the fitting member.",
"The plural spring plates of the centering members are arranged on the fitting member in a state in which the spring plates are resiliently biased towards the center of the fitting member and which is controlled by resetting controlling means provided at the mid part of the table section.",
"The centering members are constituted by spring plates formed of a metallic material.",
"When the centering members are formed as spring plates of metallic material, both lateral sides of the portions of the centering members abutted against the inner rim of the center inn of the recording disc are bent substantially arcuately towards the center of the fitting member.",
"The present invention also provides a method for producing a disc table comprising positioning a fitting member by fitting a reference shaft of a positioning jig in a center aperture of said fitting member, placing centering means having plural centering members in the form of spring plates thrusting the inner rim of the center inn of the recording disc so that the centering members are positioned at the peripheral side of the fitting member, abutting each of the centering members with a substantially equal thrusting force on an abutment inner wall section of a positioning hole formed in a positioning jig with said reference shaft as a center for positioning said centering means with respect to said fitting member, and immobilizing and from or receded inwardly of the outer periphery of the fitting member, the centering members may be integrated with the fitting member to simplify the construction of the disc table.",
"When the centering members in the form of spring plates are provided in the fitting member in a state in which they are resiliently biased towards the center of the fitting member and which is controlled by a controlling section provided at the center of the table section a sufficient thrusting force is applied to the recording disc by the centering members even although the centering members are of a lower spring constant.",
"Besides, the fluctuations in the thrusting force applied to the recording disc as a result of errors in the spring constant may also be diminished.",
"When the centering members of the disc table are formed as spring plates of a metallic material, the centering members exhibit superior durability even under hostile environment such as elevated temperatures, while satisfactory characteristics with only small error rate may be achieved even although the spring constant of the centering members is increased.",
"When both lateral sides of the portions of the centering members formed as spring plates of a metallic material abutted against the inner rim of the center aperture of the recording disc are bent substantially arcuately towards the center of the fitting member, the recording disc is not injured by the centering members during disc loading and unloading and may be smoothly loaded or unloaded on the disc table.",
"The method for producing the disc table according to the present invention comprises positioning a fitting member to be intruded from its distal end first into the circular center opening of the recording disc by fitting a reference shaft of a positioning jig in a center aperture of the fitting member, placing the centering means so that its centering members in the form of plural spring plates thrusting the inner rim of the center aperture of the recording disc are positioned at the peripheral side of the fitting member, abutting each of the centering members with a substantially equal thrusting force on an abutment inner wall section of a positioning hole formed in the positioning jig coaxially with the reference shaft for positioning the centering means with respect to the fitting member, and immobilizing and attaching the centering means in position with respect to the fitting member, so that the centering means may be mounted at a position such that the inner rim of the center aperture of the recording disc may be uniformly thrust by the respective centering members.",
"Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become clear from the following description of the preferred embodiments and the claims.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an arrangement of a disc table according to the present invention.",
"FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the arrangement of the disc table shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the arrangement of the disc table shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view showing essential portions of the disc table shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing the state in which the loading of the recording disc on the disc table is started.",
"FIG. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing the state in which the recording disc is being loaded on the disc table.",
"FIG. 7 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing the state in which the loading of the recording disc on the disc table is completed.",
"FIG. 8 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the dias table of the present invention in which the fitting member is integrated to the centering member.",
"FIG. 9 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the arrangement of the disc table shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of the disc table according to the present invention in which plural clamping members make up thrusting supporting means.",
"FIG. 11 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing arrangements of the disc table shown in FIG. 10 and the disc table loaded thereon.",
"FIG. 12 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the state in which the loading of a disc cartridge on the disc table shown in FIG. 10 is started.",
"FIG. 13 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the state in which the disc cartridge is being loaded on the disc table shown in FIG. 10, with the clamping members being in a neutral position.",
"FIG. 14 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the state in which the disc cartridge is being loaded on the disc table shown in FIG. 10, with the clamping members being biased downwards.",
"FIG. 15 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the state in which the loading of a disc cartridge on the disc table shown in FIG. 10 is completed.",
"FIG. 16 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a modification of the essential parts of the disc table showing the state in which the loading of a disc cartridge on the disc table is started.",
"FIG. 17 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the state in which the loading of a disc cartridge on the disc table shown in FIG. 16, is completed.",
"FIG. 18 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of another modification of the essential parts of the disc table showing the state in which the loading of the disc cartridge on the disc table is started.",
"FIG. 19 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the state in which the loading of the disc cartridge on the disc table shown in FIG. 18 is completed.",
"FIG. 20 is a plan view showing an embodiment in which a disc table according to the present invention is constituted using a centering member consisting in a spring plate formed of a metallic material.",
"FIG. 21 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a construction of the disc table shown in FIG. 20.",
"FIG. 22 is an exploded perspective view showing the construction of the disc table shown in FIG. 20.",
"FIG. 23 is a perspective view illustrating the method for producing the disc table according to the present invention showing the process for producing the disc table shown in FIG. 20.",
"FIG. 24 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing the recording disc being loaded on the disc table shown in FIG. 20.",
"FIG. 25 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing the state in which the loading of the recording disc on the disc table shown in FIG. 20 is completed.",
"FIG. 26 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing another modification of a disc table according to the present invention in which the disc member is constituted using a centering member of a spring plate formed of a metallic material.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings, illustrative embodiments of the present invention will be explained in detail.",
"Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, showing a first embodiment of the disc table of the present invention, the disc table has a table section 2 fitted on a driving shaft 1 of a spindle motor 5 of a disc recording/reproducing apparatus in which the disc table is fitted.",
"The table section 2 is formed substantially as a disc from synthetic resin or the like material and has an engaging aperture which is a center aperture engaged by the driving shaft 1.",
"An outer peripheral region of an upper surface of the table section 2 is a disc setting surface 3 on which the recording disc 101 as a recording medium is set.",
"On the lower surface of the table section 2, there is formed a cylindrical supporting section 7, centered about the engaging aperture 8.",
"The function of the supporting section 7 is to increase the length of the engaging aperture 8 so as to be larger than the thickness of the table section 2 for assuring more positive support of the table section 2 by the driving shaft 1.",
"The recording disc 101 loaded on the disc table comprises a disc-shaped disc substrate 101a formed of a light-transmitting transparent synthetic resin and a signal recording layer formed on one of the major surfaces of the disc substrate 101a, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.",
"The disc substrate 101a has a circular center aperture 102.",
"This circular aperture serves as a reference for the loading position of the disc on the disc table provided within the disc recording/reproducing apparatus.",
"On the opposite major surface of the disc substrate 101a is formed an annular rib surrounding the center aperture 102.",
"On the major surface of the disc substrate carrying the signal recording surface is formed an annular recess 103 surrounding the center aperture 102 in register with the annular rib, as shown in FIG. 3. A substantially disc-shaped magnetic plate 104, formed of a magnetic material, such as metal, is set within the recess 103.",
"The magnetic plate 104 is retained by the disc substrate 101a by means of an adhesive or supporting lugs formed by thermally deforming part of the disc substrate 101a formed e.g. of synthetic resin.",
"The signal recording layer, deposited on the firstly-mentioned major surface of the disc substrate 101a, is formed of a metallic material for providing a perpendicular recording magnetic film and a reflective layer for reflecting the light beam, and is used for recording desired information signals.",
"The spindle motor 5 is mounted on the lower surface of a chassis 6 of the disc recording/reproducing apparatus, and has its driving shaft 1 extended above the chassis 6 via a through-hole in the chassis 6, as shown in FIG. 2. Above the chassis 6, an optical pickup device and a magnetic head device, not shown, for recording and/or reproducing information signals with respect to the signal recording layer of the magneto-optical disc 101 placed on the disc setting surface 3, are provided for movement towards and away from the spindle motor 5, that is in a direction spanning the inner and outer peripheries of the recording disc 101.",
"A fitting member 4 is provided at the center of the upper surface of the table section 2.",
"The fitting member 4 is substantially conically-shaped and integrated to the table section 2.",
"The fitting member 4 is of an outside diameter large enough to be fitted in the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101.",
"The fitting member 4 has its upper end, that is the distal end, as a disc-capturing tapered guide section 4a which is tapered towards its end surface, as shown in FIG. 4. The outer peripheral surface of the disc-capturing guide section 4a is curved smoothly so as to be merged with the end face of the fitting member 4.",
"The fitting member 4 also has its distal side, that is its side proximate to the disc setting surface 3, as a columnar section 4b which is of an outside diameter substantially equal to the inside diameter of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 102.",
"The outer periphery of the fitting member 4 is formed with a groove 25 engaged by a centering ring 11 constituting centering means, as shown in FIG. 3. The groove 25 has a depth extended from the distal end to a mid part of the fitting member 4 and is in the form of a annulus or toroid coaxial with the fitting member 4.",
"The fitting member 4 has an outer peripheral upright wall delimiting the groove 25.",
"The peripheral wall has plural cut-outs 10 in communication with the groove 25.",
"These cut-outs 10 are extended radially from the groove 25 towards the outer surface of the fitting member 4.",
"These cut-outs 10 are provided at equiangular intervals about an axis of the fitting member 4 as a center.",
"The centering ring 11, fitted into the groove 25 of the fitting member 4, is also formed as a toroid or annulus from metal or synthetic resin exhibiting flexibility and elasticity.",
"The centering ring 11 is formed integrally with plural outwardly directed centering segments 12 for centering the recording disc loaded on the disc table.",
"These centering segments 12 are tongue-shaped concentric radially extending lugs at equiangular intervals so as to be in register with the cut-outs 10.",
"These centering segments 12 are in the form of spring plates so as to be deformed resiliently.",
"When the centering ring 11 is fitted in the groove 25, the centering segments 12 are positioned in such a manner that the proximal ends thereof are in proximity to the end face of the fitting member 4 and the distal ends thereof are directed at an angle with respect to the disc setting surface 3 and partially projected outwardly of the cut-outs 10, that is towards the outer periphery of the fitting member 4.",
"The distal end parts of the centering segments 12 are extended on the periphery of the columnar section 4b in the direction of the disc setting surface 3.",
"That is, the centering segments 12 are extend ed outwardly of the fitting member 4 at the proximal side of the fitting member 4.",
"The distal end parts of these centering segments 12 may be intruded into and protruded out of the cut-outs 10 by the elastic deformation of the proximal parts of the centering segments 12.",
"Meanwhile, a toroidal-shaped groove 14 enveloping the end parts of the centering segments 12 is formed on the upper surface of the table section 2 in order to allow for elastic deformation of the centering segments 12.",
"The end face of the fitting member 4 is formed with a magnet mounting recess 13 which is a circular recess concentric with the fitting member 4.",
"A magnet 9 for thrusting and supporting the recording disc 101 with respect to the table section 2 is fitted in the mounting recess 13.",
"The magnet 9, in the form of a circular button, is adapted for magnetically attracting a magnetic plate 104 which is mounted at a mid-part of the recording disc 101 for closing the center aperture 102.",
"For loading the recording disc 101 on the above-described disc table according to the present invention, the recording disc 101 is fitted by its center aperture 102 over the fitting member 4, as shown in FIG. 4. Since the end face section of the fitting member 4 is smoothly merged with its disc capturing taper section 4a, the recording disc 101 is guided towards the mid-part of the fitting member 4 so as to be moved towards the distal end of the fitting member 4, with the inner rim of the center aperture 102 being in sliding contact with the outer surface of the disc capturing taper section 4a, under magnetic attraction exerted by the magnet 9 on the magnetic plate 104, even although the disc 101 is offset with respect to the fitting member 4.",
"When the recording disc 101 is moved towards the proximal side of the fitting member 4, the inner rim of the center aperture 102 is caused to bear on the centering segments 12, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.",
"The disc 101 is moved towards the proximal side of the fitting member 4, with its inner rim abutting on and elastically deforming the centering segments 12 for intruding the segments 12 into the cut-outs 10.",
"The centering segments 12 thrust the inner rim of the center aperture 102 outwards under their elasticity.",
"When the recording disc 101 is fitted on the columnar section 4b of the fitting member 4 by its center aperture 102 and the neighboring portion to the aperture 102 of the disc is set on the disc setting surface 3, the disc 101 is centered by the inner rim of its center aperture 102 thrust by the centering segments 12, with the center of the center aperture 102 being then in register with the axis of the fitting member 4, as shown in FIG. 7. The magnet 9 then attracts the magnetic plate 104 mounted on the recording disc 101 for pressing the disc 101 against the disc setting surface 3.",
"When the recording disc 101 is loaded in this manner in position on the table section 2, and the driving shaft 1 is run in rotation by spindle motor 5, the recording disc 101 is rotated in unison with the table section 5.",
"The information signals may then be recorded and/or reproduced on or from the signal recording layer of the recording disc 101 by the optical head device or the magnetic head device.",
"Meanwhile, for satisfactory centering, it is necessary for the centering segments 12 to thrust the inner rim of the center aperture 102 towards the table section 2 with a sufficient pressure before the recording disc 101 is caused to bear against the disc setting surface 3.",
"When the inner rim of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101 abuts on the centering sections 12, a disc attracting force F by which the magnet 9 attracts the magnetic plate 104 as indicated by arrow F in FIG. 5, a reactive force N exerted by the centering segment 12 in a normal direction shown by arrow N in FIG. 5 on the inner rim of the center aperture 102, and a thrusting force f by which the inner rim of the center aperture 102 thrusts the centering segment 12, as indicated by arrow f in FIG. 5, are generated for each of the centering segments 12.",
"Assuming that the centering ring 11 is provided with six centering segments 12, it is necessary that the formula f=Nsinθ=(F/6)×(sinθ/cosθ) (1) be satisfied.",
"In the above formula, θ is an angle by which the outer lateral surface of the centering segment 12 is inclined relative to the major surface of the recording disc 101.",
"If the disc attracting force F is 350 gf and the angle θ is 70°, the thrusting force f is given by f=(350/6)×tan70°=160gf (2) and hence is 160 gf.",
"That is, it suffices to set the elasticity of the centering segments so that, when the centering segment 12 is thrust by the thrusting force exceeding 160 gf, the centering segment 12 is resiliently biased by an amount a by which the centering segment 12 is protruded beyond the fitting member 4 on a horizontal plane including the disc setting surface 3.",
"It is because the centering segments 12 are resiliently deflected by an amount equal to the amount the segments 12 are protruded from the fitting member 4 on the horizontal plane inclusive of the disc setting surface 3 when the recording disc 101 is set on the disc setting surface 3.",
"Meanwhile, the centering segments 12, exhibiting the resiliency such that the segments 12 are resiliently protruded by an amount of protrusion from the fitting member 4 on the horizontal plane inclusive of the disc setting surface 3 when the segments are thrust by the thrusting force f equal to about 160 gf, may be formed of a synthetic resin material.",
"A disc table according to a second embodiment of the present invention is hereinafter explained.",
"In the second embodiment of the disc table, the centering segments 12 may be integrated with the fitting member 4, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.",
"That is, the fitting member 4 of the present second embodiment is made up of the fitting member 4 integrated to the centering ring 11 of the preceding embodiment.",
"A disc table according to a third embodiment of the present invention is hereinafter explained.",
"In the present third embodiment of the disc table, a plurality of clamping members 19 are provided as thrusting and supporting means, as shown in FIGS. 10 to 15.",
"The disc table of the present embodiment is designed to hold the recording disc 101 housed for rotation in a cartridge main body to constitute a disc cartridge.",
"In distinction from the recording disc 101 of the preceding embodiments, the recording disc 101 of the present embodiment is not fitted with the magnetic plate 104.",
"The disc cartridge is made up of the recording disc 101 and a cartridge main body 104 housing the recording disc 101 therein, as shown in FIG. 11.",
"The cartridge main body 104 is formed as a substantially rectangular casing for accommodating the recording disc 101 therein.",
"That is, the cartridge main body 104 has a substantially square shape having a side of each of the upper and lower major surfaces extending along the major surfaces of the recording disc 101 slightly longer than the diameter of the recording disc 101.",
"The recording disc 101 is accommodated for rotation within the cartridge main body 104.",
"A substantially circular chucking aperture 108 is formed in the lower major surface of the cartridge main body 104.",
"The chucking aperture 108 is a through-hole slightly larger in diameter than the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101 and functions to expose the center aperture 102 and its rim portion to outside.",
"A recording/reproducing aperture, not shown, is formed in each of the major surfaces of the cartridge main body 104.",
"Each recording/reproducing aperture is provided for extending from the vicinity of the center of one of the major surfaces of the cartridge main body 104 as far as one of the sides of the major surface, that is the vicinity of one of the lateral sides of the cartridge main body 104.",
"The function of these recording/ reproducing apertures is to cause the optical pickup device or the magnetic head of the disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus to face the recording disc 101 when recording and/or reading the information signals on or from the signal recording surface of the recording disc 101.",
"A pair of annular ribs 106, 107 for controlling the movement along the thickness of the recording disc 101 within the cartridge main body 101 are formed in the vicinity of the rim of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101 at opposite positions on the inner wall sections of the cartridge main body 104.",
"The disc table of the present third embodiment is provided with a table section 2, as is the disc table of each of the first and second embodiments, as shown in FIG. 10.",
"The table section 2 has the outer peripheral region of its upper surface as the above-mentioned disc setting surface 3 and has a fitting member 4 protuberantly mounted at the mod part of its upper surface.",
"The fitting member 4 has plural centering segments 12.",
"With the present disc table, the fitting member 4 has plural clamping members 19, 19, 19 each having its mid-part supported for rotation.",
"These clamping members 19 are mounted in radially extending clamping member mounting slits 15, 15, 15 provided in the fitting member 4.",
"These clamping members 19 are supported by supporting shafts 17 which are provided in the clamping member mounting slits 15 and which are passed through shaft inserting holes 20 provided at the mid part of the clamping members 19.",
"The supporting shafts 17 are formed so that the axial directions thereof extend along the tangent of a circle having the center axis of the table section 2 as a center.",
"The clamping member 19 is formed as a substantially T-shaped member having arms extending in two opposite directions form the mid-part provided with the shaft inserting hole 20 and a third arm extending in a direction substantially normal to these two arms.",
"One of the two arms of the clamping member 19 extending in the two opposite directions functions as the clamping section 23, while the third arm extending in the direction substantially normal to the clamping section 23 functions as a thrust section 22.",
"Each of the clamping sections 19 in its initial state has the thrust section 22 protruded radially out of the fitting member 4 so as to overlie the disc setting surface 3, while having the clamping section 23 housed within the clamping member mounting slit 15, as shown in FIG. 11.",
"Since each of the clamping sections 19 in its initial state is housed within the clamping member mounting slit 15, there is no fear of the clamping member 19 being rotated or damaged by foreign matter or the user's finger being inadvertently introduced at the distal end of the fitting member 4.",
"Meanwhile, the clamping member mounting slits 15 are each formed for extending as far as a position of the disc setting surface 3 faced by the thrust sections 22.",
"Between each clamping member 19 and the table section 2, a torsion coil spring 18 for rotationally biasing the clamping member 19 in a direction away from a neutral rotational position of the clamping member 19 is provided in association with each clamping member 19.",
"Each of the torsion coil springs 18 resiliently biases a retention pin 21, provided on the other of the two arm sections extended in the two opposite directions, that is the arm section opposite to the clamping section 23 with the shaft inserting opening in-between, in a direction outwardly of the table section 2.",
"Each of the torsion coil springs 18 has one of its arm sections engaged with an engaging pin 21 of each of the clamping members 19, while having the other arm section retained by a retention section 24 provided in each of the clamping member mounting slits 15.",
"The clamping members 19, 19, 19 are rotationally biased at this time so that the thrust sections 22 thereof are directed to the upper end face of the fitting member 4 in FIG. 10, as indicated by arrows D in FIGS. 11 and 12.",
"The neutral rotational position of the clamping member 19 is the position at which it has been turned from the above-mentioned initial state in a direction of shifting the thrust section 22 towards the disc setting surface 3, and at which the retention section 24, retention pin 21 and the supporting shaft 17 are on a straight line, as shown in FIG. 13.",
"In this state, each of the torsion coil springs 18 biases the associated clamping member 19 in a direction proceeding from the retention pin 21 towards the supporting shaft 17, as shown by arrow E in FIG. 13.",
"That is, the torsion coil spring 18 rotationally biases the associated clamping member 19 in a direction shown by arrow D in FIGS. 11 and 12 when the clamping member 19 is at a position rotated in one direction from the neutral position, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.",
"On the other hand, when the clamping member 19 is at a position rotated in the opposite direction from the neutral position, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the torsion coil spring rotationally biases the clamping member 19 in the opposite direction as indicated by arrow in FIGS. 14 and 15.",
"With the above-described disc table of the third embodiment according to the present invention, when the operation of setting the recording disc 101 on the table setting surface 3 of the table section 2 is initiated, as shown by arrow C in FIG. 12, the distal end of the fitting member 4 is inserted into the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101.",
"The recording disc 101 has its set section 105 around its center aperture 102 on its opposite major surface abutted against the thrust section 22.",
"When the recording disc 101 is moved towards the disc setting surface 3, each clamping member 19 has its thrust section 22 thrust by the set section 105 of the recording disc so that the thrust section 22 is rotated in a direction of approaching the disc setting surface 3 against the bias of the torsion coil sparing 18, as shown in FIG. 13.",
"Each of the clamping members 19 is rotated in this manner to the above-mentioned neutral rotational position.",
"When the recording disc 101 is moved towards the disc setting surface 3, each clamping member 19 has its thrust section 22 thrust by the set section 105 of the recording disc 101, as shown in FIG. 13, so that the thrust section 22 is rotated against the bias of the torsion coil spring 18 in a direction of approaching the disc setting surface 3.",
"In this manner, the clamping section 19 is rotated to the above-mentioned neutral rotational position.",
"When the recording disc 101 further approaches the disc setting surface 3, the thrust section 22 of each of the clamping members 19 is thrust by the set section 105 of the recording disc 105, so that the thrust section 22 is rotated beyond the neutral rotational position in a direction of approaching the thrust section 22 to the disc setting surface 3, as shown in FIG. 14.",
"At this time, each clamping section 19 causes the thrust section 22 to be rotated in a direction of further approaching to the disc setting surface 3, under the bias of the torsion coil spring 18 and under the thrusting force exerted by the set section of the disc on the thrust section 22, as indicated by arrow G in FIG. 14.",
"The cartridge main body 104 is loaded in position on a chassis 6 by being caused to bear against he distal ends of positioning pins 202, 203 mounted upright on the chassis 6.",
"Meanwhile, the table section 2 is intruded into the inside of the cartridge main body 104 via chucking aperture 108 provided in the cartridge main body 104.",
"Under the thrust exerted by the set section 105 against the thrust section 22 and the bias exerted by the torsion coil spring 18, each clamping member 19 causes the thrust section 22 to be rotated in a direction of approaching to the disc setting surface 3.",
"The clamping members 19 cause the thrust sections 22 to be moved away from the set section 105, while causing the clamp sections 23 to bear against a recess 103 formed in the rim of the center aperture 102 in one of the major surfaces of the recording disc 101.",
"The result is that the recording disc 101 is thrust and supported on the disc setting surface 3 by the clamping member 19, as shown in FIG. 15.",
"At this time, the recording disc 101 has its center of rotation coincided with the axis of the disc table by the centering segments 12 of the fitting member 4 by way of performing a centering operation.",
"If the spindle motor 5 rotates the driving shaft 1 at this state, the recording disc 101 is rotated in unison with the table section 2.",
"The information signals may be recorded on or reproduced from the signal recording layer by the optical pickup device or the magnetic head device.",
"For dismounting the recording disc 101 from the table section 2, it suffices to move the recording disc 101, along with the cartridge main body 104, in an upward direction away from the disc setting surface 3.",
"Each of the clamping members 19 has its clamping section 23 thrust upwards by the recording disc 101 so as to be rotated beyond the above-mentioned neutral rotational position so as to be returned to its initial position.",
"With the present disc table, not only the recording disc 101 housed within the cartridge main body 104, but also the recording disc 101 not housed within the cartridge main body 104, may be set with correct centering on the disc setting surface 3, as hereinabove described.",
"The number of the clamping members may be at least two or four or more in stead of three in the above described embodiments.",
"A disc table of a fourth embodiment according to the present invention is hereinafter explained.",
"In the present embodiment, the centering segments 12 may be mounted in a stressed state, that is in a state of being resiliently flexed inwardly towards the center axis of the fitting member 4, as shown in FIG. 16, instead of in a natural or stress-free state, that is in a state free from resilient flexing.",
"In this case, the centering segments 12 have their distal ends intruded into the cut-outs 10 in the inwardly resiliently flexed or stressed state so that the distal ends are caused to bear against the inner wall sections of the cut-outs 10.",
"That is, with the present disc table, the inner wall sections of the cut-outs 10 act as resetting controlling sections for controlling the resetting of the centering segments 12 to their natural state.",
"When the recording disc 101 is set on the disc setting surface 3 of the table section 2, as shown by arrow C in FIG. 16, the centering segments 12 are thrust and resiliently flexed by the inner rim of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101, while thrusting the inner rim of the center aperture 102, as shown in FIG. 17.",
"At this time, each of the centering segments 12 has its distal end resiliently biased from the position of being caused to bear against the inner wall section of the cut-out 10 to the position of being caused to bear against the inner rim of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101, as shown by arrow J in FIG. 17.",
"Since the centering segments 12 are not biased from their unstressed state, it is possible for these centering segments 12 to exhibit a sufficient thrusting force corresponding to the displacement from the unstressed state, which thrusting force may be exerted on the inner rim of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101, even although the segments 12 deemed as spring plates are of a small spring constant.",
"Consequently, the recording disc 101 may be correctly centered by these centering segments 12.",
"Besides, in the initial state in which the recording disc 101 is not loaded, the centering segments 12 are controlled in their positions by the inner wall sections of the cut-outs 10 and hence positioned with great accuracy.",
"A disc table of a fifth embodiment according to the present invention is hereinafter explained.",
"By the way, the centering means in the disc table of the present fifth embodiment is not limited to plural centering segments in the form of plural spring plates, as those shown in the above-described embodiments, but may consist in plural centering segments 12 connected to an annular section of the centering ring 11 via hinges 12a, and an elastic member 12b, as shown in FIG. 18.",
"The centering segments 12 are pawl-shaped lugs disposed at equiangular intervals in register with the cut-outs 10 for extending radially relative to the annular section of the centering ring 1.",
"These centering segments are intruded into the cut-outs 10.",
"Similarly to the centering segments 12 of the preceding embodiments, each of the centering segments of the present embodiment has only its distal end projected out of the fitting member 4 at the proximal part of the fitting member 4.",
"Each hinge 12a is formed at the proximal side of each centering segment 12 by locally reducing the thickness of the centering segment 12.",
"The centering segments 12 may be biased in a direction of being protruded out of or being receded inwardly of the fitting member 4 by resilient flexure of the hinge 12a.",
"The elastic member 12b is formed substantially as an annulus from an elastic material, such as butyl rubber, and is interposed between the centering segments 12 and the annular section of the centering ring 11.",
"That is, the elastic member 12 is fitted to the outer side of the annular section of the centering ring 11 and is disposed inwardly of the centering segments 12.",
"When the recording disc 101 is set on the disc setting surface 3 of the table section 2 of the disc table, as shown by arrow C in FIG. 18, the centering segments 12 are displaced by being thrust by the inner rim of the centering aperture 102 to compress the elastic member 12b, as shown by arrow K in FIG. 19, with the inner rim of the center aperture 102 in turn being thrust by the elastic recoil of the elastic member 12b.",
"Since the displacement of the centering segments 12 at this time is not as elastic displacement, the centering segments 12 are not susceptible to creep even after repeated displacement and hence exhibit excellent durability.",
"Since the thrusting force against the inner rim of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101 is obtained by the force of elastic recoiling of the elastic member 12b, the thrusting force may be increased to a sufficient level by suitably selecting the material and/or the shape of the elastic member 12b.",
"Consequently, the recording disc 101 may be satisfactorily centered by the centering segments 12.",
"A disc table of the sixth embodiment according to the present invention and the method for producing the disc table according to the present invention are hereinafter explained.",
"The disc table of the sixth embodiment may be constituted using a centering ring 11 formed of a metallic spring plate material, as shown in FIGS. 20 to 22, 24 and 25.",
"Similarly to the disc tables of the preceding embodiments, the present disc table is also provided with a table section 2 supported by being fitted on the outer surface of the driving shaft 1 of the spindle motor 5.",
"The table section 2 is formed substantially as a disc from a synthetic resin and has a center through-hole 8 engaged by the driving shaft 1.",
"The table section 2 has a perimetral portion of its upper surface as a disc setting surface 3 for setting the recording disc 101 thereon.",
"Referring to FIG. 21, the spindle motor 5 for rotationally driving the disc table is mainly made up of an outer casing 35, a bearing 34 supported by the outer casing 35 for rotatably supporting the driving shaft, annular magnet 32, 32 mounted on the driving shaft 1 via a magnet supporting member 33 and a coil base plate mounted facing the magnets 32, 32 within the outer casing 35.",
"The spindle motor 5 is supported by having the outer casing 35 mounted on the lower surface of the chassis 6 so that the driving shaft 1 is protruded above the chassis 6 via a through-hole bored in the chassis 6.",
"A fitting member 4 is projectedly formed at the center of the upper surface of the table section 2, as in the disc tables of the preceding embodiments.",
"That is, the fitting member 4 is formed with the table section 2 in substantially a conical shape and has an outside diameter large enough to be engaged in the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101.",
"The distal part of the fitting member 4 is a guide section for capturing the recording disc 101.",
"The part of the fitting member 4 lying close to the disc setting surface 3 is a columnar section 4b having an outside diameter substantially equal to the inside diameter of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101.",
"The distal end face of the fitting member 4 has a magnet mounting recess 13 which is formed as an annular groove concentric with the fitting member 4.",
"Within this magnet mounting recess 13 is mounted an annular magnet 9 acting as thrusting and supporting means.",
"The magnet 9 is used for attracting a magnetic plate 104 mounted at the mid part of the recording disc 101 for closing the center aperture 102, as shown in FIGS. 24 and 25.",
"A magnetic yoke formed of a high permeability material may be provided on the lower surface of the magnet 9, that is between the magnet 9 and the fitting member 4.",
"The fitting member 4 has plural cut-outs 10 in communication with the magnet mounting recess 13.",
"These cut-outs 10 are formed outwardly of the magnet mounting recess 13 for extending radially from the magnet mounting recess 13 through the proximal side of the fitting member 4 as far as a disc-shaped part of the table section 1.",
"These cut-outs 10 are provided at three points at an angular interval of 120° relative to each other.",
"A centering ring 11, constituting centering means for aligning the center of rotation of the recording disc 101 with the axis of the disc table, is mounted on the lower surface of the table section 2 so that the centering segments 12, 12, 12 functioning as the centering members are located within the cut-outs 10, 10, 10 of the fitting member 4.",
"The centering ring 11 is formed as one from a plate-shaped metallic spring material by punching and press working.",
"The centering ring 11 comprises a substantially disc-shaped base section 26, three upstanding supporting projections 29 provided on the perimetral portions of the base section 26 and three centering segments 12 extending outwardly from the distal ends of these supporting projections 29, as shown in FIG. 22.",
"The base section 26 has a central through-hole 27 having a diameter sufficiently larger than the outside diameter of the driving shaft 1.",
"The supporting projections 29, 29, 29 are formed upright around the perimeter of the base section 26 at an equiangular interval of 120° relative to one another.",
"These supporting projections 29 are formed by bending three tongues extending outwardly from the outer perimeter of the base section 26 by press working.",
"These supporting projections 29 are formed with drawn parts 30, 30, 30 extending outwards from the base section 26.",
"These drawn parts are formed by drawing so that part of the spring material of the centering ring 11 is bent to form rib-shaped projections extending from the supporting projections 29 and the base section 26.",
"These drawn parts 30 prevent the supporting projections 29 from being tilted with respect to the base section 26.",
"The proximal ends of the centering segments 12 are formed as continuation of the distal ends of the supporting projections 29.",
"These centering segments 12 are positioned outwardly of the supporting projections 29, that is at a distance from the base section 26, and are inclined downwardly from the distal ends of the supporting projections 29.",
"The distal end of each of the centering segments 12 is formed with a pair of bent tabs 31 ,31.",
"These tabs 31, 31 are formed as tongues on the opposite lateral sides of the centering segments 12 and arcuately bent towards the center of the base section 26.",
"These centering segments 12 and the tabs 31, 31 of each of these segments are formed by press-working the parts extended horizontally from the supporting projections 29.",
"The perimetral part of the base section 26 is formed with three equiangular cut-outs 28 for accommodating an adhesive which are disposed between the supporting projections 29.",
"These cut-outs 28 are substantially semicircular in contour.",
"The centering segments 12 are intruded into the cut-outs 10 by the base section 26 being mounted on the lower surface of the table section 2.",
"The base section 26 is mounted on the table section 2 by applying an adhesive, such as a so-called UV curable resin, in the cut-outs 28 for adhesive, while the major surface of the base section 26 is kept in pressure contact with the lower surface of the table section 2.",
"The distal ends of the supporting projections 29 are positioned at this time around the perimeter of the magnet 9 and are spaced apart from the magnet 9 and the fitting member 4.",
"These centering segments 12 may be biased resiliently.",
"With the centering ring 11 mounted on the table section 2, each of the centering segments 12 has its proximal end positioned in the vicinity of the distal end face of the fitting member 4, and is supported with a tilt relative to the disc setting surface 3, so that part of the distal end thereof is projected outwardly from the cut-out 10, that is in the direction of the perimeter of the fitting member 4, as shown in FIG. 24.",
"The distal end of each of these centering segments 12 may be projected beyond or receded with respect to the peripheral surface of the fitting member 4 by elastic deformation of the proximal part of each of the segments 12.",
"The distal end of each of these segments 12 is disposed below the disc setting surface 3 so as to be caused to bear against the inner wall of the cut-out 10.",
"The centering segments 12 are resiliently biased at this time closer to the base section 26 than when the segments 12 are in the stress-free state.",
"The method for producing the disc table having the centering ring 11 formed of the spring plate material is hereinafter explained in detail.",
"For producing the disc table, a positioning jig 50 shown in FIG. 23 is employed.",
"The positioning jig 50 has a block-shaped main body having a recessed positioning hole 51.",
"A reference shaft 53 having a outside diameter substantially equal to that of the driving shaft 1 of the spindle motor 5 is mounted upright on the bottom surface of the positioning hole 51.",
"Part of the inner wall of the positioning hole 51 is formed as wall sections 52, 52, 52 for abutment with the centering segments 12 in register with the cut-outs 10, 10, 10.",
"The portions of the inner wall other than the wall sections 52, 52, 52 are enlarged in diameter radially outwardly of the wall sections 52, 52, 52.",
"These wall sections 52, 52, 52 are designed to form a part of a cylindrical surface coaxial with the reference shaft 53.",
"The diameter of the cylindrical surface enveloping the wall sections 52, shown by arrows L in FIG. 23, is selected to be slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101, and is typically on an order of 10.98 to 10.99 mm for the inside diameter of the center aperture 102.",
"In the method for producing the disc table according to the present invention, the reference shaft 52 is fitted into the fitting thorough-hole 8 for the table section 2 bored in the fitting member 8, as shown in FIG. 23.",
"At this time, the reference shaft 53 is engaged in the fitting through-hole 8, as the fitting member 4 is faced by the positioning hole 51 so that the fitting member 4 may be fitted into the positioning hole 51.",
"At this time, the cut-outs 10 are in register with the wall sections 52.",
"The centering ring 11 is then set on the table section 2 loaded on the positioning jig 50.",
"The centering ring 11 has its base section 26 set on the lower surface of the table section 2 so that the centering segments 12 are introduced into the cutouts 10.",
"Each of the centering segments 12 has its distal end abutted against the wall sections 52.",
"Since the centering segments 12 are resiliently biased towards the base section 26, the centering segments 12 thrust the wall sections 52 by their resiliency.",
"Thus, under the elastic recoiling force of the centering segments 12, the centering ring 11 is moved to and halted at a position at which the resilient recoiling forces of the centering segments 12 are in equilibrium, that is a position at which the resilient recoiling forces of the centering segments 12 become equal to one an another.",
"Meanwhile, since the supporting projections 29, the magnet 9 and the fitting member 4 are spaced apart from one another, there is no risk of obstruction of the movement of centering ring 11 under the resilient recoiling force of the centering segments 12.",
"The centering ring 11 is fixedly mounted on the fitting member 4 by being bonded to the lower surface of the table section 2 by UV resin or thermoplastic adhesive 32 at the position at which the resilient recoiling forces of the centering segments 12 counterbalance one another.",
"For bonding the centering ring 11 to the table section 2 by the adhesive 32, the adhesive in a fluid state is dripped into the cut-outs 28 so that the adhesive 32 is in contact with both the centering ring 11 and the table section 2, the adhesive 12 being then allowed to be cured in situ.",
"The adhesive 32 is cured by irradiation of UV rays by heating.",
"The table section 2 is then dismounted from the positioning jig 50 along with the centering ring 11.",
"The centering segments 12 of the centering ring 11, thus mounted on the table section 2, are designed to produce outwardly directed resilient recoiling forces of equal magnitude when the segments are deflected as far as a circumference of a circle coaxial as the fitting hole 8 and having a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the recording disc 101.",
"For setting and loading the recording disc 101 on the disc setting surface 3 of the disc table having the centering ring 11 formed of the spring plate material, the recording disc 101 is fitted on the fitting member 4 so that the rim of the center aperture 102 of the disc 101 is engaged with the fitting member 4, as shown by arrow C in FIG. 24.",
"When the recording disc 101 is moved towards the proximal side of the fitting member 4, the inner rim of the center aperture 102 is caused to bear against the centering segments 12.",
"as shown in FIG. 25.",
"The inner rim of the center aperture 102 is moved towards the proximal side of the fitting member 4, as it causes the centering segments 12 to be resiliently deformed and intruded into the cut-outs 10.",
"At this time, each of the centering segments 12 is resiliently biased from the position at which it has its distal end abutted against the inner rim of the cut-out 10 to a position at which the centering segment has its distal end abutted against the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101, as shown by arrow J in FIG. 25.",
"On the other hand, the inner rim of the center aperture 102 is thrust outwards under the resilient restoring force of the centering segments 12.",
"When the recording disc 101 is fitted over the columnar section 4b of the fitting member 4 at the center aperture 102 thereof, with the portion of the recording disc 101 neighboring to the center aperture 102 being set on the disc setting surface 3, as shown in FIG. 25, the inner peripheral portion of the center aperture 102 is thrust against the centering segments 12 to effect a centering operation of aligning the center of the center aperture 102 with the axis of the fitting member 4.",
"At this time, the magnet 9 attracts the magnetic plate 104 mounted on the recording disc 101 for thrusting and supporting the recording disc 101 with respect to the disc setting surface 3.",
"When the recording disc 101 is loaded in position on the table section 2, and the driving shaft 1 is run in rotation by the spindle motor 5, the recording disc 101 is rotated in unison with the table section 2.",
"The information signals are recorded on or reproduced from the signal recording layer of the recording disc 101 by the optical head device or the magnetic head device.",
"Meanwhile, for achieving optimum centering of the recording disc 101 by the centering segments 12 even after setting the disc 101 on the disc setting surface 3, it is necessary for the centering segments 12 to thrust the inner rim of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101 with a sufficient force.",
"On the other hand, if an excess force is applied by the centering segments 12 against the inner rim of the center aperture 102, and an insufficient force of magnetic attraction is applied by the magnet 9 to the magnetic plate 104, the recording disc 101 cannot be moved to a position of abutment with respect to the disc setting surface 3.",
"In this consideration, the spring constant k 0 of the centering segments 12 is selected to be not less than the minimum value k 1 of the spring constant capable of sufficiently correcting an offset of the recording disc 101 with respect to the fitting member 4 and not larger than the maximum value of the spring constant capable of shifting the recording disc 101 to the position of abutting the recording disc 101 against the disc setting surface 3 under the force of magnetic attraction by the magnet 9 of the magnetic plate 104.",
"It is now assumed that the spring constant of the centering segments 12 is k, the displacement of the centering segments 12 is Δx, the frictional coefficient between the centering segments 12 and the inner rim of the recording disc 101 is μ 1 and the frictional coefficient between the recording disc 101 and the disc setting surface 3 is μ 2 .",
"When the inner rim of the center aperture 102 is caused to bear against the centering segments 12, a force of magnetic attraction F exerted by the magnet 9 on the magnetic plate 104 as indicated by arrow F in FIG. 25 and a reactive force kΔx exerted by the centering segment 12 on the inner rim of the center aperture 102 in a perpendicular direction act for each of the centering segments 12.",
"It is assumed that the angle of tilt of the portion of the centering segment 12 abutted against the inner rim of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101 is indicated as an angle θ from the horizontal, as indicated by arrow θ in FIG. 25.",
"Assuming that three centering segments 12 are provided, the formula F=μ.",
"sub[.",
"].1 k.sub[.",
"].2 ≢xsinθ+k.",
"sub[.",
"].2 Δxcosθ(3) holds for the maximum value k 2 , so that k.sub[.",
"].2 =F/{Δx(μ.",
"sub[.",
"].1 sinθ+cosθ)} (4) and, since k 0 <k 2 , the formula k.sub[.",
"].0 <F/{Δx(μ.",
"sub[.",
"].1 sinθ+cosθ)} (5) holds.",
"As for the minimum value k 1 , if an offset of the recording disc 101 with respect to the fitting member 4 is indicated by D and a force of shifting the recording disc 101 towards the center position is indicated by C, the force C is given by C=2k.",
"sub[.",
"].1 (Δx+Dcos60° sinθ) sinθcos 60°-k.",
"sub[.",
"].1 (Δx-Dsinθ) sinθ=(3/2)k.",
"sub[.",
"].1 Dsin.",
"sup[.",
"].2 θ (6) while a force of resistance R against the movement of the recording disc 101 is given by R=μ.",
"sub[.",
"].2 (3F-k.",
"sub[.",
"].1 Δxcosθ) (7) In order for the recording disc 101 to be moved, it is necessary for the force of movement C to be larger than the force of resistance R. Consequently, from (3/2)k.",
"sub[.",
"].1 Dsin.",
"sup[.",
"].2 θ>μ.",
"sub[.",
"].2 (3F-k.",
"sub[.",
"].1 Δxcosθ), the formula k.sub[.",
"].1 =6μ.",
"sub[.",
"].2 F/(3Dsin.",
"sup[.",
"].2 θ+2μ.",
"sub[.",
"].2 Δxcosθ)(8) holds.",
"Since k 1 <k 0 , the formula k.sub[.",
"].0 >6μ.",
"sub[.",
"].2 F/(3Dsin.",
"sup[.",
"].2 θ+2μ.",
"sub[.",
"].2 Δxcosθ) (9) holds.",
"It is observed that, since the centering segments 12 are formed of a metallic spring plate material, the spring constant of the centering segments 12 set in this manner may be substantially five times as large as the spring constant when the centering segments 12 are formed of a spring plate material of synthetic resin of the same thickness as that of the metallic spring plate material.",
"With the disc table, constituted with the centering ring 11 of the spring material, the recording disc 101 may be centered satisfactorily by the centering segments 12.",
"Besides, since the distal ends of the centering segments 12 are caused to bear against the inner wall sections of the cut-outs 10, the thrusting force exerted on the inner rim of the center aperture 102 undergoes less fluctuations by an error possibly present in the spring constants.",
"In addition, in the initial state in which the recording disc 101 is not loaded in position, the centering segments 12 are controlled in their positions by the inner wall sections of the cut-outs 10, so that the centering segments 12 may be positioned with great accuracy.",
"Besides, since the centering segments 12 are formed of a metallic material, they are excellent in creep resistance and exhibit superior durability under high temperature environment.",
"Furthermore, these centering segments 12 may be fabricated with a precise spring constant as compared to the case wherein the segments 12 are fabricated from a synthetic resin.",
"Each centering segment 12 is provided with the tabs 31, 31, and has the portion abutted against the inner rim of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101 bent substantially arcuately towards the base section 26, so that it becomes possible to prevent a damage from being done to the inner rim of the center aperture 102 as well as to assure smooth movement of the recording disc 101 towards the disc setting surface 3.",
"A disc table of a seventh embodiment according to the present invention is explained.",
"When the disc table of the seventh embodiment according to the present invention is fabricated using the centering ring 11 of a spring material, as described above, the distal ends of the centering segments 12 may be provided with pads 34 of synthetic material, as shown in FIG. 26, instead of with the bent tabs 31, 31.",
"These pads 34 may be provided on the centering segments 12 by a so-called outsert molding method.",
"These pads 134 are provided at the portions of the centering segments 12 abutted against the inner rim of the centering aperture 102, so that, in the initial state in which the recording disc 101 is not loaded in position, the pads 134 are projected outwardly of the fitting member 4.",
"With the present disc table, it is similarly possible t to prevent damages from being inflicted by the centering segments 12 on the inner rim of the center aperture 102 of the recording disc 101, as well as to assure smooth movement of the recording disc 101 towards the disc setting surface 3."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of telephones, and in particular to speakerphones. More particularly, the present invention relates to a control circuit for a telephone speakerphone wherein the loudspeaker and microphone signal channels have low gain states provided for compensating for ambient and channel noise levels.
In a typical speakerphone circuit, both an input transducer or microphone and an output transducer or loudspeaker are provided. It is not possible for a user to speak and listen to another party at the same time when using a speakerphone because both the microphone and loudspeaker cannot be enabled at the same time. This is because if both the microphone and loudspeaker are enabled at the same time, the speaker output signal would be fed back into the microphone, resulting in instability of the system due to feedback. Accordingly, circuitry is necessary to disable the microphone and enable the loudspeaker during the "listen" mode, and to enable the microphone and disable the loudspeaker during the "talk" mode. In telephone systems having an optional speakerphone in addition to the conventional handset, the use of the speakerphone is often termed "hands free" mode.
In speakerphone applications, it is necessary to be able to compensate for ambient noise levels in the environment in which the speakerphone is located and noise on the telephone line communication channel. Furthermore, it is necessary to be able to distinguish between actual voice signals generated by the microphone and "echo" signals present on the microphone channel due to the reflection of noise signals on the speaker channel onto the microphone channel by system deviations from ideal. The same is true of objectionable "sidetone" signals, which are reflected noise signals present on the speaker channel which result from noise present on the microphone channel. The need to compensate for noise is due to the obvious requirement that a speakerphone must be able to receive input signals over a wide area, as opposed to the conventional handset, wherein only signals spoken directly into the receiver are transmitted, and noise is not a problem, and wherein the ear piece is closely coupled to the human ear, so that again noise is not a problem. In contrast, in speakerphone applications, compensation for noise levels in the environment must be made if proper speakerphone operation is to be obtained.
Additionally, prior art speakerphones suffer from objectionable harsh clipping of the trailing or leading parts of voice signals when a transition is made between "talk" mode and "listen" mode, or vice versa.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved control circuit for a speakerphone.
It is furthermore an object of the present invention to provide an improved control circuit for a speakerphone having low gain states in the microphone and loudspeaker channels to compensate for noise levels in the environment in which the speakerphone is located or on the communication channel.
It is furthermore another object of the present invention to provide an improved control circuit for a speakerphone which minimizes objectionable sidetone and echo signals.
It is yet still another object of the present invention to provide a speakerphone control circuit having low gain "listen" and "talk" states in addition to the standard "listen" and "talk" states.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a speakerphone control circuit which minimizes objectionable clipping of voice signals when the speakerphone switches from "talk" to "listen" state or vice versa.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a speakerphone control circuit wherein the additional low gain states are provided by circuitry which chops the microphone or speaker channel signal to thereby attenuate the respective signals.
It is yet still another object of the present invention to provide a speakerphone control circuit which is controlled by a dedicated microprocessor contained within the speakerphone.
These and other objects are achieved according to one aspect of the present invention by a speakerphone control circuit comprising first electronic switch means coupled between an input transducer of the speakerphone and a telephone line, second electronic switch means coupled between an output transducer of the speakerphone and the telephone line, first means for sensing the level of a first signal present at an output from the input transducer, second means for sensing the level of a second signal present at an input to the output transducer, and control means coupled to the first and second sensing means and to the first and second electronic switch means for evaluating the first and second signals, the control means comprising means for determining whether the speakerphone should be in a first talk mode, a first listen mode, a low gain talk mode or a low gain listen mode, the first signal being attenuated in the low gain talk mode by a first control signal from the control means whereby the first electronic switch means is cyclically turned on and off and the second signal being attenuated in the low gain listen mode by a second control signal from the control means whereby the second electronic switch means is cyclically turned on and off.
According to another aspect of the present invention, these and other objects are achieved by a speakerphone control circuit comprising first means coupled between an input transducer of the speakerphone and a telephone line for selectively providing attenuation to a first signal present on an output from the input transducer, second means coupled between an output transducer of the speakerphone and the telephone line for selectively providing attenuation to a second signal present on an input to the output transducer, first means for sensing the level of the first signal, second means for sensing the level of the second signal, and control means coupled to the first and second sensing means and to the first and second selective attenuation means for evaluating the first and second signals, the control means comprising means for determining whether the speakerphone should be in a first talk mode, a first listen mode, a low gain talk mode or a low gain listen mode, the control means selecting from among the four modes of operation in dependence on the levels of the first and second signals such that the first talk mode and the first listen mode are only enterable from each other upon passing through the low gain modes.
Methods for controlling the gain of a speakerphone in accordance with the disclosed apparatus are also described.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the description which follows.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will be described in the following detailed description with reference to the drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the speakerphone control circuit according to the invention;
FIG. 2 shows one of the signals in the block diagram of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 illustrates circuitry shown in FIG. 1 in more detail; and
FIG. 4 is a state diagram showing the operation of the microprocessor of the system shown in FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
With reference now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the speakerphone control circuit according to the invention. The speakerphone includes input transducer or microphone 10 and output transducer or loudspeaker 20. Microphone 10 is coupled through an electronic switch 30 and preferably through variable amplifier/attenuator 35 to a hybrid circuit 50, known to those skilled in the art, which couples the speakerphone to the telephone line. Likewise, speaker 20 is coupled through an electronic switch 40 to the hybrid circuit 50. Hybrid circuit 50 couples signals from microphone 10 to the telephone line for transmission and receives signals from the telephone line for coupling to loudspeaker 20. A microphone sense signal on line 15 coupled to the microphone ahead of the electronic switch 30 is fed to a full wave rectifier stage 60, the output of which is fed to a filter stage 70. The filter stage 70 has a time constant of approximately 12 milliseconds, and provides an approximately d.c. or low frequency output signal corresponding to the average value of the microphone output signal. The full wave rectifier stage 60 preferably is an ideal rectifier stage comprising an operational amplifier, the design of which is well known to those skilled in the art. An ideal rectifier stage is necessary due to the low voltage levels of the microphone output signals. A simple full wave rectifier comprising only semiconductor rectifier diodes would not function properly, because the signal levels are often much less than typical semiconductor diode thresholds. Similarly, a speaker sense signal 25 is coupled to the speaker line between the hybrid circuit 50 and electronic switch 40. The speaker sense signal 25 is fed to full wave rectifier stage 80, which is similar to full wave rectifier stage 60. The output of full wave rectifier stage 80 is fed to a filter 90, whose characteristics are similar to those of filter 70. The outputs of filters 70 and 90 are coupled into a 2:1 multiplexer 100. Multiplexer 100 samples both filter output signals at 4 millisecond intervals as shown in FIG. 2. Both filter output signals preferably are sampled in quick succession at 100 microsecond spacing as shown in FIG. 2. The multiplexed output signal C is then coupled to an analog to digital converter 110, which converts the analog samples of the microphone and speaker signals into digital form, for processing by a microprocessor 120, which may be dedicated to control of the speakerphone circuit. Microprocessor 120, which may be a type 8048, receives signals from a central service unit, such as a key service unit (KSU) of a key telephone system to which the speakerphone is attached via bus 130. Microprocessor 120 provides speaker and microphone control signals 140 and 150, for controlling the respective electronic switches 40 and 30. Signals 140 and 150 are provided not only to enable and disable the loudspeaker and microphone at the appropriate times, but also to provide attenuation of the speaker and microphone signals, as will be described below. Furthermore, microprocessor 120 provides a multiplexer control signal 160 for controlling the sampling rate of multiplexer 100. Additionally, a mute/disable handset signal 165 is fed to the handset of the telephone station set when the speakerphone option is used to mute the handset earpiece to prevent coupling into the speakerphone and to disable the handset microphone. An additional signal may be provided to variable amplifier/attenuation stage 35, in order further to control the gain or attenuation levels of the microphone signal. The gain or attenuation levels provided by amplifier 35 may be discrete or continuous, although preferably they are discrete levels.
In addition to enabling or disabling the microphone or loudspeaker dependent upon the mode of the speakerphone, speaker control 140 and microphone control 150 signals are utilized to attenuate the microphone and speaker signals. This is accomplished by providing an oscillating control signal on control lines 140 and 150, preferably at 12 kHz or higher to avoid audio interference, with a duty cycle of 1 to 4 (1/4 on to 3/4 off). This will provide approximately 12 db of attenuation of the microphone or speaker signals. Accordingly, in order to provide the described low gain modes of operation, electronic switches 30 and 40 are turned on and off by the oscillating control signal on lines 150 and 140, respectively, thus chopping the microphone or speaker signal and providing the necessary attenuation.
FIG. 2 shows the way microprocessor 120 controls the sampling of signals A and B provided to multiplexer 100. As shown, the signal C, which is the output from the multiplexer, comprises successive samples of both speaker sense and microphone sense signals A and B, taken at 4 millisecond intervals. Both signals A and B are sampled successively and spaced at approximately 100 microseconds apart.
FIG. 4 is a state diagram illustrating the operation of microprocessor 120 in controlling the gain of the speakerphone control circuit. As shown in FIG. 4, the system has 4 different states, 0, 1, 2 and 4. State 1 is the "normal talk" state, i.e., a user is speaking into the microphone of the speakerphone and the microphone signal is not undergoing attenuation via control signal 150. State 2 is the "normal listen" state, i.e., a user is listening at the speakerphone and the speaker signal is not undergoing attenuation via control signal 140. States 0 and 4 are low gain states, wherein the gain of the microphone or speaker signals are attenuated by 12 db by gating electronic switches 30 or 40 on and off, at approximately 12 kHz or higher, with a duty cycle of 1:4 (1/4 on to 3/4 off). State 0 is known as the "idle talk" state, as it is a low gain talk mode state and the system is "idling," i.e., neither sufficient speaker or microphone signals are detected to switch the system to a normal listen or talk state. State 4 is known as the "idle listen" state because the speakerphone circuit is in a low gain listen mode when in this state. Again, in state 4, the system is idling. State 0, the idle talk state, however, is only an intermediate state. The speakerphone cannot remain in state 0 indefinitely. State 4, on the other hand, is the "quiescent" state, and provided sufficient microphone or speaker signals are not sensed, the speakerphone can remain indefinitely in state 4. This will be explained in more detail below.
The operation of the system will now be explained with reference to FIG. 4 using a hypothetical starting situation. Suppose a user is talking into the speaker 20 of the speakerphone circuit at sufficient volume. The system will then be in state 1, the talk state. Microprocessor 120 receives a sample of the microphone sense signal via multiplexer 100 and A/D converter 110. The microphone sense signal is denoted in FIG. 4 by M. If the microphone sense signal M is greater than some minimum value MMIN of the microphone sense signal multiplied by some constant, as shown in FIG. 4, 1.25, plus a threshold value KMLO as required by the system hardware, the speakerphone control circuit will remain in state 1, as shown by loop 200. This is indicated by the following equation:
M>1.25 MMIN+KMLO. (1)
The minimum value of the microphone sense signal MMIN is determined by the minimum value sampled by microprocessor 120 over time. The minimum value of the microphone sense signal, for example, during the silent intervals between spoken speech, provides a reliable indication of the background noise in the environment. This minimum value MMIN is thus the approximate value of the noise.
By determining the minimum value of the microphone sense signal over time, if the noise level should increase, the value of MMIN will also increase. If the noise level should decrease, a new, lower value of MMIN will be obtained. Accordingly, the value MMIN tracks the noise level. This can be accomplished in the system software by periodically incrementing the minimum value if the noise level increases, and providing a new, lower value when it decreases.
As long as the microphone sense signal is greater than 1.25 MMIN+KMLO, the system stays in state 1, thus indicating that a user is talking into the microphone. Once the value of M drops below 1.25 MMIN+KMLO, for a period of time t0, which is set continuously in state 1 every time a microphone sample satisfies the inequality given by (1), the system will move to state 0 via line 205. Timeout t0 may be set, for example, at a value equal to 204 milliseconds, as shown in FIG. 4. When the system moves from state 1 to state 0, due to insufficient microphone signal for the time period t0, a new timeout t4 is set, preferably to 552 milliseconds. Accordingly, a transition from state 0 to state 4 will be made automatically if insufficient microphone signal is present to allow a transition back to state 1 after timeout t4. Additionally, a blocking delay time b4 is set, approximately to a value of 36 milliseconds. The blocking delay time b4, set when entering state 0 from state 1, is the amount of time before a decision whether a transition will be allowed to state 4 from the originating state, in this case state 0, in the absence of a timeout, i.e., if a voice interrupt occurs due to a sensed speaker signal. Accordingly, once state 0 is reached from state 1, a decision to enter state 4 cannot be made until at least 36 milliseconds have elapsed. State 0 is known as the idle talk state, and is a low gain state generated by chopping the microphone signal via the oscillating signal on line 150. An attenuation of approximately 12 db is obtained by chopping the signal at 12 kHz or higher with a duty cycle 1:4 (1/4 on to 3/4 off). As discussed, state 0 is an intermediate state. The system cannot remain indefinitely in state 0. There are two ways to leave state 0: via a timeout (in this case t4), or via a voice interrupt generated by receipt of a speaker or microphone signal.
In state 0, both the microphone and speaker sense signals are evaluated. If the microphone sense signal M meets the inquality:
M≧1.25 MMIN+KMHI (2)
where KMHI is a second threshold value used in determining whether the system should go from state 0 to 1, the system will move from state 0 to 1. KMHI is set at a somewhat higher level than the threshold KMLO in order to provide hystersis, i.e., in order to enter a particular state, a higher threshold is required than to leave that state. By moving from state 0 to state 1, the gain of the system is increased because the user is speaking. If the background noise level increases, a larger microphone sample level will be required in order to move to state 1, since the minimum microphone sample will have increased. Accordingly, the speakerphone adapts to the noise level. The user will be required to speak in a louder voice in order to switch the speakerphone to the talk state, and the system will not erroneously switch over simply because noise levels have increased.
When the system moves from state 0 to 1, as shown by line 210, a new blocking delay b0 is set, preferably at a value of 8 milliseconds. Accordingly, when the system reaches state 1 from state 0, a decision to return again to state 0 will not be made until a time period of at least 8 milliseconds has elapsed. Of course, if the microphone signal M satisfies the inequality (1) when in state 1, at least the time period given by timeout t0 (204 msecs.) must elapse before a return to state 0 may be made. The blocking delay b0, however, allows a return to be made to state 0 after a short time (8 msecs) in the event a noise signal having a rapid rate of rise momentarily is sensed, but which is thereafter insufficient to maintain the speakerphone in state 1. Accordingly, the 204 msec. timer t0 is not set unless "double confirmation" that the sensed signal is a voice signal, as determined by inequalities 1 and 2, is made. If inequality (2) is satisfied, but inequality (1) is not, the system will return to state 0 after the blocking delay time b0 of 8 msecs. Otherwise, the 204 msec. timer t0 is set and a timeout must occur to return to state 0.
If the microphone signal is below 1.25 MMIN+KMHI when in state 0, for the period of time given by timeout t4, which was set when moving from state 1 to state 0 (552 msecs.), or if the sensed speaker signal S satisfies the following inequality:
S>2M+SMIN+KSSW (3)
where KSSW is a speaker signal threshold value for the state 0 to 4 transition, the system will move from state 0 to state 4 via line 220. When moving from state 0 to state 4, a new blocking delay b0 is set at approximately 16 milliseconds. Accordingly, the system cannot make a decision to return to state 0 from state 4 until a 16 millisecond time interval has elapsed. The state 0 to state 4 transition inequality (3), above, is used because the system should only move from state 0 to state 4 if the speaker signal is sufficiently greater than the microphone signal, indicating that the user is listening and not talking. This is necessary because a sidetone signal generated by reflection in the hybrid circuit 50 of noise signals from the microphone 10 may reach the speaker sense line 25 from the microphone due to variation of the hybrid circuit 50 from the ideal. Accordingly, the system must be able to distinguish between voice signals received on the telephone line from the far end and nuisance sidetone signals generated by the microphone. The system therefore compares the sampled speaker signal with twice the sampled microphone signal plus the signal SMIN and the constant KSSW according to inequality (3). The signal SMIN is the minimum value of the speaker signal sensed by the microprocessor 120, and accordingly, represents the noise level. Since the sidetone generated as a result of microphone noise can never be greater than twice the sampled microphone signal, if the sensed speaker signal is greater than twice the microphone signal plus the noise signal and an arbitrary constant, microprocessor 120 determines that the user is no longer talking and thus listening and that therefore a transition should be made from the idle talk state 0 to idle listen state 4. As shown by the state diagram in FIG. 4, the idle listen state 4 or the listen state 2 can only be reached from talk state 1 by moving through idle talk state 0. Accordingly, if a transition is to be made from talk mode state 1 to listen mode state 2, or vice versa, both low gain states 0 and 4 must be traversed.
The use of low gain states 0 and 4 is important for two purposes. As discussed, the provision of these states allows spurious sidetone and echo (the latter being noise signals present on the microphone sense line due to reflection of noise signals on the speaker line) signals to be distinguished from voice signals. Accordingly, the sidetone signals can be reduced by attenuating signals on the microphone channel via switch 30. Similarly, as will be described below, echo signals from the speaker channel can also be attenuated via switch 40. This provides significant advantages as far as further processing of the sampled microphone and speaker signals is concerned, since it allows more accurate analog to digital conversion because signals of lower dynamic range can be handled, for example.
A second advantage of low gain states 0 and 4 resides in the fact that harsh clipping effects are minimized, since the system can only change from normal talk to normal listen mode, or vice versa, by traversing the two low gain states. This provides a more gradual transition between states, thus eliminating harsh, sudden transitions and clipping because the respective microphone or speaker signals are allowed to fade between talk-listen or listen-talk switching.
Idle listen state 4 is provided as the quiescent or rest state of the system. That is, if a user is not talking into the speakerphone and the signal is not in high gain listen state 2 due to the sensed value of the speaker signal, the system will remain in idle listen state 4 indefinitely. Idle listen state 4 is a low gain listen state, wherein the speaker signal is rapidly chopped by electronic switch 40 controlled by speaker control signal 140. This provides approximately 12 db of attenuation due to the gating of electronic switch 40 by a 12 kHz oscillating signal having a duty cycle of 1:4. A transition from idle listen state 4 to listen state 2 will be made if a sufficient speaker signal from the telephone line is sensed. Accordingly, as shown by state line 230, if the sensed speaker signal signal S satisfies the following inequality:
S>SMIN+KSHI (4)
where SMIN is the minimum value of the speaker signal or the noise signal and KSHI is a constant threshold for the state 4 to state 0 transition, a transition will be made from state 4 to state 2. At the same time that the transition is made to state 2, a blocking delay b4 is set at approximately 8 milliseconds. This prevents a decision to return to state 4 from state 2 from being made for 8 msecs. Once in state 2, the inequality which applies is:
S>SMIN+KSLO (5)
The speaker signal must be greater than SMIN, the minimum speaker level or noise level, plus a threshold value KSLO in order to stay in state 2 in the loop designated 235. KSLO is set at a value below KSHI to provide hysteresis. A timeout period t4 of 124 msecs. is set when entering state 2 once inequality (5) is satisfied. Once the speaker signal decreases below the value given by (5), for a time period t4 of approximately 124 milliseconds, a transition via line 240 will be made from state 2 to state 4. The timeout t4 set in order to move to state 4 from state 2 is less than the timeout set in order to move to state 0 from state 1 (204 msecs.), because it is considered preferable for it to be easier for a person at the speakerphone to interrupt. Accordingly, only a 124 msec. timer is provided to leave the listen state, whereas a 204 msec. timeout is provided in order to leave talk state 1. Upon the return to state 4, a new blocking delay b0, set at approximately 24 milliseconds, will be implemented. The blocking delay b0 prevents a decision from being made to move to state 0 from state 4 unless 24 milliseconds have elapsed.
Once in state 4, a transition can be made to state 0 via line 225 if the following inequality is satisfied:
M>2S+MMIN+KMSW (6)
Accordingly, in order to switch to the low gain talk state 0, the microphone sample must be greater than twice the speaker signal plus MMIN, the noise level, plus a constant threshold KMSW. As in the state 0 to 4 transition, the microphone sample must be at least twice as large as the speaker sample in order to eliminate confusion with echo signals from the speaker line reflected onto the microphone sense line by the hybrid circuit 50. Such echo signals might be caused by noise signals present on the telephone line, for example. As shown in FIG. 4, a timeout t4 of 100 msecs. and a blocking delay b4 of 16 msecs. are set when moving from state 4 to state 0. Accordingly, a timeout to state 4 from state 0 will occur after 100 msecs. unless a decision is made to move to state 1 via line 210 due to satisfaction of inequality (2), and a decision to return to state 4 due to a voice interrupt can only be made after at least 16 msecs. have elapsed (satisfaction of inequality (3)).
One exception may be provided to having state 4 as the quiescent system state. State 4 is normally the state to which the system returns when the operator of the speakerphone is not talking, since it is preferable that the person with the speakerphone be always able to listen to the person at the far end. In this way, the person with the speakerphone knows that he is listening to someone and that communications has not been interrupted. One feature, however, is often provided in key and branch exchange telephone systems called the "call announce" feature, which allows a person to call a speakerphone, announce his call with a distinctive tone and listen in to the room where the speakerphone is located to determine if someone in the room but temporarily away from the immediate vicinity of the speakerphone answers. In this instance, it is perferable that the speakerphone be in the low gain talk state 0 so that the person calling can determine if someone is present to answer. Accordingly, when the "call announce" feature is provided and used, the quiescent state of the system is changed from state 4 to state 0, i.e., state 4 becomes an intermediate state having a timeout period to state 0 and state 0 becomes a stable low gain state.
Table 1 summarizes the 4 states of the present system and the manner in which the microphone (MIC) and speaker (SPK) signals are controlled. Table 2 defines the various signal samples, threshold constants, blocking delays and timeouts described above with respect to the state diagram. The various thresholds (K) are arbitrary and depend on the attenuation levels provided by the hardware, although, as discussed, low and high thresholds are used to provide system hysteresis.
TABLE 1______________________________________State MIC SPK______________________________________Talking 1 ON, O dB OFFListening 2 OFF ON, O dBIdle Talk 0 Chopped, -12 dB OFFIdle Listen 4 OFF Chopped, -12 dB______________________________________
TABLE 2______________________________________M -- MIC sampleS -- Speaker sampleMMIN -- Minimum MIC sampleSMIN -- Minimum SPK sampleKMLO -- state 1 self loop thresholdKMHI -- state 0 to 1 transition thresholdKMSW -- state 4 to 0 transition thresholdKSLO -- state 2 self loop thresholdKSHI -- state 4 to 2 transition thresholdKSSW -- state 0 to 4 transition threshold(b0) e.g. -- Blocking delay before transition allowed to switch to state 0.(t0) e.g. -- Timeout to state 0.______________________________________
FIG. 3 illustrates the manner in which additional, non chopped levels of gain/attenuation are provided for the microphone signal via gain/attenuation stage 35. As shown in FIG. 3, three lines of bus 130 which couples signals from the central processing unit of the central key service unit (KSU) to the station set are connected to three output lines of microprocessor 130. The output lines are wired directly together and comprise a wired OR connection. Accordingly, signals for controlling the gain of the microphone signal from the KSU CPU or signals from microprocessor 130 can control the gain of stage 35. Stage 35 might comprise, for example, a multiplexer, such as a CMOS type 4051 multiplexer, which selects various gains or levels of attenuation from a resistor bank, depending upon the address inputs to the multiplexer. These gains/attenuations are fixed gains/attenuations, and are provided in addition to the attenuation provided by chopping the microphone signal via electronic switch 30.
In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to a specific exemplary embodiment thereof. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereunto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The specification and drawing are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than in a restrictive sense. | A speakerphone control circuit is disclosed. The control circuit includes a first electronic switch coupled between the speakerphone microphone and a hybrid circuit coupled to the telephone line and a second electronic switch coupled between the speakerphone loudspeaker and the hybrid circuit coupled to the telephone line. A first sensing circuit for sensing the microphone signal and a second sensing circuit for sensing the received loudspeaker signal are provided. The outputs of the first and second sensing circuits are multiplexed and digitized and fed to a microprocessor controller. In response to the levels of the multiplexed signal, the microprocessor determines the state of the speakerphone from among four possible states, including a first talk state, low gain talk state, first listen state and low gain listen state. The low gain talk and listen states are provided by gating the respective first and second electronic switches on and off to chop the microphone or speaker signal, respectively, thereby attenuating the signals. This allows substantial minimization of spurious sidetone and echo signals and a lessening of harsh clipping effects. Furthermore, the first talk and listen states preferably are only enterable from each other upon passing through the low gain states. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the invention. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the field of telephones, and in particular to speakerphones.",
"More particularly, the present invention relates to a control circuit for a telephone speakerphone wherein the loudspeaker and microphone signal channels have low gain states provided for compensating for ambient and channel noise levels.",
"In a typical speakerphone circuit, both an input transducer or microphone and an output transducer or loudspeaker are provided.",
"It is not possible for a user to speak and listen to another party at the same time when using a speakerphone because both the microphone and loudspeaker cannot be enabled at the same time.",
"This is because if both the microphone and loudspeaker are enabled at the same time, the speaker output signal would be fed back into the microphone, resulting in instability of the system due to feedback.",
"Accordingly, circuitry is necessary to disable the microphone and enable the loudspeaker during the "listen"",
"mode, and to enable the microphone and disable the loudspeaker during the "talk"",
"mode.",
"In telephone systems having an optional speakerphone in addition to the conventional handset, the use of the speakerphone is often termed "hands free"",
"mode.",
"In speakerphone applications, it is necessary to be able to compensate for ambient noise levels in the environment in which the speakerphone is located and noise on the telephone line communication channel.",
"Furthermore, it is necessary to be able to distinguish between actual voice signals generated by the microphone and "echo"",
"signals present on the microphone channel due to the reflection of noise signals on the speaker channel onto the microphone channel by system deviations from ideal.",
"The same is true of objectionable "sidetone"",
"signals, which are reflected noise signals present on the speaker channel which result from noise present on the microphone channel.",
"The need to compensate for noise is due to the obvious requirement that a speakerphone must be able to receive input signals over a wide area, as opposed to the conventional handset, wherein only signals spoken directly into the receiver are transmitted, and noise is not a problem, and wherein the ear piece is closely coupled to the human ear, so that again noise is not a problem.",
"In contrast, in speakerphone applications, compensation for noise levels in the environment must be made if proper speakerphone operation is to be obtained.",
"Additionally, prior art speakerphones suffer from objectionable harsh clipping of the trailing or leading parts of voice signals when a transition is made between "talk"",
"mode and "listen"",
"mode, or vice versa.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved control circuit for a speakerphone.",
"It is furthermore an object of the present invention to provide an improved control circuit for a speakerphone having low gain states in the microphone and loudspeaker channels to compensate for noise levels in the environment in which the speakerphone is located or on the communication channel.",
"It is furthermore another object of the present invention to provide an improved control circuit for a speakerphone which minimizes objectionable sidetone and echo signals.",
"It is yet still another object of the present invention to provide a speakerphone control circuit having low gain "listen"",
"and "talk"",
"states in addition to the standard "listen"",
"and "talk"",
"states.",
"It is still another object of the present invention to provide a speakerphone control circuit which minimizes objectionable clipping of voice signals when the speakerphone switches from "talk"",
"to "listen"",
"state or vice versa.",
"It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a speakerphone control circuit wherein the additional low gain states are provided by circuitry which chops the microphone or speaker channel signal to thereby attenuate the respective signals.",
"It is yet still another object of the present invention to provide a speakerphone control circuit which is controlled by a dedicated microprocessor contained within the speakerphone.",
"These and other objects are achieved according to one aspect of the present invention by a speakerphone control circuit comprising first electronic switch means coupled between an input transducer of the speakerphone and a telephone line, second electronic switch means coupled between an output transducer of the speakerphone and the telephone line, first means for sensing the level of a first signal present at an output from the input transducer, second means for sensing the level of a second signal present at an input to the output transducer, and control means coupled to the first and second sensing means and to the first and second electronic switch means for evaluating the first and second signals, the control means comprising means for determining whether the speakerphone should be in a first talk mode, a first listen mode, a low gain talk mode or a low gain listen mode, the first signal being attenuated in the low gain talk mode by a first control signal from the control means whereby the first electronic switch means is cyclically turned on and off and the second signal being attenuated in the low gain listen mode by a second control signal from the control means whereby the second electronic switch means is cyclically turned on and off.",
"According to another aspect of the present invention, these and other objects are achieved by a speakerphone control circuit comprising first means coupled between an input transducer of the speakerphone and a telephone line for selectively providing attenuation to a first signal present on an output from the input transducer, second means coupled between an output transducer of the speakerphone and the telephone line for selectively providing attenuation to a second signal present on an input to the output transducer, first means for sensing the level of the first signal, second means for sensing the level of the second signal, and control means coupled to the first and second sensing means and to the first and second selective attenuation means for evaluating the first and second signals, the control means comprising means for determining whether the speakerphone should be in a first talk mode, a first listen mode, a low gain talk mode or a low gain listen mode, the control means selecting from among the four modes of operation in dependence on the levels of the first and second signals such that the first talk mode and the first listen mode are only enterable from each other upon passing through the low gain modes.",
"Methods for controlling the gain of a speakerphone in accordance with the disclosed apparatus are also described.",
"Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the description which follows.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will be described in the following detailed description with reference to the drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the speakerphone control circuit according to the invention;",
"FIG. 2 shows one of the signals in the block diagram of FIG. 1;",
"FIG. 3 illustrates circuitry shown in FIG. 1 in more detail;",
"and FIG. 4 is a state diagram showing the operation of the microprocessor of the system shown in FIG. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION With reference now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the speakerphone control circuit according to the invention.",
"The speakerphone includes input transducer or microphone 10 and output transducer or loudspeaker 20.",
"Microphone 10 is coupled through an electronic switch 30 and preferably through variable amplifier/attenuator 35 to a hybrid circuit 50, known to those skilled in the art, which couples the speakerphone to the telephone line.",
"Likewise, speaker 20 is coupled through an electronic switch 40 to the hybrid circuit 50.",
"Hybrid circuit 50 couples signals from microphone 10 to the telephone line for transmission and receives signals from the telephone line for coupling to loudspeaker 20.",
"A microphone sense signal on line 15 coupled to the microphone ahead of the electronic switch 30 is fed to a full wave rectifier stage 60, the output of which is fed to a filter stage 70.",
"The filter stage 70 has a time constant of approximately 12 milliseconds, and provides an approximately d.c. or low frequency output signal corresponding to the average value of the microphone output signal.",
"The full wave rectifier stage 60 preferably is an ideal rectifier stage comprising an operational amplifier, the design of which is well known to those skilled in the art.",
"An ideal rectifier stage is necessary due to the low voltage levels of the microphone output signals.",
"A simple full wave rectifier comprising only semiconductor rectifier diodes would not function properly, because the signal levels are often much less than typical semiconductor diode thresholds.",
"Similarly, a speaker sense signal 25 is coupled to the speaker line between the hybrid circuit 50 and electronic switch 40.",
"The speaker sense signal 25 is fed to full wave rectifier stage 80, which is similar to full wave rectifier stage 60.",
"The output of full wave rectifier stage 80 is fed to a filter 90, whose characteristics are similar to those of filter 70.",
"The outputs of filters 70 and 90 are coupled into a 2:1 multiplexer 100.",
"Multiplexer 100 samples both filter output signals at 4 millisecond intervals as shown in FIG. 2. Both filter output signals preferably are sampled in quick succession at 100 microsecond spacing as shown in FIG. 2. The multiplexed output signal C is then coupled to an analog to digital converter 110, which converts the analog samples of the microphone and speaker signals into digital form, for processing by a microprocessor 120, which may be dedicated to control of the speakerphone circuit.",
"Microprocessor 120, which may be a type 8048, receives signals from a central service unit, such as a key service unit (KSU) of a key telephone system to which the speakerphone is attached via bus 130.",
"Microprocessor 120 provides speaker and microphone control signals 140 and 150, for controlling the respective electronic switches 40 and 30.",
"Signals 140 and 150 are provided not only to enable and disable the loudspeaker and microphone at the appropriate times, but also to provide attenuation of the speaker and microphone signals, as will be described below.",
"Furthermore, microprocessor 120 provides a multiplexer control signal 160 for controlling the sampling rate of multiplexer 100.",
"Additionally, a mute/disable handset signal 165 is fed to the handset of the telephone station set when the speakerphone option is used to mute the handset earpiece to prevent coupling into the speakerphone and to disable the handset microphone.",
"An additional signal may be provided to variable amplifier/attenuation stage 35, in order further to control the gain or attenuation levels of the microphone signal.",
"The gain or attenuation levels provided by amplifier 35 may be discrete or continuous, although preferably they are discrete levels.",
"In addition to enabling or disabling the microphone or loudspeaker dependent upon the mode of the speakerphone, speaker control 140 and microphone control 150 signals are utilized to attenuate the microphone and speaker signals.",
"This is accomplished by providing an oscillating control signal on control lines 140 and 150, preferably at 12 kHz or higher to avoid audio interference, with a duty cycle of 1 to 4 (1/4 on to 3/4 off).",
"This will provide approximately 12 db of attenuation of the microphone or speaker signals.",
"Accordingly, in order to provide the described low gain modes of operation, electronic switches 30 and 40 are turned on and off by the oscillating control signal on lines 150 and 140, respectively, thus chopping the microphone or speaker signal and providing the necessary attenuation.",
"FIG. 2 shows the way microprocessor 120 controls the sampling of signals A and B provided to multiplexer 100.",
"As shown, the signal C, which is the output from the multiplexer, comprises successive samples of both speaker sense and microphone sense signals A and B, taken at 4 millisecond intervals.",
"Both signals A and B are sampled successively and spaced at approximately 100 microseconds apart.",
"FIG. 4 is a state diagram illustrating the operation of microprocessor 120 in controlling the gain of the speakerphone control circuit.",
"As shown in FIG. 4, the system has 4 different states, 0, 1, 2 and 4.",
"State 1 is the "normal talk"",
"state, i.e., a user is speaking into the microphone of the speakerphone and the microphone signal is not undergoing attenuation via control signal 150.",
"State 2 is the "normal listen"",
"state, i.e., a user is listening at the speakerphone and the speaker signal is not undergoing attenuation via control signal 140.",
"States 0 and 4 are low gain states, wherein the gain of the microphone or speaker signals are attenuated by 12 db by gating electronic switches 30 or 40 on and off, at approximately 12 kHz or higher, with a duty cycle of 1:4 (1/4 on to 3/4 off).",
"State 0 is known as the "idle talk"",
"state, as it is a low gain talk mode state and the system is "idling,"",
"i.e., neither sufficient speaker or microphone signals are detected to switch the system to a normal listen or talk state.",
"State 4 is known as the "idle listen"",
"state because the speakerphone circuit is in a low gain listen mode when in this state.",
"Again, in state 4, the system is idling.",
"State 0, the idle talk state, however, is only an intermediate state.",
"The speakerphone cannot remain in state 0 indefinitely.",
"State 4, on the other hand, is the "quiescent"",
"state, and provided sufficient microphone or speaker signals are not sensed, the speakerphone can remain indefinitely in state 4.",
"This will be explained in more detail below.",
"The operation of the system will now be explained with reference to FIG. 4 using a hypothetical starting situation.",
"Suppose a user is talking into the speaker 20 of the speakerphone circuit at sufficient volume.",
"The system will then be in state 1, the talk state.",
"Microprocessor 120 receives a sample of the microphone sense signal via multiplexer 100 and A/D converter 110.",
"The microphone sense signal is denoted in FIG. 4 by M. If the microphone sense signal M is greater than some minimum value MMIN of the microphone sense signal multiplied by some constant, as shown in FIG. 4, 1.25, plus a threshold value KMLO as required by the system hardware, the speakerphone control circuit will remain in state 1, as shown by loop 200.",
"This is indicated by the following equation: M>1.25 MMIN+KMLO.",
"(1) The minimum value of the microphone sense signal MMIN is determined by the minimum value sampled by microprocessor 120 over time.",
"The minimum value of the microphone sense signal, for example, during the silent intervals between spoken speech, provides a reliable indication of the background noise in the environment.",
"This minimum value MMIN is thus the approximate value of the noise.",
"By determining the minimum value of the microphone sense signal over time, if the noise level should increase, the value of MMIN will also increase.",
"If the noise level should decrease, a new, lower value of MMIN will be obtained.",
"Accordingly, the value MMIN tracks the noise level.",
"This can be accomplished in the system software by periodically incrementing the minimum value if the noise level increases, and providing a new, lower value when it decreases.",
"As long as the microphone sense signal is greater than 1.25 MMIN+KMLO, the system stays in state 1, thus indicating that a user is talking into the microphone.",
"Once the value of M drops below 1.25 MMIN+KMLO, for a period of time t0, which is set continuously in state 1 every time a microphone sample satisfies the inequality given by (1), the system will move to state 0 via line 205.",
"Timeout t0 may be set, for example, at a value equal to 204 milliseconds, as shown in FIG. 4. When the system moves from state 1 to state 0, due to insufficient microphone signal for the time period t0, a new timeout t4 is set, preferably to 552 milliseconds.",
"Accordingly, a transition from state 0 to state 4 will be made automatically if insufficient microphone signal is present to allow a transition back to state 1 after timeout t4.",
"Additionally, a blocking delay time b4 is set, approximately to a value of 36 milliseconds.",
"The blocking delay time b4, set when entering state 0 from state 1, is the amount of time before a decision whether a transition will be allowed to state 4 from the originating state, in this case state 0, in the absence of a timeout, i.e., if a voice interrupt occurs due to a sensed speaker signal.",
"Accordingly, once state 0 is reached from state 1, a decision to enter state 4 cannot be made until at least 36 milliseconds have elapsed.",
"State 0 is known as the idle talk state, and is a low gain state generated by chopping the microphone signal via the oscillating signal on line 150.",
"An attenuation of approximately 12 db is obtained by chopping the signal at 12 kHz or higher with a duty cycle 1:4 (1/4 on to 3/4 off).",
"As discussed, state 0 is an intermediate state.",
"The system cannot remain indefinitely in state 0.",
"There are two ways to leave state 0: via a timeout (in this case t4), or via a voice interrupt generated by receipt of a speaker or microphone signal.",
"In state 0, both the microphone and speaker sense signals are evaluated.",
"If the microphone sense signal M meets the inquality: M≧1.25 MMIN+KMHI (2) where KMHI is a second threshold value used in determining whether the system should go from state 0 to 1, the system will move from state 0 to 1.",
"KMHI is set at a somewhat higher level than the threshold KMLO in order to provide hystersis, i.e., in order to enter a particular state, a higher threshold is required than to leave that state.",
"By moving from state 0 to state 1, the gain of the system is increased because the user is speaking.",
"If the background noise level increases, a larger microphone sample level will be required in order to move to state 1, since the minimum microphone sample will have increased.",
"Accordingly, the speakerphone adapts to the noise level.",
"The user will be required to speak in a louder voice in order to switch the speakerphone to the talk state, and the system will not erroneously switch over simply because noise levels have increased.",
"When the system moves from state 0 to 1, as shown by line 210, a new blocking delay b0 is set, preferably at a value of 8 milliseconds.",
"Accordingly, when the system reaches state 1 from state 0, a decision to return again to state 0 will not be made until a time period of at least 8 milliseconds has elapsed.",
"Of course, if the microphone signal M satisfies the inequality (1) when in state 1, at least the time period given by timeout t0 (204 msecs.) must elapse before a return to state 0 may be made.",
"The blocking delay b0, however, allows a return to be made to state 0 after a short time (8 msecs) in the event a noise signal having a rapid rate of rise momentarily is sensed, but which is thereafter insufficient to maintain the speakerphone in state 1.",
"Accordingly, the 204 msec.",
"timer t0 is not set unless "double confirmation"",
"that the sensed signal is a voice signal, as determined by inequalities 1 and 2, is made.",
"If inequality (2) is satisfied, but inequality (1) is not, the system will return to state 0 after the blocking delay time b0 of 8 msecs.",
"Otherwise, the 204 msec.",
"timer t0 is set and a timeout must occur to return to state 0.",
"If the microphone signal is below 1.25 MMIN+KMHI when in state 0, for the period of time given by timeout t4, which was set when moving from state 1 to state 0 (552 msecs.), or if the sensed speaker signal S satisfies the following inequality: S>2M+SMIN+KSSW (3) where KSSW is a speaker signal threshold value for the state 0 to 4 transition, the system will move from state 0 to state 4 via line 220.",
"When moving from state 0 to state 4, a new blocking delay b0 is set at approximately 16 milliseconds.",
"Accordingly, the system cannot make a decision to return to state 0 from state 4 until a 16 millisecond time interval has elapsed.",
"The state 0 to state 4 transition inequality (3), above, is used because the system should only move from state 0 to state 4 if the speaker signal is sufficiently greater than the microphone signal, indicating that the user is listening and not talking.",
"This is necessary because a sidetone signal generated by reflection in the hybrid circuit 50 of noise signals from the microphone 10 may reach the speaker sense line 25 from the microphone due to variation of the hybrid circuit 50 from the ideal.",
"Accordingly, the system must be able to distinguish between voice signals received on the telephone line from the far end and nuisance sidetone signals generated by the microphone.",
"The system therefore compares the sampled speaker signal with twice the sampled microphone signal plus the signal SMIN and the constant KSSW according to inequality (3).",
"The signal SMIN is the minimum value of the speaker signal sensed by the microprocessor 120, and accordingly, represents the noise level.",
"Since the sidetone generated as a result of microphone noise can never be greater than twice the sampled microphone signal, if the sensed speaker signal is greater than twice the microphone signal plus the noise signal and an arbitrary constant, microprocessor 120 determines that the user is no longer talking and thus listening and that therefore a transition should be made from the idle talk state 0 to idle listen state 4.",
"As shown by the state diagram in FIG. 4, the idle listen state 4 or the listen state 2 can only be reached from talk state 1 by moving through idle talk state 0.",
"Accordingly, if a transition is to be made from talk mode state 1 to listen mode state 2, or vice versa, both low gain states 0 and 4 must be traversed.",
"The use of low gain states 0 and 4 is important for two purposes.",
"As discussed, the provision of these states allows spurious sidetone and echo (the latter being noise signals present on the microphone sense line due to reflection of noise signals on the speaker line) signals to be distinguished from voice signals.",
"Accordingly, the sidetone signals can be reduced by attenuating signals on the microphone channel via switch 30.",
"Similarly, as will be described below, echo signals from the speaker channel can also be attenuated via switch 40.",
"This provides significant advantages as far as further processing of the sampled microphone and speaker signals is concerned, since it allows more accurate analog to digital conversion because signals of lower dynamic range can be handled, for example.",
"A second advantage of low gain states 0 and 4 resides in the fact that harsh clipping effects are minimized, since the system can only change from normal talk to normal listen mode, or vice versa, by traversing the two low gain states.",
"This provides a more gradual transition between states, thus eliminating harsh, sudden transitions and clipping because the respective microphone or speaker signals are allowed to fade between talk-listen or listen-talk switching.",
"Idle listen state 4 is provided as the quiescent or rest state of the system.",
"That is, if a user is not talking into the speakerphone and the signal is not in high gain listen state 2 due to the sensed value of the speaker signal, the system will remain in idle listen state 4 indefinitely.",
"Idle listen state 4 is a low gain listen state, wherein the speaker signal is rapidly chopped by electronic switch 40 controlled by speaker control signal 140.",
"This provides approximately 12 db of attenuation due to the gating of electronic switch 40 by a 12 kHz oscillating signal having a duty cycle of 1:4.",
"A transition from idle listen state 4 to listen state 2 will be made if a sufficient speaker signal from the telephone line is sensed.",
"Accordingly, as shown by state line 230, if the sensed speaker signal signal S satisfies the following inequality: S>SMIN+KSHI (4) where SMIN is the minimum value of the speaker signal or the noise signal and KSHI is a constant threshold for the state 4 to state 0 transition, a transition will be made from state 4 to state 2.",
"At the same time that the transition is made to state 2, a blocking delay b4 is set at approximately 8 milliseconds.",
"This prevents a decision to return to state 4 from state 2 from being made for 8 msecs.",
"Once in state 2, the inequality which applies is: S>SMIN+KSLO (5) The speaker signal must be greater than SMIN, the minimum speaker level or noise level, plus a threshold value KSLO in order to stay in state 2 in the loop designated 235.",
"KSLO is set at a value below KSHI to provide hysteresis.",
"A timeout period t4 of 124 msecs.",
"is set when entering state 2 once inequality (5) is satisfied.",
"Once the speaker signal decreases below the value given by (5), for a time period t4 of approximately 124 milliseconds, a transition via line 240 will be made from state 2 to state 4.",
"The timeout t4 set in order to move to state 4 from state 2 is less than the timeout set in order to move to state 0 from state 1 (204 msecs.), because it is considered preferable for it to be easier for a person at the speakerphone to interrupt.",
"Accordingly, only a 124 msec.",
"timer is provided to leave the listen state, whereas a 204 msec.",
"timeout is provided in order to leave talk state 1.",
"Upon the return to state 4, a new blocking delay b0, set at approximately 24 milliseconds, will be implemented.",
"The blocking delay b0 prevents a decision from being made to move to state 0 from state 4 unless 24 milliseconds have elapsed.",
"Once in state 4, a transition can be made to state 0 via line 225 if the following inequality is satisfied: M>2S+MMIN+KMSW (6) Accordingly, in order to switch to the low gain talk state 0, the microphone sample must be greater than twice the speaker signal plus MMIN, the noise level, plus a constant threshold KMSW.",
"As in the state 0 to 4 transition, the microphone sample must be at least twice as large as the speaker sample in order to eliminate confusion with echo signals from the speaker line reflected onto the microphone sense line by the hybrid circuit 50.",
"Such echo signals might be caused by noise signals present on the telephone line, for example.",
"As shown in FIG. 4, a timeout t4 of 100 msecs.",
"and a blocking delay b4 of 16 msecs.",
"are set when moving from state 4 to state 0.",
"Accordingly, a timeout to state 4 from state 0 will occur after 100 msecs.",
"unless a decision is made to move to state 1 via line 210 due to satisfaction of inequality (2), and a decision to return to state 4 due to a voice interrupt can only be made after at least 16 msecs.",
"have elapsed (satisfaction of inequality (3)).",
"One exception may be provided to having state 4 as the quiescent system state.",
"State 4 is normally the state to which the system returns when the operator of the speakerphone is not talking, since it is preferable that the person with the speakerphone be always able to listen to the person at the far end.",
"In this way, the person with the speakerphone knows that he is listening to someone and that communications has not been interrupted.",
"One feature, however, is often provided in key and branch exchange telephone systems called the "call announce"",
"feature, which allows a person to call a speakerphone, announce his call with a distinctive tone and listen in to the room where the speakerphone is located to determine if someone in the room but temporarily away from the immediate vicinity of the speakerphone answers.",
"In this instance, it is perferable that the speakerphone be in the low gain talk state 0 so that the person calling can determine if someone is present to answer.",
"Accordingly, when the "call announce"",
"feature is provided and used, the quiescent state of the system is changed from state 4 to state 0, i.e., state 4 becomes an intermediate state having a timeout period to state 0 and state 0 becomes a stable low gain state.",
"Table 1 summarizes the 4 states of the present system and the manner in which the microphone (MIC) and speaker (SPK) signals are controlled.",
"Table 2 defines the various signal samples, threshold constants, blocking delays and timeouts described above with respect to the state diagram.",
"The various thresholds (K) are arbitrary and depend on the attenuation levels provided by the hardware, although, as discussed, low and high thresholds are used to provide system hysteresis.",
"TABLE 1______________________________________State MIC SPK______________________________________Talking 1 ON, O dB OFFListening 2 OFF ON, O dBIdle Talk 0 Chopped, -12 dB OFFIdle Listen 4 OFF Chopped, -12 dB______________________________________ TABLE 2______________________________________M -- MIC sampleS -- Speaker sampleMMIN -- Minimum MIC sampleSMIN -- Minimum SPK sampleKMLO -- state 1 self loop thresholdKMHI -- state 0 to 1 transition thresholdKMSW -- state 4 to 0 transition thresholdKSLO -- state 2 self loop thresholdKSHI -- state 4 to 2 transition thresholdKSSW -- state 0 to 4 transition threshold(b0) e.g. -- Blocking delay before transition allowed to switch to state 0.",
"(t0) e.g. -- Timeout to state 0.",
"______________________________________ FIG. 3 illustrates the manner in which additional, non chopped levels of gain/attenuation are provided for the microphone signal via gain/attenuation stage 35.",
"As shown in FIG. 3, three lines of bus 130 which couples signals from the central processing unit of the central key service unit (KSU) to the station set are connected to three output lines of microprocessor 130.",
"The output lines are wired directly together and comprise a wired OR connection.",
"Accordingly, signals for controlling the gain of the microphone signal from the KSU CPU or signals from microprocessor 130 can control the gain of stage 35.",
"Stage 35 might comprise, for example, a multiplexer, such as a CMOS type 4051 multiplexer, which selects various gains or levels of attenuation from a resistor bank, depending upon the address inputs to the multiplexer.",
"These gains/attenuations are fixed gains/attenuations, and are provided in addition to the attenuation provided by chopping the microphone signal via electronic switch 30.",
"In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to a specific exemplary embodiment thereof.",
"It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereunto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.",
"The specification and drawing are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than in a restrictive sense."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application 10-2005-0101194 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Oct. 26, 2005, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates generally to a seat sliding apparatus for vehicles, and more particularly to a seat sliding apparatus that prevents a half-locked state of the seat to a seat track that may be caused by the play of locking pins.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
[0003] In a vehicle, the front driver and passenger seats are generally movable in a forward or backward direction to allow the driver or passenger to sit in a particular position. In order to move the seat in a forward or backward direction, a user raises a lever upward causing locking pins 8 to escape from slots in a seat track and releasing the locked state thus enabling the seat to move.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] In one embodiment, the present invention provides a seat sliding apparatus for vehicles in which a guide bracket is connected to stepped locking pins such that when any one of four locking pins is not locked, the steps of the locking pins push against arms of the guide bracket to prevent engagement of the locking pins with the track. In another embodiment, a clamping bushing is mounted in a transfer rail so as to allow the locking pins to be firmly positioned, thereby preventing horizontal/vertical floating of the locking pins as well as minimizing the play of the locking pins.
[0005] In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a lever operable to move upward and downward to facilitate a seat to move in a forward or backward direction; a connecting bar hinged to a seat fixture to promote the upward and downward operation of the lever; a guide bracket pivoting according to operation of the lever and the connecting bar; locking pins inserted and extracted into and from through-holes of a track by the pivoting action of the guide bracket; and a supporting member mounted to a transfer rail, the support member comprising a hinge pin that supports the guide bracket and also having through-holes for the locking pins.
[0006] In one aspect, the present invention is directed to a seat sliding apparatus for vehicles, comprising a lever operable to move upward and downward to facilitate a seat moving forward and backward directions, a connecting bar hinged to a fixture to promote the upward and downward operation of the lever, a guide bracket pivoting in response to operation of the lever and the connecting bar, a plurality of locking pins inserted into and extracted from a plurality of first through-holes on a track by the pivoting of the guide bracket, wherein the plurality of locking pins are inserted into the through-holes in unison, and a supporting member mounted to a transfer rail and pivotably supporting the guide bracket using a hinge pin, said supporting member comprising a plurality of second through-holes for the operation of the locking pins.
[0007] In other aspects, one of the plurality of locking pins being unable to enter a through-hole prevents the remaining locking pins from entering through-holes; the lever is coupled with the guide bracket by a connecting piece; the connecting piece is provided with a receiving recess for connecting the lever; the connecting bar is mounted with one or more torsion springs for promoting upward and downward operation; the guide bracket is provided with a plurality of legs spaced apart from each other and which support the locking pins; the plurality of legs comprise first legs of a linear shape and second legs whose middle portions are bent in a semi-circular shape, alternating with each other; each of the plurality of locking pins comprises a first projection and a second projection, wherein the space between the first and second projections defines a space capable of receiving the second legs; each of the plurality of locking pins is connected to a spring adapted to insert the locking pin into a through-hole, said spring being installed between the second projection and the supporting member; the apparatus further comprises a clamping bushing to prevent floating of any of the plurality of locking pins; the clamping bushing comprises third through-holes through which the locking pins pass, said clamping bushing located between the track and the guide bracket; the clamping bushing is held in place with a plurality of locking members; and the clamping bushing is formed of plastic.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] The above and other objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of the disclosed seat sliding apparatus;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a magnified perspective view of portion A as shown in FIG. 1 ;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a seat sliding apparatus with a clamping bushing mounted; and
[0012] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of the disclosed seat sliding apparatus.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0013] In the Figures and the following description the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , a seat sliding apparatus is comprised of lever 10 , connecting bar 20 , guide bracket 30 , locking pin 40 , supporting member 50 , and clamping bushing 60 . Lever 10 is operable to move upward and downward, and is adapted to press on guide bracket 30 to move locking pins 40 to in horizontal (i.e., leftward and rightward) directions. When the locking pins are released, the seat is free to move in the forward and backward directions, and when the locking pins are engaged, the seat is locked in a particular position on track 1 .
[0014] In one embodiment, lever 10 is connected to connecting bar 20 and also to guide bracket 30 . In another embodiment, connecting piece 12 is provided with a receiving recess 14 in which the lever 10 is rested and coupled, and a hole 16 for coupling connecting bar 20 to connecting piece 12 . As will be recognized, receiving recess 14 facilitates operation of the lever 10 after coupling, and as shown by the arrow in FIG. 2 , lever 10 is operable to move upward and downward. In various embodiments, lever 10 may be coupled with guide bracket 30 by connecting piece 12 ; connecting piece 12 may be provided with receiving recess 14 for resting and fitting lever 10 on one side thereof; and connecting bar 12 may be mounted with torsion springs 22 for promoting upward and downward operation.
[0015] As shown, connecting bar 20 passes through hole 16 of connecting piece 12 and connects to fixture 3 facilitating the upward and downward operation of the lever 10 . In one embodiment, and as shown in FIG. 3 , connecting bar 20 is mounted with torsion springs 22 for promoting upward and downward operation. Torsion springs 22 are preferably supported by supporting pieces 24 mounted to fixture 3 .
[0016] In one embodiment, guide bracket 30 pivots according to the operation of lever 10 . For example, the upward movement of lever 10 causes a downward movement of connecting piece 12 , which in turn pushes down on guide bracket 30 causing the guide bracket to pivot and push locking pins 40 from the engaged (locked) position. The downward movement of level 10 allows the locking pins to be inserted into through-holes formed in the track 1 . In one embodiment, guide bracket 30 is coupled with a supporting member 50 by means of a hinge pin 54 , and thus pivots up and down about hinge pin 54 .
[0017] In one embodiment, guide bracket 30 comprises a plurality of legs 32 which are spaced apart from each other and also support locking pins 40 . In one embodiment, and as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , legs 32 are comprised of first legs 32 - 1 (in a linear shape) and second legs 32 - 2 (in a semi-circular shape). As will be recognized, the first legs 32 - 1 and second legs 32 - 2 can alternate with each other in shape and location. As shown in FIG. 2 , each of the first legs 32 - 1 is located outside the first projection 41 of each locking pin 40 , and each of the second legs 32 - 2 is located within the space 44 defined between the first projection 41 and the second projection 42 . In one embodiment, the legs 32 support the locking pins 40 and simultaneously allow the locking pins 40 to move in the leftward and rightward (horizontal) directions.
[0018] In one embodiment, locking pins 40 may be provided with a first projection 41 formed between the first and second legs 32 - 1 and 32 - 2 , and a second projection 42 formed apart from the first projection 41 at a predetermined interval, in order to define a space 44 in which the second leg 32 - 2 is received. Locking pins 40 are preferably fixed so as not to escape from the legs 32 . In this and other embodiments, if any of the locking pins is not positioned to be inserted into through-holes in track 1 , first legs 32 - 1 and/or second legs 32 - 2 press against first projection 41 and/or second projection 42 (respectively) to prevent any of the locking pins from inserting into through-holes in track 1 . Accordingly, all locking pins 40 must be aligned with a through-hole to lock the pins to track 1 . This ensures that the strength of all locking pins contribute to holding the seat in the track in the event of a collision. As will be recognized, although the number of the locking pins 40 is shown as four, any number of locking pins may be used.
[0019] As shown in the Figures, a spring 43 promoting restoration of each locking pin 40 is installed between the second projection 42 and the supporting member 50 . The springs 43 preferably allow the locking pins 40 to be extracted from the through-holes formed on track 1 so as to be able to move a seat, and when the seat moves to a proper position, and lever 10 is moved downward, springs 43 cause the locking pins 40 to be inserted into through-holes in the track 1 . Supporting member 50 preferably comprises a plurality of holes 56 into which a hinge pin 54 can be fitted to support guide bracket 30 , second through-holes 52 (corresponding to the number of locking pins 40 ). Further, supporting member 50 is preferably mounted to transfer rail 2 .
[0020] In one embodiment, supporting member 50 , in conjunction with hinge pin 54 , pivotably supports the guide bracket 30 , and allows locking pins 40 to be extracted from the through-holes in the track 1 . In this and other embodiments, when locking pins 40 are extracted from the through-holes in track 1 , the locking pins may pass through second through-holes 52 in supporting member 50 .
[0021] In another embodiment, and as shown in FIG. 3 , locking pins 40 are mounted to clamping bushing 60 prevent floating of the locking pins. Clamping bushing 60 is preferably is formed with third through-holes 62 through which the locking pins 40 pass. Further, clamping bushing 60 is preferably installed between track 1 guide bracket 30 . In one embodiment, clamping bushing 60 is provided with locking members 64 to prevent separation of locking pins 40 which may pass through third through-holes 62 . In another embodiment, clamping bushing 60 is formed of plastic.
[0022] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of the disclosed seat sliding apparatus. When an occupant of a vehicle raises lever 10 upward as shown in FIG. 1 , the upward movement of lever 10 causes guide bracket 30 to pivot around the axis created by hinge pin 54 . As shown in FIG. 4 , when connecting piece 12 moves downward (arrow A of FIG. 4 ), guide bracket 30 pivots and legs 32 move (arrow B of FIG. 4 ) to disengage the locking pins from track 1 , and release the locked state (arrow C of FIG. 4 ). In one embodiment, when the locking pins 40 are released from the locked state, the occupant moves the seat along the track 1 in a forward or backward direction.
[0023] When the seat moves to desired position, the occupant lowers the lever 10 downward, elastic springs 43 force locking pins 40 into the through-holes of the track 1 re-engaging the locking position. In one embodiment, since guide bracket 30 comprises legs 32 , and locking pins 40 each comprise first projections 41 and second projections 42 , the locking mechanism only functions when all of the locking pins can be inserted into through-holes in track 1 . I.e., where one or more locking pins has no corresponding through-hole, the first and second projections ( 41 and 42 respectively)—which are connected to legs 32 of guide bracket 30 , will prevent any remaining locking pins entering through-holes in track 1 .
[0024] In other embodiments, the size of the locking pins is sufficient so as to meet safety standards for seat sliding mechanisms; the locking pins can only lock in unison, and where one locking pins cannot lock, the remaining pins are prevented from being locked as well; clamping bushing 60 supports locking pins preventing (1) a half-locked state, (2) play of the locking pins, (3) noise caused by the floating of the locking pins.
[0025] Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims. | A seat sliding apparatus for vehicles is provided. The seat sliding apparatus includes a track and a guide bracket with legs connected to stepped locking pins to regulate the locked state of the locking pins which engage the track. In one embodiment, the track includes through-holes which are engaged by the locking pins. Accordingly to another aspect of the apparatus, a plastic bushing is provided to prevent horizontal/vertical floating of the locking pins, thereby minimizing the play of the locking pins and prevent floating. The apparatus also may simultaneously prevent a half-locked state of the locking pins. | Briefly describe the main idea outlined in the provided context. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application 10-2005-0101194 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Oct. 26, 2005, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates generally to a seat sliding apparatus for vehicles, and more particularly to a seat sliding apparatus that prevents a half-locked state of the seat to a seat track that may be caused by the play of locking pins.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART [0003] In a vehicle, the front driver and passenger seats are generally movable in a forward or backward direction to allow the driver or passenger to sit in a particular position.",
"In order to move the seat in a forward or backward direction, a user raises a lever upward causing locking pins 8 to escape from slots in a seat track and releasing the locked state thus enabling the seat to move.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0004] In one embodiment, the present invention provides a seat sliding apparatus for vehicles in which a guide bracket is connected to stepped locking pins such that when any one of four locking pins is not locked, the steps of the locking pins push against arms of the guide bracket to prevent engagement of the locking pins with the track.",
"In another embodiment, a clamping bushing is mounted in a transfer rail so as to allow the locking pins to be firmly positioned, thereby preventing horizontal/vertical floating of the locking pins as well as minimizing the play of the locking pins.",
"[0005] In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a lever operable to move upward and downward to facilitate a seat to move in a forward or backward direction;",
"a connecting bar hinged to a seat fixture to promote the upward and downward operation of the lever;",
"a guide bracket pivoting according to operation of the lever and the connecting bar;",
"locking pins inserted and extracted into and from through-holes of a track by the pivoting action of the guide bracket;",
"and a supporting member mounted to a transfer rail, the support member comprising a hinge pin that supports the guide bracket and also having through-holes for the locking pins.",
"[0006] In one aspect, the present invention is directed to a seat sliding apparatus for vehicles, comprising a lever operable to move upward and downward to facilitate a seat moving forward and backward directions, a connecting bar hinged to a fixture to promote the upward and downward operation of the lever, a guide bracket pivoting in response to operation of the lever and the connecting bar, a plurality of locking pins inserted into and extracted from a plurality of first through-holes on a track by the pivoting of the guide bracket, wherein the plurality of locking pins are inserted into the through-holes in unison, and a supporting member mounted to a transfer rail and pivotably supporting the guide bracket using a hinge pin, said supporting member comprising a plurality of second through-holes for the operation of the locking pins.",
"[0007] In other aspects, one of the plurality of locking pins being unable to enter a through-hole prevents the remaining locking pins from entering through-holes;",
"the lever is coupled with the guide bracket by a connecting piece;",
"the connecting piece is provided with a receiving recess for connecting the lever;",
"the connecting bar is mounted with one or more torsion springs for promoting upward and downward operation;",
"the guide bracket is provided with a plurality of legs spaced apart from each other and which support the locking pins;",
"the plurality of legs comprise first legs of a linear shape and second legs whose middle portions are bent in a semi-circular shape, alternating with each other;",
"each of the plurality of locking pins comprises a first projection and a second projection, wherein the space between the first and second projections defines a space capable of receiving the second legs;",
"each of the plurality of locking pins is connected to a spring adapted to insert the locking pin into a through-hole, said spring being installed between the second projection and the supporting member;",
"the apparatus further comprises a clamping bushing to prevent floating of any of the plurality of locking pins;",
"the clamping bushing comprises third through-holes through which the locking pins pass, said clamping bushing located between the track and the guide bracket;",
"the clamping bushing is held in place with a plurality of locking members;",
"and the clamping bushing is formed of plastic.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0008] The above and other objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: [0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of the disclosed seat sliding apparatus;",
"[0010] FIG. 2 is a magnified perspective view of portion A as shown in FIG. 1 ;",
"[0011] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a seat sliding apparatus with a clamping bushing mounted;",
"and [0012] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of the disclosed seat sliding apparatus.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0013] In the Figures and the following description the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components.",
"As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , a seat sliding apparatus is comprised of lever 10 , connecting bar 20 , guide bracket 30 , locking pin 40 , supporting member 50 , and clamping bushing 60 .",
"Lever 10 is operable to move upward and downward, and is adapted to press on guide bracket 30 to move locking pins 40 to in horizontal (i.e., leftward and rightward) directions.",
"When the locking pins are released, the seat is free to move in the forward and backward directions, and when the locking pins are engaged, the seat is locked in a particular position on track 1 .",
"[0014] In one embodiment, lever 10 is connected to connecting bar 20 and also to guide bracket 30 .",
"In another embodiment, connecting piece 12 is provided with a receiving recess 14 in which the lever 10 is rested and coupled, and a hole 16 for coupling connecting bar 20 to connecting piece 12 .",
"As will be recognized, receiving recess 14 facilitates operation of the lever 10 after coupling, and as shown by the arrow in FIG. 2 , lever 10 is operable to move upward and downward.",
"In various embodiments, lever 10 may be coupled with guide bracket 30 by connecting piece 12 ;",
"connecting piece 12 may be provided with receiving recess 14 for resting and fitting lever 10 on one side thereof;",
"and connecting bar 12 may be mounted with torsion springs 22 for promoting upward and downward operation.",
"[0015] As shown, connecting bar 20 passes through hole 16 of connecting piece 12 and connects to fixture 3 facilitating the upward and downward operation of the lever 10 .",
"In one embodiment, and as shown in FIG. 3 , connecting bar 20 is mounted with torsion springs 22 for promoting upward and downward operation.",
"Torsion springs 22 are preferably supported by supporting pieces 24 mounted to fixture 3 .",
"[0016] In one embodiment, guide bracket 30 pivots according to the operation of lever 10 .",
"For example, the upward movement of lever 10 causes a downward movement of connecting piece 12 , which in turn pushes down on guide bracket 30 causing the guide bracket to pivot and push locking pins 40 from the engaged (locked) position.",
"The downward movement of level 10 allows the locking pins to be inserted into through-holes formed in the track 1 .",
"In one embodiment, guide bracket 30 is coupled with a supporting member 50 by means of a hinge pin 54 , and thus pivots up and down about hinge pin 54 .",
"[0017] In one embodiment, guide bracket 30 comprises a plurality of legs 32 which are spaced apart from each other and also support locking pins 40 .",
"In one embodiment, and as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , legs 32 are comprised of first legs 32 - 1 (in a linear shape) and second legs 32 - 2 (in a semi-circular shape).",
"As will be recognized, the first legs 32 - 1 and second legs 32 - 2 can alternate with each other in shape and location.",
"As shown in FIG. 2 , each of the first legs 32 - 1 is located outside the first projection 41 of each locking pin 40 , and each of the second legs 32 - 2 is located within the space 44 defined between the first projection 41 and the second projection 42 .",
"In one embodiment, the legs 32 support the locking pins 40 and simultaneously allow the locking pins 40 to move in the leftward and rightward (horizontal) directions.",
"[0018] In one embodiment, locking pins 40 may be provided with a first projection 41 formed between the first and second legs 32 - 1 and 32 - 2 , and a second projection 42 formed apart from the first projection 41 at a predetermined interval, in order to define a space 44 in which the second leg 32 - 2 is received.",
"Locking pins 40 are preferably fixed so as not to escape from the legs 32 .",
"In this and other embodiments, if any of the locking pins is not positioned to be inserted into through-holes in track 1 , first legs 32 - 1 and/or second legs 32 - 2 press against first projection 41 and/or second projection 42 (respectively) to prevent any of the locking pins from inserting into through-holes in track 1 .",
"Accordingly, all locking pins 40 must be aligned with a through-hole to lock the pins to track 1 .",
"This ensures that the strength of all locking pins contribute to holding the seat in the track in the event of a collision.",
"As will be recognized, although the number of the locking pins 40 is shown as four, any number of locking pins may be used.",
"[0019] As shown in the Figures, a spring 43 promoting restoration of each locking pin 40 is installed between the second projection 42 and the supporting member 50 .",
"The springs 43 preferably allow the locking pins 40 to be extracted from the through-holes formed on track 1 so as to be able to move a seat, and when the seat moves to a proper position, and lever 10 is moved downward, springs 43 cause the locking pins 40 to be inserted into through-holes in the track 1 .",
"Supporting member 50 preferably comprises a plurality of holes 56 into which a hinge pin 54 can be fitted to support guide bracket 30 , second through-holes 52 (corresponding to the number of locking pins 40 ).",
"Further, supporting member 50 is preferably mounted to transfer rail 2 .",
"[0020] In one embodiment, supporting member 50 , in conjunction with hinge pin 54 , pivotably supports the guide bracket 30 , and allows locking pins 40 to be extracted from the through-holes in the track 1 .",
"In this and other embodiments, when locking pins 40 are extracted from the through-holes in track 1 , the locking pins may pass through second through-holes 52 in supporting member 50 .",
"[0021] In another embodiment, and as shown in FIG. 3 , locking pins 40 are mounted to clamping bushing 60 prevent floating of the locking pins.",
"Clamping bushing 60 is preferably is formed with third through-holes 62 through which the locking pins 40 pass.",
"Further, clamping bushing 60 is preferably installed between track 1 guide bracket 30 .",
"In one embodiment, clamping bushing 60 is provided with locking members 64 to prevent separation of locking pins 40 which may pass through third through-holes 62 .",
"In another embodiment, clamping bushing 60 is formed of plastic.",
"[0022] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of the disclosed seat sliding apparatus.",
"When an occupant of a vehicle raises lever 10 upward as shown in FIG. 1 , the upward movement of lever 10 causes guide bracket 30 to pivot around the axis created by hinge pin 54 .",
"As shown in FIG. 4 , when connecting piece 12 moves downward (arrow A of FIG. 4 ), guide bracket 30 pivots and legs 32 move (arrow B of FIG. 4 ) to disengage the locking pins from track 1 , and release the locked state (arrow C of FIG. 4 ).",
"In one embodiment, when the locking pins 40 are released from the locked state, the occupant moves the seat along the track 1 in a forward or backward direction.",
"[0023] When the seat moves to desired position, the occupant lowers the lever 10 downward, elastic springs 43 force locking pins 40 into the through-holes of the track 1 re-engaging the locking position.",
"In one embodiment, since guide bracket 30 comprises legs 32 , and locking pins 40 each comprise first projections 41 and second projections 42 , the locking mechanism only functions when all of the locking pins can be inserted into through-holes in track 1 .",
"I.e., where one or more locking pins has no corresponding through-hole, the first and second projections ( 41 and 42 respectively)—which are connected to legs 32 of guide bracket 30 , will prevent any remaining locking pins entering through-holes in track 1 .",
"[0024] In other embodiments, the size of the locking pins is sufficient so as to meet safety standards for seat sliding mechanisms;",
"the locking pins can only lock in unison, and where one locking pins cannot lock, the remaining pins are prevented from being locked as well;",
"clamping bushing 60 supports locking pins preventing (1) a half-locked state, (2) play of the locking pins, (3) noise caused by the floating of the locking pins.",
"[0025] Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/709,443, filed May 5, 2004 now abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally refers to the manufacturing process of paper, paperboard, cardboard and similar products, such as cellulose, fiber cement, and others. The retention and drainage systems aim at improving the drainage (the capacity to eliminate water) and the retention of fines and fillers, which are part of the paper sheet.
These systems have evolved, coming from one retention and drainage agent to two and more components used today. Each one of them shows advantages and disadvantages, while the systems most used are the ones based on microparticles.
The benefits expected from a retention and drainage system are the following: higher production (ton/hr); lower production costs; lower energy consumption; better stability and reliability of the production systems; less acidity in the system due to the decrease of aluminum sulphate and consequently fewer corrosion problems; better formation of the paper sheet (seen against the light); less porosity of the paper; and less humidity of the paper.
Traditionally the paper machines have worked with retention agents, such as: natural polymers such as starch; synthetic polymers such as cationic, anionic, amphoteric and non-ionic polyacrylamides; and polyethylene oxide.
These products have the characteristic to “retain” a higher number of solids in suspension (fines and fillers) than the stock on its own without these additives.
Therefore, these days it is common practice in the paper manufacturing industry to use stock retention and drainage aids.
In the prior art several stock retention and drainage aids are known, such as the polyacrylamides (PAM), polyethylenimines (PEI), polyamides and polyamines, mainly.
Thus, for example, in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,052,595 (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference) the use of polyacrylamides with filler is described and it is stated that advantageous results are obtained when bentonite provides 1 to 20% by weight of the mineral filler. In the British Patent No. 1.265.496 it is described how polyacrylamides are used to retain organic filler and cellulosic fines but that critical conditions have to be observed for successful operation, and particular modified acrylamides are described.
In the German Patent No. 2262906 (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference) it is proposed to improve the dewatering of cellulosic slurries by adding bentonite and a low molecular weight cationic polymer that serves as a poly-electrolyte. In the prior art, the amount of bentonite included in the pulp is generally between 0.02 and 2% by weight dry bentonite clay, based on dry weight of paper or pulp, and most preferably it is between 0.1 and 1%. The bentonite-type clay used in the invention may be one of the common commercially available bentonites (known as montmorillonite clays) such as “Wyoming bentonite” and “Fullers Earth”, and may or may not be chemically modified, e.g. by alkali treatment to convert the calcium bentonite substantially to alkali (e.g. sodium, potassium or ammonium) bentonite.
Another document related to the subject of the present invention is the U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,710 (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference) granted to the company Allied Colloids in which a process is described according to which a cationic polymer, preferably polyethylenimine, a polyamine epichlorhydrin product, a polymer of diallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride, or a polymer of acrylic monomers is added to a watery cellulosic suspension before the last shearing stage, and bentonite is added after this shearing stage. This process allows for better retention, drainage, drying and web forming properties. The bentonite used in the said process is called “Hydrocol”.
Respectively, according to the paper production method described in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,730 (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference), granted to the company Delta Chemicals, there is added to the stock before the shearing stage a cationic polymer, which is preferably a tertiary or quaternary amine derivative of polyacrylamide, and after the shearing stage, before the head box, there is added a natural hectorite at a weight ration 0.5:1–10:1. The method according to this patent can be used in alkaline and acid paper production processes.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 5,876,563 (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference), of Allied Colloids, a cationic starch together with a cationic polymer and an anionic microparticulate material is used as the retention aid.
On the other hand, according to the Patent WO 99/14432 of Allied Colloids (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference), the microparticulate aid is preferably bentonite, silica, a polysilicic acid, polysilicate microgel, or an aluminum-modified version thereof.
The use of silicate microparticles together with a cationic polymer in a retention system is described in the U.S. Pat. 5,194,120 of Delta Chemicals (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference). The prevalent cation in the synthetic amorphous metal silicate was magnesium, and the polymer was preferably a tertiary or quaternary amine derivative of polyacrylamide, their weight ratio being between 0.03:1 and 30:1. By this method, retention, dewatering and formation were improved by using smaller amounts of retention aids than previously, and thus the costs were correspondingly lower.
Through U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,781, granted to Allied Colloids in 1981 (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference), the use of a clay in combination with a synthetic polymer, generally based on a non-ionic linear polymer, was introduced. The combination and the adding order, first clay then polymer, increased drainage and retention. Today this is known as the dual system (two components) or microparticulate system (particle size between nanometers and micrometers).
Here below this and other systems of the prior art and their disadvantages will be described in detail:
The so-called ORGANOPOL system, described in Patent No. EP-A-0 235893 (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference), consisted of two chemical products.
The first product was ORGANOSORB, which is an activated or modified bentonite, an inorganic pigment in powder, which is added as a slurry at 1.5–5% by weight in concentration, preferably 2.5% by weight to the level box. An automatic unit for the preparation of the dispersion of the bentonite in powder was used, an on-line continuous process, that is, not by batch, generating the following problems:
1. No adequate swelling is produced; that is, no de-lamination of the bentonite is produced, since the dispersion residence time in the automatic bentonite preparation equipment is very short. Therefore the bentonite does not increase the retention capacity of the colloidal and semi-colloidal particles of organic and inorganic compounds present in the stock the paper, paperboard, cardboard and other similar products are made with.
2. There are variations in the concentration of the bentonite dispersion added to the stock system the paper, paperboard, cardboard and other similar products are made with.
3. The required equipment of continuous preparation is very big, complex, difficult to operate and handle and has a very high cost, (U.S. $80.000).
4. The concentrations of bentonite above 5% by weight form very viscous, gel-like dispersions that are difficult to pump.
The second product was ORGANOPOL polymer, which is an essentially linear cationic polyacrylamide with molecular weights of more than one million, three million and higher (according to Patent No. EP-A-0 235893) is added to the thin, diluted stock, after the pressure screen.
The polymer added at this point, does not allow to reduce the size of the floccules, no smaller, tougher and more uniform floccules are obtained, and therefore there is no good formation of the paper, paperboard or cardboard sheet.
The ORGANOPOL system presents the following disadvantages: loss of whiteness, with the consequent increase of the use of optical whiteners, the adverse impact of the retention and drainage and the complex handling of the bentonite.
Afterward, in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,710 (corresponding to the Hydrocol process), granted in the year 1988, basically the same idea is presented, apart from the fact that the order of adding the two products to the machine is inverted, that is, first the polymer is added, and then the clay (a bentonite). The description is based on cationic linear polymers of high molecular weight before a shearing stage, and after the shearing stage the clay (bentonite) is added. Preferably at the last shearing point, which is the pressure screen.
It is important to point out that both patents, but especially the latter one, make a big distinction at the shearing point, and focuses on a specific type of polymer.
The aforementioned Hydrocol system presents several problems, including: the necessity of an on-site preparation equipment of high cost, approx. U.S. $80.000; poor hydration of the bentonite (the maximum levels are not achieved); high consumption of the product (2 to 6 kilos per ton of paper); high energy consumption; more complex operation; loss of whiteness; and excessive retention with a negative effect on the drainage.
Until today many dual systems have been presented, with the same objectives, but none have been able to overcome these inconveniences.
The existing systems are presented here below in Table 1 explaining the basic operation principles:
TABLE 1
System (Company)
Component 1
Component 2
Component 3
Particol (CIBA)
Cationic
Colloidal
polyacrylamide
silica
Poliflex (CIBA)
Cationic
Inverse anionic
polyacrylamide
micro-emulsion
Composil (EKA)
Cationic starch
Polysilicic
with high
acid
substitution
degree
Positek (Nalco)
Cationic
High molecular
Borosilicate
coagulant
weight flocculant
Mosaic (Buckman)
Coagulant
Polyacrylamide
Microparticle
(4 alternatives)
The before mentioned systems of the prior art present some advantages and disadvantages to be mentioned hereafter:
Particol has the advantage of using low application doses and its on-site preparation diminishes the possibility of losing effectiveness. The counterpart is the complex equipment at the client's plant.
Composil is a system which has good retention and drainage results, does not affect the strength properties and does not have any impact on the consumption of optical whiteners. However, the problem is that it is only effective in alkaline systems, it is expensive and good control must be kept on the dose (equipment).
Positek and Mosaic systems need more components, and therefore have more equipment and variables to control; they are more complex systems.
These and other inconveniences of the procedures of the prior art have been solved through the present invention, a detailed description of which will follow hereafter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a process for the retention and drainage of a stock that is used in the manufacturing of paper, paperboard, cardboard and other similar products, comprising the steps of:
1) adding, in a first stage, a secondary retention and drainage agent that is capable of retaining fines, colloidal and semi-colloidal particles of organic and inorganic compounds present in the stock, at one or more of a plurality of points, and 2) adding, in a second stage, a primary retention and drainage agent that is selected from the group consisting of a linear, branched, or cross-linked polyacrylamide, a starch, a polyethylene oxide, a wet strength resin, a dry strength resin, an organic or inorganic coagulant, a polyvinylamine, and another three-dimensional modeling or architecture polymer, the primary agent being able to flocculate the stock.
Preferably, the primary retention and drainage agent is added before the fan pump and before, inside, and after the pressure screen of the paper machine.
The present invention provides a process for manufacturing a paper stock, comprising the step of adding, at one or more different points of the wet end of the paper-making machine, a secondary retention and drainage agent comprising an enhanced, concentrated, liquid smectite (avoiding herewith the need of an on-site preparation unit), and a primary retention and drainage agent comprising a natural or synthetic polymer. The retention and drainage agents can be added in any order, thus improving the retention, drainage, formation and drying, without affecting the whiteness, and enhancing the physical values of the paper, paperboard, cardboard and other similar products.
The present invention provides a new retention and drainage system for use in the manufacturing of paper, paperboard, cardboard and other similar products, for acid, neutral and alkaline environments, in which basically two products or chemical compositions are added to the paper stock:
1) a secondary retention and drainage agent, and 2) a primary retention and drainage agent.
The secondary retention and drainage agent can also be referred to herein as the secondary retention and drainage composition, as the secondary agent, and as the secondary composition. The primary retention and drainage agent can also be referred to herein as the primary retention and drainage composition, the primary agent, and the primary composition.
This system is more flexible when compared to the systems of the prior art. The system improves the process of drainage, retention, the formation of the sheet, and the drying, improves the physical parameters, and does not negatively affect the whiteness of the paper, cardboard, paperboard and other similar products.
Additionally, in some applications, the secondary retention and drainage agent can be used without the primary retention and drainage agent.
Traditionally polymer components have been considered primary or of more importance to the process of manufacturing paper, paperboard and cardboard for the retention, drainage and formation. The microparticulate component, or dual and even tertiary (3-component) systems, have come and presented an improvement regarding these variables and have been secondary to the principal (that is, the polymer).
In the present invention the liquid secondary retention and drainage agent is believed to be mainly responsible for the improvement of the present system.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a process stream of a plant where paper, paperboard, cardboard or other similar products are manufactured, showing the equipment used and the adding points for the retention and drainage agents of the present invention.
FIG. 2 illustrates the molecular structures of synthetic polymers used as the retention and drainage agents. FIG. 2A represents a molecular structure of linear polymers. FIG. 2B represents a molecular structure of branched polymers. FIG. 2C represents a molecular structure of cross-linked polymers.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The process of the present invention can be carried out on any conventional paper making apparatus. The thin stock that is drained to form the sheet is often made by diluting a thick stock that typically has been made in a mixing chest by blending together pigment, appropriate fibre, any desired strengthing agent or other additives, and water. Dilution of the thick stock can be by means of recycled white water. The stock can be cleaned in a vortex cleaner. Usually the thin stock is cleaned by passage through a centriscreen, or pressure screen. The thin stock is usually pumped along the apparatus by one or more centrifugal pumps known as the fan pumps. For instance the stock can be pumped to the pressure screen by a first fan pump. The thick stock can be diluted by white water to the thin stock at the point of entry of this fan pump or prior to the fan pump, e.g., by passing the thick stock and dilution water through a mixing pump. The thin stock may be cleaned further, by passage through a further pressure screen. The stock that leaves the final pressure screen may be passed through a second fan pump and/or a head box prior to the sheet forming process. This can be by any conventional paper or paper board forming process, for example flat wire fourdrinier, twin wire former or vat former or any combination of these.
FIG. 1 shows the following treatment equipments relevant in the retention and drainage treatment process, including the points in the process where the primary and secondary retention and drainage agents of the present invention can be added. These points include:
point 1 a , into a refined or non-refined stock tank 20 ; point 1 b , into a refined or non-refined stock tank pump 30 ; point 2 , into a refiner 40 ; point 3 , into a level box 50 ; point 4 , into a stock pump 60 feeding the depuration stage 100 ; point 5 , into other depuration stages 120 ; point 6 , at the feed into the first stage of the stock depuration stage 110 ; point 7 , at the arrival of the stock from the first stock depuration stage 110 ; point 8 , at the feeding of the dilution water supply 70 before the depurated stock enters; point 9 , into a fan pump 80 ; point 10 a , into the entry of a pressure screen 90 ; point 10 b , into the interior of the pressure screen 90 ; point 10 c , into the exit of the pressure screen 90 ; and point 11 , into the head box 95 .
FIG. 1 in particular indicates the preferable points where the primary and secondary retention and drainage agents of the present invention can be added.
The secondary retention and drainage agent consists of a liquid formula composition that is typically manufactured by a supplier, and is capable of being introduced via a pump. The secondary retention and drainage agent comprises, as a main ingredient, a smectite or a chemically modified version thereof. Preferably, the smectite comprises a normal, activated or modified bentonite in a dispersion, with a concentration in the secondary agent of greater than 6.5% by weight. This secondary or dispersing agents allows, among other things, to strongly increase the specific, superficial area of the before-mentioned smectite with which the retention capacity of fines, colloidal particles, semi-colloidal particles, organic and inorganic compounds present in the paper stock with which paper, paperboard, cardboard and other similar products are manufactured, is improved. The secondary agent is added to the stock, and modifies the stock. The modified stock is flocculated by the primary retention and drainage agent.
The secondary retention and drainage agent of the present invention can be added to the paper machine at the following points of the process, indicated in FIG. 1 :
point 1 b , at the suction of the stock tank pump 30 ; point 3 , at the level box 50 ; point 4 , at the suction of the stock pump 60 feeding the stock depuration stage 100 ; point 5 , at other paper stock depuration stages 120 ; point 6 , at the outlet of the first stage of stock depuration 110 ; point 8 , at the dilution water supply 70 before the entry of the depurated stock; point 9 , before the fan pump 80 ; point 10 a , before the pressure screen 90 ; point 10 b , inside the pressure screen 90 ; and point 10 c , after the pressure screen 90 .
In particular, the secondary retention and drainage agent, more easily retains the organic and inorganic compounds present in the stock from which the paper, paperboard, cardboard and other similar products (cellulose, fiber cement, etc.) are manufactured, which include fines, fillers, glues, starch, lignin and hemicelluloses.
The addition of the secondary retention and drainage agent of the present invention before the fan pump 80 , and the primary retention and drainage agent before and inside the pressure screen 90 (at points 10 a and 10 b ) of the paper machine, allows obtaining a higher general first-pass retention of the organic and inorganic compounds in the machines.
In addition, the addition of the secondary retention and drainage agent and the primary retention and drainage agent at the indicated points of the paper machine allows obtaining smaller, tougher and more uniform floccules, with which a better formation of the paper sheet is obtained. It allows to enhance the physical parameters of the paper, paperboard, cardboard and other similar products, such as the longitudinal strength, the transversal strength, CMT, ring crush, Cobb, Mullen explosion, Denisson, etc.
In addition, through this system (process), the primary and secondary retention and drainage agent added at the indicated points of the paper machine allow to increase the retention of the paper machine, with which a decrease in the consistency, and a decrease in the level of solids suspended in the “white water” (that is, in the water under the wire and the vats) is achieved.
Additionally, adding the secondary retention and drainage agent and the primary retention and drainage agent at the indicated points of the paper machine allows use of lower consistencies in the head box 95 (at point 11 ) of the paper machine, with which, among other things, a better distribution of the fibers in the wet sheet being formed on the wire or the vats is, achieved.
Moreover, adding the secondary retention and drainage agent and the primary retention and drainage agent according to the present invention, allows to increase the drainage capacity of the paper stock, to produce a dryer sheet at the end of the wire or the vats, with which a substantial saving in the consumption of steam is achieved, apart from increasing the speed and with this the production of the paper machine and maintaining, moreover, the stability thereof.
Through the retention and drainage system of the present invention it is possible to decrease the levels of dosage of the secondary retention and drainage agent to 150 g/ton of paper, equivalent to 40 g of smectite per ton/paper, and of the primary retention and drainage agent to 50 g/ton paper, obtaining high levels of retention and drainage of the fiber that are superior to those of the systems described in the prior art, for example the one called ORGANOPOL. With these before-mentioned dosage levels, a considerable saving in consumption and the consequent costs of the chemical products can be achieved by the present retention and drainage system in a paper machine according to the invention.
The preferable dosage level of the secondary retention and drainage agent according to the invention consisting of a pumpable liquid formula prepared in the chemical product supplier's plant, lies between 40 and 2,000 g/ton of paper more preferably between 150 and 1,000 g/ton of paper. By comparison, however, the dosage of a formula of the prior art consisting of a powder bentonite (for example, the ORGANOPOL system) lies between 2,000 and 6,000 g/ton of paper. Moreover, in this last case, a very large and expensive process unit is used in the continuous process of the preparation of the bentonite dispersion. The dosage of the primary and secondary retention and drainage agents according to the invention allows improvement of the quality of the manufactured paper, while complying with all the technical specifications and quality standards of the product manufactured in the paper machine.
In relation to the prior art, in particular the ORGANOPOL product of the company CIBA consists of a linear cationic polyacrylamide described in the patent No. EP-A-0 235893, is applied in the dual retention system ORGANOPOL and is added to the thin, diluted paper stock after the last point of major shearing of the machine, that is after the pressure screen 90 (point 10 c ) and flocculates the modified stock. However, the primary retention and drainage agent of the present invention can be added before and inside the pressure screen 90 (points 10 a , 10 b ) to allow, in the first place, for the formation of big floccules in the modified stock, which, while passing through the before-mentioned pressure screen 90 , form smaller, tougher and more uniform floccules, with which a better formation of the sheet of paper, paperboard, cardboard or other similar product without lumps in the stock is achieved. In the process of the present invention it is also possible to add the primary retention and drainage agent after the pressure screen 90 (point 10 c ).
Another advantage of the present invention through the process of adding the primary retention and drainage agent at the indicated adding points, is that it allows to reduce the tearing of the paper sheets and, consequently, to increase the productivity of the paper machine, and to reduce, moreover, the solids in suspension at the effluent of the machine or plant.
Another advantage of the invention lies in the fact that adding the primary retention and drainage agent at the indicated points of the paper machine allows reduction of the dosages of starch, glue and other chemical agents, maintaining the values within the standard, reducing the BOD and COD indexes at the effluent of the paper machine with the consequent advantages from environmental contamination point of view.
The retention and drainage agents, and the system of adding thereof according to the present invention, make it possible to use more recycled fibers in the paper machine.
Finally, the system of the present invention allows operation in acid, neutral or alkaline environments and does not affect the whiteness of the paper.
The before-mentioned primary retention and drainage agent flocculates the stock.
Adding the primary retention and drainage agent according to the invention can be done at points of the paper machine, between points 1 a and 10 c of the manufacturing process for making of paper, paperboard, and cardboard, shown in FIG. 1 , and preferably at the following points:
point 9 , before the fan pump 80 ; point 10 a , before the pressure screen 90 ; point 10 b , inside the pressure screen 90 ; point 10 c , after the pressure screen 90 .
The primary retention and drainage agent can be or can comprise a compound or mixture of compounds well known in the art of paper making. Typically the primary retention and drainage agent is selected from the group consisting of a linear, branched or cross-linked polyacrylamide, a starch, a polyethylene oxide (PEO), a dry strength resin, a wet strength resin, an organic or inorganic coagulant, a polyvinylamine, or another three-dimensional modeling polymer. A suitable dry strength and temporary wet strength resin for use in the present invention is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,605,702, incorporated herein by reference.
The before-mentioned primary retention and drainage agent is preferably prepared in the user's or client's plant. If the ingredients are solid products, then the dissolution thereof can be effected in an automatic powder dissolution unit. If the ingredients are liquids, then the dissolution can be effected by means of an on-line dosage pump. The dosage range of the primary retention agent lies between 50 and 10,000 g/ton of paper.
Adding Stages:
A first stage (A) for adding the chemical products of the retention and drainage system according to the present invention is developed in the refined or non-refined stock tank 20 (point 1 a ). This refined or non-refined stock is the result of the disintegration of fibrous material that can include rags of cellulose, waste paper and brokers, etc., produced in a so-called “helix” or “pulper” equipment according to a production schedule. This fibrous material converted in stock and after going through the depuration stages, screens, etc., arrives at the refined or non-refined stock tank 20 (point 1 a ).
At the suction of the stock pump 30 (point 1 b ) of this refined or non-refined stock tank 20 (point 1 a ), as first adding point, the secondary retention and drainage agent, as a liquid chemical composition, is added.
The stock with the secondary retention and drainage agent contained therein goes to the fan pump 80 (point 9 ), pressure screen 90 (point 10 ), and then to the head box 95 (point 11 ). There are nine other possible points of adding, mentioned before, adequate for introducing the secondary retention and drainage agent to the paper stock to manufacture paper, paperboard, cardboard and similar products.
Adding the liquid, pumpable secondary retention and drainage agent can be easy. The secondary retention and drainage agent is typically manufactured in the plant of the supplier. It contains a smectite or a chemically modified version thereof, preferably a normal, activated or modified bentonite. Since the secondary retention and drainage agent is preferably distributed in containers of 1,000 kg, a variable caudal pump is sufficient to adequately add this product. In one a simple installation, an upper container containing 1,000 kg of the secondary retention and drainage agent product which mounted onto a stand to unload into a lower container at the rate consumed by the lower container. Finally, after several days, when the contents of the upper container is emptied, the upper is changed. The lower container is connected to a dosage pump.
A general example of the secondary retention and drainage agent has the following chemical formula, by weight: water at 0 to about 92%, dispersing agent at about 1 to about 80%, and smectite clay at about 8 to about 50%. The composition typically has a temperature in the range of from 5 to approximately 95° C. An application example is available as VERSINQUI A-250, having the following chemical formula, by weight: water at 66.4%, sodium polyacrylate at 9.1%, and smectite clay (preferably montmorillonite) at 24.5%. The composition typically has a temperature in the range of 40–60° C.
The secondary agent is typically prepared in the supplier's plant, and is brought to the paper plant for use. This allows for a de-lamination of the smectite (clay), which therefore, strongly increases the specific, superfacial area of the smectite, with which is achieved an increase in the retention of fines, colloidal particles, semi-colloidal particles of the organic and inorganic compounds present in the paper stock for the manufacturing of paper, paperboard, cardboard and other similar products. This thus modified stock is flocculated by the primary retention and drainage agent.
The pumpable liquid chemical composition of the secondary retention and drainage agent according to the invention allows a concentration of the smectite clay above 6.5% by weight in the watery dispersion, which current systems can not achieve.
The dosage of the secondary agent is controlled via a pump with variable caudal, preferable between 150 and 1,000 g/ton of final produced paper. The dispersing agent of the secondary agent is preferably an acrylate, and more preferably a sodium polyacrylate. However, it is also possible to formulate the secondary agent with other dispersing agents different from an polyacrylate, including: organic salts of alkylaryl-sulphonic acids; purified sulpholignine; extracts from seaweed; condensed proteins and fatty acids; sulphonate esters; high molecular weight alkyl sulphate, preferably an alkali, including the sodium, salt; polycarboxylic compounds; phosphate, including hexametaphosphate, pyrophosphate, and tripolyphosphate, and others; an alkali, preferably sodium, salt of polyaspartic acid; alcohol; acetone and other lower ketones; and glycerin.
The second stage (B) of the method according to the invention comprises adding the primary retention and drainage agent at one or more points between the position points 1 a and 10 c of the process stream drawing of FIG. 1 . Preferably, the primary retention and drainage agent is added at the following points:
point 9 , before the fan pump 80 ; point 10 a , before the pressure screen 90 ; point 10 b , inside the pressure screen 90 ; and point 10 c , after the pressure screen ( 10 c ).
The preparation and adding of the primary retention and drainage agent is preferably in the paper factory of the client. If the products are solid, then the dissolution is done in an automatic powder dissolution unit. If they are liquids, it is done by means of an on-line dilution dosing pump.
The dosage range of the primary retention and drainage agent lies between 50 and 10,000 g/ton final paper.
By comparison, in a conventional system, such as the ORGANOPOL system, the recommended adding points are the following:
Point 3 , adding ORGANOSORB, bentonite dispersion, at the level box 50 ; and Point 10 c , adding ORGANOPOL, linear polyacrylamide, after the pressure screen 90 .
Generally, in the process of the present invention, the sequence of adding the primary and secondary agents can be done indistinctly; that is, first the secondary retention and drainage agent and then the primary retention and drainage agent; or vice versa, first the primary retention and drainage agent and then the secondary retention and drainage agent. Additionally, in some applications the secondary retention and drainage agent can be used without the primary retention and drainage agent.
In the retention and drainage system according to the invention, referring to FIG. 1 , the secondary retention and drainage agent can be added at:
point 1 b , at the suction of the stock tank pump 30 ; point 3 , at the level box 50 ; point 4 , at the suction of the stock pump 60 feeding the stock depuration stage 100 ; point 5 , at other paper stock depuration stages 120 ; point 6 , at the feed into the first stage of the stock depuration stage 110 ; point 7 , at the arrival of the stock from the first stock depuration stage 110 ; point 8 , at the feeding of the dilution water supply 70 before the depurated stock enters; point 9 , into a fan pump 80 ; point 10 a , into the entry of a pressure screen 90 ; point 10 b , into the interior of the pressure screen 90 ; and point 10 c , into the exit of the pressure screen 90 .
The primary retention and drainage agent can be added between the stages of the process of manufacturing paper, paperboard, cardboard or other similar products from points 1 a to 10 c of FIG. 1 , but preferably at:
point 9 , into a fan pump 80 ; point 10 a , into the entry of a pressure screen 90 ; point 10 b , into the interior of the pressure screen 90 ; and point 10 c , into the exit of the pressure screen 90 . | A process for manufacturing a paper stock for use in making paper, paperboard and similar cellulosic products, by adding, at one or more different points of the wet end of the paper-making machine, a secondary retention and drainage agent containing a liquid smectite, and a primary retention and drainage agent comprising a natural or synthetic polymer. The retention and drainage agents can be added in any order, thus improving the retention, drainage, formation and drying, without affecting the whiteness, and enhancing the physical values of the paper, paperboard, cardboard and other similar products. The smectite can be an enhanced, concentrated, liquid smectite that can avoid the need for an on-site preparation unit. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the invention. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 10/709,443, filed May 5, 2004 now abandoned.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention generally refers to the manufacturing process of paper, paperboard, cardboard and similar products, such as cellulose, fiber cement, and others.",
"The retention and drainage systems aim at improving the drainage (the capacity to eliminate water) and the retention of fines and fillers, which are part of the paper sheet.",
"These systems have evolved, coming from one retention and drainage agent to two and more components used today.",
"Each one of them shows advantages and disadvantages, while the systems most used are the ones based on microparticles.",
"The benefits expected from a retention and drainage system are the following: higher production (ton/hr);",
"lower production costs;",
"lower energy consumption;",
"better stability and reliability of the production systems;",
"less acidity in the system due to the decrease of aluminum sulphate and consequently fewer corrosion problems;",
"better formation of the paper sheet (seen against the light);",
"less porosity of the paper;",
"and less humidity of the paper.",
"Traditionally the paper machines have worked with retention agents, such as: natural polymers such as starch;",
"synthetic polymers such as cationic, anionic, amphoteric and non-ionic polyacrylamides;",
"and polyethylene oxide.",
"These products have the characteristic to “retain”",
"a higher number of solids in suspension (fines and fillers) than the stock on its own without these additives.",
"Therefore, these days it is common practice in the paper manufacturing industry to use stock retention and drainage aids.",
"In the prior art several stock retention and drainage aids are known, such as the polyacrylamides (PAM), polyethylenimines (PEI), polyamides and polyamines, mainly.",
"Thus, for example, in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,052,595 (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference) the use of polyacrylamides with filler is described and it is stated that advantageous results are obtained when bentonite provides 1 to 20% by weight of the mineral filler.",
"In the British Patent No. 1.265.496 it is described how polyacrylamides are used to retain organic filler and cellulosic fines but that critical conditions have to be observed for successful operation, and particular modified acrylamides are described.",
"In the German Patent No. 2262906 (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference) it is proposed to improve the dewatering of cellulosic slurries by adding bentonite and a low molecular weight cationic polymer that serves as a poly-electrolyte.",
"In the prior art, the amount of bentonite included in the pulp is generally between 0.02 and 2% by weight dry bentonite clay, based on dry weight of paper or pulp, and most preferably it is between 0.1 and 1%.",
"The bentonite-type clay used in the invention may be one of the common commercially available bentonites (known as montmorillonite clays) such as “Wyoming bentonite”",
"and “Fullers Earth”, and may or may not be chemically modified, e.g. by alkali treatment to convert the calcium bentonite substantially to alkali (e.g. sodium, potassium or ammonium) bentonite.",
"Another document related to the subject of the present invention is the U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,710 (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference) granted to the company Allied Colloids in which a process is described according to which a cationic polymer, preferably polyethylenimine, a polyamine epichlorhydrin product, a polymer of diallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride, or a polymer of acrylic monomers is added to a watery cellulosic suspension before the last shearing stage, and bentonite is added after this shearing stage.",
"This process allows for better retention, drainage, drying and web forming properties.",
"The bentonite used in the said process is called “Hydrocol.”",
"Respectively, according to the paper production method described in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,730 (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference), granted to the company Delta Chemicals, there is added to the stock before the shearing stage a cationic polymer, which is preferably a tertiary or quaternary amine derivative of polyacrylamide, and after the shearing stage, before the head box, there is added a natural hectorite at a weight ration 0.5:1–10:1.",
"The method according to this patent can be used in alkaline and acid paper production processes.",
"In the U.S. Pat. No. 5,876,563 (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference), of Allied Colloids, a cationic starch together with a cationic polymer and an anionic microparticulate material is used as the retention aid.",
"On the other hand, according to the Patent WO 99/14432 of Allied Colloids (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference), the microparticulate aid is preferably bentonite, silica, a polysilicic acid, polysilicate microgel, or an aluminum-modified version thereof.",
"The use of silicate microparticles together with a cationic polymer in a retention system is described in the U.S. Pat. 5,194,120 of Delta Chemicals (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference).",
"The prevalent cation in the synthetic amorphous metal silicate was magnesium, and the polymer was preferably a tertiary or quaternary amine derivative of polyacrylamide, their weight ratio being between 0.03:1 and 30:1.",
"By this method, retention, dewatering and formation were improved by using smaller amounts of retention aids than previously, and thus the costs were correspondingly lower.",
"Through U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,781, granted to Allied Colloids in 1981 (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference), the use of a clay in combination with a synthetic polymer, generally based on a non-ionic linear polymer, was introduced.",
"The combination and the adding order, first clay then polymer, increased drainage and retention.",
"Today this is known as the dual system (two components) or microparticulate system (particle size between nanometers and micrometers).",
"Here below this and other systems of the prior art and their disadvantages will be described in detail: The so-called ORGANOPOL system, described in Patent No. EP-A-0 235893 (the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference), consisted of two chemical products.",
"The first product was ORGANOSORB, which is an activated or modified bentonite, an inorganic pigment in powder, which is added as a slurry at 1.5–5% by weight in concentration, preferably 2.5% by weight to the level box.",
"An automatic unit for the preparation of the dispersion of the bentonite in powder was used, an on-line continuous process, that is, not by batch, generating the following problems: 1.",
"No adequate swelling is produced;",
"that is, no de-lamination of the bentonite is produced, since the dispersion residence time in the automatic bentonite preparation equipment is very short.",
"Therefore the bentonite does not increase the retention capacity of the colloidal and semi-colloidal particles of organic and inorganic compounds present in the stock the paper, paperboard, cardboard and other similar products are made with.",
"There are variations in the concentration of the bentonite dispersion added to the stock system the paper, paperboard, cardboard and other similar products are made with.",
"The required equipment of continuous preparation is very big, complex, difficult to operate and handle and has a very high cost, (U.S. $80.000).",
"The concentrations of bentonite above 5% by weight form very viscous, gel-like dispersions that are difficult to pump.",
"The second product was ORGANOPOL polymer, which is an essentially linear cationic polyacrylamide with molecular weights of more than one million, three million and higher (according to Patent No. EP-A-0 235893) is added to the thin, diluted stock, after the pressure screen.",
"The polymer added at this point, does not allow to reduce the size of the floccules, no smaller, tougher and more uniform floccules are obtained, and therefore there is no good formation of the paper, paperboard or cardboard sheet.",
"The ORGANOPOL system presents the following disadvantages: loss of whiteness, with the consequent increase of the use of optical whiteners, the adverse impact of the retention and drainage and the complex handling of the bentonite.",
"Afterward, in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,710 (corresponding to the Hydrocol process), granted in the year 1988, basically the same idea is presented, apart from the fact that the order of adding the two products to the machine is inverted, that is, first the polymer is added, and then the clay (a bentonite).",
"The description is based on cationic linear polymers of high molecular weight before a shearing stage, and after the shearing stage the clay (bentonite) is added.",
"Preferably at the last shearing point, which is the pressure screen.",
"It is important to point out that both patents, but especially the latter one, make a big distinction at the shearing point, and focuses on a specific type of polymer.",
"The aforementioned Hydrocol system presents several problems, including: the necessity of an on-site preparation equipment of high cost, approx.",
"U.S. $80.000;",
"poor hydration of the bentonite (the maximum levels are not achieved);",
"high consumption of the product (2 to 6 kilos per ton of paper);",
"high energy consumption;",
"more complex operation;",
"loss of whiteness;",
"and excessive retention with a negative effect on the drainage.",
"Until today many dual systems have been presented, with the same objectives, but none have been able to overcome these inconveniences.",
"The existing systems are presented here below in Table 1 explaining the basic operation principles: TABLE 1 System (Company) Component 1 Component 2 Component 3 Particol (CIBA) Cationic Colloidal polyacrylamide silica Poliflex (CIBA) Cationic Inverse anionic polyacrylamide micro-emulsion Composil (EKA) Cationic starch Polysilicic with high acid substitution degree Positek (Nalco) Cationic High molecular Borosilicate coagulant weight flocculant Mosaic (Buckman) Coagulant Polyacrylamide Microparticle (4 alternatives) The before mentioned systems of the prior art present some advantages and disadvantages to be mentioned hereafter: Particol has the advantage of using low application doses and its on-site preparation diminishes the possibility of losing effectiveness.",
"The counterpart is the complex equipment at the client's plant.",
"Composil is a system which has good retention and drainage results, does not affect the strength properties and does not have any impact on the consumption of optical whiteners.",
"However, the problem is that it is only effective in alkaline systems, it is expensive and good control must be kept on the dose (equipment).",
"Positek and Mosaic systems need more components, and therefore have more equipment and variables to control;",
"they are more complex systems.",
"These and other inconveniences of the procedures of the prior art have been solved through the present invention, a detailed description of which will follow hereafter.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a process for the retention and drainage of a stock that is used in the manufacturing of paper, paperboard, cardboard and other similar products, comprising the steps of: 1) adding, in a first stage, a secondary retention and drainage agent that is capable of retaining fines, colloidal and semi-colloidal particles of organic and inorganic compounds present in the stock, at one or more of a plurality of points, and 2) adding, in a second stage, a primary retention and drainage agent that is selected from the group consisting of a linear, branched, or cross-linked polyacrylamide, a starch, a polyethylene oxide, a wet strength resin, a dry strength resin, an organic or inorganic coagulant, a polyvinylamine, and another three-dimensional modeling or architecture polymer, the primary agent being able to flocculate the stock.",
"Preferably, the primary retention and drainage agent is added before the fan pump and before, inside, and after the pressure screen of the paper machine.",
"The present invention provides a process for manufacturing a paper stock, comprising the step of adding, at one or more different points of the wet end of the paper-making machine, a secondary retention and drainage agent comprising an enhanced, concentrated, liquid smectite (avoiding herewith the need of an on-site preparation unit), and a primary retention and drainage agent comprising a natural or synthetic polymer.",
"The retention and drainage agents can be added in any order, thus improving the retention, drainage, formation and drying, without affecting the whiteness, and enhancing the physical values of the paper, paperboard, cardboard and other similar products.",
"The present invention provides a new retention and drainage system for use in the manufacturing of paper, paperboard, cardboard and other similar products, for acid, neutral and alkaline environments, in which basically two products or chemical compositions are added to the paper stock: 1) a secondary retention and drainage agent, and 2) a primary retention and drainage agent.",
"The secondary retention and drainage agent can also be referred to herein as the secondary retention and drainage composition, as the secondary agent, and as the secondary composition.",
"The primary retention and drainage agent can also be referred to herein as the primary retention and drainage composition, the primary agent, and the primary composition.",
"This system is more flexible when compared to the systems of the prior art.",
"The system improves the process of drainage, retention, the formation of the sheet, and the drying, improves the physical parameters, and does not negatively affect the whiteness of the paper, cardboard, paperboard and other similar products.",
"Additionally, in some applications, the secondary retention and drainage agent can be used without the primary retention and drainage agent.",
"Traditionally polymer components have been considered primary or of more importance to the process of manufacturing paper, paperboard and cardboard for the retention, drainage and formation.",
"The microparticulate component, or dual and even tertiary (3-component) systems, have come and presented an improvement regarding these variables and have been secondary to the principal (that is, the polymer).",
"In the present invention the liquid secondary retention and drainage agent is believed to be mainly responsible for the improvement of the present system.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a process stream of a plant where paper, paperboard, cardboard or other similar products are manufactured, showing the equipment used and the adding points for the retention and drainage agents of the present invention.",
"FIG. 2 illustrates the molecular structures of synthetic polymers used as the retention and drainage agents.",
"FIG. 2A represents a molecular structure of linear polymers.",
"FIG. 2B represents a molecular structure of branched polymers.",
"FIG. 2C represents a molecular structure of cross-linked polymers.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The process of the present invention can be carried out on any conventional paper making apparatus.",
"The thin stock that is drained to form the sheet is often made by diluting a thick stock that typically has been made in a mixing chest by blending together pigment, appropriate fibre, any desired strengthing agent or other additives, and water.",
"Dilution of the thick stock can be by means of recycled white water.",
"The stock can be cleaned in a vortex cleaner.",
"Usually the thin stock is cleaned by passage through a centriscreen, or pressure screen.",
"The thin stock is usually pumped along the apparatus by one or more centrifugal pumps known as the fan pumps.",
"For instance the stock can be pumped to the pressure screen by a first fan pump.",
"The thick stock can be diluted by white water to the thin stock at the point of entry of this fan pump or prior to the fan pump, e.g., by passing the thick stock and dilution water through a mixing pump.",
"The thin stock may be cleaned further, by passage through a further pressure screen.",
"The stock that leaves the final pressure screen may be passed through a second fan pump and/or a head box prior to the sheet forming process.",
"This can be by any conventional paper or paper board forming process, for example flat wire fourdrinier, twin wire former or vat former or any combination of these.",
"FIG. 1 shows the following treatment equipments relevant in the retention and drainage treatment process, including the points in the process where the primary and secondary retention and drainage agents of the present invention can be added.",
"These points include: point 1 a , into a refined or non-refined stock tank 20 ;",
"point 1 b , into a refined or non-refined stock tank pump 30 ;",
"point 2 , into a refiner 40 ;",
"point 3 , into a level box 50 ;",
"point 4 , into a stock pump 60 feeding the depuration stage 100 ;",
"point 5 , into other depuration stages 120 ;",
"point 6 , at the feed into the first stage of the stock depuration stage 110 ;",
"point 7 , at the arrival of the stock from the first stock depuration stage 110 ;",
"point 8 , at the feeding of the dilution water supply 70 before the depurated stock enters;",
"point 9 , into a fan pump 80 ;",
"point 10 a , into the entry of a pressure screen 90 ;",
"point 10 b , into the interior of the pressure screen 90 ;",
"point 10 c , into the exit of the pressure screen 90 ;",
"and point 11 , into the head box 95 .",
"FIG. 1 in particular indicates the preferable points where the primary and secondary retention and drainage agents of the present invention can be added.",
"The secondary retention and drainage agent consists of a liquid formula composition that is typically manufactured by a supplier, and is capable of being introduced via a pump.",
"The secondary retention and drainage agent comprises, as a main ingredient, a smectite or a chemically modified version thereof.",
"Preferably, the smectite comprises a normal, activated or modified bentonite in a dispersion, with a concentration in the secondary agent of greater than 6.5% by weight.",
"This secondary or dispersing agents allows, among other things, to strongly increase the specific, superficial area of the before-mentioned smectite with which the retention capacity of fines, colloidal particles, semi-colloidal particles, organic and inorganic compounds present in the paper stock with which paper, paperboard, cardboard and other similar products are manufactured, is improved.",
"The secondary agent is added to the stock, and modifies the stock.",
"The modified stock is flocculated by the primary retention and drainage agent.",
"The secondary retention and drainage agent of the present invention can be added to the paper machine at the following points of the process, indicated in FIG. 1 : point 1 b , at the suction of the stock tank pump 30 ;",
"point 3 , at the level box 50 ;",
"point 4 , at the suction of the stock pump 60 feeding the stock depuration stage 100 ;",
"point 5 , at other paper stock depuration stages 120 ;",
"point 6 , at the outlet of the first stage of stock depuration 110 ;",
"point 8 , at the dilution water supply 70 before the entry of the depurated stock;",
"point 9 , before the fan pump 80 ;",
"point 10 a , before the pressure screen 90 ;",
"point 10 b , inside the pressure screen 90 ;",
"and point 10 c , after the pressure screen 90 .",
"In particular, the secondary retention and drainage agent, more easily retains the organic and inorganic compounds present in the stock from which the paper, paperboard, cardboard and other similar products (cellulose, fiber cement, etc.) are manufactured, which include fines, fillers, glues, starch, lignin and hemicelluloses.",
"The addition of the secondary retention and drainage agent of the present invention before the fan pump 80 , and the primary retention and drainage agent before and inside the pressure screen 90 (at points 10 a and 10 b ) of the paper machine, allows obtaining a higher general first-pass retention of the organic and inorganic compounds in the machines.",
"In addition, the addition of the secondary retention and drainage agent and the primary retention and drainage agent at the indicated points of the paper machine allows obtaining smaller, tougher and more uniform floccules, with which a better formation of the paper sheet is obtained.",
"It allows to enhance the physical parameters of the paper, paperboard, cardboard and other similar products, such as the longitudinal strength, the transversal strength, CMT, ring crush, Cobb, Mullen explosion, Denisson, etc.",
"In addition, through this system (process), the primary and secondary retention and drainage agent added at the indicated points of the paper machine allow to increase the retention of the paper machine, with which a decrease in the consistency, and a decrease in the level of solids suspended in the “white water”",
"(that is, in the water under the wire and the vats) is achieved.",
"Additionally, adding the secondary retention and drainage agent and the primary retention and drainage agent at the indicated points of the paper machine allows use of lower consistencies in the head box 95 (at point 11 ) of the paper machine, with which, among other things, a better distribution of the fibers in the wet sheet being formed on the wire or the vats is, achieved.",
"Moreover, adding the secondary retention and drainage agent and the primary retention and drainage agent according to the present invention, allows to increase the drainage capacity of the paper stock, to produce a dryer sheet at the end of the wire or the vats, with which a substantial saving in the consumption of steam is achieved, apart from increasing the speed and with this the production of the paper machine and maintaining, moreover, the stability thereof.",
"Through the retention and drainage system of the present invention it is possible to decrease the levels of dosage of the secondary retention and drainage agent to 150 g/ton of paper, equivalent to 40 g of smectite per ton/paper, and of the primary retention and drainage agent to 50 g/ton paper, obtaining high levels of retention and drainage of the fiber that are superior to those of the systems described in the prior art, for example the one called ORGANOPOL.",
"With these before-mentioned dosage levels, a considerable saving in consumption and the consequent costs of the chemical products can be achieved by the present retention and drainage system in a paper machine according to the invention.",
"The preferable dosage level of the secondary retention and drainage agent according to the invention consisting of a pumpable liquid formula prepared in the chemical product supplier's plant, lies between 40 and 2,000 g/ton of paper more preferably between 150 and 1,000 g/ton of paper.",
"By comparison, however, the dosage of a formula of the prior art consisting of a powder bentonite (for example, the ORGANOPOL system) lies between 2,000 and 6,000 g/ton of paper.",
"Moreover, in this last case, a very large and expensive process unit is used in the continuous process of the preparation of the bentonite dispersion.",
"The dosage of the primary and secondary retention and drainage agents according to the invention allows improvement of the quality of the manufactured paper, while complying with all the technical specifications and quality standards of the product manufactured in the paper machine.",
"In relation to the prior art, in particular the ORGANOPOL product of the company CIBA consists of a linear cationic polyacrylamide described in the patent No. EP-A-0 235893, is applied in the dual retention system ORGANOPOL and is added to the thin, diluted paper stock after the last point of major shearing of the machine, that is after the pressure screen 90 (point 10 c ) and flocculates the modified stock.",
"However, the primary retention and drainage agent of the present invention can be added before and inside the pressure screen 90 (points 10 a , 10 b ) to allow, in the first place, for the formation of big floccules in the modified stock, which, while passing through the before-mentioned pressure screen 90 , form smaller, tougher and more uniform floccules, with which a better formation of the sheet of paper, paperboard, cardboard or other similar product without lumps in the stock is achieved.",
"In the process of the present invention it is also possible to add the primary retention and drainage agent after the pressure screen 90 (point 10 c ).",
"Another advantage of the present invention through the process of adding the primary retention and drainage agent at the indicated adding points, is that it allows to reduce the tearing of the paper sheets and, consequently, to increase the productivity of the paper machine, and to reduce, moreover, the solids in suspension at the effluent of the machine or plant.",
"Another advantage of the invention lies in the fact that adding the primary retention and drainage agent at the indicated points of the paper machine allows reduction of the dosages of starch, glue and other chemical agents, maintaining the values within the standard, reducing the BOD and COD indexes at the effluent of the paper machine with the consequent advantages from environmental contamination point of view.",
"The retention and drainage agents, and the system of adding thereof according to the present invention, make it possible to use more recycled fibers in the paper machine.",
"Finally, the system of the present invention allows operation in acid, neutral or alkaline environments and does not affect the whiteness of the paper.",
"The before-mentioned primary retention and drainage agent flocculates the stock.",
"Adding the primary retention and drainage agent according to the invention can be done at points of the paper machine, between points 1 a and 10 c of the manufacturing process for making of paper, paperboard, and cardboard, shown in FIG. 1 , and preferably at the following points: point 9 , before the fan pump 80 ;",
"point 10 a , before the pressure screen 90 ;",
"point 10 b , inside the pressure screen 90 ;",
"point 10 c , after the pressure screen 90 .",
"The primary retention and drainage agent can be or can comprise a compound or mixture of compounds well known in the art of paper making.",
"Typically the primary retention and drainage agent is selected from the group consisting of a linear, branched or cross-linked polyacrylamide, a starch, a polyethylene oxide (PEO), a dry strength resin, a wet strength resin, an organic or inorganic coagulant, a polyvinylamine, or another three-dimensional modeling polymer.",
"A suitable dry strength and temporary wet strength resin for use in the present invention is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,605,702, incorporated herein by reference.",
"The before-mentioned primary retention and drainage agent is preferably prepared in the user's or client's plant.",
"If the ingredients are solid products, then the dissolution thereof can be effected in an automatic powder dissolution unit.",
"If the ingredients are liquids, then the dissolution can be effected by means of an on-line dosage pump.",
"The dosage range of the primary retention agent lies between 50 and 10,000 g/ton of paper.",
"Adding Stages: A first stage (A) for adding the chemical products of the retention and drainage system according to the present invention is developed in the refined or non-refined stock tank 20 (point 1 a ).",
"This refined or non-refined stock is the result of the disintegration of fibrous material that can include rags of cellulose, waste paper and brokers, etc.",
", produced in a so-called “helix”",
"or “pulper”",
"equipment according to a production schedule.",
"This fibrous material converted in stock and after going through the depuration stages, screens, etc.",
", arrives at the refined or non-refined stock tank 20 (point 1 a ).",
"At the suction of the stock pump 30 (point 1 b ) of this refined or non-refined stock tank 20 (point 1 a ), as first adding point, the secondary retention and drainage agent, as a liquid chemical composition, is added.",
"The stock with the secondary retention and drainage agent contained therein goes to the fan pump 80 (point 9 ), pressure screen 90 (point 10 ), and then to the head box 95 (point 11 ).",
"There are nine other possible points of adding, mentioned before, adequate for introducing the secondary retention and drainage agent to the paper stock to manufacture paper, paperboard, cardboard and similar products.",
"Adding the liquid, pumpable secondary retention and drainage agent can be easy.",
"The secondary retention and drainage agent is typically manufactured in the plant of the supplier.",
"It contains a smectite or a chemically modified version thereof, preferably a normal, activated or modified bentonite.",
"Since the secondary retention and drainage agent is preferably distributed in containers of 1,000 kg, a variable caudal pump is sufficient to adequately add this product.",
"In one a simple installation, an upper container containing 1,000 kg of the secondary retention and drainage agent product which mounted onto a stand to unload into a lower container at the rate consumed by the lower container.",
"Finally, after several days, when the contents of the upper container is emptied, the upper is changed.",
"The lower container is connected to a dosage pump.",
"A general example of the secondary retention and drainage agent has the following chemical formula, by weight: water at 0 to about 92%, dispersing agent at about 1 to about 80%, and smectite clay at about 8 to about 50%.",
"The composition typically has a temperature in the range of from 5 to approximately 95° C. An application example is available as VERSINQUI A-250, having the following chemical formula, by weight: water at 66.4%, sodium polyacrylate at 9.1%, and smectite clay (preferably montmorillonite) at 24.5%.",
"The composition typically has a temperature in the range of 40–60° C. The secondary agent is typically prepared in the supplier's plant, and is brought to the paper plant for use.",
"This allows for a de-lamination of the smectite (clay), which therefore, strongly increases the specific, superfacial area of the smectite, with which is achieved an increase in the retention of fines, colloidal particles, semi-colloidal particles of the organic and inorganic compounds present in the paper stock for the manufacturing of paper, paperboard, cardboard and other similar products.",
"This thus modified stock is flocculated by the primary retention and drainage agent.",
"The pumpable liquid chemical composition of the secondary retention and drainage agent according to the invention allows a concentration of the smectite clay above 6.5% by weight in the watery dispersion, which current systems can not achieve.",
"The dosage of the secondary agent is controlled via a pump with variable caudal, preferable between 150 and 1,000 g/ton of final produced paper.",
"The dispersing agent of the secondary agent is preferably an acrylate, and more preferably a sodium polyacrylate.",
"However, it is also possible to formulate the secondary agent with other dispersing agents different from an polyacrylate, including: organic salts of alkylaryl-sulphonic acids;",
"purified sulpholignine;",
"extracts from seaweed;",
"condensed proteins and fatty acids;",
"sulphonate esters;",
"high molecular weight alkyl sulphate, preferably an alkali, including the sodium, salt;",
"polycarboxylic compounds;",
"phosphate, including hexametaphosphate, pyrophosphate, and tripolyphosphate, and others;",
"an alkali, preferably sodium, salt of polyaspartic acid;",
"alcohol;",
"acetone and other lower ketones;",
"and glycerin.",
"The second stage (B) of the method according to the invention comprises adding the primary retention and drainage agent at one or more points between the position points 1 a and 10 c of the process stream drawing of FIG. 1 .",
"Preferably, the primary retention and drainage agent is added at the following points: point 9 , before the fan pump 80 ;",
"point 10 a , before the pressure screen 90 ;",
"point 10 b , inside the pressure screen 90 ;",
"and point 10 c , after the pressure screen ( 10 c ).",
"The preparation and adding of the primary retention and drainage agent is preferably in the paper factory of the client.",
"If the products are solid, then the dissolution is done in an automatic powder dissolution unit.",
"If they are liquids, it is done by means of an on-line dilution dosing pump.",
"The dosage range of the primary retention and drainage agent lies between 50 and 10,000 g/ton final paper.",
"By comparison, in a conventional system, such as the ORGANOPOL system, the recommended adding points are the following: Point 3 , adding ORGANOSORB, bentonite dispersion, at the level box 50 ;",
"and Point 10 c , adding ORGANOPOL, linear polyacrylamide, after the pressure screen 90 .",
"Generally, in the process of the present invention, the sequence of adding the primary and secondary agents can be done indistinctly;",
"that is, first the secondary retention and drainage agent and then the primary retention and drainage agent;",
"or vice versa, first the primary retention and drainage agent and then the secondary retention and drainage agent.",
"Additionally, in some applications the secondary retention and drainage agent can be used without the primary retention and drainage agent.",
"In the retention and drainage system according to the invention, referring to FIG. 1 , the secondary retention and drainage agent can be added at: point 1 b , at the suction of the stock tank pump 30 ;",
"point 3 , at the level box 50 ;",
"point 4 , at the suction of the stock pump 60 feeding the stock depuration stage 100 ;",
"point 5 , at other paper stock depuration stages 120 ;",
"point 6 , at the feed into the first stage of the stock depuration stage 110 ;",
"point 7 , at the arrival of the stock from the first stock depuration stage 110 ;",
"point 8 , at the feeding of the dilution water supply 70 before the depurated stock enters;",
"point 9 , into a fan pump 80 ;",
"point 10 a , into the entry of a pressure screen 90 ;",
"point 10 b , into the interior of the pressure screen 90 ;",
"and point 10 c , into the exit of the pressure screen 90 .",
"The primary retention and drainage agent can be added between the stages of the process of manufacturing paper, paperboard, cardboard or other similar products from points 1 a to 10 c of FIG. 1 , but preferably at: point 9 , into a fan pump 80 ;",
"point 10 a , into the entry of a pressure screen 90 ;",
"point 10 b , into the interior of the pressure screen 90 ;",
"and point 10 c , into the exit of the pressure screen 90 ."
] |
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to prostheses for use as bone or hard tissue replacements in any part of the body. More particularly, it discloses porous implants which are biologically compatible in the body and promote bone and tissue ingrowth and attachment. This invention also relates to a method for producing the novel prosthetic devices disclosed herein.
BACKGROUND ART
In cases where an entire tooth/root, a section of bone or any hard tissue structure or defect must be replaced or repaired, biological compatibility and adequate ingrowth and attachment of surrounding body tissue and bone must be assured.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 214,572, filed Dec. 8, 1980, to Bruins et al. and assigned to Medical Biological Sciences, Inc., the assignee herein, approaches these problems of compatibility and tissue ingrowth by providing prosthetic devices comprising selected-sized polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) beads modified with small amounts of barium sulfate and coated with and physically bonded together by means of a polymerized hydroxyethyl methacrylate (PHEMA) coating. The resulting bonds between the PHEMA coated PMMA particles provide a basic foundation for porous implants having exceptional strength. Adequate bone and tissue ingrowth is insured by the use of the hydrophilic PHEMA coating which is wetted by the body fluids.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a prosthesis comprising a conglomeration of modified PMMA beads which are not, initially, bonded together. Specifically, "modified" PMMA beads according to the invention are described as loose, individual PMMA beads coated with PHEMA and further modified with barium sulfate for x-ray identification.
The loose, individual modified PMMA beads may be inserted into areas of bone defects, such as cavities, or packed into any hard tissue part of the body in which repair, reconstruction or replacement is indicated. Areas where the loose, individual modified PMMA beads may be used include, for example, the third molar socket where no replacement molar is desired; furcations or bony recessions between adjacent teeth roots and infra-bony pockets caused by gum and bone disease. Non-oral applications include: fracture healing, bone cancer replacement, bony buildup in plastic surgery, filling of defective bone areas and replacement of metal implants, as well as replacement of any failing metal implants.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The prosthesis of this invention comprises a conglomeration of modified PMMA beads which, in individual, loose form, may, initially, be packed into cavities or other areas of hard tissue defect or disease by means of a dental tool such as, for example, the type used to transfer silver amalgam. When a void in a hard tissue area is completely filled with the loose, individual modified PMMA beads, the surrounding soft tissue is then sutured over the beads to completely enclose them. Once enclosed, the beads come into contact with each other, forming pores that are readily wettable by blood and body fluids. In this way, bone growth is promoted and bone recession prevented. As the healing process progresses, ingrowth of surrounding bone and/or tissue throughout the interstices of the packed beads leads to the formation of a prosthesis comprising a conglomeration of the modified PMMA beads.
Loose, non-bonded PMMA beads coated with PHEMA and modified with small particles of barium sulfate are produced in a process similar to that disclosed in the applicants' patent application Ser. No. 214,572, filed Dec. 8, 1980, which is herewith incorporated by reference. In order to prevent bonding of the PMMA beads, the relative barium sulfate content of the implants is increased, while the amount of PHEMA is decreased and pressure avoided. Any clumps formed by the coated PMMA particles are broken up by physical means, such as a mortar and pestle.
The loose, non-bonded modified PMMA beads comprising the hard tissue implants of this invention are produced according to the following method. PMMA beads are thoroughly mixed with between about 10 to 20% by volume, preferably 10%, and between about 21.5 and 43% by weight of 0.7 micron--or less than 1 micron--particle-size barium sulfate. Preferably, the size of the PMMA beads is chosen with a view towards the development of pore sizes that promote bone growth. Under various embodiments of the invention, the PMMA beads may be about the 20 to 24 mesh size (particle diameters between about 700 and 840 microns) or about the 24 to 30 mesh size (particle diameters between about 590 and 700 microns) which are most easily transferred and packed into a void in hard tissue areas, and which form a pore size which promotes bone growth. The PMMA may contain small amounts of a plasticizer or a comonomer.
Between about four and seven percent, preferably five percent by weight (based on the PMMA) of monomeric hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) is then added to the PMMA bead-barium sulfate mixture and the total mixture is then thoroughly mixed and combined to effect a uniform coating of the PMMA beads. The HEMA has a high grade of purity--about 98.4% minimum and is lightly inhibited from polymerizing by trace amounts of an inhibitor such as the methyl ether of hydroquinone (MEHQ). The HEMA is preferably modified by the addition of a cross-linking agent such as triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate, which comprises between about 1 and 5% of the HEMA, preferably 5%.
The mixed PMMA beads are subsequently heated while in a thin layer of about 1/16" to 1/8" in thickness in a silicone rubber mold or on a non-polar surface such as Teflon, polyethylene or polypropylene, that does not heat up in the alternating field and whose surface acts as a release agent. The heat treatment is carried out in a dielectric oven such as a Model MBS-1, manufactured by W. T. Rose and Associates of Troy, New York, until most of the hydroxyethyl methacrylate is polymerized. The heating step is, for example, about 11/2 minutes in duration when the upper electrode is in a position 1/4" above the top of the beads. The PMMA beads are then allowed to cool to an ambient temperature between about 70° to 80° F. and any clumps are broken up using a mortar and pestle and subsequently by screening.
Since the resulting modified PMMA beads may contain residual amounts of monomeric HEMA, the beads are then boiled in water for about 2 to 3 minutes in order to extract any remaining monomer. The PMMA beads are then spread out and air dried, or force dried under temperatures that are not high enough to cause melting.
The loose, non-bonded modified PMMA beads have a water-wettable PHEMA coating into which the barium sulfate particles are imbedded. All of the barium sulfate is attached to the PMMA beads and thus there are no free particles of barium sulfate remaining. The barium sulfate must be present in an amount to substantially prevent bonding between the PMMA particles. Therefore, if the amount of PHEMA coating is increased, a corresponding increase in the amount of barium sulfate used is required.
When the PMMA beads are to be packed into voids in hard tissue areas, it is advantageous that the PHEMA coating is wetted and swollen by water so that the beads become slightly adherent and can be more readily handled in clumps by a means of a dental tool, such as, for example, the type used to transfer silver amalgam.
Bone surfaces which will be adjacent to the prosthesis are advantageously pretreated in various ways. Preferably, any tartar or debris on the bone surface, as well as all diseased bone adjacent to the prosthesis should be removed. This may be accomplished by using, for example, a round dental burr. In oral applications, it is also desirable to remove any diseased bone, as well as all the tartar and debris on the tooth roots adjacent to the bone defect, by scaling and curettaging the root surfaces with either a periodontal instrument or an ultrasonic scaler. The cleaned root surface is then treated with a mild acid solution such as, for example, a 50% aqueous solution of citric acid or phosphoric acid, for about two minutes, followed by rinsing with water. The mild acid treatment serves to collagenize the root and thus promote reattachment.
It is understood that the foregoing detailed description is provided merely by way of illustration and that several modifications may be made therein without departing from the disclosed invention. | This invention relates to implantable porous prostheses for use as bone or hard tissue replacements anywhere in the body. The porous implants comprise loose, individual polymeric particles of a specified size, coated with a hydrophilic material and barium sulfate particles. The prostheses are biologically compatible in the body and promote bone and tissue ingrowth and attachment. This invention also relates to a method for producing the novel prosthetic devices disclosed herein. | Identify the most important claim in the given context and summarize it | [
"TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to prostheses for use as bone or hard tissue replacements in any part of the body.",
"More particularly, it discloses porous implants which are biologically compatible in the body and promote bone and tissue ingrowth and attachment.",
"This invention also relates to a method for producing the novel prosthetic devices disclosed herein.",
"BACKGROUND ART In cases where an entire tooth/root, a section of bone or any hard tissue structure or defect must be replaced or repaired, biological compatibility and adequate ingrowth and attachment of surrounding body tissue and bone must be assured.",
"U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 214,572, filed Dec. 8, 1980, to Bruins et al.",
"and assigned to Medical Biological Sciences, Inc., the assignee herein, approaches these problems of compatibility and tissue ingrowth by providing prosthetic devices comprising selected-sized polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) beads modified with small amounts of barium sulfate and coated with and physically bonded together by means of a polymerized hydroxyethyl methacrylate (PHEMA) coating.",
"The resulting bonds between the PHEMA coated PMMA particles provide a basic foundation for porous implants having exceptional strength.",
"Adequate bone and tissue ingrowth is insured by the use of the hydrophilic PHEMA coating which is wetted by the body fluids.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a prosthesis comprising a conglomeration of modified PMMA beads which are not, initially, bonded together.",
"Specifically, "modified"",
"PMMA beads according to the invention are described as loose, individual PMMA beads coated with PHEMA and further modified with barium sulfate for x-ray identification.",
"The loose, individual modified PMMA beads may be inserted into areas of bone defects, such as cavities, or packed into any hard tissue part of the body in which repair, reconstruction or replacement is indicated.",
"Areas where the loose, individual modified PMMA beads may be used include, for example, the third molar socket where no replacement molar is desired;",
"furcations or bony recessions between adjacent teeth roots and infra-bony pockets caused by gum and bone disease.",
"Non-oral applications include: fracture healing, bone cancer replacement, bony buildup in plastic surgery, filling of defective bone areas and replacement of metal implants, as well as replacement of any failing metal implants.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The prosthesis of this invention comprises a conglomeration of modified PMMA beads which, in individual, loose form, may, initially, be packed into cavities or other areas of hard tissue defect or disease by means of a dental tool such as, for example, the type used to transfer silver amalgam.",
"When a void in a hard tissue area is completely filled with the loose, individual modified PMMA beads, the surrounding soft tissue is then sutured over the beads to completely enclose them.",
"Once enclosed, the beads come into contact with each other, forming pores that are readily wettable by blood and body fluids.",
"In this way, bone growth is promoted and bone recession prevented.",
"As the healing process progresses, ingrowth of surrounding bone and/or tissue throughout the interstices of the packed beads leads to the formation of a prosthesis comprising a conglomeration of the modified PMMA beads.",
"Loose, non-bonded PMMA beads coated with PHEMA and modified with small particles of barium sulfate are produced in a process similar to that disclosed in the applicants'",
"patent application Ser.",
"No. 214,572, filed Dec. 8, 1980, which is herewith incorporated by reference.",
"In order to prevent bonding of the PMMA beads, the relative barium sulfate content of the implants is increased, while the amount of PHEMA is decreased and pressure avoided.",
"Any clumps formed by the coated PMMA particles are broken up by physical means, such as a mortar and pestle.",
"The loose, non-bonded modified PMMA beads comprising the hard tissue implants of this invention are produced according to the following method.",
"PMMA beads are thoroughly mixed with between about 10 to 20% by volume, preferably 10%, and between about 21.5 and 43% by weight of 0.7 micron--or less than 1 micron--particle-size barium sulfate.",
"Preferably, the size of the PMMA beads is chosen with a view towards the development of pore sizes that promote bone growth.",
"Under various embodiments of the invention, the PMMA beads may be about the 20 to 24 mesh size (particle diameters between about 700 and 840 microns) or about the 24 to 30 mesh size (particle diameters between about 590 and 700 microns) which are most easily transferred and packed into a void in hard tissue areas, and which form a pore size which promotes bone growth.",
"The PMMA may contain small amounts of a plasticizer or a comonomer.",
"Between about four and seven percent, preferably five percent by weight (based on the PMMA) of monomeric hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) is then added to the PMMA bead-barium sulfate mixture and the total mixture is then thoroughly mixed and combined to effect a uniform coating of the PMMA beads.",
"The HEMA has a high grade of purity--about 98.4% minimum and is lightly inhibited from polymerizing by trace amounts of an inhibitor such as the methyl ether of hydroquinone (MEHQ).",
"The HEMA is preferably modified by the addition of a cross-linking agent such as triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate, which comprises between about 1 and 5% of the HEMA, preferably 5%.",
"The mixed PMMA beads are subsequently heated while in a thin layer of about 1/16"",
"to 1/8"",
"in thickness in a silicone rubber mold or on a non-polar surface such as Teflon, polyethylene or polypropylene, that does not heat up in the alternating field and whose surface acts as a release agent.",
"The heat treatment is carried out in a dielectric oven such as a Model MBS-1, manufactured by W. T. Rose and Associates of Troy, New York, until most of the hydroxyethyl methacrylate is polymerized.",
"The heating step is, for example, about 11/2 minutes in duration when the upper electrode is in a position 1/4"",
"above the top of the beads.",
"The PMMA beads are then allowed to cool to an ambient temperature between about 70° to 80° F. and any clumps are broken up using a mortar and pestle and subsequently by screening.",
"Since the resulting modified PMMA beads may contain residual amounts of monomeric HEMA, the beads are then boiled in water for about 2 to 3 minutes in order to extract any remaining monomer.",
"The PMMA beads are then spread out and air dried, or force dried under temperatures that are not high enough to cause melting.",
"The loose, non-bonded modified PMMA beads have a water-wettable PHEMA coating into which the barium sulfate particles are imbedded.",
"All of the barium sulfate is attached to the PMMA beads and thus there are no free particles of barium sulfate remaining.",
"The barium sulfate must be present in an amount to substantially prevent bonding between the PMMA particles.",
"Therefore, if the amount of PHEMA coating is increased, a corresponding increase in the amount of barium sulfate used is required.",
"When the PMMA beads are to be packed into voids in hard tissue areas, it is advantageous that the PHEMA coating is wetted and swollen by water so that the beads become slightly adherent and can be more readily handled in clumps by a means of a dental tool, such as, for example, the type used to transfer silver amalgam.",
"Bone surfaces which will be adjacent to the prosthesis are advantageously pretreated in various ways.",
"Preferably, any tartar or debris on the bone surface, as well as all diseased bone adjacent to the prosthesis should be removed.",
"This may be accomplished by using, for example, a round dental burr.",
"In oral applications, it is also desirable to remove any diseased bone, as well as all the tartar and debris on the tooth roots adjacent to the bone defect, by scaling and curettaging the root surfaces with either a periodontal instrument or an ultrasonic scaler.",
"The cleaned root surface is then treated with a mild acid solution such as, for example, a 50% aqueous solution of citric acid or phosphoric acid, for about two minutes, followed by rinsing with water.",
"The mild acid treatment serves to collagenize the root and thus promote reattachment.",
"It is understood that the foregoing detailed description is provided merely by way of illustration and that several modifications may be made therein without departing from the disclosed invention."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to measurement and testing for liquid analysis, and more particularly to determining electrically the quality of any natural or synthetic oil, oil substitute, oil including additives, or any other non-polar or weakly polar liquid.
2. Description of the Related Art
Commonly invented U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,170, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, describes a method and apparatus to determine the quality of a fluid, e.g. oil, by its solvating effect on an insoluble (resin) matrix to which charged ion groups have been covalently bound. The solvating effect is measured as a variation in an electrical characteristic (e.g. capacitance or conductivity or impedance) of the matrix. The apparatus in one embodiment includes a housing holding a conductive mesh containing small (milligram) amounts of ion-charged resin beads. A metal probe is fitted in the mesh and makes contact with the resin. The entire apparatus is immersed in the fluid so the fluid enters the housing, and the electrical characteristic is measured from the probe to the mesh through the resin. Fluid quality degradation is measured as a change in electrical conductivity or capacitance through the resin with respect to an increase in the fluid's solvent polarity.
The present inventors have discovered several improvements for their earlier oil quality sensor. These improvements improve the utility and applications of the oil quality sensor which measures typically oil oxidation or additive depletion in real time and can be used to predict the level of degradation of an oil over the normal operating temperature range of a vehicle. It has been found that it would be desirable to improve and extend the utility of that oil quality sensor in terms of the chemistry of the resin beads, sensitivity and dynamic range by the of the sensor, oil contaminant detection, and to adapt the oil quality sensor to become an oil level sensor.
SUMMARY
In accordance with the present invention, the method and apparatus disclosed in the above-referenced patent, which use a matrix of polystyrene (resin) beads to conduct a charge when the amount of conductivity and/or capacitance reflects the condition of the oil, first is subject to a chemical process improvement whereby a polar environment is created locally around the charged groups of the resin beads. This polar environment promotes charge separation or dissociation between the cation and anion of the charged groups. This amplifies the signal and improves the sensitivity of the sensor. This is accomplished by pretreating the resin beads with a high boiling point polar protic solvent, such as ethylene glycol.
Also in accordance with the present invention, the dynamic range of the sensor is improved by exploiting the fact that the physical size of the beads changes (becomes smaller) as the fluid changes from a non-polar towards a polar type fluid. The decreasing bead size has been found to decrease the physical contact between the charged groups on the beads which in turn causes a change in the electrical properties (e.g. a decrease in conductivity).
Also in accordance with the invention, the beads are housed in a permeable container so as the beads decrease in size (due to the fluid changing to be more polar) they will filter through the container, so sensor sensitivity is improved. In one embodiment multiple sensor chambers are used with intervening filters each having specific mesh sizes to measure specific levels of fluid polarity.
It has also been found that the beads may be loaded into the sensor at an initial particular size, such that after being immersed in a more non-polar liquid (e.g. oil) the beads expand, forcing better physical contact between them.
In another embodiment, the beads are loaded into the sensor in a highly swollen state and as the fluid (e.g. oil) in which they are immersed becomes more polar their conductivity decreases. Other modifications are also possible utilizing bead swelling and shrinking depending on the condition of the surrounding fluid (e.g,. oil). For instance, a spring loaded diaphragm may push on the beads thus maintaining their electrical conductivity. The travel limit of the spring can be set such that it will stop before the beads are at their minimum diameter (corresponding to a specific polar condition). This configuration allows the signal to remain relatively constant over a predetermined range of polarity (clean oil to a specified wear state). Once the bead diameter contracts (corresponding to a further change in polarity) such that the spring tension is no longer requiring physical contact of the beads with each other, the electrical conductivity of the system will degrade rapidly.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, it has been found when the oil contains heterogenous contaminants in the form of bubbles or droplets that have a different polarity than does the oil, i.e. when water, anti-freeze, fuel, or even metals become mixed with the oil, the transient behavior of the droplets as they pass through the sensor generates electrical noise in the sensor output signal. The frequency and amplitude of the noise is directly correlated to the amount of contamination, and hence heterogeneous oil contamination by water or other substances is detectable.
Also in accordance with the invention, if the contaminating material happens to be mixed uniformly into the oil to form a homogenous fluid, this is sensed by providing two sensors with beads each having been pretreated with different materials (e.g. polar protic solvents such as ethylene glycol and methanol). Over the course of oil degradation, one set of treatedbeads/sensor causes a decrease in conductivity while the second set of treated-beads/sensor causes an increase in conductivity. Thus when the conductivity measured by the two sensors diverges this clearly indicates contamination.
Also in accordance with the present invention, the beads in two sensors are treated with two different cations or other charged groups, which gives the electrical output signal of each sensor a specific signature as it tracks oil degradation, and the output signals of the two sensors are compared. For instance, iron or lead is thereby easily sensed in the oil indicating excessive engine wear and/or oil degradation.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, a multi-chamber sensor with the chambers arranged vertically, each containing charged groups in a matrix and its own sensor electrode(s), is used to sense a level of the oil, for instance in the oil pan of an automobile, to determine a low oil condition. The chambers are positioned so that they are at various levels in the oil pan; the absence of oil from any one of the chambers is easily sensed electrically due to the conductivity difference compared to a reference sensor constantly immersed in the oil.
It is to be understood that while the following description is of an oil sensor, the invention is not so limited, and includes method and apparatus for sensing properties of other suitable fluids and also is not limited to automotive or motor applications.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an oil quality sensor assembly from the above-referenced patent and also in accordance with this invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the oil quality sensor assembly and associated circuitry from the above-referenced patent.
FIG. 3A shows a three-chamber oil sensor in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 3B shows the chamber of FIG. 3A with the beads in the central chamber.
FIG. 3C shows the chamber of FIG. 3A with the beads in the lowest chamber.
FIG. 4 shows an oil quality sensor device having two sensors with different properties.
FIG. 5 shows an oil level sensor with multiple chambers in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
An oil quality sensor in accordance with the present invention is in many respects similar to that disclosed in the above-referenced U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,170. Hence present FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an oil quality sensor identical to FIG. 1 of that patent in which oil quality sensor 1 is mounted in an otherwise conventional drain plug 2 used in the oil pan of an internal combustion engine i.e. an automobile engine. The drain plug 2 with its standard hex nut arrangement and associated threaded surface 3 are shown as the chief mounting for the oil quality sensor. The e.g. plastic housing 4 provides the outer contaminant for conventional stainless steel wire mesh 6, which in turn holds the polystyrene resin beads 8 impregnated with the charged ion groups, in one embodiment sodium as the cation and sulfite as the anion, with the sulfite covalently bound to the beads. A typical amount of beads is 20 to 500 mg (not limiting). The beads are e.g. cross-linked with 8% cross-linked divinyl benzene and have a titer or exchange capacity of 1.7 meq/ml, each bead being of e.g. 16-400 wet mesh size (1,180 to 38 μm diameter). (The divinyl benzene may be e.g. 0% to 12% cross-linked). Further details of the beads are disclosed in the above-referenced patent application. Also, other types of support and other suitable cation exchange groups may be used.
Opening 5 allows oil to flow through the mesh 6 and the resin beads 8. Although not shown, a similar opening on the opposite side of a housing 4 allows a flow-through arrangement. The metal probe 7 is one electrode of the electrical circuit for measuring the desired electrical characteristic through the resin matrix. Wire 13 is connected at point 12 and routed to the external plug 11 via a conventional oil-tight seal (not shown). Wire 10 is connected to the mesh 6 at point 9 and routed to the external plug 11, also via an oil-tight seal (not shown). It can be seen that the mesh is the second electrode of the electrical circuit for measuring the electrical characteristic through the resin matrix. Plug 11 connects the sensor to the external signal conditioning circuit.
One variant of the sensor of FIG. 1 (not shown) includes a small nonconductive strip of material (e.g. plastic) defining two holes. The strip is covered on each side with a mesh of e.g. stainless steel cloth; each hole holds a quantity of the beads. A cover defining several slots encloses this assembly, which is mounted in an oil pan drain plug. While one hole in the strip allows the engine oil to flow freely through the beads, the other hole is permanently sealed with clean oil trapped inside to act as the internal standard (reference). Thus electrical connections are provided to the beads in each hole.
The slots in the cover in one embodiment are offset (located away from) the bead location to minimize oil flow past the beads, thereby to prevent loss of bead physical contact due to oil circulation.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the oil quality sensor system of the above-referenced patent, herein measuring conductivity as an illustration. Other electrical characteristics could be used alternatively, such as capacitance. The positive voltage V+ at node 15 causes an electric current to flow through a voltage divider consisting of resistor 14 and sensor element 1. Coaxial cable 16 reduces the effect of outside electrical noise on the signal from the remotely located sensor element where the other terminal of coaxial cable 16 is connected to ground at node 17. The resulting voltage developed across the sensor element 1, which is referenced to voltage V+ is applied to the non-inverting input of the voltage follower circuit 18.
Voltage follower circuit 18 is a high input impedance amplifier, such as an RCA CA3140 integrated circuit. Such a voltage follower circuit is used because of the very high impedance exhibited by the sensor element under normal operating conditions; any loading of the circuit by an external measuring means would affect the accuracy of the subsequent voltage readings.
The voltage output at node 19 from voltage follower 18 as. shown is applied to a conventional signal interface circuit 20. Details of the signal interface are given in the above-referenced patent and may include for instance a simple analog meter, or an analog to digital converter whose output signal is supplied to a microprocessor system for further conditioning and subsequent output to a conventional display.
In a first improvement in accordance with the present invention, a polar environment is created locally surrounding the charged groups of the beads. ("Beads here refers generally to the support, of whatever structure.) This polar environment promotes charge separation or dissociation between the cation and anion of the charged groups. This amplifies the signal and improves the sensitivity or resolving capabilities of the sensor. Creating and maintaining a polar environment around the charged groups in a non-polar environment (e.g. uncontaminated clean oil) is accomplished in accordance with the present invention by pretreating the beads (before being loaded into the sensor, i.e. during manufacture of the sensor) with e.g. a high boiling point polar protic solvent such as ethylene glycol. A protic solvent forms hydrogen bonds with the sulfonyl group of sulfonic acid salt (cation) even at temperatures of up to 150° C., thereby creating the desired local polar environment. This has been found to increase resolution by creating an amplified sensor output signal.
The actual process of preparing the beads involves washing the beads with 1N sodium hydroxide for about 15 to 30 minutes at room temperature. The excess sodium hydroxide is washed off in methanol. The beads are then soaked in methanol to remove any excess water, then air dried to remove any remaining methanol. The beads are then soaked in the ethylene glycol for e.g. 24 hours, and heated to 120° C. for about 2 hours to ensure penetration of the ethylene glycol. The beads so treated are fully swollen.
Last, the beads are placed in clean oil (or another non-polar fluid) and heated to 120° C. to remove any excess ethylene glycol and shrink the beads down to their "clean oil" state. The beads are then loaded into the sensor under slight pressure so they are in close contact with one another. Alternatively, the beads are soaked in the ethylene glycol after being loaded into the sensor.
Beads so treated have been found advantageously to improve the signal strength from the sensor one to two orders of magnitude. What is occurring in terms of electrochemistry is that the hydrogen of the ethylene glycol bonds to the oxygen of the bead resin, creating the desired localized polar environment. The relatively high boiling point is desirable because lower boiling point substances might boil off when the oil becomes hot in the engine environment.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the present inventors have used the extent of bead swelling and shrinkage to determine solvent/liquid polarity. (Cross-linking of the beads increases rigidity of the resin matrix and increases the number of divinyl benzene groups.) In this approach the beads shrink in size with increasing oil polarity (i.e. degrading of the oil) and the beads then physically pass through a mesh (filter) and collect in a lower chamber. The collecting chamber produces an electrical signal from its electrodes as affected by the quantity of beads present, which serves to confirm the measured oxidation of the oil. Hence it has been found that as the fluid changes from a non-polar towards a polar one, the diameter of the beads exposed to the oil becomes smaller (the beads shrink). Decreasing the size of the beads has been found to affect the contact between the charged groups which in turn changes the electrical properties of the beads (e.g. decreases conductivity). By selecting for instance a permeable container containing a fine meshed filter which corresponds to the size of the beads, one may insure that when the beads are in a non-polar environment (clean oil) they will not pass through the filter.
An example of such a sensor is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 3A where a three-chamber housing 30 for the oil quality sensor has chambers 32, 34, and 36. Initially the beads 40 (with the charged groups) are located in chamber 32 and are held therein by a suitable filter or mesh 44. As the oil 48 (which circulates through all three chambers 32, 34, 36) degrades, i.e. becomes more polar, the bead diameter decreases and due to gravity the beads 40 pass through the filter 44 into the second chamber 34, as shown in FIG. 3B, thereby causing a decrease in conductivity in the first chamber 32 as the beads 40 are eliminated therefrom. There is a corresponding increase in conductivity in the second chamber 34 as the beads 40 enter that chamber 34. It is to be understood that each chamber 32, 34, 36 is equipped with two electrodes (not shown), for instance a probe and a second electrode which might be the filter mesh. The corresponding signal processing circuitry is not shown but its nature will be readily understood by one skilled in the art in light of the above-referenced patent.
As the beads 40 pass, under the influence of gravity and the oil circulation, from the first chamber 32 down to the lower second chamber 34, there is a substantial decrease in the strength of the conductivity signal across the electrodes of the first chamber 32 versus those of the second chamber 34. This greatly increases the sensing dynamics of the system and makes signal sensing relatively easy. This method also allows detection of oil reaggregation, (the onset of oil sludge). This is because the present inventors have found that as the oil reaggregates, the oil's solvent properties change from a polar state back to a non-polar state which is indicated by an increase in conductivity in any one chamber.
Multiple chambers can be used with a third chamber 36 separated from the second chamber by another filter 50 having yet a finer mesh capacity to measure further shrinkage in the beads 40. As the oil further degrades, the beads 40 pass from the second chamber 34 into the third chamber 36 as shown in FIG. 3C, and the signal strength across the electrodes in the third chamber 36 is measured to indicate this state of the oil. In effect, this multi-chamber oil sensor is an "electromechanical state machine" where the various oil states are determined, not only by the current polar condition of the oil, but also by the previous polar condition of the oil. The state of the oil hence can be measured by monitoring the electrical characteristics of each chamber via its associated electrodes, either directly or through an intervening processor such as a microprocessor programmed to interpret the relative signal strength from the electrodes associated with each chamber and drive a display (e.g. an LED or LCD) indicating visually the corresponding oil condition.
With the multiple chamber approach, the initial size of the beads is controlled to be within a small range to correspond to the initial mesh size. Also for use in a diesel engine (where often soot is present in the lubricating oil) one uses a larger bead size and a larger mesh. This prevents the soot from clogging the mesh.
Also in accordance with the invention, the beads are loaded into the sensor (in this case a single chamber sensor) initially in a non-swollen state such that after being immersed in a more non-polar liquid (cleaner oil, or an oil that contains a higher quantity of non-polar additives), the beads expand, forcing physical contact amongst themselves. The resulting electrical signal from the sensor electrodes remains at the same level of conductivity until the bead's initial loading polar state was achieved again, to indicate a certain degree of oil degradation only then would the conductivity be allowed to decrease by separation of the beads due to less physical contact in a more polar condition of the oil. This provides a definite indication of a particular degree of oil degradation.
Conversely, in another version the beads are initially loaded into the sensor in a highly swollen state. After the oil degrades and hence becomes more polar, the sensor conductivity shows a more immediate decrease, hence providing a sharply defined indication of oil degradation and an easily interpreted output signal.
In a third approach utilizing bead swelling and shrinking, the beads are loaded into the sensor to a specified loading quantity (not completely filling the chamber) in the least swollen state. This least swollen state is obtained by initially immersing the beads in a highly polar solution before loading them into the sensor. When the sensor in use is exposed to oil that is less polar, the beads expand, increasing sensor conductivity. Since the additives used in commercial oil change the oil's polarity, the sensor can be loaded initially with beads swollen to a size such that in oil without additives, the sensor is at a known fill level of beads. The sensor can then be placed in the oil with additives in the-engine. The change in conductivity due to the beads swelling and shrinking then tracks additive addition and depletion, e.g. in a laboratory environment.
In yet another aspect in accordance with the present invention, the present inventors have found when the oil contains localized contaminants which form droplets having a different polarity than does the oil (contaminants such as water, anti-freeze, fuel, or even metals) the transient behavior of the heterogenous contaminant droplets as they pass through the sensor causes easily observable electrical noise in the output signal from the sensor electrodes. This would typically occur with a major coolant leak into the engine. The frequency and amplitude of the noise is directly correlated to the quantity of contamination. Quantities of such heterogenous contaminants as little as 2% can be easily detected using this approach. In this case the oil sensor is as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 with additional output signal processing. This signal processing circuitry looks for noise of a particular amplitude or frequency in the output signal to detect contamination. One signal processing approach is to observe a standard deviation of the signal amplitude or of the signal frequency; this is easily performed by circuitry or in software using a microprocessor connected to the sensor output circuitry, to provide a warning of oil contamination upon detection of a particular frequency or level of electrical noise.
Some contaminating materials may be emulsified into the oil and hence not detectable by this approach. This could occur under some conditions due to water condensation, anti-freeze or fuel contamination. In this case, another approach involves chemically treating the resin beads in two sensors with different charged groups, such that with one charged group conductivity is increased by the contamination while the second charged group in the second sensor beads causes the conductivity to decrease. Both sensors are placed in the oil and their output signals compared. Therefore when the conductivity of the two sensors diverges, contamination is indicated, where the amount of the divergence correlates to the amount of contamination.
This sensor arrangement is shown in FIG. 4 with two sensors 60, 68. The beads 64 in sensor 60 are treated with e.g. sodium as the cation. The beads 70 in sensor 68 are treated with e.g. iron as the cation. Both sensors 60, 68 are exposed to the oil, and the output signals from their electrodes (not shown) are both routed to signal processing circuitry 74, for comparison by comparator 76, the output of which is provided to output circuitry 80 for display to indicate oil contamination. It is to be understood that FIG. 4 is explanatory and not limiting of the two sensor approach.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, before being placed into the sensor (during manufacture) the beads are initially treated with a particular charged group, e.g. sodium, which gives the electrical signal a specific signature as it tracks oil degradation. When the sensor is in use the sodium is displaced by other metal ions from the oil that change the signature of the output signal. Of particular interest would be the electrical signature of iron or lead present in the oil, indicating engine wear due to iron or lead entering the oil from the engine components. Using two differently treated sensors both immersed in the engine oil, such as one treated with sodium and the other treated with iron, the output signals (electrical signatures) of the two sensors are compared for instance by a microprocessor. A sensor of this type would appear to be similar to that of FIG. 4. Initially the signatures of the two sensors would be different. When iron contamination of the oil occurs, the sodium ion in the resin beads in the first sensor is displaced by the iron ion and the signatures from the two sensors would then be the same, indicating oil degradation. The engine iron, copper, lead, zinc, etc. present in the oil is oxidized from a metal state to an ionic state by a compatible charged group and encounters the sodium on the resin beads and displaces it. A zero output from the comparator (see FIG. 4) indicates contamination for instance by copper, zinc, lead, or iron, and excessive engine wear.
One could even determine where the particular wear is occurring in terms of engine components, depending on e.g. the known lead concentration in each various engine component.
Also in accordance with the present invention a multi-chamber sensor determines oil level, typically to determine a low oil condition. In this case the entire sensor assembly 90 as shown in FIG. 5 is located in the engine oil pan 98 and arranged vertically. The indicated oil levels are e.g. the oil pan 98 is full, one quart low, or the danger level at which the engine is subject to damage. In this case each sensor chamber S1, S2, S3 is physically isolated from the other and each has its own beads 92, 94 and own sensor electrodes (not shown). Sensor S3 is always immersed in oil and serves as a reference. Hence each chamber by itself is similar to the structure of FIG. 1. It has been found that the signal from a particular sensor is much different when it is immersed in oil compared to when it is in air (when there is no oil at that level). Thus by positioning the chambers S1, S2 at various levels in the oil pan, the oil level can be determined. The sensor electrodes of chambers S1, S2, S3 can be connected electrically in series or in parallel and electrical characteristics of the chambers S1, S2, S3 are measured either collectively or individually.
Thus, in one example a direct current resistance measurement is taken. The typical resistance of clean oil is about 2M ohms at engine operating temperatures. The typical resistance of the beads 92, 94 in air is about 10M ohms. If the electrodes of the two sensors S1, S2 are connected electrically in series the total resistance R is simply that of two resistors in series:
R=R 1 +R 2 .
For a full oil pan hence the resistance R is:
R=2M ohms+2M ohms=4M ohms.
For an oil level that is one quart low, the resistance R is: R=2M ohms+10M ohms=12M ohms.
For the oil level that is dangerously low, the total resistance R is:
R=10M ohms+10M ohms=20M ohms.
In this case one has three distinct different resistances depending on the oil level to be compared to the resistance of the reference sensor S3. The various chambers need not be connected mechanically (need not share the same housing) although typically for simplicity they would share a single housing as illustrated in FIG. 4. Also, the sensors alternatively are connected electrically in parallel.
As explained herein, many factors contribute to electrical characteristics of the signals output by the oil quality sensor. The bead physical dimensions, the bead size, cross linking of the beads, the initial loading concentration and the pretreatment of the beads all contribute to the signal output. In accordance with the invention these parameters are used in various ways in one or more oil quality sensor chambers to optimize the sensitivity of the sensor to various oil conditions for particular applications. Each sensor can be adapted as described above such to allow level sensing in addition to e.g. metal detection and additive depletion. Thus one may use various combinations of detection features for multiple detectors in a single sensor device.
This disclosure is illustrative and not limiting; further modifications will be apparent to one skilled in the art in light of this disclosure, and are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. | Method and apparatus for determining deterioration of e.g. lubricating oil by measuring the electrical properties of a polymeric matrix (support) holding charged ionic groups. The dynamic range of the device is increased by creating a local polar environment formed around the charged groups of the polymeric matrix and by exploiting bead shrinkage with increasing degradation (or solvent polarity). Both approaches can be further employed in a single sensor by the use of multiple chambers containing a combination of the above. Also, contaminant detection is improved by detecting changes in amplitude and/or frequency of noise output. The sensor can also be used to detect a level of oil for instance in an engine oil pan. | Provide a concise summary of the essential information conveyed in the given context. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention This invention relates to measurement and testing for liquid analysis, and more particularly to determining electrically the quality of any natural or synthetic oil, oil substitute, oil including additives, or any other non-polar or weakly polar liquid.",
"Description of the Related Art Commonly invented U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,170, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, describes a method and apparatus to determine the quality of a fluid, e.g. oil, by its solvating effect on an insoluble (resin) matrix to which charged ion groups have been covalently bound.",
"The solvating effect is measured as a variation in an electrical characteristic (e.g. capacitance or conductivity or impedance) of the matrix.",
"The apparatus in one embodiment includes a housing holding a conductive mesh containing small (milligram) amounts of ion-charged resin beads.",
"A metal probe is fitted in the mesh and makes contact with the resin.",
"The entire apparatus is immersed in the fluid so the fluid enters the housing, and the electrical characteristic is measured from the probe to the mesh through the resin.",
"Fluid quality degradation is measured as a change in electrical conductivity or capacitance through the resin with respect to an increase in the fluid's solvent polarity.",
"The present inventors have discovered several improvements for their earlier oil quality sensor.",
"These improvements improve the utility and applications of the oil quality sensor which measures typically oil oxidation or additive depletion in real time and can be used to predict the level of degradation of an oil over the normal operating temperature range of a vehicle.",
"It has been found that it would be desirable to improve and extend the utility of that oil quality sensor in terms of the chemistry of the resin beads, sensitivity and dynamic range by the of the sensor, oil contaminant detection, and to adapt the oil quality sensor to become an oil level sensor.",
"SUMMARY In accordance with the present invention, the method and apparatus disclosed in the above-referenced patent, which use a matrix of polystyrene (resin) beads to conduct a charge when the amount of conductivity and/or capacitance reflects the condition of the oil, first is subject to a chemical process improvement whereby a polar environment is created locally around the charged groups of the resin beads.",
"This polar environment promotes charge separation or dissociation between the cation and anion of the charged groups.",
"This amplifies the signal and improves the sensitivity of the sensor.",
"This is accomplished by pretreating the resin beads with a high boiling point polar protic solvent, such as ethylene glycol.",
"Also in accordance with the present invention, the dynamic range of the sensor is improved by exploiting the fact that the physical size of the beads changes (becomes smaller) as the fluid changes from a non-polar towards a polar type fluid.",
"The decreasing bead size has been found to decrease the physical contact between the charged groups on the beads which in turn causes a change in the electrical properties (e.g. a decrease in conductivity).",
"Also in accordance with the invention, the beads are housed in a permeable container so as the beads decrease in size (due to the fluid changing to be more polar) they will filter through the container, so sensor sensitivity is improved.",
"In one embodiment multiple sensor chambers are used with intervening filters each having specific mesh sizes to measure specific levels of fluid polarity.",
"It has also been found that the beads may be loaded into the sensor at an initial particular size, such that after being immersed in a more non-polar liquid (e.g. oil) the beads expand, forcing better physical contact between them.",
"In another embodiment, the beads are loaded into the sensor in a highly swollen state and as the fluid (e.g. oil) in which they are immersed becomes more polar their conductivity decreases.",
"Other modifications are also possible utilizing bead swelling and shrinking depending on the condition of the surrounding fluid (e.",
"g,.",
"oil).",
"For instance, a spring loaded diaphragm may push on the beads thus maintaining their electrical conductivity.",
"The travel limit of the spring can be set such that it will stop before the beads are at their minimum diameter (corresponding to a specific polar condition).",
"This configuration allows the signal to remain relatively constant over a predetermined range of polarity (clean oil to a specified wear state).",
"Once the bead diameter contracts (corresponding to a further change in polarity) such that the spring tension is no longer requiring physical contact of the beads with each other, the electrical conductivity of the system will degrade rapidly.",
"In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, it has been found when the oil contains heterogenous contaminants in the form of bubbles or droplets that have a different polarity than does the oil, i.e. when water, anti-freeze, fuel, or even metals become mixed with the oil, the transient behavior of the droplets as they pass through the sensor generates electrical noise in the sensor output signal.",
"The frequency and amplitude of the noise is directly correlated to the amount of contamination, and hence heterogeneous oil contamination by water or other substances is detectable.",
"Also in accordance with the invention, if the contaminating material happens to be mixed uniformly into the oil to form a homogenous fluid, this is sensed by providing two sensors with beads each having been pretreated with different materials (e.g. polar protic solvents such as ethylene glycol and methanol).",
"Over the course of oil degradation, one set of treatedbeads/sensor causes a decrease in conductivity while the second set of treated-beads/sensor causes an increase in conductivity.",
"Thus when the conductivity measured by the two sensors diverges this clearly indicates contamination.",
"Also in accordance with the present invention, the beads in two sensors are treated with two different cations or other charged groups, which gives the electrical output signal of each sensor a specific signature as it tracks oil degradation, and the output signals of the two sensors are compared.",
"For instance, iron or lead is thereby easily sensed in the oil indicating excessive engine wear and/or oil degradation.",
"In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, a multi-chamber sensor with the chambers arranged vertically, each containing charged groups in a matrix and its own sensor electrode(s), is used to sense a level of the oil, for instance in the oil pan of an automobile, to determine a low oil condition.",
"The chambers are positioned so that they are at various levels in the oil pan;",
"the absence of oil from any one of the chambers is easily sensed electrically due to the conductivity difference compared to a reference sensor constantly immersed in the oil.",
"It is to be understood that while the following description is of an oil sensor, the invention is not so limited, and includes method and apparatus for sensing properties of other suitable fluids and also is not limited to automotive or motor applications.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an oil quality sensor assembly from the above-referenced patent and also in accordance with this invention.",
"FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the oil quality sensor assembly and associated circuitry from the above-referenced patent.",
"FIG. 3A shows a three-chamber oil sensor in accordance with the present invention.",
"FIG. 3B shows the chamber of FIG. 3A with the beads in the central chamber.",
"FIG. 3C shows the chamber of FIG. 3A with the beads in the lowest chamber.",
"FIG. 4 shows an oil quality sensor device having two sensors with different properties.",
"FIG. 5 shows an oil level sensor with multiple chambers in accordance with the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION An oil quality sensor in accordance with the present invention is in many respects similar to that disclosed in the above-referenced U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,170.",
"Hence present FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an oil quality sensor identical to FIG. 1 of that patent in which oil quality sensor 1 is mounted in an otherwise conventional drain plug 2 used in the oil pan of an internal combustion engine i.e. an automobile engine.",
"The drain plug 2 with its standard hex nut arrangement and associated threaded surface 3 are shown as the chief mounting for the oil quality sensor.",
"The e.g. plastic housing 4 provides the outer contaminant for conventional stainless steel wire mesh 6, which in turn holds the polystyrene resin beads 8 impregnated with the charged ion groups, in one embodiment sodium as the cation and sulfite as the anion, with the sulfite covalently bound to the beads.",
"A typical amount of beads is 20 to 500 mg (not limiting).",
"The beads are e.g. cross-linked with 8% cross-linked divinyl benzene and have a titer or exchange capacity of 1.7 meq/ml, each bead being of e.g. 16-400 wet mesh size (1,180 to 38 μm diameter).",
"(The divinyl benzene may be e.g. 0% to 12% cross-linked).",
"Further details of the beads are disclosed in the above-referenced patent application.",
"Also, other types of support and other suitable cation exchange groups may be used.",
"Opening 5 allows oil to flow through the mesh 6 and the resin beads 8.",
"Although not shown, a similar opening on the opposite side of a housing 4 allows a flow-through arrangement.",
"The metal probe 7 is one electrode of the electrical circuit for measuring the desired electrical characteristic through the resin matrix.",
"Wire 13 is connected at point 12 and routed to the external plug 11 via a conventional oil-tight seal (not shown).",
"Wire 10 is connected to the mesh 6 at point 9 and routed to the external plug 11, also via an oil-tight seal (not shown).",
"It can be seen that the mesh is the second electrode of the electrical circuit for measuring the electrical characteristic through the resin matrix.",
"Plug 11 connects the sensor to the external signal conditioning circuit.",
"One variant of the sensor of FIG. 1 (not shown) includes a small nonconductive strip of material (e.g. plastic) defining two holes.",
"The strip is covered on each side with a mesh of e.g. stainless steel cloth;",
"each hole holds a quantity of the beads.",
"A cover defining several slots encloses this assembly, which is mounted in an oil pan drain plug.",
"While one hole in the strip allows the engine oil to flow freely through the beads, the other hole is permanently sealed with clean oil trapped inside to act as the internal standard (reference).",
"Thus electrical connections are provided to the beads in each hole.",
"The slots in the cover in one embodiment are offset (located away from) the bead location to minimize oil flow past the beads, thereby to prevent loss of bead physical contact due to oil circulation.",
"FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the oil quality sensor system of the above-referenced patent, herein measuring conductivity as an illustration.",
"Other electrical characteristics could be used alternatively, such as capacitance.",
"The positive voltage V+ at node 15 causes an electric current to flow through a voltage divider consisting of resistor 14 and sensor element 1.",
"Coaxial cable 16 reduces the effect of outside electrical noise on the signal from the remotely located sensor element where the other terminal of coaxial cable 16 is connected to ground at node 17.",
"The resulting voltage developed across the sensor element 1, which is referenced to voltage V+ is applied to the non-inverting input of the voltage follower circuit 18.",
"Voltage follower circuit 18 is a high input impedance amplifier, such as an RCA CA3140 integrated circuit.",
"Such a voltage follower circuit is used because of the very high impedance exhibited by the sensor element under normal operating conditions;",
"any loading of the circuit by an external measuring means would affect the accuracy of the subsequent voltage readings.",
"The voltage output at node 19 from voltage follower 18 as.",
"shown is applied to a conventional signal interface circuit 20.",
"Details of the signal interface are given in the above-referenced patent and may include for instance a simple analog meter, or an analog to digital converter whose output signal is supplied to a microprocessor system for further conditioning and subsequent output to a conventional display.",
"In a first improvement in accordance with the present invention, a polar environment is created locally surrounding the charged groups of the beads.",
"("Beads here refers generally to the support, of whatever structure.) This polar environment promotes charge separation or dissociation between the cation and anion of the charged groups.",
"This amplifies the signal and improves the sensitivity or resolving capabilities of the sensor.",
"Creating and maintaining a polar environment around the charged groups in a non-polar environment (e.g. uncontaminated clean oil) is accomplished in accordance with the present invention by pretreating the beads (before being loaded into the sensor, i.e. during manufacture of the sensor) with e.g. a high boiling point polar protic solvent such as ethylene glycol.",
"A protic solvent forms hydrogen bonds with the sulfonyl group of sulfonic acid salt (cation) even at temperatures of up to 150° C., thereby creating the desired local polar environment.",
"This has been found to increase resolution by creating an amplified sensor output signal.",
"The actual process of preparing the beads involves washing the beads with 1N sodium hydroxide for about 15 to 30 minutes at room temperature.",
"The excess sodium hydroxide is washed off in methanol.",
"The beads are then soaked in methanol to remove any excess water, then air dried to remove any remaining methanol.",
"The beads are then soaked in the ethylene glycol for e.g. 24 hours, and heated to 120° C. for about 2 hours to ensure penetration of the ethylene glycol.",
"The beads so treated are fully swollen.",
"Last, the beads are placed in clean oil (or another non-polar fluid) and heated to 120° C. to remove any excess ethylene glycol and shrink the beads down to their "clean oil"",
"state.",
"The beads are then loaded into the sensor under slight pressure so they are in close contact with one another.",
"Alternatively, the beads are soaked in the ethylene glycol after being loaded into the sensor.",
"Beads so treated have been found advantageously to improve the signal strength from the sensor one to two orders of magnitude.",
"What is occurring in terms of electrochemistry is that the hydrogen of the ethylene glycol bonds to the oxygen of the bead resin, creating the desired localized polar environment.",
"The relatively high boiling point is desirable because lower boiling point substances might boil off when the oil becomes hot in the engine environment.",
"In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the present inventors have used the extent of bead swelling and shrinkage to determine solvent/liquid polarity.",
"(Cross-linking of the beads increases rigidity of the resin matrix and increases the number of divinyl benzene groups.) In this approach the beads shrink in size with increasing oil polarity (i.e. degrading of the oil) and the beads then physically pass through a mesh (filter) and collect in a lower chamber.",
"The collecting chamber produces an electrical signal from its electrodes as affected by the quantity of beads present, which serves to confirm the measured oxidation of the oil.",
"Hence it has been found that as the fluid changes from a non-polar towards a polar one, the diameter of the beads exposed to the oil becomes smaller (the beads shrink).",
"Decreasing the size of the beads has been found to affect the contact between the charged groups which in turn changes the electrical properties of the beads (e.g. decreases conductivity).",
"By selecting for instance a permeable container containing a fine meshed filter which corresponds to the size of the beads, one may insure that when the beads are in a non-polar environment (clean oil) they will not pass through the filter.",
"An example of such a sensor is shown diagrammatically in FIG. 3A where a three-chamber housing 30 for the oil quality sensor has chambers 32, 34, and 36.",
"Initially the beads 40 (with the charged groups) are located in chamber 32 and are held therein by a suitable filter or mesh 44.",
"As the oil 48 (which circulates through all three chambers 32, 34, 36) degrades, i.e. becomes more polar, the bead diameter decreases and due to gravity the beads 40 pass through the filter 44 into the second chamber 34, as shown in FIG. 3B, thereby causing a decrease in conductivity in the first chamber 32 as the beads 40 are eliminated therefrom.",
"There is a corresponding increase in conductivity in the second chamber 34 as the beads 40 enter that chamber 34.",
"It is to be understood that each chamber 32, 34, 36 is equipped with two electrodes (not shown), for instance a probe and a second electrode which might be the filter mesh.",
"The corresponding signal processing circuitry is not shown but its nature will be readily understood by one skilled in the art in light of the above-referenced patent.",
"As the beads 40 pass, under the influence of gravity and the oil circulation, from the first chamber 32 down to the lower second chamber 34, there is a substantial decrease in the strength of the conductivity signal across the electrodes of the first chamber 32 versus those of the second chamber 34.",
"This greatly increases the sensing dynamics of the system and makes signal sensing relatively easy.",
"This method also allows detection of oil reaggregation, (the onset of oil sludge).",
"This is because the present inventors have found that as the oil reaggregates, the oil's solvent properties change from a polar state back to a non-polar state which is indicated by an increase in conductivity in any one chamber.",
"Multiple chambers can be used with a third chamber 36 separated from the second chamber by another filter 50 having yet a finer mesh capacity to measure further shrinkage in the beads 40.",
"As the oil further degrades, the beads 40 pass from the second chamber 34 into the third chamber 36 as shown in FIG. 3C, and the signal strength across the electrodes in the third chamber 36 is measured to indicate this state of the oil.",
"In effect, this multi-chamber oil sensor is an "electromechanical state machine"",
"where the various oil states are determined, not only by the current polar condition of the oil, but also by the previous polar condition of the oil.",
"The state of the oil hence can be measured by monitoring the electrical characteristics of each chamber via its associated electrodes, either directly or through an intervening processor such as a microprocessor programmed to interpret the relative signal strength from the electrodes associated with each chamber and drive a display (e.g. an LED or LCD) indicating visually the corresponding oil condition.",
"With the multiple chamber approach, the initial size of the beads is controlled to be within a small range to correspond to the initial mesh size.",
"Also for use in a diesel engine (where often soot is present in the lubricating oil) one uses a larger bead size and a larger mesh.",
"This prevents the soot from clogging the mesh.",
"Also in accordance with the invention, the beads are loaded into the sensor (in this case a single chamber sensor) initially in a non-swollen state such that after being immersed in a more non-polar liquid (cleaner oil, or an oil that contains a higher quantity of non-polar additives), the beads expand, forcing physical contact amongst themselves.",
"The resulting electrical signal from the sensor electrodes remains at the same level of conductivity until the bead's initial loading polar state was achieved again, to indicate a certain degree of oil degradation only then would the conductivity be allowed to decrease by separation of the beads due to less physical contact in a more polar condition of the oil.",
"This provides a definite indication of a particular degree of oil degradation.",
"Conversely, in another version the beads are initially loaded into the sensor in a highly swollen state.",
"After the oil degrades and hence becomes more polar, the sensor conductivity shows a more immediate decrease, hence providing a sharply defined indication of oil degradation and an easily interpreted output signal.",
"In a third approach utilizing bead swelling and shrinking, the beads are loaded into the sensor to a specified loading quantity (not completely filling the chamber) in the least swollen state.",
"This least swollen state is obtained by initially immersing the beads in a highly polar solution before loading them into the sensor.",
"When the sensor in use is exposed to oil that is less polar, the beads expand, increasing sensor conductivity.",
"Since the additives used in commercial oil change the oil's polarity, the sensor can be loaded initially with beads swollen to a size such that in oil without additives, the sensor is at a known fill level of beads.",
"The sensor can then be placed in the oil with additives in the-engine.",
"The change in conductivity due to the beads swelling and shrinking then tracks additive addition and depletion, e.g. in a laboratory environment.",
"In yet another aspect in accordance with the present invention, the present inventors have found when the oil contains localized contaminants which form droplets having a different polarity than does the oil (contaminants such as water, anti-freeze, fuel, or even metals) the transient behavior of the heterogenous contaminant droplets as they pass through the sensor causes easily observable electrical noise in the output signal from the sensor electrodes.",
"This would typically occur with a major coolant leak into the engine.",
"The frequency and amplitude of the noise is directly correlated to the quantity of contamination.",
"Quantities of such heterogenous contaminants as little as 2% can be easily detected using this approach.",
"In this case the oil sensor is as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 with additional output signal processing.",
"This signal processing circuitry looks for noise of a particular amplitude or frequency in the output signal to detect contamination.",
"One signal processing approach is to observe a standard deviation of the signal amplitude or of the signal frequency;",
"this is easily performed by circuitry or in software using a microprocessor connected to the sensor output circuitry, to provide a warning of oil contamination upon detection of a particular frequency or level of electrical noise.",
"Some contaminating materials may be emulsified into the oil and hence not detectable by this approach.",
"This could occur under some conditions due to water condensation, anti-freeze or fuel contamination.",
"In this case, another approach involves chemically treating the resin beads in two sensors with different charged groups, such that with one charged group conductivity is increased by the contamination while the second charged group in the second sensor beads causes the conductivity to decrease.",
"Both sensors are placed in the oil and their output signals compared.",
"Therefore when the conductivity of the two sensors diverges, contamination is indicated, where the amount of the divergence correlates to the amount of contamination.",
"This sensor arrangement is shown in FIG. 4 with two sensors 60, 68.",
"The beads 64 in sensor 60 are treated with e.g. sodium as the cation.",
"The beads 70 in sensor 68 are treated with e.g. iron as the cation.",
"Both sensors 60, 68 are exposed to the oil, and the output signals from their electrodes (not shown) are both routed to signal processing circuitry 74, for comparison by comparator 76, the output of which is provided to output circuitry 80 for display to indicate oil contamination.",
"It is to be understood that FIG. 4 is explanatory and not limiting of the two sensor approach.",
"In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, before being placed into the sensor (during manufacture) the beads are initially treated with a particular charged group, e.g. sodium, which gives the electrical signal a specific signature as it tracks oil degradation.",
"When the sensor is in use the sodium is displaced by other metal ions from the oil that change the signature of the output signal.",
"Of particular interest would be the electrical signature of iron or lead present in the oil, indicating engine wear due to iron or lead entering the oil from the engine components.",
"Using two differently treated sensors both immersed in the engine oil, such as one treated with sodium and the other treated with iron, the output signals (electrical signatures) of the two sensors are compared for instance by a microprocessor.",
"A sensor of this type would appear to be similar to that of FIG. 4. Initially the signatures of the two sensors would be different.",
"When iron contamination of the oil occurs, the sodium ion in the resin beads in the first sensor is displaced by the iron ion and the signatures from the two sensors would then be the same, indicating oil degradation.",
"The engine iron, copper, lead, zinc, etc.",
"present in the oil is oxidized from a metal state to an ionic state by a compatible charged group and encounters the sodium on the resin beads and displaces it.",
"A zero output from the comparator (see FIG. 4) indicates contamination for instance by copper, zinc, lead, or iron, and excessive engine wear.",
"One could even determine where the particular wear is occurring in terms of engine components, depending on e.g. the known lead concentration in each various engine component.",
"Also in accordance with the present invention a multi-chamber sensor determines oil level, typically to determine a low oil condition.",
"In this case the entire sensor assembly 90 as shown in FIG. 5 is located in the engine oil pan 98 and arranged vertically.",
"The indicated oil levels are e.g. the oil pan 98 is full, one quart low, or the danger level at which the engine is subject to damage.",
"In this case each sensor chamber S1, S2, S3 is physically isolated from the other and each has its own beads 92, 94 and own sensor electrodes (not shown).",
"Sensor S3 is always immersed in oil and serves as a reference.",
"Hence each chamber by itself is similar to the structure of FIG. 1. It has been found that the signal from a particular sensor is much different when it is immersed in oil compared to when it is in air (when there is no oil at that level).",
"Thus by positioning the chambers S1, S2 at various levels in the oil pan, the oil level can be determined.",
"The sensor electrodes of chambers S1, S2, S3 can be connected electrically in series or in parallel and electrical characteristics of the chambers S1, S2, S3 are measured either collectively or individually.",
"Thus, in one example a direct current resistance measurement is taken.",
"The typical resistance of clean oil is about 2M ohms at engine operating temperatures.",
"The typical resistance of the beads 92, 94 in air is about 10M ohms.",
"If the electrodes of the two sensors S1, S2 are connected electrically in series the total resistance R is simply that of two resistors in series: R=R 1 +R 2 .",
"For a full oil pan hence the resistance R is: R=2M ohms+2M ohms=4M ohms.",
"For an oil level that is one quart low, the resistance R is: R=2M ohms+10M ohms=12M ohms.",
"For the oil level that is dangerously low, the total resistance R is: R=10M ohms+10M ohms=20M ohms.",
"In this case one has three distinct different resistances depending on the oil level to be compared to the resistance of the reference sensor S3.",
"The various chambers need not be connected mechanically (need not share the same housing) although typically for simplicity they would share a single housing as illustrated in FIG. 4. Also, the sensors alternatively are connected electrically in parallel.",
"As explained herein, many factors contribute to electrical characteristics of the signals output by the oil quality sensor.",
"The bead physical dimensions, the bead size, cross linking of the beads, the initial loading concentration and the pretreatment of the beads all contribute to the signal output.",
"In accordance with the invention these parameters are used in various ways in one or more oil quality sensor chambers to optimize the sensitivity of the sensor to various oil conditions for particular applications.",
"Each sensor can be adapted as described above such to allow level sensing in addition to e.g. metal detection and additive depletion.",
"Thus one may use various combinations of detection features for multiple detectors in a single sensor device.",
"This disclosure is illustrative and not limiting;",
"further modifications will be apparent to one skilled in the art in light of this disclosure, and are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to the general technical field of pipes and cables enabling to convey either fluids, or electric power and/or data. Such cables or pipes may be submerged in a marine environment or arranged in overhead fashion.
[0002] The present invention more particularly relates to the recovery of renewable submarine or overhead power, of low power, to supply with electric power mainly control and monitoring sensors associated with such a cable or with such a pipe. It is indeed necessary to equip this type of cable or of pipe with sensors of stress, pressure, temperature, or for example capable of detecting other physical parameters such as vibrations, to be able to identify or anticipate a possible premature aging, risks of breaking, or abnormal embedment, requiring a maintenance operation.
[0003] Such control sensors enable to monitor the state and the environment of a cable or of a pipe, particularly submerged, having a very limited accessibility. Such sensors need to be electrically powered to be able to operate and to transmit measurements with electric signals. The latter then enable to perform a remote control and to avoid using cells or batteries, which have a relatively short autonomy and accordingly require being frequently replaced.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The use of power recovery systems, particularly of marine current type, powering such control sensors, is known. Thus, document US 2013/0147199 describes a power recovery system comprising a turbine associated with an alternator to generate the electricity necessary for the operation of the control sensors. Such turbines, known per se, are mounted on pipes or rigid cables. Known systems thus enable to generate in situ the electric power necessary for their operation.
[0005] Such systems however prove to be poorly adapted to being mounted on flexible cables or pipes. Such flexible pipes are for example used in an underwater environment to convey fluids, and this, over very long distances. The pipes or cables further have to be taken out of the water to be equipped with electric power generation systems or to replace such defective systems, and are generally stored on spools.
[0006] It should further be noted that the use of known systems implies using, in particular, underwater turbines or wind turbines, which are not capable of being mounted on flexible pipes or cables. Indeed, repeated flexions of the concerned cable or pipe result in generating substantial efforts and mechanical stress, likely to thus favor premature failures.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention aims at overcoming the above-mentioned disadvantages and at providing a local power recovery system capable of being mounted on a flexible cable or pipe.
[0008] Another object of the present invention aims at providing a power recovery system capable of being mounted on a cable or on a pipe which is already installed or submerged, requiring neither a taking out of the water nor a dismounting.
[0009] The objects of the invention are achieved by means of a renewable power recovery system to locally generate electric power intended to power, in particular, control sensors, associated with an overhead or underwater cable or with an overhead or underwater pipe, said system comprising a turbine having a substantially cylindrical external casing rotatably mounted on the cable or on the pipe by means of mounting members and an alternator cinematically connected or integrated to said turbine.
[0010] According to the invention, the mounting members and the turbine are made of two severable portions, provided with assembly elements to allow their assembly once they have been positioned on the cable or on the pipe.
[0011] Advantageously, all the parts constitutive of the power recovery system according to the invention are made of two severable portions. The same applies for the alternator according to an embodiment of the system according to the invention.
[0012] According to an embodiment of the invention, each longitudinal end of the turbine is formed by the ends of blades interconnected via a circular ring supporting assembly elements.
[0013] According to an embodiment of the invention, the mounting members are designed to adapt on a flexible cable or pipe, said mounting members comprising for this purpose means for absorbing or avoiding efforts and stress resulting from a flexion of said cable or of said pipe.
[0014] According to an embodiment of the invention, the mounting members comprise a bearing extending along a central plane transversal to the turbine, said single bearing thus forming, due to its positioning, the compensation means.
[0015] According to an embodiment of the invention, the mounting members comprise a first bearing arranged at a first longitudinal end of the turbine, and a second bearing arranged at a second longitudinal end of said turbine, said second bearing being connected to the cable or to the pipe via the compensation means.
[0016] According to another embodiment of the system according to the invention, the compensation means comprise:
[0017] a support secured to the pipe or the cable,
[0018] said support being provided on its external periphery with radial tabs angularly spaced apart by 90°, and
[0019] a peripheral body surrounding the support and provided with internal radial guide rails, each engaged, with a mechanical clearance, on a radial tab, the second bearing being fixedly mounted with its internal portion on said peripheral body, its external portion being secured to the turbine.
[0020] According to an embodiment of the invention, the support comprises an internal ball joint portion fixedly mounted on the cable or on the pipe and an external ball joint portion comprising the radial tabs and movably mounted on the internal ball joint portion.
[0021] The objects of the present invention are also achieved:
[0022] for a flexible electric and/or communication cable, comprising at least one power recovery system such as described hereabove;
[0023] for a flexible pipe for conveying fluids, comprising at least one power recovery system such as described hereabove.
[0024] An advantage of the power recovery system according to the invention lies in that it is able to easily equip a flexible cable or pipe with a power recovery system, for example, as it is being unwound from a ship.
[0025] Another advantage of the system according to the invention lies in the possibility of equipping a cable or a pipe, for example, in an underwater environment without having to take said cable or said pipe back up to the surface. This results in a substantial time gain for such an operation.
[0026] The system according to the invention has the determining advantage of being able to equip flexible cables or pipes without risking altering the lifetime of said system, and this due to a decrease in the mechanical efforts that said power recovery system has to undergo.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0027] The foregoing and other features and advantages will also appear from the following non-limiting description of the invention in connection with the accompanying drawings, among which:
[0028] FIG. 1 is a simplified illustration of an embodiment of a turbine of a power recovery system according to the invention;
[0029] FIG. 2 is a cross-section view of one end of the turbine of FIG. 1 mounted on a cable or a pipe;
[0030] FIGS. 3 a and 3 b respectively illustrate, in cross-section views, two examples of mounting of the other end of the turbine of FIG. 1 ,
[0031] FIG. 4 schematically illustrates another embodiment of the power recovery system according to the invention, and
[0032] FIG. 5 schematically shows, in a partial cross-section view, a detail of an embodiment of a power recovery system according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0033] The elements which are structurally and functionally identical, present on a plurality of drawings, keep the same numerical or alphanumeric references.
[0034] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a turbine 1 of a power recovery system according to the invention. Turbine 1 has an external casing of substantially cylindrical shape with blades 2 interconnected at each of the longitudinal ends of said turbine 1 , and this, via a connection ring 3 .
[0035] Turbine 1 is advantageously associated with an alternator, which powers control and monitoring sensors, also not shown.
[0036] Mounting members, turbine 1 , and the alternator are advantageously made of two severable portions, as can be observed in FIG. 1 .
[0037] Thus, turbine 1 is made of two portions A and B, shown separately in FIG. 1 . Once portions A and B have been positioned around a cable or a pipe 1 c, they are assembled via assembly elements 4 . A fast and easy mounting of turbine 1 on a cable or on a pipe 1 c is thus obtained. This also makes separation or a dismounting easier.
[0038] Assembly elements 4 are known as such and are thus not described any further. As an example, connections of screw-nut, clamp, or other types can be mentioned.
[0039] According to the embodiment of the power recovery system according to the invention illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 a, turbine 1 has a first longitudinal end 1 a or upper portion, where the mounting members comprise a first bearing 5 forming the interface between connection ring 3 and cable or pipe 1 c. The two portions of first bearing 5 are advantageously clamped and maintained in position by ring 3 . As a variation, first bearing 5 may also be provided with assembly elements 4 .
[0040] Cable or pipe 1 c is flexible. An underwater pipe 1 c intended, for example, to convey a fluid, such as oil, may have a 80-cm diameter.
[0041] A second bearing 6 is arranged at a second longitudinal end 1 b or lower portion of said turbine 1 . Second bearing 6 is connected to cable or to pipe 1 c via effort and stress compensation means.
[0042] The compensation means comprise a support 7 secured to pipe or cable 1 c. Support 7 is provided on its external periphery with radial tabs 8 angularly spaced apart by 90°. Radial tabs 8 freely extend away from cable or from pipe 1 c.
[0043] The compensation means also comprise a peripheral body 9 surrounding support 7 , and provided with internal radial guide rails 10 .
[0044] Guide rails 10 each cooperate, with a mechanical clearance, on a radial tab.
[0045] Second bearing 6 is fixedly mounted on peripheral body 9 with its inner portion 6 a. External portion 6 b of second bearing 6 is secured to turbine 1 . This securing is obtained via ring 3 of second longitudinal end 1 b, clamping said second bearing 6 .
[0046] Support 7 , peripheral part 9 , and second bearing 6 are made of two portions interconnected by assembly elements 4 .
[0047] According to another embodiment, assembly elements 4 are only provided on ring 3 and on support 7 . The two portions, respectively of peripheral part 9 and of second bearing 6 , abut each other and are held in position by ring 3 .
[0048] Another embodiment of the power recovery system according to the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 b. In this embodiment, at the level of second longitudinal end 1 b, support 7 comprises a ball joint. Thus, an internal ball joint portion 11 is fixedly mounted to cable or pipe 1 c, and an external ball joint portion 12 comprising radial tabs 8 is movably mounted on said internal ball joint portion 11 .
[0049] Internal ball joint portion 11 , external ball joint portion 12 , peripheral portion 9 , and second bearing 6 are made of two portions interconnected by assembly elements 4 .
[0050] According to another embodiment, assembly elements 4 are only provided on ring 3 and on external ball joint portion 12 , the two parts of internal ball joint portion 11 being held in position by said external ball joint portion 12 . The two portions, respectively of peripheral part 9 and of second bearing 6 , abut each other and are held in position by ring 3 .
[0051] Thus, in addition to the two transverse degrees of liberty allowed by a sliding of guide rails 10 on radial tabs 8 , it is possible to obtain, with the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 b, a rotating motion around an additional rotation axis between the axis of cable or pipe 1 c and the axis of turbine 1 . The efforts generated by a flexion of cable or pipe 1 c may thus be absorbed with a maximum efficiency. The mechanical stress on turbine 1 is thus substantially decreased.
[0052] FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of the power recovery system according to the invention, where the mounting members comprise a bearing 13 extending along a central plane transversal to turbine 1 .
[0053] The connection obtained via this single bearing 13 enables to form the compensation means. Bearing 13 , advantageously formed by a roller bearing, comprises an internal portion 13 a fastened to cable or pipe 1 c, and an external portion 13 b secured to turbine 1 . Bearing 13 advantageously is a roller bearing to withstand the cantilevers of turbine 1 .
[0054] Each longitudinal end 1 a and 1 b is free and formed by the ends of blades 2 interconnected via a circular ring 3 . The assembly elements provided on rings 3 and on internal 13 a and external 13 b bearing portion enable to assemble and to mount the power recovery system on cable or pipe 1 c.
[0055] A configuration such as shown in FIG. 4 then enables to avoid for a flexion or a twisting of cable or pipe 1 c to generate stress or efforts adversely affecting turbine 1 .
[0056] As an example, FIG. 5 schematically illustrates an example of mounting of an alternator in two portions on cable or pipe 1 c. First bearing 5 , of ball bearing type, comprises a fixed inner ring 5 a and a mobile outer ring 5 b. The alternator comprises, on the one hand, a stator 14 comprising windings and secured to inner ring 5 a and, on the other hand, a rotor 15 mounted on outer ring 5 b by means of fastening elements 16 .
[0057] Of course, the present disclosure is not limited to the examples explicitly described, but also comprises other embodiments and/or implementation modes. Thus, a described technical characteristic may be replaced with an equivalent technical characteristic, without departing from the framework of the present invention. | A renewable power recovery system for locally generating electric power, particularly associated with an overhead or underwater cable or with an overhead or underwater pipe. This system includes a turbine having a substantially cylindrical external casing rotatably mounted on the cable or on the pipe by way of mounting members and an alternator cinematically connected or integrated to the turbine. The mounting members and the turbine are made of two severable portions, provided with assembly elements to allow their assembly once they have been positioned on the cable or on the pipe. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the concept presented in the passage. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to the general technical field of pipes and cables enabling to convey either fluids, or electric power and/or data.",
"Such cables or pipes may be submerged in a marine environment or arranged in overhead fashion.",
"[0002] The present invention more particularly relates to the recovery of renewable submarine or overhead power, of low power, to supply with electric power mainly control and monitoring sensors associated with such a cable or with such a pipe.",
"It is indeed necessary to equip this type of cable or of pipe with sensors of stress, pressure, temperature, or for example capable of detecting other physical parameters such as vibrations, to be able to identify or anticipate a possible premature aging, risks of breaking, or abnormal embedment, requiring a maintenance operation.",
"[0003] Such control sensors enable to monitor the state and the environment of a cable or of a pipe, particularly submerged, having a very limited accessibility.",
"Such sensors need to be electrically powered to be able to operate and to transmit measurements with electric signals.",
"The latter then enable to perform a remote control and to avoid using cells or batteries, which have a relatively short autonomy and accordingly require being frequently replaced.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0004] The use of power recovery systems, particularly of marine current type, powering such control sensors, is known.",
"Thus, document US 2013/0147199 describes a power recovery system comprising a turbine associated with an alternator to generate the electricity necessary for the operation of the control sensors.",
"Such turbines, known per se, are mounted on pipes or rigid cables.",
"Known systems thus enable to generate in situ the electric power necessary for their operation.",
"[0005] Such systems however prove to be poorly adapted to being mounted on flexible cables or pipes.",
"Such flexible pipes are for example used in an underwater environment to convey fluids, and this, over very long distances.",
"The pipes or cables further have to be taken out of the water to be equipped with electric power generation systems or to replace such defective systems, and are generally stored on spools.",
"[0006] It should further be noted that the use of known systems implies using, in particular, underwater turbines or wind turbines, which are not capable of being mounted on flexible pipes or cables.",
"Indeed, repeated flexions of the concerned cable or pipe result in generating substantial efforts and mechanical stress, likely to thus favor premature failures.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0007] The present invention aims at overcoming the above-mentioned disadvantages and at providing a local power recovery system capable of being mounted on a flexible cable or pipe.",
"[0008] Another object of the present invention aims at providing a power recovery system capable of being mounted on a cable or on a pipe which is already installed or submerged, requiring neither a taking out of the water nor a dismounting.",
"[0009] The objects of the invention are achieved by means of a renewable power recovery system to locally generate electric power intended to power, in particular, control sensors, associated with an overhead or underwater cable or with an overhead or underwater pipe, said system comprising a turbine having a substantially cylindrical external casing rotatably mounted on the cable or on the pipe by means of mounting members and an alternator cinematically connected or integrated to said turbine.",
"[0010] According to the invention, the mounting members and the turbine are made of two severable portions, provided with assembly elements to allow their assembly once they have been positioned on the cable or on the pipe.",
"[0011] Advantageously, all the parts constitutive of the power recovery system according to the invention are made of two severable portions.",
"The same applies for the alternator according to an embodiment of the system according to the invention.",
"[0012] According to an embodiment of the invention, each longitudinal end of the turbine is formed by the ends of blades interconnected via a circular ring supporting assembly elements.",
"[0013] According to an embodiment of the invention, the mounting members are designed to adapt on a flexible cable or pipe, said mounting members comprising for this purpose means for absorbing or avoiding efforts and stress resulting from a flexion of said cable or of said pipe.",
"[0014] According to an embodiment of the invention, the mounting members comprise a bearing extending along a central plane transversal to the turbine, said single bearing thus forming, due to its positioning, the compensation means.",
"[0015] According to an embodiment of the invention, the mounting members comprise a first bearing arranged at a first longitudinal end of the turbine, and a second bearing arranged at a second longitudinal end of said turbine, said second bearing being connected to the cable or to the pipe via the compensation means.",
"[0016] According to another embodiment of the system according to the invention, the compensation means comprise: [0017] a support secured to the pipe or the cable, [0018] said support being provided on its external periphery with radial tabs angularly spaced apart by 90°, and [0019] a peripheral body surrounding the support and provided with internal radial guide rails, each engaged, with a mechanical clearance, on a radial tab, the second bearing being fixedly mounted with its internal portion on said peripheral body, its external portion being secured to the turbine.",
"[0020] According to an embodiment of the invention, the support comprises an internal ball joint portion fixedly mounted on the cable or on the pipe and an external ball joint portion comprising the radial tabs and movably mounted on the internal ball joint portion.",
"[0021] The objects of the present invention are also achieved: [0022] for a flexible electric and/or communication cable, comprising at least one power recovery system such as described hereabove;",
"[0023] for a flexible pipe for conveying fluids, comprising at least one power recovery system such as described hereabove.",
"[0024] An advantage of the power recovery system according to the invention lies in that it is able to easily equip a flexible cable or pipe with a power recovery system, for example, as it is being unwound from a ship.",
"[0025] Another advantage of the system according to the invention lies in the possibility of equipping a cable or a pipe, for example, in an underwater environment without having to take said cable or said pipe back up to the surface.",
"This results in a substantial time gain for such an operation.",
"[0026] The system according to the invention has the determining advantage of being able to equip flexible cables or pipes without risking altering the lifetime of said system, and this due to a decrease in the mechanical efforts that said power recovery system has to undergo.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0027] The foregoing and other features and advantages will also appear from the following non-limiting description of the invention in connection with the accompanying drawings, among which: [0028] FIG. 1 is a simplified illustration of an embodiment of a turbine of a power recovery system according to the invention;",
"[0029] FIG. 2 is a cross-section view of one end of the turbine of FIG. 1 mounted on a cable or a pipe;",
"[0030] FIGS. 3 a and 3 b respectively illustrate, in cross-section views, two examples of mounting of the other end of the turbine of FIG. 1 , [0031] FIG. 4 schematically illustrates another embodiment of the power recovery system according to the invention, and [0032] FIG. 5 schematically shows, in a partial cross-section view, a detail of an embodiment of a power recovery system according to the invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0033] The elements which are structurally and functionally identical, present on a plurality of drawings, keep the same numerical or alphanumeric references.",
"[0034] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a turbine 1 of a power recovery system according to the invention.",
"Turbine 1 has an external casing of substantially cylindrical shape with blades 2 interconnected at each of the longitudinal ends of said turbine 1 , and this, via a connection ring 3 .",
"[0035] Turbine 1 is advantageously associated with an alternator, which powers control and monitoring sensors, also not shown.",
"[0036] Mounting members, turbine 1 , and the alternator are advantageously made of two severable portions, as can be observed in FIG. 1 .",
"[0037] Thus, turbine 1 is made of two portions A and B, shown separately in FIG. 1 .",
"Once portions A and B have been positioned around a cable or a pipe 1 c, they are assembled via assembly elements 4 .",
"A fast and easy mounting of turbine 1 on a cable or on a pipe 1 c is thus obtained.",
"This also makes separation or a dismounting easier.",
"[0038] Assembly elements 4 are known as such and are thus not described any further.",
"As an example, connections of screw-nut, clamp, or other types can be mentioned.",
"[0039] According to the embodiment of the power recovery system according to the invention illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 a, turbine 1 has a first longitudinal end 1 a or upper portion, where the mounting members comprise a first bearing 5 forming the interface between connection ring 3 and cable or pipe 1 c. The two portions of first bearing 5 are advantageously clamped and maintained in position by ring 3 .",
"As a variation, first bearing 5 may also be provided with assembly elements 4 .",
"[0040] Cable or pipe 1 c is flexible.",
"An underwater pipe 1 c intended, for example, to convey a fluid, such as oil, may have a 80-cm diameter.",
"[0041] A second bearing 6 is arranged at a second longitudinal end 1 b or lower portion of said turbine 1 .",
"Second bearing 6 is connected to cable or to pipe 1 c via effort and stress compensation means.",
"[0042] The compensation means comprise a support 7 secured to pipe or cable 1 c. Support 7 is provided on its external periphery with radial tabs 8 angularly spaced apart by 90°.",
"Radial tabs 8 freely extend away from cable or from pipe 1 c. [0043] The compensation means also comprise a peripheral body 9 surrounding support 7 , and provided with internal radial guide rails 10 .",
"[0044] Guide rails 10 each cooperate, with a mechanical clearance, on a radial tab.",
"[0045] Second bearing 6 is fixedly mounted on peripheral body 9 with its inner portion 6 a. External portion 6 b of second bearing 6 is secured to turbine 1 .",
"This securing is obtained via ring 3 of second longitudinal end 1 b, clamping said second bearing 6 .",
"[0046] Support 7 , peripheral part 9 , and second bearing 6 are made of two portions interconnected by assembly elements 4 .",
"[0047] According to another embodiment, assembly elements 4 are only provided on ring 3 and on support 7 .",
"The two portions, respectively of peripheral part 9 and of second bearing 6 , abut each other and are held in position by ring 3 .",
"[0048] Another embodiment of the power recovery system according to the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 b. In this embodiment, at the level of second longitudinal end 1 b, support 7 comprises a ball joint.",
"Thus, an internal ball joint portion 11 is fixedly mounted to cable or pipe 1 c, and an external ball joint portion 12 comprising radial tabs 8 is movably mounted on said internal ball joint portion 11 .",
"[0049] Internal ball joint portion 11 , external ball joint portion 12 , peripheral portion 9 , and second bearing 6 are made of two portions interconnected by assembly elements 4 .",
"[0050] According to another embodiment, assembly elements 4 are only provided on ring 3 and on external ball joint portion 12 , the two parts of internal ball joint portion 11 being held in position by said external ball joint portion 12 .",
"The two portions, respectively of peripheral part 9 and of second bearing 6 , abut each other and are held in position by ring 3 .",
"[0051] Thus, in addition to the two transverse degrees of liberty allowed by a sliding of guide rails 10 on radial tabs 8 , it is possible to obtain, with the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 b, a rotating motion around an additional rotation axis between the axis of cable or pipe 1 c and the axis of turbine 1 .",
"The efforts generated by a flexion of cable or pipe 1 c may thus be absorbed with a maximum efficiency.",
"The mechanical stress on turbine 1 is thus substantially decreased.",
"[0052] FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of the power recovery system according to the invention, where the mounting members comprise a bearing 13 extending along a central plane transversal to turbine 1 .",
"[0053] The connection obtained via this single bearing 13 enables to form the compensation means.",
"Bearing 13 , advantageously formed by a roller bearing, comprises an internal portion 13 a fastened to cable or pipe 1 c, and an external portion 13 b secured to turbine 1 .",
"Bearing 13 advantageously is a roller bearing to withstand the cantilevers of turbine 1 .",
"[0054] Each longitudinal end 1 a and 1 b is free and formed by the ends of blades 2 interconnected via a circular ring 3 .",
"The assembly elements provided on rings 3 and on internal 13 a and external 13 b bearing portion enable to assemble and to mount the power recovery system on cable or pipe 1 c. [0055] A configuration such as shown in FIG. 4 then enables to avoid for a flexion or a twisting of cable or pipe 1 c to generate stress or efforts adversely affecting turbine 1 .",
"[0056] As an example, FIG. 5 schematically illustrates an example of mounting of an alternator in two portions on cable or pipe 1 c. First bearing 5 , of ball bearing type, comprises a fixed inner ring 5 a and a mobile outer ring 5 b. The alternator comprises, on the one hand, a stator 14 comprising windings and secured to inner ring 5 a and, on the other hand, a rotor 15 mounted on outer ring 5 b by means of fastening elements 16 .",
"[0057] Of course, the present disclosure is not limited to the examples explicitly described, but also comprises other embodiments and/or implementation modes.",
"Thus, a described technical characteristic may be replaced with an equivalent technical characteristic, without departing from the framework of the present invention."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is related to and claims the benefit of priority to co-pending provisional application Ser. No. 60/566,847, filed Apr. 29, 2004, entitled Method and System for Human Personal Trait Analysis, which is incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] This invention relates to trait analysis, and more particularly to a method and system for human personal and organizational trait analysis.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Psychology has a long tradition of scientific research on human behavior and personality. Through this research, a multitude of psychological assessment scales have been developed to objectively and precisely measure various aspects of psychological functioning and personality characteristics or traits. Traditionally, theorists such as Sigmund Freud and others argued that personality arises through social interactions, beginning even before birth between a mother and child. The results of such personality assessments are used for a variety of purposes, including, without limitation, employment, education, research, training, clinical treatment, and the like.
[0004] Generally, psychologists have identified a number of personality traits that are believed to be present in all people. Traits are considered to be the relatively enduring aspects of our personality that can be used to predict how we will behave in the future. Personality is the unique constellation of psychological traits and states of an individual. Combinations of these personality traits produce the vast range of individual differences evidenced among people.
[0005] Personality traits can reveal many interesting characteristics of an individual. For example, they can predict: (a) the coping skills of an individual; (b) the likelihood that an individual has the temperament required by a particular profession (e.g., police officer or pilot); (c) the diagnosis and/or best course of treatment for an individual to address clinical issues; and (d) the best approach at training an individual to complete a task or acquire/alter a social skill set (e.g., increase sensitivity to minorities). Such traits are even used by some to gauge creditworthiness and personal compatibility. Recent events affecting the fundamental security, or at least the perception of security, of the human race have only heightened the desire for personality trait information and use of same.
[0006] Testing or assessment of such personality traits is an important undertaking and is the focus of a large and growing industry. Some tests are designed to describe personality differences among what is believed to be “normal” or “average” individuals, while others are designed to identify abnormal personality traits. Still others are designed to identify specific “personality disorders” according to diagnostic characteristics.
[0007] Trait approach has brought refinement to personality measurement and testing. Techniques such as interviews, questionnaires and test are routinely employed to measure traits that are predictive of personality. Since each approach has associated, inherent limitations, many times combinations (e.g., testing and interview) of these approaches are utilized.
[0008] There exist many types of tests used in connection with discovering personality traits. Cognitive tests (those testing memory, intelligence, achievement and the like) are presumed to have little to do with personality, but, in combination with other tests, can be good predictors of traits of individuals. Using objective, or “standardized”, tests, an individual's responses to standard questions are compared to answers given by certain groups of individuals to see under what “class(es)” of individual(s) they fall. Projective tests (based at least in part on the Freudian concept of projection) employ questions that attempt to discover the unconscious tendency for an individual to project characteristics/attitudes about oneself onto others.
[0009] Regardless of the testing employed, most testing since the early 1900's has been based upon the “four quadrants” model. Carl Jung's work, “The Psychological Types,” published in 1921, provides the basis for such models. However, there are significant drawbacks associated with four quadrant-based models. For example, such models include the use of forced-choice formats (strengths/weaknesses). Under such formats, responses cannot be simultaneously weighed, varied, balanced, divergent and ambivalent.
[0010] As a result, the overall picture of the individual being tested is incomplete. Additionally, such models do not provide accurate pictures of organizational traits. Finally, under virtually all such “four-type” models, confusion has arisen as disputes over valid insight into values, behaviors, and thinking have been revealed.
[0011] There remains a need for a refinement of testing used to assess human personality and organizational traits and source utilization, such refinement capable of assessing the entire spectrum of experience and potential associated with an individual and/or an organization.
SUMMARY
[0012] The present invention comprises a method and system for human personal and organizational trait analysis and source utilization. It is based in part upon two fundamental discoveries: (a) all subjects draw from three primary sources for traits; and (b) not every subject can be reduced to a “type” (as traditional four quadrant models attempt to do). For purposes of this application, the term “subject” will be used to refer to both individual humans and collections of humans, such as groups, teams and organizations.
[0013] Pursuant to the present invention, testing of a subject for trait identification and analysis is based according to three general source areas: thoughts, emotions and actions. The present invention system and method assigns colors to each of these areas: yellow for thinking; blue for feeling; and red for doing. These are known as “primary” colors. Utilizing the system and method of the present invention, traits like self-esteem, motives, skills, goals, aesthetics and clarity of an individual or organization are analyzed to provide a complete picture of the subject individual or organization. Additionally, the primary colors (and their associated areas) blend together to form the “secondary” colors of purple, orange and green. These secondary colors indicate certain “gifts” of the subject predicted by the blend of the associated areas.
[0014] Unlike traditional “four-quadrant”-based models, the present invention method and system is not complicated. It is in alignment with life experience and is therefore inherently intuitive. As a result, the present invention avoids some of the significant drawbacks associated with four quadrant-based models. For example, conventional four-quadrant-based models include the use of forced-choice formats (strengths/weaknesses). Under such formats, responses cannot be simultaneously weighed, varied, balanced, divergent and ambivalent. As a result, the overall picture of the subject being tested is incomplete. Additionally, traditional four quadrant-based models do not provide accurate pictures of organizational traits. The present invention addresses the various limitations and inaccuracies in conventional four-quadrant-based models and makes an allowance for ambivalence. Moreover, the present invention method and system avoids the confusion that has arisen as disputes over valid insight into values, behaviors, and thinking have been revealed in traditional four quadrant-type models. Importantly, the present invention system and method does not label a subject as a “type,” but, instead, identifies the three sources from which the subject draws traits to predict certain attributes and related concepts about the subject.
[0015] The three-source personal and organization feedback method and system of the present invention can be utilized in a number of ways. Such uses generally break down along personal and professional lines. On the personal side, the results can be used to provide: increased awareness of personal strengths (and weaknesses); improved self-esteem; specific insights for creating the personal mission statement; enhanced clarity and confidence with an emphasis on balance; relationship strategies; and assistance in raising and nurturing well-rounded children. In the workplace, the results can be used to provide: insights for hiring and placement decisions; strategies for performance improvement; next steps for leadership development; suggestions for minimizing conflict; exercises for team-building; and processes for enhancing sales and service skills.
[0016] The system allows subject surveys to be dynamically grouped (e.g., by individual, group or organization) to assist in comparisons of subject, whether they be individuals, teams and/or organizations.
[0017] Benefits associated with the present invention include:
an increased awareness of the strengths of individuals and of the organization; a heightened appreciation for the gifts each person brings to a project; discovering new strategies for balancing teams and the self for greater effectiveness; a web-based system that can be administered anywhere, anytime; a comprehensive, color report that can be printed at a desktop; an intuitive concept that is easily transferred into a management competency; a logical powerful approach that clarifies many conflicting systems; a tool that easily and immediately applies to personal and professional areas of life; and a system that helps teams connect well and enjoy working together.
[0027] Rather than attempting to label subjects as rigid “types,” the present invention identifies the sources (feeling, thinking, doing) from which all subjects draw to create their unique trait composition or “style.”
[0028] The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0029] FIG. 1 is a chart outlining the traits and gifts associated with the primary colors and the secondary colors, respectively, utilized by the present invention system and method;
[0030] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the components of the system of the present invention;
[0031] FIG. 3 is a representative customized report model for “sales”; and
[0032] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the steps associated with the method of the present invention.
[0033] Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0034] The present invention comprises a method and system for human personal and organizational trait analysis and source utilization. The present invention finds its roots in two fundamental discoveries: (a) all subjects draw from three primary sources for traits; and (b) not every subject can be reduced to a “type” (as traditional four quadrant models attempt to do). For purposes of this application, the term “subject” will be used to refer to both individual humans and collections of humans, such as groups, teams and organizations.
[0035] Pursuant to the present invention, testing of a subject, such as an individual or organization, is based upon the discovery that all traits are sourced from three general, or core, areas: ideas (thinking); emotions (feeling); and actions (doing). The present invention system and method assigns colors to each of these areas: yellow for ideas; blue for emotions; and red for actions. Known as “primary” colors, these colors (and their associated areas) blend together to form the “secondary” colors of purple, orange and green. Secondary colors indicate certain “gifts” that the blend of the associated colors/areas produce. For example, purple is formed from the blending of blue (ideas) and red (action), indicating an attribute of passion and the activity of influence. Similarly, the secondary color orange is produced by blending yellow (ideas) and red (actions), indicating an attribute of awareness and the activity of innovation. Finally, the secondary color green is produced by blending yellow (ideas) and blue (emotions), indicating the attribute of personal growth and the activity of service. FIG. 1 shows a chart outlining representative traits and associated color combinations.
[0036] As a subject provides information to the system in the form of responses to a series of questions or statements, the system analyzes the information based upon the three core areas and weighs the information in these three areas. A stronger weight in one area suggests a stronger trait for that subject. Each primary color has five levels of intensity from which the report draws. According to each response, the primary colors move to the center of the graphic forming the secondary colors and the center clear area.
[0037] Now turning to FIG. 2 , there is shown an illustration of the major components, or modules, of the present invention system 100 . The system 100 is comprised of a survey module 120 , an analysis module 130 , and a report module 140 . The analysis module 140 further comprises a framework 150 which is based upon three core areas, thoughts, emotions and actions.
[0038] The system 100 is preferably connected via communications means 160 to a global communications network 170 , such as the Internet, to one or more subjects 180 . In a preferred embodiment, the system 100 is provided in an application service provider context, where subjects 180 access the system 100 via one or more web presences (not shown), such as a web site on the Internet 170 . Although an application server provider model is preferred, it is noted that the system 100 can be provided to subjects 180 in any number of ways, such as in the form of stand alone software, as a service bureau offering, or the like, if desired.
[0039] The subjects 180 utilize computers, personal digital assistants, telephones or any other suitable communications devices to access the system 100 via the communication means 160 . Communication means 160 encompass any suitable means of providing access to the system 100 , such as land lines, wireless communication networks, cable-based networks, satellite-based networks, servers, and the like.
[0040] The survey module 120 includes a list of queries or statements to which subjects 180 respond, for example, by providing an answer to a query or by indicating a level of affinity with a particular statement. The survey module 120 is designed to use a combination of queries and/or statements specifically customized to test for certain traits and/or gifts, as explained in additional detail below.
[0041] Once information (in the form of responses) is derived from the subject 180 by the survey module 120 , the information is provided to the analysis module 130 of the system 100 for analysis. Analysis is performed on the information provided from the survey module 120 based upon three core areas: thinking; actions; and emotions. One advantage of the present invention over traditional models of trait analysis is that it is based upon the discovery that all subjects 180 draw from three primary sources, called “core areas” for purposes of this Application: thoughts, actions and emotions. All traits, gifts and similar attributes of a subject 180 ultimately can be resolved down to one of more of these core areas.
[0042] The analysis module 130 also assigns a primary color to each of the core areas: yellow for thoughts or ideas; red for actions; and blue for emotions so that information derived from the subject 180 can be analyzed to indicate the subject's strengths/weaknesses in the core areas. Each of these primary colors is further used to form blends, or “secondary colors” for purposes of this Application, to reveal “gifts” of the subject 180 . Using this color scheme, the system 100 reduces the information provided by the survey module 120 down into the primary colors, and secondary colors, to identify the traits and associated with the subject 180 .
[0043] Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention system and method uses the primary and secondary colors to identify traits (primary colors) and gifts (secondary colors) associated with a subject 180 , it is noted that analysis of information from a subject 180 using the system 100 need not use a color scheme to identify such traits/gifts, if desired. The color scheme is used to provide a simple and intuitive visual display of the information and dramatically demonstrates the connections between certain core area strengths and gifts, and vice versa. Alternatively, the present invention could employ a color scheme based upon other colors, primary or otherwise, to accomplish the same results, as desired.
[0044] The report module 140 provides information and description of the traits and gifts identified by the system 100 about the subject 180 . In a preferred embodiment, the report module 140 provides a real time report identifying the traits and/or gifts identified by the system 100 about the subject 180 . Additionally, the report module can be customized to provide a report of the subject's traits as it relates to a specific area of interest, such as leadership, team, or sales. FIG. 3 illustrates a representative report module customized for sales.
[0045] In the representative report outlined in FIG. 3 , critical components of the sales cycle is broken down into areas corresponding to the three core source areas of thinking, feeling and actions. The report uses the analysis of the subject's responses from the survey module to assign relative strengths to the major components of the sales process. For example, a subject with a strong purple score would indicate that the subject would have aptitude in initiating process of sales, likely to exhibit strength in the following related activities: courage to make the call; Contacting Decision-makers; Establishing Rapport; Leading (driving) the sales process; Demonstrating Passion; and Utilizing ‘Impact Selling’. Therefore, using a customized report, a subject can be specifically evaluated with respect to a specific subject areas, such as sales, to determine the subject's relative weaknesses and strengths in that area. Although a sales model is described herein and in FIG. 3 , it is noted that reports can be customized for any suitable subject matter, such as leadership, teams, etc., if desired.
[0046] The report information is also stored by the system 100 for later reference or use with global reports and/or analysis regarding subjects, groups of subjects, or even organizations. The reports provided by the report module 140 may take any suitable format and may even be customized by the subject 180 . Reports can be made by the report module 140 via a display and/or hard copy, or the like.
[0047] Other embodiments exist. For example, an embodiment of the present invention system and method could be used to determine what activities/careers/organizations best suit a particular subject (versus testing the subject based upon a specific area of interest (sales)). In such an embodiment, the subject would be provided with queries/statements directed to a wide range of topics and issues. The responses provided would then be analyzed against a series of available profiles of traits associated with various activities/careers/organizations to see where the best “match” appears. Such information could be used to provide career counseling, employment decisions, marriage counseling, etc.
[0048] Now turning to FIG. 4 , there is shown a flow chart illustrating the steps of the present invention method. In step 400 , a subject is provided with a survey capable of deriving information from that subject. The content and format of the survey can be any suitable content (e.g., subject matter, graphics) and format (e.g., rank of affinity, direct queries, etc. . . ) that derives information from the subject. In step 410 , the method analyzing the information from the subject is based upon a framework. In a preferred embodiment, the framework comprises three core areas: ideas (thinking); emotions (feeling); and actions (doing). The present invention is premised in part on the discovery that all subjects derive traits from one of these three core areas. Next, in step 420 , an optional step is presented where the system of the present invention associates the three core areas with three primary colors. In step 430 , the system of the present invention identifies traits of the subject based upon the analyzed information. Finally, in step 440 , the traits identified are reported, for example, to the subject. The report can take any desirable format and can be presented in any suitable display medium and/or via any display device. As an example, the report can include content like written trait analysis and descriptions, as well as colored charts to demonstrate same. The report can be provided via a video display associated with a computer and/or communication means and/or printed off as a hard copy for future reference and use.
[0049] A number of embodiments of the invention have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. | A method and system for human personal and organizational source and trait analysis is disclosed. Pursuant to the present invention, testing of an individual or organization is based according to three general areas: ideas (thinking); emotions (feeling); and actions (doing). The system and method assigns colors to each of these areas: yellow for ideas; blue for emotions; and red for actions. Utilizing the system and method of the present invention, traits such as self-esteem, motives, skills, goals, aesthetics and clarity of an individual or organization are analyzed to provide a more complete picture of the individual or organization. | Briefly summarize the invention's components and working principles as described in the document. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is related to and claims the benefit of priority to co-pending provisional application Ser.",
"No. 60/566,847, filed Apr. 29, 2004, entitled Method and System for Human Personal Trait Analysis, which is incorporated herein by reference.",
"TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] This invention relates to trait analysis, and more particularly to a method and system for human personal and organizational trait analysis.",
"BACKGROUND [0003] Psychology has a long tradition of scientific research on human behavior and personality.",
"Through this research, a multitude of psychological assessment scales have been developed to objectively and precisely measure various aspects of psychological functioning and personality characteristics or traits.",
"Traditionally, theorists such as Sigmund Freud and others argued that personality arises through social interactions, beginning even before birth between a mother and child.",
"The results of such personality assessments are used for a variety of purposes, including, without limitation, employment, education, research, training, clinical treatment, and the like.",
"[0004] Generally, psychologists have identified a number of personality traits that are believed to be present in all people.",
"Traits are considered to be the relatively enduring aspects of our personality that can be used to predict how we will behave in the future.",
"Personality is the unique constellation of psychological traits and states of an individual.",
"Combinations of these personality traits produce the vast range of individual differences evidenced among people.",
"[0005] Personality traits can reveal many interesting characteristics of an individual.",
"For example, they can predict: (a) the coping skills of an individual;",
"(b) the likelihood that an individual has the temperament required by a particular profession (e.g., police officer or pilot);",
"(c) the diagnosis and/or best course of treatment for an individual to address clinical issues;",
"and (d) the best approach at training an individual to complete a task or acquire/alter a social skill set (e.g., increase sensitivity to minorities).",
"Such traits are even used by some to gauge creditworthiness and personal compatibility.",
"Recent events affecting the fundamental security, or at least the perception of security, of the human race have only heightened the desire for personality trait information and use of same.",
"[0006] Testing or assessment of such personality traits is an important undertaking and is the focus of a large and growing industry.",
"Some tests are designed to describe personality differences among what is believed to be “normal”",
"or “average”",
"individuals, while others are designed to identify abnormal personality traits.",
"Still others are designed to identify specific “personality disorders”",
"according to diagnostic characteristics.",
"[0007] Trait approach has brought refinement to personality measurement and testing.",
"Techniques such as interviews, questionnaires and test are routinely employed to measure traits that are predictive of personality.",
"Since each approach has associated, inherent limitations, many times combinations (e.g., testing and interview) of these approaches are utilized.",
"[0008] There exist many types of tests used in connection with discovering personality traits.",
"Cognitive tests (those testing memory, intelligence, achievement and the like) are presumed to have little to do with personality, but, in combination with other tests, can be good predictors of traits of individuals.",
"Using objective, or “standardized”, tests, an individual's responses to standard questions are compared to answers given by certain groups of individuals to see under what “class(es)”",
"of individual(s) they fall.",
"Projective tests (based at least in part on the Freudian concept of projection) employ questions that attempt to discover the unconscious tendency for an individual to project characteristics/attitudes about oneself onto others.",
"[0009] Regardless of the testing employed, most testing since the early 1900's has been based upon the “four quadrants”",
"model.",
"Carl Jung's work, “The Psychological Types,” published in 1921, provides the basis for such models.",
"However, there are significant drawbacks associated with four quadrant-based models.",
"For example, such models include the use of forced-choice formats (strengths/weaknesses).",
"Under such formats, responses cannot be simultaneously weighed, varied, balanced, divergent and ambivalent.",
"[0010] As a result, the overall picture of the individual being tested is incomplete.",
"Additionally, such models do not provide accurate pictures of organizational traits.",
"Finally, under virtually all such “four-type”",
"models, confusion has arisen as disputes over valid insight into values, behaviors, and thinking have been revealed.",
"[0011] There remains a need for a refinement of testing used to assess human personality and organizational traits and source utilization, such refinement capable of assessing the entire spectrum of experience and potential associated with an individual and/or an organization.",
"SUMMARY [0012] The present invention comprises a method and system for human personal and organizational trait analysis and source utilization.",
"It is based in part upon two fundamental discoveries: (a) all subjects draw from three primary sources for traits;",
"and (b) not every subject can be reduced to a “type”",
"(as traditional four quadrant models attempt to do).",
"For purposes of this application, the term “subject”",
"will be used to refer to both individual humans and collections of humans, such as groups, teams and organizations.",
"[0013] Pursuant to the present invention, testing of a subject for trait identification and analysis is based according to three general source areas: thoughts, emotions and actions.",
"The present invention system and method assigns colors to each of these areas: yellow for thinking;",
"blue for feeling;",
"and red for doing.",
"These are known as “primary”",
"colors.",
"Utilizing the system and method of the present invention, traits like self-esteem, motives, skills, goals, aesthetics and clarity of an individual or organization are analyzed to provide a complete picture of the subject individual or organization.",
"Additionally, the primary colors (and their associated areas) blend together to form the “secondary”",
"colors of purple, orange and green.",
"These secondary colors indicate certain “gifts”",
"of the subject predicted by the blend of the associated areas.",
"[0014] Unlike traditional “four-quadrant”-based models, the present invention method and system is not complicated.",
"It is in alignment with life experience and is therefore inherently intuitive.",
"As a result, the present invention avoids some of the significant drawbacks associated with four quadrant-based models.",
"For example, conventional four-quadrant-based models include the use of forced-choice formats (strengths/weaknesses).",
"Under such formats, responses cannot be simultaneously weighed, varied, balanced, divergent and ambivalent.",
"As a result, the overall picture of the subject being tested is incomplete.",
"Additionally, traditional four quadrant-based models do not provide accurate pictures of organizational traits.",
"The present invention addresses the various limitations and inaccuracies in conventional four-quadrant-based models and makes an allowance for ambivalence.",
"Moreover, the present invention method and system avoids the confusion that has arisen as disputes over valid insight into values, behaviors, and thinking have been revealed in traditional four quadrant-type models.",
"Importantly, the present invention system and method does not label a subject as a “type,” but, instead, identifies the three sources from which the subject draws traits to predict certain attributes and related concepts about the subject.",
"[0015] The three-source personal and organization feedback method and system of the present invention can be utilized in a number of ways.",
"Such uses generally break down along personal and professional lines.",
"On the personal side, the results can be used to provide: increased awareness of personal strengths (and weaknesses);",
"improved self-esteem;",
"specific insights for creating the personal mission statement;",
"enhanced clarity and confidence with an emphasis on balance;",
"relationship strategies;",
"and assistance in raising and nurturing well-rounded children.",
"In the workplace, the results can be used to provide: insights for hiring and placement decisions;",
"strategies for performance improvement;",
"next steps for leadership development;",
"suggestions for minimizing conflict;",
"exercises for team-building;",
"and processes for enhancing sales and service skills.",
"[0016] The system allows subject surveys to be dynamically grouped (e.g., by individual, group or organization) to assist in comparisons of subject, whether they be individuals, teams and/or organizations.",
"[0017] Benefits associated with the present invention include: an increased awareness of the strengths of individuals and of the organization;",
"a heightened appreciation for the gifts each person brings to a project;",
"discovering new strategies for balancing teams and the self for greater effectiveness;",
"a web-based system that can be administered anywhere, anytime;",
"a comprehensive, color report that can be printed at a desktop;",
"an intuitive concept that is easily transferred into a management competency;",
"a logical powerful approach that clarifies many conflicting systems;",
"a tool that easily and immediately applies to personal and professional areas of life;",
"and a system that helps teams connect well and enjoy working together.",
"[0027] Rather than attempting to label subjects as rigid “types,” the present invention identifies the sources (feeling, thinking, doing) from which all subjects draw to create their unique trait composition or “style.”",
"[0028] The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below.",
"Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.",
"DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS [0029] FIG. 1 is a chart outlining the traits and gifts associated with the primary colors and the secondary colors, respectively, utilized by the present invention system and method;",
"[0030] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the components of the system of the present invention;",
"[0031] FIG. 3 is a representative customized report model for “sales”;",
"and [0032] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the steps associated with the method of the present invention.",
"[0033] Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0034] The present invention comprises a method and system for human personal and organizational trait analysis and source utilization.",
"The present invention finds its roots in two fundamental discoveries: (a) all subjects draw from three primary sources for traits;",
"and (b) not every subject can be reduced to a “type”",
"(as traditional four quadrant models attempt to do).",
"For purposes of this application, the term “subject”",
"will be used to refer to both individual humans and collections of humans, such as groups, teams and organizations.",
"[0035] Pursuant to the present invention, testing of a subject, such as an individual or organization, is based upon the discovery that all traits are sourced from three general, or core, areas: ideas (thinking);",
"emotions (feeling);",
"and actions (doing).",
"The present invention system and method assigns colors to each of these areas: yellow for ideas;",
"blue for emotions;",
"and red for actions.",
"Known as “primary”",
"colors, these colors (and their associated areas) blend together to form the “secondary”",
"colors of purple, orange and green.",
"Secondary colors indicate certain “gifts”",
"that the blend of the associated colors/areas produce.",
"For example, purple is formed from the blending of blue (ideas) and red (action), indicating an attribute of passion and the activity of influence.",
"Similarly, the secondary color orange is produced by blending yellow (ideas) and red (actions), indicating an attribute of awareness and the activity of innovation.",
"Finally, the secondary color green is produced by blending yellow (ideas) and blue (emotions), indicating the attribute of personal growth and the activity of service.",
"FIG. 1 shows a chart outlining representative traits and associated color combinations.",
"[0036] As a subject provides information to the system in the form of responses to a series of questions or statements, the system analyzes the information based upon the three core areas and weighs the information in these three areas.",
"A stronger weight in one area suggests a stronger trait for that subject.",
"Each primary color has five levels of intensity from which the report draws.",
"According to each response, the primary colors move to the center of the graphic forming the secondary colors and the center clear area.",
"[0037] Now turning to FIG. 2 , there is shown an illustration of the major components, or modules, of the present invention system 100 .",
"The system 100 is comprised of a survey module 120 , an analysis module 130 , and a report module 140 .",
"The analysis module 140 further comprises a framework 150 which is based upon three core areas, thoughts, emotions and actions.",
"[0038] The system 100 is preferably connected via communications means 160 to a global communications network 170 , such as the Internet, to one or more subjects 180 .",
"In a preferred embodiment, the system 100 is provided in an application service provider context, where subjects 180 access the system 100 via one or more web presences (not shown), such as a web site on the Internet 170 .",
"Although an application server provider model is preferred, it is noted that the system 100 can be provided to subjects 180 in any number of ways, such as in the form of stand alone software, as a service bureau offering, or the like, if desired.",
"[0039] The subjects 180 utilize computers, personal digital assistants, telephones or any other suitable communications devices to access the system 100 via the communication means 160 .",
"Communication means 160 encompass any suitable means of providing access to the system 100 , such as land lines, wireless communication networks, cable-based networks, satellite-based networks, servers, and the like.",
"[0040] The survey module 120 includes a list of queries or statements to which subjects 180 respond, for example, by providing an answer to a query or by indicating a level of affinity with a particular statement.",
"The survey module 120 is designed to use a combination of queries and/or statements specifically customized to test for certain traits and/or gifts, as explained in additional detail below.",
"[0041] Once information (in the form of responses) is derived from the subject 180 by the survey module 120 , the information is provided to the analysis module 130 of the system 100 for analysis.",
"Analysis is performed on the information provided from the survey module 120 based upon three core areas: thinking;",
"actions;",
"and emotions.",
"One advantage of the present invention over traditional models of trait analysis is that it is based upon the discovery that all subjects 180 draw from three primary sources, called “core areas”",
"for purposes of this Application: thoughts, actions and emotions.",
"All traits, gifts and similar attributes of a subject 180 ultimately can be resolved down to one of more of these core areas.",
"[0042] The analysis module 130 also assigns a primary color to each of the core areas: yellow for thoughts or ideas;",
"red for actions;",
"and blue for emotions so that information derived from the subject 180 can be analyzed to indicate the subject's strengths/weaknesses in the core areas.",
"Each of these primary colors is further used to form blends, or “secondary colors”",
"for purposes of this Application, to reveal “gifts”",
"of the subject 180 .",
"Using this color scheme, the system 100 reduces the information provided by the survey module 120 down into the primary colors, and secondary colors, to identify the traits and associated with the subject 180 .",
"[0043] Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention system and method uses the primary and secondary colors to identify traits (primary colors) and gifts (secondary colors) associated with a subject 180 , it is noted that analysis of information from a subject 180 using the system 100 need not use a color scheme to identify such traits/gifts, if desired.",
"The color scheme is used to provide a simple and intuitive visual display of the information and dramatically demonstrates the connections between certain core area strengths and gifts, and vice versa.",
"Alternatively, the present invention could employ a color scheme based upon other colors, primary or otherwise, to accomplish the same results, as desired.",
"[0044] The report module 140 provides information and description of the traits and gifts identified by the system 100 about the subject 180 .",
"In a preferred embodiment, the report module 140 provides a real time report identifying the traits and/or gifts identified by the system 100 about the subject 180 .",
"Additionally, the report module can be customized to provide a report of the subject's traits as it relates to a specific area of interest, such as leadership, team, or sales.",
"FIG. 3 illustrates a representative report module customized for sales.",
"[0045] In the representative report outlined in FIG. 3 , critical components of the sales cycle is broken down into areas corresponding to the three core source areas of thinking, feeling and actions.",
"The report uses the analysis of the subject's responses from the survey module to assign relative strengths to the major components of the sales process.",
"For example, a subject with a strong purple score would indicate that the subject would have aptitude in initiating process of sales, likely to exhibit strength in the following related activities: courage to make the call;",
"Contacting Decision-makers;",
"Establishing Rapport;",
"Leading (driving) the sales process;",
"Demonstrating Passion;",
"and Utilizing ‘Impact Selling’.",
"Therefore, using a customized report, a subject can be specifically evaluated with respect to a specific subject areas, such as sales, to determine the subject's relative weaknesses and strengths in that area.",
"Although a sales model is described herein and in FIG. 3 , it is noted that reports can be customized for any suitable subject matter, such as leadership, teams, etc.",
", if desired.",
"[0046] The report information is also stored by the system 100 for later reference or use with global reports and/or analysis regarding subjects, groups of subjects, or even organizations.",
"The reports provided by the report module 140 may take any suitable format and may even be customized by the subject 180 .",
"Reports can be made by the report module 140 via a display and/or hard copy, or the like.",
"[0047] Other embodiments exist.",
"For example, an embodiment of the present invention system and method could be used to determine what activities/careers/organizations best suit a particular subject (versus testing the subject based upon a specific area of interest (sales)).",
"In such an embodiment, the subject would be provided with queries/statements directed to a wide range of topics and issues.",
"The responses provided would then be analyzed against a series of available profiles of traits associated with various activities/careers/organizations to see where the best “match”",
"appears.",
"Such information could be used to provide career counseling, employment decisions, marriage counseling, etc.",
"[0048] Now turning to FIG. 4 , there is shown a flow chart illustrating the steps of the present invention method.",
"In step 400 , a subject is provided with a survey capable of deriving information from that subject.",
"The content and format of the survey can be any suitable content (e.g., subject matter, graphics) and format (e.g., rank of affinity, direct queries, etc.",
") that derives information from the subject.",
"In step 410 , the method analyzing the information from the subject is based upon a framework.",
"In a preferred embodiment, the framework comprises three core areas: ideas (thinking);",
"emotions (feeling);",
"and actions (doing).",
"The present invention is premised in part on the discovery that all subjects derive traits from one of these three core areas.",
"Next, in step 420 , an optional step is presented where the system of the present invention associates the three core areas with three primary colors.",
"In step 430 , the system of the present invention identifies traits of the subject based upon the analyzed information.",
"Finally, in step 440 , the traits identified are reported, for example, to the subject.",
"The report can take any desirable format and can be presented in any suitable display medium and/or via any display device.",
"As an example, the report can include content like written trait analysis and descriptions, as well as colored charts to demonstrate same.",
"The report can be provided via a video display associated with a computer and/or communication means and/or printed off as a hard copy for future reference and use.",
"[0049] A number of embodiments of the invention have been described.",
"Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.",
"Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a United States National Phase filing of International Application No. PCT/US2009/066457 filed Dec. 2, 2009, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/119,210, filed Dec. 2, 2008 and titled “Iliac Canal Prosthesis”. The disclosure of these applications are incorporated by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to methods of securing acetabular implants, and more particularly to an apparatus and method of securing acetabular augments alone, or in combination with an acetabular shell, to a hip using the canal of the ilium.
2. Related Art
In the past, the iliac canal has been utilized for fixedly securing an artificial acetabular bearing surface to pelvic bone. FIG. 1 illustrates one example of such a prior art device. Shown in FIG. 1 , is an all-metal Ring prosthesis device ( 900 ) which is configured for mounting within the iliac canal. Device ( 900 ) typically comprises a shank ( 901 ) having threads ( 902 ) thereon, a shaft base ( 903 ), a transition area ( 904 ), and a bearing cup ( 905 ) having an inner bearing surface ( 907 ) and a rim ( 906 ). Typically, device ( 900 ) is constructed as one, homogeneous, monolithic, metal piece, which leaves no adjustability or material options to a surgeon. Moreover, once the shank ( 901 ) of the device ( 900 ) is secured into the iliac canal, the orientations of the bearing cup ( 905 ), the rim ( 906 ), and the bearing surface ( 907 ) relative to the ilium or acetabulum is fixed concentrically with the shank ( 901 ). Therefore, fixation of the device ( 900 ) may come at the expense of not providing the optimum head coverage necessary for stability throughout a range of motion.
FIGS. 2 a - 2 d illustrate the method steps of installing said Ring prosthesis device ( 900 ). First, a canal guide ( 922 ) that is mounted on a base ( 920 ) is inserted into the acetabulum. The canal guide ( 922 ) is inserted into the intramedullary canal of the ilium (i.e., the “iliac canal”) and is then left inside the iliac canal. Second, a cannulated reamer ( 924 ) slides over the canal guide ( 922 ) and reams out the iliac canal. The canal guide ( 922 ) and reamer ( 924 ) are then removed from the iliac canal. Thirdly, a frustoconical reamer ( 926 ) having a cutting edge ( 928 ) bores out a frustoconical countersunk recess in the acetabulum. The countersunk recess provides a clearance for the transition area ( 904 ) and the bearing cup ( 905 ). Lastly, the Ring prosthesis device ( 900 ) is inserted into and secured within the iliac canal by screwing the device ( 900 ) into the iliac canal. Torque engagement means ( 930 ) is provided on or adjacent to the exposed rim ( 906 ).
FIGS. 3 a and 3 b illustrate another example of a prior art Ring prosthesis ( 950 ) called an uncemented polyethylene-on-metal (UPM) hip prosthesis. The UPM hip prosthesis ( 950 ) is a successor to the all-metal Ring prosthesis ( 900 ) shown in FIG. 1 , and similarly utilizes the iliac canal for fixedly securing an acetabular bearing surface to pelvic bone. The prosthesis ( 950 ) includes a frustoconical portion ( 954 ) which connects a bearing cup ( 956 ). The bearing cup ( 956 ) has a generally hemi-spherical bearing surface ( 955 ), and the frustoconical portion ( 954 ) has an eccentric or offset shaft ( 952 ) having protuberances thereon. A metallic ring ( 953 ) is centered within a groove ( 957 ) to allow the rim of the bearing cup ( 956 ) to be visible on radiographs.
Prostheses ( 950 ) such as the one shown in FIGS. 3 a and 3 b are typically formed from a monolithic block of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene and may generally be described as an offset conical cup having a finned intraosseous peg mounted thereon. Since the UPM prosthesis ( 950 ) is eccentric, it relies on a wedge press-fit into an accurately reamed acetabulum, rather than concentric screwing into the iliac canal.
The eccentric frustoconical portion ( 954 ) serves to prevent rotation and to allow small amounts of version adjustment for better head coverage and stability. Grooves extending along the longitudinal axis of the frustoconical portion ( 954 ) give additional rotational stability. The prosthesis ( 950 ) is fitted into a reamed track created through the centre of the iliopubic buttress and the cup is punched into position. Acetabular prostheses ( 950 ) shown in FIGS. 3 a and 3 b are generally used in combination with either a Ring or a Norwich-type of uncemented femoral component.
FIG. 26 illustrates some examples of prior art Trabecular Metal™ acetabular augments ( 1000 , 1002 , 1004 , 1006 ) provided by Zimmer, Inc. The augments are composed of porous tantalum and are intended to fill large bone voids during revision hip arthroplasty surgery, so that acetabular cup stability can be achieved (acetabular cup not shown). These prior art augments do not have protrusion portions configured for insertion into the IM canal of the ilium. The augments also lack a means for mounting the augment to the IM canal of the ilium. Even if a screw (not shown) was to be inserted through one of the holes ( 1020 ) provided on some of the augments ( 1000 , 1002 , 1004 ) and into the IM canal of the ilium according to the teachings presented herein, the augments would not seat correctly within the acetabulum, would become unstable, and would not function as intended. Lastly, these prior art augments ( 1000 , 1002 , 1004 , 1006 ) are not designed or intended to be modular, interchangeable, interconnectable, and adjustable as are the augments of the present invention.
To this end, all current acetabular prostheses utilizing the iliac canal for fixation do not provide a surgeon with modularity, intraoperative options, and/or material choices. Additionally, all conventional augments designed to fill large bone voids do not provide a surgeon with the option to use the iliac canal as a means for providing prosthesis support and indicating proper orientation in severe cases.
Moreover, the prior art acetabular prostheses ( 900 , 950 ) described above have been designed for and used only for primary hip surgeries (i.e., first hip surgery). That is, such prior art devices utilizing the iliac canal for fixation are not intended to address the many special circumstances, substantial bone losses, poor bone quality, and other challenges that face a surgeon during complex revision hip surgeries (i.e., surgeries after a first hip surgery).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The aforementioned needs are satisfied by several aspects of the present invention.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of providing an acetabular implant adapted for use in revision hip surgery. The implant comprises a stem portion configured for securement within the iliac canal, a shell portion, and a means for adjustably mounting said shell portion to said stem portion.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of implanting an acetabular implant adapted for use in revision hip surgery. The method includes the steps of: finding the iliac canal, reaming the iliac canal, inserting a stem portion into the prepared iliac canal, and securing a shell portion to the stem portion using a means for adjustably mounting.
According to yet another aspect, an acetabular prosthetic device for implantation in an iliac canal and acetabulum of an ilium comprises a stem and an acetabular component. The stem may be configured to be implanted in the iliac canal. The acetabular component may be configured to be implanted in the acetabulum and fixed to the stem. The acetabular component may further comprise a connection portion to adjustably connect the acetabular component to the stem such that the acetabular component is configured to be oriented in a plurality of orientations before being fixed to the stem.
Yet another aspect of the invention provides the connection portion may be an augment. The augment may be configured to be received between the stem and the acetabular component. A first surface of the augment may be configured to orient the augment with respect to the stem and a second surface of the augment may be configured to orient the acetabular component with respect to the stem.
According to another aspect, a plurality of augments are provided. Each of the plurality of augments may have a first surface configured to orient the augment with respect to the stem and a second surface of the augment configured to orient the acetabular component with respect to the stem such that each of the plurality of augments orients the acetabular component in a different orientation from at least one other of the plurality of augments.
According to yet another aspect, the connection portion may be a positioning portion within the acetabular component.
The connection portion may be a slot within the acetabular component according to another aspect. The slot may have a plurality of positions through which a fixation element may secure the acetabular component to the stem.
According to another aspect, the fixation element may be a screw.
According to yet another aspect, the acetabular device may be an acetabular shell.
Yet another aspect may provide a second augment configured to be received between the augment and the acetabular component such that the second augment fills a bone void between the augment and the acetabular component.
According to another aspect, the augment and the stem are fixed together through a taper lock.
According to yet another aspect, the augment further comprises bone fixation elements to fix the augment to bone.
Yet another aspect may provide a spike as the bone fixation element.
Another aspect provide for a method of implanting an acetabular prosthetic device in an acetabulum. The method reams an iliac canal. Another step fixes a stem within the iliac canal. Another step adjustably positions an acetabular component within the acetabulum to determine a proper orientation of the acetabular component The acetabular component may be fixed to the stem.
According to another aspect, athe step of locating the iliac canal may be performed with a canal guide.
According to yet another aspect, the reaming step comprises reaming the iliac canal by advancing a reamer over the canal guide.
Yet another aspect may provide for the adjustably positioning step to comprise placing an augment between the stem and the acetabular component. A first surface of the augment may be configured to orient the augment with respect to the stem and a second surface of the augment may be configured to orient the acetabular component with respect to the stem.
According to another aspect, the adjustably positioning step may further comprise choosing an augment from a plurality of augments. Each of the plurality of augments may have a first surface configured to orient the augment with respect to the stem and a second surface of the augment configured to orient the acetabular component with respect to the stem such that each of the plurality of augments orients the acetabular component in a different orientation from at least one other of the plurality of augments.
Yet another aspect may comprise the step of fixing the augment to bone.
According to another aspect, the augment may be configured with bone spikes.
According to yet another aspect, the adjustably positioning step may further comprise orienting a positioning portion of the acetabular component over the stem and fixing the acetabular component to the stem.
According to another aspect, the fixing the acetabular component to the stem step may comprise screwing the acetabular component to the stem.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating certain embodiments of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, illustrate the embodiments of the present invention and together with the written description serve to explain the principles, characteristics, and features of the invention. In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a front view of a prior art all-metal Ring prosthesis;
FIGS. 2 a - d . illustrate the method of installing the prosthesis of FIG. 1 ;
FIG. 3 a - 3 b are frontal views of a prior art uncemented polyethylene-on-metal (UPM) hip prosthesis;
FIG. 4 is a front view of an acetabular prosthesis according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIGS. 5 a - f depict stem portions according to some embodiments of the present invention.
FIGS. 6 a - d illustrate stem portion ends according to some embodiments of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a side view of a porous stem portion according to some embodiments of the present invention;
FIG. 8 a - d illustrate stem augments having different eccentricities and offsets according to some embodiments of the present invention;
FIGS. 9 a - f illustrate stem augment configurations according to some embodiments of the present invention;
FIGS. 9 g - i illustrate stem augments in combination with wedges, spacers, and other augments according to some embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 10 shows a cemented acetabular prosthesis according to some embodiments of the present invention;
FIG. 11 shows a cemented acetabular prosthesis according to some other embodiments of the present invention;
FIG. 12 shows a cemented acetabular prosthesis according to other embodiments of the present invention;
FIG. 13 shows a cemented acetabular prosthesis according to yet other embodiments of the present invention;
FIG. 14 shows a cementless acetabular prosthesis according to some embodiments of the present invention;
FIG. 15 shows a cementless acetabular prosthesis according to other embodiments of the present invention;
FIG. 16 shows a cementless acetabular prosthesis according to yet other embodiments of the present invention;
FIGS. 17-19 show a cementless acetabular prosthesis according to embodiments of the present invention which utilize a track system for adjustable mounting;
FIG. 20 is a schematic flowchart illustrating some surgical technique method steps of installing an acetabular prosthesis according to the present invention.
FIG. 21 shows a cementless acetabular prosthesis connected to an L-shaped allograft by a transverse screw which may be targetally-fixed to a stem portion of said prosthesis.
FIG. 22 shows a homogenous, monolithic porous augment having a protrusion adapted for insertion and securement to the intramedullary canal of the ilium.
FIG. 23 shows an augment according to the present invention which is provided with a means for peg or screw-mounting into the intramedullary canal of the ilium.
FIG. 24 shows an augment similar to the one shown in FIG. 23 , but having a protrusion for filling a void surrounding the entrance of the intramedullary canal of the ilium.
FIG. 25 shows an augment similar to the one shown in FIG. 23 , which is capable of being mounted to an acetabulum after a fixation device such as a peg or screw is inserted into an intramedulary canal of the ilium.
FIG. 26 shows some examples of prior art acetabular augments provided by Zimmer, Inc., which do not have protrusion portions configured for insertion into the IM canal of the ilium, and, which do not have a means for inserting a screw or means for mounting to the IM canal of the ilium.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
The following description of the preferred embodiments is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.
The invention provides, in part, a method of reconstructing an acetabular region utilizing the iliac canal as a stable anchor and as a means for indicating proper orientation. Occasionally, a patient's acetabular region may be compromised to the point that it is not recognizable. Methods of the present invention utilize the iliac canal as an intact, repeatably findable, easy to locate anatomical landmark which can be used as an anchor support and as a means to orient and mount an acetabular shell with a relatively high degree of confidence, even in severe trauma or revision cases. A stem portion is inserted into the iliac canal, essentially forming a “foundation” for building up lost or compromised bone. A series of wedges, spacers, and augments may be used to build up said lost or compromised bone and to provide to an acetabular shell, an improved means for fixation in situations that would otherwise yield poor fixation and initial stability.
It is preferred that cementless options be utilized, however, acetabular implants of the present invention may incorporate cemented options.
FIG. 4 illustrates an acetabular prosthesis ( 1 ) according to one embodiment of the present invention. Prosthesis ( 1 ) may comprise a stem portion ( 10 ), first augment portion ( 20 ), second augment portion ( 30 ), and shell portion ( 40 ). The stem portion ( 10 ) may have an outer shank portion ( 12 ), tip portion ( 18 ), male or female tapered stem portion ( 16 ), and a taper end ( 14 ) located at a converging end of said male or female tapered portion ( 16 ). The first augment portion ( 20 ) may comprise a corresponding male or female tapered augment portion ( 26 ) that corresponds with and interlocks with said male or female tapered stem portion ( 16 ). The first augment portion ( 20 ) comprises stem-side surface geometries ( 22 ), shell-side surface geometries ( 24 ), and peripheral geometries ( 28 ) which may be as simple or complex as is necessary to optimally fit a predetermined patient population or individual patient. An optional second augment portion ( 30 ) also having stem-side surface geometries ( 32 ), shell-side surface geometries ( 34 ), and peripheral geometries ( 38 ) may be used in combination with said second augment portion ( 20 ), in order to increase the offset of the shell ( 40 ), or to provide a gap space filler so as to reduce the amount of cement used between the shell ( 40 ) and stem ( 10 ) to secure the shell ( 40 ). Shell ( 40 ) comprises an outer ( 42 ) and inner ( 44 ) geometry. The inner geometry ( 44 ) may be a bearing surface for articulation with a natural or artificial femoral head component, or it may be configured to receive a liner that articulates with a natural or artificial femoral head component. The outer geometry ( 42 ) may be any geometry as simple or complex as is necessary to optimally fit a predetermined patient population or individual patient, but is preferably formed by a hemispherical porous structure.
FIGS. 5 a - f illustrate several options for outer shank portions ( 12 ) within the scope of the present invention. FIG. 5 a illustrates a smooth outer shank portion ( 12 a ) suitable for cementing into the ilium canal. FIG. 5 b illustrates a fluted outer shank portion ( 12 b ), suitable for preventing rotation of the stem ( 10 ) within the iliac canal and to provide some amount of flexibility to the stem ( 10 ). FIG. 5 c illustrates an outer shank portion ( 12 c ) of a stem ( 10 ), which comprises any one of hydroxyapatite, BMP, antimicrobial-infused hydroxyapatite, analgesic, or other coating thereon. FIG. 5 d . illustrates a stem portion ( 10 ) having an outer shank portion ( 12 d ) comprised of a porous scaffold such as titanium foam, porous ceramic (e.g., hydroxyapatite), sintered beads, sintered asymmetric particles, or the like. FIG. 5 e . illustrates an outer shank portion ( 12 e ) of a stem ( 10 ) comprising screw fixation means, such as a self-threading profile. FIG. 5 f . illustrates a stem ( 10 ) fixed to the IM iliac canal with lag screws ( 12 f ).
FIG. 6 a - d illustrate stem tips according to several different embodiments within the scope of this invention. The end of stem ( 10 ) may be bullet-shaped as shown in FIG. 6 a , cone-shaped as shown in FIG. 6 b , cylindrically-shaped as shown in FIG. 6 c , or bi-forked as shown in FIG. 6 d to reduce pain. The stems ( 10 ) may be stepped or chamfered in profile, and may include combinations of the features shown in FIGS. 5 a - 7 .
FIG. 7 illustrates a modular stem composed of at least a first stem part ( 10 ′) and a second stem part ( 10 ″). The first stem part ( 10 ′) may be, for instance, a shaped porous augment. The second stem part ( 10 ″) may be, for instance, a solid cap having a male taper ( 16 ″) portion thereon, which is configured to mate with a first ( 20 ) or second ( 30 ) augment portion. If the first stem part ( 10 ′) is formed of a low-strength porous construct, it may be cannulated to receive a core portion integral or separate from the second stem part ( 10 ″) to increase the overall strength of the modular stem.
FIGS. 8 a - d illustrate different first augment portion ( 20 ) configurations. Augment portions ( 20 ) may be configured with a male or female tapered augment portion ( 26 a , 26 b , 26 c , 26 d ) that is designed to cooperate and interlock with a corresponding male or female tapered stem portion ( 16 ). The male or female tapered augment portion ( 26 a ) may be concentric as shown in FIG. 8 a , or the male or female tapered augment portion ( 26 b ) may be eccentric as shown in FIG. 8 b . Alternatively, the male or female tapered augment portion ( 26 c ) may be centrally-attached and oblique as shown in FIG. 8 c , or the male or female tapered augment portion ( 26 d ) may be eccentric and oblique as shown in FIG. 8 d . By changing the configurations of the male or female tapered augment portions ( 26 a , 26 b , 26 c , 26 d ), intraoperative adjustability is increased.
As shown in FIGS. 8 a - d , augments ( 20 ) of the present invention may comprise offsets and different shell-side geometries ( 24 , 27 ). Shell-side geometries may be more curved ( 27 , 27 ′, 27 ″) or less curved ( 24 , 24 ′, 24 ″). Augment portions ( 20 ) may further comprise different shell-side geometry offsets. For example, a shell-side geometry may comprise a standard offset ( 24 ), a medium offset ( 24 ′), and/or a high offset ( 24 ″).
FIGS. 9 a - f illustrate augment configurations according to some embodiments of the present invention. Augment ( 20 ) may be provided as a single, homogeneous metallic, ceramic, or polymeric piece having a smooth surface ( 29 a ) as shown in FIG. 9 a , or the augment ( 20 ) may comprise two pieces press-fitted together. A coating ( 29 b ) or the like, such as hydroxyapatite, bone cement, or bone-void filler may be applied to the outside of augment ( 20 ) in one or more regions around the male or female tapered augment portions ( 26 a , 26 b , 26 c , 26 d ) as shown in FIG. 9 b . Alternatively, a porous structure ( 29 c ) may be formed as a portion of said augment ( 20 ). Holes ( 25 a - i ) may be formed within augments ( 20 ) of the present invention in order to secure said augments ( 20 ) to surrounding bone and lock the radial orientation of the augment ( 20 ) with respect to the orientation of the stem portion ( 10 ).
FIGS. 9 g - i illustrate augments in combination with wedges and spacers according to some embodiments of the present invention. A series of wedges ( 100 ) or offset spacers ( 102 ) may be utilized to “build up” the acetabular region where larger bone portions have been compromised. Shaped or special wedges ( 104 ) may be utilized for direct mounting to an acetabular shell. Hemispherical offset spacers ( 106 , 108 ) may also be utilized to adjustably mount an acetabular shell ( 40 ) to the stem portion ( 10 ). One or more spikes ( 25 j ) may be optionally employed on the wedges ( 100 , 104 ), augments ( 20 , 30 ), and spacers ( 102 , 106 , 108 ) in order to help bony fixation, prevent rotation, and help create stability between said augments, spacers, and wedges.
FIG. 10 shows a cemented acetabular prosthesis ( 1 ) according to some embodiments of the present invention. The prosthesis ( 1 ) comprises a stem portion ( 10 ), a first augment portion ( 20 ), a second augment portion ( 30 ) and a shell portion ( 40 ). The first augment portion ( 20 ) is configured to form a taper-lock connection with the stem portion ( 10 ). An optional first means for fixation ( 50 ), such as a screw having a countersunk head ( 53 ) and threaded shaft ( 51 ) may be inserted through a bore ( 21 ) in the first augment portion ( 20 ) and into a threaded bore ( 11 ) in the stem portion ( 10 ). The bore ( 21 ) may have a countersink ( 23 ) adapted to receive a portion ( 53 ) of said optional first means for fixation ( 50 ). Optionally, a second means for fixation, such as a fastening screw ( 60 ) may be inserted through a hole ( 25 ) in the first augment portion ( 20 ) in order to secure the first augment portion ( 20 ) to surrounding bone and prevent rotation of the first augment portion ( 20 ) relative to the stem portion ( 10 ).
A second augment portion ( 30 ) may be utilized to space an acetabular shell ( 40 ) further from the stem ( 10 ). Second augment portion ( 30 ) preferably has an appropriately sized and shaped peripheral profile ( 38 ) so as to allow its stem-side face ( 32 ) to contact the first augment portion ( 20 ).
FIG. 11 shows a cemented acetabular prosthesis similar to the one shown in FIG. 10 ; however, the second augment portion ( 30 ) does not utilize optional second means for fixation ( 60 ) to secure the second augment portion ( 30 ) against the first augment portion ( 20 ). Instead, first means for fixation ( 50 ) protrudes through one of at least one tapered bore ( 33 ) in the second augment portion ( 30 ). Said first means for fixation ( 50 ) protrudes through a clearance bore ( 21 ) in the first augment portion ( 20 ) and into a threaded bore ( 11 ) in the stem portion ( 10 ). The countersunk head ( 53 ) of the first means for fixation ( 50 ) rests within the one of at least one tapered bore ( 33 ) below the shell-side surface ( 34 ) of the second augment portion ( 30 ). Different prosthesis configurations may be achieved by utilizing the means for fixation ( 50 ) with a different bore ( 33 ).
FIG. 12 shows a cemented acetabular prosthesis according to other embodiments of the present invention. The prosthesis ( 1 ) shown in FIG. 12 is similar to those shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 , with the exception that a second augment portion ( 30 ) is not utilized. Instead, the shell-side surface ( 24 ) of the first augment portion ( 20 ) serves as a cement dam for a cement reservoir ( 70 ) between the first augment portion ( 20 ) and shell portion ( 40 ). Since the first augment portion is rigidly secured to the stem portion ( 10 ), and the shell ( 40 ) is cemented to the first augment portion ( 20 ), all portions ( 10 , 20 , 40 ) are rigidly fixed to each other. Cement reservoir ( 70 ) provides a means for independently adjusting the position and orientation of the shell portion ( 40 ), while still utilizing the stable platform of the first augment portion ( 20 ) and stable foundation of the stem portion ( 10 ).
FIG. 13 shows a cemented acetabular prosthesis according to yet other embodiments of the present invention. Stem portion ( 10 ) has a threaded outer profile ( 12 e ) which serves as means for fixing said stem portion ( 10 ) to a prepared or non-prepared iliac canal. Stem portion includes a male or female tapered portion ( 16 ) which mates and taper-locks with a male or female tapered portion ( 26 ) on a first augment portion ( 20 ). First augment portion has a shell-side surface ( 24 ) which serves as a cement dam for a cement reservoir ( 70 ) bonding an acetabular shell portion ( 40 ) to the first augment portion ( 20 ). Each of the stem portion ( 10 ), first augment portion ( 20 ), and shell portion ( 40 ) are fixedly secured together and anchored directly or indirectly to the iliac canal for improved stability. Prior to curing, cement reservoir ( 70 ) provides a means of adjustably mounting the shell portion ( 40 ) to the rest of the prosthesis ( 1 ) and surrounding bone.
FIG. 14 shows a cementless acetabular prosthesis according to some embodiments of the present invention. The prosthesis ( 1 ) is very similar to the one shown in FIG. 11 . However, the second augment portion ( 30 ) is formed from a polymeric material such as PEEK, UHMWPE, polyethylene, polyurethane, or the like, and, the first augment portion ( 20 ) comprises an eccentric and oblique tapered portion ( 26 ). A means for fixation ( 50 ) comprising a means for adjustment ( 53 ) is provided to secure each of the stem portion ( 10 ), first augment portion ( 20 ), and second augment portion ( 30 ) together, while providing infinite rotational adjustability between the stem portion ( 10 ) and the first augment portion ( 20 ), and infinite tangential motion and infinite rotation adjustability between the first ( 20 ) and second ( 30 ) augment portions within a predetermined range. The acetabular shell portion ( 40 ) has mounting holes ( 45 ) and means ( 80 ) for securing the acetabular shell portion ( 40 ) to the second augment portion ( 30 ). Said means ( 80 ) for securing may comprise self-threading, self-tapping screws which are designed to self-thread directly into the polymeric second augment portion ( 30 ). In one preferred embodiment, first ( 20 ) and second ( 30 ) augment portions are combined into a single pre-assembled augment piece by connecting means. Connecting means may be detachable and comprise an adjustable linkage, a snap mechanism, or a mechanical interlocking device. Alternatively, the connecting means may be non-detachable and comprise mechanical fusing, chemical bonding, fusion molding, or adhesives. While any material may be chosen, it is preferred that first augment portion ( 20 ) be made of a metallic material, and second augment portion ( 30 ) be made of a polymer.
FIG. 15 shows a cementless acetabular prosthesis according to other embodiments of the present invention. The second augment portion ( 20 ) is shaped so as to have a shell-facing surface ( 24 ) that conforms to the outer surface ( 42 ) of an acetabular shell portion ( 40 ). Means ( 80 ) for securing the acetabular shell portion ( 40 ) to the first augment portion ( 20 ) is provided. Said means ( 80 ) may be, for instance, a screw or peg which is adapted to pass through holes ( 45 ) in the shell portion ( 40 ) and thread directly into the material of the first augment portion ( 20 ). First augment portion ( 20 ) may comprise a polymeric material, metallic material, or ceramic material, and may or may not comprise porous portions. Materials for first augment portion ( 20 ) may include, but are not limited to porous hydroxyapatite (HA), porous titanium, and porous tantalum. Optional first means for fixation ( 50 ) may include a countersunk head ( 53 ) which rests below said shell-facing surface ( 24 ).
FIG. 16 shows a cementless acetabular prosthesis according to yet other embodiments of the present invention. The stem portion ( 10 ) comprises an integral flange portion ( 19 ) and one or more optional second means for fixation ( 60 ) such as one or more cortical or cancellous bone screws or one or more integral spikes ( 60 ′). A first augment portion ( 20 ) comprises a generally hemispheric augment having one or more orientation or fixation protuberances ( 22 a ). Protuberances ( 22 a ) are configured to fit into one or more complimentary recesses ( 17 ) located on portions of the stem portion ( 10 ), for instance, adjacent the flange portion ( 19 ). If there are more recesses ( 17 ) than there are protuberances ( 22 a ), then the first augment portion ( 20 ) can be situated, positioned, oriented, and fixed in many ways relative to the stem portion ( 10 ). Optional second fixation means ( 60 ) may be used to secure the first augment portion ( 20 ) to surrounding bone, and also to press stem-side surface ( 22 ) of the first augment ( 20 ) against the shell-side surface of the stem portion ( 10 ) and/or flange portion ( 19 ). The shell-side surface ( 24 ) of the first augment portion ( 20 ) may be configured to conform to the external geometries ( 42 ) of an acetabular shell portion ( 40 ). Means ( 80 ) for securing said shell portion ( 40 ) may be used to secure the shell portion ( 40 ) to the first augment portion ( 20 ) or to surrounding bone. For instance, and without limitation, if the first augment portion is made of porous metal, holes (not shown) aligned with mounting holes ( 45 ) found in the shell portion ( 40 ) would be drilled into the first augment portion ( 30 ), and then means ( 80 ) would be screwed into said holes (not shown). Alternatively, if the first augment portion ( 20 ) is made of a polymeric material (e.g., PEEK), and means ( 80 ) comprises self-tapping, self-threading screws, then said means ( 80 ) could be screwed directly into the material of the first augment portion ( 20 ) to secure the shell portion ( 40 ) to the first augment portion ( 30 ), without drilling.
FIGS. 17-19 show a cementless acetabular prosthesis ( 1 ) according to embodiments of the present invention which utilize a positioning portion which may include an adjustable track ( 27 , 29 ) in combination with a means ( 50 ) for fixing a first augment portion ( 20 ) to a stem portion ( 10 ). Positioning portion ( 27 , 29 ) includes a countersink ( 27 ) large enough for a head portion ( 53 ) of said means ( 50 ) for fixing. Track ( 27 , 29 ) further includes a slot composed of a series of cutouts ( 29 ) for a threaded shank ( 51 ) of said means ( 50 ) to pass. The means for fixing ( 50 ), may, for instance, comprise a screw that can be loosened from a threaded bore ( 11 ) in a stem portion ( 10 ). When said screw ( 50 ) is loosened, the first augment portion ( 20 ) can be moved in different directions ( 90 , 92 ) corresponding to the geometries of said track ( 27 , 29 ). When a desired position of the first augment portion ( 20 ) relative to the stem portion ( 10 ) is determined, the screw ( 50 ) is tightened such that its head ( 53 ) rests within one of said cutouts ( 29 ). Friction holds the first augment portion ( 20 ) to the stem portion ( 10 ). Thereafter, an acetabular shell portion ( 40 ) can be attached to the first augment portion ( 20 ) by means ( 80 ) described in any of the above embodiments.
FIG. 20 is a schematic flowchart illustrating some surgical technique method steps ( 200 ) for installing an acetabular prosthesis according to some embodiments of the present invention. First, the canal of the ilium is found using a canal guide tool or the like ( 202 ). Second, the iliac canal is reamed ( 206 ) to accept the size of the stem portion ( 10 ) used. The reaming step may utilize a cannulated reamer that slides over the canal guide ( 204 ). All instrumentation (that is, the canal guide and/or reamers associated therewith) is then removed from the prepared iliac canal ( 208 , 214 ). Secondary reaming or resection may take place ( 210 , 212 ) depending on the shapes and configurations of the augments and present bone defects. A stem portion ( 10 ) is then inserted into and secured to the iliac canal ( 216 ) in any convenient fashion so as to form a “foundation” on which reconstruction of the acetabulum with augments, spacers, and wedges can be performed. One or more augments and/or other intermediate members is then placed in the acetabular region ( 218 ) in a predetermined position so as to form a platform that rests upon said stem portion ( 10 )—thereby providing a base foundation for other augments, spacers, wedges, and/or cement reservoirs ( 70 ) to rest upon and secure to ( 220 ). Other acetabular preparation steps such as reaming for shell press fit and autograft packing may also be implemented. Lastly, a shell member ( 40 ) is attached to the one or more augments and/or intermediate members ( 222 ). The augments and/or intermediate members serve as means for adjustably securing a bearing surface to an acetabulum using a stem ( 10 ) situated within the iliac canal ( 504 ), the stem ( 10 ) serving as a support and/or orientation member.
FIG. 21 shows a cementless acetabular prosthesis ( 300 ) connected to allograft ( 320 ) by a transverse screw ( 318 ) fixed to a stem portion ( 316 ) of said prosthesis ( 300 ). The allograft ( 320 ) may be L-shaped and can be provided as a medical product, or it may be provided intraoperatively by shaping portions of a resected femoral head ( 302 ). Prosthesis ( 300 ) comprises a shell augment portion ( 310 ) having an outer surface adapted for resting against an acetabular cavity ( 502 ) within the ilium ( 500 ). An inner surface ( 308 ) of the augment portion ( 310 ) is adapted for a cement mantle interface or uncemented frictional interference with a secondary shell or liner. Alternatively, the inner surface ( 308 ) is provided with a bearing surface to make contact with a natural or prosthetic femoral head (not shown). Inner surface ( 308 ) may be adapted for securement of one or more additional porous or solid augments thereto via any one or more of a roughened surface for frictional contact, mechanical interlocking means, or cement. Secondary fixation means ( 314 ) may be utilized to improve stability of the prosthesis ( 300 ). Preferably, an intramedullary canal ( 504 ) of the ilium ( 500 ) is prepared and then a stem portion ( 316 ) is inserted therein. The augment portion ( 310 ) is situated in the acetabular cavity ( 502 ) and then locked to the stem portion ( 316 ) via a connection portion ( 312 ). Connection portion ( 312 ) may comprise a Morse taper lock or any other known locking means such as a threaded connection, screw, retainer ring, ball detent, or resilient snap fingers. Stem portion ( 316 ) may be provided with means for attaching the L-shaped allograft ( 320 ) such as a threaded bore or aperture for k-wire insertion.
FIG. 22 shows a cementless acetabular prosthesis ( 400 ) comprising a homogenous, monolithic porous augment ( 410 ) having a protrusion ( 416 ) adapted for insertion and securement within the intramedullary canal ( 504 ) of the ilium ( 500 ). Protrusion ( 416 ) may have different shapes and lengths depending on the severity of the defect or the size of the intramedullary canal ( 504 ). The augment ( 410 ) may be formed from any one of a reticulated foam structure, sintered beads, and sintered asymmetric particles without limitation, and may comprise titanium, tantalum, zirconium, bioceramics (porous hydroxyapatite), polymers (e.g., PEEK, UHMWPE), biocompatible materials, and compositions thereof.
The intramedullary canal ( 504 ) of the ilium ( 500 ) is preferably prepared prior to insertion of the augment ( 410 ); however, this step may not be necessary. In addition to the protrusion ( 416 ), one or more secondary fixation means ( 412 , 414 ) may be used to secure the augment ( 410 ) to the acetabular bone ( 502 ). The inner surface portions ( 408 ) of the augment ( 410 ) are adapted for a cement mantle interface or uncemented frictional interference with a secondary shell or liner. Alternatively, the inner surface ( 308 ) may be provided with a separate bearing surface to make contact with a natural or prosthetic femoral head (not shown). Inner surface ( 308 ) may also be adapted for securement of one or more additional porous or solid augments thereto via any one or more of a roughened surface for frictional contact, mechanical interlocking means, or cement.
FIG. 23 illustrates an uncemented prosthesis ( 600 ) according to some embodiments of the present invention. The prosthesis ( 600 ) comprises a porous augment ( 610 ) adapted to fill a bone void in an acetabular region ( 502 ). The augment ( 610 ) comprises inner surface portions ( 608 ) which are adapted for a cement interface or uncemented frictional interference with a secondary shell or liner. Alternatively, the inner surface portions ( 608 ) may be provided with a separate bearing surface to make contact with a natural or prosthetic femoral head (not shown). Inner surface portions ( 608 ) may also be adapted for securement of one or more additional porous or solid augments thereto via any one or more of a roughened surface for frictional contact, mechanical interlocking means, or cement.
The porous augment ( 610 ) comprises a means for mounting itself to an intramedullary canal ( 504 ) of the ilium ( 500 ). The means for mounting may comprise, for instance, an aperture or channel ( 612 ) having a countersink and which is properly oriented such that when the augment ( 610 ) is fully seated in the acetabular cavity ( 502 ), a peg or screw ( 616 ) may be inserted through the augment ( 610 ) and into the intramedulary canal ( 504 ) of the ilium ( 500 ) to fixedly secure the augment ( 610 ) to the acetabulum ( 502 ). Secondary fixation means ( 614 , 620 ) may be used for additional augment stability. Once the uncemented prosthesis ( 600 ) is implanted, an acetabular cup prosthesis (not shown) can be mounted to the inner surface portions ( 608 ) using friction, cement, or screws.
In some embodiments, such as the one illustrated in FIG. 24 , a cementless prosthesis ( 700 ) may comprise a porous augment ( 710 ) having an inner surface ( 708 ) and outer surface configured for frictional engagement with acetabular bone ( 502 ). The augment ( 710 ) may comprise a protrusion ( 720 ) that extends around an entrance portion of the intramedullary canal ( 504 ) of the ilium ( 500 ). The protrusion ( 720 ) may include one or more means ( 712 ) for securing a fixing device ( 716 ) thereto. The fixing device ( 716 ) may be a screw, a peg, a rod, or a detachable stem portion without limitation. The fixing device ( 716 ) is inserted into the intramedullary canal ( 504 ) of the ilium ( 500 ) to orient and secure the augment ( 710 ) within the acetabulum ( 502 ). Secondary means for fixation ( 714 ) may be employed to achieve greater stability. It should be noted that inner surface portions ( 708 ) may be adapted for securement of one or more additional porous or solid augments thereto via any one or more of a roughened surface for frictional contact, mechanical interlocking means, or cement. Alternatively, inner surface portion ( 708 ) may be provided with a bearing surface for articulation with a natural femoral head or a femoral head implant component (not shown).
In some embodiments, such as the one illustrated in FIG. 25 , it may be desirable to secure a means for fixation ( 816 ) such as a rod, peg, or screw, to the intramedullary canal ( 504 ) prior to attaching the augment ( 810 , 810 ′). In such cases, the means for fixation ( 816 ) may be partially inserted into the intramedullary canal ( 504 ) of the ilium ( 500 ) to allow room for the augment ( 810 , 810 ′) to be introduced from a medial, lateral, anterior, posterior, or inferior side. Once the augment ( 810 , 810 ′) is properly positioned, the means for fixation ( 816 ) may then be fully inserted into the intramedullary canal ( 504 ) to tighten the augment ( 810 , 810 ′) to the acetabular cavity ( 502 ). In the embodiment shown, the augment ( 810 , 810 ′) is maintained against the acetabulum ( 502 ) via a countersink or shelf in a hole or slot ( 806 , 806 ′). Secondary fixation means ( 804 , 804 ′) may be provided on the augment ( 810 , 810 ′) to better secure the augment ( 810 , 810 ′) to the acetabular cavity ( 502 ). For example, the secondary fixation means ( 804 , 804 ′) may be a hole or slot configured to accept a peg or bone screw.
It should be noted that any portions of the implants and prostheses disclosed herein may be formed as trial components and instrumentation for trial reduction. In some cases, the augments may be configured to snap together using mechanical interlocking means.
As various modifications could be made to the exemplary embodiments, as described above with reference to the corresponding illustrations, without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative rather than limiting. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims appended hereto and their equivalents. | An acetabular prosthetic device for implantation in an iliac canal and acetabulum of an ilium comprises a stem and an acetabular component. The stem may be configured to be implanted in the iliac canal. The acetabular component may be configured to be implanted in the acetabulum and fixed to the stem. The acetabular component may further comprise a connection portion to adjustably connect the acetabular component to the stem such that the acetabular component is configured to be oriented in a plurality of orientations before being fixed to the stem. | Briefly describe the main invention outlined in the provided context. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a United States National Phase filing of International Application No. PCT/US2009/066457 filed Dec. 2, 2009, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/119,210, filed Dec. 2, 2008 and titled “Iliac Canal Prosthesis.”",
"The disclosure of these applications are incorporated by reference in their entirety.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to methods of securing acetabular implants, and more particularly to an apparatus and method of securing acetabular augments alone, or in combination with an acetabular shell, to a hip using the canal of the ilium.",
"Related Art In the past, the iliac canal has been utilized for fixedly securing an artificial acetabular bearing surface to pelvic bone.",
"FIG. 1 illustrates one example of such a prior art device.",
"Shown in FIG. 1 , is an all-metal Ring prosthesis device ( 900 ) which is configured for mounting within the iliac canal.",
"Device ( 900 ) typically comprises a shank ( 901 ) having threads ( 902 ) thereon, a shaft base ( 903 ), a transition area ( 904 ), and a bearing cup ( 905 ) having an inner bearing surface ( 907 ) and a rim ( 906 ).",
"Typically, device ( 900 ) is constructed as one, homogeneous, monolithic, metal piece, which leaves no adjustability or material options to a surgeon.",
"Moreover, once the shank ( 901 ) of the device ( 900 ) is secured into the iliac canal, the orientations of the bearing cup ( 905 ), the rim ( 906 ), and the bearing surface ( 907 ) relative to the ilium or acetabulum is fixed concentrically with the shank ( 901 ).",
"Therefore, fixation of the device ( 900 ) may come at the expense of not providing the optimum head coverage necessary for stability throughout a range of motion.",
"FIGS. 2 a - 2 d illustrate the method steps of installing said Ring prosthesis device ( 900 ).",
"First, a canal guide ( 922 ) that is mounted on a base ( 920 ) is inserted into the acetabulum.",
"The canal guide ( 922 ) is inserted into the intramedullary canal of the ilium (i.e., the “iliac canal”) and is then left inside the iliac canal.",
"Second, a cannulated reamer ( 924 ) slides over the canal guide ( 922 ) and reams out the iliac canal.",
"The canal guide ( 922 ) and reamer ( 924 ) are then removed from the iliac canal.",
"Thirdly, a frustoconical reamer ( 926 ) having a cutting edge ( 928 ) bores out a frustoconical countersunk recess in the acetabulum.",
"The countersunk recess provides a clearance for the transition area ( 904 ) and the bearing cup ( 905 ).",
"Lastly, the Ring prosthesis device ( 900 ) is inserted into and secured within the iliac canal by screwing the device ( 900 ) into the iliac canal.",
"Torque engagement means ( 930 ) is provided on or adjacent to the exposed rim ( 906 ).",
"FIGS. 3 a and 3 b illustrate another example of a prior art Ring prosthesis ( 950 ) called an uncemented polyethylene-on-metal (UPM) hip prosthesis.",
"The UPM hip prosthesis ( 950 ) is a successor to the all-metal Ring prosthesis ( 900 ) shown in FIG. 1 , and similarly utilizes the iliac canal for fixedly securing an acetabular bearing surface to pelvic bone.",
"The prosthesis ( 950 ) includes a frustoconical portion ( 954 ) which connects a bearing cup ( 956 ).",
"The bearing cup ( 956 ) has a generally hemi-spherical bearing surface ( 955 ), and the frustoconical portion ( 954 ) has an eccentric or offset shaft ( 952 ) having protuberances thereon.",
"A metallic ring ( 953 ) is centered within a groove ( 957 ) to allow the rim of the bearing cup ( 956 ) to be visible on radiographs.",
"Prostheses ( 950 ) such as the one shown in FIGS. 3 a and 3 b are typically formed from a monolithic block of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene and may generally be described as an offset conical cup having a finned intraosseous peg mounted thereon.",
"Since the UPM prosthesis ( 950 ) is eccentric, it relies on a wedge press-fit into an accurately reamed acetabulum, rather than concentric screwing into the iliac canal.",
"The eccentric frustoconical portion ( 954 ) serves to prevent rotation and to allow small amounts of version adjustment for better head coverage and stability.",
"Grooves extending along the longitudinal axis of the frustoconical portion ( 954 ) give additional rotational stability.",
"The prosthesis ( 950 ) is fitted into a reamed track created through the centre of the iliopubic buttress and the cup is punched into position.",
"Acetabular prostheses ( 950 ) shown in FIGS. 3 a and 3 b are generally used in combination with either a Ring or a Norwich-type of uncemented femoral component.",
"FIG. 26 illustrates some examples of prior art Trabecular Metal™ acetabular augments ( 1000 , 1002 , 1004 , 1006 ) provided by Zimmer, Inc. The augments are composed of porous tantalum and are intended to fill large bone voids during revision hip arthroplasty surgery, so that acetabular cup stability can be achieved (acetabular cup not shown).",
"These prior art augments do not have protrusion portions configured for insertion into the IM canal of the ilium.",
"The augments also lack a means for mounting the augment to the IM canal of the ilium.",
"Even if a screw (not shown) was to be inserted through one of the holes ( 1020 ) provided on some of the augments ( 1000 , 1002 , 1004 ) and into the IM canal of the ilium according to the teachings presented herein, the augments would not seat correctly within the acetabulum, would become unstable, and would not function as intended.",
"Lastly, these prior art augments ( 1000 , 1002 , 1004 , 1006 ) are not designed or intended to be modular, interchangeable, interconnectable, and adjustable as are the augments of the present invention.",
"To this end, all current acetabular prostheses utilizing the iliac canal for fixation do not provide a surgeon with modularity, intraoperative options, and/or material choices.",
"Additionally, all conventional augments designed to fill large bone voids do not provide a surgeon with the option to use the iliac canal as a means for providing prosthesis support and indicating proper orientation in severe cases.",
"Moreover, the prior art acetabular prostheses ( 900 , 950 ) described above have been designed for and used only for primary hip surgeries (i.e., first hip surgery).",
"That is, such prior art devices utilizing the iliac canal for fixation are not intended to address the many special circumstances, substantial bone losses, poor bone quality, and other challenges that face a surgeon during complex revision hip surgeries (i.e., surgeries after a first hip surgery).",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The aforementioned needs are satisfied by several aspects of the present invention.",
"According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of providing an acetabular implant adapted for use in revision hip surgery.",
"The implant comprises a stem portion configured for securement within the iliac canal, a shell portion, and a means for adjustably mounting said shell portion to said stem portion.",
"According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of implanting an acetabular implant adapted for use in revision hip surgery.",
"The method includes the steps of: finding the iliac canal, reaming the iliac canal, inserting a stem portion into the prepared iliac canal, and securing a shell portion to the stem portion using a means for adjustably mounting.",
"According to yet another aspect, an acetabular prosthetic device for implantation in an iliac canal and acetabulum of an ilium comprises a stem and an acetabular component.",
"The stem may be configured to be implanted in the iliac canal.",
"The acetabular component may be configured to be implanted in the acetabulum and fixed to the stem.",
"The acetabular component may further comprise a connection portion to adjustably connect the acetabular component to the stem such that the acetabular component is configured to be oriented in a plurality of orientations before being fixed to the stem.",
"Yet another aspect of the invention provides the connection portion may be an augment.",
"The augment may be configured to be received between the stem and the acetabular component.",
"A first surface of the augment may be configured to orient the augment with respect to the stem and a second surface of the augment may be configured to orient the acetabular component with respect to the stem.",
"According to another aspect, a plurality of augments are provided.",
"Each of the plurality of augments may have a first surface configured to orient the augment with respect to the stem and a second surface of the augment configured to orient the acetabular component with respect to the stem such that each of the plurality of augments orients the acetabular component in a different orientation from at least one other of the plurality of augments.",
"According to yet another aspect, the connection portion may be a positioning portion within the acetabular component.",
"The connection portion may be a slot within the acetabular component according to another aspect.",
"The slot may have a plurality of positions through which a fixation element may secure the acetabular component to the stem.",
"According to another aspect, the fixation element may be a screw.",
"According to yet another aspect, the acetabular device may be an acetabular shell.",
"Yet another aspect may provide a second augment configured to be received between the augment and the acetabular component such that the second augment fills a bone void between the augment and the acetabular component.",
"According to another aspect, the augment and the stem are fixed together through a taper lock.",
"According to yet another aspect, the augment further comprises bone fixation elements to fix the augment to bone.",
"Yet another aspect may provide a spike as the bone fixation element.",
"Another aspect provide for a method of implanting an acetabular prosthetic device in an acetabulum.",
"The method reams an iliac canal.",
"Another step fixes a stem within the iliac canal.",
"Another step adjustably positions an acetabular component within the acetabulum to determine a proper orientation of the acetabular component The acetabular component may be fixed to the stem.",
"According to another aspect, athe step of locating the iliac canal may be performed with a canal guide.",
"According to yet another aspect, the reaming step comprises reaming the iliac canal by advancing a reamer over the canal guide.",
"Yet another aspect may provide for the adjustably positioning step to comprise placing an augment between the stem and the acetabular component.",
"A first surface of the augment may be configured to orient the augment with respect to the stem and a second surface of the augment may be configured to orient the acetabular component with respect to the stem.",
"According to another aspect, the adjustably positioning step may further comprise choosing an augment from a plurality of augments.",
"Each of the plurality of augments may have a first surface configured to orient the augment with respect to the stem and a second surface of the augment configured to orient the acetabular component with respect to the stem such that each of the plurality of augments orients the acetabular component in a different orientation from at least one other of the plurality of augments.",
"Yet another aspect may comprise the step of fixing the augment to bone.",
"According to another aspect, the augment may be configured with bone spikes.",
"According to yet another aspect, the adjustably positioning step may further comprise orienting a positioning portion of the acetabular component over the stem and fixing the acetabular component to the stem.",
"According to another aspect, the fixing the acetabular component to the stem step may comprise screwing the acetabular component to the stem.",
"Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter.",
"It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating certain embodiments of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, illustrate the embodiments of the present invention and together with the written description serve to explain the principles, characteristics, and features of the invention.",
"In the drawings: FIG. 1 is a front view of a prior art all-metal Ring prosthesis;",
"FIGS. 2 a - d .",
"illustrate the method of installing the prosthesis of FIG. 1 ;",
"FIG. 3 a - 3 b are frontal views of a prior art uncemented polyethylene-on-metal (UPM) hip prosthesis;",
"FIG. 4 is a front view of an acetabular prosthesis according to one embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIGS. 5 a - f depict stem portions according to some embodiments of the present invention.",
"FIGS. 6 a - d illustrate stem portion ends according to some embodiments of the present invention;",
"FIG. 7 is a side view of a porous stem portion according to some embodiments of the present invention;",
"FIG. 8 a - d illustrate stem augments having different eccentricities and offsets according to some embodiments of the present invention;",
"FIGS. 9 a - f illustrate stem augment configurations according to some embodiments of the present invention;",
"FIGS. 9 g - i illustrate stem augments in combination with wedges, spacers, and other augments according to some embodiments of the present invention.",
"FIG. 10 shows a cemented acetabular prosthesis according to some embodiments of the present invention;",
"FIG. 11 shows a cemented acetabular prosthesis according to some other embodiments of the present invention;",
"FIG. 12 shows a cemented acetabular prosthesis according to other embodiments of the present invention;",
"FIG. 13 shows a cemented acetabular prosthesis according to yet other embodiments of the present invention;",
"FIG. 14 shows a cementless acetabular prosthesis according to some embodiments of the present invention;",
"FIG. 15 shows a cementless acetabular prosthesis according to other embodiments of the present invention;",
"FIG. 16 shows a cementless acetabular prosthesis according to yet other embodiments of the present invention;",
"FIGS. 17-19 show a cementless acetabular prosthesis according to embodiments of the present invention which utilize a track system for adjustable mounting;",
"FIG. 20 is a schematic flowchart illustrating some surgical technique method steps of installing an acetabular prosthesis according to the present invention.",
"FIG. 21 shows a cementless acetabular prosthesis connected to an L-shaped allograft by a transverse screw which may be targetally-fixed to a stem portion of said prosthesis.",
"FIG. 22 shows a homogenous, monolithic porous augment having a protrusion adapted for insertion and securement to the intramedullary canal of the ilium.",
"FIG. 23 shows an augment according to the present invention which is provided with a means for peg or screw-mounting into the intramedullary canal of the ilium.",
"FIG. 24 shows an augment similar to the one shown in FIG. 23 , but having a protrusion for filling a void surrounding the entrance of the intramedullary canal of the ilium.",
"FIG. 25 shows an augment similar to the one shown in FIG. 23 , which is capable of being mounted to an acetabulum after a fixation device such as a peg or screw is inserted into an intramedulary canal of the ilium.",
"FIG. 26 shows some examples of prior art acetabular augments provided by Zimmer, Inc., which do not have protrusion portions configured for insertion into the IM canal of the ilium, and, which do not have a means for inserting a screw or means for mounting to the IM canal of the ilium.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS The following description of the preferred embodiments is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.",
"The invention provides, in part, a method of reconstructing an acetabular region utilizing the iliac canal as a stable anchor and as a means for indicating proper orientation.",
"Occasionally, a patient's acetabular region may be compromised to the point that it is not recognizable.",
"Methods of the present invention utilize the iliac canal as an intact, repeatably findable, easy to locate anatomical landmark which can be used as an anchor support and as a means to orient and mount an acetabular shell with a relatively high degree of confidence, even in severe trauma or revision cases.",
"A stem portion is inserted into the iliac canal, essentially forming a “foundation”",
"for building up lost or compromised bone.",
"A series of wedges, spacers, and augments may be used to build up said lost or compromised bone and to provide to an acetabular shell, an improved means for fixation in situations that would otherwise yield poor fixation and initial stability.",
"It is preferred that cementless options be utilized, however, acetabular implants of the present invention may incorporate cemented options.",
"FIG. 4 illustrates an acetabular prosthesis ( 1 ) according to one embodiment of the present invention.",
"Prosthesis ( 1 ) may comprise a stem portion ( 10 ), first augment portion ( 20 ), second augment portion ( 30 ), and shell portion ( 40 ).",
"The stem portion ( 10 ) may have an outer shank portion ( 12 ), tip portion ( 18 ), male or female tapered stem portion ( 16 ), and a taper end ( 14 ) located at a converging end of said male or female tapered portion ( 16 ).",
"The first augment portion ( 20 ) may comprise a corresponding male or female tapered augment portion ( 26 ) that corresponds with and interlocks with said male or female tapered stem portion ( 16 ).",
"The first augment portion ( 20 ) comprises stem-side surface geometries ( 22 ), shell-side surface geometries ( 24 ), and peripheral geometries ( 28 ) which may be as simple or complex as is necessary to optimally fit a predetermined patient population or individual patient.",
"An optional second augment portion ( 30 ) also having stem-side surface geometries ( 32 ), shell-side surface geometries ( 34 ), and peripheral geometries ( 38 ) may be used in combination with said second augment portion ( 20 ), in order to increase the offset of the shell ( 40 ), or to provide a gap space filler so as to reduce the amount of cement used between the shell ( 40 ) and stem ( 10 ) to secure the shell ( 40 ).",
"Shell ( 40 ) comprises an outer ( 42 ) and inner ( 44 ) geometry.",
"The inner geometry ( 44 ) may be a bearing surface for articulation with a natural or artificial femoral head component, or it may be configured to receive a liner that articulates with a natural or artificial femoral head component.",
"The outer geometry ( 42 ) may be any geometry as simple or complex as is necessary to optimally fit a predetermined patient population or individual patient, but is preferably formed by a hemispherical porous structure.",
"FIGS. 5 a - f illustrate several options for outer shank portions ( 12 ) within the scope of the present invention.",
"FIG. 5 a illustrates a smooth outer shank portion ( 12 a ) suitable for cementing into the ilium canal.",
"FIG. 5 b illustrates a fluted outer shank portion ( 12 b ), suitable for preventing rotation of the stem ( 10 ) within the iliac canal and to provide some amount of flexibility to the stem ( 10 ).",
"FIG. 5 c illustrates an outer shank portion ( 12 c ) of a stem ( 10 ), which comprises any one of hydroxyapatite, BMP, antimicrobial-infused hydroxyapatite, analgesic, or other coating thereon.",
"FIG. 5 d .",
"illustrates a stem portion ( 10 ) having an outer shank portion ( 12 d ) comprised of a porous scaffold such as titanium foam, porous ceramic (e.g., hydroxyapatite), sintered beads, sintered asymmetric particles, or the like.",
"FIG. 5 e .",
"illustrates an outer shank portion ( 12 e ) of a stem ( 10 ) comprising screw fixation means, such as a self-threading profile.",
"FIG. 5 f .",
"illustrates a stem ( 10 ) fixed to the IM iliac canal with lag screws ( 12 f ).",
"FIG. 6 a - d illustrate stem tips according to several different embodiments within the scope of this invention.",
"The end of stem ( 10 ) may be bullet-shaped as shown in FIG. 6 a , cone-shaped as shown in FIG. 6 b , cylindrically-shaped as shown in FIG. 6 c , or bi-forked as shown in FIG. 6 d to reduce pain.",
"The stems ( 10 ) may be stepped or chamfered in profile, and may include combinations of the features shown in FIGS. 5 a - 7 .",
"FIG. 7 illustrates a modular stem composed of at least a first stem part ( 10 ′) and a second stem part ( 10 ″).",
"The first stem part ( 10 ′) may be, for instance, a shaped porous augment.",
"The second stem part ( 10 ″) may be, for instance, a solid cap having a male taper ( 16 ″) portion thereon, which is configured to mate with a first ( 20 ) or second ( 30 ) augment portion.",
"If the first stem part ( 10 ′) is formed of a low-strength porous construct, it may be cannulated to receive a core portion integral or separate from the second stem part ( 10 ″) to increase the overall strength of the modular stem.",
"FIGS. 8 a - d illustrate different first augment portion ( 20 ) configurations.",
"Augment portions ( 20 ) may be configured with a male or female tapered augment portion ( 26 a , 26 b , 26 c , 26 d ) that is designed to cooperate and interlock with a corresponding male or female tapered stem portion ( 16 ).",
"The male or female tapered augment portion ( 26 a ) may be concentric as shown in FIG. 8 a , or the male or female tapered augment portion ( 26 b ) may be eccentric as shown in FIG. 8 b .",
"Alternatively, the male or female tapered augment portion ( 26 c ) may be centrally-attached and oblique as shown in FIG. 8 c , or the male or female tapered augment portion ( 26 d ) may be eccentric and oblique as shown in FIG. 8 d .",
"By changing the configurations of the male or female tapered augment portions ( 26 a , 26 b , 26 c , 26 d ), intraoperative adjustability is increased.",
"As shown in FIGS. 8 a - d , augments ( 20 ) of the present invention may comprise offsets and different shell-side geometries ( 24 , 27 ).",
"Shell-side geometries may be more curved ( 27 , 27 ′, 27 ″) or less curved ( 24 , 24 ′, 24 ″).",
"Augment portions ( 20 ) may further comprise different shell-side geometry offsets.",
"For example, a shell-side geometry may comprise a standard offset ( 24 ), a medium offset ( 24 ′), and/or a high offset ( 24 ″).",
"FIGS. 9 a - f illustrate augment configurations according to some embodiments of the present invention.",
"Augment ( 20 ) may be provided as a single, homogeneous metallic, ceramic, or polymeric piece having a smooth surface ( 29 a ) as shown in FIG. 9 a , or the augment ( 20 ) may comprise two pieces press-fitted together.",
"A coating ( 29 b ) or the like, such as hydroxyapatite, bone cement, or bone-void filler may be applied to the outside of augment ( 20 ) in one or more regions around the male or female tapered augment portions ( 26 a , 26 b , 26 c , 26 d ) as shown in FIG. 9 b .",
"Alternatively, a porous structure ( 29 c ) may be formed as a portion of said augment ( 20 ).",
"Holes ( 25 a - i ) may be formed within augments ( 20 ) of the present invention in order to secure said augments ( 20 ) to surrounding bone and lock the radial orientation of the augment ( 20 ) with respect to the orientation of the stem portion ( 10 ).",
"FIGS. 9 g - i illustrate augments in combination with wedges and spacers according to some embodiments of the present invention.",
"A series of wedges ( 100 ) or offset spacers ( 102 ) may be utilized to “build up”",
"the acetabular region where larger bone portions have been compromised.",
"Shaped or special wedges ( 104 ) may be utilized for direct mounting to an acetabular shell.",
"Hemispherical offset spacers ( 106 , 108 ) may also be utilized to adjustably mount an acetabular shell ( 40 ) to the stem portion ( 10 ).",
"One or more spikes ( 25 j ) may be optionally employed on the wedges ( 100 , 104 ), augments ( 20 , 30 ), and spacers ( 102 , 106 , 108 ) in order to help bony fixation, prevent rotation, and help create stability between said augments, spacers, and wedges.",
"FIG. 10 shows a cemented acetabular prosthesis ( 1 ) according to some embodiments of the present invention.",
"The prosthesis ( 1 ) comprises a stem portion ( 10 ), a first augment portion ( 20 ), a second augment portion ( 30 ) and a shell portion ( 40 ).",
"The first augment portion ( 20 ) is configured to form a taper-lock connection with the stem portion ( 10 ).",
"An optional first means for fixation ( 50 ), such as a screw having a countersunk head ( 53 ) and threaded shaft ( 51 ) may be inserted through a bore ( 21 ) in the first augment portion ( 20 ) and into a threaded bore ( 11 ) in the stem portion ( 10 ).",
"The bore ( 21 ) may have a countersink ( 23 ) adapted to receive a portion ( 53 ) of said optional first means for fixation ( 50 ).",
"Optionally, a second means for fixation, such as a fastening screw ( 60 ) may be inserted through a hole ( 25 ) in the first augment portion ( 20 ) in order to secure the first augment portion ( 20 ) to surrounding bone and prevent rotation of the first augment portion ( 20 ) relative to the stem portion ( 10 ).",
"A second augment portion ( 30 ) may be utilized to space an acetabular shell ( 40 ) further from the stem ( 10 ).",
"Second augment portion ( 30 ) preferably has an appropriately sized and shaped peripheral profile ( 38 ) so as to allow its stem-side face ( 32 ) to contact the first augment portion ( 20 ).",
"FIG. 11 shows a cemented acetabular prosthesis similar to the one shown in FIG. 10 ;",
"however, the second augment portion ( 30 ) does not utilize optional second means for fixation ( 60 ) to secure the second augment portion ( 30 ) against the first augment portion ( 20 ).",
"Instead, first means for fixation ( 50 ) protrudes through one of at least one tapered bore ( 33 ) in the second augment portion ( 30 ).",
"Said first means for fixation ( 50 ) protrudes through a clearance bore ( 21 ) in the first augment portion ( 20 ) and into a threaded bore ( 11 ) in the stem portion ( 10 ).",
"The countersunk head ( 53 ) of the first means for fixation ( 50 ) rests within the one of at least one tapered bore ( 33 ) below the shell-side surface ( 34 ) of the second augment portion ( 30 ).",
"Different prosthesis configurations may be achieved by utilizing the means for fixation ( 50 ) with a different bore ( 33 ).",
"FIG. 12 shows a cemented acetabular prosthesis according to other embodiments of the present invention.",
"The prosthesis ( 1 ) shown in FIG. 12 is similar to those shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 , with the exception that a second augment portion ( 30 ) is not utilized.",
"Instead, the shell-side surface ( 24 ) of the first augment portion ( 20 ) serves as a cement dam for a cement reservoir ( 70 ) between the first augment portion ( 20 ) and shell portion ( 40 ).",
"Since the first augment portion is rigidly secured to the stem portion ( 10 ), and the shell ( 40 ) is cemented to the first augment portion ( 20 ), all portions ( 10 , 20 , 40 ) are rigidly fixed to each other.",
"Cement reservoir ( 70 ) provides a means for independently adjusting the position and orientation of the shell portion ( 40 ), while still utilizing the stable platform of the first augment portion ( 20 ) and stable foundation of the stem portion ( 10 ).",
"FIG. 13 shows a cemented acetabular prosthesis according to yet other embodiments of the present invention.",
"Stem portion ( 10 ) has a threaded outer profile ( 12 e ) which serves as means for fixing said stem portion ( 10 ) to a prepared or non-prepared iliac canal.",
"Stem portion includes a male or female tapered portion ( 16 ) which mates and taper-locks with a male or female tapered portion ( 26 ) on a first augment portion ( 20 ).",
"First augment portion has a shell-side surface ( 24 ) which serves as a cement dam for a cement reservoir ( 70 ) bonding an acetabular shell portion ( 40 ) to the first augment portion ( 20 ).",
"Each of the stem portion ( 10 ), first augment portion ( 20 ), and shell portion ( 40 ) are fixedly secured together and anchored directly or indirectly to the iliac canal for improved stability.",
"Prior to curing, cement reservoir ( 70 ) provides a means of adjustably mounting the shell portion ( 40 ) to the rest of the prosthesis ( 1 ) and surrounding bone.",
"FIG. 14 shows a cementless acetabular prosthesis according to some embodiments of the present invention.",
"The prosthesis ( 1 ) is very similar to the one shown in FIG. 11 .",
"However, the second augment portion ( 30 ) is formed from a polymeric material such as PEEK, UHMWPE, polyethylene, polyurethane, or the like, and, the first augment portion ( 20 ) comprises an eccentric and oblique tapered portion ( 26 ).",
"A means for fixation ( 50 ) comprising a means for adjustment ( 53 ) is provided to secure each of the stem portion ( 10 ), first augment portion ( 20 ), and second augment portion ( 30 ) together, while providing infinite rotational adjustability between the stem portion ( 10 ) and the first augment portion ( 20 ), and infinite tangential motion and infinite rotation adjustability between the first ( 20 ) and second ( 30 ) augment portions within a predetermined range.",
"The acetabular shell portion ( 40 ) has mounting holes ( 45 ) and means ( 80 ) for securing the acetabular shell portion ( 40 ) to the second augment portion ( 30 ).",
"Said means ( 80 ) for securing may comprise self-threading, self-tapping screws which are designed to self-thread directly into the polymeric second augment portion ( 30 ).",
"In one preferred embodiment, first ( 20 ) and second ( 30 ) augment portions are combined into a single pre-assembled augment piece by connecting means.",
"Connecting means may be detachable and comprise an adjustable linkage, a snap mechanism, or a mechanical interlocking device.",
"Alternatively, the connecting means may be non-detachable and comprise mechanical fusing, chemical bonding, fusion molding, or adhesives.",
"While any material may be chosen, it is preferred that first augment portion ( 20 ) be made of a metallic material, and second augment portion ( 30 ) be made of a polymer.",
"FIG. 15 shows a cementless acetabular prosthesis according to other embodiments of the present invention.",
"The second augment portion ( 20 ) is shaped so as to have a shell-facing surface ( 24 ) that conforms to the outer surface ( 42 ) of an acetabular shell portion ( 40 ).",
"Means ( 80 ) for securing the acetabular shell portion ( 40 ) to the first augment portion ( 20 ) is provided.",
"Said means ( 80 ) may be, for instance, a screw or peg which is adapted to pass through holes ( 45 ) in the shell portion ( 40 ) and thread directly into the material of the first augment portion ( 20 ).",
"First augment portion ( 20 ) may comprise a polymeric material, metallic material, or ceramic material, and may or may not comprise porous portions.",
"Materials for first augment portion ( 20 ) may include, but are not limited to porous hydroxyapatite (HA), porous titanium, and porous tantalum.",
"Optional first means for fixation ( 50 ) may include a countersunk head ( 53 ) which rests below said shell-facing surface ( 24 ).",
"FIG. 16 shows a cementless acetabular prosthesis according to yet other embodiments of the present invention.",
"The stem portion ( 10 ) comprises an integral flange portion ( 19 ) and one or more optional second means for fixation ( 60 ) such as one or more cortical or cancellous bone screws or one or more integral spikes ( 60 ′).",
"A first augment portion ( 20 ) comprises a generally hemispheric augment having one or more orientation or fixation protuberances ( 22 a ).",
"Protuberances ( 22 a ) are configured to fit into one or more complimentary recesses ( 17 ) located on portions of the stem portion ( 10 ), for instance, adjacent the flange portion ( 19 ).",
"If there are more recesses ( 17 ) than there are protuberances ( 22 a ), then the first augment portion ( 20 ) can be situated, positioned, oriented, and fixed in many ways relative to the stem portion ( 10 ).",
"Optional second fixation means ( 60 ) may be used to secure the first augment portion ( 20 ) to surrounding bone, and also to press stem-side surface ( 22 ) of the first augment ( 20 ) against the shell-side surface of the stem portion ( 10 ) and/or flange portion ( 19 ).",
"The shell-side surface ( 24 ) of the first augment portion ( 20 ) may be configured to conform to the external geometries ( 42 ) of an acetabular shell portion ( 40 ).",
"Means ( 80 ) for securing said shell portion ( 40 ) may be used to secure the shell portion ( 40 ) to the first augment portion ( 20 ) or to surrounding bone.",
"For instance, and without limitation, if the first augment portion is made of porous metal, holes (not shown) aligned with mounting holes ( 45 ) found in the shell portion ( 40 ) would be drilled into the first augment portion ( 30 ), and then means ( 80 ) would be screwed into said holes (not shown).",
"Alternatively, if the first augment portion ( 20 ) is made of a polymeric material (e.g., PEEK), and means ( 80 ) comprises self-tapping, self-threading screws, then said means ( 80 ) could be screwed directly into the material of the first augment portion ( 20 ) to secure the shell portion ( 40 ) to the first augment portion ( 30 ), without drilling.",
"FIGS. 17-19 show a cementless acetabular prosthesis ( 1 ) according to embodiments of the present invention which utilize a positioning portion which may include an adjustable track ( 27 , 29 ) in combination with a means ( 50 ) for fixing a first augment portion ( 20 ) to a stem portion ( 10 ).",
"Positioning portion ( 27 , 29 ) includes a countersink ( 27 ) large enough for a head portion ( 53 ) of said means ( 50 ) for fixing.",
"Track ( 27 , 29 ) further includes a slot composed of a series of cutouts ( 29 ) for a threaded shank ( 51 ) of said means ( 50 ) to pass.",
"The means for fixing ( 50 ), may, for instance, comprise a screw that can be loosened from a threaded bore ( 11 ) in a stem portion ( 10 ).",
"When said screw ( 50 ) is loosened, the first augment portion ( 20 ) can be moved in different directions ( 90 , 92 ) corresponding to the geometries of said track ( 27 , 29 ).",
"When a desired position of the first augment portion ( 20 ) relative to the stem portion ( 10 ) is determined, the screw ( 50 ) is tightened such that its head ( 53 ) rests within one of said cutouts ( 29 ).",
"Friction holds the first augment portion ( 20 ) to the stem portion ( 10 ).",
"Thereafter, an acetabular shell portion ( 40 ) can be attached to the first augment portion ( 20 ) by means ( 80 ) described in any of the above embodiments.",
"FIG. 20 is a schematic flowchart illustrating some surgical technique method steps ( 200 ) for installing an acetabular prosthesis according to some embodiments of the present invention.",
"First, the canal of the ilium is found using a canal guide tool or the like ( 202 ).",
"Second, the iliac canal is reamed ( 206 ) to accept the size of the stem portion ( 10 ) used.",
"The reaming step may utilize a cannulated reamer that slides over the canal guide ( 204 ).",
"All instrumentation (that is, the canal guide and/or reamers associated therewith) is then removed from the prepared iliac canal ( 208 , 214 ).",
"Secondary reaming or resection may take place ( 210 , 212 ) depending on the shapes and configurations of the augments and present bone defects.",
"A stem portion ( 10 ) is then inserted into and secured to the iliac canal ( 216 ) in any convenient fashion so as to form a “foundation”",
"on which reconstruction of the acetabulum with augments, spacers, and wedges can be performed.",
"One or more augments and/or other intermediate members is then placed in the acetabular region ( 218 ) in a predetermined position so as to form a platform that rests upon said stem portion ( 10 )—thereby providing a base foundation for other augments, spacers, wedges, and/or cement reservoirs ( 70 ) to rest upon and secure to ( 220 ).",
"Other acetabular preparation steps such as reaming for shell press fit and autograft packing may also be implemented.",
"Lastly, a shell member ( 40 ) is attached to the one or more augments and/or intermediate members ( 222 ).",
"The augments and/or intermediate members serve as means for adjustably securing a bearing surface to an acetabulum using a stem ( 10 ) situated within the iliac canal ( 504 ), the stem ( 10 ) serving as a support and/or orientation member.",
"FIG. 21 shows a cementless acetabular prosthesis ( 300 ) connected to allograft ( 320 ) by a transverse screw ( 318 ) fixed to a stem portion ( 316 ) of said prosthesis ( 300 ).",
"The allograft ( 320 ) may be L-shaped and can be provided as a medical product, or it may be provided intraoperatively by shaping portions of a resected femoral head ( 302 ).",
"Prosthesis ( 300 ) comprises a shell augment portion ( 310 ) having an outer surface adapted for resting against an acetabular cavity ( 502 ) within the ilium ( 500 ).",
"An inner surface ( 308 ) of the augment portion ( 310 ) is adapted for a cement mantle interface or uncemented frictional interference with a secondary shell or liner.",
"Alternatively, the inner surface ( 308 ) is provided with a bearing surface to make contact with a natural or prosthetic femoral head (not shown).",
"Inner surface ( 308 ) may be adapted for securement of one or more additional porous or solid augments thereto via any one or more of a roughened surface for frictional contact, mechanical interlocking means, or cement.",
"Secondary fixation means ( 314 ) may be utilized to improve stability of the prosthesis ( 300 ).",
"Preferably, an intramedullary canal ( 504 ) of the ilium ( 500 ) is prepared and then a stem portion ( 316 ) is inserted therein.",
"The augment portion ( 310 ) is situated in the acetabular cavity ( 502 ) and then locked to the stem portion ( 316 ) via a connection portion ( 312 ).",
"Connection portion ( 312 ) may comprise a Morse taper lock or any other known locking means such as a threaded connection, screw, retainer ring, ball detent, or resilient snap fingers.",
"Stem portion ( 316 ) may be provided with means for attaching the L-shaped allograft ( 320 ) such as a threaded bore or aperture for k-wire insertion.",
"FIG. 22 shows a cementless acetabular prosthesis ( 400 ) comprising a homogenous, monolithic porous augment ( 410 ) having a protrusion ( 416 ) adapted for insertion and securement within the intramedullary canal ( 504 ) of the ilium ( 500 ).",
"Protrusion ( 416 ) may have different shapes and lengths depending on the severity of the defect or the size of the intramedullary canal ( 504 ).",
"The augment ( 410 ) may be formed from any one of a reticulated foam structure, sintered beads, and sintered asymmetric particles without limitation, and may comprise titanium, tantalum, zirconium, bioceramics (porous hydroxyapatite), polymers (e.g., PEEK, UHMWPE), biocompatible materials, and compositions thereof.",
"The intramedullary canal ( 504 ) of the ilium ( 500 ) is preferably prepared prior to insertion of the augment ( 410 );",
"however, this step may not be necessary.",
"In addition to the protrusion ( 416 ), one or more secondary fixation means ( 412 , 414 ) may be used to secure the augment ( 410 ) to the acetabular bone ( 502 ).",
"The inner surface portions ( 408 ) of the augment ( 410 ) are adapted for a cement mantle interface or uncemented frictional interference with a secondary shell or liner.",
"Alternatively, the inner surface ( 308 ) may be provided with a separate bearing surface to make contact with a natural or prosthetic femoral head (not shown).",
"Inner surface ( 308 ) may also be adapted for securement of one or more additional porous or solid augments thereto via any one or more of a roughened surface for frictional contact, mechanical interlocking means, or cement.",
"FIG. 23 illustrates an uncemented prosthesis ( 600 ) according to some embodiments of the present invention.",
"The prosthesis ( 600 ) comprises a porous augment ( 610 ) adapted to fill a bone void in an acetabular region ( 502 ).",
"The augment ( 610 ) comprises inner surface portions ( 608 ) which are adapted for a cement interface or uncemented frictional interference with a secondary shell or liner.",
"Alternatively, the inner surface portions ( 608 ) may be provided with a separate bearing surface to make contact with a natural or prosthetic femoral head (not shown).",
"Inner surface portions ( 608 ) may also be adapted for securement of one or more additional porous or solid augments thereto via any one or more of a roughened surface for frictional contact, mechanical interlocking means, or cement.",
"The porous augment ( 610 ) comprises a means for mounting itself to an intramedullary canal ( 504 ) of the ilium ( 500 ).",
"The means for mounting may comprise, for instance, an aperture or channel ( 612 ) having a countersink and which is properly oriented such that when the augment ( 610 ) is fully seated in the acetabular cavity ( 502 ), a peg or screw ( 616 ) may be inserted through the augment ( 610 ) and into the intramedulary canal ( 504 ) of the ilium ( 500 ) to fixedly secure the augment ( 610 ) to the acetabulum ( 502 ).",
"Secondary fixation means ( 614 , 620 ) may be used for additional augment stability.",
"Once the uncemented prosthesis ( 600 ) is implanted, an acetabular cup prosthesis (not shown) can be mounted to the inner surface portions ( 608 ) using friction, cement, or screws.",
"In some embodiments, such as the one illustrated in FIG. 24 , a cementless prosthesis ( 700 ) may comprise a porous augment ( 710 ) having an inner surface ( 708 ) and outer surface configured for frictional engagement with acetabular bone ( 502 ).",
"The augment ( 710 ) may comprise a protrusion ( 720 ) that extends around an entrance portion of the intramedullary canal ( 504 ) of the ilium ( 500 ).",
"The protrusion ( 720 ) may include one or more means ( 712 ) for securing a fixing device ( 716 ) thereto.",
"The fixing device ( 716 ) may be a screw, a peg, a rod, or a detachable stem portion without limitation.",
"The fixing device ( 716 ) is inserted into the intramedullary canal ( 504 ) of the ilium ( 500 ) to orient and secure the augment ( 710 ) within the acetabulum ( 502 ).",
"Secondary means for fixation ( 714 ) may be employed to achieve greater stability.",
"It should be noted that inner surface portions ( 708 ) may be adapted for securement of one or more additional porous or solid augments thereto via any one or more of a roughened surface for frictional contact, mechanical interlocking means, or cement.",
"Alternatively, inner surface portion ( 708 ) may be provided with a bearing surface for articulation with a natural femoral head or a femoral head implant component (not shown).",
"In some embodiments, such as the one illustrated in FIG. 25 , it may be desirable to secure a means for fixation ( 816 ) such as a rod, peg, or screw, to the intramedullary canal ( 504 ) prior to attaching the augment ( 810 , 810 ′).",
"In such cases, the means for fixation ( 816 ) may be partially inserted into the intramedullary canal ( 504 ) of the ilium ( 500 ) to allow room for the augment ( 810 , 810 ′) to be introduced from a medial, lateral, anterior, posterior, or inferior side.",
"Once the augment ( 810 , 810 ′) is properly positioned, the means for fixation ( 816 ) may then be fully inserted into the intramedullary canal ( 504 ) to tighten the augment ( 810 , 810 ′) to the acetabular cavity ( 502 ).",
"In the embodiment shown, the augment ( 810 , 810 ′) is maintained against the acetabulum ( 502 ) via a countersink or shelf in a hole or slot ( 806 , 806 ′).",
"Secondary fixation means ( 804 , 804 ′) may be provided on the augment ( 810 , 810 ′) to better secure the augment ( 810 , 810 ′) to the acetabular cavity ( 502 ).",
"For example, the secondary fixation means ( 804 , 804 ′) may be a hole or slot configured to accept a peg or bone screw.",
"It should be noted that any portions of the implants and prostheses disclosed herein may be formed as trial components and instrumentation for trial reduction.",
"In some cases, the augments may be configured to snap together using mechanical interlocking means.",
"As various modifications could be made to the exemplary embodiments, as described above with reference to the corresponding illustrations, without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative rather than limiting.",
"Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims appended hereto and their equivalents."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is a National Stage entry application of and claims the benefit of PCT/US12/024752 international filing date 10 Feb. 2012 and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/441,732 filed 11 Feb. 2011. These applications are incorporated by reference, each in its entirety.
STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
This invention was made with government support under AG033328 and CA94056 awarded by the National Institutes of Health. The government has certain rights in the invention.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present disclosure is in the field of ligands and radioisotopic tracers that can be useful as imaging agents for in vivo positron emission tomography (PET) or single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging of tissues such as heart or tumors.
BACKGROUND
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a leading cause of death in the United States. Annual costs of approximately S475 billion have been estimated by the NIH for heart and stroke diseases. Myocardial perfusion scintigraphy is widely employed in the evaluation of patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) and myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) has acquired great value in nuclear cardiology. While 99m Tc-Sestamibi and 201 Tl, both single photon agents, have dominated the MPI field for the past two decades, there has been great interest in the development of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) perfusion agents to exploit the potential for enhanced spatial and dynamic resolution that PET offers. However, no 18 F-based agent is yet clinically available. Interestingly, there has been a recent increase in world-wide intensity for developing 68 Ga-based radiopharmaceuticals as potential new PET agents, which may provide a non-cyclotron-based resource for new PET radiopharmaceuticals and applications. In addition, recent threats to the stable production and supply chain of 99m Tc have added further urgency to the search for a viable PET perfusion agent. Among the several agents that are commercially available for perfusion imaging, all of these suffer from one or more shortcomings that render them less than ideal for cardiac perfusion studies. Among these shortcomings are: a) limited first pass extraction at high flow ( 99m Tc-Sestamibi and Thallous Chloride Tl-201) and b) poor liver clearance ( 99m -Sestamibi, 99m Tc-teboroxime. 99m Tc-Tetrofosmin, and 99m Tc-Q complexes). While the former factor can decrease sensitivity, the latter component can increase background noise from adjacent tissues thereby atficting signal-to-noise ratios. The resulting image quality can be less than optimal for interpretation by clinicians in nuclear medicine or physicians such as radiologists.
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) technology allows a three dimensional reconstruction of the distribution of radiopharmaceuticals in vivo to quantify tissue activity levels and allow high resolution imaging. Ga-68 is considered a short-lived positron emitting radionuclide available from 68 Ge/ 68 Ga generator systems. These systems are widely available in Europe and are employed for clinical applications across the continent. Such generator systems can be installed in any small nuclear medicine facility nationwide and are not dependent on cyclotrons to produce PET radionuclides. Furthermore, there are two gallium radioisotopes: Ga-68 and Ga-67. The other radionuclide, Gallium-67 can be produced from a cyclotron from Zinc-68 and has a half-life of 78.2 hours, and is commercially available as radioactive gallium chloride or gallium citrate for single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) applications.
The multidrug resistance (MDR1) P-glycoprotein (Pgp; ABCB1) is an outwardly directed membrane transporter expressed on the cell surface of many normal tissues as well as multidrug resistance cancers. Because Pgp is also expressed on the biliary surface of hepatocytes, the transporter functions to excrete substances into the bile. Thus, MPI agents that are recognized by Pgp, such as 99m Tc-sestambi, show rapid clearance profiles from the liver, which significantly reduces cross-contamination of liver signals into the inferior wall of the myocardium. This important property results in more reliable and enhanced quantitative analysis of myocardial images in nuclear medicine clinics.
Pgp is also localized on the luminal surface of vascular endothelial cells of the brain and serves as a component of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Acting as an efflux transporter, Pgp is believed to block brain uptake of moderately hydrophobic drugs by directly excluding such substances from the CNS compartment, thereby offering a natural protection mechanism for the brain. Apart from the well-characterized role of Pgp as a mediator of chemotherapeutic multidrug resistance in cancer patients, Pgp has also been postulated to play an important role in development of Aβ-pathophysiology within the brain, as well as in other neurodegenerative disorders. Additionally, many agents recognized by Pgp are moderately hydrophobic as well as cationic under physiological conditions; some hydrophobic cations are known to penetrate Pgp negative cells or tissues in response to negative transmembrane potentials (both plasma- and mitochondrial potentials), and are localized within the mitochondria. Among various tissues, myocardium is mitochondrial rich and is also a Pgp negative tissue.
WO2008/128058 of H. Kung discloses a compound of formula
or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, wherein A 1 , A 2 and A 3 are the same or different cycloalkyl, wherein at least one of A 1 , A 2 or A 3 is substituted; R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , and R 6 are independently hydrogen or alkyl; R 7 and R 8 are independently hydrogen or alkyl, and R P is hydrogen or a sulthydryl protecting group.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
The present inventors have realized that MPI probes are needed that optimally have a combination of the following characteristics: a) enhanced first pass extraction into heart tissue compared to presently available probes, b) linearity with true blood flow, c) enhanced detection of myocardial viability compared to presently available probes, d) reduced liver retention compared to presently available probes, and e) more efficient clearance from non cardiac and adjoining tissues compared to presently available probes. Additionally, for a probe requiring the incorporation of a radionuclide, it would be advantageous if production of the radionuclide were not limited by proximity to a cyclotron or to a sophisticated radiochemistry laboratory.
In view of these needs, the present inventors have developed a series of tracers. The present teachings include compounds, chelates, complexes, and salts. In various embodiments, the compounds, chelates, complexes, and salts of the present teachings can be used as probes in positron emission tomography (PET scanning) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT imaging) in myocardial perfusion imaging. In various configurations, a tracer of the present teachings can be beneficial in myocardial perfusion imaging to evaluate the regional blood flow in the myocardium, monitor function of the blood-brain barrier in neurodegenerative diseases, probe diseases associated with mitochondrial disfunction as well as apoptosis, and image drug-resistant tumors in cancer chemotherapy to stratify patients likely to benefit from a given chemotherapeutic treatment.
The present inventors have developed a gallium(III) agent
incorporating an organic scaffold possessing six donor atoms
resulting in an octahedral geometry. The crystal structure of 1 showed a symmetrical engagement of the four nitrogen atoms in the equatorial plane and two axial phenolate atoms ( FIG. 1 ). Following chemical characterization using routine analytical tools such as 1 H NMR, proton-decoupled 13 C NMR, and HRMS analysis, the agent could be validated via multiple bioassays in cellulo and in vivo. A 67 Ga-labeled counterpart (1A) has been synthesized, characterized via HPLC ( FIG. 2 ), and evaluated via cell transport studies and quantitative biodistribution studies in mdr1a/1b (−/−) gene-deleted mice and their wild-type (WT) counterparts. In some investigations, the radiolabeled 67 Ga-analogue showed high accumulation in human epidermal carcinoma drug-sensitive KB-3-1 cells (−Pgp), human breast carcinoma MCF-7 (−Pgp) cells and low accumulation in MDR KB-8-5 (+Pgp), KB-8-5-11 (++Pgp) cells, including the stably transfected MCF-7/MDR1 (+Pgp) cells. LY335979 (1 μM), an inhibitor of Pgp, enhanced accumulation in multidrug resistant (MDR, +Pgp) KB-8-5, KB-8-5-11 cells, and stably transfected MCF-7/MDR1 cells, thus demonstrating its responsiveness to Pgp-mediated functional transport activity in cellulo ( FIG. 3 ). In mdr1a/1b (−/−) gene-deleted mice, the 67 Ga-metalloprobe showed 16-fold greater brain penetration and retention (% ID/g=0.96) compared with WT counterparts (% ID/g=0.06), 2 h post injection of the agent 1A (Table 1 and Table 2). Additionally, 1A also showed 2.6 fold higher retention in blood of mdr1a/1b (−/−) gene-deleted mice compared with WT counterparts (Table 1 and Table 2), consistent with Pgp expression in white cells of WT mice. These data indicate the ability of 1A to be transported by Pgp and to serve as a probe of the Pgp-mediated BBB.
An ideal myocardial imaging agent should show high concentration of the radiotracer in the myocardium relative to blood levels and relative to its concentration in the non-targeted tissues. Therefore, design characteristics for heart imaging can include: a) high myocardial tissue uptake, high heart/blood ratios for superior signal-to-noise, and prolonged retention in the myocardium relative to blood and other adjacent tissues in the thoracic cavity. In some configurations, agent
can permeate heart tissue, accompanied by a rapid clearance from the livers of mice (Table 1 and Table 2) and rats (Table 3), thus leading to high target-to-background ratios. In various aspects, these features can fulfill critical characteristics of an ideal probe for perfusion imaging. Furthermore, in some investigations, heart/blood and heart/liver ratios in rats tissues (Table 4) were found to be 138 and 8, respectively, at 120 min post injection (P.I.) These target-to-background ratios were 10.4 times (heart/blood) and 10.8 times (heart/liver) greater than ratios reported for gallium-bisaminothiolate complexes for myocardial perfusion imaging in PCT application publication WO2008/128058 A1 of Kung. Additionally, in various configurations, synthesis, purification, and formulation of the agent can be accomplished in less than 60 minutes.
In some embodiments, the inventors' strategy can also include incorporation of Ga-68, a generator-produced radionuclide, into the scaffold. The present teachings also include agent
In addition, the inventors disclose kits comprising a ligand of the present teachings. In various configurations, a kit can be used for distribution and/or on-site synthesis of a radiopharmaceutical agent such as 1A and/or 1B.
In various embodiments, the present teachings provide a platform technology for development of PET or SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging agents such as 1A and 1B.
In various embodiments, the present teachings include disclosure of synthesis schemes for some agents of the present teachings.
In various configurations, probes of the present teachings, such as 67 Ga and 68 Ga-metalloprobes, can also enable noninvasive monitoring of the blood-brain barrier in neurodegenerative diseases, probe disease processes associated with disfunction of mitochondrial potential, and assessment of tumors to stratify patient populations for chemotherapeutic treatments.
The present inventors have developed organic compounds, including chelates, complexes and salts thereof comprising a compound of structure
wherein R 1 , R 2 , R 7 and R 5 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 linear alkyl, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy and C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy; R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohaloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohydroxyalkoxy, alkoxymethyl, alkoxyethyl, alkoxyalkoxymethyl, alkoxyalkoxyethyl, benzyl, alkoxybenzyl, napthyl and alkoxynaphthyl; and R 9 can be selected from the group consisting of H, methylene (with reduced Schiff-base as shown, II), carbonyl (as an amide linkage), sulfur, C 1 -C 5 linear alkyl, C 3 -C 8 branched chain alkyl, C 3 -C 5 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 5 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 8 branched chain alkoxy and C 3 -C 5 cycloalkoxy, with a proviso that at least one of R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 is not H.
In some configurations, R 1 and R 2 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 linear alkyl, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkyl and C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl.
In some configurations, R 7 and R 8 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 linear alkyl and C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkyl.
In some configurations, R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy, alkoxyalkoxyethyl, C 1 -C 6 linear haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohaloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohydmrxyalkoxy, benzyl, and naphthyl.
In some configurations, R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy, alkoxyalkoxyethyl, C 1 -C 6 linear haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohaloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 8 cyclohydroxyalkoxy, alkoxybenzyl, and alkoxynaphthyl.
In some configurations, R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy, alkoxyalkoxyethyl, C 1 -C 6 linear haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy and C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy.
In some aspects, an alkoxybenzyl of at least one of R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can be an ortho-, a meta-, or a para-methoxybenzyl moiety.
In some configurations, R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 3 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy and C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy.
In some configurations, R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H and C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy.
In some configurations, R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H and isopropoxy.
In some configurations, R 3 and R 5 can each be isopropoxy and R 4 and R 6 can be H.
In some configurations, R 4 and R 6 can each be isopropoxy and R 3 and R 5 can each be H.
In some configurations R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be isopropoxy or H, wherein at least two of R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 are isopropoxy and at least one of R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 is H.
In some configurations, R 4 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be isopropoxy or H, wherein at least three of R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 are isopropoxy and at least one of R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 is H.
In some configurations, R 1 and R 2 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H and methyl.
In some configurations, R 7 and R 8 can each be methyl.
In some configurations, R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohaloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohydroxyalkoxy, alkoxybenzyl, napthyl and alkoxynaphthyl.
In some configurations, R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be H, and R 3 can be selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy, CH(CH 2 ) linear haloalkoxy, n=0 to 5, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy. C 3 -C 6 cyclohaloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy. C 3 -C 8 cyclohydroxyalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 alkoxybenzyl, napthyl and C 1 -C 6 alkoxynaphthyl.
In some configurations, R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be H, and R 3 can be selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy and C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy.
In some configurations, R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be H, and R 3 can be selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy and C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy.
In some configurations, R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be H, and R 3 can be a C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy.
In some configurations, R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be H, and R 3 can be an isopropoxy moiety.
In some configurations, R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of methoxymethyl, methoxyethoxyethyl, p-methoxybenzyl, benzyl, naphthyl, and CH 3 (CH 2 ) n -alkoxynaphthyl, n=0 to 5.
In some configurations, an organic scaffold comprising six donor atoms can result in an octahedral geometry. In various configurations, a haloalkoxy of the present teachings can be a bromoalkoxy, a fluoroalkoxy, a chloroalkoxy, or a iodoalkoxy. In various configurations, an organic molecule of the present teachings can serve as a chelate, and can form a complex with a metal cation, such as, without limitation, gallium. In some configurations, the metal cation can be a radionuclide such as, without limitation, a 67 Ga or a 68 Ga. For example, the present teachings include, without limitation.
Aspects
The present teachings include the following aspects.
1. A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof comprising a structure selected from the group consisting of
wherein R 1 , R 2 , R 7 and R 8 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 linear alkyl, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy and C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy; R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohaloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohydroxyalkoxy, alkoxymethyl, alkoxyethyl, alkoxyalkoxymethyl, alkoxyalkoxyethyl, benzyl, alkoxybenzyl, napthyl and alkoxynaphthyl; and R 9 can be selected from the group consisting of H, methylene (with reduced Schiff-base as shown, II), carbonyl (as an amide linkage), sulfur, C 1 -C 5 linear alkyl, C 3 -C 5 branched chain alkyl, C 3 -C 5 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 8 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 8 branched chain alkoxy and C 3 -C 5 cycloalkoxy, with a proviso that at least one of R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 is not H.
2. A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 1 and R 2 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 linear alkyl, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkyl and C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl.
3. A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 7 and R 8 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 linear alkyl and C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkyl.
4. A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy. C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy, alkoxyalkoxyethyl, C 1 -C 6 linear fluoroalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohaloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohydroxyalkoxy, benzyl, and naphthyl.
5. A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 3 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy, alkoxyalkoxyethyl, C 1 -C 6 linear haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohaloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohydroxyalkoxy, alkoxybenzyl, and alkoxynaphthyl.
6. A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 1 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy, alkoxyalkoxyethyl, C 1 -C 6 linear haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy. C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy and C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy.
7. A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein an alkoxybenzyl of at least one of R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can be an ortho-, meta-, and para-methoxybenzyl.
8. A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of 1, C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy and C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy.
9. A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H and C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy.
10. A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H and isopropoxy.
11. A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 1 and R 2 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H and methyl.
12. A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 11, wherein R 7 and R 5 can each be a methyl.
13. A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 12, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy. C 1 -C 6 linear haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohaloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy. C 3 -C 6 cyclohydroxyalkoxy, alkoxybenzyl, napthyl and C 1 -C 6 alkoxynaphthyl.
14. A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 12, wherein R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be H, and R 3 can be selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy. C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy. C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohaloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohydroxyalkoxy, alkoxybenzyl, napthyl and C 1 -C 6 alkoxynaphthyl.
15. A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 12, wherein R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be H, and R 3 can be selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy and C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy.
16. A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 12, wherein R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be H, and R 3 can be selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy and C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy.
17. A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 12, wherein R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be H, and R 3 can be a C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy.
18. A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 12, wherein R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be H, and R 3 can be a isopropoxy.
19. A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 12, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of methoxymethyl, methoxyethoxyethyl, p-methoxybenzyl, benzyl, naphthyl, and C 1 -C 6 alkoxynaphthyl.
20. A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 7 and R 8 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkyl. C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkyl, C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy and C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy.
21. A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 9 can be selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 5 linear alkyl, C 3 -C 5 branched chain alkyl and C 3 -C 5 cycloalkyl.
22. A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 9 can be selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy and C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy.
23. A complex comprising a chelate of any one of aspects 1-22; and a metal ion.
24. A complex in accordance with aspect 23, wherein the metal ion has a six-coordinate ionic radius between 0.50-0.85 Å.
25. A complex in accordance with aspect 23, wherein the metal ion can be selected from the group consisting of a gallium ion, a cobalt ion, an indium ion, an iron ion, thallium ion, a rhenium ion, a rhodium, a rubidium ion, a ruthenium ion, a strontium ion, a technetium ion, a tungsten ion, a vanadium ion, an yttrium ion a zirconium ion, and a lanthanide or transition metal trivalent ion.
26. A complex in accordance with aspect 23, wherein the metal ion can be a radionuclide.
27. A complex in accordance with aspect 23, wherein the metal ion can be a positron emitter.
28. A complex in accordance with aspect 23, wherein the metal ion can be a gamma emitter.
29. A complex in accordance with aspect 23, wherein the metal ion can be selected from the group consisting of an ion of gallium-67, an ion of gallium-68, an ion of cobalt-57, an ion of indium-111, an ion of iron-59, an ion of iron-52, an ion of thallium-201, an ion of rhenium-188, an ion of rubidium-82, an ion of strontium-92, an ion of technetium-99m, an ion of yttrium-86, and an ion of zirconium-86.
30. A complex in accordance with aspect 23, wherein the metal ion can be selected from the group consisting of an ion of gallium-67, an ion of gallium-68 and a combination thereof.
31. A complex in accordance with aspect 23, wherein the metal ion can be selected from the group consisting of a gallium ion and an iron ion.
32. A complex in accordance with aspect 31, further comprising a halo-radionuclide
33. A complex in accordance with aspect 32, wherein the halo-radionuclide can be selected from the group consisting of 18 F, 75 Br, 76 Br, 123 I, 124 I, and 131 I and a combination thereof.
34. A salt comprising:
a complex in accordance with any one of aspects 23-31; and an anion.
35. A salt in accordance with aspect 34, wherein the anion can be selected from the group consisting of a halide, a sulfate, a nitrate, a phosphate and an organic anion.
36. A salt in accordance with aspect 34, wherein the anion can be selected from the group consisting of chloride, fluoride, iodide, bromide, phosphate, sulfate, nitrate, sulfonate, perchlorate, tetraphenylborate, hexafluorophosphate and tetrahaloborate.
37. A salt in accordance with aspect 35, wherein the organic anion can be a carboxylate.
38. A salt in accordance with aspect 35, wherein the organic anion can be selected from the group consisting of citrate, carbonate, acetate, malate, maleate, lactate, formate, succinate and oxalate.
39. A salt in accordance with aspect 35, wherein the organic anion can be citrate.
40. A salt in accordance with aspect 35, wherein the anion can be a halide.
41. A salt in accordance with aspect 35, wherein the halide can be selected from the group consisting of a bromide, a fluoride, a chloride and an iodide.
42. A salt in accordance with aspect 34, wherein the metal ion can be a gallium ion.
43. A salt in accordance with aspect 42, wherein the gallium ion can be selected from the group consisting of an ion of gallium-67, an ion of gallium-68 and a combination thereof.
44. A salt in accordance with any one of aspects 34-43, having structure
wherein M is a metal ion and A − is an anion.
45. A salt in accordance with aspect 44, selected from the group consisting of
46. A chelate, a complex thereof, or a salt thereof selected from the group consisting of
47. A method of forming a salt of any one of aspects 34-45, comprising contacting a chelate, a complex thereof or salt thereof of any one of aspects 1-33 with a metal salt.
48. A method of forming a complex in accordance with aspect 47, wherein the metal salt comprises a metal ion selected from the group consisting of a gallium ion, a cobalt ion, an indium ion, an iron ion, a thallium ion, a rhenium ion, a rhodium, a rubidium ion, a ruthenium ion, a strontium ion, a technetium ion, a tungsten ion, a vanadium ion, an yttrium ion, a zirconium ion and a lanthanide or transition metal trivalent ion.
49. A method of forming a complex in accordance with aspect 47, wherein the metal salt comprises an ion of gallium-67, an ion of gallium-68, an ion of cobalt-57, an ion of indium-111, an ion of iron-59, an ion of iron-52, an ion of thallium-201, an ion of rhenium-188, an ion of rubidium-82, an ion of strontium-92, an ion of technetium-99m, an ion of yttrium-86, and an ion of zirconium-86.
50. A method of forming a complex in accordance with aspect 47, wherein the metal salt comprises an ion of gallium-67 or an ion of gallium-68.
51. A kit for forming a complex, comprising:
a compound, chelate, complex or salt of any one of aspects 1-46; and a metal salt comprising a metal ion and an anion.
52. A kit in accordance with aspect 51, wherein the metal ion is selected from the group consisting of a gallium ion, a cobalt ion, an indium ion, an iron ion, thallium ion, a rhenium ion, a rhodium, a rubidium ion, a ruthenium ion, a strontium ion, a technetium ion, a tungsten ion, a vanadium ion, an yttrium ion, a zirconium ion, a lanthanide ion and a transition metal trivalent ion.
53. A kit in accordance with aspect 51, wherein the metal ion is selected from the group consisting of an ion of gallium-67, an ion of gallium-68, an ion of cobalt-57, an ion of indium-111, an ion of iron-59, an ion of iron-52, an ion of thallium-201, an ion of rhenium-188, an ion of rubidium-82, an ion of strontium-92, an ion of technetium-99m, an ion of yttrium-86, and an ion of zirconium-86.
54. A kit in accordance with aspect 51, wherein the metal ion is selected from the group consisting of an ion of gallium-67, an ion of gallium-68, a combination thereof.
55. A kit in accordance with any one of aspects 51-54, further comprising instructions for using the compound to image a region in a subject.
56. A method of imaging Pgp distribution in a region in a subject, comprising the steps:
administering to a subject a complex or salt of any one of aspects 23-46; subjecting a region of interest of the subject to radiation; and subjecting the subject to PET scanning or SPECT scanning.
57. A method of imaging the distribution of MDR1 (multidrug resistance) P-glycoprotein (Pgp; ABCB1) in a mammalian subject, comprising:
administering to the subject a composition comprising a chelate, complex or salt of any one of aspects 1-46: and subjecting the subject to PET imaging, wherein the chelate, complex or salt comprises a positron-emitting isotope.
58. A method in accordance with aspect 57, wherein the positron-emitting isotope is gallium-68.
59. A method of imaging the distribution of MDR1 (Multidrug Resistance) P-glycoprotein (Pgp; ABCB1) in a mammalian subject, comprising:
administering to the subject a composition comprising a chelate, complex or salt of any one of aspects 1-46: and subjecting the subject to SPECT imaging, wherein the chelate, complex or salt comprises a gamma-emitting isotope.
60. A method in accordance with aspect 59, wherein the gamma-emitting isotope is gallium-67.
61. A method in accordance with any one of aspects 56-60, wherein the imaging a region in a subject comprises imaging the distribution of an ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporter.
62. A method in accordance with any one of aspects 56-61, wherein the subject is a human.
63. A method in accordance with any one of aspects 56-62, wherein the imaging the distribution of an ABC transporter comprises imaging liver clearance of the complex or salt.
64. A method in accordance with any one of aspects 56-62, wherein the imaging the distribution of an ABC transporter comprises imaging myocardial retention of the complex or salt.
65. A method of imaging myocardium perfusion, comprising administering a complex or salt of any one of aspects 34-43 to a subject and subjecting the subject to PET, SPECT, or MRI imaging.
66. A method in accordance with any one of aspects 56-62, wherein the imaging distribution of Pgp comprises imaging a tumor.
67. A method in accordance with aspect 66, wherein the imaging a tumor comprises imaging a drug-resistant tumor.
68. A method in accordance with aspect 66, wherein the imaging a tumor comprises imaging a drug-sensitive tumor.
69. A method in accordance with any one of aspects 57-62, wherein the imaging distribution of Pgp comprises imaging the brain of the subject.
70. A method in accordance with aspect 69, wherein the imaging the brain comprises imaging the blood-brain barrier.
71. A method in accordance with any one of the aspects 57-62, wherein the imaging comprises imaging the depolarization of the membrane potential.
72. A method of treating an anemia, comprising administering to a subject in need thereof a pharmaceutical composition comprising a complex or salt thereof of any one of aspects 1-46.
73. A method of treating an anemia in accordance with aspect 72, wherein the complex or salt comprises an iron ion.
74. A fertilizer comprising a compound, a chelate, a complex thereof or a salt thereof in accordance with any one of aspects 1-46.
75. A fertilizer in accordance with aspect 74, wherein the complex or salt comprises an iron ion.
76. A compound of formula
or a pharmacologically acceptable complex or salt thereof, wherein:
R 1 and R 2 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, methyl, ethyl, straight chain propyl, straight chain butyl, straight chain pentyl straight chain hexyl, branched chain propyl, branched chain butyl, branched chain pentyl and branched chain hexyl;
R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, methyl, ethyl, straight chain propyl, branched chain propyl, straight chain butyl, branched chain butyl, straight chain pentyl, branched chain pentyl, straight chain hexyl and branched chain hexyl, methoxy, ethoxy, fluoroalkoxy. C 1 -C 6 hydroxyalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 alkoxyalkoxyethyl, straight chain propoxy, branched chain propoxy, straight chain butoxy, branched chain butoxy, straight chain pentyloxy, branched chain pentyloxy, straight chain hexyloxy and branched chain hexyloxy, methoxymethyl, methoxyethoxy ethyl, p-methoxybenzyl, benzyl, naphthyl and C 1 -C 6 alkoxy substituted naphthyl;
R 7 , R 8 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, methyl, ethyl, straight chain propyl, branched chain propyl, butyl, pentyl and hexyl;
R 9 can be selected from the group consisting of H, methyl, ethyl, straight chain propyl, and a branched alkyl selected from the group consisting of isopropyl, isobutyl, isopentyl tert-butyl and tert-pentyl, with a proviso that at least one of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , R 8 and R 9 is not H.
77. A compound or a pharmacologically acceptable complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 76, wherein at least one of R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , and R 6 is not H.
78. A compound or a pharmacologically acceptable complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 76, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of branched chain propoxy, branched chain butoxy, branched chain pentyloxy and branched chain hexyloxy.
79. A compound or a pharmacologically acceptable complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 76, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of methoxy, ethoxy, fluoroalkoxy, hydroxyalkoxy, alkoxyalkoxyethyl, straight chain propoxy, straight chain butoxy, straight chain pentlyoxy, straight chain hexyloxy branched chain propoxy, branched chain butoxy, branched chain pentlyoxy and branched chain hexyloxy.
80. A compound or a pharmacologically acceptable complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 77, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each independently be branched chain propoxy.
81. A compound or a pharmacologically acceptable complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 76, wherein R 1 and R 2 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, branched chain propyl, branched chain butyl, branched chain pentyl and branched chain hexyl.
82. A compound or a pharmacologically acceptable complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 76, wherein R 1 and R 2 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, branched chain propyl, branched chain butyl, branched chain pentyl and branched chain hexyl.
83. A compound or a pharmacologically acceptable complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 76, wherein R 1 and R 2 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H and methyl, R 7 can be methyl, R 8 can be methyl, R4 can be H, R 5 can be H, R 6 can be H, R 3 can be selected from the group consisting of isopropyloxy, isobutoxyl, isopentyloxy, straight chain hexyloxy and branched chain hexyloxy.
84. A compound or a pharmacologically acceptable complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 76, wherein R 1 and R 2 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H and methyl, R 7 can be methyl, R 8 can be methyl, R3, R4, R5, and R6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, methoxymethyl, methoxyethoxyethyl, p-methoxybenzyl, benzyl, naphthyl, and C 1 -C 6 alkoxysubstituted naphthyls.
85. A compound or a pharmacologically acceptable complex or salt thereof in accordance with any one of aspects 76-84, wherein R 7 and R 8 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 4 straight chain alkyl, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkyl, C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, and C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy.
86. A compound or a pharmacologically acceptable complex or salt thereof in accordance with any one of aspects 76-85, wherein R 9 can be selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 straight chain alkyl, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkyl, C 1 -C 6 straight chain alkoxy, and C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy.
87. A salt of formula
wherein:
R 1 and R 2 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, methyl, ethyl, straight chain propyl, straight chain butyl, straight chain pentyl straight chain hexyl, branched chain propyl, branched chain butyl, branched chain pentyl and branched chain hexyl;
R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, methyl, ethyl, straight chain propyl, branched chain propyl, straight chain butyl, branched chain butyl, straight chain pentyl, branched chain pentyl, straight chain hexyl and branched chain hexyl, methoxy, ethoxy, fluoroalkoxy, hydroxyalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 alkoxyalkoxyethyl, straight chain propoxy, branched chain propoxy, straight chain butoxy, branched chain butoxy, straight chain pentyloxy, branched chain pentyloxy, straight chain hexyloxy and branched chain hexyloxy, methoxymethyl, methoxyethoxy ethyl, p-methoxybenzyl, benzyl, naphthyl and C 1 -C 6 alkoxy substituted naphthyl;
R 7 , R 8 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, methyl, ethyl, straight chain propyl, branched chain propyl, butyl, pentyl and hexyl;
R 9 can be selected from the group consisting of H, methyl, ethyl, straight chain propyl, and a branched alkyl selected from the group consisting of isopropyl, isobutyl, isopentyl tert-butyl and tert-pentyl;
M can be a metal ion;
A − can be an anion; with a proviso that at least one of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , R 8 and R 9 is not H.
88. A salt in accordance with aspect 87, wherein M can be a metal ion selected from the group consisting of gallium, cobalt, indium, iron, rhenium, rhodium, strontium, tungsten, vanadium, yttribium and zirconium.
89. A salt in accordance with aspect 87, wherein M can be a metal ion selected from the group consisting of gallium, cobalt, indium, iron, rhenium, ruthenium, rhodium, rubidium, strontium, tungsten, vanadium, yttrium, and zirconium.
90. A salt in accordance with aspect 87, wherein A − can be an anion selected from the group consisting of Cl − , F − , I − , Br − , phosphate, sulfate, nitrate, sulfonate, perchlorate, tetraphenylborate, hexafluorophosphate and tetrafluoroborate.
91. A salt in accordance with aspect 87, wherein at least one of R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , and R 6 is not H.
92. A salt in accordance with aspect 91, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, branched chain propoxy, branched chain butoxy, branched chain pentyloxy and branched chain hexyloxy.
93. A salt in accordance with aspect 91, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each independently be a branched chain propoxy.
94. A salt in accordance with aspect 87, wherein R 1 and R 2 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, branched chain propyl, branched chain butyl, branched chain pentyl and branched chain hexyl.
95. A salt in accordance with aspect 87, wherein R 1 and R 2 can each be selected from the group consisting of H and a branched chain propyl.
96. A salt in accordance with aspect 87, wherein M can be a radioactive nuclide.
97. A salt in accordance with aspect 87, wherein M can be a radioactive metal ion selected from the group consisting of radioactive gallium-67, gallium-68, cobalt-57, indium-11, iron-59, iron-52, krypton-81, rhenium-188, rubidium-82, strontium-92, technetium-99m, yttrium-86, and zirconium-86.
98. A salt in accordance with aspect 87, wherein M can be gallium-67.
99. A salt in accordance with aspect 87, wherein M can be gallium-68.
100. A salt in accordance with any one of aspects 87-99, wherein M is a metal having a six-coordinate ionic radius between 0.50-0.85 Å.
101. A salt in accordance with any one of aspects 87-100, wherein A − is selected from the group consisting of a halide, a sulfate, a nitrate, a phosphate and a carboxylate.
102. A salt in accordance with any one of aspects 87-101, wherein M is a gallium and A − is selected from the group consisting of citrate and chloride.
103. A method of making a salt, comprising mixing a compound of any one of aspects 76-86 with a metal salt.
104. A method of making a salt in accordance with aspect 103, wherein the metal salt is selected from the group consisting of gallium citrate and gallium chloride.
105. A salt made by the method of aspect 103 or aspect 104.
106. A kit for forming a radioactive agent comprising:
a compound of any one of aspects 76-86; and a metal salt comprising a radioactive metal
107. A kit in accordance with aspect 106, further comprising instructions for mixing the compound and the metal salt under conditions that form a radiometric complex suitable for application as an imaging agent.
108. A method of imaging pgp distribution in a subject, comprising: administering to a subject a complex or salt of any one of aspects 1-46 or 76-102; and subjecting the subject to perfusion imaging, wherein the complex or salt comprises a radioactive metal isotope.
109. A method of imaging Pgp distribution in a subject in accordance with aspect 108, wherein the imaging comprises PET scanning.
110. A method of imaging Pgp distribution in a subject in accordance with aspect 108, wherein the imaging comprises SPECT imaging.
111. A method of imaging Pgp distribution in a subject in accordance with aspect 108, further comprising imaging perfusion defects in the heart of the subject.
112. A method of imaging Pgp distribution in a subject in accordance with any one of aspects 108-111, wherein subjecting the subject to perfusion imaging comprises imaging using a PET camera or a SPECT camera.
113. A method of assessing viability of the blood-brain barrier in a neurodegenerative disease in a subject, comprising:
administering to a subject a compound, chelate, complex or salt of any one of aspects 1-46 or 76-102; and subjecting the subject to imaging of the brain, wherein the complex or salt comprises a radioactive metal isotope.
114. A method of assessing viability of the blood-brain barrier in a neurodegenerative disease in accordance with aspect 113, wherein the imaging comprises PET scanning.
115. A method of assessing viability of the blood-brain barrier in a neurodegenerative disease in accordance with aspect 113, wherein the imaging comprises SPECT imaging.
116. A method of imaging a tumor in a subject, comprising:
administering to the subject a complex or salt of any one of aspects 1-43 or 66-97; and detecting the distribution of the complex or salt in the subject, wherein the complex or salt comprises a radioactive metal isotope.
117. A method of imaging a tumor in a subject in accordance with aspect 116, wherein the detecting distribution of the complex or salt comprises imaging drug-sensitive (−Pgp) and drug resistant (+Pgp) tumors in the subject.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 presents a projection view of cationic gallium (III) complex [ENBDMP-3-isopropoxy-PI-Ga] + (I).
FIG. 2 presents HPLC data for [ENBDMP-3-isopropoxy-PI- 67 Ga] + (1A) co-injected with the unlabeled complex 1.
FIG. 3 presents a characterization of [ENBDMP-3-isopropoxy-PI- 67 Ga] + (1A).
FIG. 4 illustrates NanoSPECT/CT imaging using [ENBDMP-3-isopropoxy-PI- 67 Ga] + (1A) 30 min post injection into a rat.
FIG. 5 illustrates NanoSPECT/CT imaging using [ENBDMP-3-ispropoxy-PI- 67 Ga] + (1A) 250 min post injection into a rat.
FIG. 6 illustrates MicroPET imaging of myocardial perfusion using [ENBDMP-3-isopropoxy-PI- 68 Ga] + (1B) 60 min post injection into a rat.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
As used herein, a “compound” is an organic covalent structure.
As used herein, a “chelate” is a covalent structure than can bond non-covalently with a cation.
As used herein, a “complex” is a covalent structure or chelate bonded with a cation.
As used herein, a “salt” is a complex combined with an anion.
As used herein, a “metal salt” comprises a metal cation and an anion. The anion can be organic or inorganic.
As used herein, with regard to chemistry procedures, “contacting” can include mixing, combining, stirring in, or the like, and can include, e.g., mixing chemicals under conditions that promote or result in a chemical reaction.
In some configurations, a gallium(III) agent such as 1, 1A or 1B incorporating an organic scaffold comprising six donor atoms, e.g. 2 or 2A, can result in an octahedral geometry.
In various aspects, compounds, chelates, complexes and salts of the present teaching can be used as tracers for imaging cardiac tissue in mammals such as humans. In various aspects, compounds, chelates, complexes and salts of the present teaching can be used as fertilizer. In some configurations, a complex or salt of the present teachings can comprise an iron ion, and can be used to provide iron to plants. In some configurations, a complex or salt of the present teachings can comprise an iron ion, and can be useful in the treatment of anemia.
The present teachings, including descriptions provided in the Examples, are not intended to limit the scope of any claim. Unless specifically presented in the past tense, an example can be a prophetic or an actual example. The examples are not intended to limit the scope of the aspects. The methods described herein utilize laboratory techniques well known to skilled artisans, and guidance can be found in laboratory manuals and textbooks such as Sambrook, J., et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 3rd ed. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., 2001; Spector, D. L. et al., Cells: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., 1998; and Harlow, E. Using Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., 1999; Hedrickson et al. Organic Chemistry 3rd edition. McGraw Hill, New York, 1970; Carruthers. W., and Coldham, I., Modern Methods of Organic Synthesis (4th Edition), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K., 2004; Curati, W. L., Imaging in Oncology, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K., 1998; Welch, M. J., and Redvanly, C. S., eds. Handbook of Radiopharmaceuticals: Radiochemistry and Applications, J. Wiley, New York, 2003.
EXAMPLES
Example 1
This Example illustrates the structure of a complex of the present teachings. The crystal structure of [ENBDMP-3-isopropoxy-PI-Ga]+ displayed in FIG. 1 shows a symmetrical engagement of the four nitrogen atoms in the equatorial plane and two axial phenolate atoms. FIG. 1 presents a projection view of cationic gallium (II) complex [ENBDMP-3-isopropoxy-PI-Ga] + (1), but without iodide (I − ) as the counter anion. FIG. 1 includes the crystallographic numbering scheme. Atoms are represented by thermal ellipsoids corresponding to 50% probability. 1 H NMR, proton-decoupled 13 C NMR, and HRMS analysis can also be used to validate the structure.
Example 2
This Example illustrates HPLC data confirming synthesis and radiolabeling of [ENBDMP-3-isopropoxy-PI- 67 Ga] + . In these experiments, the 67 Ga-labeled complex (1A) was synthesized and characterized via HPLC. FIG. 2 presents HPLC data for [ENBDMP-3-isopropoxy-PI- 67 Ga] + 1A co-injected with unlabeled 1. In FIG. 2 , peaks have been offset for visualization.
Example 3
This Example illustrates characterization of [ENBDMP-3-isopropoxy-PI- 67 Ga] + for 1A, FIG. 3 shows cellular accumulation of 1A in KB-3-1 cells (−Pgp). MCF-7 cells (−Pgp), MDR KB-8-5 (+Pgp), KB-8-5-11 (Pgp++) cells and stably transfected MCF-7/MDR1 cells as indicated. Shown is net uptake at 90 minutes (fmol (mg protein) −1 (nM 0 ) −1 ) using control buffer in the absence or presence of MDR1Pgp inhibitor LY335979 (1 μM). Each bar represents the mean of 4 determinations; line above the bar denotes +SEM.
Example 4
This Example presents in cellulo and in vivo bioassays to illustrate some functions of some disclosed complexes. In these experiments, the 67 Ga-labeled salt 1A
was evaluated using cell transport studies and quantitative biodistribution studies in mdr1a/1b (−/−) gene-deleted mice and their wild-type (WT) counterparts. In these experiments, radiolabeled 67 Ga-analogue showed high accumulation in human epidermal carcinoma drug-sensitive KB-3-1 cells (Pgp − ) and human breast carcinoma MCF-7 (Pgp − ) cells, and low accumulation in MDR KB-8-5 (+Pgp), KB-8-5-11 (++Pgp) cells and stably transfected MCF-7/MDR1 (+Pgp) cells. Pgp inhibitor LY335979 (Zosuquidar trihydrochloride, Selleck Chemicals, Houston, Tex.) (1 μM), enhanced accumulation in multidrug resistant (MDR, Pgp + ) KB-8-5, KB-8-5-11 cells, and stably transfected MCF-7/MDR1 cells, thus demonstrating its responsiveness to Pgp-mediated functional transport activity in cellulo ( FIG. 3 ). In mdr1a/1b (−/−) gene-deleted mice, the 67 Ga-labelled complex showed 16-fold greater brain penetration and retention (% ID/g=0.96) compared with WT counterparts (% ID/g=0.06), 2 h post injection of 1A (Tables 1 & 2). Additionally, 1A also showed 2.6 fold higher retention in blood of mdr1a/1b (−/−) gene-deleted mice compared with WT counterparts (Table 1 & 2), consistent with Pgp expression in white cells of WT mice. These data indicated the ability of 1A to be transported out of cells expressing Pgp and to serve as a probe of the Pgp-mediated component of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) function.
Example 5
This Example discloses synthesis of [ENBDMP-3-isopropoxy-PI-Ga] + I − 1. The ligand (100 mg, 0.18 mmol) was dissolved in methanol (5 mL) and was treated with dropwise addition of gallium(II) acetylacetonate (66.2 mg, 0.18 mmol) dissolved in methanol. The contents were refluxed for 3 h. Then, potassium iodide (30 mg, 0.18 mmol) dissolved in hot water (0.5 mL) was added and the reaction mixture was refluxed further for 15 min, brought to room temperature slowly. Slow evaporation over a few days yielded crystalline material, 30% yield. 1 H NMR (300 MHz, DMSO-d6) δ: 0.79 (s, 6H), 0.96 (s, 6H), 1.30-1.33 (dd, 12H), 2.63 (d, 2H), 2.79 (d, 4H) 2.94 (br, s, 21), 3.61-3.75 (m 4H), 4.63 (quintet, 2H), 4.79 (br, s, 2H), 6.62 (t, 2H), 6.87 (d, 2H), 7.04 (d, 2H), 8.18 (s, 2H); 13 C NMR (300 MHz, DMSO-d6) δ: 22.0, 22.1, 22.2, 26.2, 35.6, 47.7, 59.2, 68.9, 69.5, 115.7, 119.2, 119.5, 125.8, 148.6, 158.1, 170.3. MS (HRESI) Calcd for [C32H48N4O4Ga]+; 621.2926. found: m/z=621.2930 and Calcd for [ 13 C 32 H 48 N 4 O 4 Ga] + ; 622.2959. found: m/z=622.2967.
Example 6
This Example discloses preparation of preparation of 67 Ga-metalloprobe 1A.
Radiolabeled 67 Ga-metalloprobe was synthesized by following a procedure described earlier and slight modifications. 67 Ga was obtained as a commercial citrate salt in water (Mallinckrodt, Inc., Saint Louis, Mo.), converted into chloride, and finally into 67 Ga(acetylacetonate) 3 by reacting with acetylacetone using standard procedures. Radiolabeled 67 Ga-metalloprobes were obtained through a ligand exchange reaction involving either 67 Ga(acetylacetonate) 3 or 67 GaCl 3 and hexadentate(2) or heptadentate (2A) Schiff-base ligands dissolved in ethanol at 100° C. for 40 min. Reaction was followed using thin-layer chromatography plates (C-18) employing a radiometric scanner (Bioscan), using an eluent mixture of ethanol/saline (90/10; R f : 0.23). Finally, 67 Ga-metalloprobe 1A was purified by radio-HPLC using a Vydac TP C-18 reversed-phase column (10 μm, 300 Å) (Grace Discovery Sciences, Deerfield, Ill.) using an eluent mixture of ethanol and saline as a gradient system. The fraction eluting at a retention time of 16.8 min (1A) was collected, concentrated, and employed for bioassays.
Example 7
This Example discloses preparation of 68 Ga-metalloprobe 1B.
Radiolabeled 68 Ga-metalloprobe was synthesized by following a procedure described earlier and slight modifications. 68 Ga was obtained from the generator as its chloride salt, converted into 68 Ga(acetylacetonate) 3 by reacting with acetylacetone (0.01% solution in ethanol) using standard procedures. Radiolabeled 67 Ga-metalloprobe were obtained through a ligand exchange reaction involving either 68 Ga(acetylacetonate) 3 or 68 GaCl 3 and hexadentate or heptadentate Schiff-base ligands (2 or 2A) dissolved in ethanol at 100° C. for 40 min. Reaction was followed using thin-layer chromatography plates (C-18) employing a radiometric scanner (Bioscan), using an eluent mixture of ethanol/saline (90/10; Rf: 0.23). Finally, 68 Ga-metalloprobe 1B was purified by radio-HPLC using Vydac TP C-18 reversed-phase column (10 μm, 300 Å) using an eluent mixture of ethanol and saline as a gradient system. The fraction eluting at a retention time of 16.8 min (1B) was collected, concentrated, and employed for bioassays.
Example 8
This Example discloses preparation of 1,2-ethylenediamino-bis[1-{(3-isopropoxyphenylene-2-ol)methylenimino-2,2-dimethyl}propane](2).
To obtain 2, the starting precursor amine, 1,2-ethylenediamino-bis(2,2-dimethylaminopropane) was synthesized as described (Sivapackiam, J., et al., Dalton Transactions 39, 5842-5850, 2010). Additionally, the second starting precursor, 2-hydroxy-3-isopropoxy-1-benzaldehyde was also obtained using a procedure described below:
3-isopropoxyphenol (1.34 mmol), anhydrous magnesium chloride (6.73 mmol), and anhydrous triethylamine (13.4 mmol) were suspended in anhydrous acetonitrile (50 mL), and suspension was stirred for 1 h at room temperature. Then, p-formaldehyde (6.72 mmol) was added to the mixture and the contents were heated at reflux for 4 h. The reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature, hydrolyzed, acidified with 10% HCl (50 mL), and extracted with ether (3×200 mL). The combined organic extract was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered, concentrated, and the residue was purified on silica gel GF254 (Analtech, USA) using hexane/ethyl acetate (70/30) as eluent mixture, 57% yield. 1 H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ: 1.28 (d, 611), 4.48 (quintet, 1H), 6.84 (t, 1H), 7.03-7.11 (dd, 2H), 9.81 (s, 1H), 10.87 (s, 1H); 13 C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ: 22.1, 72.2, 119.6, 121.4, 122.8, 125.3, 146.5, 153.0, 196.6; MS (HRESI) Calcd for [C 10 H 12 O 3 ] + : 163.0754. found: 163.0759.
Finally, for obtaining 2, starting precursors, 2-Hydroxy-3-isopropoxy-1-benzaldehyde (1.80 mmol) and 1,2-ethylenediamino-bis(2,2-dimethylaminopropane) (0.90 mmol) were dissolved in ethanol (10 mL) refluxed for 45 min, and purified by methods described previously. 1 H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ: 0.90 (s, 12H), 1.39 (d, 12H), 2.05-2.80 (m, 12H), 2.75 (bs, 2H) 4.60 (q, 2H), 6.80 (t, 2H), 6.850-6.95 (dd, 4H), 7.45 (d, 2H), 8.28 (s, 2H); MS (HRESI) Calcd for [C32H50N4O4]; 554.3832. found: m/z=555.3918.
Example 9
This Example discloses a kit formulation of ligands 2 and 2A.
2 or 2A (10 mg) was dissolved in ethanol (500 μl) and treated with potassium acetate (1 mM, 15 ml, pH 5.5) and contents were stirred in an argon flushed amber colored vial. The mixture was filtered through a nylon syringe filter (0.2 μM), and aliquoted into amber colored sterile vials (5 ml), and lyphilized at −50° C. These kits were stored in a refrigerator for 3 months without any appreciable decomposition and used for preparation of 1 and its 67 Ga-labeled counterpart (1A) or 68 Ga-counterpart (1B) as described above.
Example 10
This example discloses formation and analysis of a crystal.
In these experiments, crystals suitable for X-ray crystallography were grown by dissolving 1 in refluxing methanol, slowly bringing solution to room temperature and extremely slow concentration of the methanol solution overnight. A single crystal with approximate dimensions 0.28×0.18×0.17 mm; was mounted on a glass fiber in a random orientation. Preliminary examination and data collection were performed using a Bruker Kappa Apex II (Charge Coupled Device (CCD) Detector system, Bruker AXS, Inc., Madison, Wis.) single crystal X-Ray diffractometer, equipped with an Oxford Cryostream LT device.
Example 11
This example discloses bioassays.
All bioassays were performed as described in earlier publications. (Sivapackiam, J., et al., Dalton Transactions 39, 5842-5850, 2010; Harpstrite, S. E., et al., J. Inorg. Biochem. 101, 1347-1353, 2007; Sharma, V., et al., J. Nucl. Med. 46, 354-364 2005).
Gallium(III) agent (1) incorporates a compound possessing six donor atoms and results in an octahedral geometry ( FIG. 1 ). Suitable crystals for analysis were obtained via slow evaporation of a methanol solution of the gallium(III) complex 1. Crystal structure showed a symmetrical engagement of the four equatorial nitrogen atoms and two phenolic oxygen atoms. Upon chemical characterization using routine analytical tools such as 1 H NMR, proton-decoupled 13 C NMR, and HRMS analysis, the agent was validated via multiple bioassays in cellulo and in vivo. The radiolabeled 67 Ga-agent (1A) was obtained via ligand-exchange reaction using 67 Ga(acac) 3 and ligand 2 or 2A. The product was purified via HPLC using a γ-radiodetector ( FIG. 2 ) and characterized via multiple bioassays. 67 Ga-labeled counterpart (1A) was evaluated via cell transport studies using human epidermal carcinoma (Pgp − ; Pgp + ) cells and quantitative biodistribution studies in mdr1a/1b (−/−) gene-deleted mice and their wild-type (WT) counterparts. Radiolabeled 67 Ga-analogue (1A) showed high accumulation in human epidermal carcinoma drug-sensitive KB-3-1 cells (Pgp − ), human breast carcinoma MCF-7 (Pgp − ) cells; an inhibitor (LY335979, 1 μM) induced accumulation in multidrug resistant (MDR, Pgp − ) KB-8-5, KB-8-5-11 cells, and stably transfected MCF-7/MDR1 cells, thus demonstrating its ability to interrogate Pgp-mediated functional transport activity in cellulo ( FIG. 3 ). In mdr1a/1b (−/−) gene-deleted mice, the 67 Ga-metalloprobe showed 16-fold greater brain uptake and retention compared with WT counterparts (Table 1 and Table 2). Additionally, the agent permeated the heart tissue accompanied by a facile clearance from the livers of mice (Table 1 and Table 2) and rats (Table 3), thus leading to extremely high target to background ratios (Table 4 and Table 5), showing the potential of the agent for heart perfusion imaging. Thus, molecular imaging of the functional transport activity of MDR1 Pgp (ABCB1) using the disclosed 67/68Ga-metalloprobe enables noninvasive monitoring of the blood-brain barrier in neurodegenerative diseases, assessment of tumors to stratify patient populations for chemotherapeutic treatments, as well as probe the presence or absence of Pgp tissues in vivo, probing depolarization of the membrane potential, and can also provide a myocardial perfusion PET/SPECT imaging agent. Additionally, our synthesis, purification, and formulation of the agent could be accomplished in less than 60 minutes.
Example 12
This Example illustrates NanoSPECT/CT imaging using the 67 Ga-radiopharmaceutical (1A). In these experiments. 67 Ga-radiopharmaceutical 1A was injected intravenously into a rat tail-vein: NanoSPECT/CT images were obtained 30 min. ( FIG. 4 ) and 250 min. ( FIG. 5 ) post-injection. The arrows indicate heart uptake.
Example 13
This Example illustrates MicroPET imaging of myocardial perfusion in a rat. In these experiments, 68 Ga-radiopharmaceutical 1B was injected intravenously into a rat tail-vein; MicroPET images were obtained 60 min. ( FIG. 6 ) post-injection. Note low level of signal from liver compared to the heart.
All references cited herein are incorporated by reference each in its entirety. Tables
TABLE 1
Biodistribution data (% ID/g) for
67 Ga-Agent 1a in WT mice (n = 3).
time(min) P.I.
5
15
60
120
Aver-
Aver-
Aver-
Aver-
% ID/g
age
SEM
age
SEM
age
SEM
age
SEM
blood
1.26
0.33
0.29
0.04
0.10
0.01
0.07
0.01
liver
44.95
1.24
33.80
1.80
7.44
0.44
2.90
0.24
kidneys
81.04
17.46
83.46
10.00
93.35
14.49
67.91
5.59
heart
9.21
1.64
8.37
0.98
11.98
0.74
9.81
1.90
brain
0.14
0.01
0.12
0.02
0.09
0.01
0.06
0.01
TABLE 2
Biodistribution data (% ID/g) for 67 Ga-Agent 1a in mdr
1a/1b (—/—) (dKO) mice (n = 3).
time(min) P.I.
5
15
60
120
Aver-
Aver-
Aver-
Aver-
% ID/g
age
SEM
age
SEM
age
SEM
age
SEM
blood
1.54
0.22
0.64
0.10
0.34
0.03
0.19
0.05
liver
46.34
3.71
46.45
3.42
42.54
5.61
29.82
2.66
kidneys
86.12
4.33
84.19
7.62
95.60
10.38
115.23
10.09
heart
17.02
2.42
10.59
0.58
14.61
0.64
20.29
4.45
brain
1.05
0.03
0.65
0.08
0.99
0.10
0.96
0.13
TABLE 3
Biodistribution data (% ID/g) for 67 Ga-Agent 1a in rats (n = 3).
time(min) P.I.
5
15
60
120
Aver-
Aver-
Aver-
Aver-
% ID/g
age
SEM
age
SEM
age
SEM
age
SEM
blood
0.175
0.016
0.041
0.003
0.028
0.003
0.012
0.002
lung
0.814
0.069
0.626
0.018
0.559
0.023
0.591
0.006
liver
2.615
0.148
0.657
0.029
0.328
0.017
0.203
0.028
kidneys
8.142
0.620
5.168
0.144
4.201
0.101
3.543
0.108
heart
1.443
0.046
1.306
0.038
1.386
0.026
1.516
0.013
brain
0.024
0.003
0.015
0.001
0.018
0.001
0.016
0.001
TABLE 4
Heart to Tissue Ratio of 67 Ga-Agent 1a in rats (n = 3).
time(min) P.I.
5
60
120
Aver-
Aver-
Aver-
% ID/g
age
SEM
age
SEM
age
SEM
Heart/Blood
8.386
0.017
49.677
4.275
138.825
32.596
Heart/Liver
0.554
0.069
4.246
0.166
7.782
1.127
TABLE 5
Heart to Tissue Ratio of 67 Ga-Agent 1a in WT mice (n = 3).
time(min) P.I.
5
60
120
Aver-
Aver-
Aver-
% ID/g
age
SEM
age
SEM
age
SEM
Heart/Blood
7.772
1.13
126.918
18.45
146.618
24.53
Heart/Liver
0.206
0.04
1.617
0.12
3.526
0.88 | Tracers that can be used for PET or SPECT imaging of the distribution of Pgp are disclosed. The tracers are metalloprobes that can comprise a radioactive metal ion such as 67 Ga or 68 Ga. Methods of synthesizing the tracers, and methods of imaging heart and other tissues are also disclosed. The tracers can be used to obtain high signal-to-background ratios for imaging tissues in vivo such as heart or tumor tissue. In various embodiments, disclosed tracers can exhibit, a) enhanced first pass extraction into heart tissue compared to presently available probes, b) linearity with true blood flow, c) enhanced detection of myocardial viability compared to presently available probes, d) reduced liver retention compared to presently available probes, and e) more efficient clearance from non-cardiac and adjoining tissues compared to presently available probes. | Analyze the document's illustrations and descriptions to summarize the main idea's core structure and function. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a National Stage entry application of and claims the benefit of PCT/US12/024752 international filing date 10 Feb. 2012 and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser.",
"No. 61/441,732 filed 11 Feb. 2011.",
"These applications are incorporated by reference, each in its entirety.",
"STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT SUPPORT This invention was made with government support under AG033328 and CA94056 awarded by the National Institutes of Health.",
"The government has certain rights in the invention.",
"TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure is in the field of ligands and radioisotopic tracers that can be useful as imaging agents for in vivo positron emission tomography (PET) or single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging of tissues such as heart or tumors.",
"BACKGROUND Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a leading cause of death in the United States.",
"Annual costs of approximately S475 billion have been estimated by the NIH for heart and stroke diseases.",
"Myocardial perfusion scintigraphy is widely employed in the evaluation of patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) and myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) has acquired great value in nuclear cardiology.",
"While 99m Tc-Sestamibi and 201 Tl, both single photon agents, have dominated the MPI field for the past two decades, there has been great interest in the development of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) perfusion agents to exploit the potential for enhanced spatial and dynamic resolution that PET offers.",
"However, no 18 F-based agent is yet clinically available.",
"Interestingly, there has been a recent increase in world-wide intensity for developing 68 Ga-based radiopharmaceuticals as potential new PET agents, which may provide a non-cyclotron-based resource for new PET radiopharmaceuticals and applications.",
"In addition, recent threats to the stable production and supply chain of 99m Tc have added further urgency to the search for a viable PET perfusion agent.",
"Among the several agents that are commercially available for perfusion imaging, all of these suffer from one or more shortcomings that render them less than ideal for cardiac perfusion studies.",
"Among these shortcomings are: a) limited first pass extraction at high flow ( 99m Tc-Sestamibi and Thallous Chloride Tl-201) and b) poor liver clearance ( 99m -Sestamibi, 99m Tc-teboroxime.",
"99m Tc-Tetrofosmin, and 99m Tc-Q complexes).",
"While the former factor can decrease sensitivity, the latter component can increase background noise from adjacent tissues thereby atficting signal-to-noise ratios.",
"The resulting image quality can be less than optimal for interpretation by clinicians in nuclear medicine or physicians such as radiologists.",
"Positron Emission Tomography (PET) technology allows a three dimensional reconstruction of the distribution of radiopharmaceuticals in vivo to quantify tissue activity levels and allow high resolution imaging.",
"Ga-68 is considered a short-lived positron emitting radionuclide available from 68 Ge/ 68 Ga generator systems.",
"These systems are widely available in Europe and are employed for clinical applications across the continent.",
"Such generator systems can be installed in any small nuclear medicine facility nationwide and are not dependent on cyclotrons to produce PET radionuclides.",
"Furthermore, there are two gallium radioisotopes: Ga-68 and Ga-67.",
"The other radionuclide, Gallium-67 can be produced from a cyclotron from Zinc-68 and has a half-life of 78.2 hours, and is commercially available as radioactive gallium chloride or gallium citrate for single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) applications.",
"The multidrug resistance (MDR1) P-glycoprotein (Pgp;",
"ABCB1) is an outwardly directed membrane transporter expressed on the cell surface of many normal tissues as well as multidrug resistance cancers.",
"Because Pgp is also expressed on the biliary surface of hepatocytes, the transporter functions to excrete substances into the bile.",
"Thus, MPI agents that are recognized by Pgp, such as 99m Tc-sestambi, show rapid clearance profiles from the liver, which significantly reduces cross-contamination of liver signals into the inferior wall of the myocardium.",
"This important property results in more reliable and enhanced quantitative analysis of myocardial images in nuclear medicine clinics.",
"Pgp is also localized on the luminal surface of vascular endothelial cells of the brain and serves as a component of the blood-brain barrier (BBB).",
"Acting as an efflux transporter, Pgp is believed to block brain uptake of moderately hydrophobic drugs by directly excluding such substances from the CNS compartment, thereby offering a natural protection mechanism for the brain.",
"Apart from the well-characterized role of Pgp as a mediator of chemotherapeutic multidrug resistance in cancer patients, Pgp has also been postulated to play an important role in development of Aβ-pathophysiology within the brain, as well as in other neurodegenerative disorders.",
"Additionally, many agents recognized by Pgp are moderately hydrophobic as well as cationic under physiological conditions;",
"some hydrophobic cations are known to penetrate Pgp negative cells or tissues in response to negative transmembrane potentials (both plasma- and mitochondrial potentials), and are localized within the mitochondria.",
"Among various tissues, myocardium is mitochondrial rich and is also a Pgp negative tissue.",
"WO2008/128058 of H. Kung discloses a compound of formula or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, wherein A 1 , A 2 and A 3 are the same or different cycloalkyl, wherein at least one of A 1 , A 2 or A 3 is substituted;",
"R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , and R 6 are independently hydrogen or alkyl;",
"R 7 and R 8 are independently hydrogen or alkyl, and R P is hydrogen or a sulthydryl protecting group.",
"SUMMARY OF INVENTION The present inventors have realized that MPI probes are needed that optimally have a combination of the following characteristics: a) enhanced first pass extraction into heart tissue compared to presently available probes, b) linearity with true blood flow, c) enhanced detection of myocardial viability compared to presently available probes, d) reduced liver retention compared to presently available probes, and e) more efficient clearance from non cardiac and adjoining tissues compared to presently available probes.",
"Additionally, for a probe requiring the incorporation of a radionuclide, it would be advantageous if production of the radionuclide were not limited by proximity to a cyclotron or to a sophisticated radiochemistry laboratory.",
"In view of these needs, the present inventors have developed a series of tracers.",
"The present teachings include compounds, chelates, complexes, and salts.",
"In various embodiments, the compounds, chelates, complexes, and salts of the present teachings can be used as probes in positron emission tomography (PET scanning) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT imaging) in myocardial perfusion imaging.",
"In various configurations, a tracer of the present teachings can be beneficial in myocardial perfusion imaging to evaluate the regional blood flow in the myocardium, monitor function of the blood-brain barrier in neurodegenerative diseases, probe diseases associated with mitochondrial disfunction as well as apoptosis, and image drug-resistant tumors in cancer chemotherapy to stratify patients likely to benefit from a given chemotherapeutic treatment.",
"The present inventors have developed a gallium(III) agent incorporating an organic scaffold possessing six donor atoms resulting in an octahedral geometry.",
"The crystal structure of 1 showed a symmetrical engagement of the four nitrogen atoms in the equatorial plane and two axial phenolate atoms ( FIG. 1 ).",
"Following chemical characterization using routine analytical tools such as 1 H NMR, proton-decoupled 13 C NMR, and HRMS analysis, the agent could be validated via multiple bioassays in cellulo and in vivo.",
"A 67 Ga-labeled counterpart (1A) has been synthesized, characterized via HPLC ( FIG. 2 ), and evaluated via cell transport studies and quantitative biodistribution studies in mdr1a/1b (−/−) gene-deleted mice and their wild-type (WT) counterparts.",
"In some investigations, the radiolabeled 67 Ga-analogue showed high accumulation in human epidermal carcinoma drug-sensitive KB-3-1 cells (−Pgp), human breast carcinoma MCF-7 (−Pgp) cells and low accumulation in MDR KB-8-5 (+Pgp), KB-8-5-11 (++Pgp) cells, including the stably transfected MCF-7/MDR1 (+Pgp) cells.",
"LY335979 (1 μM), an inhibitor of Pgp, enhanced accumulation in multidrug resistant (MDR, +Pgp) KB-8-5, KB-8-5-11 cells, and stably transfected MCF-7/MDR1 cells, thus demonstrating its responsiveness to Pgp-mediated functional transport activity in cellulo ( FIG. 3 ).",
"In mdr1a/1b (−/−) gene-deleted mice, the 67 Ga-metalloprobe showed 16-fold greater brain penetration and retention (% ID/g=0.96) compared with WT counterparts (% ID/g=0.06), 2 h post injection of the agent 1A (Table 1 and Table 2).",
"Additionally, 1A also showed 2.6 fold higher retention in blood of mdr1a/1b (−/−) gene-deleted mice compared with WT counterparts (Table 1 and Table 2), consistent with Pgp expression in white cells of WT mice.",
"These data indicate the ability of 1A to be transported by Pgp and to serve as a probe of the Pgp-mediated BBB.",
"An ideal myocardial imaging agent should show high concentration of the radiotracer in the myocardium relative to blood levels and relative to its concentration in the non-targeted tissues.",
"Therefore, design characteristics for heart imaging can include: a) high myocardial tissue uptake, high heart/blood ratios for superior signal-to-noise, and prolonged retention in the myocardium relative to blood and other adjacent tissues in the thoracic cavity.",
"In some configurations, agent can permeate heart tissue, accompanied by a rapid clearance from the livers of mice (Table 1 and Table 2) and rats (Table 3), thus leading to high target-to-background ratios.",
"In various aspects, these features can fulfill critical characteristics of an ideal probe for perfusion imaging.",
"Furthermore, in some investigations, heart/blood and heart/liver ratios in rats tissues (Table 4) were found to be 138 and 8, respectively, at 120 min post injection (P.I.) These target-to-background ratios were 10.4 times (heart/blood) and 10.8 times (heart/liver) greater than ratios reported for gallium-bisaminothiolate complexes for myocardial perfusion imaging in PCT application publication WO2008/128058 A1 of Kung.",
"Additionally, in various configurations, synthesis, purification, and formulation of the agent can be accomplished in less than 60 minutes.",
"In some embodiments, the inventors'",
"strategy can also include incorporation of Ga-68, a generator-produced radionuclide, into the scaffold.",
"The present teachings also include agent In addition, the inventors disclose kits comprising a ligand of the present teachings.",
"In various configurations, a kit can be used for distribution and/or on-site synthesis of a radiopharmaceutical agent such as 1A and/or 1B.",
"In various embodiments, the present teachings provide a platform technology for development of PET or SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging agents such as 1A and 1B.",
"In various embodiments, the present teachings include disclosure of synthesis schemes for some agents of the present teachings.",
"In various configurations, probes of the present teachings, such as 67 Ga and 68 Ga-metalloprobes, can also enable noninvasive monitoring of the blood-brain barrier in neurodegenerative diseases, probe disease processes associated with disfunction of mitochondrial potential, and assessment of tumors to stratify patient populations for chemotherapeutic treatments.",
"The present inventors have developed organic compounds, including chelates, complexes and salts thereof comprising a compound of structure wherein R 1 , R 2 , R 7 and R 5 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 linear alkyl, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 4 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy and C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy;",
"R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohaloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohydroxyalkoxy, alkoxymethyl, alkoxyethyl, alkoxyalkoxymethyl, alkoxyalkoxyethyl, benzyl, alkoxybenzyl, napthyl and alkoxynaphthyl;",
"and R 9 can be selected from the group consisting of H, methylene (with reduced Schiff-base as shown, II), carbonyl (as an amide linkage), sulfur, C 1 -C 5 linear alkyl, C 3 -C 8 branched chain alkyl, C 3 -C 5 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 5 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 8 branched chain alkoxy and C 3 -C 5 cycloalkoxy, with a proviso that at least one of R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 is not H. In some configurations, R 1 and R 2 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 linear alkyl, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkyl and C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl.",
"In some configurations, R 7 and R 8 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 linear alkyl and C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkyl.",
"In some configurations, R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy, alkoxyalkoxyethyl, C 1 -C 6 linear haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohaloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohydmrxyalkoxy, benzyl, and naphthyl.",
"In some configurations, R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy, alkoxyalkoxyethyl, C 1 -C 6 linear haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohaloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 8 cyclohydroxyalkoxy, alkoxybenzyl, and alkoxynaphthyl.",
"In some configurations, R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy, alkoxyalkoxyethyl, C 1 -C 6 linear haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy and C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy.",
"In some aspects, an alkoxybenzyl of at least one of R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can be an ortho-, a meta-, or a para-methoxybenzyl moiety.",
"In some configurations, R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 3 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy and C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy.",
"In some configurations, R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H and C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy.",
"In some configurations, R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H and isopropoxy.",
"In some configurations, R 3 and R 5 can each be isopropoxy and R 4 and R 6 can be H. In some configurations, R 4 and R 6 can each be isopropoxy and R 3 and R 5 can each be H. In some configurations R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be isopropoxy or H, wherein at least two of R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 are isopropoxy and at least one of R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 is H. In some configurations, R 4 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be isopropoxy or H, wherein at least three of R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 are isopropoxy and at least one of R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 is H. In some configurations, R 1 and R 2 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H and methyl.",
"In some configurations, R 7 and R 8 can each be methyl.",
"In some configurations, R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohaloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohydroxyalkoxy, alkoxybenzyl, napthyl and alkoxynaphthyl.",
"In some configurations, R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be H, and R 3 can be selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy, CH(CH 2 ) linear haloalkoxy, n=0 to 5, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy.",
"C 3 -C 6 cyclohaloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy.",
"C 3 -C 8 cyclohydroxyalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 alkoxybenzyl, napthyl and C 1 -C 6 alkoxynaphthyl.",
"In some configurations, R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be H, and R 3 can be selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy and C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy.",
"In some configurations, R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be H, and R 3 can be selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy and C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy.",
"In some configurations, R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be H, and R 3 can be a C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy.",
"In some configurations, R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be H, and R 3 can be an isopropoxy moiety.",
"In some configurations, R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of methoxymethyl, methoxyethoxyethyl, p-methoxybenzyl, benzyl, naphthyl, and CH 3 (CH 2 ) n -alkoxynaphthyl, n=0 to 5.",
"In some configurations, an organic scaffold comprising six donor atoms can result in an octahedral geometry.",
"In various configurations, a haloalkoxy of the present teachings can be a bromoalkoxy, a fluoroalkoxy, a chloroalkoxy, or a iodoalkoxy.",
"In various configurations, an organic molecule of the present teachings can serve as a chelate, and can form a complex with a metal cation, such as, without limitation, gallium.",
"In some configurations, the metal cation can be a radionuclide such as, without limitation, a 67 Ga or a 68 Ga.",
"For example, the present teachings include, without limitation.",
"Aspects The present teachings include the following aspects.",
"A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof comprising a structure selected from the group consisting of wherein R 1 , R 2 , R 7 and R 8 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 linear alkyl, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkyl, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy and C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy;",
"R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohaloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohydroxyalkoxy, alkoxymethyl, alkoxyethyl, alkoxyalkoxymethyl, alkoxyalkoxyethyl, benzyl, alkoxybenzyl, napthyl and alkoxynaphthyl;",
"and R 9 can be selected from the group consisting of H, methylene (with reduced Schiff-base as shown, II), carbonyl (as an amide linkage), sulfur, C 1 -C 5 linear alkyl, C 3 -C 5 branched chain alkyl, C 3 -C 5 cycloalkyl, C 1 -C 8 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 8 branched chain alkoxy and C 3 -C 5 cycloalkoxy, with a proviso that at least one of R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 is not H. 2.",
"A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 1 and R 2 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 linear alkyl, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkyl and C 3 -C 6 cycloalkyl.",
"A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 7 and R 8 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 linear alkyl and C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkyl.",
"A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy.",
"C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy, alkoxyalkoxyethyl, C 1 -C 6 linear fluoroalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohaloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohydroxyalkoxy, benzyl, and naphthyl.",
"A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 3 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy, alkoxyalkoxyethyl, C 1 -C 6 linear haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohaloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohydroxyalkoxy, alkoxybenzyl, and alkoxynaphthyl.",
"A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 1 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy, alkoxyalkoxyethyl, C 1 -C 6 linear haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy.",
"C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy and C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy.",
"A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein an alkoxybenzyl of at least one of R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can be an ortho-, meta-, and para-methoxybenzyl.",
"A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of 1, C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy and C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy.",
"A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H and C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy.",
"10.",
"A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H and isopropoxy.",
"11.",
"A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 1 and R 2 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H and methyl.",
"12.",
"A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 11, wherein R 7 and R 5 can each be a methyl.",
"13.",
"A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 12, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy.",
"C 1 -C 6 linear haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohaloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy.",
"C 3 -C 6 cyclohydroxyalkoxy, alkoxybenzyl, napthyl and C 1 -C 6 alkoxynaphthyl.",
"14.",
"A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 12, wherein R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be H, and R 3 can be selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy.",
"C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy.",
"C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain haloalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohaloalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 linear hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain hydroxyalkoxy, C 3 -C 6 cyclohydroxyalkoxy, alkoxybenzyl, napthyl and C 1 -C 6 alkoxynaphthyl.",
"15.",
"A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 12, wherein R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be H, and R 3 can be selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy and C 3 -C 6 cycloalkoxy.",
"16.",
"A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 12, wherein R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be H, and R 3 can be selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy and C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy.",
"17.",
"A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 12, wherein R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be H, and R 3 can be a C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy.",
"18.",
"A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 12, wherein R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be H, and R 3 can be a isopropoxy.",
"19.",
"A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 12, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of methoxymethyl, methoxyethoxyethyl, p-methoxybenzyl, benzyl, naphthyl, and C 1 -C 6 alkoxynaphthyl.",
"20.",
"A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 7 and R 8 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkyl.",
"C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkyl, C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy and C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy.",
"21.",
"A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 9 can be selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 5 linear alkyl, C 3 -C 5 branched chain alkyl and C 3 -C 5 cycloalkyl.",
"22.",
"A compound, chelate, complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 1, wherein R 9 can be selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy and C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy.",
"23.",
"A complex comprising a chelate of any one of aspects 1-22;",
"and a metal ion.",
"24.",
"A complex in accordance with aspect 23, wherein the metal ion has a six-coordinate ionic radius between 0.50-0.85 Å.",
"25.",
"A complex in accordance with aspect 23, wherein the metal ion can be selected from the group consisting of a gallium ion, a cobalt ion, an indium ion, an iron ion, thallium ion, a rhenium ion, a rhodium, a rubidium ion, a ruthenium ion, a strontium ion, a technetium ion, a tungsten ion, a vanadium ion, an yttrium ion a zirconium ion, and a lanthanide or transition metal trivalent ion.",
"26.",
"A complex in accordance with aspect 23, wherein the metal ion can be a radionuclide.",
"27.",
"A complex in accordance with aspect 23, wherein the metal ion can be a positron emitter.",
"28.",
"A complex in accordance with aspect 23, wherein the metal ion can be a gamma emitter.",
"29.",
"A complex in accordance with aspect 23, wherein the metal ion can be selected from the group consisting of an ion of gallium-67, an ion of gallium-68, an ion of cobalt-57, an ion of indium-111, an ion of iron-59, an ion of iron-52, an ion of thallium-201, an ion of rhenium-188, an ion of rubidium-82, an ion of strontium-92, an ion of technetium-99m, an ion of yttrium-86, and an ion of zirconium-86.",
"30.",
"A complex in accordance with aspect 23, wherein the metal ion can be selected from the group consisting of an ion of gallium-67, an ion of gallium-68 and a combination thereof.",
"31.",
"A complex in accordance with aspect 23, wherein the metal ion can be selected from the group consisting of a gallium ion and an iron ion.",
"32.",
"A complex in accordance with aspect 31, further comprising a halo-radionuclide 33.",
"A complex in accordance with aspect 32, wherein the halo-radionuclide can be selected from the group consisting of 18 F, 75 Br, 76 Br, 123 I, 124 I, and 131 I and a combination thereof.",
"34.",
"A salt comprising: a complex in accordance with any one of aspects 23-31;",
"and an anion.",
"35.",
"A salt in accordance with aspect 34, wherein the anion can be selected from the group consisting of a halide, a sulfate, a nitrate, a phosphate and an organic anion.",
"36.",
"A salt in accordance with aspect 34, wherein the anion can be selected from the group consisting of chloride, fluoride, iodide, bromide, phosphate, sulfate, nitrate, sulfonate, perchlorate, tetraphenylborate, hexafluorophosphate and tetrahaloborate.",
"37.",
"A salt in accordance with aspect 35, wherein the organic anion can be a carboxylate.",
"38.",
"A salt in accordance with aspect 35, wherein the organic anion can be selected from the group consisting of citrate, carbonate, acetate, malate, maleate, lactate, formate, succinate and oxalate.",
"39.",
"A salt in accordance with aspect 35, wherein the organic anion can be citrate.",
"40.",
"A salt in accordance with aspect 35, wherein the anion can be a halide.",
"41.",
"A salt in accordance with aspect 35, wherein the halide can be selected from the group consisting of a bromide, a fluoride, a chloride and an iodide.",
"42.",
"A salt in accordance with aspect 34, wherein the metal ion can be a gallium ion.",
"43.",
"A salt in accordance with aspect 42, wherein the gallium ion can be selected from the group consisting of an ion of gallium-67, an ion of gallium-68 and a combination thereof.",
"44.",
"A salt in accordance with any one of aspects 34-43, having structure wherein M is a metal ion and A − is an anion.",
"45.",
"A salt in accordance with aspect 44, selected from the group consisting of 46.",
"A chelate, a complex thereof, or a salt thereof selected from the group consisting of 47.",
"A method of forming a salt of any one of aspects 34-45, comprising contacting a chelate, a complex thereof or salt thereof of any one of aspects 1-33 with a metal salt.",
"48.",
"A method of forming a complex in accordance with aspect 47, wherein the metal salt comprises a metal ion selected from the group consisting of a gallium ion, a cobalt ion, an indium ion, an iron ion, a thallium ion, a rhenium ion, a rhodium, a rubidium ion, a ruthenium ion, a strontium ion, a technetium ion, a tungsten ion, a vanadium ion, an yttrium ion, a zirconium ion and a lanthanide or transition metal trivalent ion.",
"49.",
"A method of forming a complex in accordance with aspect 47, wherein the metal salt comprises an ion of gallium-67, an ion of gallium-68, an ion of cobalt-57, an ion of indium-111, an ion of iron-59, an ion of iron-52, an ion of thallium-201, an ion of rhenium-188, an ion of rubidium-82, an ion of strontium-92, an ion of technetium-99m, an ion of yttrium-86, and an ion of zirconium-86.",
"50.",
"A method of forming a complex in accordance with aspect 47, wherein the metal salt comprises an ion of gallium-67 or an ion of gallium-68.",
"51.",
"A kit for forming a complex, comprising: a compound, chelate, complex or salt of any one of aspects 1-46;",
"and a metal salt comprising a metal ion and an anion.",
"52.",
"A kit in accordance with aspect 51, wherein the metal ion is selected from the group consisting of a gallium ion, a cobalt ion, an indium ion, an iron ion, thallium ion, a rhenium ion, a rhodium, a rubidium ion, a ruthenium ion, a strontium ion, a technetium ion, a tungsten ion, a vanadium ion, an yttrium ion, a zirconium ion, a lanthanide ion and a transition metal trivalent ion.",
"53.",
"A kit in accordance with aspect 51, wherein the metal ion is selected from the group consisting of an ion of gallium-67, an ion of gallium-68, an ion of cobalt-57, an ion of indium-111, an ion of iron-59, an ion of iron-52, an ion of thallium-201, an ion of rhenium-188, an ion of rubidium-82, an ion of strontium-92, an ion of technetium-99m, an ion of yttrium-86, and an ion of zirconium-86.",
"54.",
"A kit in accordance with aspect 51, wherein the metal ion is selected from the group consisting of an ion of gallium-67, an ion of gallium-68, a combination thereof.",
"55.",
"A kit in accordance with any one of aspects 51-54, further comprising instructions for using the compound to image a region in a subject.",
"56.",
"A method of imaging Pgp distribution in a region in a subject, comprising the steps: administering to a subject a complex or salt of any one of aspects 23-46;",
"subjecting a region of interest of the subject to radiation;",
"and subjecting the subject to PET scanning or SPECT scanning.",
"57.",
"A method of imaging the distribution of MDR1 (multidrug resistance) P-glycoprotein (Pgp;",
"ABCB1) in a mammalian subject, comprising: administering to the subject a composition comprising a chelate, complex or salt of any one of aspects 1-46: and subjecting the subject to PET imaging, wherein the chelate, complex or salt comprises a positron-emitting isotope.",
"58.",
"A method in accordance with aspect 57, wherein the positron-emitting isotope is gallium-68.",
"59.",
"A method of imaging the distribution of MDR1 (Multidrug Resistance) P-glycoprotein (Pgp;",
"ABCB1) in a mammalian subject, comprising: administering to the subject a composition comprising a chelate, complex or salt of any one of aspects 1-46: and subjecting the subject to SPECT imaging, wherein the chelate, complex or salt comprises a gamma-emitting isotope.",
"60.",
"A method in accordance with aspect 59, wherein the gamma-emitting isotope is gallium-67.",
"61.",
"A method in accordance with any one of aspects 56-60, wherein the imaging a region in a subject comprises imaging the distribution of an ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporter.",
"62.",
"A method in accordance with any one of aspects 56-61, wherein the subject is a human.",
"63.",
"A method in accordance with any one of aspects 56-62, wherein the imaging the distribution of an ABC transporter comprises imaging liver clearance of the complex or salt.",
"64.",
"A method in accordance with any one of aspects 56-62, wherein the imaging the distribution of an ABC transporter comprises imaging myocardial retention of the complex or salt.",
"65.",
"A method of imaging myocardium perfusion, comprising administering a complex or salt of any one of aspects 34-43 to a subject and subjecting the subject to PET, SPECT, or MRI imaging.",
"66.",
"A method in accordance with any one of aspects 56-62, wherein the imaging distribution of Pgp comprises imaging a tumor.",
"67.",
"A method in accordance with aspect 66, wherein the imaging a tumor comprises imaging a drug-resistant tumor.",
"68.",
"A method in accordance with aspect 66, wherein the imaging a tumor comprises imaging a drug-sensitive tumor.",
"69.",
"A method in accordance with any one of aspects 57-62, wherein the imaging distribution of Pgp comprises imaging the brain of the subject.",
"70.",
"A method in accordance with aspect 69, wherein the imaging the brain comprises imaging the blood-brain barrier.",
"71.",
"A method in accordance with any one of the aspects 57-62, wherein the imaging comprises imaging the depolarization of the membrane potential.",
"72.",
"A method of treating an anemia, comprising administering to a subject in need thereof a pharmaceutical composition comprising a complex or salt thereof of any one of aspects 1-46.",
"73.",
"A method of treating an anemia in accordance with aspect 72, wherein the complex or salt comprises an iron ion.",
"74.",
"A fertilizer comprising a compound, a chelate, a complex thereof or a salt thereof in accordance with any one of aspects 1-46.",
"75.",
"A fertilizer in accordance with aspect 74, wherein the complex or salt comprises an iron ion.",
"76.",
"A compound of formula or a pharmacologically acceptable complex or salt thereof, wherein: R 1 and R 2 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, methyl, ethyl, straight chain propyl, straight chain butyl, straight chain pentyl straight chain hexyl, branched chain propyl, branched chain butyl, branched chain pentyl and branched chain hexyl;",
"R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, methyl, ethyl, straight chain propyl, branched chain propyl, straight chain butyl, branched chain butyl, straight chain pentyl, branched chain pentyl, straight chain hexyl and branched chain hexyl, methoxy, ethoxy, fluoroalkoxy.",
"C 1 -C 6 hydroxyalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 alkoxyalkoxyethyl, straight chain propoxy, branched chain propoxy, straight chain butoxy, branched chain butoxy, straight chain pentyloxy, branched chain pentyloxy, straight chain hexyloxy and branched chain hexyloxy, methoxymethyl, methoxyethoxy ethyl, p-methoxybenzyl, benzyl, naphthyl and C 1 -C 6 alkoxy substituted naphthyl;",
"R 7 , R 8 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, methyl, ethyl, straight chain propyl, branched chain propyl, butyl, pentyl and hexyl;",
"R 9 can be selected from the group consisting of H, methyl, ethyl, straight chain propyl, and a branched alkyl selected from the group consisting of isopropyl, isobutyl, isopentyl tert-butyl and tert-pentyl, with a proviso that at least one of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , R 8 and R 9 is not H. 77.",
"A compound or a pharmacologically acceptable complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 76, wherein at least one of R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , and R 6 is not H. 78.",
"A compound or a pharmacologically acceptable complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 76, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of branched chain propoxy, branched chain butoxy, branched chain pentyloxy and branched chain hexyloxy.",
"79.",
"A compound or a pharmacologically acceptable complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 76, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of methoxy, ethoxy, fluoroalkoxy, hydroxyalkoxy, alkoxyalkoxyethyl, straight chain propoxy, straight chain butoxy, straight chain pentlyoxy, straight chain hexyloxy branched chain propoxy, branched chain butoxy, branched chain pentlyoxy and branched chain hexyloxy.",
"80.",
"A compound or a pharmacologically acceptable complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 77, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each independently be branched chain propoxy.",
"81.",
"A compound or a pharmacologically acceptable complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 76, wherein R 1 and R 2 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, branched chain propyl, branched chain butyl, branched chain pentyl and branched chain hexyl.",
"82.",
"A compound or a pharmacologically acceptable complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 76, wherein R 1 and R 2 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, branched chain propyl, branched chain butyl, branched chain pentyl and branched chain hexyl.",
"83.",
"A compound or a pharmacologically acceptable complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 76, wherein R 1 and R 2 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H and methyl, R 7 can be methyl, R 8 can be methyl, R4 can be H, R 5 can be H, R 6 can be H, R 3 can be selected from the group consisting of isopropyloxy, isobutoxyl, isopentyloxy, straight chain hexyloxy and branched chain hexyloxy.",
"84.",
"A compound or a pharmacologically acceptable complex or salt thereof in accordance with aspect 76, wherein R 1 and R 2 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H and methyl, R 7 can be methyl, R 8 can be methyl, R3, R4, R5, and R6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, methoxymethyl, methoxyethoxyethyl, p-methoxybenzyl, benzyl, naphthyl, and C 1 -C 6 alkoxysubstituted naphthyls.",
"85.",
"A compound or a pharmacologically acceptable complex or salt thereof in accordance with any one of aspects 76-84, wherein R 7 and R 8 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of C 1 -C 4 straight chain alkyl, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkyl, C 1 -C 6 linear alkoxy, and C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy.",
"86.",
"A compound or a pharmacologically acceptable complex or salt thereof in accordance with any one of aspects 76-85, wherein R 9 can be selected from the group consisting of H, C 1 -C 6 straight chain alkyl, C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkyl, C 1 -C 6 straight chain alkoxy, and C 3 -C 6 branched chain alkoxy.",
"87.",
"A salt of formula wherein: R 1 and R 2 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, methyl, ethyl, straight chain propyl, straight chain butyl, straight chain pentyl straight chain hexyl, branched chain propyl, branched chain butyl, branched chain pentyl and branched chain hexyl;",
"R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, methyl, ethyl, straight chain propyl, branched chain propyl, straight chain butyl, branched chain butyl, straight chain pentyl, branched chain pentyl, straight chain hexyl and branched chain hexyl, methoxy, ethoxy, fluoroalkoxy, hydroxyalkoxy, C 1 -C 6 alkoxyalkoxyethyl, straight chain propoxy, branched chain propoxy, straight chain butoxy, branched chain butoxy, straight chain pentyloxy, branched chain pentyloxy, straight chain hexyloxy and branched chain hexyloxy, methoxymethyl, methoxyethoxy ethyl, p-methoxybenzyl, benzyl, naphthyl and C 1 -C 6 alkoxy substituted naphthyl;",
"R 7 , R 8 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, methyl, ethyl, straight chain propyl, branched chain propyl, butyl, pentyl and hexyl;",
"R 9 can be selected from the group consisting of H, methyl, ethyl, straight chain propyl, and a branched alkyl selected from the group consisting of isopropyl, isobutyl, isopentyl tert-butyl and tert-pentyl;",
"M can be a metal ion;",
"A − can be an anion;",
"with a proviso that at least one of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , R 8 and R 9 is not H. 88.",
"A salt in accordance with aspect 87, wherein M can be a metal ion selected from the group consisting of gallium, cobalt, indium, iron, rhenium, rhodium, strontium, tungsten, vanadium, yttribium and zirconium.",
"89.",
"A salt in accordance with aspect 87, wherein M can be a metal ion selected from the group consisting of gallium, cobalt, indium, iron, rhenium, ruthenium, rhodium, rubidium, strontium, tungsten, vanadium, yttrium, and zirconium.",
"90.",
"A salt in accordance with aspect 87, wherein A − can be an anion selected from the group consisting of Cl − , F − , I − , Br − , phosphate, sulfate, nitrate, sulfonate, perchlorate, tetraphenylborate, hexafluorophosphate and tetrafluoroborate.",
"91.",
"A salt in accordance with aspect 87, wherein at least one of R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , and R 6 is not H. 92.",
"A salt in accordance with aspect 91, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , and R 6 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, branched chain propoxy, branched chain butoxy, branched chain pentyloxy and branched chain hexyloxy.",
"93.",
"A salt in accordance with aspect 91, wherein R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 can each independently be a branched chain propoxy.",
"94.",
"A salt in accordance with aspect 87, wherein R 1 and R 2 can each be independently selected from the group consisting of H, branched chain propyl, branched chain butyl, branched chain pentyl and branched chain hexyl.",
"95.",
"A salt in accordance with aspect 87, wherein R 1 and R 2 can each be selected from the group consisting of H and a branched chain propyl.",
"96.",
"A salt in accordance with aspect 87, wherein M can be a radioactive nuclide.",
"97.",
"A salt in accordance with aspect 87, wherein M can be a radioactive metal ion selected from the group consisting of radioactive gallium-67, gallium-68, cobalt-57, indium-11, iron-59, iron-52, krypton-81, rhenium-188, rubidium-82, strontium-92, technetium-99m, yttrium-86, and zirconium-86.",
"98.",
"A salt in accordance with aspect 87, wherein M can be gallium-67.",
"99.",
"A salt in accordance with aspect 87, wherein M can be gallium-68.",
"100.",
"A salt in accordance with any one of aspects 87-99, wherein M is a metal having a six-coordinate ionic radius between 0.50-0.85 Å.",
"101.",
"A salt in accordance with any one of aspects 87-100, wherein A − is selected from the group consisting of a halide, a sulfate, a nitrate, a phosphate and a carboxylate.",
"102.",
"A salt in accordance with any one of aspects 87-101, wherein M is a gallium and A − is selected from the group consisting of citrate and chloride.",
"103.",
"A method of making a salt, comprising mixing a compound of any one of aspects 76-86 with a metal salt.",
"104.",
"A method of making a salt in accordance with aspect 103, wherein the metal salt is selected from the group consisting of gallium citrate and gallium chloride.",
"105.",
"A salt made by the method of aspect 103 or aspect 104.",
"106.",
"A kit for forming a radioactive agent comprising: a compound of any one of aspects 76-86;",
"and a metal salt comprising a radioactive metal 107.",
"A kit in accordance with aspect 106, further comprising instructions for mixing the compound and the metal salt under conditions that form a radiometric complex suitable for application as an imaging agent.",
"108.",
"A method of imaging pgp distribution in a subject, comprising: administering to a subject a complex or salt of any one of aspects 1-46 or 76-102;",
"and subjecting the subject to perfusion imaging, wherein the complex or salt comprises a radioactive metal isotope.",
"109.",
"A method of imaging Pgp distribution in a subject in accordance with aspect 108, wherein the imaging comprises PET scanning.",
"110.",
"A method of imaging Pgp distribution in a subject in accordance with aspect 108, wherein the imaging comprises SPECT imaging.",
"111.",
"A method of imaging Pgp distribution in a subject in accordance with aspect 108, further comprising imaging perfusion defects in the heart of the subject.",
"112.",
"A method of imaging Pgp distribution in a subject in accordance with any one of aspects 108-111, wherein subjecting the subject to perfusion imaging comprises imaging using a PET camera or a SPECT camera.",
"113.",
"A method of assessing viability of the blood-brain barrier in a neurodegenerative disease in a subject, comprising: administering to a subject a compound, chelate, complex or salt of any one of aspects 1-46 or 76-102;",
"and subjecting the subject to imaging of the brain, wherein the complex or salt comprises a radioactive metal isotope.",
"114.",
"A method of assessing viability of the blood-brain barrier in a neurodegenerative disease in accordance with aspect 113, wherein the imaging comprises PET scanning.",
"115.",
"A method of assessing viability of the blood-brain barrier in a neurodegenerative disease in accordance with aspect 113, wherein the imaging comprises SPECT imaging.",
"116.",
"A method of imaging a tumor in a subject, comprising: administering to the subject a complex or salt of any one of aspects 1-43 or 66-97;",
"and detecting the distribution of the complex or salt in the subject, wherein the complex or salt comprises a radioactive metal isotope.",
"117.",
"A method of imaging a tumor in a subject in accordance with aspect 116, wherein the detecting distribution of the complex or salt comprises imaging drug-sensitive (−Pgp) and drug resistant (+Pgp) tumors in the subject.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 presents a projection view of cationic gallium (III) complex [ENBDMP-3-isopropoxy-PI-Ga] + (I).",
"FIG. 2 presents HPLC data for [ENBDMP-3-isopropoxy-PI- 67 Ga] + (1A) co-injected with the unlabeled complex 1.",
"FIG. 3 presents a characterization of [ENBDMP-3-isopropoxy-PI- 67 Ga] + (1A).",
"FIG. 4 illustrates NanoSPECT/CT imaging using [ENBDMP-3-isopropoxy-PI- 67 Ga] + (1A) 30 min post injection into a rat.",
"FIG. 5 illustrates NanoSPECT/CT imaging using [ENBDMP-3-ispropoxy-PI- 67 Ga] + (1A) 250 min post injection into a rat.",
"FIG. 6 illustrates MicroPET imaging of myocardial perfusion using [ENBDMP-3-isopropoxy-PI- 68 Ga] + (1B) 60 min post injection into a rat.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION As used herein, a “compound”",
"is an organic covalent structure.",
"As used herein, a “chelate”",
"is a covalent structure than can bond non-covalently with a cation.",
"As used herein, a “complex”",
"is a covalent structure or chelate bonded with a cation.",
"As used herein, a “salt”",
"is a complex combined with an anion.",
"As used herein, a “metal salt”",
"comprises a metal cation and an anion.",
"The anion can be organic or inorganic.",
"As used herein, with regard to chemistry procedures, “contacting”",
"can include mixing, combining, stirring in, or the like, and can include, e.g., mixing chemicals under conditions that promote or result in a chemical reaction.",
"In some configurations, a gallium(III) agent such as 1, 1A or 1B incorporating an organic scaffold comprising six donor atoms, e.g. 2 or 2A, can result in an octahedral geometry.",
"In various aspects, compounds, chelates, complexes and salts of the present teaching can be used as tracers for imaging cardiac tissue in mammals such as humans.",
"In various aspects, compounds, chelates, complexes and salts of the present teaching can be used as fertilizer.",
"In some configurations, a complex or salt of the present teachings can comprise an iron ion, and can be used to provide iron to plants.",
"In some configurations, a complex or salt of the present teachings can comprise an iron ion, and can be useful in the treatment of anemia.",
"The present teachings, including descriptions provided in the Examples, are not intended to limit the scope of any claim.",
"Unless specifically presented in the past tense, an example can be a prophetic or an actual example.",
"The examples are not intended to limit the scope of the aspects.",
"The methods described herein utilize laboratory techniques well known to skilled artisans, and guidance can be found in laboratory manuals and textbooks such as Sambrook, J., et al.",
", Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 3rd ed.",
"Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., 2001;",
"Spector, D. L. et al.",
", Cells: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., 1998;",
"and Harlow, E. Using Antibodies: A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y., 1999;",
"Hedrickson et al.",
"Organic Chemistry 3rd edition.",
"McGraw Hill, New York, 1970;",
"Carruthers.",
"W., and Coldham, I., Modern Methods of Organic Synthesis (4th Edition), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K., 2004;",
"Curati, W. L., Imaging in Oncology, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K., 1998;",
"Welch, M. J., and Redvanly, C. S., eds.",
"Handbook of Radiopharmaceuticals: Radiochemistry and Applications, J. Wiley, New York, 2003.",
"EXAMPLES Example 1 This Example illustrates the structure of a complex of the present teachings.",
"The crystal structure of [ENBDMP-3-isopropoxy-PI-Ga]+ displayed in FIG. 1 shows a symmetrical engagement of the four nitrogen atoms in the equatorial plane and two axial phenolate atoms.",
"FIG. 1 presents a projection view of cationic gallium (II) complex [ENBDMP-3-isopropoxy-PI-Ga] + (1), but without iodide (I − ) as the counter anion.",
"FIG. 1 includes the crystallographic numbering scheme.",
"Atoms are represented by thermal ellipsoids corresponding to 50% probability.",
"1 H NMR, proton-decoupled 13 C NMR, and HRMS analysis can also be used to validate the structure.",
"Example 2 This Example illustrates HPLC data confirming synthesis and radiolabeling of [ENBDMP-3-isopropoxy-PI- 67 Ga] + .",
"In these experiments, the 67 Ga-labeled complex (1A) was synthesized and characterized via HPLC.",
"FIG. 2 presents HPLC data for [ENBDMP-3-isopropoxy-PI- 67 Ga] + 1A co-injected with unlabeled 1.",
"In FIG. 2 , peaks have been offset for visualization.",
"Example 3 This Example illustrates characterization of [ENBDMP-3-isopropoxy-PI- 67 Ga] + for 1A, FIG. 3 shows cellular accumulation of 1A in KB-3-1 cells (−Pgp).",
"MCF-7 cells (−Pgp), MDR KB-8-5 (+Pgp), KB-8-5-11 (Pgp++) cells and stably transfected MCF-7/MDR1 cells as indicated.",
"Shown is net uptake at 90 minutes (fmol (mg protein) −1 (nM 0 ) −1 ) using control buffer in the absence or presence of MDR1Pgp inhibitor LY335979 (1 μM).",
"Each bar represents the mean of 4 determinations;",
"line above the bar denotes +SEM.",
"Example 4 This Example presents in cellulo and in vivo bioassays to illustrate some functions of some disclosed complexes.",
"In these experiments, the 67 Ga-labeled salt 1A was evaluated using cell transport studies and quantitative biodistribution studies in mdr1a/1b (−/−) gene-deleted mice and their wild-type (WT) counterparts.",
"In these experiments, radiolabeled 67 Ga-analogue showed high accumulation in human epidermal carcinoma drug-sensitive KB-3-1 cells (Pgp − ) and human breast carcinoma MCF-7 (Pgp − ) cells, and low accumulation in MDR KB-8-5 (+Pgp), KB-8-5-11 (++Pgp) cells and stably transfected MCF-7/MDR1 (+Pgp) cells.",
"Pgp inhibitor LY335979 (Zosuquidar trihydrochloride, Selleck Chemicals, Houston, Tex.) (1 μM), enhanced accumulation in multidrug resistant (MDR, Pgp + ) KB-8-5, KB-8-5-11 cells, and stably transfected MCF-7/MDR1 cells, thus demonstrating its responsiveness to Pgp-mediated functional transport activity in cellulo ( FIG. 3 ).",
"In mdr1a/1b (−/−) gene-deleted mice, the 67 Ga-labelled complex showed 16-fold greater brain penetration and retention (% ID/g=0.96) compared with WT counterparts (% ID/g=0.06), 2 h post injection of 1A (Tables 1 &",
"2).",
"Additionally, 1A also showed 2.6 fold higher retention in blood of mdr1a/1b (−/−) gene-deleted mice compared with WT counterparts (Table 1 &",
"2), consistent with Pgp expression in white cells of WT mice.",
"These data indicated the ability of 1A to be transported out of cells expressing Pgp and to serve as a probe of the Pgp-mediated component of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) function.",
"Example 5 This Example discloses synthesis of [ENBDMP-3-isopropoxy-PI-Ga] + I − 1.",
"The ligand (100 mg, 0.18 mmol) was dissolved in methanol (5 mL) and was treated with dropwise addition of gallium(II) acetylacetonate (66.2 mg, 0.18 mmol) dissolved in methanol.",
"The contents were refluxed for 3 h. Then, potassium iodide (30 mg, 0.18 mmol) dissolved in hot water (0.5 mL) was added and the reaction mixture was refluxed further for 15 min, brought to room temperature slowly.",
"Slow evaporation over a few days yielded crystalline material, 30% yield.",
"1 H NMR (300 MHz, DMSO-d6) δ: 0.79 (s, 6H), 0.96 (s, 6H), 1.30-1.33 (dd, 12H), 2.63 (d, 2H), 2.79 (d, 4H) 2.94 (br, s, 21), 3.61-3.75 (m 4H), 4.63 (quintet, 2H), 4.79 (br, s, 2H), 6.62 (t, 2H), 6.87 (d, 2H), 7.04 (d, 2H), 8.18 (s, 2H);",
"13 C NMR (300 MHz, DMSO-d6) δ: 22.0, 22.1, 22.2, 26.2, 35.6, 47.7, 59.2, 68.9, 69.5, 115.7, 119.2, 119.5, 125.8, 148.6, 158.1, 170.3.",
"MS (HRESI) Calcd for [C32H48N4O4Ga]+;",
"621.2926.",
"found: m/z=621.2930 and Calcd for [ 13 C 32 H 48 N 4 O 4 Ga] + ;",
"622.2959.",
"found: m/z=622.2967.",
"Example 6 This Example discloses preparation of preparation of 67 Ga-metalloprobe 1A.",
"Radiolabeled 67 Ga-metalloprobe was synthesized by following a procedure described earlier and slight modifications.",
"67 Ga was obtained as a commercial citrate salt in water (Mallinckrodt, Inc., Saint Louis, Mo.), converted into chloride, and finally into 67 Ga(acetylacetonate) 3 by reacting with acetylacetone using standard procedures.",
"Radiolabeled 67 Ga-metalloprobes were obtained through a ligand exchange reaction involving either 67 Ga(acetylacetonate) 3 or 67 GaCl 3 and hexadentate(2) or heptadentate (2A) Schiff-base ligands dissolved in ethanol at 100° C. for 40 min.",
"Reaction was followed using thin-layer chromatography plates (C-18) employing a radiometric scanner (Bioscan), using an eluent mixture of ethanol/saline (90/10;",
"R f : 0.23).",
"Finally, 67 Ga-metalloprobe 1A was purified by radio-HPLC using a Vydac TP C-18 reversed-phase column (10 μm, 300 Å) (Grace Discovery Sciences, Deerfield, Ill.) using an eluent mixture of ethanol and saline as a gradient system.",
"The fraction eluting at a retention time of 16.8 min (1A) was collected, concentrated, and employed for bioassays.",
"Example 7 This Example discloses preparation of 68 Ga-metalloprobe 1B.",
"Radiolabeled 68 Ga-metalloprobe was synthesized by following a procedure described earlier and slight modifications.",
"68 Ga was obtained from the generator as its chloride salt, converted into 68 Ga(acetylacetonate) 3 by reacting with acetylacetone (0.01% solution in ethanol) using standard procedures.",
"Radiolabeled 67 Ga-metalloprobe were obtained through a ligand exchange reaction involving either 68 Ga(acetylacetonate) 3 or 68 GaCl 3 and hexadentate or heptadentate Schiff-base ligands (2 or 2A) dissolved in ethanol at 100° C. for 40 min.",
"Reaction was followed using thin-layer chromatography plates (C-18) employing a radiometric scanner (Bioscan), using an eluent mixture of ethanol/saline (90/10;",
"Rf: 0.23).",
"Finally, 68 Ga-metalloprobe 1B was purified by radio-HPLC using Vydac TP C-18 reversed-phase column (10 μm, 300 Å) using an eluent mixture of ethanol and saline as a gradient system.",
"The fraction eluting at a retention time of 16.8 min (1B) was collected, concentrated, and employed for bioassays.",
"Example 8 This Example discloses preparation of 1,2-ethylenediamino-bis[1-{(3-isopropoxyphenylene-2-ol)methylenimino-2,2-dimethyl}propane](2).",
"To obtain 2, the starting precursor amine, 1,2-ethylenediamino-bis(2,2-dimethylaminopropane) was synthesized as described (Sivapackiam, J., et al.",
", Dalton Transactions 39, 5842-5850, 2010).",
"Additionally, the second starting precursor, 2-hydroxy-3-isopropoxy-1-benzaldehyde was also obtained using a procedure described below: 3-isopropoxyphenol (1.34 mmol), anhydrous magnesium chloride (6.73 mmol), and anhydrous triethylamine (13.4 mmol) were suspended in anhydrous acetonitrile (50 mL), and suspension was stirred for 1 h at room temperature.",
"Then, p-formaldehyde (6.72 mmol) was added to the mixture and the contents were heated at reflux for 4 h. The reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature, hydrolyzed, acidified with 10% HCl (50 mL), and extracted with ether (3×200 mL).",
"The combined organic extract was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered, concentrated, and the residue was purified on silica gel GF254 (Analtech, USA) using hexane/ethyl acetate (70/30) as eluent mixture, 57% yield.",
"1 H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ: 1.28 (d, 611), 4.48 (quintet, 1H), 6.84 (t, 1H), 7.03-7.11 (dd, 2H), 9.81 (s, 1H), 10.87 (s, 1H);",
"13 C NMR (75 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ: 22.1, 72.2, 119.6, 121.4, 122.8, 125.3, 146.5, 153.0, 196.6;",
"MS (HRESI) Calcd for [C 10 H 12 O 3 ] + : 163.0754.",
"found: 163.0759.",
"Finally, for obtaining 2, starting precursors, 2-Hydroxy-3-isopropoxy-1-benzaldehyde (1.80 mmol) and 1,2-ethylenediamino-bis(2,2-dimethylaminopropane) (0.90 mmol) were dissolved in ethanol (10 mL) refluxed for 45 min, and purified by methods described previously.",
"1 H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ: 0.90 (s, 12H), 1.39 (d, 12H), 2.05-2.80 (m, 12H), 2.75 (bs, 2H) 4.60 (q, 2H), 6.80 (t, 2H), 6.850-6.95 (dd, 4H), 7.45 (d, 2H), 8.28 (s, 2H);",
"MS (HRESI) Calcd for [C32H50N4O4];",
"554.3832.",
"found: m/z=555.3918.",
"Example 9 This Example discloses a kit formulation of ligands 2 and 2A.",
"2 or 2A (10 mg) was dissolved in ethanol (500 μl) and treated with potassium acetate (1 mM, 15 ml, pH 5.5) and contents were stirred in an argon flushed amber colored vial.",
"The mixture was filtered through a nylon syringe filter (0.2 μM), and aliquoted into amber colored sterile vials (5 ml), and lyphilized at −50° C. These kits were stored in a refrigerator for 3 months without any appreciable decomposition and used for preparation of 1 and its 67 Ga-labeled counterpart (1A) or 68 Ga-counterpart (1B) as described above.",
"Example 10 This example discloses formation and analysis of a crystal.",
"In these experiments, crystals suitable for X-ray crystallography were grown by dissolving 1 in refluxing methanol, slowly bringing solution to room temperature and extremely slow concentration of the methanol solution overnight.",
"A single crystal with approximate dimensions 0.28×0.18×0.17 mm;",
"was mounted on a glass fiber in a random orientation.",
"Preliminary examination and data collection were performed using a Bruker Kappa Apex II (Charge Coupled Device (CCD) Detector system, Bruker AXS, Inc., Madison, Wis.) single crystal X-Ray diffractometer, equipped with an Oxford Cryostream LT device.",
"Example 11 This example discloses bioassays.",
"All bioassays were performed as described in earlier publications.",
"(Sivapackiam, J., et al.",
", Dalton Transactions 39, 5842-5850, 2010;",
"Harpstrite, S. E., et al.",
", J. Inorg.",
"Biochem.",
"101, 1347-1353, 2007;",
"Sharma, V., et al.",
", J. Nucl.",
"Med.",
"46, 354-364 2005).",
"Gallium(III) agent (1) incorporates a compound possessing six donor atoms and results in an octahedral geometry ( FIG. 1 ).",
"Suitable crystals for analysis were obtained via slow evaporation of a methanol solution of the gallium(III) complex 1.",
"Crystal structure showed a symmetrical engagement of the four equatorial nitrogen atoms and two phenolic oxygen atoms.",
"Upon chemical characterization using routine analytical tools such as 1 H NMR, proton-decoupled 13 C NMR, and HRMS analysis, the agent was validated via multiple bioassays in cellulo and in vivo.",
"The radiolabeled 67 Ga-agent (1A) was obtained via ligand-exchange reaction using 67 Ga(acac) 3 and ligand 2 or 2A.",
"The product was purified via HPLC using a γ-radiodetector ( FIG. 2 ) and characterized via multiple bioassays.",
"67 Ga-labeled counterpart (1A) was evaluated via cell transport studies using human epidermal carcinoma (Pgp − ;",
"Pgp + ) cells and quantitative biodistribution studies in mdr1a/1b (−/−) gene-deleted mice and their wild-type (WT) counterparts.",
"Radiolabeled 67 Ga-analogue (1A) showed high accumulation in human epidermal carcinoma drug-sensitive KB-3-1 cells (Pgp − ), human breast carcinoma MCF-7 (Pgp − ) cells;",
"an inhibitor (LY335979, 1 μM) induced accumulation in multidrug resistant (MDR, Pgp − ) KB-8-5, KB-8-5-11 cells, and stably transfected MCF-7/MDR1 cells, thus demonstrating its ability to interrogate Pgp-mediated functional transport activity in cellulo ( FIG. 3 ).",
"In mdr1a/1b (−/−) gene-deleted mice, the 67 Ga-metalloprobe showed 16-fold greater brain uptake and retention compared with WT counterparts (Table 1 and Table 2).",
"Additionally, the agent permeated the heart tissue accompanied by a facile clearance from the livers of mice (Table 1 and Table 2) and rats (Table 3), thus leading to extremely high target to background ratios (Table 4 and Table 5), showing the potential of the agent for heart perfusion imaging.",
"Thus, molecular imaging of the functional transport activity of MDR1 Pgp (ABCB1) using the disclosed 67/68Ga-metalloprobe enables noninvasive monitoring of the blood-brain barrier in neurodegenerative diseases, assessment of tumors to stratify patient populations for chemotherapeutic treatments, as well as probe the presence or absence of Pgp tissues in vivo, probing depolarization of the membrane potential, and can also provide a myocardial perfusion PET/SPECT imaging agent.",
"Additionally, our synthesis, purification, and formulation of the agent could be accomplished in less than 60 minutes.",
"Example 12 This Example illustrates NanoSPECT/CT imaging using the 67 Ga-radiopharmaceutical (1A).",
"In these experiments.",
"67 Ga-radiopharmaceutical 1A was injected intravenously into a rat tail-vein: NanoSPECT/CT images were obtained 30 min.",
"( FIG. 4 ) and 250 min.",
"( FIG. 5 ) post-injection.",
"The arrows indicate heart uptake.",
"Example 13 This Example illustrates MicroPET imaging of myocardial perfusion in a rat.",
"In these experiments, 68 Ga-radiopharmaceutical 1B was injected intravenously into a rat tail-vein;",
"MicroPET images were obtained 60 min.",
"( FIG. 6 ) post-injection.",
"Note low level of signal from liver compared to the heart.",
"All references cited herein are incorporated by reference each in its entirety.",
"Tables TABLE 1 Biodistribution data (% ID/g) for 67 Ga-Agent 1a in WT mice (n = 3).",
"time(min) P.I. 5 15 60 120 Aver- Aver- Aver- Aver- % ID/g age SEM age SEM age SEM age SEM blood 1.26 0.33 0.29 0.04 0.10 0.01 0.07 0.01 liver 44.95 1.24 33.80 1.80 7.44 0.44 2.90 0.24 kidneys 81.04 17.46 83.46 10.00 93.35 14.49 67.91 5.59 heart 9.21 1.64 8.37 0.98 11.98 0.74 9.81 1.90 brain 0.14 0.01 0.12 0.02 0.09 0.01 0.06 0.01 TABLE 2 Biodistribution data (% ID/g) for 67 Ga-Agent 1a in mdr 1a/1b (—/—) (dKO) mice (n = 3).",
"time(min) P.I. 5 15 60 120 Aver- Aver- Aver- Aver- % ID/g age SEM age SEM age SEM age SEM blood 1.54 0.22 0.64 0.10 0.34 0.03 0.19 0.05 liver 46.34 3.71 46.45 3.42 42.54 5.61 29.82 2.66 kidneys 86.12 4.33 84.19 7.62 95.60 10.38 115.23 10.09 heart 17.02 2.42 10.59 0.58 14.61 0.64 20.29 4.45 brain 1.05 0.03 0.65 0.08 0.99 0.10 0.96 0.13 TABLE 3 Biodistribution data (% ID/g) for 67 Ga-Agent 1a in rats (n = 3).",
"time(min) P.I. 5 15 60 120 Aver- Aver- Aver- Aver- % ID/g age SEM age SEM age SEM age SEM blood 0.175 0.016 0.041 0.003 0.028 0.003 0.012 0.002 lung 0.814 0.069 0.626 0.018 0.559 0.023 0.591 0.006 liver 2.615 0.148 0.657 0.029 0.328 0.017 0.203 0.028 kidneys 8.142 0.620 5.168 0.144 4.201 0.101 3.543 0.108 heart 1.443 0.046 1.306 0.038 1.386 0.026 1.516 0.013 brain 0.024 0.003 0.015 0.001 0.018 0.001 0.016 0.001 TABLE 4 Heart to Tissue Ratio of 67 Ga-Agent 1a in rats (n = 3).",
"time(min) P.I. 5 60 120 Aver- Aver- Aver- % ID/g age SEM age SEM age SEM Heart/Blood 8.386 0.017 49.677 4.275 138.825 32.596 Heart/Liver 0.554 0.069 4.246 0.166 7.782 1.127 TABLE 5 Heart to Tissue Ratio of 67 Ga-Agent 1a in WT mice (n = 3).",
"time(min) P.I. 5 60 120 Aver- Aver- Aver- % ID/g age SEM age SEM age SEM Heart/Blood 7.772 1.13 126.918 18.45 146.618 24.53 Heart/Liver 0.206 0.04 1.617 0.12 3.526 0.88"
] |
This invention was made in part under EPA Cooperative Agreement GR811661-01-0. The United States has certain rights to this invention.
The invention relates to an improved liquid junction interface interposed between a zone electrophoresis system for separating compositions and mixtures and a mass spectrometer (MS) detector. In a preferred mode the invention relates to an interface between the CZE column and an ion spray unit operated at atmospheric pressure which in turn is positioned in series with the mass spectrometer.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Electrophoresis is a powerful technique for the separation of charged species in solution. Capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) was first introduced by F. E. P. Mikkers and coworkers and later explored by J. W. Jorgenson and coworkers. Jorgenson developed electrophoresis processes with on-column detection. Research continues for new apparatus and methods for analyte characterization using electrophoresis and on-line detection. Heretofore most detectors have been optical detectors based on UV absorbance and fluorescence emission. Mass spectrometry is particularly suited for detection of CZE eluents with high sensitivity and selectivity.
Ion evaporation offers a preferred ionization mechanism for on-line CZE/MS because separated components already exist as charged species in the CZE buffer. Ion evaporation involves the emission of ions from the condensed phase into the gas phase and is a mild form of ionization for polar and ionic compounds. This process is one of the main mechanisms of ionization occurring in thermospray, fast atom bombardment, and electrospray ionization. Thermospray does not appear feasible for CZE/MS coupling due to the high liquid flowrates presently required for thermospray ionization and the apparent sensitivity limitations in comparison to other mass spectrometric techniques. Preliminary results demonstrating feasibility of coupling CZE and MS using a continuous atom bombardment (FAB) interface have been presented by R. D. Minard and coworkers (Paper ROC 945, 36th Annual Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics June 5-10, 1988); however, excessive bandbroadening and loss of separation efficiency occurred due to the long transfer line to the FAB ion source and the associated high vacuum requirements. Wallingford and Ewing (Anal. Chem., 59:1762-1766, 1988) previously reported an interface for electrochemical detection based on a porous glass joint created in the column near the cathodic end of the CZE. The porous glass joint along with the cathode end of the capillary were submersed in a buffer reservoir for the purpose of permiting "the application of a potential gradient over one segment of capillary".
The electrospray ionization liquid interface for mass spectrometry developed by Fenn and coworkers has been used by R. D. Smith and coworkers to demonstrate the feasibility of CZE coupled to a mass spectrometer (Anal. Chem., 60:436-441 (1988)). In the Smith system the last few cm of the cathode end of the CZE capillary was sheathed with a stainless steel capillary and silver was vapor-deposited at the end of the two capillaries to make good electrical contact with the buffer flowing from the inside of the CZE capillary. The cathode end was used as the electrospray electrode for electrospray ionization. Although feasibility was demonstrated, this interface required high CZE electroosmotic flows and low buffer concentrations to maintain stable electrospray conditions.
Although the prior art systems have suggested the combination of CZE for separating multiple component analytes with mass spectrometer detection, such systems using an ion spray interface operated at atmospheric pressure suffer from band broadening of the separated species due to the discrepancy of flow rates between the zone electrophoresis separator (0.1 to 1.0 μL/min flow) and the flow rates (1.0 to 50 μL/min) required by the ion spray interface to accommodate the entire CZE eluent. The present invention relates to a fluid coupling of CZE and the ion spray LC/MS interface that allows for a wide range of electroosmotic flows without compromise of the CZE separation.
A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus for separating and detecting small amounts of components of an analyte stream comprising an electrophoresis separator, an ion spray mass spectrometer (MS) system and a means for adding a fluid to the analyte stream between the electrophoresis separator and the ion spray mass spectrometer in an amount which increases the flow rate of the analyte stream exiting the electrophoresis separator and makes it compatible with the flow rate required by the ion spray interface and MS detector to allow detection of the separated components at high sensitivity and without substantial peak broadening.
Another object of the invention relates to the above-described apparatus wherein the fluid comprises a buffer or a buffer plus an inert gas nebulizer, the analyte stream eluent in the electrophoresis separator has a flow rate of from about 0.1 μL/min to about 1.0 μL/min and the flow rate of the eluant, after addition of make-up buffer, entering the ion spray mass spectrometer has a flow rate of from about 1.0 μL/min to about 50 μL/min; wherein said electrophoresis separator is selected from the group consisting of moving boundary electrophoresis, isotachophoresis, zone electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing separators.
A further object of the invention is a liquid junction interface, for coupling a zone electrophoresis separation column with an ion spray mass spectrometer wherein said junction comprises a means for adjusting the flow rate of the zone electrophoresis column eluent passing to a mass spectrometer detector in an amount which makes said flow rate compatible with the ion spray interface and said spectrometer in on-line separation/detection of analyte compositions and mixtures, wherein said adjusting comprises the addition of buffer to said eluent, said interface comprising a zone communicating with:
(1) the exit end of the electrophoresis column;
(2) a conduit having a first end proximate to (1) but separated therefrom to form a gap and a second end communicating with the ion spray mass spectrometer;
(3) a reservoir adapted to contain and supply make-up buffer to said zone and to surround (1) and the first end of conduit (2) including the said gap separating (1) and said first end of conduit (2); said liquid junction interface further comprising a means for adjusting said gap; wherein said electrophoresis column is preferably a silica capillary column and said conduit is preferably a stainless steel capillary column.
Yet another object of the invention relates to a process for analyzing at high separation efficiency small amounts of biological components which combines an electrophoresis separation with an on-line detection of charged particles using an ion spray mass spectrometer system operated at atmospheric pressure which comprises:
(1) passing a biological sample analyte through a CZE capillary separation column to separate the sample components;
(2) adding make-up buffer to the eluent exiting the CZE column in an amount which increases the flow rate of the eluent to make it compatible for detection in an ion spray mass detector system;
(3) conducting the eluent with added buffer to an ion spray mass spectrometer system and detecting said sample components at high separation efficiency without substantial peak broadening.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of a liquid junction coupled CZE/ion spray mass spectrometry system having (2) 0-60 kV high voltage power supply, (4) dual-purpose carbon buffer reservoir and high voltage electrode, (6) capillary separation column, (8) ion spray interface, (12) liquid junction coupling, (16) modified stainless steel tee, (18) polyethylene syringe barrel, (20) stainless steel capillary ion spray electrode, (22) reusable capillary fittings, (24) liquid junction gap, (26) removable plug, (30) stainless steel tee, (32) nebulization gas inlet, (34) concentric tube for nebulizing liquid effluent, (36) ion spray voltage power supply, (38) mass spectrometer interface plate, (40) mass spectrometer ion extraction orifice, (44) mass analyzer; also seen in FIG. 1 is an exploded view of one type of liquid junction coupling (12).
FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an atmospheric pressure ion spray interface for the mass spectrometer wherein the electrophoresis separated eluent is nebulized with nitrogen to give charged droplets and gas phase ions which may be focused to the mass analyzer.
FIG. 3 is a schematic of the Capillary Zone Electrophoresis/Mass Spectrometer showing an interface system for adding buffer to the CZE column eluent using atmospheric pressure ion spray ionization.
FIG. 4 is a SIM CZE/MS total ion current electropherogram from repetitive triplicate injections of 100 fmole, 200 fmole, and 1 pmole amounts of arg-vasopressin wherein the (M+H) 30 and (M+2H) 2+ ions were monitored; CZE buffer was 50/50 acetonitrile/20 mM NH 4 OAc and hydrostatic injections were made at a height of 5 cm for 10 seconds.
FIG. 5 shows a SIM CZE/MS ion current electropherogram for 1.2 pmole of five acid pesticides, namely 4-[2,4-dichlorophenoxyl] butyric acid (A); gibberellic acid (B); 2,3,6-trichlorophenyl-acetic acid (C); 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (D); and p-chloromandelic acid (E).
FIG. 6 shows a CZE/MS/MS total ion current electropherogram (A) and daughter ion mass spectrum (B) for the disulfonated akzo dye, acid blue 113.
FIG. 7 is a CZE/MS/MS extracted ion electropherogram for the parent ion scan from a mixture of six sulfonated azo dyes, namely (A) acid red 151; (B) acid red 88; (C) acid orange 7; (D) acid blue 113; (E) acid black 1; and (F) acid red 14 where the ions are formed by ion evaporation at atmospheric pressure via the ion spray/MS interface.
FIG. 7A is a plot of ion current versus time (minutes) for the individual sulfonated azo dye of the mixture shown in FIG. 7.
FIG. 8 shows a SIM CZE/MS total ion electropherogram for eleven components of tryptic digest of recombinant bovine somatotropin showing separation efficiencies from 50,000 theoretical plates (A) to 300,000 theoretical plates for peak K with asymmetry factors of 1.2 and 1.8 respectively.
FIG. 9 shows a SIM CZE/MS extracted ion electropherogram for the tryptic digest sample of FIG. 8.
FIG. 10 is a CZE/MS spectrum of peak A from a full scan acquisition of the tryptic digest of recombinant bovine somatotrophin shown in FIG. 8.
FIG. 11 is a CZE/MS/MS total ion electropherogram (A) and daughter ion mass spectra (B) for peak A FIG. 8 component of tryptic digest.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for the analysis of extremely small amounts of compounds or mixtures including extracts biological fluids based on separation by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and detection by on-line by mass spectrometry wherein the flow rate of the eluent exiting the CZE is increased by addition of make-up fluid comprising buffer.
More specifically the invention relates in a preferred mode to a novel liquid junction for joining a capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) capillary column, usually a fused silica capillary column with a second capillary conduct, usually stainless steel capillary communicating with an ion spray LC/MS interface using an atmospheric pressure ionization triple quadruple mass spectrometer. The said liquid junction comprises a means for increasing the flow rate by adding makeup buffer to the analyte eluent exiting the CZE separation column prior to entering the ion spray MS detector.
The purpose of the liquid junction interface for coupling an electrophoresis separator with a mass spectrometer detector is to allow the analyte stream exiting the separation column to be combined with additional fluid, preferably a buffer, to make the analyte stream flow rates suitable for detection via the ion spray mass spectrometer system which if not adjusted would result in peak broadening, current instability and decreased sensitivity. As shown in FIG. 2, the capillary tubing leading to the ion spray interfaced with the mass spectrometer is often surrounded with a concentric tubing, such as a stainless steel tubing, for the purpose of conducting an inert gas (nitrogen) stream to nebulize the liquid exiting the electrophoresis separator and ion spray interface. In such instances, make-up buffer added at the liquid junction compensates for the aspiration effect of nitrogen flow in the concurrent tubing communicating with the analyte stream. The net result is that the gas nebulizes the analyte constituents and the added buffer adjusts the flow rate of the analyte stream passing to the ion spray mass spectrometer system for detection purposes. Various modes of addition of buffer to the analyte stream will be apparent to one skilled in the art. Make-up buffer may be added via the liquid junction interface shown in FIG. 1. Alternatively, buffer may be added to the nebulizing gas stream.
A schematic illustration of the instrumentation is shown in FIG. 1. The capillary electrophoresis system consisted of 0-60 kV voltage regulated power supply (2) (Spellman, Model RHR60P30/EI, Plainview, N.Y.). The high voltage lead was connected directly to a 2-mL volume carbon vessel (4) which served the dual purpose of buffer reservoir and electrode. The separation column (6), a 100-um i.d.×100-cm length of fused-silica capillary (Polymicro Technologies, Phoenix, Ariz.), was suction-filled with buffer and the anode end of the column suspended in the carbon vessel (4) containing the buffer medium. The cathode end of the column was connected to the ion spray LC/MS interface (8), as described by A. P. Bruins et al, Anal. Chem., 59:2642-2646 (1987), via a liquid junction coupling (12). Sample volumes of 2 to 30 nL were introduced onto the column at the anode end by hydrostatic or electrokinetic injection (as described by X. Huang et al, Anal. Chem., 60:375-377 (1988). The sample volume was determined by injecting a narrow band of a dark dye and measuring the time for it to pass through a given length of the column while in the inject mode. The capillary electrophoretic separation commenced by applying 30 kV to the anode end of the separation column through the carbon buffer reservoir while + or -3 kV was applied to the cathode end via the ion spray LC/MS interface (8) and the liquid junction coupling (12). This produced a net CZE voltage of 27 kV for positive ion operation and 33 kV for negative ion operation of the mass spectrometer.
The liquid junction coupling shown expanded in schematic FIG. 1 was constructed from a standard 1/16-in. stainless steel tee (16) (Waters, Milford, Mass.). The tee was drilled with a 5/64-in. drill through the top and fitted with a 3-mL volume polyethylene syringe barrel (18) (Monoject, St. Louis, Mo.). The cathode end of the column (6) and the end of the electrospray electrode (20) from the ion spray LC/MS interface were positioned in the center of the tee opposite each other with reusable capillary fittings (22) (Upchurch, Oak Harbor, Wash.). The gap (24) between the end of the column and the end of the electrode was adjusted to 25 um under a microscope. This gap could be easily adjusted by tightening or loosening the capillary fittings (22). The hole opposite the syringe barrel in the tee was fitted with a removable plug (26). The plug was removed for alignment and adjustment of the gap between the column and electrode and when initially filling the syringe barrel and tee with buffer to eliminate air trapped in the tee.
FIG. 2 shows the ion spray LC/MS interface used which was based on the design reported previously by Bruins, Covey and Henion, Anal. Chem., 59:2642-2646 (1987). The central electrospray electrode (20) through which the eluent flowed was a 100-um i.d. ×200-um o.d stainless steel capillary (Small Parts, Gainsville, Fla.). The electrode passed through a 1/16-in. stainless steel tee (30) (SGE, Austin, Tex.). Nitrogen gas for assisting the electrospray nebulization was introduced through the side port (32) of the SGE tee and exited at the end of the electrospray electrode at a velocity of approximately 300 m/s through a concentric 325-um i.d. stainless steel tube (34). The end of the electrode protruded 500 um past the end of the concentric tube. A 0-10 kV voltage and current regulated power supply (36) (Spellman, Model RHR10PN30/FG, Plainview, N.Y.) was used to float the ion spray LC/MS interface (8) and the liquid junction coupling (12) at an electrospray potential of +3 kV or -3 kV for positive or negative ion operation, respectively. The interface plate (36) of the mass spectrometer served as the counter electrode for the ion spray interface. The end of the ion spray electrode was positioned 1.5 cm away from the skimmer cone (40) of the mass spectrometer and 0.5 cm off-axis.
A SCIEX TAGA 6000E triple quadruple mass spectrometer (Thornhill, Ontario, Canada) equipped with an atmospheric pressure ion source was used to sample ions produced from the ion spray LC/MS interface (8). Ions were sampled into the vacuum for mass analysis through a 100-um i.d. orifice in the end of a skimmer cone (40) which was extended towards atmosphere. The atmospheric side of the cone (40) was purged with a curtain of high purity, dry nitrogen gas. The nitrogen curtain acted as a barrier to restrict contaminants and solvent vapor from entering the mass spectrometer vacuum. High vacuum in the analyzer region (44) of the mass spectrometer was achieved by cryogenically-cooled surfaces maintained at 15-20 K surrounding the quadruple mass filter. During routine operation the indicated high vacuum was 7× 10 -6 torr and during collision-induced dissociation (CID) the vacuum was 1.5×10 -5 torr with a target gas thickness of 230×10 12 atoms/cm 2 of ultra-pure argon or 150 × 10 12 atoms/cm 2 of ultra-pure xenon (Matheson, Secaucus, N.J.) in the collision cell. A collision energy of 50 V energy was used for all CID experiments.
Previous LC/MS experience with electrospray demonstrated that the assistance of pneumatic nebulization improves the stability of electrospray. Therefore, the ion spray LC/MS interface was directly coupled to the end of the CZE column with a low-dead volume union between the capillary electrode and the column exit. The ion spray LC/MS interface gave improved stability, but still required high electroosmotic flows through the column. If low electroosmotic flows were used the siphoning action of the field generated from the electrospray potential in combination with the aspirating effect of the nebulizing gas pulled on the buffer in the capillary. The increased flow through the capillary resulted in shorter retention times and degraded separation when compared to work with on-column UV detection. The decrease in the buffer volume was measured for a given period of time from an unrestricted reservoir coupled directly to the ion spray LC/MS interface. The combination of the potential field and the aspiration of the nebulizing gas can siphon at flow rates as high as 50 uL/min. However, typical flow rates were in the range of 10 to 20 uL/min. When fused-silica columns are used CZE generally operates at flow rates of less than 2 uL/min from the electroosmotic flow in the column or even well below 1 uL/min with buffers that have low pH and high ionic strength. On the other hand, generation of stable electrospray conditions are difficult at flow rates below 1 uL/min.
Due to the incompatibility of the flowrates of CZE and ion spray a liquid junction for coupling CZE and ion spray mass spectrometry was developed. The liquid junction exemplified in FIGS. 1 and 3 allow the addition of buffer from a reservoir source over a wide range of flows (0 to 20 uL/min). The possibility of using zero flow provides the opportunity for other forms of high performance capillary electrophoresis such as isotachophoresis and the use of gel-filled capillaries which have no liquid flow. Flows of 10 to 20 μL/min are needed for MS and atmospheric pressure/MS detectors.
In one mode the coupling (12) was constructed from a stainless steel tee (16). The cathode end of the CZE column (6) is placed opposite the end of the capillary electrode (20) of the ion spray LC/MS interface with a 25-um gap (24) between. The gap allows buffer to flow unrestricted into the ion spray interface electrode (20) from the surrounding reservoir preventing suction to occur at the end of the CZE column. The size of the gap was determined from the formula d=R/2 which was derived from a relation between the cross sectional area of the ion spray capillary electrode equal to the surface area around the gap, where d is the gap and R is the internal radius of the capillary electrode (20). Since the flow rate into the ion spray interface is 10 to 20 times greater than from the CZE column, analytes are rapidly swept into the mass spectrometer via the make-up buffer (in 18) to the ion spray LC/MS interface with no observable band broadening or loss of resolution.
It is recognized the gap distance will vary depending on the capillary diameter. A preferred gap opening for CZE capillary diameter of 100μ is 20 to 25 μm. When the gap is too small, not enough make-up flow enters the eluent stream; allignment problems occur and the eluting components everlap due to the increased stability of the stream entering the ion spray system. When the gap is too large, separation efficiency degrades, chromatographic (component) peaks broaden and extreme tailing destroys sensitivity.
Liquid junction coupling of CZE and the ion spray LC/MS interface does not adversely affect peak broadening and provides good reproducability. One skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention contemplates various modes for adjusting flow rates to the to the ion spray/MS interface by adding make up buffer from a buffer reservoir. Accordingly, the invention should not be limited by the best mode examples or by any specific CZE/mass spectrometer system. For example, it is contemplated that the buffer can be added to the nebulation gas stream set forth in co-pending patent application Ser. No. 202,768 filed June 3, 1988, for use with the ion spray/MS interface. For this purpose, Ser. No. 202,768 is incorporated herein by reference. The liquid junction coupling can also be used with other high performance capillary electrophoresis techniques which have zero flow such as isotachophoresis and gel filled capillaries. Other methods of increasing flow rates by adding make-up buffer downstream of the electrophoresis separation will be recognized by one skilled in the art.
Full-scan capillary zone electrophoresis/mass spectrometry (CZE/MS) and capillary zone electrophoresis/tandem mass spectrometry (CZE/MS/MS) were used for the detection of monosulfonated and polysulfonated azo dyes at the low pmole levels. Under selected ion monitoring (SIM) conditions fmole levels of the dyes were detected. Ion evaporation via the ion spray liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) interface (a mild form of ionization) exhibited only deprotonated singly charged or poly-deprotonated multiply charged negative molecular ions for sulfonated azo dyes. CZE/MS/MS daughter ion scanning after collision-induced dissociation (CID) of the molecular species for all sulfonated azo dyes contained the sulfonate ion (m/z 80). The presence of three sulfonated azo dyes in a waste water extract was shown by parent ion scanning for the sulfonate daughter ion (m/z 80).
The term electrophoresis as used herein includes moving boundary electrophoresis, isotachophoresis, zone electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing.
For purposes of this invenion, a preferred make-up fluid is a buffer or mixture of buffer with a nebulizing gas. The makeup buffer can be the same or different from the buffer used in the electrophoresis column. As a practical matter, it is preferred to use the same make-up buffer as used in the separation. Useful buffers include ammonium acetate, formic acid, trifluoroacetic acid, ammonium formate and the like. Useful solvents for buffer preparation include water, acetonitrile, lower alcohols including methanol and ethanol. The buffers operate over a wide variety of pH. Preferred pH is from about pH 4.2 to pH 11.
The flow rate in the CZE column and in the ion spray conduit, when used, is dependent on the diameter of the capillary or conduit. Typical flows in the CZE capillary having a diameter of 100μ is about 1.0 μL/minute. Useful flow rates in the ion spray interface are about 10 to 20 μL/minute. The purpose of the make-up buffer is to increase the flow rate of about 1.0 μL/minute up to 50 μL/minute for the satisfactory operation of the ion spray/mass spectrometer system without detriment to detection sensitivity of the analyte components separated in the CZE column.
Ion spray interface has several advantages compared to both traditional techniques (FAB, Thermospray, etc.) and electrospray. The use of pneumatic nebulization in Ion Spray results in a stable ion current from a comparatively large range of flow rates (100 nl/min to 200 μl/min). This allows the direct analysis of samples by the direct introduction of small quantities of material, as reported here, but also permits on-line connection to separation and electrophoretic techniques, such as HPLC and Capillary Zone Electrophoresis (CZE). Furthermore, the extreme sensitivity of Ion Spray (picomole levels compared to nanomole levels for similar compounds by FAB, and Thermospray, results in very low sample consumption.
Like the electrospray interface, the Ion Spray interface produces ions via ion evaporation. However, pneumatic nebulization, in addition to electric fields, is used to disperse the droplets to the sub-micron dimensions required for ion evaporation. Thus, ion spray and electrospray are distinguished by the use of pneumatic nebulization, which adds stability to the ion current and allows the use of flow rates from 100 nL/min to 200 μL/min, whereas pure electrospray operates best in the 1-20 μL/min range.
As shown by the best mode examples, the above described apparatus and process incorporating make-up buffer down stream of the zone electrophoresis separator is advantageous for the separation and detection of various complex samples including for example biological extracts, enzymatic digests, tryptic digests, ions in solution including dyes such as sulfonated azo dyes, amino acid sequences, peptide dynorphins, leucine enkephalin and the like. The examples are meant to generally exemplify the invention and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the invention.
EXAMPLE 1
Using the apparatus described in FIG. 1, experiments were run to determine optimum spacing of the capillary gap in the liquid junction.
Serial injections can be made at close intervals because the flow of the CZE system can be stopped during operation by simply turning off the high voltage. Optimum spacing of the gap was confirmed experimentally by triplicate serial injections of arg-vasopressin (FIG. 4) at three different dilutions in the buffer. This experiment was accomplished in a 50/50 acetonitrile/20 mM acetate buffer at pH 6.8 wherein volumes of 20 nL were hydrostatically injected every 30 sec. The (M+H) 30 and (M+2H) 2+ ions of arg-vasopressin were monitored by the mass spectrometer under selected ion monitoring (SIM) conditions. The asymmetry measured at ten percent peak height for these peaks ranged from 1.0 to 1.3 demonstrating that the liquid junction gap is not contributing to excessive peak tailing. If wider gaps are used peak tailing is observed due to the increased residence time and mixing at the junction which resulted in asymmetric peaks. Hydrostatic injections were made at 30-sec intervals and the peaks appeared at approximately 30-sec intervals. If the gap is too narrow the peaks in a series of injections elute at increased intervals due to the suction of the ion spray LC/MS interface during the injection period in between the CZE high voltage was not operational.
Sensitivity. The sensitivity of ion evaporation via the ion spray LC/MS interface is sample dependent with the best sensitivity for samples which are already ionized in solution. For arg-vasopressin (FIG. 4) the 100-fmole injections have a signal-to-noise ratio of 19:1, suggesting detection limits in the low fmole range. High percentages of organic modifier such as acetonitrile or methanol at a low concentration (approx. 1 mM) of a buffer salt such as ammonium acetate in the CZE buffer increases the sensitivity for most analytes.
EXAMPLE 2
Determination of Pesticides and Herbicides
Various pesticides and herbicides were analyzed using the apparatus described in FIG. 1. Many separations can be improved by the addition of organic modifiers and as mentioned above the sensitivity of ion spray LC/MS is also better. The CZE/MS electropherogram (FIG. 5) for 1.2 pmole per component of the acid pesticides 4-[2,4-dichlorophenoxyl] butyric acid (A), gibberellic acid (B), 2,3,6-trichlorophenyl-acetic acid (C), 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (D), and p-chloromandelic acid (E) was produced in a 90/10 acetonitrile/0.1 M NH 4 OAc buffer. Under higher aqueous conditions the individual components of the mixture were not completely resolved and the retention times were longer. This presumably could be a result of acid hydrates being formed in high aqueous buffers. At high organic buffer concentration the hydration will be suppressed and different electrophoretic mobilities will be apparent depending on the binding force of the species.
EXAMPLE 3
Determination of Sulfonated Azo Dves
The apparatus of FIG. 1 was used for the determination of disulfonated azo dye, acid blue 113. Low detection limits have previously been demonstrated by ion spray LC/MS for sulfonated azo dyes. These compounds exhibit mass spectra which contain the (M-nH) n- ions (n=the number of sulfate groups). Collision-induced dissociation of the (M-nH) n- ion produces a common daughter ion at m/z 80 for the sulfonate functionality (FIG. 6B). The CZE/MS/MS total ion electropherogram (FIG. 6A) and daughter ion mass spectrum (FIG. 6B) for the disulfonated azo dye, acid blue 113, was obtained by focusing it's (M-2H) 2- ion at m/z 317 in the first quadruple, performing CID in the second quadruple and scanning the third quadruple from m/z 50 to 350. As expected, the sulfonate ion at m/z 80 was present as well as fragments at m/z 156 and m/z 297 in the daughter ion presumably originate from the cleavage at the azo functionalities with charge retention on the sulfonate-containing group (FIG. 6B).
The main advantage of CZE/MS over LC/MS is that there is more flexibility in the choice of buffer used. This allows the separation buffer to be tailored more to meet the needs of the mass spectrometer.
EXAMPLE 4
The process of Example 3 was repeated in a sulfonated azo dye mixture. Since the sulfonate ion is a common CID fragment ion of sulfonated azo dyes, parent ion scanning can be used to screen for sulfonated azo dyes. The extracted ion electropherograms (FIG. 7) for a mixture of six sulfonated azo dyes were obtained while scanning the first quadruple from m/z 200 to 600 and monitoring m/z 80 in the third quadruple. The first three components separated are the monosulfonated dyes acid red 1 (A, m/z 431), acid red 88 (B, m/z 377), and acid orange 7 (C, m/z 327) and the second three are the disulfonated dyes acid blue 113 (D, m/z 317), acid black 1 (E, m/z 285), and acid red 14 (F, m/z 228). The sulfonated azo dyes elute in decreasing m/z ratio. This observation can be explained by noting that the electrophoretic mobility of negatively charged species is toward the anode. However, the higher velocity of the electroosmotic flow, due to the negatively charge fused-silica capillary wall, causes all species to have a net migration towards the cathode. As the size of a negatively charged species increases its electrophoretic mobility decreases causing those ions of larger size and lower charge to elute first.
EXAMPLE 5
Tryptic Digest of recombinant bovine somatotropin.
The apparatus and process of Example 3 was used to analyze tryptic digest of recombinant bovine somatotropin. The sample was supplied by Dr. F. Cron of the UpJohn Company. One characteristic of CZE is its ability to obtain high separation efficiencies. The SIM CZE/MS electropherogram (FIG. 8) for 11 components in a tryptic digest of recombinant bovine somatotropin exhibits separation efficiencies from 50,000 theoretical plates for peak A to 300,000 theoretical plates for peak K with asymmetry factors of 1.2 and 1.8, respectively. Theoretical plates were calculated from the formula N=5.54(tr/tw 1/2 ) 2 . It would be unlikely to obtain such high efficiencies if the liquid junction coupling between the CZE capillary and the ion spray LC/MS interface were contributing significantly to band broadening. Even with the high separation efficiencies obtainable by CZE components D and E, and H and I could not be resolved from each other in the work. The mass spectrometer can be used to determine the peak purity by resolving the individual components by their mass-to-charge ration. The extracted ion electropherograms (FIG. 9) for the separation shown in FIG. 6 illustrates this point. Components D and E (peak D,E in FIG. 9) are resolved by their masses at m/z 538 and m/z 721 (FIGS. 7D,E). The same is true for components H and I (peak H,I in FIG. 9, FIGS. 7H,I).
EXAMPLE 6
Determining Peptide Sequence by CZE/MS/MS.
The full-scan mass spectrum (FIG. 10) of peak A in FIG. 8 is illustrated for a small peptide by ion spray. The mass spectrum of small peptides typically exhibit the (M+nH) n+ ion (n=degree of protonation) under the pH conditions used. The degree of protonation is a function of the number of basic functional groups contained within the peptide. Peak A was identified by it's CZE/MS/MS full-scan daughter ion mass spectrum (FIG. 11B). The CZE/MS/MS total ion electropherogram (A) and daughter ion mass spectrum (B) were obtained from injection of the same solution and under the same conditions as the electropherogram shown in FIG. 8. The difference in retention times in FIG. 8 and FIG. 11A can be attributed to the prolonged use of the CZE capillary separation column without conditioning between experiments. As shown (FIG. 11B) the daughter ion mass spectrum is consistent with the sequence of the peptide (AGQILK). These results demonstrated the detection of a peptide in a tryptic digest sample and determining its sequence by CZE/MS/MS. | An improved capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE)/ mass spectrometer interface comprises a liquid junction adapted to makeup the volume/flow rate of the CZE column eluent stream to be more compatible with the ion spray LC/MS interface flow rates required by mass spectrometer detectors in on-line separation/detection systems for variouscompositions and mixtures including biological fluids and environmental samples. Analytes eluting from the CZE capillary column are diluted with a suitable buffer thereby adjusting the volume and flow rates to prevent flow and pressure discrepanies which would otherwise result in peak broadening.
The new liquid junction system for CZE/MS and CZE/MS/MS is useful in separating, detecting and analyzing compositions and mixtures such as amino acids, pesticides, peptides, mucleotides, sulfonated azo dyes and enzymatic digests such as tryptic digest of recombinant bovine somatotropan. Detection can be carried out in both positive and negative ion modes. High separation efficiencies ranging from 50,000 to 1,000,000 theoretical plates and peak asymmetries of 1.2 to 1.8 for tryptic digest are achieved. | Summarize the key points of the given patent document. | [
"This invention was made in part under EPA Cooperative Agreement GR811661-01-0.",
"The United States has certain rights to this invention.",
"The invention relates to an improved liquid junction interface interposed between a zone electrophoresis system for separating compositions and mixtures and a mass spectrometer (MS) detector.",
"In a preferred mode the invention relates to an interface between the CZE column and an ion spray unit operated at atmospheric pressure which in turn is positioned in series with the mass spectrometer.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Electrophoresis is a powerful technique for the separation of charged species in solution.",
"Capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) was first introduced by F. E. P. Mikkers and coworkers and later explored by J. W. Jorgenson and coworkers.",
"Jorgenson developed electrophoresis processes with on-column detection.",
"Research continues for new apparatus and methods for analyte characterization using electrophoresis and on-line detection.",
"Heretofore most detectors have been optical detectors based on UV absorbance and fluorescence emission.",
"Mass spectrometry is particularly suited for detection of CZE eluents with high sensitivity and selectivity.",
"Ion evaporation offers a preferred ionization mechanism for on-line CZE/MS because separated components already exist as charged species in the CZE buffer.",
"Ion evaporation involves the emission of ions from the condensed phase into the gas phase and is a mild form of ionization for polar and ionic compounds.",
"This process is one of the main mechanisms of ionization occurring in thermospray, fast atom bombardment, and electrospray ionization.",
"Thermospray does not appear feasible for CZE/MS coupling due to the high liquid flowrates presently required for thermospray ionization and the apparent sensitivity limitations in comparison to other mass spectrometric techniques.",
"Preliminary results demonstrating feasibility of coupling CZE and MS using a continuous atom bombardment (FAB) interface have been presented by R. D. Minard and coworkers (Paper ROC 945, 36th Annual Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics June 5-10, 1988);",
"however, excessive bandbroadening and loss of separation efficiency occurred due to the long transfer line to the FAB ion source and the associated high vacuum requirements.",
"Wallingford and Ewing (Anal.",
"Chem.",
", 59:1762-1766, 1988) previously reported an interface for electrochemical detection based on a porous glass joint created in the column near the cathodic end of the CZE.",
"The porous glass joint along with the cathode end of the capillary were submersed in a buffer reservoir for the purpose of permiting "the application of a potential gradient over one segment of capillary".",
"The electrospray ionization liquid interface for mass spectrometry developed by Fenn and coworkers has been used by R. D. Smith and coworkers to demonstrate the feasibility of CZE coupled to a mass spectrometer (Anal.",
"Chem.",
", 60:436-441 (1988)).",
"In the Smith system the last few cm of the cathode end of the CZE capillary was sheathed with a stainless steel capillary and silver was vapor-deposited at the end of the two capillaries to make good electrical contact with the buffer flowing from the inside of the CZE capillary.",
"The cathode end was used as the electrospray electrode for electrospray ionization.",
"Although feasibility was demonstrated, this interface required high CZE electroosmotic flows and low buffer concentrations to maintain stable electrospray conditions.",
"Although the prior art systems have suggested the combination of CZE for separating multiple component analytes with mass spectrometer detection, such systems using an ion spray interface operated at atmospheric pressure suffer from band broadening of the separated species due to the discrepancy of flow rates between the zone electrophoresis separator (0.1 to 1.0 μL/min flow) and the flow rates (1.0 to 50 μL/min) required by the ion spray interface to accommodate the entire CZE eluent.",
"The present invention relates to a fluid coupling of CZE and the ion spray LC/MS interface that allows for a wide range of electroosmotic flows without compromise of the CZE separation.",
"A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for separating and detecting small amounts of components of an analyte stream comprising an electrophoresis separator, an ion spray mass spectrometer (MS) system and a means for adding a fluid to the analyte stream between the electrophoresis separator and the ion spray mass spectrometer in an amount which increases the flow rate of the analyte stream exiting the electrophoresis separator and makes it compatible with the flow rate required by the ion spray interface and MS detector to allow detection of the separated components at high sensitivity and without substantial peak broadening.",
"Another object of the invention relates to the above-described apparatus wherein the fluid comprises a buffer or a buffer plus an inert gas nebulizer, the analyte stream eluent in the electrophoresis separator has a flow rate of from about 0.1 μL/min to about 1.0 μL/min and the flow rate of the eluant, after addition of make-up buffer, entering the ion spray mass spectrometer has a flow rate of from about 1.0 μL/min to about 50 μL/min;",
"wherein said electrophoresis separator is selected from the group consisting of moving boundary electrophoresis, isotachophoresis, zone electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing separators.",
"A further object of the invention is a liquid junction interface, for coupling a zone electrophoresis separation column with an ion spray mass spectrometer wherein said junction comprises a means for adjusting the flow rate of the zone electrophoresis column eluent passing to a mass spectrometer detector in an amount which makes said flow rate compatible with the ion spray interface and said spectrometer in on-line separation/detection of analyte compositions and mixtures, wherein said adjusting comprises the addition of buffer to said eluent, said interface comprising a zone communicating with: (1) the exit end of the electrophoresis column;",
"(2) a conduit having a first end proximate to (1) but separated therefrom to form a gap and a second end communicating with the ion spray mass spectrometer;",
"(3) a reservoir adapted to contain and supply make-up buffer to said zone and to surround (1) and the first end of conduit (2) including the said gap separating (1) and said first end of conduit (2);",
"said liquid junction interface further comprising a means for adjusting said gap;",
"wherein said electrophoresis column is preferably a silica capillary column and said conduit is preferably a stainless steel capillary column.",
"Yet another object of the invention relates to a process for analyzing at high separation efficiency small amounts of biological components which combines an electrophoresis separation with an on-line detection of charged particles using an ion spray mass spectrometer system operated at atmospheric pressure which comprises: (1) passing a biological sample analyte through a CZE capillary separation column to separate the sample components;",
"(2) adding make-up buffer to the eluent exiting the CZE column in an amount which increases the flow rate of the eluent to make it compatible for detection in an ion spray mass detector system;",
"(3) conducting the eluent with added buffer to an ion spray mass spectrometer system and detecting said sample components at high separation efficiency without substantial peak broadening.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of a liquid junction coupled CZE/ion spray mass spectrometry system having (2) 0-60 kV high voltage power supply, (4) dual-purpose carbon buffer reservoir and high voltage electrode, (6) capillary separation column, (8) ion spray interface, (12) liquid junction coupling, (16) modified stainless steel tee, (18) polyethylene syringe barrel, (20) stainless steel capillary ion spray electrode, (22) reusable capillary fittings, (24) liquid junction gap, (26) removable plug, (30) stainless steel tee, (32) nebulization gas inlet, (34) concentric tube for nebulizing liquid effluent, (36) ion spray voltage power supply, (38) mass spectrometer interface plate, (40) mass spectrometer ion extraction orifice, (44) mass analyzer;",
"also seen in FIG. 1 is an exploded view of one type of liquid junction coupling (12).",
"FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an atmospheric pressure ion spray interface for the mass spectrometer wherein the electrophoresis separated eluent is nebulized with nitrogen to give charged droplets and gas phase ions which may be focused to the mass analyzer.",
"FIG. 3 is a schematic of the Capillary Zone Electrophoresis/Mass Spectrometer showing an interface system for adding buffer to the CZE column eluent using atmospheric pressure ion spray ionization.",
"FIG. 4 is a SIM CZE/MS total ion current electropherogram from repetitive triplicate injections of 100 fmole, 200 fmole, and 1 pmole amounts of arg-vasopressin wherein the (M+H) 30 and (M+2H) 2+ ions were monitored;",
"CZE buffer was 50/50 acetonitrile/20 mM NH 4 OAc and hydrostatic injections were made at a height of 5 cm for 10 seconds.",
"FIG. 5 shows a SIM CZE/MS ion current electropherogram for 1.2 pmole of five acid pesticides, namely 4-[2,4-dichlorophenoxyl] butyric acid (A);",
"gibberellic acid (B);",
"2,3,6-trichlorophenyl-acetic acid (C);",
"2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (D);",
"and p-chloromandelic acid (E).",
"FIG. 6 shows a CZE/MS/MS total ion current electropherogram (A) and daughter ion mass spectrum (B) for the disulfonated akzo dye, acid blue 113.",
"FIG. 7 is a CZE/MS/MS extracted ion electropherogram for the parent ion scan from a mixture of six sulfonated azo dyes, namely (A) acid red 151;",
"(B) acid red 88;",
"(C) acid orange 7;",
"(D) acid blue 113;",
"(E) acid black 1;",
"and (F) acid red 14 where the ions are formed by ion evaporation at atmospheric pressure via the ion spray/MS interface.",
"FIG. 7A is a plot of ion current versus time (minutes) for the individual sulfonated azo dye of the mixture shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 8 shows a SIM CZE/MS total ion electropherogram for eleven components of tryptic digest of recombinant bovine somatotropin showing separation efficiencies from 50,000 theoretical plates (A) to 300,000 theoretical plates for peak K with asymmetry factors of 1.2 and 1.8 respectively.",
"FIG. 9 shows a SIM CZE/MS extracted ion electropherogram for the tryptic digest sample of FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is a CZE/MS spectrum of peak A from a full scan acquisition of the tryptic digest of recombinant bovine somatotrophin shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 11 is a CZE/MS/MS total ion electropherogram (A) and daughter ion mass spectra (B) for peak A FIG. 8 component of tryptic digest.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for the analysis of extremely small amounts of compounds or mixtures including extracts biological fluids based on separation by capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and detection by on-line by mass spectrometry wherein the flow rate of the eluent exiting the CZE is increased by addition of make-up fluid comprising buffer.",
"More specifically the invention relates in a preferred mode to a novel liquid junction for joining a capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) capillary column, usually a fused silica capillary column with a second capillary conduct, usually stainless steel capillary communicating with an ion spray LC/MS interface using an atmospheric pressure ionization triple quadruple mass spectrometer.",
"The said liquid junction comprises a means for increasing the flow rate by adding makeup buffer to the analyte eluent exiting the CZE separation column prior to entering the ion spray MS detector.",
"The purpose of the liquid junction interface for coupling an electrophoresis separator with a mass spectrometer detector is to allow the analyte stream exiting the separation column to be combined with additional fluid, preferably a buffer, to make the analyte stream flow rates suitable for detection via the ion spray mass spectrometer system which if not adjusted would result in peak broadening, current instability and decreased sensitivity.",
"As shown in FIG. 2, the capillary tubing leading to the ion spray interfaced with the mass spectrometer is often surrounded with a concentric tubing, such as a stainless steel tubing, for the purpose of conducting an inert gas (nitrogen) stream to nebulize the liquid exiting the electrophoresis separator and ion spray interface.",
"In such instances, make-up buffer added at the liquid junction compensates for the aspiration effect of nitrogen flow in the concurrent tubing communicating with the analyte stream.",
"The net result is that the gas nebulizes the analyte constituents and the added buffer adjusts the flow rate of the analyte stream passing to the ion spray mass spectrometer system for detection purposes.",
"Various modes of addition of buffer to the analyte stream will be apparent to one skilled in the art.",
"Make-up buffer may be added via the liquid junction interface shown in FIG. 1. Alternatively, buffer may be added to the nebulizing gas stream.",
"A schematic illustration of the instrumentation is shown in FIG. 1. The capillary electrophoresis system consisted of 0-60 kV voltage regulated power supply (2) (Spellman, Model RHR60P30/EI, Plainview, N.Y.).",
"The high voltage lead was connected directly to a 2-mL volume carbon vessel (4) which served the dual purpose of buffer reservoir and electrode.",
"The separation column (6), a 100-um i.d.×100-cm length of fused-silica capillary (Polymicro Technologies, Phoenix, Ariz.), was suction-filled with buffer and the anode end of the column suspended in the carbon vessel (4) containing the buffer medium.",
"The cathode end of the column was connected to the ion spray LC/MS interface (8), as described by A. P. Bruins et al, Anal.",
"Chem.",
", 59:2642-2646 (1987), via a liquid junction coupling (12).",
"Sample volumes of 2 to 30 nL were introduced onto the column at the anode end by hydrostatic or electrokinetic injection (as described by X. Huang et al, Anal.",
"Chem.",
", 60:375-377 (1988).",
"The sample volume was determined by injecting a narrow band of a dark dye and measuring the time for it to pass through a given length of the column while in the inject mode.",
"The capillary electrophoretic separation commenced by applying 30 kV to the anode end of the separation column through the carbon buffer reservoir while + or -3 kV was applied to the cathode end via the ion spray LC/MS interface (8) and the liquid junction coupling (12).",
"This produced a net CZE voltage of 27 kV for positive ion operation and 33 kV for negative ion operation of the mass spectrometer.",
"The liquid junction coupling shown expanded in schematic FIG. 1 was constructed from a standard 1/16-in.",
"stainless steel tee (16) (Waters, Milford, Mass.).",
"The tee was drilled with a 5/64-in.",
"drill through the top and fitted with a 3-mL volume polyethylene syringe barrel (18) (Monoject, St. Louis, Mo.).",
"The cathode end of the column (6) and the end of the electrospray electrode (20) from the ion spray LC/MS interface were positioned in the center of the tee opposite each other with reusable capillary fittings (22) (Upchurch, Oak Harbor, Wash.).",
"The gap (24) between the end of the column and the end of the electrode was adjusted to 25 um under a microscope.",
"This gap could be easily adjusted by tightening or loosening the capillary fittings (22).",
"The hole opposite the syringe barrel in the tee was fitted with a removable plug (26).",
"The plug was removed for alignment and adjustment of the gap between the column and electrode and when initially filling the syringe barrel and tee with buffer to eliminate air trapped in the tee.",
"FIG. 2 shows the ion spray LC/MS interface used which was based on the design reported previously by Bruins, Covey and Henion, Anal.",
"Chem.",
", 59:2642-2646 (1987).",
"The central electrospray electrode (20) through which the eluent flowed was a 100-um i.d. ×200-um o.d stainless steel capillary (Small Parts, Gainsville, Fla.).",
"The electrode passed through a 1/16-in.",
"stainless steel tee (30) (SGE, Austin, Tex.).",
"Nitrogen gas for assisting the electrospray nebulization was introduced through the side port (32) of the SGE tee and exited at the end of the electrospray electrode at a velocity of approximately 300 m/s through a concentric 325-um i.d. stainless steel tube (34).",
"The end of the electrode protruded 500 um past the end of the concentric tube.",
"A 0-10 kV voltage and current regulated power supply (36) (Spellman, Model RHR10PN30/FG, Plainview, N.Y.) was used to float the ion spray LC/MS interface (8) and the liquid junction coupling (12) at an electrospray potential of +3 kV or -3 kV for positive or negative ion operation, respectively.",
"The interface plate (36) of the mass spectrometer served as the counter electrode for the ion spray interface.",
"The end of the ion spray electrode was positioned 1.5 cm away from the skimmer cone (40) of the mass spectrometer and 0.5 cm off-axis.",
"A SCIEX TAGA 6000E triple quadruple mass spectrometer (Thornhill, Ontario, Canada) equipped with an atmospheric pressure ion source was used to sample ions produced from the ion spray LC/MS interface (8).",
"Ions were sampled into the vacuum for mass analysis through a 100-um i.d. orifice in the end of a skimmer cone (40) which was extended towards atmosphere.",
"The atmospheric side of the cone (40) was purged with a curtain of high purity, dry nitrogen gas.",
"The nitrogen curtain acted as a barrier to restrict contaminants and solvent vapor from entering the mass spectrometer vacuum.",
"High vacuum in the analyzer region (44) of the mass spectrometer was achieved by cryogenically-cooled surfaces maintained at 15-20 K surrounding the quadruple mass filter.",
"During routine operation the indicated high vacuum was 7× 10 -6 torr and during collision-induced dissociation (CID) the vacuum was 1.5×10 -5 torr with a target gas thickness of 230×10 12 atoms/cm 2 of ultra-pure argon or 150 × 10 12 atoms/cm 2 of ultra-pure xenon (Matheson, Secaucus, N.J.) in the collision cell.",
"A collision energy of 50 V energy was used for all CID experiments.",
"Previous LC/MS experience with electrospray demonstrated that the assistance of pneumatic nebulization improves the stability of electrospray.",
"Therefore, the ion spray LC/MS interface was directly coupled to the end of the CZE column with a low-dead volume union between the capillary electrode and the column exit.",
"The ion spray LC/MS interface gave improved stability, but still required high electroosmotic flows through the column.",
"If low electroosmotic flows were used the siphoning action of the field generated from the electrospray potential in combination with the aspirating effect of the nebulizing gas pulled on the buffer in the capillary.",
"The increased flow through the capillary resulted in shorter retention times and degraded separation when compared to work with on-column UV detection.",
"The decrease in the buffer volume was measured for a given period of time from an unrestricted reservoir coupled directly to the ion spray LC/MS interface.",
"The combination of the potential field and the aspiration of the nebulizing gas can siphon at flow rates as high as 50 uL/min.",
"However, typical flow rates were in the range of 10 to 20 uL/min.",
"When fused-silica columns are used CZE generally operates at flow rates of less than 2 uL/min from the electroosmotic flow in the column or even well below 1 uL/min with buffers that have low pH and high ionic strength.",
"On the other hand, generation of stable electrospray conditions are difficult at flow rates below 1 uL/min.",
"Due to the incompatibility of the flowrates of CZE and ion spray a liquid junction for coupling CZE and ion spray mass spectrometry was developed.",
"The liquid junction exemplified in FIGS. 1 and 3 allow the addition of buffer from a reservoir source over a wide range of flows (0 to 20 uL/min).",
"The possibility of using zero flow provides the opportunity for other forms of high performance capillary electrophoresis such as isotachophoresis and the use of gel-filled capillaries which have no liquid flow.",
"Flows of 10 to 20 μL/min are needed for MS and atmospheric pressure/MS detectors.",
"In one mode the coupling (12) was constructed from a stainless steel tee (16).",
"The cathode end of the CZE column (6) is placed opposite the end of the capillary electrode (20) of the ion spray LC/MS interface with a 25-um gap (24) between.",
"The gap allows buffer to flow unrestricted into the ion spray interface electrode (20) from the surrounding reservoir preventing suction to occur at the end of the CZE column.",
"The size of the gap was determined from the formula d=R/2 which was derived from a relation between the cross sectional area of the ion spray capillary electrode equal to the surface area around the gap, where d is the gap and R is the internal radius of the capillary electrode (20).",
"Since the flow rate into the ion spray interface is 10 to 20 times greater than from the CZE column, analytes are rapidly swept into the mass spectrometer via the make-up buffer (in 18) to the ion spray LC/MS interface with no observable band broadening or loss of resolution.",
"It is recognized the gap distance will vary depending on the capillary diameter.",
"A preferred gap opening for CZE capillary diameter of 100μ is 20 to 25 μm.",
"When the gap is too small, not enough make-up flow enters the eluent stream;",
"allignment problems occur and the eluting components everlap due to the increased stability of the stream entering the ion spray system.",
"When the gap is too large, separation efficiency degrades, chromatographic (component) peaks broaden and extreme tailing destroys sensitivity.",
"Liquid junction coupling of CZE and the ion spray LC/MS interface does not adversely affect peak broadening and provides good reproducability.",
"One skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention contemplates various modes for adjusting flow rates to the to the ion spray/MS interface by adding make up buffer from a buffer reservoir.",
"Accordingly, the invention should not be limited by the best mode examples or by any specific CZE/mass spectrometer system.",
"For example, it is contemplated that the buffer can be added to the nebulation gas stream set forth in co-pending patent application Ser.",
"No. 202,768 filed June 3, 1988, for use with the ion spray/MS interface.",
"For this purpose, Ser.",
"No. 202,768 is incorporated herein by reference.",
"The liquid junction coupling can also be used with other high performance capillary electrophoresis techniques which have zero flow such as isotachophoresis and gel filled capillaries.",
"Other methods of increasing flow rates by adding make-up buffer downstream of the electrophoresis separation will be recognized by one skilled in the art.",
"Full-scan capillary zone electrophoresis/mass spectrometry (CZE/MS) and capillary zone electrophoresis/tandem mass spectrometry (CZE/MS/MS) were used for the detection of monosulfonated and polysulfonated azo dyes at the low pmole levels.",
"Under selected ion monitoring (SIM) conditions fmole levels of the dyes were detected.",
"Ion evaporation via the ion spray liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) interface (a mild form of ionization) exhibited only deprotonated singly charged or poly-deprotonated multiply charged negative molecular ions for sulfonated azo dyes.",
"CZE/MS/MS daughter ion scanning after collision-induced dissociation (CID) of the molecular species for all sulfonated azo dyes contained the sulfonate ion (m/z 80).",
"The presence of three sulfonated azo dyes in a waste water extract was shown by parent ion scanning for the sulfonate daughter ion (m/z 80).",
"The term electrophoresis as used herein includes moving boundary electrophoresis, isotachophoresis, zone electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing.",
"For purposes of this invenion, a preferred make-up fluid is a buffer or mixture of buffer with a nebulizing gas.",
"The makeup buffer can be the same or different from the buffer used in the electrophoresis column.",
"As a practical matter, it is preferred to use the same make-up buffer as used in the separation.",
"Useful buffers include ammonium acetate, formic acid, trifluoroacetic acid, ammonium formate and the like.",
"Useful solvents for buffer preparation include water, acetonitrile, lower alcohols including methanol and ethanol.",
"The buffers operate over a wide variety of pH.",
"Preferred pH is from about pH 4.2 to pH 11.",
"The flow rate in the CZE column and in the ion spray conduit, when used, is dependent on the diameter of the capillary or conduit.",
"Typical flows in the CZE capillary having a diameter of 100μ is about 1.0 μL/minute.",
"Useful flow rates in the ion spray interface are about 10 to 20 μL/minute.",
"The purpose of the make-up buffer is to increase the flow rate of about 1.0 μL/minute up to 50 μL/minute for the satisfactory operation of the ion spray/mass spectrometer system without detriment to detection sensitivity of the analyte components separated in the CZE column.",
"Ion spray interface has several advantages compared to both traditional techniques (FAB, Thermospray, etc.) and electrospray.",
"The use of pneumatic nebulization in Ion Spray results in a stable ion current from a comparatively large range of flow rates (100 nl/min to 200 μl/min).",
"This allows the direct analysis of samples by the direct introduction of small quantities of material, as reported here, but also permits on-line connection to separation and electrophoretic techniques, such as HPLC and Capillary Zone Electrophoresis (CZE).",
"Furthermore, the extreme sensitivity of Ion Spray (picomole levels compared to nanomole levels for similar compounds by FAB, and Thermospray, results in very low sample consumption.",
"Like the electrospray interface, the Ion Spray interface produces ions via ion evaporation.",
"However, pneumatic nebulization, in addition to electric fields, is used to disperse the droplets to the sub-micron dimensions required for ion evaporation.",
"Thus, ion spray and electrospray are distinguished by the use of pneumatic nebulization, which adds stability to the ion current and allows the use of flow rates from 100 nL/min to 200 μL/min, whereas pure electrospray operates best in the 1-20 μL/min range.",
"As shown by the best mode examples, the above described apparatus and process incorporating make-up buffer down stream of the zone electrophoresis separator is advantageous for the separation and detection of various complex samples including for example biological extracts, enzymatic digests, tryptic digests, ions in solution including dyes such as sulfonated azo dyes, amino acid sequences, peptide dynorphins, leucine enkephalin and the like.",
"The examples are meant to generally exemplify the invention and should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the invention.",
"EXAMPLE 1 Using the apparatus described in FIG. 1, experiments were run to determine optimum spacing of the capillary gap in the liquid junction.",
"Serial injections can be made at close intervals because the flow of the CZE system can be stopped during operation by simply turning off the high voltage.",
"Optimum spacing of the gap was confirmed experimentally by triplicate serial injections of arg-vasopressin (FIG.",
"4) at three different dilutions in the buffer.",
"This experiment was accomplished in a 50/50 acetonitrile/20 mM acetate buffer at pH 6.8 wherein volumes of 20 nL were hydrostatically injected every 30 sec.",
"The (M+H) 30 and (M+2H) 2+ ions of arg-vasopressin were monitored by the mass spectrometer under selected ion monitoring (SIM) conditions.",
"The asymmetry measured at ten percent peak height for these peaks ranged from 1.0 to 1.3 demonstrating that the liquid junction gap is not contributing to excessive peak tailing.",
"If wider gaps are used peak tailing is observed due to the increased residence time and mixing at the junction which resulted in asymmetric peaks.",
"Hydrostatic injections were made at 30-sec intervals and the peaks appeared at approximately 30-sec intervals.",
"If the gap is too narrow the peaks in a series of injections elute at increased intervals due to the suction of the ion spray LC/MS interface during the injection period in between the CZE high voltage was not operational.",
"Sensitivity.",
"The sensitivity of ion evaporation via the ion spray LC/MS interface is sample dependent with the best sensitivity for samples which are already ionized in solution.",
"For arg-vasopressin (FIG.",
"4) the 100-fmole injections have a signal-to-noise ratio of 19:1, suggesting detection limits in the low fmole range.",
"High percentages of organic modifier such as acetonitrile or methanol at a low concentration (approx.",
"1 mM) of a buffer salt such as ammonium acetate in the CZE buffer increases the sensitivity for most analytes.",
"EXAMPLE 2 Determination of Pesticides and Herbicides Various pesticides and herbicides were analyzed using the apparatus described in FIG. 1. Many separations can be improved by the addition of organic modifiers and as mentioned above the sensitivity of ion spray LC/MS is also better.",
"The CZE/MS electropherogram (FIG.",
"5) for 1.2 pmole per component of the acid pesticides 4-[2,4-dichlorophenoxyl] butyric acid (A), gibberellic acid (B), 2,3,6-trichlorophenyl-acetic acid (C), 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (D), and p-chloromandelic acid (E) was produced in a 90/10 acetonitrile/0.1 M NH 4 OAc buffer.",
"Under higher aqueous conditions the individual components of the mixture were not completely resolved and the retention times were longer.",
"This presumably could be a result of acid hydrates being formed in high aqueous buffers.",
"At high organic buffer concentration the hydration will be suppressed and different electrophoretic mobilities will be apparent depending on the binding force of the species.",
"EXAMPLE 3 Determination of Sulfonated Azo Dves The apparatus of FIG. 1 was used for the determination of disulfonated azo dye, acid blue 113.",
"Low detection limits have previously been demonstrated by ion spray LC/MS for sulfonated azo dyes.",
"These compounds exhibit mass spectra which contain the (M-nH) n- ions (n=the number of sulfate groups).",
"Collision-induced dissociation of the (M-nH) n- ion produces a common daughter ion at m/z 80 for the sulfonate functionality (FIG.",
"6B).",
"The CZE/MS/MS total ion electropherogram (FIG.",
"6A) and daughter ion mass spectrum (FIG.",
"6B) for the disulfonated azo dye, acid blue 113, was obtained by focusing it's (M-2H) 2- ion at m/z 317 in the first quadruple, performing CID in the second quadruple and scanning the third quadruple from m/z 50 to 350.",
"As expected, the sulfonate ion at m/z 80 was present as well as fragments at m/z 156 and m/z 297 in the daughter ion presumably originate from the cleavage at the azo functionalities with charge retention on the sulfonate-containing group (FIG.",
"6B).",
"The main advantage of CZE/MS over LC/MS is that there is more flexibility in the choice of buffer used.",
"This allows the separation buffer to be tailored more to meet the needs of the mass spectrometer.",
"EXAMPLE 4 The process of Example 3 was repeated in a sulfonated azo dye mixture.",
"Since the sulfonate ion is a common CID fragment ion of sulfonated azo dyes, parent ion scanning can be used to screen for sulfonated azo dyes.",
"The extracted ion electropherograms (FIG.",
"7) for a mixture of six sulfonated azo dyes were obtained while scanning the first quadruple from m/z 200 to 600 and monitoring m/z 80 in the third quadruple.",
"The first three components separated are the monosulfonated dyes acid red 1 (A, m/z 431), acid red 88 (B, m/z 377), and acid orange 7 (C, m/z 327) and the second three are the disulfonated dyes acid blue 113 (D, m/z 317), acid black 1 (E, m/z 285), and acid red 14 (F, m/z 228).",
"The sulfonated azo dyes elute in decreasing m/z ratio.",
"This observation can be explained by noting that the electrophoretic mobility of negatively charged species is toward the anode.",
"However, the higher velocity of the electroosmotic flow, due to the negatively charge fused-silica capillary wall, causes all species to have a net migration towards the cathode.",
"As the size of a negatively charged species increases its electrophoretic mobility decreases causing those ions of larger size and lower charge to elute first.",
"EXAMPLE 5 Tryptic Digest of recombinant bovine somatotropin.",
"The apparatus and process of Example 3 was used to analyze tryptic digest of recombinant bovine somatotropin.",
"The sample was supplied by Dr. F. Cron of the UpJohn Company.",
"One characteristic of CZE is its ability to obtain high separation efficiencies.",
"The SIM CZE/MS electropherogram (FIG.",
"8) for 11 components in a tryptic digest of recombinant bovine somatotropin exhibits separation efficiencies from 50,000 theoretical plates for peak A to 300,000 theoretical plates for peak K with asymmetry factors of 1.2 and 1.8, respectively.",
"Theoretical plates were calculated from the formula N=5.54(tr/tw 1/2 ) 2 .",
"It would be unlikely to obtain such high efficiencies if the liquid junction coupling between the CZE capillary and the ion spray LC/MS interface were contributing significantly to band broadening.",
"Even with the high separation efficiencies obtainable by CZE components D and E, and H and I could not be resolved from each other in the work.",
"The mass spectrometer can be used to determine the peak purity by resolving the individual components by their mass-to-charge ration.",
"The extracted ion electropherograms (FIG.",
"9) for the separation shown in FIG. 6 illustrates this point.",
"Components D and E (peak D,E in FIG. 9) are resolved by their masses at m/z 538 and m/z 721 (FIGS.",
"7D,E).",
"The same is true for components H and I (peak H,I in FIG. 9, FIGS. 7H,I).",
"EXAMPLE 6 Determining Peptide Sequence by CZE/MS/MS.",
"The full-scan mass spectrum (FIG.",
"10) of peak A in FIG. 8 is illustrated for a small peptide by ion spray.",
"The mass spectrum of small peptides typically exhibit the (M+nH) n+ ion (n=degree of protonation) under the pH conditions used.",
"The degree of protonation is a function of the number of basic functional groups contained within the peptide.",
"Peak A was identified by it's CZE/MS/MS full-scan daughter ion mass spectrum (FIG.",
"11B).",
"The CZE/MS/MS total ion electropherogram (A) and daughter ion mass spectrum (B) were obtained from injection of the same solution and under the same conditions as the electropherogram shown in FIG. 8. The difference in retention times in FIG. 8 and FIG. 11A can be attributed to the prolonged use of the CZE capillary separation column without conditioning between experiments.",
"As shown (FIG.",
"11B) the daughter ion mass spectrum is consistent with the sequence of the peptide (AGQILK).",
"These results demonstrated the detection of a peptide in a tryptic digest sample and determining its sequence by CZE/MS/MS."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates generally to systems and method for facilitating exercise within a TRX Suspension Training System (TRX), and more specifically to a mat and method of using same used in conjunction with a TRX or other training system.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The TRX Suspension Training System (TRX) was born out of necessity by a Navy SEAL. While on deployment in 1997, founder Randy Hetrick needed a way for himself and crew to maintain their endurance and strength. With that, he began to experiment with resistance training using a belt. Four years later, he would develop his jujitsu belt into what we now recognize as the TRX Suspension Trainer.
[0003] TRX Suspension Training is the flagship name associated with functional training in the fitness industry. Functional training is defined as movements your body performs in everyday life. Reaching far beyond the execution of a bicep curl or chest press, functional training prepares the body to act efficiently, effectively, and react subconsciously to perform real life movements safely. Examples include squatting to pick up a pencil or placing your suitcase in an overhead compartment on the airplane.
[0004] TRX leverages gravity and an individual's body weight to perform, quite literally, countless variations of exercises and every day movements to increase lean body mass. The beauty lies in its simplicity—a simple movement of your feet forward or backward on the floor instantly increases the resistance on your muscles. Resistance training, as it pertains to exercising, is defined as “a form of physical activity that is designed to improve muscular fitness by exercising a muscle or a muscle group against external resistance” according to the American College of Sports Medicine (AGSM).
[0005] Many people have difficulty in safely and effectively exercising using TRX Suspension Training. As mentioned above, the simplicity of the TRX is as basic as the proper movement of a client's feet to adjust bodyweight resistance. Many users of TRX, however, do not understand where the exerciser should place his or her feet to achieve the proper degree of resistance. In addition, there is no tracking tool to track or record quantifiable gains in strength.
[0006] Exercise mats have been used in the fitness industry for years, Currently, they come in a variety of designs, predominantly rectangular in shape. Many pertain to education of yoga positions and other various exercises. However, none have been designed to dictate foot placement while using a TRX or help a client record gains in strength when using TRX.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0007] An exercise mat, called Companion, that can be used in conjunction with a TRX system is provided. The mat may be used by a Fitness Professional utilizing the TRX with his or her clients, or may be used an educated TRX exerciser to track quantifiable gains in strength. The mat may allow clients to both record and subsequently assess any gains in strength using visibly printed or embedded markers on the exercise mat.
[0008] The Companion is a substantially planar (flat) mat, placed on the floor beneath the TRX anchor point. Visual or tactile markings corresponding to measurements are printed on the mat, alerting the exerciser of the degree of difficulty for each specific foot placement. Feet further from the anchor point will make the exercise easier, while feet closer to the anchor point make the exercise more challenging. The mat material may be resilient and cushioned, comfortable to use barefoot or with shoes. The exerciser is thus able to have a visual or tactile benchmark on the mat to assess gains in strength directly correlated to foot placement when used in conjunction with TRX Suspension Training.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] For a detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawing in which:
[0010] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system in accordance with embodiments of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] In this disclosure, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a sufficient understanding of the present invention. Those skilled in the art, however, will appreciate that the present invention may be practiced without such specific details. In other instances, well-known elements have been illustrated in schematic or block diagram form in order not to obscure the present invention in unnecessary detail. Additionally, some details have been omitted inasmuch as such details are not considered necessary to obtain a complete understanding of the present invention, and are considered to be within the understanding of persons of ordinary skill in the relevant art.
[0012] The following discussion is also directed to various embodiments of the invention. Although one or more of these embodiments may be preferred, the embodiments disclosed should not be interpreted, or otherwise used, as limiting the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, unless otherwise specified. In addition, one skilled in the art will understand that the following description has broad application, and the discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be illustrative of that embodiment, and not intended to suggest that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, is limited to that embodiment.
[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates an exercise mat in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. A TRX exerciser stands on the Companion mat, which lies flat on any floor. The exerciser in the example of FIG. 1 demonstrates an exercise called the bicep curl. The TRX attaches to any load bearing wall via a TRX X-mount (reference anchor point X) and hangs in a resting state hovering above the floor. The handles of the TRX, which are equal in length and hang distally, are held in the hands of the exerciser to engage in an exercise.
[0014] Currently the exerciser's feet are placed at the 3′ mark of the Companion. By walking the feet forward to the 2′ mark of the Companion, the bicep curl instantly bears greater resistance and thus becomes more challenging. Conversely, if the exerciser walks their feet backward to the 4′ mark of the Companion, the exercise becomes instantly easier and utilizes less body weight.
[0015] The TRX Suspension Training System (TRX) is a piece of exercise equipment centralized around the utilization of body weight as a means of resistance training for muscle gain. By simply adjusting foot placement forward or backward, the degree of difficulty of a given exercise becomes instantly easier or more difficult. Identical to the means with which an exerciser may know he or she can squat 100 pounds while weight training, for example, a TRX exerciser must know proper foot placement to achieve desired body weight resistance.
[0016] The Companion mat is substantially planar (flat) and measures roughly 72″ long by 24″ wide in some embodiments. The foot placement-suggestive measurements are visibly marked on the Companion mat using numeric markings, such as inches according to the U.S. Customary System. The markings may be substantially equally spaced from one another in some embodiments. For example, each 1′ measurement may be visibly marked on the mat in some embodiments. In other embodiments, letter or graphic indications are included on the mat instead of or in addition to the numeric markings. For example, instead of the numeric markings, visible difficulty indications (such as “easy,” “average,” “hard,” “very hard”) may be included on the mat. Graphic or pictorial markings may also be used. In other embodiments, the markings on the mat are unequally spaced, whereby markings further away from the TRX anchor point are spaced closer together than markings closer to the TRX anchor point. Other arrangements and spacings of the markings may be used in other embodiments.
[0017] TRX is mounted on a wall or ceiling using TRX patented mounting equipment, and is thus the system's anchor point. “X” represents the anchor point, where the TRX is affixed to the wall and suspended above the floor. Measurement “Q”, or the zero inch point is the edge of the Companion, which is to be situated directly beneath the anchor point X of the TRX in some embodiments. In other embodiments, the zero inch point is positioned at some fixed, known, or predetermined distance from the anchor point X. From measurement “A”, the visible measurements may count up in increments of 1′, terminating at “Z”, or the 6′ mark which may represent the end of the mat. These 1′ increments, therefore, can dictate foot placement for desired degrees of exercise difficulty and also indicate the distance from the TRX anchor point X.
[0018] In some embodiments, contours or ridges are included on the Companion mat to assist a user in locating the correct footing position. These contours or ridges may take the form of embossed or embedded lines or edges in the mat or may be placed on the mat after manufacture (for example by way of an adhesive). The contours or ridges may be associated with the visual markings and provide another means of facilitating the proper foot positions. Other forms of visual and/or tactile markings may be used in other embodiments. Preferably, both visual and tactile markings are used in some embodiments so that the exerciser can both see and feel the desired foot positions. The use of both types of markings may assist the exerciser in locating the desired foot positions.
[0019] In the example of FIG. 1 , the exerciser is performing a bicep curl. Item “F” represents physical foot movement forward, or toward the anchor point “X”, which would increase resistance and make the bicep curl more difficult as it utilizes more body weight. Item “B” represents physical foot movement backward, toward item “Z”. This, converse to “F”, decreases resistance and makes the bicep curl easier as it utilizes less body weight. “B” and “F” oppose each other in summation. “R” represents a freely hanging TRX, in its resting state not being used by an exerciser. Item “A”, represents an active TRX being utilized by an exerciser performing a TRX bicep curl.
[0020] In some embodiments, the Companion is roughly ⅛″ in thickness and is made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), known for both its durability and sticky characteristics, strong gripping surface to combat slippage of the Companion on the floor, but also foot slippage on the mat. In other embodiments, natural rubber or a synthetic material is used. The mat may also be conveniently rolled up for quick transport.
[0021] The drawing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Because there are countless exercises and subsequent modifications of these exercises, the drawing is not intended to limit the invention to the exact exercise shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and exercises will certainly fall within the scope of the invention.
[0022] The above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles and various embodiments of the present invention. Numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. For example, although a substantially flat and rectangular exercise mat is described in some embodiments herein, the mat may also take other shapes and sizes, including oblong, circular, semi-circular, square, or triangular shapes. In addition the mat material may be formed from any non-slip soft or porous material, such as natural rubber, plastic, or foam, and may be designed to have a sealed cell hygienic surface. Various contours, ridges, or edges, may also be included to facilitate proper foot position. In addition, the visual markings need not be equally spaced from one another in all embodiments. For example, markings farther away from the TRX anchor point may be spaced closer together than markings closer to the TRX anchor point. This allows more granularity in the measurements for more difficult foot positions. Other arrangements and spacings of the markings may be used in other embodiments.
[0023] It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications. | The Companion is an exercise mat that lies on the floor beneath the TRX Suspension Training System (TRX), and includes visual and/or tactile markings (such as numeric measurements) to indicate the proper placement of feet when exercising with the TRX. The mat facilitates correct placement of the feet in terms of proximity to the TRX anchor point to ensure safe and effective exercise technique and the proper degree of resistance as it pertains to body weight. Contours or ridges may also be provided on the mat in order to facilitate proper foot positioning. | Summarize the key points of the given patent document. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The invention relates generally to systems and method for facilitating exercise within a TRX Suspension Training System (TRX), and more specifically to a mat and method of using same used in conjunction with a TRX or other training system.",
"BACKGROUND [0002] The TRX Suspension Training System (TRX) was born out of necessity by a Navy SEAL.",
"While on deployment in 1997, founder Randy Hetrick needed a way for himself and crew to maintain their endurance and strength.",
"With that, he began to experiment with resistance training using a belt.",
"Four years later, he would develop his jujitsu belt into what we now recognize as the TRX Suspension Trainer.",
"[0003] TRX Suspension Training is the flagship name associated with functional training in the fitness industry.",
"Functional training is defined as movements your body performs in everyday life.",
"Reaching far beyond the execution of a bicep curl or chest press, functional training prepares the body to act efficiently, effectively, and react subconsciously to perform real life movements safely.",
"Examples include squatting to pick up a pencil or placing your suitcase in an overhead compartment on the airplane.",
"[0004] TRX leverages gravity and an individual's body weight to perform, quite literally, countless variations of exercises and every day movements to increase lean body mass.",
"The beauty lies in its simplicity—a simple movement of your feet forward or backward on the floor instantly increases the resistance on your muscles.",
"Resistance training, as it pertains to exercising, is defined as “a form of physical activity that is designed to improve muscular fitness by exercising a muscle or a muscle group against external resistance”",
"according to the American College of Sports Medicine (AGSM).",
"[0005] Many people have difficulty in safely and effectively exercising using TRX Suspension Training.",
"As mentioned above, the simplicity of the TRX is as basic as the proper movement of a client's feet to adjust bodyweight resistance.",
"Many users of TRX, however, do not understand where the exerciser should place his or her feet to achieve the proper degree of resistance.",
"In addition, there is no tracking tool to track or record quantifiable gains in strength.",
"[0006] Exercise mats have been used in the fitness industry for years, Currently, they come in a variety of designs, predominantly rectangular in shape.",
"Many pertain to education of yoga positions and other various exercises.",
"However, none have been designed to dictate foot placement while using a TRX or help a client record gains in strength when using TRX.",
"BRIEF SUMMARY [0007] An exercise mat, called Companion, that can be used in conjunction with a TRX system is provided.",
"The mat may be used by a Fitness Professional utilizing the TRX with his or her clients, or may be used an educated TRX exerciser to track quantifiable gains in strength.",
"The mat may allow clients to both record and subsequently assess any gains in strength using visibly printed or embedded markers on the exercise mat.",
"[0008] The Companion is a substantially planar (flat) mat, placed on the floor beneath the TRX anchor point.",
"Visual or tactile markings corresponding to measurements are printed on the mat, alerting the exerciser of the degree of difficulty for each specific foot placement.",
"Feet further from the anchor point will make the exercise easier, while feet closer to the anchor point make the exercise more challenging.",
"The mat material may be resilient and cushioned, comfortable to use barefoot or with shoes.",
"The exerciser is thus able to have a visual or tactile benchmark on the mat to assess gains in strength directly correlated to foot placement when used in conjunction with TRX Suspension Training.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0009] For a detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawing in which: [0010] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system in accordance with embodiments of the invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0011] In this disclosure, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a sufficient understanding of the present invention.",
"Those skilled in the art, however, will appreciate that the present invention may be practiced without such specific details.",
"In other instances, well-known elements have been illustrated in schematic or block diagram form in order not to obscure the present invention in unnecessary detail.",
"Additionally, some details have been omitted inasmuch as such details are not considered necessary to obtain a complete understanding of the present invention, and are considered to be within the understanding of persons of ordinary skill in the relevant art.",
"[0012] The following discussion is also directed to various embodiments of the invention.",
"Although one or more of these embodiments may be preferred, the embodiments disclosed should not be interpreted, or otherwise used, as limiting the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, unless otherwise specified.",
"In addition, one skilled in the art will understand that the following description has broad application, and the discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be illustrative of that embodiment, and not intended to suggest that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, is limited to that embodiment.",
"[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates an exercise mat in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.",
"A TRX exerciser stands on the Companion mat, which lies flat on any floor.",
"The exerciser in the example of FIG. 1 demonstrates an exercise called the bicep curl.",
"The TRX attaches to any load bearing wall via a TRX X-mount (reference anchor point X) and hangs in a resting state hovering above the floor.",
"The handles of the TRX, which are equal in length and hang distally, are held in the hands of the exerciser to engage in an exercise.",
"[0014] Currently the exerciser's feet are placed at the 3′ mark of the Companion.",
"By walking the feet forward to the 2′ mark of the Companion, the bicep curl instantly bears greater resistance and thus becomes more challenging.",
"Conversely, if the exerciser walks their feet backward to the 4′ mark of the Companion, the exercise becomes instantly easier and utilizes less body weight.",
"[0015] The TRX Suspension Training System (TRX) is a piece of exercise equipment centralized around the utilization of body weight as a means of resistance training for muscle gain.",
"By simply adjusting foot placement forward or backward, the degree of difficulty of a given exercise becomes instantly easier or more difficult.",
"Identical to the means with which an exerciser may know he or she can squat 100 pounds while weight training, for example, a TRX exerciser must know proper foot placement to achieve desired body weight resistance.",
"[0016] The Companion mat is substantially planar (flat) and measures roughly 72″ long by 24″ wide in some embodiments.",
"The foot placement-suggestive measurements are visibly marked on the Companion mat using numeric markings, such as inches according to the U.S. Customary System.",
"The markings may be substantially equally spaced from one another in some embodiments.",
"For example, each 1′ measurement may be visibly marked on the mat in some embodiments.",
"In other embodiments, letter or graphic indications are included on the mat instead of or in addition to the numeric markings.",
"For example, instead of the numeric markings, visible difficulty indications (such as “easy,” “average,” “hard,” “very hard”) may be included on the mat.",
"Graphic or pictorial markings may also be used.",
"In other embodiments, the markings on the mat are unequally spaced, whereby markings further away from the TRX anchor point are spaced closer together than markings closer to the TRX anchor point.",
"Other arrangements and spacings of the markings may be used in other embodiments.",
"[0017] TRX is mounted on a wall or ceiling using TRX patented mounting equipment, and is thus the system's anchor point.",
"“X”",
"represents the anchor point, where the TRX is affixed to the wall and suspended above the floor.",
"Measurement “Q”, or the zero inch point is the edge of the Companion, which is to be situated directly beneath the anchor point X of the TRX in some embodiments.",
"In other embodiments, the zero inch point is positioned at some fixed, known, or predetermined distance from the anchor point X. From measurement “A”, the visible measurements may count up in increments of 1′, terminating at “Z”, or the 6′ mark which may represent the end of the mat.",
"These 1′ increments, therefore, can dictate foot placement for desired degrees of exercise difficulty and also indicate the distance from the TRX anchor point X. [0018] In some embodiments, contours or ridges are included on the Companion mat to assist a user in locating the correct footing position.",
"These contours or ridges may take the form of embossed or embedded lines or edges in the mat or may be placed on the mat after manufacture (for example by way of an adhesive).",
"The contours or ridges may be associated with the visual markings and provide another means of facilitating the proper foot positions.",
"Other forms of visual and/or tactile markings may be used in other embodiments.",
"Preferably, both visual and tactile markings are used in some embodiments so that the exerciser can both see and feel the desired foot positions.",
"The use of both types of markings may assist the exerciser in locating the desired foot positions.",
"[0019] In the example of FIG. 1 , the exerciser is performing a bicep curl.",
"Item “F”",
"represents physical foot movement forward, or toward the anchor point “X”, which would increase resistance and make the bicep curl more difficult as it utilizes more body weight.",
"Item “B”",
"represents physical foot movement backward, toward item “Z.”",
"This, converse to “F”, decreases resistance and makes the bicep curl easier as it utilizes less body weight.",
"“B”",
"and “F”",
"oppose each other in summation.",
"“R”",
"represents a freely hanging TRX, in its resting state not being used by an exerciser.",
"Item “A”, represents an active TRX being utilized by an exerciser performing a TRX bicep curl.",
"[0020] In some embodiments, the Companion is roughly ⅛″ in thickness and is made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), known for both its durability and sticky characteristics, strong gripping surface to combat slippage of the Companion on the floor, but also foot slippage on the mat.",
"In other embodiments, natural rubber or a synthetic material is used.",
"The mat may also be conveniently rolled up for quick transport.",
"[0021] The drawing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention.",
"Because there are countless exercises and subsequent modifications of these exercises, the drawing is not intended to limit the invention to the exact exercise shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and exercises will certainly fall within the scope of the invention.",
"[0022] The above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles and various embodiments of the present invention.",
"Numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated.",
"For example, although a substantially flat and rectangular exercise mat is described in some embodiments herein, the mat may also take other shapes and sizes, including oblong, circular, semi-circular, square, or triangular shapes.",
"In addition the mat material may be formed from any non-slip soft or porous material, such as natural rubber, plastic, or foam, and may be designed to have a sealed cell hygienic surface.",
"Various contours, ridges, or edges, may also be included to facilitate proper foot position.",
"In addition, the visual markings need not be equally spaced from one another in all embodiments.",
"For example, markings farther away from the TRX anchor point may be spaced closer together than markings closer to the TRX anchor point.",
"This allows more granularity in the measurements for more difficult foot positions.",
"Other arrangements and spacings of the markings may be used in other embodiments.",
"[0023] It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 978,994, filed Nov. 19, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,172 which is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 693,638, filed Apr. 30, 1991 and now U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,590, issued Mar. 30, 1993.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to hopper loaders and more particularly, to a novel improved hopper loader having a unique adjustable side guide which greatly facilitates both set-up and use thereof.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Loaders are well known to the art and are used in a variety of different segments within the fields of printing and publishing. For example, feeders are utilized to feed signatures one at a time from a hopper onto a conveyor; are used to supply signatures to a hopper; and are used to supply signatures to a signature feed assembly which, in turn, delivers partially opened signatures one at a time to a saddle conveyor, to name just a few applications. In all of the above-identified applications, it is necessary to provide signature streams and/or signature stacks which are in proper alignment to facilitate trouble-free transfer to the utilization device receiving signatures from the feeder.
In addition, when stacking signatures side-by-side preparatory to their transfer to an output utilization device, it is extremely important that the signatures be aligned so that they do not exert undue forces on the output utilization device thereby causing undesirable misfeeds.
In addition to the above, it is also important to provide feeders which not only have the versatility enabling the feeder to accommodate a variety of different signature sizes but also have the ability to permit rapid adjustment of the feeder when changing from one feeder size to another or when changing the coupling of the feeder output from one output utilization device to another.
The complicated nature and construction and the operating features of present day feeders increase the possibility of jams or other malfunctions during use and require complicated set-up operations, significantly increasing the cost of equipment as well as the cost of operating the equipment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An improved feeder which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages as well as providing other distinct advantages is characterized by comprising a horizontal conveyor section at the infeed for receiving signatures either manually or from an outfeed conveyor. The downstream end of the horizontal conveyor transfers signatures placed in a near-vertical orientation to an inclined ramp conveyor which typically operates at either the same or a greater linear speed than the horizontal conveyor, serving to separate the signatures and to arrange them in a shingled stream. The output end of the inclined ramp conveyor delivers the shingled stream to a short conveyor section which is typically aligned to advance the signatures delivered thereto either horizontally into a hopper or diagonally downward for insertion into any one of a variety of output utilization devices and typically oriented at an acute angle to the vertical.
Side guides are provided along the opposite parallel sides of the feeder to maintain the alignment of signatures as they move from the input to the output end thereof. Adjustable side guides are utilized to accommodate signatures of different sizes and align them with an output utilization device. A novel side guide mechanism is provided on at least one side of the feeder for adjusting a one-piece side guide extending the entire length of the feeder through a single operating handle. Two such side guide cams may be provided, one along each side of the feeder for applications in which the product register is the centerline of the machine. Alternatively, a fixed guide may be used along one side of the feeder if the fixed side of the loader is employed for product registry. The side guide cam comprises an elongated threaded assembly ("worm") comprised of linear threaded sections for each of the horizontal, ramp and output conveyor sections the adjacent ends of which are joined end-to-end by universal joints. Links pivotally coupled to threaded nuts threadedly engaging the elongated worm member are caused to pivot about a point intermediate their ends by means of a second link fixedly secured at one end to said threaded member and pivotally coupled to a point intermediate the ends of said first-mentioned coupling link. A pair of such linkages are arranged respectively near the input and output ends of the feeder and by rotation of the elongated threaded member by rotation of a crank handle the side guide may be rapidly adjusted to accommodate signatures of any size within a predetermined range thus significantly reducing set-up time.
In an alternative embodiment, the elongated threaded members are replaced by a relatively short threaded member which is utilized to drive a first linkage assembly, which first linkage assembly is coupled to another linkage assembly located downstream relative to the first linkage assembly by an elongated "push-pull" rod. This alternative embodiment eliminates the need for an elongated threaded rod and cooperating threaded members at each linkage assembly.
The aforesaid alternative embodiment is extremely advantageous for use in extending a hopper loader conveyor through the use of a conveyor extension. A hopper loader extension is coupled to the upstream end of the hopper loader. The drive coupling of the upstream end of the hopper loader is coupled to the downstream end of the extension. An operating handle of the hopper loader is removed and the downstream end of the extension push-pull road is inserted into the coupling block. The operating handle removed from the hopper loader is inserted into the female coupling of the rotating shaft of the hopper loader extension. Rotation of the drive shaft of the extension thus simultaneously adjusts the side guides of both the hopper loader and the hopper loader extension.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a feeder which is easy to set up and may be set up preparatory to a run in a fast and simple manner.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a feeder having novel adjustable side guides to facilitate simple, rapid adjustment thereof to accommodate different product sizes.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a feeder having novel adjustable side guides to facilitate simple, rapid adjustment thereof to accommodate different product sizes and wherein said adjustment means utilizes a single operating handle.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide adjustable side guides for a hopper loader and a hopper loader extension which may be coupled together when using the extension to permit simultaneous adjustment of the side guides of the hopper loader and the hopper loader extension by operation of only the extension drive shaft, typically by a manually operable handle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
The above, as well as other objects of the present invention, will become apparent when reading the accompanying description and drawings in which:
FIG. 1 shows a schematic elevational view of a feeder assembly embodying the principles of the present invention;
FIGS. 2a and 2b show side elevation and top plan views respectively of side guide assemblies employed in the feeder of FIG. 1;
FIG. 2c shows an enlarged end view of the linkage assemblies employed in the side guides of FIGS. 2a and 2b;
FIGS. 3a and 3b are top and side elevational views, respectively, of another adjustable side guide embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3c is a plan view of an alternative arrangement of the linkage assemblies of FIGS. 2a-3b; and
FIGS. 4a and 4b are top and side elevational views respectively of a hopper loader extension for use with the hopper loader of FIGS. 3a and 3b.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows a feeder 10 supported on four legs 12 (only two of which are shown in the Figure), each leg being provided with a caster assembly 14 for rollingly supporting feeder 10 to facilitate easy movement. The legs 12 support a frame 16 which houses the motor drives and related mechanisms for driving the horizontal conveyor section 18, the ramp conveyor section 20 and an outfeed conveyor section 22. Legs 12 are provided with manual handwheels for adjusting the height of the conveyor sections relative to hopper 30, for example. Signatures S are delivered to the horizontal conveyor section either automatically by means of an outfeed conveyor (not shown) arranged immediately adjacent the left-hand end of the conveyor section 18, or manually. As signatures are delivered to the ramp conveyor they rest against the ramp conveyor belts (only belt B being shown in FIG. 1 for purposes of simplicity) and move upwardly therealong, forming a shingled stream. The shingled stream of signatures reach and thereafter move along the conveyor belts of the outfeed conveyor section 22. Each signature moves off of the outfeed conveyor section 22 and falls into a hopper 30 coupled to feeder 10. The hopper 30 is provided with a support 32 mounted upon the floor and preferably precisely located thereon by a positioning pin (or pins) 34 (FIG. 1c), such as a lag bolt, which facilitates accurate positioning of the hopper and the feeder coupled thereto in a manner to be more fully described.
The signatures fall into hopper 30 oriented in a substantially horizontal plane. The hopper delivers signatures in a one-at-a-time fashion into an output utilization device (not shown). In order to assure proper signature feeding from hopper 30 it is important to form a neat signature stack therein. The alignment of signatures within the feeder and the adjustment of the feeder relative to the hopper significantly contribute to accurate, error-free operation and it is important to provide apparatus which assures the desired alignment and positioning of components as well as guidance of the signatures throughout the feeding and stacking operation. For example, the feeder 10 is provided with side guides including side guide sections 24, 26, 28 and 29 which are provided along opposite longitudinal sides of the feeder, the side guides of only one side of the feeder being visible in FIG. 1, the side guides assuring proper alignment of the signatures in the horizontal plane and within hopper 30. Adjustable side guides are provided as will be described more fully hereinbelow in order to accurately align the signatures in the feeder relative to the output hopper as well as greatly facilitating set-up of the feeder when changing to a different product size.
The feeder is provided with a control panel 40 having a variety of control buttons and displays. The control panel is easily accessible from one side of the feeder as shown in FIG. 1 as well as the top plan view shown in FIG. 1a. The control panel 40 is mounted to the free or right-hand end 42a of a rotating control arm or boom 42 having an inverted J-shape which has its lower left-hand end 42b rotatably mounted within a cup assembly 44. A pivot coupling 45 rotatably mounts an upper portion of section 42b. Control panel 40 is rotatably coupled to the end 42a of boom 42 by means of a bearing assembly 43 (not shown in detail) arranged within the upper portion of the control panel housing.
Summarizing, the lower end of boom 42 fits within a pivot cup 44 having a suitable bearing for rotatably mounting boom 42 therein. A pivot block 45 is mounted along the machine frame a spaced distance above pivot cup 44. The lower end of boom 42b pivots within suitable bearing means in pivot cup 44. A pivot block 45 arranged a spaced distance above pivot cup 44 provides a similar bearing assembly and cooperates with pivot cup 44 to prevent any movement by boom 42 other than about its longitudinal vertical axis.
FIGS. 2a, 2b and 2c respectively show the side elevation, top plan view and end view of the novel side guide assembly utilized in the feeder 10.
The preferred embodiment of the side guide assembly 100 is comprised of a one-piece side guide 102 of a shape conforming to the shape of the sections 18, 20 and 22. A pair of supporting blocks 104 and 106 are directly secured to side guide 102 by suitable fastening means F. A linkage arm 108, 110 is pivotally coupled to an associated one of the mounting blocks 104, 106 by a fastener F1 which threadedly engages each of the arms 108, 110 while extending through a clearance opening in each block 104 and 106. The clearance opening 104a is shown for block 104 in FIG. 2c.
The opposite end of each of the arms 108, 110 is pivotally coupled to threaded nuts 112, 114 by pin means 112a, 114a.
The intermediate portion of each arm 108, 110 is pivotally coupled to a short arm 116, 118 by means of a fastener F2 extending through a clearance opening in each arm 108 and 110 and threadedly engaging a tapped aperture in each of the arms 116 and 118. FIG. 2c shows fastener F2 extending through a clearance opening 108b in arm 108 and threadedly engaging an opening in arm 116. The opposite ends of each of the arms 116, 118 is pivotally coupled to a block 120, 122 by suitable pin means 120a, 122a respectively. Blocks 120 and 122 are fixedly secured to support frame 140. An elongated drive assembly, provided with threaded portions only where needed, is comprised of a first elongated member 124, and a second shorter threaded member 124a having its left-hand end 124a-1 coupled to the right-hand end of member 124. The right-hand end 124a-2 of threaded member 124a is coupled to the left-hand end of rod 124b. The right-hand end of rod 124b is coupled to the left-hand end 128a of universal joint 128. The right-hand end 128b of universal joint 128 is coupled to the left-hand end of rod 126. The right-hand end of rod 126 is coupled to the left-hand end 132a of universal joint 132. The right-hand end of 132b of universal joint 132 is coupled to the left-hand end of threaded rod 130. In the embodiment of FIGS. 2a-2c only two threaded portions are provided. The number of threaded portions are a function of the number of linkage assemblies employed. Bracket 139 serves as a bearing rotatably supporting the right-hand end of threaded member 130.
Member 124 is rotatably mounted, i.e. is mounted to rotate about its longitudinal axis represented by dotted centerline C, by means of clamps 134, 136, 137 and 138 fixedly secured to side wall 140, forming part of the support frame of feeder 10, by fasteners F4 (see FIG. 2c). The threaded sections 124a and 130 also extend through guide openings in blocks 120 and 122.
Members 112 and 114 are provided with tapped openings which threadedly engage threaded members 124 and 130, respectively.
An operating handle comprised of hand crank 140 is fixedly secured to the left-hand end of threaded member 124 and a rotatable handle portion 140a is utilized to rotate threaded members 124, 126 and 130. The operation of adjustable side guide is as follows:
By rotating operating handle 140 in a first direction, threaded blocks 112 and 114 are caused to move in the direction shown by arrow A causing members 108 and 110 to rotate counterclockwise about fasteners F2 thereby moving one-piece adjustable side guide 102 in a direction shown by arrow A1. Rotating the hand crank in the opposite direction causes threaded members 112 and 114 to move in the directions shown by arrows A2 causing arms 108 and 110 to rotate clockwise about pivots F2 thereby moving side guide 102 in a direction shown by arrow A3.
In applications wherein the centerline of the machine represented by dotted line CL is utilized for product registry of the feeder and cooperating hopper, a similar side guide assembly may be utilized along the opposite side 140' of the feeder 10. However, if side 140' of the feeder 10 serves as the product registry, a fixed guide may be employed along side 140'. It can thus be seen that the side guide (or guides) may be adjusted through operation of a single operating handle to both fine-tune the alignment of the signatures relative to the receiving hopper as well as adjusting the side guides when undertaking a product run requiring a change in product size.
Another alternative embodiment of a side guide assembly as shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b in which a pair of alternative side guide assemblies G1, G2 are arranged along opposite sides of the hopper loader 10.
Both side guide assemblies are substantially identical to one another except that they are mirror images of one another. The side guide assemblies are each comprised of an elongated rod 162 whose right-hand end extends through a bore in block 168 and is secured to block 168 by fasteners F. The left-hand end of rod 162 is provided with an opening of a non-circular shape such as, for example, rectangular, hexagonal, etc. for releasably receiving a male member having a conforming cross-sectional shape provided at end 164a of manually operable hand crank 164 provided with a handle 164b for rotating crank 164 and hence rod 162.
Rod 162 extends through block 168 and a bore provided in guide block 166 and has a threaded rod portion 162b which threadedly engages a tapped opening provided in elongated block 172. The right-hand end of threaded rod portion 162b terminates in a bearing or support 170a provided in block 170. Blocks 166 and 170 are secured to hopper frame 16.
Rotation of rod 162 causes rotation of threaded rod portion 162b which, for example, when rotated in a clockwise direction, causes block 172 to move to the right and when rotated in a counterclockwise direction causes block 172 to move to the left.
An elongated push-pull rod 174 is provided with an enlarged head 174a at its left-hand end and extends through a guide bore provided in guide block 166, and a bore provided in block 172 and further extends through a guide bore provided in block 170. Push-pull rod 174 is free to move relative to guide block 166 and block 170 but is securely fastened to block 172 so as to cause push-pull rod 174 to move when block 172 is moved due to the rotation of threaded rod portion 162b. Guide blocks 166 and 170 cooperate with rod 174 and rod 162 to maintain the proper orientation of block 172 as it is moved back and forth.
A first linkage assembly L1 comprises an elongated linkage arm 176 which has its left end pivotally secured to the top of block 172 by a pivot pin 177. The right-hand end of linkage arm 176 is pivotally secured to a pivot pin 179 which extends through a bore in mounting bracket 180 and extends into and is pivotally coupled to linkage arm 176. Mounting bracket 179 is secured to guide plate 184 which is slidably engaged along its inner surface by signatures as they advance along conveyor means 200.
A short linkage arm 182 has its right-hand end coupled to the top of block 170 by means of pivot pin 181. The left-hand end of short linkage arm 182 is pivotally coupled to a point intermediate the ends of linkage arm 176 by pivot pin 183. Bracket 180 is secured to elongated guide plate 184. Linkage arms 176 and 182 constitute the drive means for moving guide plate 184 to the desired position according to the width of signatures being handled.
A similar linkage assembly L2 of linkage arms located downstream of linkage assembly L1 is comprised of linkage arms 176' and 182', which operate in a manner substantially identical to linkage arms 176 and 182. The blocks which these linkage arms are coupled to and the pivot pins are identified by the same designating numerals as the upstream linkage assembly L1 with the exception that each designating numeral carries a "prime" to differentiate between the two linkage assemblies L1 and L2.
More particularly, guide block 166', secured to hopper loader frame 16, is similar to guide block 166 except that the need for guiding the rotating drive rod 162 is eliminated. Hence, guide block 166' simply guides freely movable push-pull rod 174. Block 172' is provided with a bore for receiving push-pull rod 174 and with fasteners F' for securing block 172' to push-pull rod 174. Block 172' is reduced in vertical length since the need for a threaded rod portion 162b is eliminated, due to the novel arrangement of the alternative embodiment of FIGS. 3a and 3b.
Block 170' is secured to frame 16 and is provided with an opening for slidably guiding push-pull rod 174. The need for a bearing provided in the lower end of block 170' for supporting a threaded rod portion is eliminated since the threaded rod portion has been eliminated due to the use of the novel push-pull rod 174 whose operation will now be described.
The manner of operation of the side guide assembly is as follows:
FIG. 3a shows side guide assembly G1 in the position to accept the widest possible signatures whereas side-guide assembly G2 is in the position to accept the signatures of narrowest width.
Assuming that the guide plate 184 of assembly G1 is to moved so as to occupy the mirror image of the position occupied by side guide assembly G2 to accommodate narrow width signatures, in order to accomplish this, hand crank 164 is mounted to rotatable rod 162 and is rotated in the clockwise direction, causing block 172 having a tapped opening threadedly engaging threaded rod portion 162b, to be moved toward the right as shown by arrow A1 in FIG. 3a. Block 170 is maintained stationary due to the fact that it is securely fastened to stationary side wall 16 of hopper loader 10. Thus, long linkage arm 176 rotates in the counterclockwise direction about pivot 177 (see FIG. 3a) and simultaneously therewith short linkage arm 182 rotates in the clockwise direction about pivot pin 181 whereby the right-hand end of long linkage arm 176 moves side guide plate 184 toward the central longitudinal axis of the hopper loader 10 in the direction shown by farrow A2.
The movement of block 172 is imparted to rod push-pull rod 174 causing rod 174 to move in the direction shown by arrow A1. This movement is imparted to block 172' causing linkage arms 176' and 182' to move in a manner substantially identical to the movement of linkage arms 176 and 182. This movement is imparted to elongated side guide plate 184 causing guide plate 184 to move so that its longitudinal orientation is always parallel to the original position of plate 184 of the side guide assembly G1. Plate 184 may assume an infinite number of positions between the limit positions shown by plate 184 of assembly G1 and plate 184 of assembly G2. The movement of plate 184 in the longitudinal direction due to the swinging movement of linkage arm 176 is offset by the linear movement of linkage arm 176 in the opposite direction whereby the resultant movement of guide plate 184 is only in the transverse direction.
The side guide plates 184, 184 may be arranged so that they are equidistant from a longitudinal centerline of the hopper loader 10 or may be arranged in any other fashion. As a further alternative, one of the side guide assemblies G1 and G2 may be totally eliminated and replaced by a stationary side guide as was described hereinabove in connection with the embodiment of FIGS. 2a-2c.
In applications where it is desired to move the side guide assembly from the position shown by assembly G2 to or toward the position shown by assembly G1, the rotatable drive arm 162 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction causing the block 172 containing a tapped opening threadedly engaging threaded rod portion 162b to move in the direction shown by arrow A3. The movement of block 172 is imparted to push-pull rod 174 causing block 172' which is securely fastened to push-pull rod 174 to likewise move in the direction shown by arrow A3.
Both linkage assemblies L1 and L2 thus move in unison thereby moving the side guide plate 184 from the position occupied by the plate 184 in side guide assembly G2 toward the outermost position as represented by plate 184 of the side guide assembly G1. Again it will be noted that the side guide plate 184 moves so that its spatial orientation does not change. More particularly, side guide plate 184 remains parallel to previous positions occupied by the plate in moving from the innermost position to the outermost position.
The need for an elongated threaded rod extending the length of the adjustable side guide assembly G1 and G2 is eliminated through the unique employment of the push-pull rod 174.
Although only two linkage assemblies have been provided, it is understood that a greater number may be employed, especially in applications wherein the hopper loader 10 is of a greater longitudinal length.
In applications where it is desired to provide a longer, horizontally aligned hopper loader to accommodate a larger number of signatures, a hopper loader extension shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b may be coupled to the hopper loader shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b.
The extension 10' shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b is substantially identical to the hopper loader 10 of FIGS. 3a and 3b wherein like elements are designated by like numerals.
The following are the distinctions between hopper loader 10 and extension 10':
(a) The push-pull rods 174 of extension 10' extend beyond the right-hand end of extension 10' for coupling to the left-hand ends of the push-pull rods 174 of hopper loader 10.
(b) Hopper loader 10 is provided with a pin 172a to disconnect the lower block portion 172b from the main block portion 172.
(c) Member 174a at the left-hand end of each push-pull rod 174 of the hopper loader 10 is provided with an opening at its left-hand end to receive the right-hand end 174b of the push-pull rods 174 of extension 10'. A threaded fastener F secures each push-pull rod 174 of extension 10' to an associated push-pull rod 174 of hopper loader 10.
(d) Coupling members (not shown) are provided to couple the drive for the conveyor 200 of hopper loader 10 to conveyor 200 of the extension 10' so that the conveyors move at the same speed under control of a single drive means.
Operation of the hopper loader 10 combined with extension 10' is as follows:
The right-hand (i.e. downstream) end of extension 10' is moved against and aligned with the left-hand (i.e. upstream) end of hopper loader 10.
The coupling assembly (not shown) is employed to couple drive for conveyor 200 of hopper loader 10 to the conveyor 200 of extension 10'.
The hand crank 164 is removed from the hopper loader 10 for subsequent use with the extension 10'.
The right-hand ends 174b of the extension push-pull rods are each inserted into the left-hand ends of one of the coupling blocks 174a and the fasteners F are tightened to secure the push-pull rods of loader 10 and extension 10' to one another.
Pin 172a is removed from each main block 172 at the upstream end of hopper loader 10, releasing each lower block 172b from its main block 172 permitting main blocks 172 to freely move.
By inserting operating handle 164 into the left-hand end of drive member 162 of extension 10' and rotating the operating handle, the rotation of threaded member 162b in extension 10' moves block 172, which movement is imparted to push-pull rod 174 of extension 10'. This movement is imparted to each linkage assembly L1, L2 and L3 of extension 10' and L1 and L2 of hopper loader 10, enabling adjustment of the side guides of hopper 10 and extension 10' through the operation of a single operating handle.
It can thus be seen that the novel saddle hopper feedrack assembly of the present invention greatly simplifies the coupling of the saddle stitcher to a feeder for automatic operation which set up is significantly easier and faster than the feedracks of conventional design and which further permits simple and rapid set-up of the feedrack for manual loading.
A latitude of modification, change and substitution is intended in the foregoing disclosure, and in some instances, some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features. For example, the linkage arms 176, 182 of FIGS. 3a, 3b may be reversed in the manner shown in FIG. 3c. The arm 182 is thus driven by tapped block 172. This reversal may also be employed in the embodiment of FIGS. 21-2c. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention herein described. | A hopper loader having at least a horizontal infeed conveyor and one or a plurality of side guides each adjustable by a single operating handle to facilitate accurate horizontal product alignment over the entire length of the hopper loader. The single operating handle drives one or a plurality of linkage assemblies which operate in unison to move a guide plate slidably engaged by side edges of printed products as they move along the horizontal conveyor sections. In applications where the hopper loader incorporates conveyor sections having different angular orientations, rods and rod sections for each such conveyor section are coupled to one another by a universal joint to convey movement to each linkage under control of the single operating handle. A side guide arrangement is also provided for use with a hopper loader having an extension coupled thereto for conveying a larger quantity of signatures, the side guide assemblies of the hopper loader and the extension being operated simultaneously through the use of a single operating handle. | Summarize the key points of the given patent document. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 978,994, filed Nov. 19, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,172 which is a division of U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 693,638, filed Apr. 30, 1991 and now U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,590, issued Mar. 30, 1993.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to hopper loaders and more particularly, to a novel improved hopper loader having a unique adjustable side guide which greatly facilitates both set-up and use thereof.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Loaders are well known to the art and are used in a variety of different segments within the fields of printing and publishing.",
"For example, feeders are utilized to feed signatures one at a time from a hopper onto a conveyor;",
"are used to supply signatures to a hopper;",
"and are used to supply signatures to a signature feed assembly which, in turn, delivers partially opened signatures one at a time to a saddle conveyor, to name just a few applications.",
"In all of the above-identified applications, it is necessary to provide signature streams and/or signature stacks which are in proper alignment to facilitate trouble-free transfer to the utilization device receiving signatures from the feeder.",
"In addition, when stacking signatures side-by-side preparatory to their transfer to an output utilization device, it is extremely important that the signatures be aligned so that they do not exert undue forces on the output utilization device thereby causing undesirable misfeeds.",
"In addition to the above, it is also important to provide feeders which not only have the versatility enabling the feeder to accommodate a variety of different signature sizes but also have the ability to permit rapid adjustment of the feeder when changing from one feeder size to another or when changing the coupling of the feeder output from one output utilization device to another.",
"The complicated nature and construction and the operating features of present day feeders increase the possibility of jams or other malfunctions during use and require complicated set-up operations, significantly increasing the cost of equipment as well as the cost of operating the equipment.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An improved feeder which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages as well as providing other distinct advantages is characterized by comprising a horizontal conveyor section at the infeed for receiving signatures either manually or from an outfeed conveyor.",
"The downstream end of the horizontal conveyor transfers signatures placed in a near-vertical orientation to an inclined ramp conveyor which typically operates at either the same or a greater linear speed than the horizontal conveyor, serving to separate the signatures and to arrange them in a shingled stream.",
"The output end of the inclined ramp conveyor delivers the shingled stream to a short conveyor section which is typically aligned to advance the signatures delivered thereto either horizontally into a hopper or diagonally downward for insertion into any one of a variety of output utilization devices and typically oriented at an acute angle to the vertical.",
"Side guides are provided along the opposite parallel sides of the feeder to maintain the alignment of signatures as they move from the input to the output end thereof.",
"Adjustable side guides are utilized to accommodate signatures of different sizes and align them with an output utilization device.",
"A novel side guide mechanism is provided on at least one side of the feeder for adjusting a one-piece side guide extending the entire length of the feeder through a single operating handle.",
"Two such side guide cams may be provided, one along each side of the feeder for applications in which the product register is the centerline of the machine.",
"Alternatively, a fixed guide may be used along one side of the feeder if the fixed side of the loader is employed for product registry.",
"The side guide cam comprises an elongated threaded assembly ("worm") comprised of linear threaded sections for each of the horizontal, ramp and output conveyor sections the adjacent ends of which are joined end-to-end by universal joints.",
"Links pivotally coupled to threaded nuts threadedly engaging the elongated worm member are caused to pivot about a point intermediate their ends by means of a second link fixedly secured at one end to said threaded member and pivotally coupled to a point intermediate the ends of said first-mentioned coupling link.",
"A pair of such linkages are arranged respectively near the input and output ends of the feeder and by rotation of the elongated threaded member by rotation of a crank handle the side guide may be rapidly adjusted to accommodate signatures of any size within a predetermined range thus significantly reducing set-up time.",
"In an alternative embodiment, the elongated threaded members are replaced by a relatively short threaded member which is utilized to drive a first linkage assembly, which first linkage assembly is coupled to another linkage assembly located downstream relative to the first linkage assembly by an elongated "push-pull"",
"rod.",
"This alternative embodiment eliminates the need for an elongated threaded rod and cooperating threaded members at each linkage assembly.",
"The aforesaid alternative embodiment is extremely advantageous for use in extending a hopper loader conveyor through the use of a conveyor extension.",
"A hopper loader extension is coupled to the upstream end of the hopper loader.",
"The drive coupling of the upstream end of the hopper loader is coupled to the downstream end of the extension.",
"An operating handle of the hopper loader is removed and the downstream end of the extension push-pull road is inserted into the coupling block.",
"The operating handle removed from the hopper loader is inserted into the female coupling of the rotating shaft of the hopper loader extension.",
"Rotation of the drive shaft of the extension thus simultaneously adjusts the side guides of both the hopper loader and the hopper loader extension.",
"OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a feeder which is easy to set up and may be set up preparatory to a run in a fast and simple manner.",
"Still another object of the present invention is to provide a feeder having novel adjustable side guides to facilitate simple, rapid adjustment thereof to accommodate different product sizes.",
"Still another object of the present invention is to provide a feeder having novel adjustable side guides to facilitate simple, rapid adjustment thereof to accommodate different product sizes and wherein said adjustment means utilizes a single operating handle.",
"Still another object of the present invention is to provide adjustable side guides for a hopper loader and a hopper loader extension which may be coupled together when using the extension to permit simultaneous adjustment of the side guides of the hopper loader and the hopper loader extension by operation of only the extension drive shaft, typically by a manually operable handle.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES The above, as well as other objects of the present invention, will become apparent when reading the accompanying description and drawings in which: FIG. 1 shows a schematic elevational view of a feeder assembly embodying the principles of the present invention;",
"FIGS. 2a and 2b show side elevation and top plan views respectively of side guide assemblies employed in the feeder of FIG. 1;",
"FIG. 2c shows an enlarged end view of the linkage assemblies employed in the side guides of FIGS. 2a and 2b;",
"FIGS. 3a and 3b are top and side elevational views, respectively, of another adjustable side guide embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 3c is a plan view of an alternative arrangement of the linkage assemblies of FIGS. 2a-3b;",
"and FIGS. 4a and 4b are top and side elevational views respectively of a hopper loader extension for use with the hopper loader of FIGS. 3a and 3b.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIG. 1 shows a feeder 10 supported on four legs 12 (only two of which are shown in the Figure), each leg being provided with a caster assembly 14 for rollingly supporting feeder 10 to facilitate easy movement.",
"The legs 12 support a frame 16 which houses the motor drives and related mechanisms for driving the horizontal conveyor section 18, the ramp conveyor section 20 and an outfeed conveyor section 22.",
"Legs 12 are provided with manual handwheels for adjusting the height of the conveyor sections relative to hopper 30, for example.",
"Signatures S are delivered to the horizontal conveyor section either automatically by means of an outfeed conveyor (not shown) arranged immediately adjacent the left-hand end of the conveyor section 18, or manually.",
"As signatures are delivered to the ramp conveyor they rest against the ramp conveyor belts (only belt B being shown in FIG. 1 for purposes of simplicity) and move upwardly therealong, forming a shingled stream.",
"The shingled stream of signatures reach and thereafter move along the conveyor belts of the outfeed conveyor section 22.",
"Each signature moves off of the outfeed conveyor section 22 and falls into a hopper 30 coupled to feeder 10.",
"The hopper 30 is provided with a support 32 mounted upon the floor and preferably precisely located thereon by a positioning pin (or pins) 34 (FIG.",
"1c), such as a lag bolt, which facilitates accurate positioning of the hopper and the feeder coupled thereto in a manner to be more fully described.",
"The signatures fall into hopper 30 oriented in a substantially horizontal plane.",
"The hopper delivers signatures in a one-at-a-time fashion into an output utilization device (not shown).",
"In order to assure proper signature feeding from hopper 30 it is important to form a neat signature stack therein.",
"The alignment of signatures within the feeder and the adjustment of the feeder relative to the hopper significantly contribute to accurate, error-free operation and it is important to provide apparatus which assures the desired alignment and positioning of components as well as guidance of the signatures throughout the feeding and stacking operation.",
"For example, the feeder 10 is provided with side guides including side guide sections 24, 26, 28 and 29 which are provided along opposite longitudinal sides of the feeder, the side guides of only one side of the feeder being visible in FIG. 1, the side guides assuring proper alignment of the signatures in the horizontal plane and within hopper 30.",
"Adjustable side guides are provided as will be described more fully hereinbelow in order to accurately align the signatures in the feeder relative to the output hopper as well as greatly facilitating set-up of the feeder when changing to a different product size.",
"The feeder is provided with a control panel 40 having a variety of control buttons and displays.",
"The control panel is easily accessible from one side of the feeder as shown in FIG. 1 as well as the top plan view shown in FIG. 1a.",
"The control panel 40 is mounted to the free or right-hand end 42a of a rotating control arm or boom 42 having an inverted J-shape which has its lower left-hand end 42b rotatably mounted within a cup assembly 44.",
"A pivot coupling 45 rotatably mounts an upper portion of section 42b.",
"Control panel 40 is rotatably coupled to the end 42a of boom 42 by means of a bearing assembly 43 (not shown in detail) arranged within the upper portion of the control panel housing.",
"Summarizing, the lower end of boom 42 fits within a pivot cup 44 having a suitable bearing for rotatably mounting boom 42 therein.",
"A pivot block 45 is mounted along the machine frame a spaced distance above pivot cup 44.",
"The lower end of boom 42b pivots within suitable bearing means in pivot cup 44.",
"A pivot block 45 arranged a spaced distance above pivot cup 44 provides a similar bearing assembly and cooperates with pivot cup 44 to prevent any movement by boom 42 other than about its longitudinal vertical axis.",
"FIGS. 2a, 2b and 2c respectively show the side elevation, top plan view and end view of the novel side guide assembly utilized in the feeder 10.",
"The preferred embodiment of the side guide assembly 100 is comprised of a one-piece side guide 102 of a shape conforming to the shape of the sections 18, 20 and 22.",
"A pair of supporting blocks 104 and 106 are directly secured to side guide 102 by suitable fastening means F. A linkage arm 108, 110 is pivotally coupled to an associated one of the mounting blocks 104, 106 by a fastener F1 which threadedly engages each of the arms 108, 110 while extending through a clearance opening in each block 104 and 106.",
"The clearance opening 104a is shown for block 104 in FIG. 2c.",
"The opposite end of each of the arms 108, 110 is pivotally coupled to threaded nuts 112, 114 by pin means 112a, 114a.",
"The intermediate portion of each arm 108, 110 is pivotally coupled to a short arm 116, 118 by means of a fastener F2 extending through a clearance opening in each arm 108 and 110 and threadedly engaging a tapped aperture in each of the arms 116 and 118.",
"FIG. 2c shows fastener F2 extending through a clearance opening 108b in arm 108 and threadedly engaging an opening in arm 116.",
"The opposite ends of each of the arms 116, 118 is pivotally coupled to a block 120, 122 by suitable pin means 120a, 122a respectively.",
"Blocks 120 and 122 are fixedly secured to support frame 140.",
"An elongated drive assembly, provided with threaded portions only where needed, is comprised of a first elongated member 124, and a second shorter threaded member 124a having its left-hand end 124a-1 coupled to the right-hand end of member 124.",
"The right-hand end 124a-2 of threaded member 124a is coupled to the left-hand end of rod 124b.",
"The right-hand end of rod 124b is coupled to the left-hand end 128a of universal joint 128.",
"The right-hand end 128b of universal joint 128 is coupled to the left-hand end of rod 126.",
"The right-hand end of rod 126 is coupled to the left-hand end 132a of universal joint 132.",
"The right-hand end of 132b of universal joint 132 is coupled to the left-hand end of threaded rod 130.",
"In the embodiment of FIGS. 2a-2c only two threaded portions are provided.",
"The number of threaded portions are a function of the number of linkage assemblies employed.",
"Bracket 139 serves as a bearing rotatably supporting the right-hand end of threaded member 130.",
"Member 124 is rotatably mounted, i.e. is mounted to rotate about its longitudinal axis represented by dotted centerline C, by means of clamps 134, 136, 137 and 138 fixedly secured to side wall 140, forming part of the support frame of feeder 10, by fasteners F4 (see FIG. 2c).",
"The threaded sections 124a and 130 also extend through guide openings in blocks 120 and 122.",
"Members 112 and 114 are provided with tapped openings which threadedly engage threaded members 124 and 130, respectively.",
"An operating handle comprised of hand crank 140 is fixedly secured to the left-hand end of threaded member 124 and a rotatable handle portion 140a is utilized to rotate threaded members 124, 126 and 130.",
"The operation of adjustable side guide is as follows: By rotating operating handle 140 in a first direction, threaded blocks 112 and 114 are caused to move in the direction shown by arrow A causing members 108 and 110 to rotate counterclockwise about fasteners F2 thereby moving one-piece adjustable side guide 102 in a direction shown by arrow A1.",
"Rotating the hand crank in the opposite direction causes threaded members 112 and 114 to move in the directions shown by arrows A2 causing arms 108 and 110 to rotate clockwise about pivots F2 thereby moving side guide 102 in a direction shown by arrow A3.",
"In applications wherein the centerline of the machine represented by dotted line CL is utilized for product registry of the feeder and cooperating hopper, a similar side guide assembly may be utilized along the opposite side 140'",
"of the feeder 10.",
"However, if side 140'",
"of the feeder 10 serves as the product registry, a fixed guide may be employed along side 140'.",
"It can thus be seen that the side guide (or guides) may be adjusted through operation of a single operating handle to both fine-tune the alignment of the signatures relative to the receiving hopper as well as adjusting the side guides when undertaking a product run requiring a change in product size.",
"Another alternative embodiment of a side guide assembly as shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b in which a pair of alternative side guide assemblies G1, G2 are arranged along opposite sides of the hopper loader 10.",
"Both side guide assemblies are substantially identical to one another except that they are mirror images of one another.",
"The side guide assemblies are each comprised of an elongated rod 162 whose right-hand end extends through a bore in block 168 and is secured to block 168 by fasteners F. The left-hand end of rod 162 is provided with an opening of a non-circular shape such as, for example, rectangular, hexagonal, etc.",
"for releasably receiving a male member having a conforming cross-sectional shape provided at end 164a of manually operable hand crank 164 provided with a handle 164b for rotating crank 164 and hence rod 162.",
"Rod 162 extends through block 168 and a bore provided in guide block 166 and has a threaded rod portion 162b which threadedly engages a tapped opening provided in elongated block 172.",
"The right-hand end of threaded rod portion 162b terminates in a bearing or support 170a provided in block 170.",
"Blocks 166 and 170 are secured to hopper frame 16.",
"Rotation of rod 162 causes rotation of threaded rod portion 162b which, for example, when rotated in a clockwise direction, causes block 172 to move to the right and when rotated in a counterclockwise direction causes block 172 to move to the left.",
"An elongated push-pull rod 174 is provided with an enlarged head 174a at its left-hand end and extends through a guide bore provided in guide block 166, and a bore provided in block 172 and further extends through a guide bore provided in block 170.",
"Push-pull rod 174 is free to move relative to guide block 166 and block 170 but is securely fastened to block 172 so as to cause push-pull rod 174 to move when block 172 is moved due to the rotation of threaded rod portion 162b.",
"Guide blocks 166 and 170 cooperate with rod 174 and rod 162 to maintain the proper orientation of block 172 as it is moved back and forth.",
"A first linkage assembly L1 comprises an elongated linkage arm 176 which has its left end pivotally secured to the top of block 172 by a pivot pin 177.",
"The right-hand end of linkage arm 176 is pivotally secured to a pivot pin 179 which extends through a bore in mounting bracket 180 and extends into and is pivotally coupled to linkage arm 176.",
"Mounting bracket 179 is secured to guide plate 184 which is slidably engaged along its inner surface by signatures as they advance along conveyor means 200.",
"A short linkage arm 182 has its right-hand end coupled to the top of block 170 by means of pivot pin 181.",
"The left-hand end of short linkage arm 182 is pivotally coupled to a point intermediate the ends of linkage arm 176 by pivot pin 183.",
"Bracket 180 is secured to elongated guide plate 184.",
"Linkage arms 176 and 182 constitute the drive means for moving guide plate 184 to the desired position according to the width of signatures being handled.",
"A similar linkage assembly L2 of linkage arms located downstream of linkage assembly L1 is comprised of linkage arms 176'",
"and 182', which operate in a manner substantially identical to linkage arms 176 and 182.",
"The blocks which these linkage arms are coupled to and the pivot pins are identified by the same designating numerals as the upstream linkage assembly L1 with the exception that each designating numeral carries a "prime"",
"to differentiate between the two linkage assemblies L1 and L2.",
"More particularly, guide block 166', secured to hopper loader frame 16, is similar to guide block 166 except that the need for guiding the rotating drive rod 162 is eliminated.",
"Hence, guide block 166'",
"simply guides freely movable push-pull rod 174.",
"Block 172'",
"is provided with a bore for receiving push-pull rod 174 and with fasteners F'",
"for securing block 172'",
"to push-pull rod 174.",
"Block 172'",
"is reduced in vertical length since the need for a threaded rod portion 162b is eliminated, due to the novel arrangement of the alternative embodiment of FIGS. 3a and 3b.",
"Block 170'",
"is secured to frame 16 and is provided with an opening for slidably guiding push-pull rod 174.",
"The need for a bearing provided in the lower end of block 170'",
"for supporting a threaded rod portion is eliminated since the threaded rod portion has been eliminated due to the use of the novel push-pull rod 174 whose operation will now be described.",
"The manner of operation of the side guide assembly is as follows: FIG. 3a shows side guide assembly G1 in the position to accept the widest possible signatures whereas side-guide assembly G2 is in the position to accept the signatures of narrowest width.",
"Assuming that the guide plate 184 of assembly G1 is to moved so as to occupy the mirror image of the position occupied by side guide assembly G2 to accommodate narrow width signatures, in order to accomplish this, hand crank 164 is mounted to rotatable rod 162 and is rotated in the clockwise direction, causing block 172 having a tapped opening threadedly engaging threaded rod portion 162b, to be moved toward the right as shown by arrow A1 in FIG. 3a.",
"Block 170 is maintained stationary due to the fact that it is securely fastened to stationary side wall 16 of hopper loader 10.",
"Thus, long linkage arm 176 rotates in the counterclockwise direction about pivot 177 (see FIG. 3a) and simultaneously therewith short linkage arm 182 rotates in the clockwise direction about pivot pin 181 whereby the right-hand end of long linkage arm 176 moves side guide plate 184 toward the central longitudinal axis of the hopper loader 10 in the direction shown by farrow A2.",
"The movement of block 172 is imparted to rod push-pull rod 174 causing rod 174 to move in the direction shown by arrow A1.",
"This movement is imparted to block 172'",
"causing linkage arms 176'",
"and 182'",
"to move in a manner substantially identical to the movement of linkage arms 176 and 182.",
"This movement is imparted to elongated side guide plate 184 causing guide plate 184 to move so that its longitudinal orientation is always parallel to the original position of plate 184 of the side guide assembly G1.",
"Plate 184 may assume an infinite number of positions between the limit positions shown by plate 184 of assembly G1 and plate 184 of assembly G2.",
"The movement of plate 184 in the longitudinal direction due to the swinging movement of linkage arm 176 is offset by the linear movement of linkage arm 176 in the opposite direction whereby the resultant movement of guide plate 184 is only in the transverse direction.",
"The side guide plates 184, 184 may be arranged so that they are equidistant from a longitudinal centerline of the hopper loader 10 or may be arranged in any other fashion.",
"As a further alternative, one of the side guide assemblies G1 and G2 may be totally eliminated and replaced by a stationary side guide as was described hereinabove in connection with the embodiment of FIGS. 2a-2c.",
"In applications where it is desired to move the side guide assembly from the position shown by assembly G2 to or toward the position shown by assembly G1, the rotatable drive arm 162 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction causing the block 172 containing a tapped opening threadedly engaging threaded rod portion 162b to move in the direction shown by arrow A3.",
"The movement of block 172 is imparted to push-pull rod 174 causing block 172'",
"which is securely fastened to push-pull rod 174 to likewise move in the direction shown by arrow A3.",
"Both linkage assemblies L1 and L2 thus move in unison thereby moving the side guide plate 184 from the position occupied by the plate 184 in side guide assembly G2 toward the outermost position as represented by plate 184 of the side guide assembly G1.",
"Again it will be noted that the side guide plate 184 moves so that its spatial orientation does not change.",
"More particularly, side guide plate 184 remains parallel to previous positions occupied by the plate in moving from the innermost position to the outermost position.",
"The need for an elongated threaded rod extending the length of the adjustable side guide assembly G1 and G2 is eliminated through the unique employment of the push-pull rod 174.",
"Although only two linkage assemblies have been provided, it is understood that a greater number may be employed, especially in applications wherein the hopper loader 10 is of a greater longitudinal length.",
"In applications where it is desired to provide a longer, horizontally aligned hopper loader to accommodate a larger number of signatures, a hopper loader extension shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b may be coupled to the hopper loader shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b.",
"The extension 10'",
"shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b is substantially identical to the hopper loader 10 of FIGS. 3a and 3b wherein like elements are designated by like numerals.",
"The following are the distinctions between hopper loader 10 and extension 10': (a) The push-pull rods 174 of extension 10'",
"extend beyond the right-hand end of extension 10'",
"for coupling to the left-hand ends of the push-pull rods 174 of hopper loader 10.",
"(b) Hopper loader 10 is provided with a pin 172a to disconnect the lower block portion 172b from the main block portion 172.",
"(c) Member 174a at the left-hand end of each push-pull rod 174 of the hopper loader 10 is provided with an opening at its left-hand end to receive the right-hand end 174b of the push-pull rods 174 of extension 10'.",
"A threaded fastener F secures each push-pull rod 174 of extension 10'",
"to an associated push-pull rod 174 of hopper loader 10.",
"(d) Coupling members (not shown) are provided to couple the drive for the conveyor 200 of hopper loader 10 to conveyor 200 of the extension 10'",
"so that the conveyors move at the same speed under control of a single drive means.",
"Operation of the hopper loader 10 combined with extension 10'",
"is as follows: The right-hand (i.e. downstream) end of extension 10'",
"is moved against and aligned with the left-hand (i.e. upstream) end of hopper loader 10.",
"The coupling assembly (not shown) is employed to couple drive for conveyor 200 of hopper loader 10 to the conveyor 200 of extension 10'.",
"The hand crank 164 is removed from the hopper loader 10 for subsequent use with the extension 10'.",
"The right-hand ends 174b of the extension push-pull rods are each inserted into the left-hand ends of one of the coupling blocks 174a and the fasteners F are tightened to secure the push-pull rods of loader 10 and extension 10'",
"to one another.",
"Pin 172a is removed from each main block 172 at the upstream end of hopper loader 10, releasing each lower block 172b from its main block 172 permitting main blocks 172 to freely move.",
"By inserting operating handle 164 into the left-hand end of drive member 162 of extension 10'",
"and rotating the operating handle, the rotation of threaded member 162b in extension 10'",
"moves block 172, which movement is imparted to push-pull rod 174 of extension 10'.",
"This movement is imparted to each linkage assembly L1, L2 and L3 of extension 10'",
"and L1 and L2 of hopper loader 10, enabling adjustment of the side guides of hopper 10 and extension 10'",
"through the operation of a single operating handle.",
"It can thus be seen that the novel saddle hopper feedrack assembly of the present invention greatly simplifies the coupling of the saddle stitcher to a feeder for automatic operation which set up is significantly easier and faster than the feedracks of conventional design and which further permits simple and rapid set-up of the feedrack for manual loading.",
"A latitude of modification, change and substitution is intended in the foregoing disclosure, and in some instances, some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features.",
"For example, the linkage arms 176, 182 of FIGS. 3a, 3b may be reversed in the manner shown in FIG. 3c.",
"The arm 182 is thus driven by tapped block 172.",
"This reversal may also be employed in the embodiment of FIGS. 21-2c.",
"Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention herein described."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for secure delivery of services over local access networks, and in particular shared medium access networks, and a system incorporating the same.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to shared medium access networks, such as satellite, LMDS, UMTS, cable modem or fibre in the loop access networks, in particular to fibre to the home (FTTH). The following description relates to FTTH, but it will easily be seen how it applies to other scenarios with similar characteristics. FTTH networks can be made more economic by sharing fibre facilities and head end equipment across a number of customers. Passive Optical Networks (PONs) fall into this category. In such a network, a single head end node, normally physically located on the network provider's premises, connects to a number of customer located outstations via a passive optical splitter (POS) which provides a fanout to (typically) 16 outstations.
[0003] Traffic transmitted in the downstream direction (from the head end to the outstations) appears at all outstations and is selected by a given outstation based on an address included in a header associated with each data packet. In the upstream direction a multiple access protocol is used to ensure that only one outstation transmits information at a time.
[0004] Such networks can be used to transmit multiple services to a customer, including video services and data services. On the customer premises an Optical Network Unit (ONU) connects to the fibre network and provides one or more interfaces to which the customer can attach end user equipment. This equipment might include one or more Set Top Boxes (STBs) for interfacing video services to a television set and one or more personal computers. Each of these devices could connect via, for example, an Ethernet interface.
[0005] The ONU will normally be supplied by the network operator who can control the software included within the ONU itself. Devices attached to the Ethernet interfaces, however, are often outside the control of the network operator and the end user may therefore be able to load software which is outside the control of the network operator.
[0006] Video services consist of television channels which can be selected for viewing by individual end users and can be classified into two categories: multicast and Video on Demand (VOD). Multicast video channels are viewed simultaneously by a number of users. Such channels may include, for example, standard broadcast channels, subscription channels (where the user pays a monthly fee for the right to view the channel whenever he wants) and pay per view channels (where the user pays to view a particular programme). VOD channels are programmes requested by a particular user and supplied only to that user. Each VOD channel requires a dedicated data path from a video server within the network. Multicast channels avoid dedicated paths from the server to each user by including multicasting features in the data path, typically using a router situated at the head end of the access network. When the first user requests a multicast channel, that channel is delivered to the head end router from the server and a connection is made through the router to the access network. If another user subsequently requests to view the same channel, a second connection is made within the router to cause the channel to be sent out on the interface to which the second user is connected. Since the second user is joining an existing channel, no additional data capacity is required on the link between the server and the router. Protocols exist for signalling from an end user device to a router to join and leave a multicast group. When the data transmission is based on Internet Protocol (IP), a multicast signalling protocol known as Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) may be used. Conventionally in IP networks, a multicast stream is given a destination IP address drawn from a group of addresses reserved for multicast IP packets. Similarly, when using Ethernet as the medium access control (MAC) layer, the destination MAC address is drawn from a group of addresses reserved for multicast Ethernet frames. Thus at both the IP layer and the MAC layer, the address used represents the content of the multicast data stream rather than identifying a specific destination.
[0007] An algorithm for mapping IP layer multicast addresses to MAC layer multicast addresses is given in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request for Comment (RFC) 1112. This is a many to one mapping where a single MAC address could represent many different schemes. In systems using this mapping, the multicast channel cannot be identified uniquely at the MAC layer and the IP layer destination address must be checked to guarantee uniqueness.
[0008] In a variation of the multicast protocol, known as source specific multicast (SSM), both the source IP address and the destination IP address are required to identify uniquely a specific multicast stream. In a system using SSM the destination multicast MAC address is not guaranteed to be unique. Since current protocols do not reflect the source IP address in the source MAC address, SSM channels cannot be uniquely identified at the MAC layer and the source address at the IP layer must be checked.
[0009] A problem arises when the end user connection is a shared medium network (such as a PON): a multicast stream will be delivered to the ONUs situated on the premises of all end users on the PON whenever one of the users requests that stream and, by listening to traffic on that address, a second user would be able to view the service even though he may not have paid to receive it. This could lead to loss of revenues to the content provider which is highly undesirable.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The invention seeks to provide an improved method and apparatus for overcoming one or more problems associated with the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a network access unit for restricting user access to signals transmitted on a local access network and comprising: a port for receiving a channel request from a user; a channel request vetting unit for vetting the request with respect to a predetermined list of permitted channels; a transmitter for forwarding the channel request responsive to the vetting.
[0012] In one preferred embodiment the unit also comprises: a receiver arranged to receive control signals from a network headend for updating the permitted list.
[0013] In a further preferred embodiment, a time is associated with at least one channel in the predetermined list of channels and in which the channel vetting unit vets a request for the at least one channel with respect to the time.
[0014] In a further preferred embodiment, the local access network is a shared medium access network.
[0015] In a further preferred embodiment, the unit is arranged to receive signals over an optical medium.
[0016] According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a customer premises equipment comprising a network access unit according to claim 1 .
[0017] According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided an optical access network comprising a network access unit according to claim 1 .
[0018] According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a content service provider server arranged for connection to a network and comprising: a transmitter for transmitting one or more content channels and channel control signals to a remote network access unit containing a permitted channel list; in which the control signals are intended to update the permitted channel list so as to control subscriber access to the transmitted content channels.
[0019] Preferably, the control signals contain time-related information for association in the permitted list with one or more channels.
[0020] The invention also provides for a telecommunications system which comprises one or more instances of apparatus embodying the present invention, together with other additional apparatus.
[0021] The invention is also directed to a method by which the described apparatus operates and including method steps for carrying out every function of the apparatus.
[0022] In particular according to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of restricting user access to signals transmitted on a local access network comprising the steps of: receiving a channel request from a user at a first port; vetting the request with respect to a predetermined list of permitted channels; forwarding the request responsive to the vetting.
[0023] Preferably, the method also comprises the steps of: receiving a control signal from a network headend; updating the permitted list responsive to the control signal.
[0024] Preferably, the method also comprises the steps of: associating a time with at least one channel in the predetermined list of channels; vetting the request with respect to the time.
[0025] Preferably, the channel request is carried in an IGMP message.
[0026] According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of operating a service provider server comprising the steps of: transmitting one or more content channels and channel control signals to a remote network access unit containing a permitted channel list; in which the control signals are intended to update the permitted channel list so as to control subscriber access to the transmitted control channels.
[0027] Preferably, the method also comprises the steps of: receiving a user initiated request to change channel subscription details; transmitting a permitted channel list update signal responsive thereto to a remote network access unit associated with the user.
[0028] According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a use of an IGMP vetting function in customer premises equipment to provide secure multicast over a network.
[0029] According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a use of an IGMP vetting function and a network receive address filter in customer premises equipment to provide secure multicast over a network.
[0030] The invention is also directed to a program for a computer, comprising components arranged to perform each of the method functions.
[0031] In particular, according to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a program for a computer on a machine readable medium arranged to: receive a channel request from a user at a first port; vet the request with respect to a predetermined list of permitted channels; forward the request responsive to the vetting.
[0032] In particular, according to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a control signal intended for transmission to a network access unit having a permitted channel list, comprising at least one message comprising network access unit permitted channel list update information.
[0033] Preferably, the at least one message contains time-related information for association in the permitted channel list with one or more channels.
[0034] Preferably, the control signals comprise IGMP messages.
[0035] Advantageously, the aspects of the present invention provide improved security for multicast services (for example multicast video) with minimum increase in ONU complexity.
[0036] The preferred features may be combined as appropriate, as would be apparent to a skilled person, and may be combined with any of the aspects of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0037] In order to show how the invention may be carried into effect, embodiments of the invention are now described below by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying figures in which:
[0038] [0038]FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a telecommunications network in accordance with the present invention;
[0039] [0039]FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of an Optical Network Unit (ONU) in accordance with the present invention;
[0040] [0040]FIG. 3 shows an example of multi-cast broadcast channel packages arrangement in accordance with the present invention; and
[0041] [0041]FIG. 4 shows a further schematic diagram of a telecommunications network in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
[0042] Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a system overview of one possible embodiment of an end-to-end network for delivery of multicast video services incorporating a Passive Optical Network (PON) based access network. Only those elements relevant to the present invention are shown.
[0043] The headend 10 comprises a Router 110 and one or more Optical Line Termination units (OLTS) 120 - 121 . The Router comprises a Packet Forwarder 111 and a signal processor 112 In the downstream direction, each OLT receives packets from the router, adds any protocol and control information needed to implement the PON protocol and converts the data stream to an optical signal for transmission onto the shared optical medium 20 to one or more end users. In the upstream direction, the OLT 120 receives an optical signal which has been multiplexed onto the medium by one or more ONUs 30 , and extracts the data stream to be sent to the Router for onward transmission. Optionally, the OLTs 120 - 121 may be physically integrated into the head end router 110 .
[0044] A Video Server 40 acts as the source of multiple multicast video programmes, each of which is transmitted as a separate packet stream identified by an address in the packet header. Typically, the data link 60 to the server will be a packet switched path across an IP network. In a practical system, multiple additional servers would be used to deliver many services to the end user.
[0045] A Billing and Administration function, or unit, 50 holds information identifying which multicast streams each end user is entitled to receive.
[0046] In the example network shown, each OLT connects to an optical network incorporating a signal splitter 210 such that a single OLT is able to exchange information with multiple ONUs 30 situated on end user premises. In a preferred embodiment the signal splitter 210 is a passive optical splitter.
[0047] Each ONU may connect to one or more end user information devices such as television Set Top Boxes (STBs) 70 - 71 and Personal Computers (PCs) 80 for video and data applications respectively.
[0048] [0048]FIG. 2 shows an example of ONU 30 in more detail. A Network Receive function 31 converts downstream optical signals from the network connection 211 into electrical signals and passes on to the Packet Filter 32 only those information packets intended for the attached user. Other packets directed to other PON users are blocked. The addresses of packets to be passed through are contained in the Address List 33 . In this arrangement, the Address List may be modified dynamically according to the video channel requested by the end user.
[0049] The Packet Filter 32 extracts from the packet stream those packets which are directed to the Management Processor function 34 within the ONU. Other packets are passed on to the Ethernet Switch 35 to which multiple end user information devices 70 - 71 , 80 are connected.
[0050] Information packets received by the ONU from end user devices 70 - 71 , 80 pass via the Ethernet Switch 35 to the Control Packet Filter 36 . Channel change requests from the end user are encapsulated into control packets by the Set Top Box 70 - 71 , and PC 80 and sent to the ONU. Packets recognised as multicast video control packets are extracted and passed to the IGMP Vetting function 37 . Other packets are forwarded to the Network Transmit function 38 which implements the PON upstream transmission protocol and sends packets 212 via the local PON to the head end 10 at the appropriate time.
[0051] Multicast control packets sent to the IGMP Vetting function 37 are checked against the Permitted Channels list 39 . If the requesting user is eligible to receive the requested channel, the IGMP Vetting function forwards the request to the head end via Network Transmit function 38 .
[0052] Optionally, instead of blocking a request for a prohibited channel, the IGMP Vetting function 37 may modify the content of the request packet and forward to the network a modified request to connect the end user device to a video stream inviting the user to subscribe to the service he has requested but is not yet eligible to receive.
[0053] Forwarding the IGMP request to the headend 10 when it is not present in the permitted channel list would cause the head end router to add the stream to the composite data stream transmitted on the shared downstream medium. A malicious user could initiate many (multi-cast) channel joins, thus increasing the amount of capacity occupied on the downstream link and potentially denying service to others. Consequently, requests for channels not on the permitted channel list are preferably not forwarded.
[0054] It would be technically possible to reduce the susceptibility to denial of service attacks by intercepting IGMP messages in the head end router, but this would require non-standard features in the router and may not scale well when large numbers of customers are connected.
[0055] Unless additional capabilities are added in the ONU, as described above, theft of service can only be addressed in the router by including encryption of the multicast streams within the head end equipment using additional hardware processing data streams at the line rate of the access network. Decryption in the ONU would increase complexity in a cost-sensitive area of the system.
[0056] It is desirable that the end user should be made aware when he requests channels he is not authorised to receive.
[0057] If the user makes repeated such attempts it may also be desirable to inform the management system, either as part of a policing function or a marketing opportunity.
[0058] Optionally, if the Vetting function detects (multiple) attempts to connect to unauthorised channels, the ONU 30 may send a message to the Billing and Administration system 50 .
[0059] Once it is determined that the user is eligible to receive a requested channel, the Management Processor 34 is notified and it adds to the Address List 33 the multicast address which will be used in information packets carrying data for the selected channel. Such packets are then allowed through the Network Receive function 31 and forwarded to the Ethernet Switch 34 and thence to the end user information device 70 - 71 , 80 .
[0060] In the head end router 110 , IGMP messages are forwarded to a Signalling Processor 112 which instructs the Packet Forwarder 111 to add the new connection to the selected multicast stream so as to cause the stream to be forwarded to the end user via the OLT. Because the vetting function in the ONU ensures that no requests for unauthorised channels are passed to the network, no additional vetting is needed in the router.
[0061] Optionally, instead of generating IGMP messages in response to user requests to change channels, the STB 70 - 71 , 80 may instead generate control messages in some other format which is interpreted by the ONU and translated to IGMP messages before forwarding to the OLT. The ONU then act on the interpreted messages in a way similar to that described above for incoming IGMP messages.
[0062] The Permitted List 39 is populated from the head end 10 using management messages sent as part of the downstream traffic and delivered to the Management Processor 34 via the Packet Filter 32 . The permitted list may take different forms depending on the implementation, including but not limited to: a list of specific channels which the customer is eligible to receive; a list of channels the customer is to be prevented from viewing; or a set of rules to be applied to a request to determine whether a given channel is to be permitted or not. (An example of a set of rules for this last alternative can be derived from the semantics of the Unix ‘hosts.allow/hosts.deny’ command.)
[0063] The system is preferably based on the Internet Protocol suite. In an ONU using bridging (MAC layer forwarding) the IGMP Vetting function 37 is preferably performed using MAC addresses; in an ONU using routing (IP layer forwarding) the IGMP Vetting function 37 is preferably performed using IP addresses. To minimise ONU complexity and improve throughput, blocking of prohibited incoming multicast channels via the Network Receive function may be performed using MAC address matching.
[0064] Where the mapping from IP layer multicast addresses to MAC layer multicast addresses uses IETF RFC 1112, and the IGMP Vetting function 37 is performed using MAC addresses, the IGMP Vetting function may also optionally check the destination multicast IP address. Where the mapping from IP layer multicast addresses to MAC layer multicast addresses uses IETF RFC 1112 and blocking of prohibited incoming multicast channels via the Network Receive function is performed using MAC address matching, the Network Receive function 31 may optionally also check the IP destination address, but preferably only if the MAC layer address matching function indicates that the user may be eligible to receive the designated stream.
[0065] Where source specific multicast (SSM) is used in conjunction with IP layer vetting, the vetting function should preferably check both source and destination addresses to determine eligibility to receive a particular stream. Where SSM is used in conjunction with MAC layer vetting, the vetting function should preferably also check the IP addresses. Where SSM is used, the Network Receive function should also preferably check the IP addresses. Where SSM is used, preferably the Network Receive function should check the IP addresses only if an address match is detected at the MAC layer.
[0066] At the video IP headend, a Protocol Stack such as MPEG-2/RTP/UDP/IP/PON Multi-cast Groups may be employed. Source addresses of IP and MAC are defined and transmitted.
[0067] All available video channels may be, and ideally are, provided to the OLT. The OLT is arranged to set up and maintain receipt of all IP multi-cast channels. There may, for example be 200 channels provided by a single provider. The OLT also filters out upstream IGMP requests.
[0068] [0068]FIG. 3 shows how a set of channels may be mapped to multi-cast IP addresses. The channels may be provided, on subscription or otherwise, in groups of channels, for example as a basic packages and one or more premium rate packages.
[0069] At the set top box (STB), conventionally the allowable TV channel list is loaded by a service provider each time the STB boots up. It should be noted that this feature is for the convenience of the viewer, but does not protect the service against unauthorised access from an alternative information device such as a PC. Set top boxes preferably use IGMP version 2, or a protocol having similar functionality.
[0070] A method for handling a first channel request from a user on, for example set top box #1, comprises the steps of:
[0071] 1. STB 70 requests a channel (for example channel2) by issuing a join IP multi-cast request for a specific channel IP address (for example) 225.0.1.2
[0072] 2. The ONU receives IGMP join request
[0073] 3. The ONU checks that the requested channel is on its list of allowable channels and sends an IGMP request for the selected channel (225.0.1.2) up to the headend unit 10 and starts listening for multicast signals on that address (225.0.1.2)
[0074] 4. The headend unit 10 receives the IGMP request to join the channel ( 2 ).
[0075] If the requested channel is already being transmitted on that link, the headend unit continues and may optionally log the IP address of the requesting STB.
[0076] If the requested channel is not already being transmitted on that link, the requested channel is streamed on to the requesting link by the headend and optionally the IP address of the requesting STB is logged.
[0077] 5. The ONU 30 receives the video packets of channel 2 and forwards these streams onto the port of the requesting STB.
[0078] An example of a method for handling a channel change request from a user on, for example set top box #1, comprises the steps of:
[0079] 1. A user on STB 70 currently watching a first channel (for example channel 2) presses a channel change to watch a second channel (for example, channel 3).
[0080] 2. STB 70 transmits a leave message for channel 2 (leave IP multi-cast 225.0.1.2) and a join request for channel 3 (join IP multi-cast 225.0.1.3)
[0081] 3. The ONU 30 receives the IGMP leave request and sends it up to the headend 10 .
[0082] 4. The ONU 30 checks that channel 3 is on its list of allowable channels for that STB, and sends IGMP request for 225.0.1.3 up to the headend 10 and starts listening for transmission on the requested address (225.0.1.3).
[0083] 5. The headend 10 receives the IGMP request to leave channel 2.
[0084] If STB 70 was the only user requesting that channel on that link, transmission of that channel on that link may be suspended, and optionally the IP address of the requesting STB may be unlogged.
[0085] If STB 70 was not the only user requesting that channel on that link, transmission of that channel on that link may continue, and optionally, the IP address of the requesting STB may be unlogged.
[0086] 6. The headend 10 receives the IGMP request to join the newly requested channel (channel 3).
[0087] If that channel was already being transmitted on that link, the headend 10 continues and optionally logs the IP address of the requesting STB 70 .
[0088] If that channel was not already being transmitted on that link, the newly requested channel (channel 3) is streamed on to the requesting link by the headend 10 and optionally the IP address of requesting the STB is logged.
[0089] 7. The ONU 30 receives the video packets of the requested channel. The ONU ceases forwarding the channel 2 stream to the user and instead forwards the newly requested channel stream (channel 3) onto port of the requesting STB.
[0090] By associating a time or times with a channel in permitted list, a pay-per-view scheme can be supported as well as the pay-per-channel scheme described above. In particular, if the ONU 30 comprises a real-time clock (or has access to a periodic real-time signal from the network or elsewhere) a user may subscribe to a channel for a limited time period, for example:
[0091] the permitted list may associate a single end-time with each channel after which the channel is deleted form the permitted list, allowing immediate subscription by a user to the current channel; up to, say the end of a currently broadcast film;
[0092] the permitted list may associate both a start and end time with each channel which is then made available only between the start time and the end-time, allowing advance booking of pay-per-view services;
[0093] the permitted list may associate more complex time intervals with any given channel so as to support, for example, subscription to a particular channel only up until 9:00 p.m. where, for example, a channel provider operates a voluntary ban on transmission of “adult” channel content before that time in the evening. Other options include time-of-day, and time-of-week constraints, for which differing subscription rates might apply, etc.
[0094] Time limits on availability could also be implemented by active control for the head end, by the sending of specific add/remove control messages to the ONU to cause the permitted list to be updated. This would obviate the provision of a real-time clock in each ONU.
[0095] The permitted list used to vet channel request may be associated either with the ONU as a whole, and therefore apply equally to each STB or PC receiving service through it, or to each individual STB/PC receiving service. In the latter way, distinct STB's may have separate channel access controls applied to support, for example, parental control of children's viewing: STB's in children's rooms receive only channels targeted to children; “adult” material subscribed to is available only to adults in the household.
[0096] Referring now to FIG. 4, the invention described above is also not limited to the direct connection of individual STB's or PC's to the ONU. In a further embodiment shown in FIG. 4, a second ONU 30 a is shown connected, via the access network, to OLT 120 . The arrangement also has a customer premises network 81 connected to a user port on the ONU. The customer premises network comprises an STB 812 and a PC 811 connected via a switch 813 (for example an Ethernet switch) to the access connection to ONU 30 a . In this way a single ONU may support several customer premises (for example in a multiple dwelling unit, or along a street). In such a configuration the ONU may comprise permitted channel lists per ONU customer port, or per STB/PC. Whilst this arrangement increases the complexity of the ONU, it reduces the number of ONU to be deployed thereby potentially reducing operator costs.
[0097] Furthermore, whilst the above description has been presented in terms of multi-cast signals and IGMP signaling and channels carried over IP, the underlying method of vetting channel requests from users is clearly independent both of the multi-cast nature of the signals requested—access to point-to-point signals in non-multi-cast networks can be controlled in the same way—and of the specific signaling and broadcast protocols used.
[0098] It will easily be seen that the present invention can be applied to other services delivered using multicast, such as audio, software distribution and general push-oriented content delivery.
[0099] Any range or device value given herein may be extended or altered without losing the effect sought, as will be apparent to the skilled person for an understanding of the teachings herein. | A method of providing secure multicast over a local access network by means of a network access unit having a channel request vetting function and a permitted channel list. Channel requests from a subscriber are vetted with respect to the permitted channel list and forwarded only if permitted. The permitted list may be dynamically updated under headend control to allow users to subscribe to, and unsubscribe from, services upon request. | Summarize the key points of the given document. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for secure delivery of services over local access networks, and in particular shared medium access networks, and a system incorporating the same.",
"BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates to shared medium access networks, such as satellite, LMDS, UMTS, cable modem or fibre in the loop access networks, in particular to fibre to the home (FTTH).",
"The following description relates to FTTH, but it will easily be seen how it applies to other scenarios with similar characteristics.",
"FTTH networks can be made more economic by sharing fibre facilities and head end equipment across a number of customers.",
"Passive Optical Networks (PONs) fall into this category.",
"In such a network, a single head end node, normally physically located on the network provider's premises, connects to a number of customer located outstations via a passive optical splitter (POS) which provides a fanout to (typically) 16 outstations.",
"[0003] Traffic transmitted in the downstream direction (from the head end to the outstations) appears at all outstations and is selected by a given outstation based on an address included in a header associated with each data packet.",
"In the upstream direction a multiple access protocol is used to ensure that only one outstation transmits information at a time.",
"[0004] Such networks can be used to transmit multiple services to a customer, including video services and data services.",
"On the customer premises an Optical Network Unit (ONU) connects to the fibre network and provides one or more interfaces to which the customer can attach end user equipment.",
"This equipment might include one or more Set Top Boxes (STBs) for interfacing video services to a television set and one or more personal computers.",
"Each of these devices could connect via, for example, an Ethernet interface.",
"[0005] The ONU will normally be supplied by the network operator who can control the software included within the ONU itself.",
"Devices attached to the Ethernet interfaces, however, are often outside the control of the network operator and the end user may therefore be able to load software which is outside the control of the network operator.",
"[0006] Video services consist of television channels which can be selected for viewing by individual end users and can be classified into two categories: multicast and Video on Demand (VOD).",
"Multicast video channels are viewed simultaneously by a number of users.",
"Such channels may include, for example, standard broadcast channels, subscription channels (where the user pays a monthly fee for the right to view the channel whenever he wants) and pay per view channels (where the user pays to view a particular programme).",
"VOD channels are programmes requested by a particular user and supplied only to that user.",
"Each VOD channel requires a dedicated data path from a video server within the network.",
"Multicast channels avoid dedicated paths from the server to each user by including multicasting features in the data path, typically using a router situated at the head end of the access network.",
"When the first user requests a multicast channel, that channel is delivered to the head end router from the server and a connection is made through the router to the access network.",
"If another user subsequently requests to view the same channel, a second connection is made within the router to cause the channel to be sent out on the interface to which the second user is connected.",
"Since the second user is joining an existing channel, no additional data capacity is required on the link between the server and the router.",
"Protocols exist for signalling from an end user device to a router to join and leave a multicast group.",
"When the data transmission is based on Internet Protocol (IP), a multicast signalling protocol known as Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) may be used.",
"Conventionally in IP networks, a multicast stream is given a destination IP address drawn from a group of addresses reserved for multicast IP packets.",
"Similarly, when using Ethernet as the medium access control (MAC) layer, the destination MAC address is drawn from a group of addresses reserved for multicast Ethernet frames.",
"Thus at both the IP layer and the MAC layer, the address used represents the content of the multicast data stream rather than identifying a specific destination.",
"[0007] An algorithm for mapping IP layer multicast addresses to MAC layer multicast addresses is given in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request for Comment (RFC) 1112.",
"This is a many to one mapping where a single MAC address could represent many different schemes.",
"In systems using this mapping, the multicast channel cannot be identified uniquely at the MAC layer and the IP layer destination address must be checked to guarantee uniqueness.",
"[0008] In a variation of the multicast protocol, known as source specific multicast (SSM), both the source IP address and the destination IP address are required to identify uniquely a specific multicast stream.",
"In a system using SSM the destination multicast MAC address is not guaranteed to be unique.",
"Since current protocols do not reflect the source IP address in the source MAC address, SSM channels cannot be uniquely identified at the MAC layer and the source address at the IP layer must be checked.",
"[0009] A problem arises when the end user connection is a shared medium network (such as a PON): a multicast stream will be delivered to the ONUs situated on the premises of all end users on the PON whenever one of the users requests that stream and, by listening to traffic on that address, a second user would be able to view the service even though he may not have paid to receive it.",
"This could lead to loss of revenues to the content provider which is highly undesirable.",
"OBJECT OF THE INVENTION [0010] The invention seeks to provide an improved method and apparatus for overcoming one or more problems associated with the prior art.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0011] According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a network access unit for restricting user access to signals transmitted on a local access network and comprising: a port for receiving a channel request from a user;",
"a channel request vetting unit for vetting the request with respect to a predetermined list of permitted channels;",
"a transmitter for forwarding the channel request responsive to the vetting.",
"[0012] In one preferred embodiment the unit also comprises: a receiver arranged to receive control signals from a network headend for updating the permitted list.",
"[0013] In a further preferred embodiment, a time is associated with at least one channel in the predetermined list of channels and in which the channel vetting unit vets a request for the at least one channel with respect to the time.",
"[0014] In a further preferred embodiment, the local access network is a shared medium access network.",
"[0015] In a further preferred embodiment, the unit is arranged to receive signals over an optical medium.",
"[0016] According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a customer premises equipment comprising a network access unit according to claim 1 .",
"[0017] According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided an optical access network comprising a network access unit according to claim 1 .",
"[0018] According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a content service provider server arranged for connection to a network and comprising: a transmitter for transmitting one or more content channels and channel control signals to a remote network access unit containing a permitted channel list;",
"in which the control signals are intended to update the permitted channel list so as to control subscriber access to the transmitted content channels.",
"[0019] Preferably, the control signals contain time-related information for association in the permitted list with one or more channels.",
"[0020] The invention also provides for a telecommunications system which comprises one or more instances of apparatus embodying the present invention, together with other additional apparatus.",
"[0021] The invention is also directed to a method by which the described apparatus operates and including method steps for carrying out every function of the apparatus.",
"[0022] In particular according to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of restricting user access to signals transmitted on a local access network comprising the steps of: receiving a channel request from a user at a first port;",
"vetting the request with respect to a predetermined list of permitted channels;",
"forwarding the request responsive to the vetting.",
"[0023] Preferably, the method also comprises the steps of: receiving a control signal from a network headend;",
"updating the permitted list responsive to the control signal.",
"[0024] Preferably, the method also comprises the steps of: associating a time with at least one channel in the predetermined list of channels;",
"vetting the request with respect to the time.",
"[0025] Preferably, the channel request is carried in an IGMP message.",
"[0026] According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of operating a service provider server comprising the steps of: transmitting one or more content channels and channel control signals to a remote network access unit containing a permitted channel list;",
"in which the control signals are intended to update the permitted channel list so as to control subscriber access to the transmitted control channels.",
"[0027] Preferably, the method also comprises the steps of: receiving a user initiated request to change channel subscription details;",
"transmitting a permitted channel list update signal responsive thereto to a remote network access unit associated with the user.",
"[0028] According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a use of an IGMP vetting function in customer premises equipment to provide secure multicast over a network.",
"[0029] According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a use of an IGMP vetting function and a network receive address filter in customer premises equipment to provide secure multicast over a network.",
"[0030] The invention is also directed to a program for a computer, comprising components arranged to perform each of the method functions.",
"[0031] In particular, according to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a program for a computer on a machine readable medium arranged to: receive a channel request from a user at a first port;",
"vet the request with respect to a predetermined list of permitted channels;",
"forward the request responsive to the vetting.",
"[0032] In particular, according to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a control signal intended for transmission to a network access unit having a permitted channel list, comprising at least one message comprising network access unit permitted channel list update information.",
"[0033] Preferably, the at least one message contains time-related information for association in the permitted channel list with one or more channels.",
"[0034] Preferably, the control signals comprise IGMP messages.",
"[0035] Advantageously, the aspects of the present invention provide improved security for multicast services (for example multicast video) with minimum increase in ONU complexity.",
"[0036] The preferred features may be combined as appropriate, as would be apparent to a skilled person, and may be combined with any of the aspects of the invention.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0037] In order to show how the invention may be carried into effect, embodiments of the invention are now described below by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying figures in which: [0038] [0038 ]FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a telecommunications network in accordance with the present invention;",
"[0039] [0039 ]FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of an Optical Network Unit (ONU) in accordance with the present invention;",
"[0040] [0040 ]FIG. 3 shows an example of multi-cast broadcast channel packages arrangement in accordance with the present invention;",
"and [0041] [0041 ]FIG. 4 shows a further schematic diagram of a telecommunications network in accordance with the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION [0042] Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a system overview of one possible embodiment of an end-to-end network for delivery of multicast video services incorporating a Passive Optical Network (PON) based access network.",
"Only those elements relevant to the present invention are shown.",
"[0043] The headend 10 comprises a Router 110 and one or more Optical Line Termination units (OLTS) 120 - 121 .",
"The Router comprises a Packet Forwarder 111 and a signal processor 112 In the downstream direction, each OLT receives packets from the router, adds any protocol and control information needed to implement the PON protocol and converts the data stream to an optical signal for transmission onto the shared optical medium 20 to one or more end users.",
"In the upstream direction, the OLT 120 receives an optical signal which has been multiplexed onto the medium by one or more ONUs 30 , and extracts the data stream to be sent to the Router for onward transmission.",
"Optionally, the OLTs 120 - 121 may be physically integrated into the head end router 110 .",
"[0044] A Video Server 40 acts as the source of multiple multicast video programmes, each of which is transmitted as a separate packet stream identified by an address in the packet header.",
"Typically, the data link 60 to the server will be a packet switched path across an IP network.",
"In a practical system, multiple additional servers would be used to deliver many services to the end user.",
"[0045] A Billing and Administration function, or unit, 50 holds information identifying which multicast streams each end user is entitled to receive.",
"[0046] In the example network shown, each OLT connects to an optical network incorporating a signal splitter 210 such that a single OLT is able to exchange information with multiple ONUs 30 situated on end user premises.",
"In a preferred embodiment the signal splitter 210 is a passive optical splitter.",
"[0047] Each ONU may connect to one or more end user information devices such as television Set Top Boxes (STBs) 70 - 71 and Personal Computers (PCs) 80 for video and data applications respectively.",
"[0048] [0048 ]FIG. 2 shows an example of ONU 30 in more detail.",
"A Network Receive function 31 converts downstream optical signals from the network connection 211 into electrical signals and passes on to the Packet Filter 32 only those information packets intended for the attached user.",
"Other packets directed to other PON users are blocked.",
"The addresses of packets to be passed through are contained in the Address List 33 .",
"In this arrangement, the Address List may be modified dynamically according to the video channel requested by the end user.",
"[0049] The Packet Filter 32 extracts from the packet stream those packets which are directed to the Management Processor function 34 within the ONU.",
"Other packets are passed on to the Ethernet Switch 35 to which multiple end user information devices 70 - 71 , 80 are connected.",
"[0050] Information packets received by the ONU from end user devices 70 - 71 , 80 pass via the Ethernet Switch 35 to the Control Packet Filter 36 .",
"Channel change requests from the end user are encapsulated into control packets by the Set Top Box 70 - 71 , and PC 80 and sent to the ONU.",
"Packets recognised as multicast video control packets are extracted and passed to the IGMP Vetting function 37 .",
"Other packets are forwarded to the Network Transmit function 38 which implements the PON upstream transmission protocol and sends packets 212 via the local PON to the head end 10 at the appropriate time.",
"[0051] Multicast control packets sent to the IGMP Vetting function 37 are checked against the Permitted Channels list 39 .",
"If the requesting user is eligible to receive the requested channel, the IGMP Vetting function forwards the request to the head end via Network Transmit function 38 .",
"[0052] Optionally, instead of blocking a request for a prohibited channel, the IGMP Vetting function 37 may modify the content of the request packet and forward to the network a modified request to connect the end user device to a video stream inviting the user to subscribe to the service he has requested but is not yet eligible to receive.",
"[0053] Forwarding the IGMP request to the headend 10 when it is not present in the permitted channel list would cause the head end router to add the stream to the composite data stream transmitted on the shared downstream medium.",
"A malicious user could initiate many (multi-cast) channel joins, thus increasing the amount of capacity occupied on the downstream link and potentially denying service to others.",
"Consequently, requests for channels not on the permitted channel list are preferably not forwarded.",
"[0054] It would be technically possible to reduce the susceptibility to denial of service attacks by intercepting IGMP messages in the head end router, but this would require non-standard features in the router and may not scale well when large numbers of customers are connected.",
"[0055] Unless additional capabilities are added in the ONU, as described above, theft of service can only be addressed in the router by including encryption of the multicast streams within the head end equipment using additional hardware processing data streams at the line rate of the access network.",
"Decryption in the ONU would increase complexity in a cost-sensitive area of the system.",
"[0056] It is desirable that the end user should be made aware when he requests channels he is not authorised to receive.",
"[0057] If the user makes repeated such attempts it may also be desirable to inform the management system, either as part of a policing function or a marketing opportunity.",
"[0058] Optionally, if the Vetting function detects (multiple) attempts to connect to unauthorised channels, the ONU 30 may send a message to the Billing and Administration system 50 .",
"[0059] Once it is determined that the user is eligible to receive a requested channel, the Management Processor 34 is notified and it adds to the Address List 33 the multicast address which will be used in information packets carrying data for the selected channel.",
"Such packets are then allowed through the Network Receive function 31 and forwarded to the Ethernet Switch 34 and thence to the end user information device 70 - 71 , 80 .",
"[0060] In the head end router 110 , IGMP messages are forwarded to a Signalling Processor 112 which instructs the Packet Forwarder 111 to add the new connection to the selected multicast stream so as to cause the stream to be forwarded to the end user via the OLT.",
"Because the vetting function in the ONU ensures that no requests for unauthorised channels are passed to the network, no additional vetting is needed in the router.",
"[0061] Optionally, instead of generating IGMP messages in response to user requests to change channels, the STB 70 - 71 , 80 may instead generate control messages in some other format which is interpreted by the ONU and translated to IGMP messages before forwarding to the OLT.",
"The ONU then act on the interpreted messages in a way similar to that described above for incoming IGMP messages.",
"[0062] The Permitted List 39 is populated from the head end 10 using management messages sent as part of the downstream traffic and delivered to the Management Processor 34 via the Packet Filter 32 .",
"The permitted list may take different forms depending on the implementation, including but not limited to: a list of specific channels which the customer is eligible to receive;",
"a list of channels the customer is to be prevented from viewing;",
"or a set of rules to be applied to a request to determine whether a given channel is to be permitted or not.",
"(An example of a set of rules for this last alternative can be derived from the semantics of the Unix ‘hosts.",
"allow/hosts.",
"deny’ command.) [0063] The system is preferably based on the Internet Protocol suite.",
"In an ONU using bridging (MAC layer forwarding) the IGMP Vetting function 37 is preferably performed using MAC addresses;",
"in an ONU using routing (IP layer forwarding) the IGMP Vetting function 37 is preferably performed using IP addresses.",
"To minimise ONU complexity and improve throughput, blocking of prohibited incoming multicast channels via the Network Receive function may be performed using MAC address matching.",
"[0064] Where the mapping from IP layer multicast addresses to MAC layer multicast addresses uses IETF RFC 1112, and the IGMP Vetting function 37 is performed using MAC addresses, the IGMP Vetting function may also optionally check the destination multicast IP address.",
"Where the mapping from IP layer multicast addresses to MAC layer multicast addresses uses IETF RFC 1112 and blocking of prohibited incoming multicast channels via the Network Receive function is performed using MAC address matching, the Network Receive function 31 may optionally also check the IP destination address, but preferably only if the MAC layer address matching function indicates that the user may be eligible to receive the designated stream.",
"[0065] Where source specific multicast (SSM) is used in conjunction with IP layer vetting, the vetting function should preferably check both source and destination addresses to determine eligibility to receive a particular stream.",
"Where SSM is used in conjunction with MAC layer vetting, the vetting function should preferably also check the IP addresses.",
"Where SSM is used, the Network Receive function should also preferably check the IP addresses.",
"Where SSM is used, preferably the Network Receive function should check the IP addresses only if an address match is detected at the MAC layer.",
"[0066] At the video IP headend, a Protocol Stack such as MPEG-2/RTP/UDP/IP/PON Multi-cast Groups may be employed.",
"Source addresses of IP and MAC are defined and transmitted.",
"[0067] All available video channels may be, and ideally are, provided to the OLT.",
"The OLT is arranged to set up and maintain receipt of all IP multi-cast channels.",
"There may, for example be 200 channels provided by a single provider.",
"The OLT also filters out upstream IGMP requests.",
"[0068] [0068 ]FIG. 3 shows how a set of channels may be mapped to multi-cast IP addresses.",
"The channels may be provided, on subscription or otherwise, in groups of channels, for example as a basic packages and one or more premium rate packages.",
"[0069] At the set top box (STB), conventionally the allowable TV channel list is loaded by a service provider each time the STB boots up.",
"It should be noted that this feature is for the convenience of the viewer, but does not protect the service against unauthorised access from an alternative information device such as a PC.",
"Set top boxes preferably use IGMP version 2, or a protocol having similar functionality.",
"[0070] A method for handling a first channel request from a user on, for example set top box #1, comprises the steps of: [0071] 1.",
"STB 70 requests a channel (for example channel2) by issuing a join IP multi-cast request for a specific channel IP address (for example) 225.0[.",
"].1.2 [0072] 2.",
"The ONU receives IGMP join request [0073] 3.",
"The ONU checks that the requested channel is on its list of allowable channels and sends an IGMP request for the selected channel (225.0[.",
"].1.2) up to the headend unit 10 and starts listening for multicast signals on that address (225.0[.",
"].1.2) [0074] 4.",
"The headend unit 10 receives the IGMP request to join the channel ( 2 ).",
"[0075] If the requested channel is already being transmitted on that link, the headend unit continues and may optionally log the IP address of the requesting STB.",
"[0076] If the requested channel is not already being transmitted on that link, the requested channel is streamed on to the requesting link by the headend and optionally the IP address of the requesting STB is logged.",
"[0077] 5.",
"The ONU 30 receives the video packets of channel 2 and forwards these streams onto the port of the requesting STB.",
"[0078] An example of a method for handling a channel change request from a user on, for example set top box #1, comprises the steps of: [0079] 1.",
"A user on STB 70 currently watching a first channel (for example channel 2) presses a channel change to watch a second channel (for example, channel 3).",
"[0080] 2.",
"STB 70 transmits a leave message for channel 2 (leave IP multi-cast 225.0[.",
"].1.2) and a join request for channel 3 (join IP multi-cast 225.0[.",
"].1.3) [0081] 3.",
"The ONU 30 receives the IGMP leave request and sends it up to the headend 10 .",
"[0082] 4.",
"The ONU 30 checks that channel 3 is on its list of allowable channels for that STB, and sends IGMP request for 225.0[.",
"].1.3 up to the headend 10 and starts listening for transmission on the requested address (225.0[.",
"].1.3).",
"[0083] 5.",
"The headend 10 receives the IGMP request to leave channel 2.",
"[0084] If STB 70 was the only user requesting that channel on that link, transmission of that channel on that link may be suspended, and optionally the IP address of the requesting STB may be unlogged.",
"[0085] If STB 70 was not the only user requesting that channel on that link, transmission of that channel on that link may continue, and optionally, the IP address of the requesting STB may be unlogged.",
"[0086] 6.",
"The headend 10 receives the IGMP request to join the newly requested channel (channel 3).",
"[0087] If that channel was already being transmitted on that link, the headend 10 continues and optionally logs the IP address of the requesting STB 70 .",
"[0088] If that channel was not already being transmitted on that link, the newly requested channel (channel 3) is streamed on to the requesting link by the headend 10 and optionally the IP address of requesting the STB is logged.",
"[0089] 7.",
"The ONU 30 receives the video packets of the requested channel.",
"The ONU ceases forwarding the channel 2 stream to the user and instead forwards the newly requested channel stream (channel 3) onto port of the requesting STB.",
"[0090] By associating a time or times with a channel in permitted list, a pay-per-view scheme can be supported as well as the pay-per-channel scheme described above.",
"In particular, if the ONU 30 comprises a real-time clock (or has access to a periodic real-time signal from the network or elsewhere) a user may subscribe to a channel for a limited time period, for example: [0091] the permitted list may associate a single end-time with each channel after which the channel is deleted form the permitted list, allowing immediate subscription by a user to the current channel;",
"up to, say the end of a currently broadcast film;",
"[0092] the permitted list may associate both a start and end time with each channel which is then made available only between the start time and the end-time, allowing advance booking of pay-per-view services;",
"[0093] the permitted list may associate more complex time intervals with any given channel so as to support, for example, subscription to a particular channel only up until 9:00 p.m. where, for example, a channel provider operates a voluntary ban on transmission of “adult”",
"channel content before that time in the evening.",
"Other options include time-of-day, and time-of-week constraints, for which differing subscription rates might apply, etc.",
"[0094] Time limits on availability could also be implemented by active control for the head end, by the sending of specific add/remove control messages to the ONU to cause the permitted list to be updated.",
"This would obviate the provision of a real-time clock in each ONU.",
"[0095] The permitted list used to vet channel request may be associated either with the ONU as a whole, and therefore apply equally to each STB or PC receiving service through it, or to each individual STB/PC receiving service.",
"In the latter way, distinct STB's may have separate channel access controls applied to support, for example, parental control of children's viewing: STB's in children's rooms receive only channels targeted to children;",
"“adult”",
"material subscribed to is available only to adults in the household.",
"[0096] Referring now to FIG. 4, the invention described above is also not limited to the direct connection of individual STB's or PC's to the ONU.",
"In a further embodiment shown in FIG. 4, a second ONU 30 a is shown connected, via the access network, to OLT 120 .",
"The arrangement also has a customer premises network 81 connected to a user port on the ONU.",
"The customer premises network comprises an STB 812 and a PC 811 connected via a switch 813 (for example an Ethernet switch) to the access connection to ONU 30 a .",
"In this way a single ONU may support several customer premises (for example in a multiple dwelling unit, or along a street).",
"In such a configuration the ONU may comprise permitted channel lists per ONU customer port, or per STB/PC.",
"Whilst this arrangement increases the complexity of the ONU, it reduces the number of ONU to be deployed thereby potentially reducing operator costs.",
"[0097] Furthermore, whilst the above description has been presented in terms of multi-cast signals and IGMP signaling and channels carried over IP, the underlying method of vetting channel requests from users is clearly independent both of the multi-cast nature of the signals requested—access to point-to-point signals in non-multi-cast networks can be controlled in the same way—and of the specific signaling and broadcast protocols used.",
"[0098] It will easily be seen that the present invention can be applied to other services delivered using multicast, such as audio, software distribution and general push-oriented content delivery.",
"[0099] Any range or device value given herein may be extended or altered without losing the effect sought, as will be apparent to the skilled person for an understanding of the teachings herein."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to PCT GB2007/003191, filed Aug. 21, 2007, which claims priority to GB Application No. 0616910.6, filed Aug. 25, 2006, and GB Application No. 0618854.4, filed Sep. 25, 2006, commonly assigned, and all of which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.
STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER
[0002] FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0003] NOT APPLICABLE
REFERENCE TO A “SEQUENCE LISTING,” A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING APPENDIX SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISK
[0004] NOT APPLICABLE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The present invention relates to apparatus for reproducing stereo sound, and particularly to apparatus for reproduction of stereo sound from a two channel stereo sound signal.
[0006] Stereo sound recording and reproduction employs stereographic projection to encode the relative position of sound sources recorded, and aims to reproduce the sound with a sense of those relative positions. A stereo system can involve two or more channels, but two channels systems dominate for audio recording. The two channels (usually known as left and right) convey information relating to the sound field in front of the listener. By far the most popular means for reproducing two channel stereo signals is to broadcast the channels via two respective, spaced apart, left and right loudspeakers.
[0007] Despite its popularity, though, there are disadvantages with this system. Most commercial two channel stereo sound recordings are mixed for optimum reproduction by loudspeakers spaced about 1.6 meters apart. In reality, this is rarely possible, especially where it is desired to reproduce stereo sound from a single unit. In any event, however a recording is mixed, the closer the loudspeakers used to transmit the left and right channels are together, the poorer the stereo effect reproduced.
[0008] Also, for optimum perception of stereo effect the listener should be located at the apex of an equilateral triangle made by the pair of loudspeakers and the listener. In reality, though, it is often inconvenient or impossible for a listener to adopt or maintain this position and, of course, it is impossible for multiple listeners to listen from the same position.
[0009] An alternative system for reproduction of a two channel stereo signal which should overcome some of the above disadvantages has been proposed. This system, which shall be referred to as the sum and difference system, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,588,355. This document discloses a stereophonic loudspeaker system comprising two pairs of loudspeakers. Each pair is oriented with their axes at right angles to each other and substantially equidistant from the point of intersection of the axes. The speakers are so arranged that one speaker of each pair faces the listener and the other speaker has its axis substantially perpendicular to the listener. Means are provided for matrixing left and right two-channel stereo signals to provide a sum signal and a difference signal. The sum signals are applied in phase to the speakers whose axes are directed toward the listener, and the difference signals are applied to the speakers whose axes are positioned at right angles with respect to the direction of the listener, the difference signals to the two perpendicular speakers being applied 180° out of phase with each other:—As a result, a stereophonic sound effect should be produced by the system.
[0010] Whilst intended to overcome the problems associated with the use of spaced apart speakers the arrangement of U.S. Pat. No. 3,588,355 has not entered widespread use. This is thought to be because there are practical difficulties with the disclosed apparatus which result in the actual sound quality and perceived stereo effect obtained falling below what might theoretically be expected.
[0011] The present invention seeks to provide improved apparatus for the reproduction of stereo sound.
[0012] According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided apparatus for reproduction of stereo sound comprising a first transducer arranged to reproduce one of two audio signals and a second transducer arranged to reproduce the other signal, and one or two further transducers arranged to reproduce a signal comprising the difference of the two audio signals.
[0013] This arrangement combines advantages of conventional two speaker systems for reproduction of stereo sound, and the sum and difference system. Appropriately directed difference signals can be employed to enhance the perceived width and depth of the signal reproduced. This is useful where the perceived width and depth of the signal reproduced by the first and second transducers alone is limited. This is the case where two transducers are arranged close together, for example in the same housing in portable stereo reproduction equipment.
[0014] The apparatus may comprise a housing defining an at least partially enclosed space. All the transducers may be mounted in the housing, and may all communicate with the partially enclosed space; The first and second transducers are preferably arranged to direct their output in substantially parallel, spaced apart directions. The two transducers arranged to reproduce the difference of the two signals are preferably arranged to direct their output primarily in a direction generally at right angles to the direction in which the first and second transducers are arranged to primarily direct its output, and may direct their output in generally opposite directions.
[0015] According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided apparatus for reproduction of stereo sound comprising a housing defining an at least partially enclosed space, a first transducer arranged to reproduce one, or the sum, of two audio signals and two transducers each arranged to reproduce a signal comprising the difference of the two audio signals, wherein the three transducers all communicate with the at least partially enclosed space and wherein the transducers arranged to reproduce the signal comprising the difference of the audio two signals are each arranged to direct their output primarily in a direction generally at right angles to the direction in which the first transducer is arranged to primarily direct its output.
[0016] Where the first transducer is arranged to reproduce one of two audio signals a second transducer is preferably provided to reproduce the other signal, and the first and second transducers are preferably arranged to direct their output in substantially parallel, spaced apart directions.
[0017] It is thought that the sum and difference system of stereo sound reproduction works by the broadcast audio sum signal being modified by the broadcast difference signal by varying amounts at different locations to recreate the original recorded sound field, or an approximation of it. Where first and second transducers are provided to transmit respective audio signals a similar effect to broadcast of the sum of the two signals by one or more transducers is obtained, especially if the two transducers are close together. Having all three, or four as the case may be, transducers communicate with the same partially enclosed space confers two distinct benefits. Firstly it simplifies the mechanical construction of the apparatus, particularly the housing, there being no need to construct baffles or ports to separate the transducers. For given transducers this can reduce the overall size of housing required, and/or can allow mounting of other components in the housing. Likewise this may enable a pair of speakers arranged to transmit a difference signal to be incorporated into available space in the housing of existing mono or stereo audio equipment to enable the equipment to be redesigned to reproduce a stereo or improved stereo audio signal without the need to increase the size of the housing. Secondly, it provides for increased interaction between the output of the transducers which can add increased perceived depth and width to the sound reproduced by the apparatus.
[0018] According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided apparatus for reproduction of stereo sound comprising a housing arranged to be placed on or adjacent a generally flat surface, a first transducer arranged to reproduce one, or the sum, of two audio signals and two transducers each arranged to reproduce a signal comprising the difference of the two audio signals, wherein the transducers arranged to reproduce the signal comprising the difference of the two audio signals are each arranged to direct their output primarily in a direction generally at right angles to the direction in which the first transducer is arranged to primarily direct its output and wherein the two transducers arranged to reproduce the signal comprising the difference of the two audio signals are arranged relative to the housing such that when the housing is placed on or adjacent a generally flat surface both transducers are oriented to direct their output primarily in a direction extending towards the plane of the surface.
[0019] By directing the output of the transducers reproducing the difference signal towards a surface against which the apparatus is used any surface effect caused by the surface, and which is generally found to improve the output of the apparatus, is enhanced.
[0020] Where the first transducer is arranged to reproduce one of two audio signals a second transducer is preferably provided to reproduce the other signal, and the first and second transducers are preferably arranged to direct their output in substantially parallel, spaced apart directions.
[0021] Apparatus according to any aspect of the invention may include any or all additional features of another aspect of the invention, as appropriate.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0022] The following relates to optional features of all aspects of the invention.
[0023] Each transducer may be a loudspeaker. The loudspeaker may comprise a driver arranged to drive a loudspeaker element, such as a diaphragm which may be of any suitable shape, for example frusto-conical, or substantially flat.
[0024] The two transducers arranged to reproduce a signal comprising the difference of two audio signals (“the difference signal”) are preferably arranged to reproduce the signal substantially out of phase with respect to each other, and to direct the two out of phase signals in different, preferably generally opposite directions. The out of phase signals are preferably 180 degrees out of phase.
[0025] The housing preferably has two openings via which the two difference signals are transmitted. Where the housing is arranged to be placed on or adjacent a flat surface, the openings are preferably disposed on the housing such that when the housing is placed on or adjacent a flat surface, the openings lie adjacent that surface. The housing preferably includes at least one substantially flat surface. This may form the underside of the housing, enabling it to be placed on a flat surface, or a side of the housing, enabling it to be placed adjacent a flat surface, such as a wall. Alternatively, or additionally, the housing may comprise a flat surface or surfaces extending from adjacent the or each opening. Arranging so that the or each opening can lie adjacent a flat surface enables the surface effect to be exploited. As discussed further below, arranging for the difference signals to be broadcast along a flat surface enhances them, and consequently the overall sense of width and depth of the reproduced sound of a sum and difference system.
[0026] The housing may also include an opening via which the signal comprising the sum of two audio signals, where provided, is transmitted. Alternatively the housing may include one or two openings via which the audio signals are separately transmitted. The housing may further include an additional opening, forming a port which acts as a pressure relief valve to the at least partially enclosed space when lower frequencies are reproduced. The port may lead to a conduit or tube extending in the at least partial enclosure formed by the housing. The housing may be fully enclosed, save for provision of the port.
[0027] Where the two transducers arranged to reproduce the difference signal are oriented to direct their output primarily in a direction extending towards the plane of a generally flat surface or against which the housing is placed; the transducers are each preferably directed towards the surface at an angle of between 1 and 8 degrees to the surface, more preferably at an angle of between 2 and 6 degrees and still more preferably at an angle of between 3 and 5 degrees. Where the housing includes a substantially flat surface the transducers arranged to reproduce the difference signal may be oriented, as discussed above, relative to the plane of that surface which will correspond substantially to the plane of any substantially flat surface it is placed on or adjacent to.
[0028] The apparatus may be used to reproduce a two channel stereo signal using the sum and difference system. In this case the transducers for reproducing two out of phase difference signals are driven with a signal comprising and preferably consisting exclusively of the difference of the two stereo channels and the third transducer is driven with a signal comprising or consisting exclusively of the sum of the two stereo channels.
[0029] The apparatus may include a sum and difference matrix to achieve this.
[0030] Alternatively the apparatus may be used to reproduce a two channel stereo signal using a conventional arrangement of two spaced apart transducers, a respective transducer for each of the two stereo channels, supplemented by transducers for reproducing two out of phase difference signals driven with a signal comprising and preferably consisting exclusively of the difference of the two stereo channels.
[0031] In either case the difference signal may be filtered to reduce the amplitude of low frequencies. Low frequencies included in the sum signal or individual channels of the stereo signal used to drive two transducers may be boosted. The apparatus may include a high pass-filter and/or a bass lift compensation .circuit. It is found that boosting low frequencies transmitted by the transducer(s) which reproduces the sum, or individual components, of the two audio signals and reducing or eliminating low frequencies transmitted by the transducers which reproduce the difference signal leads to a further improvement in the depth and feel of the reproduced sound. This is also discussed further below.
[0032] The apparatus could be provided in a housing arranged to receive a device intended to provide a stereo signal to drive the transducers. In particular the device may be comprised in a docking station for an MP3 player or other portable music playing device. Alternatively the device could include a device or relevant components to produce a stereo signal to drive the transducers, for example a radio tuner.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0033] In order that the invention may be more clearly understood embodiments thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings of which:
[0034] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a loudspeaker unit according to the invention;
[0035] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view, taken along the plane of lines a-a and b-b of FIG. 1 ;
[0036] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view, taken along the plane of lines a-a and c-c of FIG. 1 ;
[0037] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of circuitry associated with the unit of FIG. 1 ;
[0038] FIG. 5 is a cut away front view of another embodiment of a loudspeaker unit according to the invention;
[0039] FIG. 6 is a-cut away side view of the embodiment of FIG. 5 ;
[0040] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of circuitry associated with the unit of FIG. 5 ;
[0041] FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective schematic view of a television set incorporating a loudspeaker unit according to the invention; and
[0042] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view, from above, of the television set of FIG. 8 placed against a wall.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0043] In the following, where the terms front, rear, top, bottom and like terms are used they refer to directions relative to the apparatus as illustrated and/or as it is intended to be used. The terms are used for convenience only and are not intended to be otherwise limiting.
[0044] Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1 to 4 show a sum and difference loudspeaker unit according to the invention. The unit could incorporate means (not shown) for producing an audio signal, for example a tuner, such as a DAB tuner, a compact disc player or MP3 player.
[0045] The unit comprises a housing 1 which is, externally, generally cuboidal in shape. The housing is manufactured from hardboard, but could be manufactured from any other suitable material such as is usually employed for the manufacture of loudspeaker housings. A generally circular aperture (not shown) covered by a grille 2 or other cover essentially transparent to sound is formed in the front of the housing 1 .
[0046] A respective generally circular aperture 3 is formed in each of the two opposite sidewalls 4 of the housing 1 and each covered by a grille 5 , or other cover essentially transparent to sound. Each of these apertures is positioned approximately mid way along, and adjacent the lower edge of sidewall 4 in which it is formed.
[0047] A further generally circular aperture in provided towards the rear of the underside 6 of the housing 1 . The underside of the housing is substantially flat enabling the housing to be supported by its underside on a substantially flat surface.
[0048] No apertures are formed in the top or rear of the housing.
[0049] A single loudspeaker 7 is mounted to the inside of the front of the unit to .611 the aperture formed in the front of the unit. The loudspeaker is of a conventional type and comprises a driver 8 arranged to drive a diaphragm 9 of generally frustroconical shape. The loudspeaker 7 is arranged to transmit an audio signal through the aperture in the front of the unit.
[0050] A single loudspeaker 10 is also mounted to the inside of each sidewall 4 of the unit, filling the aperture in the sidewall. Each loudspeaker 10 also comprises a driver 8 and a diaphragm 9 of generally frustroconical shape. Each loudspeaker 10 is mounted to the sidewall at an angle relative to the sidewall 4 such that the central axis of its diaphragm 9 (shown as a broken line) extends towards an extension of the plane of the underside 6 of the unit, as the axis extends away from the unit. Each loudspeaker 10 is mounted such that the central axis of its diaphragm 9 will intersect the extension of the plane of the underside of the unit at an angle of about 4 degrees. Thus, the respective axes of the diaphragms of the two speakers 10 mounted to the sidewalls 4 of the unit will intersect each other at an angle of about 172 degrees.
[0051] In an alternative arrangement each loudspeaker 10 could be mounted at a position close to, but spaced apart from the inside of the sidewall 4 of the housing 1 .
[0052] A cardboard tube 11 is mounted to the inside of the underside 6 of the unit, over the aperture formed in the underside of the -unit and extending into the unit. The tube forms a port. The port and all three speakers share the same acoustic environment within the device.
[0053] The loudspeaker unit is associated with the electronic circuit shown in FIG. 4 . It will be appreciated that the circuit components could be housed in the housing 1 or separately. The circuit components could be housed within the housing together with other components, specifically with components arranged to produce an audio signal, such as a tuner.
[0054] The circuit comprises two inputs 14 , 15 connected to a sum and difference matrix 16 . The sum and difference matrix 16 is arranged to produce two outputs: a sum output at 17 which comprises the sum of the inputs at 14 and 15 ( 14 + 15 ); and a difference output at 18 which comprises the difference of the inputs at 14 and 15 ( 14 − 15 ).
[0055] The sum output 18 is connected to a bass lift compensation circuit 19 . This adds a gain of about 3 dB to low frequency components of the signal, typically frequencies between 40 and 500 Hz. The output of the bass lift compensation circuit is connected via a power amplifier 20 to the loudspeaker 7 mounted behind the aperture in the front of the unit (“the mono loudspeaker”).
[0056] The difference output 18 is connected to a high pass filter 21 operative to reduce the amplitude of frequencies below 100 Hz by at least 3 dB. The filtered signal is then subjected to a gain make up of about 4 dB by an amplifier 22 , the output of which is connected via a power amplifier 20 to the loudspeakers 10 behind the apertures 3 in the sides 4 of the unit (“the difference loudspeakers”). The output is connected to the two difference loudspeakers such that the signals they produce when driven by the difference signal are out of phase (i.e., in anti-phase).
[0057] The power amplifier 20 associated with the difference loudspeakers 10 need only have around 10 to 20% of the power output of that associated with the mono loudspeaker 7 .
[0058] The loudspeaker unit is intended to reproduce a conventional two channel stereo sound signal using the sum and difference system. In use the unit is preferably placed on a flat surface 23 which extends around all sides of the unit. The two channels (left and right) of a stereo sound signal are then supplied to the two inputs 14 and 15 of the sum and different matrix 16 respectively. Listeners should ideally be located towards the front of the unit, but could be located behind the unit. Although the unit enables listeners to appreciate the depth and width effect of a stereo recording over a wide area this will best be detected at locations on or near an axis extending through the mono loudspeaker 7 (i.e., substantially normal to the front of the housing 1 ). The depth and width effect will be worst at or near locations lying on an axis extending through the duct difference loudspeakers 10 (i.e., substantially normal to the sides 4 of the housing 1 ).
[0059] The described loudspeaker unit conveys significant advantages over conventional sum and difference loudspeaker arrangements. The housing 1 defines a single acoustic enclosure which all the loudspeakers share. This simplifies manufacture, and without the need to divide up the interior of the housing to provide separate acoustic enclosures, provides more space in the housing for electronic and associated components. Maximizing use of space is important in the manufacture of compact equipment. Having the three loudspeakers -share the- same acoustic enclosure also enhances the necessary interaction between the output of the sum and difference speakers. The port formed by the cardboard tube 11 and its associated aperture acts as a pressure relief valve for low frequencies.
[0060] Positioning the difference speakers adjacent the lower edge of the sides of the housing enables the surface effect to be exploited when the housing is placed on a surface, such as a floor or the top of a piece of furniture. Locating the loudspeakers in this way exploits the surface effect. When a sound is reproduced in close proximity to a flat surface (ideally one of greater linear dimension than the wavelength of the lowest frequency within the sound) then reflections of the sound from the surface have the effect of reinforcing the sound across the surface. As such sound pressure levels away from the sound source reduce at a lower level than the theoretical inverse square law which applies in free air. In practice the acoustic level of the difference signal transmitted via difference speakers 10 is enhanced, by around 8 to 10 dB. This enhances the depth and width effect in the reproduced sound. Exploitation of the surface effect is further aided by the difference speakers being mounted at an angle so that they are directed slightly towards a surface on which the unit is placed. Another benefit of the angled disposition of the difference speakers 10 is that, because the speakers do not share a common axis, there is a reduced tendency for mid frequency standing waves to form within the housing. This is undesirable as it can impair the overall quality of sound reproduced by the unit. Yet another advantage is that the angling of the difference speakers gives an element of guidance to the main spatial sound images produced by the device.
[0061] Performance improvements are also obtained through- processing of the incoming sound signal. Reproduction of low frequency sounds by the difference loudspeakers 10 is relatively poor compared to that of the larger mono loudspeaker 7 . This is due in part to the inherent reduced capacity of smaller loudspeakers to reproduce low frequencies, and also due to cancellation between the out of phase signals produced by the two speakers which is to be expected for low frequencies due to their inherently long wavelengths. Although the cancellation problem could be reduced by further separating the two difference loudspeakers the required separation is impractical. Instead, reproduction of low frequencies by the difference loudspeakers 10 is compensated for by boosting the amplitude of low frequencies in the sum signal driving the mono loudspeaker 7 . This in turn enables low frequencies to be cut out of the difference signal by means of the high pass filter 21 , improving the integrity of the audio difference signal.
[0062] FIGS. 5 to 7 show an alternative embodiment of a loudspeaker unit according to the invention. The unit is essentially similar to that shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 , save that the single loudspeaker 10 arranged to broadcast a signal comprising the sum of two audio channels is replaced by two loudspeakers arranged to broadcast respective individual audio channels.
[0063] The embodiment of FIGS. 5 to 7 comprises a housing 25 which is, externally, generally cuboidal in shape. The housing is manufactured from hardboard, but could be manufactured from any other suitable material such as is usually employed for the manufacture of loudspeaker housings. Two generally circular apertures (not shown) covered by a grille or other cover essentially transparent to sound are formed in the front (not shown) of the housing 25 . A respective, smaller, generally circular aperture 33 is formed in each of the two opposite sidewalls 26 of the housing 25 and each covered by a grille 34 , or other cover essentially transparent to sound. Each of these apertures is positioned approximately mid way along, and adjacent the lower edge of sidewall 26 in which it is formed.
[0064] A further generally circular aperture is provided towards the rear of the underside 27 of the housing 25 . The underside of the housing is substantially flat enabling the housing to be supported by its underside on a substantially flat surface.
[0065] No apertures are formed in the top or rear of the housing.
[0066] Loudspeakers 28 , 29 are mounted to the inside of the front of the unit to fill the apertures formed in the front of the unit. The loudspeakers are of a conventional type and comprises a driver 30 arranged to drive a diaphragm 31 of generally frustroconical shape. The loudspeakers 28 , 29 are arranged to transmit respective audio signals through the apertures in the front of the unit.
[0067] A single loudspeaker 32 is also mounted to the inside of each sidewall 26 of the unit, filling the aperture in the sidewall. Each loudspeaker 32 also comprises a driver 30 and a diaphragm 31 of generally frustroconical shape. Each loudspeaker 32 is mounted in the housing at an angle relative to the sidewall 26 such that the central axis of its diaphragm extends towards an extension of the plane of the underside 27 of the unit, as the axis extends away from the unit, in the same way as the unit shown in FIG. 2 .
[0068] In an alternative arrangement each loudspeaker 10 could be mounted at a position close to, but spaced apart from the inside of the sidewall 4 of the housing 1 .
[0069] A cardboard tube 35 is mounted to the inside of the underside 27 of the unit, over the aperture formed in the underside of the unit and extending into the unit. The tube forms a port. The port and all four loudspeakers share the same acoustic environment within the device. The port formed by the cardboard tube 35 and its associated aperture acts as a pressure relief valve for low frequencies.
[0070] The loudspeaker unit is associated with the electronic circuit shown in FIG. 7 . It will be appreciated that the circuit components could be housed in the housing 26 or separately. The circuit components could be housed within the housing together with other components, specifically with components arranged to produce an audio signal, such as a tuner:
[0071] The circuit comprises two inputs 36 , 37 . These inputs are connected, respectively, to loudspeakers 28 and 29 via respective bass lift compensation circuits 38 , and power amplifiers 39 . The base lift compensation circuits 38 add a gain of about 3 dB to low frequency components of the signal, typically frequencies between 40 and 500 Hz.
[0072] The two circuit inputs 36 and 37 are also connected to a subtraction circuit 40 , which outputs the difference of signals received at inputs 36 and 37 . The difference output is connected to a high pass filter 41 operative to reduce the amplitude of frequencies below 100 Hz by at least 3 dB. The filtered signal is then subjected to a gain make up of about 4 dB by an amplifier 42 , the output of which is connected via a power amplifier 43 to the loudspeakers 30 behind the apertures 3 in the sides 4 of the unit (“the difference loudspeakers”). The output is connected to the two difference loudspeakers such that the signals they produce when driven by the difference signal are out of phase (i.e., in anti-phase). More specifically; the difference speaker adjacent speaker 28 is driven by a signal comprising the signal received at input 36 less that received at input 37 , and the other difference speaker (as a result of its reversed polarity) is effectively driven with a signal comprising the signal received at input 37 less that received at input 36 .
[0073] The power amplifier 43 associated with the difference loudspeakers 10 need only have around 10 to 20% of the power output of those associated with the other loudspeakers 28 , 29 .
[0074] The loudspeaker unit is intended to reproduce a conventional two channel stereo sound signal exploiting some features of the sum and difference system. In use the unit is preferably placed on a flat surface 44 which extends around all sides of the unit. The two channels (right and left) of a stereo sound signal are then supplied to the two inputs 36 and 37 respectively. The two front speakers 28 and 29 will then output the left and right signals respectively, acting in the manner of a conventional two loudspeaker speaker stereo system. The two side speakers will output signals comprising left—right and right—left signals respectively, with the side speaker adjacent the front speaker which outputs the left signal outputting left-right and vice versa. Provision of the side speakers outputting difference signals enhances the depth and width available from the stereo signal, as compared to using the two front speakers alone. Listeners should ideally be located towards the front of the unit, but could be located behind the unit.
[0075] The described unit combines conventional two speaker stereo speaker technology with the aspects of sum and difference technology, resulting in a system which improves over both technologies. The invention also provides • a way in which conventional two speaker stereo units can be modified, by addition of difference speakers, to provide for enhanced reproduction of stereo signals. The improvement is significant for units where conventional left and right speakers are mounted close together. As compared to conventional sum and difference loudspeaker units the described loudspeaker unit conveys the same advantages as the first described embodiment over conventional sum and difference loudspeaker arrangements.
[0076] FIGS. 8 and 9 show how the arrangement of FIGS. 5 to 7 can be incorporated into a television set or monitor. The television set comprises a housing 50 , mounted to the front of which is a screen 51 . Also mounted to the front of the housing 50 are two spaced-apart loudspeakers 52 . These speakers correspond to speakers 28 and 29 of the embodiment of FIGS. 5 to 7 and are arranged to broadcast the left and right channels of a conventional two channel stereo signal. At either side of the rear of the housing are panels 53 which extend at an angle of about 45° to the front of the housing. Mounted to these panels are respective speakers 54 which correspond to speakers 32 of the arrangement of FIGS. 5 to 7 and are arranged to broadcast respective out of phase signals consisting of the difference between the left and right audio channels of a conventional two channel audio signal. The rear of the television set is flat and generally parallel to the front. In use the rear of the set is intended to be placed adjacent a flat surface, typically the wall 55 of a room. As such, the speakers 54 towards the rear of the set are directed partially towards the wall, taking advantage of the surface effect.
[0077] The above embodiments are described by way of example only, many variations are possible without departing from the invention. | Apparatus for reproducing stereo sound having a housing ( 1, 25 ) defining an at least partially enclosed space. A first transducer ( 7 ) or pair of transducers ( 28, 29 ) is provided and arranged to reproduce one, both or the sum of two audio signals. A pair of transducers ( 10, 32 ) is also provided and arranged to reproduce a signal comprising the difference of the two audio signals. As the transducers communicate with the at least partially enclosed space, and the transducers arranged to reproduce the difference between the two audio signals are each arranged to direct their output primarily in a direction generally at right angles to the direction in which the first transducer or pair of transducers primarily direct their output. The apparatus may be arranged to be placed on or adjacent a generally flat surface, and the transducers arranged to reproduce the difference of the two audio signals may be arranged to direct their output towards the flat surface. | Briefly describe the main idea outlined in the provided context. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims priority to PCT GB2007/003191, filed Aug. 21, 2007, which claims priority to GB Application No. 0616910.6, filed Aug. 25, 2006, and GB Application No. 0618854.4, filed Sep. 25, 2006, commonly assigned, and all of which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.",
"STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER [0002] FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT [0003] NOT APPLICABLE REFERENCE TO A “SEQUENCE LISTING,” A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING APPENDIX SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISK [0004] NOT APPLICABLE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0005] The present invention relates to apparatus for reproducing stereo sound, and particularly to apparatus for reproduction of stereo sound from a two channel stereo sound signal.",
"[0006] Stereo sound recording and reproduction employs stereographic projection to encode the relative position of sound sources recorded, and aims to reproduce the sound with a sense of those relative positions.",
"A stereo system can involve two or more channels, but two channels systems dominate for audio recording.",
"The two channels (usually known as left and right) convey information relating to the sound field in front of the listener.",
"By far the most popular means for reproducing two channel stereo signals is to broadcast the channels via two respective, spaced apart, left and right loudspeakers.",
"[0007] Despite its popularity, though, there are disadvantages with this system.",
"Most commercial two channel stereo sound recordings are mixed for optimum reproduction by loudspeakers spaced about 1.6 meters apart.",
"In reality, this is rarely possible, especially where it is desired to reproduce stereo sound from a single unit.",
"In any event, however a recording is mixed, the closer the loudspeakers used to transmit the left and right channels are together, the poorer the stereo effect reproduced.",
"[0008] Also, for optimum perception of stereo effect the listener should be located at the apex of an equilateral triangle made by the pair of loudspeakers and the listener.",
"In reality, though, it is often inconvenient or impossible for a listener to adopt or maintain this position and, of course, it is impossible for multiple listeners to listen from the same position.",
"[0009] An alternative system for reproduction of a two channel stereo signal which should overcome some of the above disadvantages has been proposed.",
"This system, which shall be referred to as the sum and difference system, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,588,355.",
"This document discloses a stereophonic loudspeaker system comprising two pairs of loudspeakers.",
"Each pair is oriented with their axes at right angles to each other and substantially equidistant from the point of intersection of the axes.",
"The speakers are so arranged that one speaker of each pair faces the listener and the other speaker has its axis substantially perpendicular to the listener.",
"Means are provided for matrixing left and right two-channel stereo signals to provide a sum signal and a difference signal.",
"The sum signals are applied in phase to the speakers whose axes are directed toward the listener, and the difference signals are applied to the speakers whose axes are positioned at right angles with respect to the direction of the listener, the difference signals to the two perpendicular speakers being applied 180° out of phase with each other:—As a result, a stereophonic sound effect should be produced by the system.",
"[0010] Whilst intended to overcome the problems associated with the use of spaced apart speakers the arrangement of U.S. Pat. No. 3,588,355 has not entered widespread use.",
"This is thought to be because there are practical difficulties with the disclosed apparatus which result in the actual sound quality and perceived stereo effect obtained falling below what might theoretically be expected.",
"[0011] The present invention seeks to provide improved apparatus for the reproduction of stereo sound.",
"[0012] According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided apparatus for reproduction of stereo sound comprising a first transducer arranged to reproduce one of two audio signals and a second transducer arranged to reproduce the other signal, and one or two further transducers arranged to reproduce a signal comprising the difference of the two audio signals.",
"[0013] This arrangement combines advantages of conventional two speaker systems for reproduction of stereo sound, and the sum and difference system.",
"Appropriately directed difference signals can be employed to enhance the perceived width and depth of the signal reproduced.",
"This is useful where the perceived width and depth of the signal reproduced by the first and second transducers alone is limited.",
"This is the case where two transducers are arranged close together, for example in the same housing in portable stereo reproduction equipment.",
"[0014] The apparatus may comprise a housing defining an at least partially enclosed space.",
"All the transducers may be mounted in the housing, and may all communicate with the partially enclosed space;",
"The first and second transducers are preferably arranged to direct their output in substantially parallel, spaced apart directions.",
"The two transducers arranged to reproduce the difference of the two signals are preferably arranged to direct their output primarily in a direction generally at right angles to the direction in which the first and second transducers are arranged to primarily direct its output, and may direct their output in generally opposite directions.",
"[0015] According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided apparatus for reproduction of stereo sound comprising a housing defining an at least partially enclosed space, a first transducer arranged to reproduce one, or the sum, of two audio signals and two transducers each arranged to reproduce a signal comprising the difference of the two audio signals, wherein the three transducers all communicate with the at least partially enclosed space and wherein the transducers arranged to reproduce the signal comprising the difference of the audio two signals are each arranged to direct their output primarily in a direction generally at right angles to the direction in which the first transducer is arranged to primarily direct its output.",
"[0016] Where the first transducer is arranged to reproduce one of two audio signals a second transducer is preferably provided to reproduce the other signal, and the first and second transducers are preferably arranged to direct their output in substantially parallel, spaced apart directions.",
"[0017] It is thought that the sum and difference system of stereo sound reproduction works by the broadcast audio sum signal being modified by the broadcast difference signal by varying amounts at different locations to recreate the original recorded sound field, or an approximation of it.",
"Where first and second transducers are provided to transmit respective audio signals a similar effect to broadcast of the sum of the two signals by one or more transducers is obtained, especially if the two transducers are close together.",
"Having all three, or four as the case may be, transducers communicate with the same partially enclosed space confers two distinct benefits.",
"Firstly it simplifies the mechanical construction of the apparatus, particularly the housing, there being no need to construct baffles or ports to separate the transducers.",
"For given transducers this can reduce the overall size of housing required, and/or can allow mounting of other components in the housing.",
"Likewise this may enable a pair of speakers arranged to transmit a difference signal to be incorporated into available space in the housing of existing mono or stereo audio equipment to enable the equipment to be redesigned to reproduce a stereo or improved stereo audio signal without the need to increase the size of the housing.",
"Secondly, it provides for increased interaction between the output of the transducers which can add increased perceived depth and width to the sound reproduced by the apparatus.",
"[0018] According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided apparatus for reproduction of stereo sound comprising a housing arranged to be placed on or adjacent a generally flat surface, a first transducer arranged to reproduce one, or the sum, of two audio signals and two transducers each arranged to reproduce a signal comprising the difference of the two audio signals, wherein the transducers arranged to reproduce the signal comprising the difference of the two audio signals are each arranged to direct their output primarily in a direction generally at right angles to the direction in which the first transducer is arranged to primarily direct its output and wherein the two transducers arranged to reproduce the signal comprising the difference of the two audio signals are arranged relative to the housing such that when the housing is placed on or adjacent a generally flat surface both transducers are oriented to direct their output primarily in a direction extending towards the plane of the surface.",
"[0019] By directing the output of the transducers reproducing the difference signal towards a surface against which the apparatus is used any surface effect caused by the surface, and which is generally found to improve the output of the apparatus, is enhanced.",
"[0020] Where the first transducer is arranged to reproduce one of two audio signals a second transducer is preferably provided to reproduce the other signal, and the first and second transducers are preferably arranged to direct their output in substantially parallel, spaced apart directions.",
"[0021] Apparatus according to any aspect of the invention may include any or all additional features of another aspect of the invention, as appropriate.",
"BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0022] The following relates to optional features of all aspects of the invention.",
"[0023] Each transducer may be a loudspeaker.",
"The loudspeaker may comprise a driver arranged to drive a loudspeaker element, such as a diaphragm which may be of any suitable shape, for example frusto-conical, or substantially flat.",
"[0024] The two transducers arranged to reproduce a signal comprising the difference of two audio signals (“the difference signal”) are preferably arranged to reproduce the signal substantially out of phase with respect to each other, and to direct the two out of phase signals in different, preferably generally opposite directions.",
"The out of phase signals are preferably 180 degrees out of phase.",
"[0025] The housing preferably has two openings via which the two difference signals are transmitted.",
"Where the housing is arranged to be placed on or adjacent a flat surface, the openings are preferably disposed on the housing such that when the housing is placed on or adjacent a flat surface, the openings lie adjacent that surface.",
"The housing preferably includes at least one substantially flat surface.",
"This may form the underside of the housing, enabling it to be placed on a flat surface, or a side of the housing, enabling it to be placed adjacent a flat surface, such as a wall.",
"Alternatively, or additionally, the housing may comprise a flat surface or surfaces extending from adjacent the or each opening.",
"Arranging so that the or each opening can lie adjacent a flat surface enables the surface effect to be exploited.",
"As discussed further below, arranging for the difference signals to be broadcast along a flat surface enhances them, and consequently the overall sense of width and depth of the reproduced sound of a sum and difference system.",
"[0026] The housing may also include an opening via which the signal comprising the sum of two audio signals, where provided, is transmitted.",
"Alternatively the housing may include one or two openings via which the audio signals are separately transmitted.",
"The housing may further include an additional opening, forming a port which acts as a pressure relief valve to the at least partially enclosed space when lower frequencies are reproduced.",
"The port may lead to a conduit or tube extending in the at least partial enclosure formed by the housing.",
"The housing may be fully enclosed, save for provision of the port.",
"[0027] Where the two transducers arranged to reproduce the difference signal are oriented to direct their output primarily in a direction extending towards the plane of a generally flat surface or against which the housing is placed;",
"the transducers are each preferably directed towards the surface at an angle of between 1 and 8 degrees to the surface, more preferably at an angle of between 2 and 6 degrees and still more preferably at an angle of between 3 and 5 degrees.",
"Where the housing includes a substantially flat surface the transducers arranged to reproduce the difference signal may be oriented, as discussed above, relative to the plane of that surface which will correspond substantially to the plane of any substantially flat surface it is placed on or adjacent to.",
"[0028] The apparatus may be used to reproduce a two channel stereo signal using the sum and difference system.",
"In this case the transducers for reproducing two out of phase difference signals are driven with a signal comprising and preferably consisting exclusively of the difference of the two stereo channels and the third transducer is driven with a signal comprising or consisting exclusively of the sum of the two stereo channels.",
"[0029] The apparatus may include a sum and difference matrix to achieve this.",
"[0030] Alternatively the apparatus may be used to reproduce a two channel stereo signal using a conventional arrangement of two spaced apart transducers, a respective transducer for each of the two stereo channels, supplemented by transducers for reproducing two out of phase difference signals driven with a signal comprising and preferably consisting exclusively of the difference of the two stereo channels.",
"[0031] In either case the difference signal may be filtered to reduce the amplitude of low frequencies.",
"Low frequencies included in the sum signal or individual channels of the stereo signal used to drive two transducers may be boosted.",
"The apparatus may include a high pass-filter and/or a bass lift compensation .",
"circuit.",
"It is found that boosting low frequencies transmitted by the transducer(s) which reproduces the sum, or individual components, of the two audio signals and reducing or eliminating low frequencies transmitted by the transducers which reproduce the difference signal leads to a further improvement in the depth and feel of the reproduced sound.",
"This is also discussed further below.",
"[0032] The apparatus could be provided in a housing arranged to receive a device intended to provide a stereo signal to drive the transducers.",
"In particular the device may be comprised in a docking station for an MP3 player or other portable music playing device.",
"Alternatively the device could include a device or relevant components to produce a stereo signal to drive the transducers, for example a radio tuner.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0033] In order that the invention may be more clearly understood embodiments thereof will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings of which: [0034] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a loudspeaker unit according to the invention;",
"[0035] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view, taken along the plane of lines a-a and b-b of FIG. 1 ;",
"[0036] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view, taken along the plane of lines a-a and c-c of FIG. 1 ;",
"[0037] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of circuitry associated with the unit of FIG. 1 ;",
"[0038] FIG. 5 is a cut away front view of another embodiment of a loudspeaker unit according to the invention;",
"[0039] FIG. 6 is a-cut away side view of the embodiment of FIG. 5 ;",
"[0040] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of circuitry associated with the unit of FIG. 5 ;",
"[0041] FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective schematic view of a television set incorporating a loudspeaker unit according to the invention;",
"and [0042] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view, from above, of the television set of FIG. 8 placed against a wall.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0043] In the following, where the terms front, rear, top, bottom and like terms are used they refer to directions relative to the apparatus as illustrated and/or as it is intended to be used.",
"The terms are used for convenience only and are not intended to be otherwise limiting.",
"[0044] Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1 to 4 show a sum and difference loudspeaker unit according to the invention.",
"The unit could incorporate means (not shown) for producing an audio signal, for example a tuner, such as a DAB tuner, a compact disc player or MP3 player.",
"[0045] The unit comprises a housing 1 which is, externally, generally cuboidal in shape.",
"The housing is manufactured from hardboard, but could be manufactured from any other suitable material such as is usually employed for the manufacture of loudspeaker housings.",
"A generally circular aperture (not shown) covered by a grille 2 or other cover essentially transparent to sound is formed in the front of the housing 1 .",
"[0046] A respective generally circular aperture 3 is formed in each of the two opposite sidewalls 4 of the housing 1 and each covered by a grille 5 , or other cover essentially transparent to sound.",
"Each of these apertures is positioned approximately mid way along, and adjacent the lower edge of sidewall 4 in which it is formed.",
"[0047] A further generally circular aperture in provided towards the rear of the underside 6 of the housing 1 .",
"The underside of the housing is substantially flat enabling the housing to be supported by its underside on a substantially flat surface.",
"[0048] No apertures are formed in the top or rear of the housing.",
"[0049] A single loudspeaker 7 is mounted to the inside of the front of the unit to [.",
"].611 the aperture formed in the front of the unit.",
"The loudspeaker is of a conventional type and comprises a driver 8 arranged to drive a diaphragm 9 of generally frustroconical shape.",
"The loudspeaker 7 is arranged to transmit an audio signal through the aperture in the front of the unit.",
"[0050] A single loudspeaker 10 is also mounted to the inside of each sidewall 4 of the unit, filling the aperture in the sidewall.",
"Each loudspeaker 10 also comprises a driver 8 and a diaphragm 9 of generally frustroconical shape.",
"Each loudspeaker 10 is mounted to the sidewall at an angle relative to the sidewall 4 such that the central axis of its diaphragm 9 (shown as a broken line) extends towards an extension of the plane of the underside 6 of the unit, as the axis extends away from the unit.",
"Each loudspeaker 10 is mounted such that the central axis of its diaphragm 9 will intersect the extension of the plane of the underside of the unit at an angle of about 4 degrees.",
"Thus, the respective axes of the diaphragms of the two speakers 10 mounted to the sidewalls 4 of the unit will intersect each other at an angle of about 172 degrees.",
"[0051] In an alternative arrangement each loudspeaker 10 could be mounted at a position close to, but spaced apart from the inside of the sidewall 4 of the housing 1 .",
"[0052] A cardboard tube 11 is mounted to the inside of the underside 6 of the unit, over the aperture formed in the underside of the -unit and extending into the unit.",
"The tube forms a port.",
"The port and all three speakers share the same acoustic environment within the device.",
"[0053] The loudspeaker unit is associated with the electronic circuit shown in FIG. 4 .",
"It will be appreciated that the circuit components could be housed in the housing 1 or separately.",
"The circuit components could be housed within the housing together with other components, specifically with components arranged to produce an audio signal, such as a tuner.",
"[0054] The circuit comprises two inputs 14 , 15 connected to a sum and difference matrix 16 .",
"The sum and difference matrix 16 is arranged to produce two outputs: a sum output at 17 which comprises the sum of the inputs at 14 and 15 ( 14 + 15 );",
"and a difference output at 18 which comprises the difference of the inputs at 14 and 15 ( 14 − 15 ).",
"[0055] The sum output 18 is connected to a bass lift compensation circuit 19 .",
"This adds a gain of about 3 dB to low frequency components of the signal, typically frequencies between 40 and 500 Hz.",
"The output of the bass lift compensation circuit is connected via a power amplifier 20 to the loudspeaker 7 mounted behind the aperture in the front of the unit (“the mono loudspeaker”).",
"[0056] The difference output 18 is connected to a high pass filter 21 operative to reduce the amplitude of frequencies below 100 Hz by at least 3 dB.",
"The filtered signal is then subjected to a gain make up of about 4 dB by an amplifier 22 , the output of which is connected via a power amplifier 20 to the loudspeakers 10 behind the apertures 3 in the sides 4 of the unit (“the difference loudspeakers”).",
"The output is connected to the two difference loudspeakers such that the signals they produce when driven by the difference signal are out of phase (i.e., in anti-phase).",
"[0057] The power amplifier 20 associated with the difference loudspeakers 10 need only have around 10 to 20% of the power output of that associated with the mono loudspeaker 7 .",
"[0058] The loudspeaker unit is intended to reproduce a conventional two channel stereo sound signal using the sum and difference system.",
"In use the unit is preferably placed on a flat surface 23 which extends around all sides of the unit.",
"The two channels (left and right) of a stereo sound signal are then supplied to the two inputs 14 and 15 of the sum and different matrix 16 respectively.",
"Listeners should ideally be located towards the front of the unit, but could be located behind the unit.",
"Although the unit enables listeners to appreciate the depth and width effect of a stereo recording over a wide area this will best be detected at locations on or near an axis extending through the mono loudspeaker 7 (i.e., substantially normal to the front of the housing 1 ).",
"The depth and width effect will be worst at or near locations lying on an axis extending through the duct difference loudspeakers 10 (i.e., substantially normal to the sides 4 of the housing 1 ).",
"[0059] The described loudspeaker unit conveys significant advantages over conventional sum and difference loudspeaker arrangements.",
"The housing 1 defines a single acoustic enclosure which all the loudspeakers share.",
"This simplifies manufacture, and without the need to divide up the interior of the housing to provide separate acoustic enclosures, provides more space in the housing for electronic and associated components.",
"Maximizing use of space is important in the manufacture of compact equipment.",
"Having the three loudspeakers -share the- same acoustic enclosure also enhances the necessary interaction between the output of the sum and difference speakers.",
"The port formed by the cardboard tube 11 and its associated aperture acts as a pressure relief valve for low frequencies.",
"[0060] Positioning the difference speakers adjacent the lower edge of the sides of the housing enables the surface effect to be exploited when the housing is placed on a surface, such as a floor or the top of a piece of furniture.",
"Locating the loudspeakers in this way exploits the surface effect.",
"When a sound is reproduced in close proximity to a flat surface (ideally one of greater linear dimension than the wavelength of the lowest frequency within the sound) then reflections of the sound from the surface have the effect of reinforcing the sound across the surface.",
"As such sound pressure levels away from the sound source reduce at a lower level than the theoretical inverse square law which applies in free air.",
"In practice the acoustic level of the difference signal transmitted via difference speakers 10 is enhanced, by around 8 to 10 dB.",
"This enhances the depth and width effect in the reproduced sound.",
"Exploitation of the surface effect is further aided by the difference speakers being mounted at an angle so that they are directed slightly towards a surface on which the unit is placed.",
"Another benefit of the angled disposition of the difference speakers 10 is that, because the speakers do not share a common axis, there is a reduced tendency for mid frequency standing waves to form within the housing.",
"This is undesirable as it can impair the overall quality of sound reproduced by the unit.",
"Yet another advantage is that the angling of the difference speakers gives an element of guidance to the main spatial sound images produced by the device.",
"[0061] Performance improvements are also obtained through- processing of the incoming sound signal.",
"Reproduction of low frequency sounds by the difference loudspeakers 10 is relatively poor compared to that of the larger mono loudspeaker 7 .",
"This is due in part to the inherent reduced capacity of smaller loudspeakers to reproduce low frequencies, and also due to cancellation between the out of phase signals produced by the two speakers which is to be expected for low frequencies due to their inherently long wavelengths.",
"Although the cancellation problem could be reduced by further separating the two difference loudspeakers the required separation is impractical.",
"Instead, reproduction of low frequencies by the difference loudspeakers 10 is compensated for by boosting the amplitude of low frequencies in the sum signal driving the mono loudspeaker 7 .",
"This in turn enables low frequencies to be cut out of the difference signal by means of the high pass filter 21 , improving the integrity of the audio difference signal.",
"[0062] FIGS. 5 to 7 show an alternative embodiment of a loudspeaker unit according to the invention.",
"The unit is essentially similar to that shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 , save that the single loudspeaker 10 arranged to broadcast a signal comprising the sum of two audio channels is replaced by two loudspeakers arranged to broadcast respective individual audio channels.",
"[0063] The embodiment of FIGS. 5 to 7 comprises a housing 25 which is, externally, generally cuboidal in shape.",
"The housing is manufactured from hardboard, but could be manufactured from any other suitable material such as is usually employed for the manufacture of loudspeaker housings.",
"Two generally circular apertures (not shown) covered by a grille or other cover essentially transparent to sound are formed in the front (not shown) of the housing 25 .",
"A respective, smaller, generally circular aperture 33 is formed in each of the two opposite sidewalls 26 of the housing 25 and each covered by a grille 34 , or other cover essentially transparent to sound.",
"Each of these apertures is positioned approximately mid way along, and adjacent the lower edge of sidewall 26 in which it is formed.",
"[0064] A further generally circular aperture is provided towards the rear of the underside 27 of the housing 25 .",
"The underside of the housing is substantially flat enabling the housing to be supported by its underside on a substantially flat surface.",
"[0065] No apertures are formed in the top or rear of the housing.",
"[0066] Loudspeakers 28 , 29 are mounted to the inside of the front of the unit to fill the apertures formed in the front of the unit.",
"The loudspeakers are of a conventional type and comprises a driver 30 arranged to drive a diaphragm 31 of generally frustroconical shape.",
"The loudspeakers 28 , 29 are arranged to transmit respective audio signals through the apertures in the front of the unit.",
"[0067] A single loudspeaker 32 is also mounted to the inside of each sidewall 26 of the unit, filling the aperture in the sidewall.",
"Each loudspeaker 32 also comprises a driver 30 and a diaphragm 31 of generally frustroconical shape.",
"Each loudspeaker 32 is mounted in the housing at an angle relative to the sidewall 26 such that the central axis of its diaphragm extends towards an extension of the plane of the underside 27 of the unit, as the axis extends away from the unit, in the same way as the unit shown in FIG. 2 .",
"[0068] In an alternative arrangement each loudspeaker 10 could be mounted at a position close to, but spaced apart from the inside of the sidewall 4 of the housing 1 .",
"[0069] A cardboard tube 35 is mounted to the inside of the underside 27 of the unit, over the aperture formed in the underside of the unit and extending into the unit.",
"The tube forms a port.",
"The port and all four loudspeakers share the same acoustic environment within the device.",
"The port formed by the cardboard tube 35 and its associated aperture acts as a pressure relief valve for low frequencies.",
"[0070] The loudspeaker unit is associated with the electronic circuit shown in FIG. 7 .",
"It will be appreciated that the circuit components could be housed in the housing 26 or separately.",
"The circuit components could be housed within the housing together with other components, specifically with components arranged to produce an audio signal, such as a tuner: [0071] The circuit comprises two inputs 36 , 37 .",
"These inputs are connected, respectively, to loudspeakers 28 and 29 via respective bass lift compensation circuits 38 , and power amplifiers 39 .",
"The base lift compensation circuits 38 add a gain of about 3 dB to low frequency components of the signal, typically frequencies between 40 and 500 Hz.",
"[0072] The two circuit inputs 36 and 37 are also connected to a subtraction circuit 40 , which outputs the difference of signals received at inputs 36 and 37 .",
"The difference output is connected to a high pass filter 41 operative to reduce the amplitude of frequencies below 100 Hz by at least 3 dB.",
"The filtered signal is then subjected to a gain make up of about 4 dB by an amplifier 42 , the output of which is connected via a power amplifier 43 to the loudspeakers 30 behind the apertures 3 in the sides 4 of the unit (“the difference loudspeakers”).",
"The output is connected to the two difference loudspeakers such that the signals they produce when driven by the difference signal are out of phase (i.e., in anti-phase).",
"More specifically;",
"the difference speaker adjacent speaker 28 is driven by a signal comprising the signal received at input 36 less that received at input 37 , and the other difference speaker (as a result of its reversed polarity) is effectively driven with a signal comprising the signal received at input 37 less that received at input 36 .",
"[0073] The power amplifier 43 associated with the difference loudspeakers 10 need only have around 10 to 20% of the power output of those associated with the other loudspeakers 28 , 29 .",
"[0074] The loudspeaker unit is intended to reproduce a conventional two channel stereo sound signal exploiting some features of the sum and difference system.",
"In use the unit is preferably placed on a flat surface 44 which extends around all sides of the unit.",
"The two channels (right and left) of a stereo sound signal are then supplied to the two inputs 36 and 37 respectively.",
"The two front speakers 28 and 29 will then output the left and right signals respectively, acting in the manner of a conventional two loudspeaker speaker stereo system.",
"The two side speakers will output signals comprising left—right and right—left signals respectively, with the side speaker adjacent the front speaker which outputs the left signal outputting left-right and vice versa.",
"Provision of the side speakers outputting difference signals enhances the depth and width available from the stereo signal, as compared to using the two front speakers alone.",
"Listeners should ideally be located towards the front of the unit, but could be located behind the unit.",
"[0075] The described unit combines conventional two speaker stereo speaker technology with the aspects of sum and difference technology, resulting in a system which improves over both technologies.",
"The invention also provides • a way in which conventional two speaker stereo units can be modified, by addition of difference speakers, to provide for enhanced reproduction of stereo signals.",
"The improvement is significant for units where conventional left and right speakers are mounted close together.",
"As compared to conventional sum and difference loudspeaker units the described loudspeaker unit conveys the same advantages as the first described embodiment over conventional sum and difference loudspeaker arrangements.",
"[0076] FIGS. 8 and 9 show how the arrangement of FIGS. 5 to 7 can be incorporated into a television set or monitor.",
"The television set comprises a housing 50 , mounted to the front of which is a screen 51 .",
"Also mounted to the front of the housing 50 are two spaced-apart loudspeakers 52 .",
"These speakers correspond to speakers 28 and 29 of the embodiment of FIGS. 5 to 7 and are arranged to broadcast the left and right channels of a conventional two channel stereo signal.",
"At either side of the rear of the housing are panels 53 which extend at an angle of about 45° to the front of the housing.",
"Mounted to these panels are respective speakers 54 which correspond to speakers 32 of the arrangement of FIGS. 5 to 7 and are arranged to broadcast respective out of phase signals consisting of the difference between the left and right audio channels of a conventional two channel audio signal.",
"The rear of the television set is flat and generally parallel to the front.",
"In use the rear of the set is intended to be placed adjacent a flat surface, typically the wall 55 of a room.",
"As such, the speakers 54 towards the rear of the set are directed partially towards the wall, taking advantage of the surface effect.",
"[0077] The above embodiments are described by way of example only, many variations are possible without departing from the invention."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an internal gear pump which may be constructed both as ring gear pump and as filling piece pump.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Such internal gear pumps must pass through a very wide speed range. They should have good volumetric efficiency at low speed and must therefore be made with narrow leak gaps. At the same time, however, at high speeds they should, as far as possible, not cause any cavitation noises due to vapour and air bubble cavitation on passage of the pumping medium from the suction side to the pressure side of the pump. These gear pumps are preferably employed as lubricating, delivery and shift or control pumps in internal-combustion engines and automatic transmissions in which in particular cavitation noises are found to be very annoying.
As a rule these gear pumps have a critical speed of rotation above which the delivery line deviates from the linear path and becomes increasingly flatter. The diagram according to the attached FIG. 1 shows the delivery stream QH (ordinate) as a function of the speed n (abscissa) and the deviation of the delivery line from the linear region from a critical speed n krit . The delivery line then becomes increasingly flatter.
From the critical speed n krit onwards, the filling degree therefore becomes smaller than 1 and consequently there is a delivery medium shortage in the teeth chambers compared with the geometric delivery volume. The shortage space is partially filled with vapour of the delivery medium, partially with air separated from the medium and partially with "false air" sucked in through leakage points. This critical speed is fundamentally defined by a critical peripheral speed in the toothing region at which in accordance with Bernoulli's Law the static pressure in the liquid is increasingly absorbed by the velocity pressure (dynamic pressure). If the static pressure drops below the vapour pressure of the liquid, bubbles are formed which are subjected to the reduced static pressure and do not condense again until the static pressure of the bubble has risen above the vapour pressure.
It is remarkable that the critical speed of the gear pumps being considered here is almost independent of the viscosity of the medium. Normally, it would be expected that the critical speed would be substantially lower in the case of a very viscous medium than in the case of a thinly liquid medium. This is however not the case. A plausible explanation of this phenomenon is seen in that the dynamic pressure is linearly dependent only on the specific mass and is dependent upon the square of the velocity. Consequently, in similar pumps having about the same peripheral velocity the critical speed is also fairly exactly at the same point irrespective of the viscosity and the design of the pump (i.e. whether with or without filling piece). In practically no case has it proved possible to influence substantially the critical speed above which the pumps become appreciably louder by modifying the tooth flank forms or the inlet passage in the housing or by other constructional steps.
In a particularly simple design of such a pump the pinion has only one tooth less than the ring gear, i.e. the pump is a so-called gerotor pump in which each tooth of the pinion permanently cooperates in sealing manner with the toothing of the ring gear. In this case, fundamentally any form of toothing may be employed which is suitable for a gerotor pump and ensures adequate sealing between the teeth of the pinion and ring gear even in the pressure region of the pump. Particularly suitable for such a gerotor pump is a pure cycloid toothing in which the teeth heads and gaps of the gears have the profile of cycloids which are formed by rolling of roll circles on fixed circles extending concentrically to the respective gear axes, the teeth heads of the pinion and the teeth gaps of the ring gear each having the form of epicycloids which are formed by rolling of a first roll circle, the teeth gaps of the pinion and the teeth heads of the ring gear each having the form of hypocycloids which are formed by rolling of a second roll circle, and the sum of the circumferences of the two roll circles being equal in each case to the tooth pitch of the gears on the fixed tooth circles thereof. Examples of such toothings are described in German published specification 39 38 346.6 and German patent application P 42 00 883.2-15.
However, the difference between the teeth numbers of the pinion and ring gear may also be greater than 1. It should however not be large in order to ensure that a relatively small average teeth number is sufficient and consequently large displacement cells are retained. It is therefore preferred for the teeth number difference not to be greater than three.
If the teeth number difference is greater than one, in the region opposite the point of deepest tooth engagement usually a filling piece must be provided which fills at least the peripherally centre portion of the free space between the head circles of the two gears and thus ensures the necessary sealing there. This type of pump is distinguished by particularly good running quietness.
Such pumps are suitable for example for feeding hydraulic systems. In particular, such pumps are used however as oil or hydraulic pumps for motor vehicle engines and/or transmissions. Motor vehicle engines and transmissions are operated in a wide speed range. The speed basic values may be in the ratio of 12:1 or more.
The desired delivery of the lubricating pump of an internal-combustion engine, which in automatic transmissions must additionally perform the function of supplying pressure to the hydraulic shift elements and the converter filling for protection against cavitation, both in the case of the engine and in the case of the transmission, is proportional to the speed only in the lower third of the operating range. In the upper speed range the oil requirement increases far less than the speed of the engine. It is therefore desirable to have a drive-regulated lubricating or hydraulic pump or one having a displacement adjustable in dependence upon the speed.
The most common form of a hydraulic, oil and/or lubricating pump is the gear pump because it is simple, cheap and reliable. A disadvantage is that the theoretical delivery per revolution is constant, i.e. proportional to the speed.
Hitherto, the only practicable way of avoiding the unnecessary pump performance from a certain pump speed onwards with low losses was to control the suction. Since the flow resistances increase overproportionally with increasing liquid velocity, with a throttle in the suction conduit with increasing speed the static pressure increasingly drops in the intake opening of the gear chamber until the so-called cavitation pressure threshold is reached, i.e. until the pressure drops below the vapour pressure of the oil. The displacement cell content then consists partly of liquid oil, partly of oil vapour, and partly of inspired air and is subjected to a static pressure lying appreciably beneath the atmospheric pressure. It is a simple matter, for example by correspondingly narrow suction conduits or by an orifice or alternatively in controllable manner by a suction slide valve to define or control the flow resistances in the suction conduit in such a manner that extensive adaptation of the useful displacement of the gear pump to the requirement line of the consumption is achieved.
A disadvantage with this control is once again the cavitation which occurs. For if the cell content consisting of liquid and gas subjected to a low absolute pressure is suddenly transferred to zones of higher pressure, as is inherent in the system of such pumps, the gaseous constituents of the cell content implode so violently that undesired noises, and even worse destruction of the cell walls, are the result.
To avoid these implosions, by shortening the outlet mouth in the region of the diminishing displacement cells the cell content is given enough time by gradual compression to increase the static pressure by an adequate extent so that when a cell comes into communication with the outlet passage no implosions of gas bubbles can take place therein because due to gradual reduction of the cell volume said gas bubbles have already condensed to liquid again or have dissolved in the liquid. The diminishing displacement cells must be sealed so well with respect to each other here that the expulsion pressure through the gap between the two teeth separating two consecutive displacement cells from each other cannot propagate itself to any appreciable extent against the displacement direction. The prevention of extremely high squeeze oil pressures at low speed is ensured constructionally in that on the displacement side of the pump the cells come into communication with the displacement pressure space so that if the cell is not filled completely with liquid the displacement pressure cannot become active therein. If however the cells are already completely filled with liquid on the suction side, which is the case in the lower speed range, the higher squeeze pressure in the cell opens the check valve in the direction towards the pressure displacement space so that the displaced oil can flow into the pressure space with only a slightly increased cell pressure compared with the displacement pressure, corresponding to the opening pressure of the check valve and the flow resistance thereof.
Such a construction is known from DE-PS 3,005,657. In the latter axial bores leading to the outlet passage extend over the entire pressure half of the pump in the housing and contain check valves which are spaced from the gear chamber and which open only when the pressure of the cell lying in front of the respective bore exceeds the pressure in the outlet passage.
This pump has a correspondingly large axial extent. The spring valve used can break. Also, the inconstant connection of the displacement cells to the outlet passage is disadvantageous. Finally, the pressure distribution in the pump is disadvantageous as regards avoiding cavitation-induced implosions and the pump is loud in operation.
Considerably more advantageous is the gerotor pump known from German patent 3,933,978 in which the problem of the squeeze oil removal in the diminishing displacement cells at low speed with cavitation-free operation is solved in that in the teeth of at least one gear passages connecting displacement cells adjacent the respective tooth are provided in which check valves are located which permit a flow through the respective passage only in the displacement direction. However, this pump is also undesirably loud in operation at higher speeds.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The problem underlying the present invention is to reduce appreciably the noises caused by cavitation in an internal gear pump of the type indicated.
This problem is solved by an internal gear pump for a wide speed range comprising
a housing containing a gear chamber,
a ring gear in the housing,
a pinion which has one tooth or only a few teeth less than the ring gear, meshes with the ring gear and is arranged in the latter,
the teeth of which form together with the teeth of the ring gear increasing and again diminishing consecutive displacement cells for the working liquid and seal said cells with respect to each other,
inlet and outlet passages passing through the housing for the supply and discharge of the operating liquid,
which open into the gear chamber on both sides of the point of deepest tooth engagement,
said mouths being passed over by the displacement cells,
and furthermore the end of the mouth of the outlet passage lying remote from the point of deepest tooth engagement is located so close to the point of deepest tooth engagement that between it and the point at which the displacement cells start to diminish there is always more than one displacement cell,
wherein
in the region of diminishing displacement cells in the wall of the gear chamber peripherally spaced from the mouth of the outlet passage at least one opening is located over which alternately displacement cells and teeth defining said cells pass,
in which the opening is connected via a connecting passage to the outlet passage, and
the opening on each passage of a tooth thereover is covered by said tooth completely or at least to a major degree.
Expedient embodiments are defined by the features of the subsidiary claims.
The advantages obtained with the invention are based on the following mode of operation: the period of time of static pressure increase in the displacement cells is increased in the peripheral direction to an adequate extent to ensure that the pressure gradient dp/dt becomes smaller. As a result, the bubbles have enough time to dissolve again or condense whilst still in the low-pressure region. The feared violent implosion of the bubbles under high pressure, leading to noises and cavitation damage, is thereby avoided. This extension of the compression phase must not however lead to squeezing occurring with 100% filling of the cells with compact liquid, i.e. in the low speed range. This would then lead to noises of a different type and to power losses.
In such a pump, squeeze oil can flow off into an outlet passage through an opening from the diminishing displacement cells. If the pump is running at low speed, all the displacement cells in the suction region of the pump are fully filled with operating liquid. Before they can be appreciably diminished, these full displacement cells intersect the opening or openings in the pressure region. During the diminishing of the displacement cells which then occurs, the squeeze oil flows through a connection passage into the outlet passage. If the speed further increases until the occurrence of cavitation in the inlet mouth and the region of the enlarging displacement cells, the flow in the connection passage to the outlet passage slows down and comes to a stop on further increase of the speed, finally even being reversed. This reversed flow of operating liquid from the outlet passage into the diminishing displacement cells remains however small because due to the alternating opening and closing of the opening or openings by the teethepassing thereover, becoming increasingly fast with increasing speed, the operating liquid column in the connecting passage must be continuously retarded to zero and accelerated again and this leads to a very high apparent flow resistance in said passage at high speed of the pump. The thus remaining weak liquid flow from the outlet passage into the diminishing displacement cells containing cavitation bubbles is too small to allow these cavitation bubbles to collapse abruptly on the path from the start of the displacement cell diminishing up to the mouth of the outlet passage and consequently the slow pressure rise avoiding the feared cavitation damage and cavitation noises is retained.
At low speed of the pump the apparent resistance generated by the continuous acceleration and retardation of the liquid column in the connecting passage no longer plays any part because here the processes take place correspondingly more slowly. The squeeze oil can flow off through the opening(s) and the connecting passage. The transition from one state to the other in the connecting passage is a gradual one.
Each opening is covered completely, or at least to a major extent, each time a tooth passes thereover.
The connecting passage preferably leads via the outlet mouth into the outlet passage.
According to a preferred embodiment, the opening is kept small in comparison with the mouth of the outlet passage and the cross-section of the connecting passage is kept small in comparison with that of the outlet passage. The smaller the opening and the cross-section of the connecting passage, the greater the hydraulic apparent resistance will be. The ratio of the size of the opening to that of the mouth of the outlet passage and of the cross-section of the connecting passage to that of the outlet passage may for example be 5% or 10%. To retain the dependence of the flow apparent resistance on the speed of the pump utilized in the invention, a certain length of the connecting passage is of course also required. This is however obtained automatically because the opening must of course have a certain distance from the outlet passage mouth. Generally, it may be stated that the length of the connecting passage should be a multiple of the characteristic length of its cross-section.
The magnitude of the apparent resistance may also be influenced by the arrangement of the opening in the radial direction. The closer the opening lies to the foot circle of the gear, the greater the period of time in which the opening is covered by teeth compared with the period of time in which the opening lies opposite teeth gaps, i.e. is open towards displacement cells.
It is therefore preferred for the opening to be formed as a groove in the end wall of the gear chamber extending in the peripheral direction near the foot circle of the toothing of the pinion, or rather ring gear. The formation in the region of the foot or root circle of the ring gear is preferred because more room is available here for the provision of the opening and the connecting passage. By forming the opening as a groove extending in the peripheral direction in an end wall of the gear chamber, the opening can be easily dimensioned as desired with regard to the impedance effect.
The extent of the opening in the radial direction is preferably one fifth to one third of the height of the teeth passing thereover.
The connecting passage can for example open directly into the outlet passage and be cast as tubular passage into the wall of the pump housing. It is however preferred for the connecting passage to be formed as a groove in the wall of the gear chamber covered by the body of the gear carrying the teeth passing thereover. Said groove is advantageously located in the end wall of the .gear chamber and not in the peripheral wall. The latter would be more complicated in the mechanical formation of the groove.
If the mean tooth number of the pump is small, i.e. if only one or two displacement cells not open towards the mouth are always located in the region of diminishing displacement cells in front of the mouth, then no more than one opening will be required. With a relatively large tooth number with which the number of diminishing displacement cells in front of the mouth of the outlet passage is relatively high, it is advisable to provide several openings offset in the peripheral direction since to enable the opening to serve an adequate number of cells said opening would otherwise have to be so long that the apparent resistance would in turn become too small because an at least approximately complete covering of the opening would no longer be possible.
Generally, it can be stated that the number of openings is preferably at the most one smaller than the maximum number of closed displacement cells between the starting point of the displacement cell diminishing and the start of the pressure mouth.
If several openings are provided, they may advantageously be arranged in series in the peripheral direction and have a spacing in said direction of about 1/2 of the tooth pitch. This does not refer to the spacing of the opening centres but in each case to the spacing of the opposing opening edges from each other.
Basically, each opening, the number of which will in any case not be large in practice in pumps for motor vehicle engines and transmissions, maybe connected via a separate connecting passage to the outlet passage. Preferably, however, the openings are connected via a common connecting passage to the outlet passage.
In a preferred embodiment of the internal gear pump with the teeth number difference 1, the spacing of the opening from the mouth of the outlet passage in the peripheral direction is substantially equal to half the spacing between the end of the mouth of the inlet passage and the end of the mouth of the outlet passage.
If the teeth number difference is greater than 1, i.e. the pump has a filling piece in a space between a head circle of the ring gear and a head circle of the pinion opposite the point of deepest tooth engagement, the spacing of the opening from the pressure side end of the filling piece measured in the conveying direction is preferably substantially equal to zero.
A preferred embodiment of the internal gear pump according to the invention comprises a suction control with a fixed or variable throttle provided in the inlet passage. The advantages described above of a suction control can therefore be integrated in this manner into the internal gear pump according to the invention.
Preferably, the extent of the openings in the peripheral direction is substantially equal to the thickness of the teeth passing thereover at the radial height of the opening. This ensures at low speed adequate squeeze oil flow and at high speed adequately high throttling.
The arrangement of the opening in the peripheral direction is also of significance. Preferably, the distance of the opening from the mouth of the outlet passage in the peripheral direction is substantially equal to the tooth pitch.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Hereinafter the invention will be explained in detail with reference to two preferred embodiments illustrated as examples in the drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a delivery stream/speed diagram for a gear pump;
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the end wall, formed as housing, of the gear chamber of an internal gear pump;
FIG. 3 illustrates schematically a gerotor pump according to the invention in which the housing cover is removed and for greater clarity the gears are only partly shown;
FIG. 4 is a diagram similar to FIG. 3 showing a further embodiment of a pump according to the invention in which the pinion has two teeth less than the ring gear and is therefore provided with a filling piece;
FIG. 5 illustrates the delivery flow QH as a function of the speed n for a pump according to the invention;
FIG. 6 shows the leakage oil flow QL in the connecting passage as a function of the speed n for such a pump;
FIG. 7 shows the suction pressure PS in the inlet mouth as a function of the speed n for such a pump; and
FIG. 8 shows the intermediate pressure PI and the pressure difference PI-PH as a function of the speed n for such a pump.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In FIG. 2 the end wall of the cylindrical gear chamber is shown constructed as housing. On the right side of FIG. 2 there is the kidney-shaped inlet mouth 11 formed as a trough in the cover; the flow direction in the inlet mouth 11 is indicated by an arrow. On the left side of the housing shown in FIG. 2, denoted by the reference numeral 20, is the outlet mouth or kidney 20 likewise formed as trough in the housing wall. Beneath the mouth 20, the connecting passage 33 formed there is indicated and the opening 30 thereof at its end opposite the flow direction.
The pump illustrated schematically in FIG. 3 comprises a pump housing 1 from which the cover is removed so that the cylindrical gear chamber 2 is open and can be seen; in said chamber a ring gear 3 is mounted with its periphery on a peripheral wall 8 of the gear chamber 2. Also located in the gear chamber 2 is a pinion 4 which is carried by a drive shaft 10 of the pump. In this respect other mountings are also possible. The pinion has ten teeth and the ring gear 2 has eleven teeth. The toothing is of the type in which all the teeth of the pinion 4 are in permanent engagement with the toothing of the ring gear 3. As a result, all the displacement cells 13 and 17 formed by the teeth gaps of pinion and ring gear are permanently adequately sealed with respect to adjacent displacement cells. The direction of rotation of the pump is clockwise, as indicated by the arrow on the shaft 10.
The toothing of the gears is a pure cycloid toothing. In the latter the teeth heads and teeth gaps both of the ring gear and of the pinion have the profile of cycloids which are formed by the rolling of small roll circles, the periphery of each of which is equal to half the tooth pitch, along the reference circle of the respective gear. The teeth heads of the pinion and the teeth gaps of the ring gear each have the form of epicycloids whilst the teeth gaps of the pinion and the teeth heads of the ring gear each have the form of hypocycloids. The diameters of the roll circles forming the epicycloids are equal to the diameter of the roll circles forming the hypocycloids. Such a toothing is described in detail in DE-OS 3,938,346.
In the end wall 22 of the gear chamber 2 lying behind the plane of the drawing in FIG. 3 an intake opening 11 is provided which in FIG. 3 is partially covered by the gears 3 and 4 shown broken away. The tooth contour of the two gears is illustrated in FIG. 1 in dot-dash line over the remaining periphery. The centre of the ring gear 3 is indicated at 5 and the centre of the pinion 4 at 6.
The point of deepest tooth engagement is indicated at 7; the point 23 of the tooth apex contact is diametrically opposite the point 7.
In the right half of the Figure, in the end wall 22 of the gear chamber 2 facing the observer, the mouth 11 of the supply passage 12 can be seen in said end wall as depression, an orifice 14 serving for suction control being inserted into said passage 12. The mouth 11 is also referred to as suction kidney. It extends in the peripheral direction from a point near the point 7 of deepest tooth engagement up to close to the point 23 of apex contact.
In the left figure half of FIG. 3 the mouth 20 of the outlet passage 21 is located and is likewise formed as depression in the visible end wall 22 of the gear chamber 2. As can be seen, the outlet mouth or kidney 20 is substantially smaller than the inlet mouth 11. Whereas the end of the outlet mouth 20 lying in the direction of rotation has substantially the same spacing from the point 7 of deepest tooth engagement as the inlet mouth 11, the end of the outlet mouth 20 lying opposite the direction of rotation is spaced from the point 7 of deepest tooth engagement a distance of only about 80°.
As described so far within the framework of the example of embodiment the construction of the pump housing is known.
In FIG. 3, on the path from the point 23 of the tooth apex contact up to the start of the outlet mouth 20 three displacement cells 17, 17.1 and 17.2 surrounded by dot-dash lines can be seen, which convey liquid migrating in the clockwise sense from the inlet mouth 11 to the outlet mouth 20. In the path of the displacement cells, close to the tooth foot circle of the ring gear 3, corresponding to the relatively large tooth number, in the end wall 22 of the gear chamber 2 two openings 30 and 31 are provided which extend in the peripheral direction in said end wall. The openings 30 and 31 extend close to the foot circle of the toothing of the ring gear 3 within said foot circle. Each of the two openings 30 and 31 is connected via a short radially outwardly extending passage piece to the connecting passage 33 extending in peripheral direction and connected to the mouth 20 of the outlet passage. The radial passage portions, the openings 30, 31 and the connecting passage 33 are formed as grooves in the end wall 22 of the gear chamber 2. They may for example have a rectangular cross-section with rounded corners, the depth being about equal to the width of the groove indicated. The connecting passage 33 is continuously covered by the annular portion of the ring gear 3 bearing the teeth.
Since shortly after leaving the point 23 of the tooth apex contact the displacement cells are still gradually diminishing, the end of the first opening 30 facing said point may have a relatively large angular distance in the peripheral direction from said point, said distance here being substantially equal to two-thirds of the tooth pitch of the ring gear passing over said opening, measured in angular units. Compared therewith, the end of the opening 31 lying in the conveying direction is substantially further remote from the opposing end of the outlet opening 20, that is slightly more than one tooth pitch, so that whenever a displacement cell looses contact with the opening 31 it immediately starts to open into the outlet opening 20. The spacing of the opposing ends of the two openings 30 and 31 is so large that the two openings 30 and 31 are never connected by a displacement cell; it may however also be somewhat larger if the openings are narrow.
When designing the openings 30 and 31 account is also to be taken of the radial position of said openings. Thus, to obtain equal opening and closing times the extent of the openings 30, 31 in the peripheral direction must be the smaller the greater the distance of the opening from the tooth foot circle of the ring gear 3. To indicate this, the opening 30 is shown lying radially somewhat further inwardly than the opening 31, being however then also somewhat shorter than the latter. The two openings are relatively short in the example shown. In many cases it will also be possible to make them somewhat longer.
In operation of the ring gear pump according to FIG. 3 at low speed the squeeze oil flow QL through the passage 33 corresponds to the displacement volume of the displacement cells 17, 17.1 and 17.2. Now, with increasing speed the flow resistance to the flow through the passage 33 also increases because the opening times for the openings 30 and 31 become increasingly shorter. Accordingly, the pressure PI in the cells 17, 17.1 and 17.2 increases with a simultaneous drop of the squeeze oil flow QL through the conduit 33. These conditions however apply only up to the speed at which no cavitation takes place in the intake mouth 11, i.e. in the displacement cells 13. In the cavitation range at higher speed, where the delivery line (FIG. 5) has accordingly passed from the linearly rising curve to an approximately horizontal line, the pressures PI in the displacement cells drop to close to atmospheric pressure. Since the intake pressure is kept constant with the speed, the QL curve now passes through the zero point and even becomes slightly negative. This means that oil flows to a slight extent from the outlet opening 20 through the connecting passage 33 back into the displacement cells 17, 17.1 and 17.2. At very high speed, which is not employed in practice, the negative leakage oil flow QL from the outlet opening 20 to the openings 30 and 31 would again approach the zero line due to the increase in the apparent flow resistance (FIG. 6).
FIG. 7 shows the corresponding suction pressure PS in the inlet mouth as a function of the speed whilst FIG. 8 represents the intermediate pressure PI and the pressure difference PI-PH as a function of the speed n for such a pump.
Many modifications of the examples shown are possible. Thus, for example, the openings 30, 31 and the passage may be formed by a single serpentine-like groove which extends (clockwise) in FIG. 3 from the right end of the opening 30 to the left end thereof, then horizontally to the left into the passage 33 and follows the latter until it extends substantially perpendicularly upwardly to the lower end of the opening 31, follows the latter up to the upper end and from the latter end finally again leads to the left into the passage 33 which it follows up to the opening 20. Also, for example, the openings 30, 31 may be made to extend spirally or circularly.
Like the pump according to FIG. 3, the pump shown in FIG. 4 has a housing 41 in which a ring gear 43 is mounted which meshes with a pinion 44. An intake 52 in which an orifice 54 is provided for suction control feeds an intake mouth 51 whilst an outlet mouth 60 is connected to an outlet passage 61. However, in contrast to the pump according to FIG. 3 the pinion 44 here has two teeth less than the ring gear 43 so that opposite the point of deepest tooth engagement, i.e. at the bottom in FIG. 4, a filling piece must be arranged in order to provide the necessary sealing there. As apparent from the foregoing, in this case as well the direction of rotation of the pump is clockwise.
As apparent from the drawings, the filling piece 60 is shortened at both ends because an excessively thin tapering of the already narrow filling piece would lead to undesirable fluttering. The ends of the filling piece are cut off so that in each case one tooth of the pinion and one tooth of the ring gear come simultaneously into and out of engagement with the filling piece.
The toothing is so constructed that the teeth come out of engagement and into engagement with each other just before the start of the filling piece and just after the end of the filling piece respectively. This means that the points of disengagement and engagement of the toothing lie close to the intersection points of the head circles of the two gears. Before and after these intersection points, i.e. in FIG. 4 roughly stated within the two upper thirds of the orbital path of the gears, each tooth of the pinion is permanently in engagement with the toothing of the ring gear. Now, according to the invention here as well two openings 70 and 71 are provided in the region between the end of the filling piece 60 lying in the delivery direction and the end of the outlet mouth 60 lying opposite the delivery direction. The two openings 70 and 71 are connected via the connecting passage 73 to the mouth 60 of the outlet passage 61. As regards the function and mode of operation of this construction, essentially the same applies as to the pump according to FIG. 3. The only difference is that here the region of the diminishing displacement cells to be relieved through the openings 70 and 71 at low speed of the pump extends only between the left end of the filling piece 60 in FIG. 4 and the lower end of the outlet mouth 62.
Otherwise, the application of the principle of the invention is the same as with the pump according to FIG. 3. | In an internal gear pump, which can also be constructed as pump with suction control, to reduce the undesired cavitation effects in the pressure region and to permit the oil to flow off from the diminishing displacement cells between the teeth of the gears, and impedance-controlled overflow passage is provided, the openings of which towards the moving displacement cells are alternately opened and closed by the teeth of at least one of the gears. | Condense the core contents of the given document. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention The invention relates to an internal gear pump which may be constructed both as ring gear pump and as filling piece pump.",
"Description of the Prior Art Such internal gear pumps must pass through a very wide speed range.",
"They should have good volumetric efficiency at low speed and must therefore be made with narrow leak gaps.",
"At the same time, however, at high speeds they should, as far as possible, not cause any cavitation noises due to vapour and air bubble cavitation on passage of the pumping medium from the suction side to the pressure side of the pump.",
"These gear pumps are preferably employed as lubricating, delivery and shift or control pumps in internal-combustion engines and automatic transmissions in which in particular cavitation noises are found to be very annoying.",
"As a rule these gear pumps have a critical speed of rotation above which the delivery line deviates from the linear path and becomes increasingly flatter.",
"The diagram according to the attached FIG. 1 shows the delivery stream QH (ordinate) as a function of the speed n (abscissa) and the deviation of the delivery line from the linear region from a critical speed n krit .",
"The delivery line then becomes increasingly flatter.",
"From the critical speed n krit onwards, the filling degree therefore becomes smaller than 1 and consequently there is a delivery medium shortage in the teeth chambers compared with the geometric delivery volume.",
"The shortage space is partially filled with vapour of the delivery medium, partially with air separated from the medium and partially with "false air"",
"sucked in through leakage points.",
"This critical speed is fundamentally defined by a critical peripheral speed in the toothing region at which in accordance with Bernoulli's Law the static pressure in the liquid is increasingly absorbed by the velocity pressure (dynamic pressure).",
"If the static pressure drops below the vapour pressure of the liquid, bubbles are formed which are subjected to the reduced static pressure and do not condense again until the static pressure of the bubble has risen above the vapour pressure.",
"It is remarkable that the critical speed of the gear pumps being considered here is almost independent of the viscosity of the medium.",
"Normally, it would be expected that the critical speed would be substantially lower in the case of a very viscous medium than in the case of a thinly liquid medium.",
"This is however not the case.",
"A plausible explanation of this phenomenon is seen in that the dynamic pressure is linearly dependent only on the specific mass and is dependent upon the square of the velocity.",
"Consequently, in similar pumps having about the same peripheral velocity the critical speed is also fairly exactly at the same point irrespective of the viscosity and the design of the pump (i.e. whether with or without filling piece).",
"In practically no case has it proved possible to influence substantially the critical speed above which the pumps become appreciably louder by modifying the tooth flank forms or the inlet passage in the housing or by other constructional steps.",
"In a particularly simple design of such a pump the pinion has only one tooth less than the ring gear, i.e. the pump is a so-called gerotor pump in which each tooth of the pinion permanently cooperates in sealing manner with the toothing of the ring gear.",
"In this case, fundamentally any form of toothing may be employed which is suitable for a gerotor pump and ensures adequate sealing between the teeth of the pinion and ring gear even in the pressure region of the pump.",
"Particularly suitable for such a gerotor pump is a pure cycloid toothing in which the teeth heads and gaps of the gears have the profile of cycloids which are formed by rolling of roll circles on fixed circles extending concentrically to the respective gear axes, the teeth heads of the pinion and the teeth gaps of the ring gear each having the form of epicycloids which are formed by rolling of a first roll circle, the teeth gaps of the pinion and the teeth heads of the ring gear each having the form of hypocycloids which are formed by rolling of a second roll circle, and the sum of the circumferences of the two roll circles being equal in each case to the tooth pitch of the gears on the fixed tooth circles thereof.",
"Examples of such toothings are described in German published specification 39 38 346.6 and German patent application P 42 00 883.2-15.",
"However, the difference between the teeth numbers of the pinion and ring gear may also be greater than 1.",
"It should however not be large in order to ensure that a relatively small average teeth number is sufficient and consequently large displacement cells are retained.",
"It is therefore preferred for the teeth number difference not to be greater than three.",
"If the teeth number difference is greater than one, in the region opposite the point of deepest tooth engagement usually a filling piece must be provided which fills at least the peripherally centre portion of the free space between the head circles of the two gears and thus ensures the necessary sealing there.",
"This type of pump is distinguished by particularly good running quietness.",
"Such pumps are suitable for example for feeding hydraulic systems.",
"In particular, such pumps are used however as oil or hydraulic pumps for motor vehicle engines and/or transmissions.",
"Motor vehicle engines and transmissions are operated in a wide speed range.",
"The speed basic values may be in the ratio of 12:1 or more.",
"The desired delivery of the lubricating pump of an internal-combustion engine, which in automatic transmissions must additionally perform the function of supplying pressure to the hydraulic shift elements and the converter filling for protection against cavitation, both in the case of the engine and in the case of the transmission, is proportional to the speed only in the lower third of the operating range.",
"In the upper speed range the oil requirement increases far less than the speed of the engine.",
"It is therefore desirable to have a drive-regulated lubricating or hydraulic pump or one having a displacement adjustable in dependence upon the speed.",
"The most common form of a hydraulic, oil and/or lubricating pump is the gear pump because it is simple, cheap and reliable.",
"A disadvantage is that the theoretical delivery per revolution is constant, i.e. proportional to the speed.",
"Hitherto, the only practicable way of avoiding the unnecessary pump performance from a certain pump speed onwards with low losses was to control the suction.",
"Since the flow resistances increase overproportionally with increasing liquid velocity, with a throttle in the suction conduit with increasing speed the static pressure increasingly drops in the intake opening of the gear chamber until the so-called cavitation pressure threshold is reached, i.e. until the pressure drops below the vapour pressure of the oil.",
"The displacement cell content then consists partly of liquid oil, partly of oil vapour, and partly of inspired air and is subjected to a static pressure lying appreciably beneath the atmospheric pressure.",
"It is a simple matter, for example by correspondingly narrow suction conduits or by an orifice or alternatively in controllable manner by a suction slide valve to define or control the flow resistances in the suction conduit in such a manner that extensive adaptation of the useful displacement of the gear pump to the requirement line of the consumption is achieved.",
"A disadvantage with this control is once again the cavitation which occurs.",
"For if the cell content consisting of liquid and gas subjected to a low absolute pressure is suddenly transferred to zones of higher pressure, as is inherent in the system of such pumps, the gaseous constituents of the cell content implode so violently that undesired noises, and even worse destruction of the cell walls, are the result.",
"To avoid these implosions, by shortening the outlet mouth in the region of the diminishing displacement cells the cell content is given enough time by gradual compression to increase the static pressure by an adequate extent so that when a cell comes into communication with the outlet passage no implosions of gas bubbles can take place therein because due to gradual reduction of the cell volume said gas bubbles have already condensed to liquid again or have dissolved in the liquid.",
"The diminishing displacement cells must be sealed so well with respect to each other here that the expulsion pressure through the gap between the two teeth separating two consecutive displacement cells from each other cannot propagate itself to any appreciable extent against the displacement direction.",
"The prevention of extremely high squeeze oil pressures at low speed is ensured constructionally in that on the displacement side of the pump the cells come into communication with the displacement pressure space so that if the cell is not filled completely with liquid the displacement pressure cannot become active therein.",
"If however the cells are already completely filled with liquid on the suction side, which is the case in the lower speed range, the higher squeeze pressure in the cell opens the check valve in the direction towards the pressure displacement space so that the displaced oil can flow into the pressure space with only a slightly increased cell pressure compared with the displacement pressure, corresponding to the opening pressure of the check valve and the flow resistance thereof.",
"Such a construction is known from DE-PS 3,005,657.",
"In the latter axial bores leading to the outlet passage extend over the entire pressure half of the pump in the housing and contain check valves which are spaced from the gear chamber and which open only when the pressure of the cell lying in front of the respective bore exceeds the pressure in the outlet passage.",
"This pump has a correspondingly large axial extent.",
"The spring valve used can break.",
"Also, the inconstant connection of the displacement cells to the outlet passage is disadvantageous.",
"Finally, the pressure distribution in the pump is disadvantageous as regards avoiding cavitation-induced implosions and the pump is loud in operation.",
"Considerably more advantageous is the gerotor pump known from German patent 3,933,978 in which the problem of the squeeze oil removal in the diminishing displacement cells at low speed with cavitation-free operation is solved in that in the teeth of at least one gear passages connecting displacement cells adjacent the respective tooth are provided in which check valves are located which permit a flow through the respective passage only in the displacement direction.",
"However, this pump is also undesirably loud in operation at higher speeds.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The problem underlying the present invention is to reduce appreciably the noises caused by cavitation in an internal gear pump of the type indicated.",
"This problem is solved by an internal gear pump for a wide speed range comprising a housing containing a gear chamber, a ring gear in the housing, a pinion which has one tooth or only a few teeth less than the ring gear, meshes with the ring gear and is arranged in the latter, the teeth of which form together with the teeth of the ring gear increasing and again diminishing consecutive displacement cells for the working liquid and seal said cells with respect to each other, inlet and outlet passages passing through the housing for the supply and discharge of the operating liquid, which open into the gear chamber on both sides of the point of deepest tooth engagement, said mouths being passed over by the displacement cells, and furthermore the end of the mouth of the outlet passage lying remote from the point of deepest tooth engagement is located so close to the point of deepest tooth engagement that between it and the point at which the displacement cells start to diminish there is always more than one displacement cell, wherein in the region of diminishing displacement cells in the wall of the gear chamber peripherally spaced from the mouth of the outlet passage at least one opening is located over which alternately displacement cells and teeth defining said cells pass, in which the opening is connected via a connecting passage to the outlet passage, and the opening on each passage of a tooth thereover is covered by said tooth completely or at least to a major degree.",
"Expedient embodiments are defined by the features of the subsidiary claims.",
"The advantages obtained with the invention are based on the following mode of operation: the period of time of static pressure increase in the displacement cells is increased in the peripheral direction to an adequate extent to ensure that the pressure gradient dp/dt becomes smaller.",
"As a result, the bubbles have enough time to dissolve again or condense whilst still in the low-pressure region.",
"The feared violent implosion of the bubbles under high pressure, leading to noises and cavitation damage, is thereby avoided.",
"This extension of the compression phase must not however lead to squeezing occurring with 100% filling of the cells with compact liquid, i.e. in the low speed range.",
"This would then lead to noises of a different type and to power losses.",
"In such a pump, squeeze oil can flow off into an outlet passage through an opening from the diminishing displacement cells.",
"If the pump is running at low speed, all the displacement cells in the suction region of the pump are fully filled with operating liquid.",
"Before they can be appreciably diminished, these full displacement cells intersect the opening or openings in the pressure region.",
"During the diminishing of the displacement cells which then occurs, the squeeze oil flows through a connection passage into the outlet passage.",
"If the speed further increases until the occurrence of cavitation in the inlet mouth and the region of the enlarging displacement cells, the flow in the connection passage to the outlet passage slows down and comes to a stop on further increase of the speed, finally even being reversed.",
"This reversed flow of operating liquid from the outlet passage into the diminishing displacement cells remains however small because due to the alternating opening and closing of the opening or openings by the teethepassing thereover, becoming increasingly fast with increasing speed, the operating liquid column in the connecting passage must be continuously retarded to zero and accelerated again and this leads to a very high apparent flow resistance in said passage at high speed of the pump.",
"The thus remaining weak liquid flow from the outlet passage into the diminishing displacement cells containing cavitation bubbles is too small to allow these cavitation bubbles to collapse abruptly on the path from the start of the displacement cell diminishing up to the mouth of the outlet passage and consequently the slow pressure rise avoiding the feared cavitation damage and cavitation noises is retained.",
"At low speed of the pump the apparent resistance generated by the continuous acceleration and retardation of the liquid column in the connecting passage no longer plays any part because here the processes take place correspondingly more slowly.",
"The squeeze oil can flow off through the opening(s) and the connecting passage.",
"The transition from one state to the other in the connecting passage is a gradual one.",
"Each opening is covered completely, or at least to a major extent, each time a tooth passes thereover.",
"The connecting passage preferably leads via the outlet mouth into the outlet passage.",
"According to a preferred embodiment, the opening is kept small in comparison with the mouth of the outlet passage and the cross-section of the connecting passage is kept small in comparison with that of the outlet passage.",
"The smaller the opening and the cross-section of the connecting passage, the greater the hydraulic apparent resistance will be.",
"The ratio of the size of the opening to that of the mouth of the outlet passage and of the cross-section of the connecting passage to that of the outlet passage may for example be 5% or 10%.",
"To retain the dependence of the flow apparent resistance on the speed of the pump utilized in the invention, a certain length of the connecting passage is of course also required.",
"This is however obtained automatically because the opening must of course have a certain distance from the outlet passage mouth.",
"Generally, it may be stated that the length of the connecting passage should be a multiple of the characteristic length of its cross-section.",
"The magnitude of the apparent resistance may also be influenced by the arrangement of the opening in the radial direction.",
"The closer the opening lies to the foot circle of the gear, the greater the period of time in which the opening is covered by teeth compared with the period of time in which the opening lies opposite teeth gaps, i.e. is open towards displacement cells.",
"It is therefore preferred for the opening to be formed as a groove in the end wall of the gear chamber extending in the peripheral direction near the foot circle of the toothing of the pinion, or rather ring gear.",
"The formation in the region of the foot or root circle of the ring gear is preferred because more room is available here for the provision of the opening and the connecting passage.",
"By forming the opening as a groove extending in the peripheral direction in an end wall of the gear chamber, the opening can be easily dimensioned as desired with regard to the impedance effect.",
"The extent of the opening in the radial direction is preferably one fifth to one third of the height of the teeth passing thereover.",
"The connecting passage can for example open directly into the outlet passage and be cast as tubular passage into the wall of the pump housing.",
"It is however preferred for the connecting passage to be formed as a groove in the wall of the gear chamber covered by the body of the gear carrying the teeth passing thereover.",
"Said groove is advantageously located in the end wall of the .",
"gear chamber and not in the peripheral wall.",
"The latter would be more complicated in the mechanical formation of the groove.",
"If the mean tooth number of the pump is small, i.e. if only one or two displacement cells not open towards the mouth are always located in the region of diminishing displacement cells in front of the mouth, then no more than one opening will be required.",
"With a relatively large tooth number with which the number of diminishing displacement cells in front of the mouth of the outlet passage is relatively high, it is advisable to provide several openings offset in the peripheral direction since to enable the opening to serve an adequate number of cells said opening would otherwise have to be so long that the apparent resistance would in turn become too small because an at least approximately complete covering of the opening would no longer be possible.",
"Generally, it can be stated that the number of openings is preferably at the most one smaller than the maximum number of closed displacement cells between the starting point of the displacement cell diminishing and the start of the pressure mouth.",
"If several openings are provided, they may advantageously be arranged in series in the peripheral direction and have a spacing in said direction of about 1/2 of the tooth pitch.",
"This does not refer to the spacing of the opening centres but in each case to the spacing of the opposing opening edges from each other.",
"Basically, each opening, the number of which will in any case not be large in practice in pumps for motor vehicle engines and transmissions, maybe connected via a separate connecting passage to the outlet passage.",
"Preferably, however, the openings are connected via a common connecting passage to the outlet passage.",
"In a preferred embodiment of the internal gear pump with the teeth number difference 1, the spacing of the opening from the mouth of the outlet passage in the peripheral direction is substantially equal to half the spacing between the end of the mouth of the inlet passage and the end of the mouth of the outlet passage.",
"If the teeth number difference is greater than 1, i.e. the pump has a filling piece in a space between a head circle of the ring gear and a head circle of the pinion opposite the point of deepest tooth engagement, the spacing of the opening from the pressure side end of the filling piece measured in the conveying direction is preferably substantially equal to zero.",
"A preferred embodiment of the internal gear pump according to the invention comprises a suction control with a fixed or variable throttle provided in the inlet passage.",
"The advantages described above of a suction control can therefore be integrated in this manner into the internal gear pump according to the invention.",
"Preferably, the extent of the openings in the peripheral direction is substantially equal to the thickness of the teeth passing thereover at the radial height of the opening.",
"This ensures at low speed adequate squeeze oil flow and at high speed adequately high throttling.",
"The arrangement of the opening in the peripheral direction is also of significance.",
"Preferably, the distance of the opening from the mouth of the outlet passage in the peripheral direction is substantially equal to the tooth pitch.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Hereinafter the invention will be explained in detail with reference to two preferred embodiments illustrated as examples in the drawings, wherein: FIG. 1 is a delivery stream/speed diagram for a gear pump;",
"FIG. 2 is a plan view of the end wall, formed as housing, of the gear chamber of an internal gear pump;",
"FIG. 3 illustrates schematically a gerotor pump according to the invention in which the housing cover is removed and for greater clarity the gears are only partly shown;",
"FIG. 4 is a diagram similar to FIG. 3 showing a further embodiment of a pump according to the invention in which the pinion has two teeth less than the ring gear and is therefore provided with a filling piece;",
"FIG. 5 illustrates the delivery flow QH as a function of the speed n for a pump according to the invention;",
"FIG. 6 shows the leakage oil flow QL in the connecting passage as a function of the speed n for such a pump;",
"FIG. 7 shows the suction pressure PS in the inlet mouth as a function of the speed n for such a pump;",
"and FIG. 8 shows the intermediate pressure PI and the pressure difference PI-PH as a function of the speed n for such a pump.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 2 the end wall of the cylindrical gear chamber is shown constructed as housing.",
"On the right side of FIG. 2 there is the kidney-shaped inlet mouth 11 formed as a trough in the cover;",
"the flow direction in the inlet mouth 11 is indicated by an arrow.",
"On the left side of the housing shown in FIG. 2, denoted by the reference numeral 20, is the outlet mouth or kidney 20 likewise formed as trough in the housing wall.",
"Beneath the mouth 20, the connecting passage 33 formed there is indicated and the opening 30 thereof at its end opposite the flow direction.",
"The pump illustrated schematically in FIG. 3 comprises a pump housing 1 from which the cover is removed so that the cylindrical gear chamber 2 is open and can be seen;",
"in said chamber a ring gear 3 is mounted with its periphery on a peripheral wall 8 of the gear chamber 2.",
"Also located in the gear chamber 2 is a pinion 4 which is carried by a drive shaft 10 of the pump.",
"In this respect other mountings are also possible.",
"The pinion has ten teeth and the ring gear 2 has eleven teeth.",
"The toothing is of the type in which all the teeth of the pinion 4 are in permanent engagement with the toothing of the ring gear 3.",
"As a result, all the displacement cells 13 and 17 formed by the teeth gaps of pinion and ring gear are permanently adequately sealed with respect to adjacent displacement cells.",
"The direction of rotation of the pump is clockwise, as indicated by the arrow on the shaft 10.",
"The toothing of the gears is a pure cycloid toothing.",
"In the latter the teeth heads and teeth gaps both of the ring gear and of the pinion have the profile of cycloids which are formed by the rolling of small roll circles, the periphery of each of which is equal to half the tooth pitch, along the reference circle of the respective gear.",
"The teeth heads of the pinion and the teeth gaps of the ring gear each have the form of epicycloids whilst the teeth gaps of the pinion and the teeth heads of the ring gear each have the form of hypocycloids.",
"The diameters of the roll circles forming the epicycloids are equal to the diameter of the roll circles forming the hypocycloids.",
"Such a toothing is described in detail in DE-OS 3,938,346.",
"In the end wall 22 of the gear chamber 2 lying behind the plane of the drawing in FIG. 3 an intake opening 11 is provided which in FIG. 3 is partially covered by the gears 3 and 4 shown broken away.",
"The tooth contour of the two gears is illustrated in FIG. 1 in dot-dash line over the remaining periphery.",
"The centre of the ring gear 3 is indicated at 5 and the centre of the pinion 4 at 6.",
"The point of deepest tooth engagement is indicated at 7;",
"the point 23 of the tooth apex contact is diametrically opposite the point 7.",
"In the right half of the Figure, in the end wall 22 of the gear chamber 2 facing the observer, the mouth 11 of the supply passage 12 can be seen in said end wall as depression, an orifice 14 serving for suction control being inserted into said passage 12.",
"The mouth 11 is also referred to as suction kidney.",
"It extends in the peripheral direction from a point near the point 7 of deepest tooth engagement up to close to the point 23 of apex contact.",
"In the left figure half of FIG. 3 the mouth 20 of the outlet passage 21 is located and is likewise formed as depression in the visible end wall 22 of the gear chamber 2.",
"As can be seen, the outlet mouth or kidney 20 is substantially smaller than the inlet mouth 11.",
"Whereas the end of the outlet mouth 20 lying in the direction of rotation has substantially the same spacing from the point 7 of deepest tooth engagement as the inlet mouth 11, the end of the outlet mouth 20 lying opposite the direction of rotation is spaced from the point 7 of deepest tooth engagement a distance of only about 80°.",
"As described so far within the framework of the example of embodiment the construction of the pump housing is known.",
"In FIG. 3, on the path from the point 23 of the tooth apex contact up to the start of the outlet mouth 20 three displacement cells 17, 17.1 and 17.2 surrounded by dot-dash lines can be seen, which convey liquid migrating in the clockwise sense from the inlet mouth 11 to the outlet mouth 20.",
"In the path of the displacement cells, close to the tooth foot circle of the ring gear 3, corresponding to the relatively large tooth number, in the end wall 22 of the gear chamber 2 two openings 30 and 31 are provided which extend in the peripheral direction in said end wall.",
"The openings 30 and 31 extend close to the foot circle of the toothing of the ring gear 3 within said foot circle.",
"Each of the two openings 30 and 31 is connected via a short radially outwardly extending passage piece to the connecting passage 33 extending in peripheral direction and connected to the mouth 20 of the outlet passage.",
"The radial passage portions, the openings 30, 31 and the connecting passage 33 are formed as grooves in the end wall 22 of the gear chamber 2.",
"They may for example have a rectangular cross-section with rounded corners, the depth being about equal to the width of the groove indicated.",
"The connecting passage 33 is continuously covered by the annular portion of the ring gear 3 bearing the teeth.",
"Since shortly after leaving the point 23 of the tooth apex contact the displacement cells are still gradually diminishing, the end of the first opening 30 facing said point may have a relatively large angular distance in the peripheral direction from said point, said distance here being substantially equal to two-thirds of the tooth pitch of the ring gear passing over said opening, measured in angular units.",
"Compared therewith, the end of the opening 31 lying in the conveying direction is substantially further remote from the opposing end of the outlet opening 20, that is slightly more than one tooth pitch, so that whenever a displacement cell looses contact with the opening 31 it immediately starts to open into the outlet opening 20.",
"The spacing of the opposing ends of the two openings 30 and 31 is so large that the two openings 30 and 31 are never connected by a displacement cell;",
"it may however also be somewhat larger if the openings are narrow.",
"When designing the openings 30 and 31 account is also to be taken of the radial position of said openings.",
"Thus, to obtain equal opening and closing times the extent of the openings 30, 31 in the peripheral direction must be the smaller the greater the distance of the opening from the tooth foot circle of the ring gear 3.",
"To indicate this, the opening 30 is shown lying radially somewhat further inwardly than the opening 31, being however then also somewhat shorter than the latter.",
"The two openings are relatively short in the example shown.",
"In many cases it will also be possible to make them somewhat longer.",
"In operation of the ring gear pump according to FIG. 3 at low speed the squeeze oil flow QL through the passage 33 corresponds to the displacement volume of the displacement cells 17, 17.1 and 17.2.",
"Now, with increasing speed the flow resistance to the flow through the passage 33 also increases because the opening times for the openings 30 and 31 become increasingly shorter.",
"Accordingly, the pressure PI in the cells 17, 17.1 and 17.2 increases with a simultaneous drop of the squeeze oil flow QL through the conduit 33.",
"These conditions however apply only up to the speed at which no cavitation takes place in the intake mouth 11, i.e. in the displacement cells 13.",
"In the cavitation range at higher speed, where the delivery line (FIG.",
"5) has accordingly passed from the linearly rising curve to an approximately horizontal line, the pressures PI in the displacement cells drop to close to atmospheric pressure.",
"Since the intake pressure is kept constant with the speed, the QL curve now passes through the zero point and even becomes slightly negative.",
"This means that oil flows to a slight extent from the outlet opening 20 through the connecting passage 33 back into the displacement cells 17, 17.1 and 17.2.",
"At very high speed, which is not employed in practice, the negative leakage oil flow QL from the outlet opening 20 to the openings 30 and 31 would again approach the zero line due to the increase in the apparent flow resistance (FIG.",
"6).",
"FIG. 7 shows the corresponding suction pressure PS in the inlet mouth as a function of the speed whilst FIG. 8 represents the intermediate pressure PI and the pressure difference PI-PH as a function of the speed n for such a pump.",
"Many modifications of the examples shown are possible.",
"Thus, for example, the openings 30, 31 and the passage may be formed by a single serpentine-like groove which extends (clockwise) in FIG. 3 from the right end of the opening 30 to the left end thereof, then horizontally to the left into the passage 33 and follows the latter until it extends substantially perpendicularly upwardly to the lower end of the opening 31, follows the latter up to the upper end and from the latter end finally again leads to the left into the passage 33 which it follows up to the opening 20.",
"Also, for example, the openings 30, 31 may be made to extend spirally or circularly.",
"Like the pump according to FIG. 3, the pump shown in FIG. 4 has a housing 41 in which a ring gear 43 is mounted which meshes with a pinion 44.",
"An intake 52 in which an orifice 54 is provided for suction control feeds an intake mouth 51 whilst an outlet mouth 60 is connected to an outlet passage 61.",
"However, in contrast to the pump according to FIG. 3 the pinion 44 here has two teeth less than the ring gear 43 so that opposite the point of deepest tooth engagement, i.e. at the bottom in FIG. 4, a filling piece must be arranged in order to provide the necessary sealing there.",
"As apparent from the foregoing, in this case as well the direction of rotation of the pump is clockwise.",
"As apparent from the drawings, the filling piece 60 is shortened at both ends because an excessively thin tapering of the already narrow filling piece would lead to undesirable fluttering.",
"The ends of the filling piece are cut off so that in each case one tooth of the pinion and one tooth of the ring gear come simultaneously into and out of engagement with the filling piece.",
"The toothing is so constructed that the teeth come out of engagement and into engagement with each other just before the start of the filling piece and just after the end of the filling piece respectively.",
"This means that the points of disengagement and engagement of the toothing lie close to the intersection points of the head circles of the two gears.",
"Before and after these intersection points, i.e. in FIG. 4 roughly stated within the two upper thirds of the orbital path of the gears, each tooth of the pinion is permanently in engagement with the toothing of the ring gear.",
"Now, according to the invention here as well two openings 70 and 71 are provided in the region between the end of the filling piece 60 lying in the delivery direction and the end of the outlet mouth 60 lying opposite the delivery direction.",
"The two openings 70 and 71 are connected via the connecting passage 73 to the mouth 60 of the outlet passage 61.",
"As regards the function and mode of operation of this construction, essentially the same applies as to the pump according to FIG. 3. The only difference is that here the region of the diminishing displacement cells to be relieved through the openings 70 and 71 at low speed of the pump extends only between the left end of the filling piece 60 in FIG. 4 and the lower end of the outlet mouth 62.",
"Otherwise, the application of the principle of the invention is the same as with the pump according to FIG. 3."
] |
This invention relates generally to a hair pin for securely mounting an ornamental decoration to a hairstyle characterized by an inverted ponytail. More particularly, this invention relates to a multiple prong hair pin with a stop means for positively engaging a hair-binding element, such as a rubber band, to thereby securely mount the hair pin and decorative ornamentation in place on the user's head.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The hair styling tool used in connection with the hair pin of the present invention is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,870. The hair styling tool of U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,870 has achieved commercial success because it allows a user to create an attractive hairstyle in a minimum amount of time and it eliminates the need for expensive professional hairstyling. Specifically, the user forms a ponytail and binds the ponytail with a hair-binding element, such as an elastic or rubber band. Then, with a few easy motions and the assistance of the hair styling tool, the user can easily invert the ponytail to create an attractive and stable hairstyle. The hairstyle is self-holding and requires little or no hair spray or other hair-holding applications.
The hair styling tool and hairstyle disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,870 has become popular because the resulting hairstyle is attractive, fast and easy. People from all walks of life enjoy the hairstyle because it takes little or no time to prepare and the hairstyle maintains its position for an extended period of time. People with straight hair find that the hairstyle provided by the hair styling tool takes less time to prepare on a daily basis than many permed hairdos. Further, many people are finding that the inverted ponytail hairstyle and the hair styling tool obviate the need for permanents which can be very expensive. The inverted ponytail hairstyle disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,870 has become known as a TOPSYTAIL hairstyle.
One problem not addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,870 is how to adorn a TOPSYTAIL hairstyle with an ornamental hair pin that will maintain its position for as long as the inverted ponytail hairstyle. Specifically, only hair pins shaped like combs, barrettes or hair pins with a spring biased pin mechanism are provided in the prior art. No hair pin taught by the prior art provides a means for securely affixing the hair pin to the hair binding element, or elastic band, used to create the original ponytail of the hairstyle discussed above. The present invention addresses this problem and provides a hair pin that securely affixes to the elastic band used to create the original ponytail of a TOPSYTAIL hairstyle and thereby provides the user with an opportunity to further adorn this attractive hairstyle with an ornamental hair pin that will stay in place as long as a TOPSYTAIL hairstyle or other hairstyle employing an elastic band or other hair binding element.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention makes a significant contribution to the art of hair styling by providing a hair pin that securely fastens to the hair binding element used to make a ponytail. Specifically, the present invention provides a hair pin that securely attaches to a hair binding element used to make an inverted ponytail, or a TOPSYTAIL hairstyle.
The hair pin includes at least one front prong and at least one rear prong, with the upper ends of each prong being attached to a platform. The preferred embodiment includes two rear prongs and a single front prong. The platform connects the upper ends of all the prongs and slants upward and backward, toward the user's head, at an angle from about 0° to about 30° from the vertical.
The rear prongs are disposed adjacent to the head of the user and the front prongs are disposed outward from the head. The hair binding element, or elastic band, is accommodated between the front and rear prongs. At least one prong also includes a stop means for lockingly engaging the hair binding element. The preferred stop means for lockingly engaging the hair binding element includes at least two inwardly extending tabs on the front prong. The tabs are separated by a space or a section. The hair binding element is engaged within this section so that the hair binding element is accommodated between the front and rear prongs and the hair binding element is also engaged between the two tabs on the front prong when the hair pin is in place. This positioning of the hair binding element securely attaches the hair pin to a TOPSYTAIL hairstyle and no adjustments are required to the hair pin for an extended period of time.
Alternatively, the hair binding element may be accommodated between the front and rear prongs and as well as between one tab and the platform, depending upon the hair thickness and desired elevation of the hair pin. Further, a third tab may be added for additional height adjustment. Thus, the hair binding element may be engaged between two tabs or between a tab and the platform as well as the front and rear prongs.
Thus, the hair pin of the present invention and the hair styling tool disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,870 provide a system for creating an attractive hairstyle and adorning the hairstyle with a hair pin that maintains its position for an extended period of time. The hair styling tool of the system includes an elongated probe with a lower end for insertion into the ponytail between the hair binding element and the head. The upper end of the probe is attached to a loop. The end of the ponytail is inserted through the loop and then the user pulls on the lower end of the probe thereby pulling the loop and distal end of the ponytail through the ponytail to create an inverted ponytail, or a TOPSYTAIL hairstyle. Preferably, the loop is formed of flexibly resilient material so that it passes through the upper portion of the ponytail easily.
After the ponytail is inverted, or a TOPSYTAIL hairstyle is created, a portion of the hair binding element, or elastic band, is disposed between the user's head and the inverted ponytail. The rear prongs of the hair pin are inserted between this portion of the hair binding element and the user's head. The front prong of the hair pin is inserted between the hair binding element and the inverted ponytail. The hair pin is inserted downward far enough so that the hair binding element is further engaged between two inwardly protruding tabs of the front prong. Thus the hair binding element is accommodated between the front and rear prongs and further engaged between the upper and lower tabs of the front prong.
It will be noted that the stop means for engaging the hair binding element (or two tabs or one tab and the platform) may also be disposed on one or more rear prongs and the invention is not limited to placement of the stop means on one or more front prongs.
The present invention also includes a method of inverting a ponytail and affixing a decorative hair pin to the ponytail. First, the ponytail is created by binding the user's hair with a hair binding element. The lower end of the probe of the hair styling tool is inserted in the ponytail between the user's head and the hair binding element. The distal end of the ponytail is inserted through the loop in a direction toward the user's head. The lower end of the probe is pulled in a downward direction and the loop and ponytail are passed through the portion of the ponytail where the lower end of the probe was inserted. The user pulls the lower end of the probe, or the entire hair styling tool, far enough downward so that the ponytail becomes disengaged from the loop. An inverted ponytail, or a TOPSYTAIL hairstyle, has been created.
Then, the hair pin of the present invention is attached to the portion of the hair binding element disposed between the inverted ponytail and the user's head. The rear prongs are inserted between the head and the hair binding element and the front prong is inserted between the hair binding element and the inverted ponytail. The hair pin is pushed downward far enough so that the hair binding element becomes engaged between the two inwardly protruding tabs of the front prong. The hair binding element is disposed between the front and rear prongs and between the upper and lower tabs of the front prong to create a stable configuration for the hair binding element. A decoration or ornamental object is attached to the platform of the hair pin and is clearly visible and facing outward from the back of the user's head.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a multiple prong hair pin for securely attaching to a hair binding element or an elastic band used in hair styling.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved system for creating an inverted ponytail and securely attaching a decorative hair pin thereto.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved method for creating an inverted ponytail and adorning the inverted ponytail with a decorative hair pin.
Yet another object of the present invention is to eliminate the need for expensive professional hairstyling services for people whose hair is amenable to an inverted ponytail hairstyles.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
This invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a left front perspective view of the hair styling tool made in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a left front perspective view of the hair pin made in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a left rear perspective view of the hair pin shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along Line 4--4 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of an ornamental article or decorative item to be affixed to the hair pin shown in FIG. 2;
FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 illustrate the use of the hair styling tool shown in FIG. 1 to invert a hair tail, or a ponytail to create an inverted ponytail hairstyle;
FIG. 9 is an illustration of the hair pin shown in FIG. 2, adorned with the ornamental article shown in FIG. 5, as attached to the hairstyle shown in FIG. 8; and
FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken substantially along Line 10--10 of FIG. 9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Like reference numerals will be used to refer to like or similar parts from Figure to Figure in the following description of the drawings.
The dramatic improvement contributed by the present invention is best understood after consideration of the hair styling tool 10 shown in FIG. 1 and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,870. The hair styling tool 10 includes a probe 11 with a lower end 12 and an upper end 13. The lower end 12, as will be seen below, is inserted into the hair in the first step in creating the inverted ponytail (see FIG. 6). A loop 14 is attached to the upper end 13 of the probe 11. The loop 14 accommodates the distal end 15 of the ponytail 16 when creating the inverted ponytail hairstyle 17 shown in FIG. 8.
FIG. 2 is an illustration of the preferred embodiment of the hair pin 20 of the present invention. The hair pin 20 preferably includes three prongs, specifically a left rear prong 21, a right rear prong 22 and a front prong 23. All three prongs include upper ends 24, 25 and 26 which are attached to the platform 27. The lower ends 28, 29 and 30 of the prongs 21, 23 and 22 extend downwardly into the hair as will be seen below. The inwardly protruding tabs 33 and 34 of the front prong 23 provide locking engagement of the hair binding element 35 or the stop means for engaging the hair binding element 35 (see FIG. 10). The platform 27 provides support for the decorative article 40 shown in FIG. 5.
FIG. 3 illustrates the upper tab 33 and lower tab 34 of the stop means of the front prong 23. When the hair pin 20 is secured in place, the hair binding element 35 is disposed in front of the rear prongs 21 and 22 and behind the front prong 23 and further between the upper tab 33 and the lower tab 34. The upper tab 33 and the lower tab 34 prevent undue vertical movement of the hair pin 20 after the user has properly affixed the hair pin 20 to the hairstyle shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. Alternatively, the hair binding element 35 may be engaged between the upper tab 33 and the platform 27 or between the lower tab 34 and a third bottom tab (not shown).
It will be noted that the tabs 33, 34, or the stop means, may alternatively be disposed on one or more rear prongs 21, 22 although the preferred embodiment includes the tabs 33, 34 disposed on the single front prong 23 shown in FIG. 3. Further, the hair pin 20 may include more than one front prong 23 and each front prong 23 may include tabs, such as 33, 34.
FIG. 4 shows the relative displacement between the front prong 23 and the rear prongs 21 and 22. As noted above, the hair binding element 35 extends between the rear prongs 21, 22 and the front prong 23 and further below the upper tab 33 and above the lower tab 34 (not shown in FIG. 4).
FIG. 5 is an illustration of a flower-type decorative item 40 affixed to its own support platform 41 which is then attached to the platform 27 of the hair pin 20. The decorative item 40 may be attached to the platform 27 by sewing, gluing, snapping or other means of attachment. Further, the decorative item 40 may be detachably attached to the platform 27 so that the decorative items, such as 40, may be removed from platform 27 and replaced with alternative decorative items
FIGS. 6 through 8 illustrate the method of creating the hairstyle first disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,870, commonly referred to as a TOPSYTAIL hairstyle. First, the lower end 12 of the probe 11 of the hair styling tool 10 is inserted through the ponytail 16 between the hair binding element 35 (which may be an elastic or rubber band) and the user's head, shown generally at 36. The loop 14 is above the elastic band 35 so that the distal end 15 of the ponytail 16 may be inserted through the loop as shown in FIG. 7. After the position shown in FIG. 7 is achieved, the user grasps the lower end 12 of the probe 11 and pulls downward thereby pulling the ponytail 16 and the loop 14 of the hair styling tool 10 through the ponytail 16 to create the inverted ponytail 17 shown in FIG. 8.
The hairstyle 17 shown in FIG. 8 is durable and self-holding. Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the hairstyle shown in FIG. 8 is fast and easy to prepare. No additional hair spray or styling gels are required to keep the hair in the same position as shown in FIG. 8.
The improvement to a TOPSYTAIL hairstyle shown in FIG. 8 contributed by the hair pin 20 first shown in FIG. 2 is illustrated in FIG. 9. Specifically, the hair pin 20 shown in FIG. 2 is adorned with the decorative item 40 shown in FIG. 5. The hair pin 20 is inserted downward through the hair far enough so that the elastic band 35 is engaged between the upper tab 33 and lower tab 34 of the front prong 23 as shown in FIG. 10. Further, the elastic band 35, or hair binding element, is securably accommodated in front of the rear prongs 21 (22 is not shown in FIG. 10) and behind the front prong 23 as well as between the upper tab 33 and the lower tab 34. The position of the hair pin 20 shown in FIG. 10 is secure and the tabs 33 and 34 prevent undue vertical movement of the hair pin 20 from the position shown in FIG. 10.
Thus, an improvement to the hair styling tool and hair styling method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,870 is provided by the present invention. A TOPSYTAIL hairstyle is still easily created and can now be easily adorned with a decorative hair pin that won't fall out. The decorative hair pin provided by the present invention stays in place and does not come out of the hairstyle during the day because of the unique means for locking the hair pin in place provided by the tabs of the front prong.
Although only one preferred embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described, it will at once be apparent to those skilled in the art that variations may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of the invention be limited solely by the scope of the hereafter appended claims and not by any specific wording in the foregoing description. | A hair pin is provided that maintains its position in the hair for an extended period of time. The hair pin is preferably used in connection with an inverted ponytail hairstyle. The multiple-prong hair pin includes at least one front prong and preferably two rear prongs. At least one prong includes two locking tabs. The elastic band used to create the ponytail is securably engaged between the front and rear prongs and between the upper and lower locking tabs thereby precluding vertical movement of the hair pin during use. | Analyze the document's illustrations and descriptions to summarize the main idea's core structure and function. | [
"This invention relates generally to a hair pin for securely mounting an ornamental decoration to a hairstyle characterized by an inverted ponytail.",
"More particularly, this invention relates to a multiple prong hair pin with a stop means for positively engaging a hair-binding element, such as a rubber band, to thereby securely mount the hair pin and decorative ornamentation in place on the user's head.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The hair styling tool used in connection with the hair pin of the present invention is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,870.",
"The hair styling tool of U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,870 has achieved commercial success because it allows a user to create an attractive hairstyle in a minimum amount of time and it eliminates the need for expensive professional hairstyling.",
"Specifically, the user forms a ponytail and binds the ponytail with a hair-binding element, such as an elastic or rubber band.",
"Then, with a few easy motions and the assistance of the hair styling tool, the user can easily invert the ponytail to create an attractive and stable hairstyle.",
"The hairstyle is self-holding and requires little or no hair spray or other hair-holding applications.",
"The hair styling tool and hairstyle disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,870 has become popular because the resulting hairstyle is attractive, fast and easy.",
"People from all walks of life enjoy the hairstyle because it takes little or no time to prepare and the hairstyle maintains its position for an extended period of time.",
"People with straight hair find that the hairstyle provided by the hair styling tool takes less time to prepare on a daily basis than many permed hairdos.",
"Further, many people are finding that the inverted ponytail hairstyle and the hair styling tool obviate the need for permanents which can be very expensive.",
"The inverted ponytail hairstyle disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,870 has become known as a TOPSYTAIL hairstyle.",
"One problem not addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,870 is how to adorn a TOPSYTAIL hairstyle with an ornamental hair pin that will maintain its position for as long as the inverted ponytail hairstyle.",
"Specifically, only hair pins shaped like combs, barrettes or hair pins with a spring biased pin mechanism are provided in the prior art.",
"No hair pin taught by the prior art provides a means for securely affixing the hair pin to the hair binding element, or elastic band, used to create the original ponytail of the hairstyle discussed above.",
"The present invention addresses this problem and provides a hair pin that securely affixes to the elastic band used to create the original ponytail of a TOPSYTAIL hairstyle and thereby provides the user with an opportunity to further adorn this attractive hairstyle with an ornamental hair pin that will stay in place as long as a TOPSYTAIL hairstyle or other hairstyle employing an elastic band or other hair binding element.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention makes a significant contribution to the art of hair styling by providing a hair pin that securely fastens to the hair binding element used to make a ponytail.",
"Specifically, the present invention provides a hair pin that securely attaches to a hair binding element used to make an inverted ponytail, or a TOPSYTAIL hairstyle.",
"The hair pin includes at least one front prong and at least one rear prong, with the upper ends of each prong being attached to a platform.",
"The preferred embodiment includes two rear prongs and a single front prong.",
"The platform connects the upper ends of all the prongs and slants upward and backward, toward the user's head, at an angle from about 0° to about 30° from the vertical.",
"The rear prongs are disposed adjacent to the head of the user and the front prongs are disposed outward from the head.",
"The hair binding element, or elastic band, is accommodated between the front and rear prongs.",
"At least one prong also includes a stop means for lockingly engaging the hair binding element.",
"The preferred stop means for lockingly engaging the hair binding element includes at least two inwardly extending tabs on the front prong.",
"The tabs are separated by a space or a section.",
"The hair binding element is engaged within this section so that the hair binding element is accommodated between the front and rear prongs and the hair binding element is also engaged between the two tabs on the front prong when the hair pin is in place.",
"This positioning of the hair binding element securely attaches the hair pin to a TOPSYTAIL hairstyle and no adjustments are required to the hair pin for an extended period of time.",
"Alternatively, the hair binding element may be accommodated between the front and rear prongs and as well as between one tab and the platform, depending upon the hair thickness and desired elevation of the hair pin.",
"Further, a third tab may be added for additional height adjustment.",
"Thus, the hair binding element may be engaged between two tabs or between a tab and the platform as well as the front and rear prongs.",
"Thus, the hair pin of the present invention and the hair styling tool disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,870 provide a system for creating an attractive hairstyle and adorning the hairstyle with a hair pin that maintains its position for an extended period of time.",
"The hair styling tool of the system includes an elongated probe with a lower end for insertion into the ponytail between the hair binding element and the head.",
"The upper end of the probe is attached to a loop.",
"The end of the ponytail is inserted through the loop and then the user pulls on the lower end of the probe thereby pulling the loop and distal end of the ponytail through the ponytail to create an inverted ponytail, or a TOPSYTAIL hairstyle.",
"Preferably, the loop is formed of flexibly resilient material so that it passes through the upper portion of the ponytail easily.",
"After the ponytail is inverted, or a TOPSYTAIL hairstyle is created, a portion of the hair binding element, or elastic band, is disposed between the user's head and the inverted ponytail.",
"The rear prongs of the hair pin are inserted between this portion of the hair binding element and the user's head.",
"The front prong of the hair pin is inserted between the hair binding element and the inverted ponytail.",
"The hair pin is inserted downward far enough so that the hair binding element is further engaged between two inwardly protruding tabs of the front prong.",
"Thus the hair binding element is accommodated between the front and rear prongs and further engaged between the upper and lower tabs of the front prong.",
"It will be noted that the stop means for engaging the hair binding element (or two tabs or one tab and the platform) may also be disposed on one or more rear prongs and the invention is not limited to placement of the stop means on one or more front prongs.",
"The present invention also includes a method of inverting a ponytail and affixing a decorative hair pin to the ponytail.",
"First, the ponytail is created by binding the user's hair with a hair binding element.",
"The lower end of the probe of the hair styling tool is inserted in the ponytail between the user's head and the hair binding element.",
"The distal end of the ponytail is inserted through the loop in a direction toward the user's head.",
"The lower end of the probe is pulled in a downward direction and the loop and ponytail are passed through the portion of the ponytail where the lower end of the probe was inserted.",
"The user pulls the lower end of the probe, or the entire hair styling tool, far enough downward so that the ponytail becomes disengaged from the loop.",
"An inverted ponytail, or a TOPSYTAIL hairstyle, has been created.",
"Then, the hair pin of the present invention is attached to the portion of the hair binding element disposed between the inverted ponytail and the user's head.",
"The rear prongs are inserted between the head and the hair binding element and the front prong is inserted between the hair binding element and the inverted ponytail.",
"The hair pin is pushed downward far enough so that the hair binding element becomes engaged between the two inwardly protruding tabs of the front prong.",
"The hair binding element is disposed between the front and rear prongs and between the upper and lower tabs of the front prong to create a stable configuration for the hair binding element.",
"A decoration or ornamental object is attached to the platform of the hair pin and is clearly visible and facing outward from the back of the user's head.",
"It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a multiple prong hair pin for securely attaching to a hair binding element or an elastic band used in hair styling.",
"It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved system for creating an inverted ponytail and securely attaching a decorative hair pin thereto.",
"It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved method for creating an inverted ponytail and adorning the inverted ponytail with a decorative hair pin.",
"Yet another object of the present invention is to eliminate the need for expensive professional hairstyling services for people whose hair is amenable to an inverted ponytail hairstyles.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS This invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIG. 1 is a left front perspective view of the hair styling tool made in accordance with the present invention;",
"FIG. 2 is a left front perspective view of the hair pin made in accordance with the present invention;",
"FIG. 3 is a left rear perspective view of the hair pin shown in FIG. 2;",
"FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along Line 4--4 of FIG. 2;",
"FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of an ornamental article or decorative item to be affixed to the hair pin shown in FIG. 2;",
"FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 illustrate the use of the hair styling tool shown in FIG. 1 to invert a hair tail, or a ponytail to create an inverted ponytail hairstyle;",
"FIG. 9 is an illustration of the hair pin shown in FIG. 2, adorned with the ornamental article shown in FIG. 5, as attached to the hairstyle shown in FIG. 8;",
"and FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken substantially along Line 10--10 of FIG. 9. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Like reference numerals will be used to refer to like or similar parts from Figure to Figure in the following description of the drawings.",
"The dramatic improvement contributed by the present invention is best understood after consideration of the hair styling tool 10 shown in FIG. 1 and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,870.",
"The hair styling tool 10 includes a probe 11 with a lower end 12 and an upper end 13.",
"The lower end 12, as will be seen below, is inserted into the hair in the first step in creating the inverted ponytail (see FIG. 6).",
"A loop 14 is attached to the upper end 13 of the probe 11.",
"The loop 14 accommodates the distal end 15 of the ponytail 16 when creating the inverted ponytail hairstyle 17 shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 2 is an illustration of the preferred embodiment of the hair pin 20 of the present invention.",
"The hair pin 20 preferably includes three prongs, specifically a left rear prong 21, a right rear prong 22 and a front prong 23.",
"All three prongs include upper ends 24, 25 and 26 which are attached to the platform 27.",
"The lower ends 28, 29 and 30 of the prongs 21, 23 and 22 extend downwardly into the hair as will be seen below.",
"The inwardly protruding tabs 33 and 34 of the front prong 23 provide locking engagement of the hair binding element 35 or the stop means for engaging the hair binding element 35 (see FIG. 10).",
"The platform 27 provides support for the decorative article 40 shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 3 illustrates the upper tab 33 and lower tab 34 of the stop means of the front prong 23.",
"When the hair pin 20 is secured in place, the hair binding element 35 is disposed in front of the rear prongs 21 and 22 and behind the front prong 23 and further between the upper tab 33 and the lower tab 34.",
"The upper tab 33 and the lower tab 34 prevent undue vertical movement of the hair pin 20 after the user has properly affixed the hair pin 20 to the hairstyle shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.",
"Alternatively, the hair binding element 35 may be engaged between the upper tab 33 and the platform 27 or between the lower tab 34 and a third bottom tab (not shown).",
"It will be noted that the tabs 33, 34, or the stop means, may alternatively be disposed on one or more rear prongs 21, 22 although the preferred embodiment includes the tabs 33, 34 disposed on the single front prong 23 shown in FIG. 3. Further, the hair pin 20 may include more than one front prong 23 and each front prong 23 may include tabs, such as 33, 34.",
"FIG. 4 shows the relative displacement between the front prong 23 and the rear prongs 21 and 22.",
"As noted above, the hair binding element 35 extends between the rear prongs 21, 22 and the front prong 23 and further below the upper tab 33 and above the lower tab 34 (not shown in FIG. 4).",
"FIG. 5 is an illustration of a flower-type decorative item 40 affixed to its own support platform 41 which is then attached to the platform 27 of the hair pin 20.",
"The decorative item 40 may be attached to the platform 27 by sewing, gluing, snapping or other means of attachment.",
"Further, the decorative item 40 may be detachably attached to the platform 27 so that the decorative items, such as 40, may be removed from platform 27 and replaced with alternative decorative items FIGS. 6 through 8 illustrate the method of creating the hairstyle first disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,870, commonly referred to as a TOPSYTAIL hairstyle.",
"First, the lower end 12 of the probe 11 of the hair styling tool 10 is inserted through the ponytail 16 between the hair binding element 35 (which may be an elastic or rubber band) and the user's head, shown generally at 36.",
"The loop 14 is above the elastic band 35 so that the distal end 15 of the ponytail 16 may be inserted through the loop as shown in FIG. 7. After the position shown in FIG. 7 is achieved, the user grasps the lower end 12 of the probe 11 and pulls downward thereby pulling the ponytail 16 and the loop 14 of the hair styling tool 10 through the ponytail 16 to create the inverted ponytail 17 shown in FIG. 8. The hairstyle 17 shown in FIG. 8 is durable and self-holding.",
"Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the hairstyle shown in FIG. 8 is fast and easy to prepare.",
"No additional hair spray or styling gels are required to keep the hair in the same position as shown in FIG. 8. The improvement to a TOPSYTAIL hairstyle shown in FIG. 8 contributed by the hair pin 20 first shown in FIG. 2 is illustrated in FIG. 9. Specifically, the hair pin 20 shown in FIG. 2 is adorned with the decorative item 40 shown in FIG. 5. The hair pin 20 is inserted downward through the hair far enough so that the elastic band 35 is engaged between the upper tab 33 and lower tab 34 of the front prong 23 as shown in FIG. 10.",
"Further, the elastic band 35, or hair binding element, is securably accommodated in front of the rear prongs 21 (22 is not shown in FIG. 10) and behind the front prong 23 as well as between the upper tab 33 and the lower tab 34.",
"The position of the hair pin 20 shown in FIG. 10 is secure and the tabs 33 and 34 prevent undue vertical movement of the hair pin 20 from the position shown in FIG. 10.",
"Thus, an improvement to the hair styling tool and hair styling method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,870 is provided by the present invention.",
"A TOPSYTAIL hairstyle is still easily created and can now be easily adorned with a decorative hair pin that won't fall out.",
"The decorative hair pin provided by the present invention stays in place and does not come out of the hairstyle during the day because of the unique means for locking the hair pin in place provided by the tabs of the front prong.",
"Although only one preferred embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described, it will at once be apparent to those skilled in the art that variations may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention.",
"Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of the invention be limited solely by the scope of the hereafter appended claims and not by any specific wording in the foregoing description."
] |
This application is a continuation-in-part application based on patent application Ser. No. 09/357,036 filed on Jul. 20, 1999now U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,073, which was a continuation-in-part application based on previously filed patent application Ser. No. 08/901,849 filed on Jul. 28, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,700 granted on Sep. 7, 1999.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a safety device for fluid transfer systems and, more particularly, to a safety device for eliminating vacuum pressure in the system in response to an obstruction of one or more open intake lines, thereby removing a suction force at the open ends of intake lines in the system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury related deaths to children 14 years old and younger. Most drownings occur in swimming pools and hot tubs, and in many incidents (involving both adults and children) the main culprit is the water circulation system. In a typical pool, the circulation system includes a main drain suction intake line and at least one skimmer suction intake line, both of which feed into a main intake line that leads to a pump. A return line directs water flow back into the pool.
Most people do not feel threatened by a pool's circulation system, including the main drain intake on the bottom of the pool, and the skimmer boxes along the side of the pool. However, if a person comes into contact with any of the suction intake lines of the circulation system (at either the main drain or skimmer intakes) causing the suction intake to be covered or obstructed, the immense suction of the pump forms an instant seal between the open end of the suction intake line and the person's skin or clothing. This may result if a person places their hand over the open end of the suction intake line or, as often happens with children, a person sits down on the suction intake. In either case, the force needed to pull them free often exceeds 800 pounds. Moreover, the injuries which are inflicted in a matter of a few seconds are horrific, usually permanent and sometimes fatal. If a person, especially a child, is sucked onto the main drain suction intake on the bottom of the pool, they usually drown.
The only way to free a person sucked onto the intake of a circulation system of this type, without causing severe injury or dismemberment, is to eliminate the vacuum (i.e. negative pressure) in the intake between the entrapped person and the pump, to thereby remove the intense suction force at the open end of the intake line. It is helpful to disable the source of the suction by interrupting power to the pump. However, even if the pump is shut down, a vacuum can remain in the intake side of the system between the pump and the obstructed end of the suction intake line. Sometimes, a victim could still be freed with some assistance, although serious injury or death may result. Ideally, if the vacuum in the intake line can be quickly eliminated after a victim becomes stuck to the intake, the victim will be freed with little or no assistance and without injury.
In the most instances wherein a victim becomes stuck to an intake of a circulation system, typically in a swimming pool or hot tub, rescuers fail to realize the need to immediately shut off the pump. Instead, in a panic, people tend to go the victim and attempt prying them free. In the rare instance this is successful, the injuries are often severe and permanent. Of course, there are also instances wherein there are no other people present to come to the victim's rescue. These situations are almost always fatal.
The imminent danger presented by fluid circulation systems of the type commonly found in swimming pools, hot tubs, and the like has been longstanding in the art. Little, if any attention has been given to providing a satisfactory solution to this deadly problem that exists in every swimming pool, hot tub, as well as all other fluid circulation systems wherein a fluid is drawn from a reservoir through one or more suction intakes by a pump. Accordingly, there has been and there remains an urgent need to provide an effective means of preventing death and injury to those otherwise unfortunate victims who become unexpectedly attached (i.e., entrapped) by suction to the intake of a fluid circulation system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a device for use in a fluid transfer. and/or circulation system of the type including at least one pump which draws water from a reservoir through one or more intake lines each extending from an open end at the reservoir to an intake of the pump. The primary purpose of the invention is to save lives and property by alleviating the intense vacuum that builds when one or more of the suction intake ports of a pump assisted fluid circulation system becomes obstructed. The safety device includes means for sensing one or more operating conditions in the fluid transfer/circulation system (e.g., negative pressure levels, positive pressure levels, water flow rate, pump voltage and/or amperage) and means for analyzing the sensed operating conditions. When the pump is operating, the safety device continually analyzes the operating conditions of the system. If the device detects a deviation of the operating conditions outside of a normal operational range, the vacuum pressure relief means are actuated in order to eliminate negative pressure in the system, thereby removing suction at the open ends of the intake lines. The device also disables the pump, shutting it off, upon detecting the abnormal operation condition(s). In the event there is an absence of fluid movement when the pump is operating (e.g., broken pipes, reservoir dry, etc.), the device triggers the vacuum pressure relief means and disables the pump, thereby preventing damage to the system. Warning devices, including audible and visible alarms, may be provided to indicate that operation of the fluid transfer system has been interrupted. This is especially useful to alert users to the possible occurrence of an obstruction of the intake lines by a person or object and the need to inspect and reset the device prior to reactivating the fluid transfer system. Other options can also be integrated with the device, including remote audible alarms, visual indicators, a remote panic switch, and the like.
OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION
With the foregoing in mind, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a safety device for use in a fluid transfer/circulation system, wherein the device is structured to eliminate negative pressure in the system upon detecting a negative pressure level being outside of a selected operational range, thereby removing suction at the open ends of the intake lines.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a safety device which is particularly useful in the fluid circulation systems of swimming pools, hot tubs and the like for preventing death and injury to persons or animals which become attached (i.e., entrapped) by suction to the intake openings of the system.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a safe, reliable and relatively inexpensive safety device for easy installation to existing fluid transfer/circulation systems and which automatically adjusts to any system, each time the fluid begins to flow, thereby establishing a normal operating range of conditions for each system, and wherein the device is structured to eliminate negative pressure in the system upon detecting an operating condition being outside (high or low) of the normal operating range, thereby removing suction at the open ends of the intake lines.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a reliable, relatively inexpensive safety device for use in a fluid transfer/circulation system of the type including at least one pump which draws water from a reservoir through one or more intake lines, and wherein the device is structured to deactivate the pump(s) and to further eliminate negative pressure in the system upon detecting one or more operating conditions of the system being outside of a predetermined range.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a safety device, as described above, further including warning devices such as, but not limited to, audible and visible alarms, to indicate that the safety device has been triggered to eliminate negative pressure in the intake lines of a fluid transfer system.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a safety device, as described above, which is contained in a totally sealed, compact unit for convenient, easy installation in-line with any fluid transfer/circulation system.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention are more readily apparent with reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of the primary components of the safety device in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an elevational view, in partial section, illustrating a typical fluid circulation system for circulating fluid in a reservoir, such as a swimming pool, hot tub or the like, showing the safety device of the embodiment of FIG. 1 installed in-line on a main suction intake line of the system, between the intake of the system's pump and suction intake openings in the swimming pool;
FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of the primary components of the safety device in accordance with several other preferred embodiments of the present invention, wherein the sensor may be a positive pressure sensor, a negative pressure (i.e., vacuum pressure) sensor, a fluid flow meter, a voltage meter, or an amperage meter;
FIG. 4 is an elevational view, in partial section, similar to the view of FIG. 2, wherein the safety device includes a positive pressure sensor installed in-line with the return line of the fluid circulation system, on an output side of the pump, in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 5 is an elevational view, in partial section, similar to the views of FIGS. 2 and 4, wherein the safety device of the present invention is shown in accordance with yet another embodiment thereof, wherein a sensor is connected to the pump for measuring the voltage and/or the amperage drawn by the pump during operation thereof;
FIG. 6 is an elevational view, in partial section, similar to the views of FIGS. 2, 4 and 5 , showing the safety device in yet another embodiment thereof, wherein a fluid flow meter is installed in-line with the intake line, between the intake of the system's pump and the suction intake openings in the swimming pool or other fluid reservoir;
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of yet another embodiment of the safety device of the present invention; and
FIG. 8 is an elevational view, in partial section, showing the safety device of the embodiment of FIG. 7 installed in-line on a main suction intake line of a fluid circulation system, between the intake of the system's pump and suction intake openings in the swimming pool or other fluid reservoir.
Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The present invention is directed to a fluid vacuum safety device for use in a pump assisted fluid circulation system for the purposes of alleviating an intense vacuum that builds in the system when one or more of the suction intake ports of the circulation system become obstructed.
Referring to FIGS. 2, 4 - 6 and 8 , a typical fluid circulation system of the type commonly found in swimming pools and hot tubs is shown. A reservoir of water W is contained within a structure having side walls 2 and a bottom 4 . A main drain 6 having a drain cover grating is provided on the bottom 4 . At least one skimmer box 8 is provided along one or more of the side walls 2 at the water surface level SL. A drain suction intake line 10 leads from the main drain 6 to a main suction intake line 20 . A skimmer suction intake line 12 has an open end 13 is the skimmer box 8 which is maintained below the water surface level SL. The skimmer suction intake line 12 feeds into the main intake line 20 . The main intake line 20 is directed to a pump 24 which may have a screen trap 26 connected to the main intake line 20 , just prior to the intake of the pump 24 . A main output line 28 leads to a filter 30 . One or more return lines 32 extend from the filter 30 back to the water reservoir W to return water that is circulation through the system back to the reservoir W.
FIG. 2 shows the fluid vacuum safety device 50 in accordance with one embodiment thereof installed in-line along the main suction intake line 20 of the circulation system, prior to the intake of the pump 24 and screen trap 26 . If an object or person is caused to be sucked onto one of the open ends of the suction intakes, such as the open end 13 of the simmer suction intake 12 , the drain plate 7 or, if the drain plate is removed, the drain suction intake line 10 at the main drain 6 , a vacuum will instantly develop throughout the intake lines, including the main suction intake line 20 . The fluid vacuum safety device 50 is designed to react to this situation to immediately eliminate the vacuum in the system and, accordingly, the suction force at the open ends of each of the suction intake lines, including the skimmer suction intake 13 and the main drain intake 6 . Upon reaching a predetermined vacuum level, which happens quite rapidly when one of the intakes becomes obstructed, the fluid vacuum safety device 50 causes air from atmosphere to be rapidly introduced into the main intake line 20 and throughout the other intake lines, thereby removing all suction force at the open suction intake ends 13 and 6 in the reservoir W. The air introduced into the system interrupts the prime of the pump 24 , thereby eliminating any further source of suction.
Referring now to FIG. 1, the principal components of the fluid vacuum safety device 50 are shown in block diagram form. Specifically, the principal components of the fluid vacuum safety device 50 include a sensor circuit 120 A which senses the vacuum pressure level in the fluid circulation system. The output of the sensor circuit 120 A is applied to an analyzer/control circuit 130 that allows selective setting (programming) of a particular negative pressure range (a predetermined high and low vacuum pressure level) which thereby defines a trip point (high or low) or emergency condition in the system. The output of the analyzer/control circuit 130 controls operational relays or contactors 150 to interrupt power to the pump 24 and triggers a vacuum breaker 170 upon detecting the trip point. In the preferred embodiment, the analyzer/control 130 is a programmable microprocessor and vacuum breaker 170 is a solenoid controlled valve. A power supply 160 furnishes voltage for the circuitry. The sensor 120 A utilizes a strain gauge to sense the vacuum in the pump return line 20 . The sensor 120 A converts vacuum pressure to voltage readings. Changes in voltage readings correspond directly to vacuum pressure level changes in the system. The voltage readings are amplified in the sensor and sent to the analyzer/control 130 for processing.
Referring to FIG. 3, the principal components of the fluid vacuum safety device are shown in block diagram form in accordance with several additional embodiments thereof. Specifically, the sensor 120 shown in FIG. 3, may include any of a number of different sensors for measuring operating conditions in the swimming pool. In addition to the negative pressure sensor for sensing vacuum pressure level in the fluid circulation system, as described in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2, the sensor 120 may include a positive pressure sensor, a fluid flow meter, a voltage meter/regulator, and/or an amperage meter. The sensor 120 , in accordance with the various embodiments represented by FIG. 3, communicates with the analyzer/control circuit 130 that allows selective setting “programming” of one or more particular operating conditions (e.g., vacuum pressure, positive pressure, water flow rate, pump voltage level and/or pump amperage level) which thereby defines a trip point (high or low) or emergency condition in the system. In several of the embodiments, the analyzer/control 130 is a programmable microprocessor and the vacuum breaker 170 is a solenoid controlled valve. When the analyzer/control 130 determines that the sensed one or more operating conditions, as sensed by the sensor 120 , have deviated outside of a normal operational range (i.e., beyond the trip point), the analyzer/control 130 triggers actuation of the vacuum breaker 170 to introduce air from atmosphere into the intake line 20 of the fluid circulation system, thereby eliminating vacuum in the intake lines and further eliminating suction at the open intake ends 6 , 13 within the reservoir W.
Referring to FIG. 4, the safety device 50 is shown installed in accordance with one preferred embodiment, wherein the safety device 50 includes a positive pressure sensor 120 B installed in-line along the return line 32 , between the output side of the pump 24 and the reservoir W. In this particular embodiment, the positive pressure sensor 120 B is structured to measure the positive pressure in the return line 32 when the pump 24 is operating. A normal operational positive pressure range is established and is maintained in memory in the analyzer/control 130 . In the event the positive pressure measured in the return line 32 deviates outside of a normal operational range, the analyzer/control 130 triggers the vacuum breaker 170 to introduce air into the main intake line 20 . The analyzer/control 130 is also structured to interrupt power to the pump 24 to thereby terminate operation of the pump 24 .
Referring to FIG. 5, the safety device 50 is shown in yet another embodiment of the invention, wherein the sensor 120 C is adapted to read voltage and/or amperage levels of the pump during operation thereof. A normal voltage and/or amperage operating range for the pump is determined and is stored in the microprocessor memory of the analyzer/control 130 . Should the voltage and/or amperage level drawn by the pump 24 deviate outside of the normal operational range, the analyzer/control 130 will trigger actuation of the vacuum breaker 170 to introduce air from atmosphere into the return line 20 , thereby relieving suction at the open intakes 13 and 6 within the reservoir W.
Referring to FIG. 6, the safety device 50 is shown installed in a fluid circulation system of a swimming pool, in yet another embodiment of the invention, wherein a fluid flow meter 120 D is installed in-line on the main intake line 20 of the system. The fluid flow meter 120 D is another type of sensor contemplated within the spirit and scope of the invention. In this particular embodiment, the analyzer/control 130 is programmed to store a normal operational range of water flow rates of water traveling through the main intake line 20 leading to the intake of the pump 24 when the system is operating normally. Should the water flow rate deviate outside a normal operational range, as sensed by the fluid flow meter 120 D, the analyzer/control 130 triggers actuation of the vacuum breaker 170 to introduce air into the intake lines, thereby relieving suction at the open ends 6 , 13 within the reservoir W.
Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, yet another embodiment of the safety device 50 is shown, in accordance with a purely mechanical embodiment thereof. Specifically, the safety device 50 in the embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8 includes a base unit 52 defined primarily by an inverted T-section formed of PVC and having a main through passage 54 defined along the bottom of the inverted T and having opposite open ends 55 , 55 ′ which connect in-line to the main intake line 20 , as seen in FIG. 8 . During normal operating conditions, water flow will travel in a direction of the arrow 56 and through conduit 54 towards the pump 24 . The inverted T section of the base unit 52 further includes an upwardly extending vent port 60 extending upwardly from the through passage 54 , in fluid communication therewith, to a top end 62 . The open top end 62 is surrounded by an annular flange 64 having an O-ring seal 67 fitted to a top face of the flange 64 .
A membrane 70 rests on the O-ring 67 in covering relation to the open top 62 of the vent port 60 . The membrane 70 may be structured of a frangible material, such as a glass or plastic film which is structured to break in response to a predetermined negative pressure level. Specifically, the thickness of the central zone 74 of the frangible membrane 70 may be determined in accordance with the shattering or disintegrating characteristics of the membrane material. More particularly, the thickness of the central zone 74 of the frangible membrane 70 may be gauged according to the desired predetermined vacuum pressure level at which the frangible membrane is caused to implode and disintegrate.
Alternatively, the membrane 70 may be structured and disposed to move or collapse, such as against a spring force, to introduce air into the through passage 54 and main intake line 20 , in response to a vacuum pressure level within the intake line 20 deviating beyond a predetermined maximum level.
Once the membrane 70 is caused to disintegrate, move or otherwise uncover the open top end 62 of the vent port, air from atmosphere is able to quickly enter through the open top to fill the intake lines of the fluid circulation system (as indicated by the arrow 76 ) thereby eliminating the vacuum in the system and relieving suction at the open intake end within the reservoir W.
The membrane 70 is maintained in place, in covering relation to the open end 62 , by a fitting 80 having a lower annular face 82 which opposes the flange 64 , sandwiching the rim 72 of the membrane 70 therebetween, as seen in FIG. 7 . The O-ring 67 absorbs pressure to prevent the membrane 70 from cracking as the fitting 80 is advanced and tightened towards the flange 64 and against the rim 72 of the membrane 70 . A female coupling 84 is provided to facilitate attachment of the fitting 80 to the base unit 52 , enabling threaded advancement and withdraw of the fitting 80 relative to the flange 64 and the membrane 70 . Threads 85 about the outer periphery of the fitting 80 intermesh with corresponding threads 86 on the inner face of the female coupling 84 . An inwardly directed flange 87 on the lower open end of the female coupling 84 engages the under side of the flange 64 of the vent port. The fitting 80 further includes a flat ledge 88 which proceeds inward to a reduced diameter extension 89 . The fitting 80 is open at both the opposite ends and has a larger diameter between the annular face 82 compared to a top open end 90 . The ledge 88 on the fitting is provided with a plurality of air inlet holes 94 which extend from the top ledge 88 through the thickness of the fitting 80 to provide air flow communication between the exterior atmosphere and an inner chamber 96 above the frangible membrane 70 . When the membrane 70 is caused to uncover the open end 62 of the vent port 60 , air from atmosphere enters through the inlet holes 94 and through the top opening 62 of the vent port 60 and throughout the suction intake lines of the system to eliminate vacuum therein. A cap 102 is fitted to the reduced diameter extension 89 to cover the open top end 90 .
While the instant invention has been shown and described in accordance with preferred embodiments thereof, it is recognized that variations, modifications and changes may be made to the instant disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as set forth in the following claims and within the doctrine of equivalents. | A safety device for use in a fluid transfer and/or circulation system of the type which uses a pump to draw water from a reservoir through one or more intake lines each extending from an open end at the reservoir to the pump intake. The safety device connects to the fluid transfer/circulation system and includes a sensor, a triggering mechanism, and a vacuum breaker. When the pump is operating, the sensor monitors one or more conditions of the system. When one or more of the monitored conditions deviates outside of a normal operational range, as a result of an obstruction of any one or more of the open ends of the intake lines, the triggering mechanism triggers the vacuum breaker to eliminate negative pressure in the system by introducing air from atmosphere into the intake lines, thereby removing suction at the open ends of the intake lines. The safety device may further activate warning devices including audible and visible alarms to indicate that the system has been deactivated. | Identify and summarize the most critical technical features from the given patent document. | [
"This application is a continuation-in-part application based on patent application Ser.",
"No. 09/357,036 filed on Jul. 20, 1999now U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,073, which was a continuation-in-part application based on previously filed patent application Ser.",
"No. 08/901,849 filed on Jul. 28, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,700 granted on Sep. 7, 1999.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a safety device for fluid transfer systems and, more particularly, to a safety device for eliminating vacuum pressure in the system in response to an obstruction of one or more open intake lines, thereby removing a suction force at the open ends of intake lines in the system.",
"Description of the Related Art Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury related deaths to children 14 years old and younger.",
"Most drownings occur in swimming pools and hot tubs, and in many incidents (involving both adults and children) the main culprit is the water circulation system.",
"In a typical pool, the circulation system includes a main drain suction intake line and at least one skimmer suction intake line, both of which feed into a main intake line that leads to a pump.",
"A return line directs water flow back into the pool.",
"Most people do not feel threatened by a pool's circulation system, including the main drain intake on the bottom of the pool, and the skimmer boxes along the side of the pool.",
"However, if a person comes into contact with any of the suction intake lines of the circulation system (at either the main drain or skimmer intakes) causing the suction intake to be covered or obstructed, the immense suction of the pump forms an instant seal between the open end of the suction intake line and the person's skin or clothing.",
"This may result if a person places their hand over the open end of the suction intake line or, as often happens with children, a person sits down on the suction intake.",
"In either case, the force needed to pull them free often exceeds 800 pounds.",
"Moreover, the injuries which are inflicted in a matter of a few seconds are horrific, usually permanent and sometimes fatal.",
"If a person, especially a child, is sucked onto the main drain suction intake on the bottom of the pool, they usually drown.",
"The only way to free a person sucked onto the intake of a circulation system of this type, without causing severe injury or dismemberment, is to eliminate the vacuum (i.e. negative pressure) in the intake between the entrapped person and the pump, to thereby remove the intense suction force at the open end of the intake line.",
"It is helpful to disable the source of the suction by interrupting power to the pump.",
"However, even if the pump is shut down, a vacuum can remain in the intake side of the system between the pump and the obstructed end of the suction intake line.",
"Sometimes, a victim could still be freed with some assistance, although serious injury or death may result.",
"Ideally, if the vacuum in the intake line can be quickly eliminated after a victim becomes stuck to the intake, the victim will be freed with little or no assistance and without injury.",
"In the most instances wherein a victim becomes stuck to an intake of a circulation system, typically in a swimming pool or hot tub, rescuers fail to realize the need to immediately shut off the pump.",
"Instead, in a panic, people tend to go the victim and attempt prying them free.",
"In the rare instance this is successful, the injuries are often severe and permanent.",
"Of course, there are also instances wherein there are no other people present to come to the victim's rescue.",
"These situations are almost always fatal.",
"The imminent danger presented by fluid circulation systems of the type commonly found in swimming pools, hot tubs, and the like has been longstanding in the art.",
"Little, if any attention has been given to providing a satisfactory solution to this deadly problem that exists in every swimming pool, hot tub, as well as all other fluid circulation systems wherein a fluid is drawn from a reservoir through one or more suction intakes by a pump.",
"Accordingly, there has been and there remains an urgent need to provide an effective means of preventing death and injury to those otherwise unfortunate victims who become unexpectedly attached (i.e., entrapped) by suction to the intake of a fluid circulation system.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a device for use in a fluid transfer.",
"and/or circulation system of the type including at least one pump which draws water from a reservoir through one or more intake lines each extending from an open end at the reservoir to an intake of the pump.",
"The primary purpose of the invention is to save lives and property by alleviating the intense vacuum that builds when one or more of the suction intake ports of a pump assisted fluid circulation system becomes obstructed.",
"The safety device includes means for sensing one or more operating conditions in the fluid transfer/circulation system (e.g., negative pressure levels, positive pressure levels, water flow rate, pump voltage and/or amperage) and means for analyzing the sensed operating conditions.",
"When the pump is operating, the safety device continually analyzes the operating conditions of the system.",
"If the device detects a deviation of the operating conditions outside of a normal operational range, the vacuum pressure relief means are actuated in order to eliminate negative pressure in the system, thereby removing suction at the open ends of the intake lines.",
"The device also disables the pump, shutting it off, upon detecting the abnormal operation condition(s).",
"In the event there is an absence of fluid movement when the pump is operating (e.g., broken pipes, reservoir dry, etc.), the device triggers the vacuum pressure relief means and disables the pump, thereby preventing damage to the system.",
"Warning devices, including audible and visible alarms, may be provided to indicate that operation of the fluid transfer system has been interrupted.",
"This is especially useful to alert users to the possible occurrence of an obstruction of the intake lines by a person or object and the need to inspect and reset the device prior to reactivating the fluid transfer system.",
"Other options can also be integrated with the device, including remote audible alarms, visual indicators, a remote panic switch, and the like.",
"OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION With the foregoing in mind, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a safety device for use in a fluid transfer/circulation system, wherein the device is structured to eliminate negative pressure in the system upon detecting a negative pressure level being outside of a selected operational range, thereby removing suction at the open ends of the intake lines.",
"It is a further object of the present invention to provide a safety device which is particularly useful in the fluid circulation systems of swimming pools, hot tubs and the like for preventing death and injury to persons or animals which become attached (i.e., entrapped) by suction to the intake openings of the system.",
"It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a safe, reliable and relatively inexpensive safety device for easy installation to existing fluid transfer/circulation systems and which automatically adjusts to any system, each time the fluid begins to flow, thereby establishing a normal operating range of conditions for each system, and wherein the device is structured to eliminate negative pressure in the system upon detecting an operating condition being outside (high or low) of the normal operating range, thereby removing suction at the open ends of the intake lines.",
"It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a reliable, relatively inexpensive safety device for use in a fluid transfer/circulation system of the type including at least one pump which draws water from a reservoir through one or more intake lines, and wherein the device is structured to deactivate the pump(s) and to further eliminate negative pressure in the system upon detecting one or more operating conditions of the system being outside of a predetermined range.",
"It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a safety device, as described above, further including warning devices such as, but not limited to, audible and visible alarms, to indicate that the safety device has been triggered to eliminate negative pressure in the intake lines of a fluid transfer system.",
"It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a safety device, as described above, which is contained in a totally sealed, compact unit for convenient, easy installation in-line with any fluid transfer/circulation system.",
"These and other objects and advantages of the present invention are more readily apparent with reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of the primary components of the safety device in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIG. 2 is an elevational view, in partial section, illustrating a typical fluid circulation system for circulating fluid in a reservoir, such as a swimming pool, hot tub or the like, showing the safety device of the embodiment of FIG. 1 installed in-line on a main suction intake line of the system, between the intake of the system's pump and suction intake openings in the swimming pool;",
"FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of the primary components of the safety device in accordance with several other preferred embodiments of the present invention, wherein the sensor may be a positive pressure sensor, a negative pressure (i.e., vacuum pressure) sensor, a fluid flow meter, a voltage meter, or an amperage meter;",
"FIG. 4 is an elevational view, in partial section, similar to the view of FIG. 2, wherein the safety device includes a positive pressure sensor installed in-line with the return line of the fluid circulation system, on an output side of the pump, in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;",
"FIG. 5 is an elevational view, in partial section, similar to the views of FIGS. 2 and 4, wherein the safety device of the present invention is shown in accordance with yet another embodiment thereof, wherein a sensor is connected to the pump for measuring the voltage and/or the amperage drawn by the pump during operation thereof;",
"FIG. 6 is an elevational view, in partial section, similar to the views of FIGS. 2, 4 and 5 , showing the safety device in yet another embodiment thereof, wherein a fluid flow meter is installed in-line with the intake line, between the intake of the system's pump and the suction intake openings in the swimming pool or other fluid reservoir;",
"FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of yet another embodiment of the safety device of the present invention;",
"and FIG. 8 is an elevational view, in partial section, showing the safety device of the embodiment of FIG. 7 installed in-line on a main suction intake line of a fluid circulation system, between the intake of the system's pump and suction intake openings in the swimming pool or other fluid reservoir.",
"Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention is directed to a fluid vacuum safety device for use in a pump assisted fluid circulation system for the purposes of alleviating an intense vacuum that builds in the system when one or more of the suction intake ports of the circulation system become obstructed.",
"Referring to FIGS. 2, 4 - 6 and 8 , a typical fluid circulation system of the type commonly found in swimming pools and hot tubs is shown.",
"A reservoir of water W is contained within a structure having side walls 2 and a bottom 4 .",
"A main drain 6 having a drain cover grating is provided on the bottom 4 .",
"At least one skimmer box 8 is provided along one or more of the side walls 2 at the water surface level SL.",
"A drain suction intake line 10 leads from the main drain 6 to a main suction intake line 20 .",
"A skimmer suction intake line 12 has an open end 13 is the skimmer box 8 which is maintained below the water surface level SL.",
"The skimmer suction intake line 12 feeds into the main intake line 20 .",
"The main intake line 20 is directed to a pump 24 which may have a screen trap 26 connected to the main intake line 20 , just prior to the intake of the pump 24 .",
"A main output line 28 leads to a filter 30 .",
"One or more return lines 32 extend from the filter 30 back to the water reservoir W to return water that is circulation through the system back to the reservoir W. FIG. 2 shows the fluid vacuum safety device 50 in accordance with one embodiment thereof installed in-line along the main suction intake line 20 of the circulation system, prior to the intake of the pump 24 and screen trap 26 .",
"If an object or person is caused to be sucked onto one of the open ends of the suction intakes, such as the open end 13 of the simmer suction intake 12 , the drain plate 7 or, if the drain plate is removed, the drain suction intake line 10 at the main drain 6 , a vacuum will instantly develop throughout the intake lines, including the main suction intake line 20 .",
"The fluid vacuum safety device 50 is designed to react to this situation to immediately eliminate the vacuum in the system and, accordingly, the suction force at the open ends of each of the suction intake lines, including the skimmer suction intake 13 and the main drain intake 6 .",
"Upon reaching a predetermined vacuum level, which happens quite rapidly when one of the intakes becomes obstructed, the fluid vacuum safety device 50 causes air from atmosphere to be rapidly introduced into the main intake line 20 and throughout the other intake lines, thereby removing all suction force at the open suction intake ends 13 and 6 in the reservoir W. The air introduced into the system interrupts the prime of the pump 24 , thereby eliminating any further source of suction.",
"Referring now to FIG. 1, the principal components of the fluid vacuum safety device 50 are shown in block diagram form.",
"Specifically, the principal components of the fluid vacuum safety device 50 include a sensor circuit 120 A which senses the vacuum pressure level in the fluid circulation system.",
"The output of the sensor circuit 120 A is applied to an analyzer/control circuit 130 that allows selective setting (programming) of a particular negative pressure range (a predetermined high and low vacuum pressure level) which thereby defines a trip point (high or low) or emergency condition in the system.",
"The output of the analyzer/control circuit 130 controls operational relays or contactors 150 to interrupt power to the pump 24 and triggers a vacuum breaker 170 upon detecting the trip point.",
"In the preferred embodiment, the analyzer/control 130 is a programmable microprocessor and vacuum breaker 170 is a solenoid controlled valve.",
"A power supply 160 furnishes voltage for the circuitry.",
"The sensor 120 A utilizes a strain gauge to sense the vacuum in the pump return line 20 .",
"The sensor 120 A converts vacuum pressure to voltage readings.",
"Changes in voltage readings correspond directly to vacuum pressure level changes in the system.",
"The voltage readings are amplified in the sensor and sent to the analyzer/control 130 for processing.",
"Referring to FIG. 3, the principal components of the fluid vacuum safety device are shown in block diagram form in accordance with several additional embodiments thereof.",
"Specifically, the sensor 120 shown in FIG. 3, may include any of a number of different sensors for measuring operating conditions in the swimming pool.",
"In addition to the negative pressure sensor for sensing vacuum pressure level in the fluid circulation system, as described in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2, the sensor 120 may include a positive pressure sensor, a fluid flow meter, a voltage meter/regulator, and/or an amperage meter.",
"The sensor 120 , in accordance with the various embodiments represented by FIG. 3, communicates with the analyzer/control circuit 130 that allows selective setting “programming”",
"of one or more particular operating conditions (e.g., vacuum pressure, positive pressure, water flow rate, pump voltage level and/or pump amperage level) which thereby defines a trip point (high or low) or emergency condition in the system.",
"In several of the embodiments, the analyzer/control 130 is a programmable microprocessor and the vacuum breaker 170 is a solenoid controlled valve.",
"When the analyzer/control 130 determines that the sensed one or more operating conditions, as sensed by the sensor 120 , have deviated outside of a normal operational range (i.e., beyond the trip point), the analyzer/control 130 triggers actuation of the vacuum breaker 170 to introduce air from atmosphere into the intake line 20 of the fluid circulation system, thereby eliminating vacuum in the intake lines and further eliminating suction at the open intake ends 6 , 13 within the reservoir W. Referring to FIG. 4, the safety device 50 is shown installed in accordance with one preferred embodiment, wherein the safety device 50 includes a positive pressure sensor 120 B installed in-line along the return line 32 , between the output side of the pump 24 and the reservoir W. In this particular embodiment, the positive pressure sensor 120 B is structured to measure the positive pressure in the return line 32 when the pump 24 is operating.",
"A normal operational positive pressure range is established and is maintained in memory in the analyzer/control 130 .",
"In the event the positive pressure measured in the return line 32 deviates outside of a normal operational range, the analyzer/control 130 triggers the vacuum breaker 170 to introduce air into the main intake line 20 .",
"The analyzer/control 130 is also structured to interrupt power to the pump 24 to thereby terminate operation of the pump 24 .",
"Referring to FIG. 5, the safety device 50 is shown in yet another embodiment of the invention, wherein the sensor 120 C is adapted to read voltage and/or amperage levels of the pump during operation thereof.",
"A normal voltage and/or amperage operating range for the pump is determined and is stored in the microprocessor memory of the analyzer/control 130 .",
"Should the voltage and/or amperage level drawn by the pump 24 deviate outside of the normal operational range, the analyzer/control 130 will trigger actuation of the vacuum breaker 170 to introduce air from atmosphere into the return line 20 , thereby relieving suction at the open intakes 13 and 6 within the reservoir W. Referring to FIG. 6, the safety device 50 is shown installed in a fluid circulation system of a swimming pool, in yet another embodiment of the invention, wherein a fluid flow meter 120 D is installed in-line on the main intake line 20 of the system.",
"The fluid flow meter 120 D is another type of sensor contemplated within the spirit and scope of the invention.",
"In this particular embodiment, the analyzer/control 130 is programmed to store a normal operational range of water flow rates of water traveling through the main intake line 20 leading to the intake of the pump 24 when the system is operating normally.",
"Should the water flow rate deviate outside a normal operational range, as sensed by the fluid flow meter 120 D, the analyzer/control 130 triggers actuation of the vacuum breaker 170 to introduce air into the intake lines, thereby relieving suction at the open ends 6 , 13 within the reservoir W. Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, yet another embodiment of the safety device 50 is shown, in accordance with a purely mechanical embodiment thereof.",
"Specifically, the safety device 50 in the embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8 includes a base unit 52 defined primarily by an inverted T-section formed of PVC and having a main through passage 54 defined along the bottom of the inverted T and having opposite open ends 55 , 55 ′ which connect in-line to the main intake line 20 , as seen in FIG. 8 .",
"During normal operating conditions, water flow will travel in a direction of the arrow 56 and through conduit 54 towards the pump 24 .",
"The inverted T section of the base unit 52 further includes an upwardly extending vent port 60 extending upwardly from the through passage 54 , in fluid communication therewith, to a top end 62 .",
"The open top end 62 is surrounded by an annular flange 64 having an O-ring seal 67 fitted to a top face of the flange 64 .",
"A membrane 70 rests on the O-ring 67 in covering relation to the open top 62 of the vent port 60 .",
"The membrane 70 may be structured of a frangible material, such as a glass or plastic film which is structured to break in response to a predetermined negative pressure level.",
"Specifically, the thickness of the central zone 74 of the frangible membrane 70 may be determined in accordance with the shattering or disintegrating characteristics of the membrane material.",
"More particularly, the thickness of the central zone 74 of the frangible membrane 70 may be gauged according to the desired predetermined vacuum pressure level at which the frangible membrane is caused to implode and disintegrate.",
"Alternatively, the membrane 70 may be structured and disposed to move or collapse, such as against a spring force, to introduce air into the through passage 54 and main intake line 20 , in response to a vacuum pressure level within the intake line 20 deviating beyond a predetermined maximum level.",
"Once the membrane 70 is caused to disintegrate, move or otherwise uncover the open top end 62 of the vent port, air from atmosphere is able to quickly enter through the open top to fill the intake lines of the fluid circulation system (as indicated by the arrow 76 ) thereby eliminating the vacuum in the system and relieving suction at the open intake end within the reservoir W. The membrane 70 is maintained in place, in covering relation to the open end 62 , by a fitting 80 having a lower annular face 82 which opposes the flange 64 , sandwiching the rim 72 of the membrane 70 therebetween, as seen in FIG. 7 .",
"The O-ring 67 absorbs pressure to prevent the membrane 70 from cracking as the fitting 80 is advanced and tightened towards the flange 64 and against the rim 72 of the membrane 70 .",
"A female coupling 84 is provided to facilitate attachment of the fitting 80 to the base unit 52 , enabling threaded advancement and withdraw of the fitting 80 relative to the flange 64 and the membrane 70 .",
"Threads 85 about the outer periphery of the fitting 80 intermesh with corresponding threads 86 on the inner face of the female coupling 84 .",
"An inwardly directed flange 87 on the lower open end of the female coupling 84 engages the under side of the flange 64 of the vent port.",
"The fitting 80 further includes a flat ledge 88 which proceeds inward to a reduced diameter extension 89 .",
"The fitting 80 is open at both the opposite ends and has a larger diameter between the annular face 82 compared to a top open end 90 .",
"The ledge 88 on the fitting is provided with a plurality of air inlet holes 94 which extend from the top ledge 88 through the thickness of the fitting 80 to provide air flow communication between the exterior atmosphere and an inner chamber 96 above the frangible membrane 70 .",
"When the membrane 70 is caused to uncover the open end 62 of the vent port 60 , air from atmosphere enters through the inlet holes 94 and through the top opening 62 of the vent port 60 and throughout the suction intake lines of the system to eliminate vacuum therein.",
"A cap 102 is fitted to the reduced diameter extension 89 to cover the open top end 90 .",
"While the instant invention has been shown and described in accordance with preferred embodiments thereof, it is recognized that variations, modifications and changes may be made to the instant disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as set forth in the following claims and within the doctrine of equivalents."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In commonly assigned Belgian Pat. No. 871,668 are disclosed fungicidal 3-(N-acyl-N-arylamino)-gamma-butyrothiolactones. Such compounds are made in two steps by the alkylation and acylation of an arylamine. ##STR1##
In J. Org. Chem., 28, pp. 964-7 (1963), Truce et al. disclose the internal cleavage of alkylmercapto-butyryl chlorides to butyrothiolactone, alkyl chlorides and alkenes by vacuum distillation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
I have found that 3-(N-arylamino)-gamma-butyrothiolactone intermediates, such as those disclosed in the above Belgian patent, may be made directly from the corresponding 3-(N-arylamino)-gamma-butyrolactones by reaction with a salt of an alkyl mercaptan, followed by treatment with a reagent conventionally used for converting carboxylic acid to its corresponding acid halide.
The 3-(N-arylamino)-gamma-butyrolactones, which may be used as starting materials in the practice of my invention, are disclosed in the above Belgian patent, as well as in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,933,860 and 4,107,323, copending applications Ser. No. 13,856, filed Feb. 22, 1979, and Ser. No. 44,740, filed June 1, 1979, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. Other butyrolactone starting materials are disclosed in Belgian Pat. No. 863,615.
Other 3-(N-arylamino)-gamma-butyrolactone starting materials are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Ser. No. 68,243, filed Aug. 17, 1979, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The 3-(N-arylamino)-gamma-butyrothiolactones produced in accordance with my invention are useful intermediates for making fungicidal 3-(N-acyl-N-arcylamino)-gamma-butyrothiolactones. Such fungicidal compounds are disclosed in Belgian Pat. No. 871,668, and in U.S. application Ser. No. 13,856, filed Feb. 22, 1979 and Ser. No. 44,740, filed June 1, 1979.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
According to my invention, a butyrolactone compound of the following Formula II is used as a starting material: ##STR2## wherein Ar is phenyl, naphthyl, phenyl or naphthyl substituted with 1 to 4 of the same or different substituents selected from fluoro, chloro, bromo, iodo, alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, alkoxy of 1 to 4 carbon atoms or nitro;
R 2 is hydrogen, alkyl of 1 to 6 carbon atoms, phenyl or phenyl substituted with 1 to 2 of the same or different substituents selected from fluoro, chloro, bromo and alkyl of 1 to 6 carbon atoms.
The compound of the formula II is first treated with the salt, preferably the sodium salt, of an alkyl mercaptan, RSNa, wherein R contains from 1 to 10 carbon atoms. Although the sodium salt of the alkyl mercaptan is preferred, other monovalent carbon salts may be used, such as the potassium, lithium or ammonium salt, i.e., RS - M + , wherein M + is a monovalent cation and R is as defined above. The acid product of this first reaction is then treated with a reagent, such as phosphorus trichloride, which is capable of converting a carboxylic acid to its corresponding acid halide. While not intending to restrict my invention to any particular reaction mechanism, the process of my invention may be depicted as follows: ##STR3##
Reaction (1) may be performed in a suitable inert solvent at from about 0° C.-100° C., preferably in the range of 40° C.-80° C. Substantially equimolar portions of the butyrolactone (II) and salt of the alkyl mercaptan (RSNa) are used. Suitable solvents include dimethoxyethane, chlorinated hydrocarbons, dioxane, and tetrahydrofuran. The reaction pressure is not critical and may be conveniently selected. Generally, atmospheric pressure is used. The reaction is generally complete within one to four hours. The product acid (III) may be isolated by conventional procedures such as extraction, filtration, chromatography, etc. The nature of the alkyl mercaptide, RSNa, is particularly critical for obtaining the highest yield of desired product. Tertiary alkyl mercaptides are preferable to secondary and primary alkyl mercaptides. Secondary alkyl mercaptides are preferable to primary alkyl mercaptides.
Reaction (2a) is shown above as performed with phosphorus trichloride, however, any reagent known to convert carboxylic acids to acid halides may be used. Examples of such reagents are thionyl chloride, phosphorus pentachloride and oxalyl chloride.
Reaction (2a) may be conducted in an inert solvent from about 0° C.-30° C. An excess of the stoichiometric amount of PCl 3 is normally used.
After addition of PCl 3 , the mixture is stirred to effect the cleavage reaction (2b). This reaction may be conducted from ambient temperature to about 100° C. The thiolactone procuct (I) is separated from the reaction mixture by conventional methods, i.e., extraction, filtration, chromatography, crystallization, etc.
Particularly preferred solvents for my process are dialkyl glycols, preferably dimethoxyethane, and chlorinated hydrocarbons, preferably methylene chloride. On large-scale runs, a solvent would not be necessary since sufficient PCl 3 would be present to serve as a reaction medium. Reactions (2a) and (2b) may be carried out at any convenient pressure, preferably atmospheric pressure.
While use of a solvent may be used in the practice of reactions (2a) and (2b), the PCl 3 may be added directly to the acid (III), if the acid is a liquid. The thiolactone product (I) may then be isolated by conventional purification procedures.
The preferred molar ratio for reaction (1) is 1:1 for the starting lactone (I) and mercaptide salt. For reaction (2a), if phosphorus trichloride is used, the stoichiometric molar ratio of 3:1 for acid (III) to PCl 3 may be used. However, a 6 to 7 molar excess of PCl 3 is preferred.
EXAMPLE
Preparation of 3-(2,6-dimethylanilino)-butyrothiolactone
A. A solution of 3-(2,6-dimethylanilino)-butyrolactone (11.89 g.) in dimethoxy ethane was added to 6.5 g. sodium t-butylmercaptide. The solution was refluxed for four hours and stripped. The residue was dissolved in water, acidified with hydrochloric acid and extracted with methylene chloride. The organic phase was collected, dried (MgSO 4 ) and stripped to yield 15.2 g. viscous oil (IR spectrum shows presence of --CO 2 H).
B. A 5 g. portion of the oil was stirred in 10 ml. (15.7 g.) phosphorus trichloride at room temperature for two days. The excess phosphorus trichloride was stripped at 60° C. and the residue was dissolved in methylene chloride, washed with water and dried. The residue was purified on a silica gel column to yield 1.31 g. of product (Yield 34.8%). | A novel process for making 3-(N-arylamino)-gamma-butyrothiolactones from their corresponding butyrolactone analogs is disclosed. The thiolactone products are useful intermediates for making fungicidal compounds. | Briefly describe the main idea outlined in the provided context. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In commonly assigned Belgian Pat. No. 871,668 are disclosed fungicidal 3-(N-acyl-N-arylamino)-gamma-butyrothiolactones.",
"Such compounds are made in two steps by the alkylation and acylation of an arylamine.",
"##STR1## In J. Org.",
"Chem.",
", 28, pp. 964-7 (1963), Truce et al.",
"disclose the internal cleavage of alkylmercapto-butyryl chlorides to butyrothiolactone, alkyl chlorides and alkenes by vacuum distillation.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION I have found that 3-(N-arylamino)-gamma-butyrothiolactone intermediates, such as those disclosed in the above Belgian patent, may be made directly from the corresponding 3-(N-arylamino)-gamma-butyrolactones by reaction with a salt of an alkyl mercaptan, followed by treatment with a reagent conventionally used for converting carboxylic acid to its corresponding acid halide.",
"The 3-(N-arylamino)-gamma-butyrolactones, which may be used as starting materials in the practice of my invention, are disclosed in the above Belgian patent, as well as in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,933,860 and 4,107,323, copending applications Ser.",
"No. 13,856, filed Feb. 22, 1979, and Ser.",
"No. 44,740, filed June 1, 1979, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.",
"Other butyrolactone starting materials are disclosed in Belgian Pat. No. 863,615.",
"Other 3-(N-arylamino)-gamma-butyrolactone starting materials are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Ser.",
"No. 68,243, filed Aug. 17, 1979, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.",
"The 3-(N-arylamino)-gamma-butyrothiolactones produced in accordance with my invention are useful intermediates for making fungicidal 3-(N-acyl-N-arcylamino)-gamma-butyrothiolactones.",
"Such fungicidal compounds are disclosed in Belgian Pat. No. 871,668, and in U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 13,856, filed Feb. 22, 1979 and Ser.",
"No. 44,740, filed June 1, 1979.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION According to my invention, a butyrolactone compound of the following Formula II is used as a starting material: ##STR2## wherein Ar is phenyl, naphthyl, phenyl or naphthyl substituted with 1 to 4 of the same or different substituents selected from fluoro, chloro, bromo, iodo, alkyl of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, alkoxy of 1 to 4 carbon atoms or nitro;",
"R 2 is hydrogen, alkyl of 1 to 6 carbon atoms, phenyl or phenyl substituted with 1 to 2 of the same or different substituents selected from fluoro, chloro, bromo and alkyl of 1 to 6 carbon atoms.",
"The compound of the formula II is first treated with the salt, preferably the sodium salt, of an alkyl mercaptan, RSNa, wherein R contains from 1 to 10 carbon atoms.",
"Although the sodium salt of the alkyl mercaptan is preferred, other monovalent carbon salts may be used, such as the potassium, lithium or ammonium salt, i.e., RS - M + , wherein M + is a monovalent cation and R is as defined above.",
"The acid product of this first reaction is then treated with a reagent, such as phosphorus trichloride, which is capable of converting a carboxylic acid to its corresponding acid halide.",
"While not intending to restrict my invention to any particular reaction mechanism, the process of my invention may be depicted as follows: ##STR3## Reaction (1) may be performed in a suitable inert solvent at from about 0° C.-100° C., preferably in the range of 40° C.-80° C. Substantially equimolar portions of the butyrolactone (II) and salt of the alkyl mercaptan (RSNa) are used.",
"Suitable solvents include dimethoxyethane, chlorinated hydrocarbons, dioxane, and tetrahydrofuran.",
"The reaction pressure is not critical and may be conveniently selected.",
"Generally, atmospheric pressure is used.",
"The reaction is generally complete within one to four hours.",
"The product acid (III) may be isolated by conventional procedures such as extraction, filtration, chromatography, etc.",
"The nature of the alkyl mercaptide, RSNa, is particularly critical for obtaining the highest yield of desired product.",
"Tertiary alkyl mercaptides are preferable to secondary and primary alkyl mercaptides.",
"Secondary alkyl mercaptides are preferable to primary alkyl mercaptides.",
"Reaction (2a) is shown above as performed with phosphorus trichloride, however, any reagent known to convert carboxylic acids to acid halides may be used.",
"Examples of such reagents are thionyl chloride, phosphorus pentachloride and oxalyl chloride.",
"Reaction (2a) may be conducted in an inert solvent from about 0° C.-30° C. An excess of the stoichiometric amount of PCl 3 is normally used.",
"After addition of PCl 3 , the mixture is stirred to effect the cleavage reaction (2b).",
"This reaction may be conducted from ambient temperature to about 100° C. The thiolactone procuct (I) is separated from the reaction mixture by conventional methods, i.e., extraction, filtration, chromatography, crystallization, etc.",
"Particularly preferred solvents for my process are dialkyl glycols, preferably dimethoxyethane, and chlorinated hydrocarbons, preferably methylene chloride.",
"On large-scale runs, a solvent would not be necessary since sufficient PCl 3 would be present to serve as a reaction medium.",
"Reactions (2a) and (2b) may be carried out at any convenient pressure, preferably atmospheric pressure.",
"While use of a solvent may be used in the practice of reactions (2a) and (2b), the PCl 3 may be added directly to the acid (III), if the acid is a liquid.",
"The thiolactone product (I) may then be isolated by conventional purification procedures.",
"The preferred molar ratio for reaction (1) is 1:1 for the starting lactone (I) and mercaptide salt.",
"For reaction (2a), if phosphorus trichloride is used, the stoichiometric molar ratio of 3:1 for acid (III) to PCl 3 may be used.",
"However, a 6 to 7 molar excess of PCl 3 is preferred.",
"EXAMPLE Preparation of 3-(2,6-dimethylanilino)-butyrothiolactone A. A solution of 3-(2,6-dimethylanilino)-butyrolactone (11.89 g.) in dimethoxy ethane was added to 6.5 g. sodium t-butylmercaptide.",
"The solution was refluxed for four hours and stripped.",
"The residue was dissolved in water, acidified with hydrochloric acid and extracted with methylene chloride.",
"The organic phase was collected, dried (MgSO 4 ) and stripped to yield 15.2 g. viscous oil (IR spectrum shows presence of --CO 2 H).",
"B. A 5 g. portion of the oil was stirred in 10 ml.",
"(15.7 g.) phosphorus trichloride at room temperature for two days.",
"The excess phosphorus trichloride was stripped at 60° C. and the residue was dissolved in methylene chloride, washed with water and dried.",
"The residue was purified on a silica gel column to yield 1.31 g. of product (Yield 34.8%)."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a piano hammer of the type used in the mechanical action of any type of piano, be it a grand piano (“pianoforte”) or an upright piano. More particularly, the invention relates to a covering on the striking surface of a piano hammer which results in improved tone quality, increased dynamic range and improved durability of the hammer.
One of the critical operating components of the mechanical action in a piano is the hammer that strikes the wire or wires of the piano string. Since the tone quality of each note in a piano is dependent upon the construction and density of the hammer, many attempts have been made to improve the hammer and especially its contact surface.
A piano hammer conventionally comprises an elongate “hammer head”, usually made of wood, having a nose portion that is usually wedge shaped. A felt covering surrounds the nose portion with tail portions affixed to the side surfaces of the nose portion, usually with glue and a reinforcing staple. Such felt covering defines a substantially elliptical peripheral surface which extends from the top of the hammer, in the region which strikes the piano string, away from this region through a widest point between the front and back of the hammer, hereinafter called the “equator” of the hammer, to the terminus of the tail portions. (It will be understood that the “top”, “front” and “back” of the hammer refer to the respective sides of a hammer as installed in a grand piano. This terminology will be used herein although the hammer may be installed in an upright piano where the “top” becomes the “front” of the hammer and the “front” and “back” become the “bottom” and “top”, respectively). Over time, the felt covering generally becomes worn and/or compressed and hardened at the top region under continuous use to such an extent as to impair the tone of the piano. Attempts have therefore been made to find a felt covering material which is highly resistant to wear and other damage.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,487,429 to Johnson discloses a piano hammer having the felt covering forming the striking member comprised of a blend of wool fibers and thermoplastic fibers. This felt covering is said to be durable and can be formed with a “controlled density” for different registers of the piano.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,430 to Hayashida discloses a simplified piano hammer comprising a wooden base, a striking head and an outer “protective covering” surrounding the end of the wooden base and covering the striking head. The striking head is a relatively thin strip made of elastic material such as polyurethane. The protective covering is made of a “protective material such as deer-skin or artificial leather”.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,310 to Lombino teaches a piano hammer comprising an elongate wooden head with a “nose portion” and a felt body extending about the nose portion. Tail portions of the felt body are affixed to the side surfaces of the nose portion. The felt body is comprised of an “outer felt” made of 100% wool and an “under felt”. The patent is directed to a method of manufacturing wherein the sides of the outer felt are impregnated with an aqueous solution containing an acrylic copolymer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved piano hammer which is more durable and long lasting than piano hammers of the prior art while at the same time yielding improved tone quality and dynamic range of the piano.
This object, as well as other objects which will become apparent from the discussion that follows, are achieved, in accordance with the present invention, by providing a conventional, felt-covered piano hammer with an elongate strip of material arranged on the peripheral surface of the felt covering, at least in the region thereof which strikes the piano string. This strip, which is sometimes referred to below as a “voicing tape”, is made of a synthetic non-woven fabric material, preferably of the type sold under the registered trademark “Pellon”.
“Pellon” is the registered trademark for a material produced and sold by Freudenberg Nonwovens, LP, of Durham, N.C. It is formed of fine thermoplastic threads which are made into a non-woven cloth.
Preferably, the elongate strip extends from the top of the hammer, in the region for striking the piano string, downward and away from this region to the widest point, between the front and back of the hammer, herein called the “equator” of the hammer. The strip is attached to the felt covering by means of an adhesive disposed in an area near each end of the strip. This adhesive area extends from the end of the strip for a distance toward the center of the strip which is approximately equal to the width of the strip.
When applied to the felt covering, the adhesive area of the elongate strip is disposed between the equator of the hammer and the bottom terminus of the covering, at the point where the wooden nose portion remains exposed. In the case of hammers (e.g., for the bass and mid-range registers of a piano) that have a staple holding the felt covering in place, the elongate strip preferably extends a short distance beyond the staple, to cover the staple.
Preferably, the width of the elongate strip is substantially equal to the width of the felt covering.
When positioned and attached in the manner described above, the elongate strip will be approximately four inches long for a hammer in the bass register of a piano, tapering to approximately two inches for a hammer in the treble register.
Pellon material is available on the market in lightweight, medium and heavyweight thickness, and in hard and soft textures. Preferably, a medium lightweight thickness, or a medium weight thickness, is used such that the thickness of the elongate strip will be in the range of 0.015 inches to 0.025 inches when uncompressed, and in the range of 0.004 inches to 0.007 inches when compressed. Preferably also, a soft and/or smooth texture is used.
The elongate strip or voicing tape is preferably attached to the felt cover of the hammer by means of a white adhesive, such as Elmer's white glue.
For a full understanding of the present invention, reference should now be made to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a piano hammer upon which is applied a voicing tape according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a top view of a piano hammer with a voicing tape according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a side view of a piano hammer according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a plan view of a voicing tape according to the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1-4 of the drawings. Identical elements in these two figures are designated with the same reference numerals.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional piano hammer 10 comprising an elongate, wooden hammer head 12 having a nose portion 14 and a felt covering 16 affixed to the nose portion by means of an adhesive and a staple. The felt covering defines a substantially elliptical peripheral surface. As is well known, the top surface region of the felt covering of the piano hammer strikes the piano string (the piano wire or wires) and thus creates the musical tone.
According to the invention, an elongate strip or “voicing tape” 18 is arranged on the peripheral surface of the felt covering, at least in the region thereof which strikes the piano string. This strip is made of a synthetic non-woven material, preferably medium lightweight or medium weight Pellon, with a soft and smooth texture.
As may be seen in FIG. 1 , the voicing tape is substantially equal in width to the width of the felt covering of the hammer.
The voicing tape 18 is affixed to the felt covering by means of an adhesive, preferably a white adhesive such as Elmer's white glue. Such glue is strong enough to hold the voicing tape, but allows the tape to be removed and replaced at a later date. As will be explained below, the area in which the adhesive is applied is restricted to the end regions of the tape. No glue is applied between the tape and the felt covering of the hammer in the region near the top of the hammer which strikes the piano string. In this way, only the felt covering and the voicing tape are involved in striking the string, so that the adhesive will not effect the tone of the piano.
FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the hammer head of FIG. 1 in top view and side view, respectively. As best seen in FIG. 3 , the nose portion 14 of the hammer head 12 , which is normally made of wood, has side surfaces 15 . Tail portions 17 of the felt covering 16 are affixed to these side surfaces with an adhesive and, in most cases, by means of a staple 20 . As shown by a dashed line in FIG. 3 , this staple passes through the interior of the felt covering and the nose portion. Preferably, the region 19 of the felt covering immediately adjacent the nose portion 14 with its side surfaces 15 is impregnated with a hardening material such as an acrylic to improve its adhesion to the hammer 12 . The wooden hammer head 12 is carried, in the mechanical action of the piano, by a wooden shank 20 .
In the preferred embodiment, shown in FIG. 3 , the elongate strip or voicing tape 18 extends around the peripheral surface of the felt covering, from the front surface of the hammer to the back, covering the top region which strikes the piano string. It is preferable that the tape 18 extend beyond a line 22 , at the “equator” of the hammer, which passes through the hammer at its widest point. It is also preferable that the adhesive between the tape and the felt covering be restricted to the area of the tape that extends “below” the equator, away from the region of the hammer that strikes the string, so that the adhesive will have no effect on the piano tone quality.
For hammers in the bass register of a piano, the voicing tape 18 preferably extends downward slightly beyond the staple 20 , thus covering the staple. In the mid range of the piano, the voicing tape may reach lower and lower on the hammers as they progress upward toward the treble. In the treble region the voicing tape may completely cover the periphery of the felt covering on the hammers.
FIG. 4 shows a voicing tape 18 in plan view. The areas 24 on which the adhesive is applied extend from each end of the tape for a distance toward the center of the tape which is approximately equal to the width of the tape.
Prior to applying a voicing tape to a hammer, the top region of the felt covering which strikes the piano string is sanded or filed, as necessary, and ironed to remove any grooves or the like which were made during previous use of the hammer. Thereafter, adhesive is applied to the voicing tape 18 to the areas 24 in FIG. 4 and the tape is wound tightly around the peripheral surface of the felt covering 16 of the hammer. It is held down with a short strip of cellophane tape, such as Scotch tape, at each end until the adhesive, preferably Elmer's white glue, has fully cured. If the acoustics of the piano require more muting, depending on the location of the piano and/or the musical taste of its owner, it is possible to add a second layer of voicing tape on top of the first. This is found to be preferable to using tape with a greater thickness.
The application of voicing tapes to the piano hammers can be done at any time during the life of a piano, whether the piano is new or old. As noted above, the region of the piano hammer which strikes the piano string should be filed smooth, to eliminate any grooves, in the case of an older piano.
Depending upon the size and shape of the hammers, the length of the elongate strip or voicing tape 18 is preferably in the range of approximately 9 to 10 cm (4 inches) for the No. 1 hammer, tapering to approximately 5 to 6 cm (2 inches) for the No. 88 hammer, with the lengths in between decreasing from hammer to hammer. The thickness of the elongate strip is preferably in the range of 0.015 inches to 0.025 inches when uncompressed or 0.004 inches to 0.007 inches when compressed.
It has been found that application of the elongate strip or “voicing tape” to a piano hammer makes the piano much quieter, with a −10 to −30 dB reduction in volume, while increasing the dynamic range from pppp to ffff, making the piano more responsive and sensitive to the touch of the player. While the voicing tapes may be applied to any piano, the resultant muting may not always be desirable for a grand piano (pianoforte) in a large concert hall.
In addition, application of the voicing tape to each of the hammers of a piano results immediately in an evenness of tone, eliminating the constant need for voicing. In effect, the tape provides a “permanent voicing” for the piano.
Furthermore, the voicing tapes improve the tone quality of the piano, without need for replacing old or poor quality strings or hammers, and preserve the piano hammers for an extended period of time. The voicing tapes also make the sound of the piano more “pleasant”, in spite of imperfections in the piano.
There has thus been shown and described a novel piano hammer which fulfills all the objects and advantages sought therefor. Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the subject invention will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering this specification and the accompanying drawings which disclose the preferred embodiments thereof. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention, which is to be limited only by the claims which follow. | A piano hammer comprises an elongate hammer head having a nose portion defining side surfaces and a felt covering extending about the nose portion with tail portions of the felt covering affixed to the side surfaces. The felt covering defines a substantially elliptical peripheral surface from a top region for striking a piano string to front and back regions. An elongate strip is arranged on the peripheral surface of the felt covering in the top region, extending along the front and back regions to points beyond the hammer equator. This strip or “voicing tape” is made of a synthetic non-woven fabric material, preferably of the type sold under the registered trademark Pellon. | Identify and summarize the most critical features from the given passage. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a piano hammer of the type used in the mechanical action of any type of piano, be it a grand piano (“pianoforte”) or an upright piano.",
"More particularly, the invention relates to a covering on the striking surface of a piano hammer which results in improved tone quality, increased dynamic range and improved durability of the hammer.",
"One of the critical operating components of the mechanical action in a piano is the hammer that strikes the wire or wires of the piano string.",
"Since the tone quality of each note in a piano is dependent upon the construction and density of the hammer, many attempts have been made to improve the hammer and especially its contact surface.",
"A piano hammer conventionally comprises an elongate “hammer head”, usually made of wood, having a nose portion that is usually wedge shaped.",
"A felt covering surrounds the nose portion with tail portions affixed to the side surfaces of the nose portion, usually with glue and a reinforcing staple.",
"Such felt covering defines a substantially elliptical peripheral surface which extends from the top of the hammer, in the region which strikes the piano string, away from this region through a widest point between the front and back of the hammer, hereinafter called the “equator”",
"of the hammer, to the terminus of the tail portions.",
"(It will be understood that the “top”, “front”",
"and “back”",
"of the hammer refer to the respective sides of a hammer as installed in a grand piano.",
"This terminology will be used herein although the hammer may be installed in an upright piano where the “top”",
"becomes the “front”",
"of the hammer and the “front”",
"and “back”",
"become the “bottom”",
"and “top”, respectively).",
"Over time, the felt covering generally becomes worn and/or compressed and hardened at the top region under continuous use to such an extent as to impair the tone of the piano.",
"Attempts have therefore been made to find a felt covering material which is highly resistant to wear and other damage.",
"The U.S. Pat. No. 3,487,429 to Johnson discloses a piano hammer having the felt covering forming the striking member comprised of a blend of wool fibers and thermoplastic fibers.",
"This felt covering is said to be durable and can be formed with a “controlled density”",
"for different registers of the piano.",
"The U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,430 to Hayashida discloses a simplified piano hammer comprising a wooden base, a striking head and an outer “protective covering”",
"surrounding the end of the wooden base and covering the striking head.",
"The striking head is a relatively thin strip made of elastic material such as polyurethane.",
"The protective covering is made of a “protective material such as deer-skin or artificial leather.”",
"The U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,310 to Lombino teaches a piano hammer comprising an elongate wooden head with a “nose portion”",
"and a felt body extending about the nose portion.",
"Tail portions of the felt body are affixed to the side surfaces of the nose portion.",
"The felt body is comprised of an “outer felt”",
"made of 100% wool and an “under felt.”",
"The patent is directed to a method of manufacturing wherein the sides of the outer felt are impregnated with an aqueous solution containing an acrylic copolymer.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved piano hammer which is more durable and long lasting than piano hammers of the prior art while at the same time yielding improved tone quality and dynamic range of the piano.",
"This object, as well as other objects which will become apparent from the discussion that follows, are achieved, in accordance with the present invention, by providing a conventional, felt-covered piano hammer with an elongate strip of material arranged on the peripheral surface of the felt covering, at least in the region thereof which strikes the piano string.",
"This strip, which is sometimes referred to below as a “voicing tape”, is made of a synthetic non-woven fabric material, preferably of the type sold under the registered trademark “Pellon.”",
"“Pellon”",
"is the registered trademark for a material produced and sold by Freudenberg Nonwovens, LP, of Durham, N.C.",
"It is formed of fine thermoplastic threads which are made into a non-woven cloth.",
"Preferably, the elongate strip extends from the top of the hammer, in the region for striking the piano string, downward and away from this region to the widest point, between the front and back of the hammer, herein called the “equator”",
"of the hammer.",
"The strip is attached to the felt covering by means of an adhesive disposed in an area near each end of the strip.",
"This adhesive area extends from the end of the strip for a distance toward the center of the strip which is approximately equal to the width of the strip.",
"When applied to the felt covering, the adhesive area of the elongate strip is disposed between the equator of the hammer and the bottom terminus of the covering, at the point where the wooden nose portion remains exposed.",
"In the case of hammers (e.g., for the bass and mid-range registers of a piano) that have a staple holding the felt covering in place, the elongate strip preferably extends a short distance beyond the staple, to cover the staple.",
"Preferably, the width of the elongate strip is substantially equal to the width of the felt covering.",
"When positioned and attached in the manner described above, the elongate strip will be approximately four inches long for a hammer in the bass register of a piano, tapering to approximately two inches for a hammer in the treble register.",
"Pellon material is available on the market in lightweight, medium and heavyweight thickness, and in hard and soft textures.",
"Preferably, a medium lightweight thickness, or a medium weight thickness, is used such that the thickness of the elongate strip will be in the range of 0.015 inches to 0.025 inches when uncompressed, and in the range of 0.004 inches to 0.007 inches when compressed.",
"Preferably also, a soft and/or smooth texture is used.",
"The elongate strip or voicing tape is preferably attached to the felt cover of the hammer by means of a white adhesive, such as Elmer's white glue.",
"For a full understanding of the present invention, reference should now be made to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a piano hammer upon which is applied a voicing tape according to the present invention.",
"FIG. 2 is a top view of a piano hammer with a voicing tape according to the present invention.",
"FIG. 3 is a side view of a piano hammer according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.",
"FIG. 4 is a plan view of a voicing tape according to the present invention.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1-4 of the drawings.",
"Identical elements in these two figures are designated with the same reference numerals.",
"FIG. 1 shows a conventional piano hammer 10 comprising an elongate, wooden hammer head 12 having a nose portion 14 and a felt covering 16 affixed to the nose portion by means of an adhesive and a staple.",
"The felt covering defines a substantially elliptical peripheral surface.",
"As is well known, the top surface region of the felt covering of the piano hammer strikes the piano string (the piano wire or wires) and thus creates the musical tone.",
"According to the invention, an elongate strip or “voicing tape”",
"18 is arranged on the peripheral surface of the felt covering, at least in the region thereof which strikes the piano string.",
"This strip is made of a synthetic non-woven material, preferably medium lightweight or medium weight Pellon, with a soft and smooth texture.",
"As may be seen in FIG. 1 , the voicing tape is substantially equal in width to the width of the felt covering of the hammer.",
"The voicing tape 18 is affixed to the felt covering by means of an adhesive, preferably a white adhesive such as Elmer's white glue.",
"Such glue is strong enough to hold the voicing tape, but allows the tape to be removed and replaced at a later date.",
"As will be explained below, the area in which the adhesive is applied is restricted to the end regions of the tape.",
"No glue is applied between the tape and the felt covering of the hammer in the region near the top of the hammer which strikes the piano string.",
"In this way, only the felt covering and the voicing tape are involved in striking the string, so that the adhesive will not effect the tone of the piano.",
"FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the hammer head of FIG. 1 in top view and side view, respectively.",
"As best seen in FIG. 3 , the nose portion 14 of the hammer head 12 , which is normally made of wood, has side surfaces 15 .",
"Tail portions 17 of the felt covering 16 are affixed to these side surfaces with an adhesive and, in most cases, by means of a staple 20 .",
"As shown by a dashed line in FIG. 3 , this staple passes through the interior of the felt covering and the nose portion.",
"Preferably, the region 19 of the felt covering immediately adjacent the nose portion 14 with its side surfaces 15 is impregnated with a hardening material such as an acrylic to improve its adhesion to the hammer 12 .",
"The wooden hammer head 12 is carried, in the mechanical action of the piano, by a wooden shank 20 .",
"In the preferred embodiment, shown in FIG. 3 , the elongate strip or voicing tape 18 extends around the peripheral surface of the felt covering, from the front surface of the hammer to the back, covering the top region which strikes the piano string.",
"It is preferable that the tape 18 extend beyond a line 22 , at the “equator”",
"of the hammer, which passes through the hammer at its widest point.",
"It is also preferable that the adhesive between the tape and the felt covering be restricted to the area of the tape that extends “below”",
"the equator, away from the region of the hammer that strikes the string, so that the adhesive will have no effect on the piano tone quality.",
"For hammers in the bass register of a piano, the voicing tape 18 preferably extends downward slightly beyond the staple 20 , thus covering the staple.",
"In the mid range of the piano, the voicing tape may reach lower and lower on the hammers as they progress upward toward the treble.",
"In the treble region the voicing tape may completely cover the periphery of the felt covering on the hammers.",
"FIG. 4 shows a voicing tape 18 in plan view.",
"The areas 24 on which the adhesive is applied extend from each end of the tape for a distance toward the center of the tape which is approximately equal to the width of the tape.",
"Prior to applying a voicing tape to a hammer, the top region of the felt covering which strikes the piano string is sanded or filed, as necessary, and ironed to remove any grooves or the like which were made during previous use of the hammer.",
"Thereafter, adhesive is applied to the voicing tape 18 to the areas 24 in FIG. 4 and the tape is wound tightly around the peripheral surface of the felt covering 16 of the hammer.",
"It is held down with a short strip of cellophane tape, such as Scotch tape, at each end until the adhesive, preferably Elmer's white glue, has fully cured.",
"If the acoustics of the piano require more muting, depending on the location of the piano and/or the musical taste of its owner, it is possible to add a second layer of voicing tape on top of the first.",
"This is found to be preferable to using tape with a greater thickness.",
"The application of voicing tapes to the piano hammers can be done at any time during the life of a piano, whether the piano is new or old.",
"As noted above, the region of the piano hammer which strikes the piano string should be filed smooth, to eliminate any grooves, in the case of an older piano.",
"Depending upon the size and shape of the hammers, the length of the elongate strip or voicing tape 18 is preferably in the range of approximately 9 to 10 cm (4 inches) for the No. 1 hammer, tapering to approximately 5 to 6 cm (2 inches) for the No. 88 hammer, with the lengths in between decreasing from hammer to hammer.",
"The thickness of the elongate strip is preferably in the range of 0.015 inches to 0.025 inches when uncompressed or 0.004 inches to 0.007 inches when compressed.",
"It has been found that application of the elongate strip or “voicing tape”",
"to a piano hammer makes the piano much quieter, with a −10 to −30 dB reduction in volume, while increasing the dynamic range from pppp to ffff, making the piano more responsive and sensitive to the touch of the player.",
"While the voicing tapes may be applied to any piano, the resultant muting may not always be desirable for a grand piano (pianoforte) in a large concert hall.",
"In addition, application of the voicing tape to each of the hammers of a piano results immediately in an evenness of tone, eliminating the constant need for voicing.",
"In effect, the tape provides a “permanent voicing”",
"for the piano.",
"Furthermore, the voicing tapes improve the tone quality of the piano, without need for replacing old or poor quality strings or hammers, and preserve the piano hammers for an extended period of time.",
"The voicing tapes also make the sound of the piano more “pleasant”, in spite of imperfections in the piano.",
"There has thus been shown and described a novel piano hammer which fulfills all the objects and advantages sought therefor.",
"Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the subject invention will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering this specification and the accompanying drawings which disclose the preferred embodiments thereof.",
"All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention, which is to be limited only by the claims which follow."
] |
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0001] The invention relates to optical communication networks, and in particular to a method and system for avoiding Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE) loops that can result in excessive noise buildup in an optical communication network.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0002] An optical communication network consists of multiple nodes each of which is controlled by a Network Element (NE). Most optical communication networks incorporate fiber rings or fiber mesh topologies for interconnecting its nodes, both of which can contain closed optical loops at one or more wavelengths within the optical spectrum. In amplified optical systems, the inherent loss of these optical loops is counteracted by the amplifier gain, such that the optical loop may have a net loss that is too low to prevent excessive noise buildup, or a net gain, resulting in a lasing fiber loop. The noise that builds up within such amplified systems is dominated by the Amplified Spontaneous Emission noise resulting in ASE loops.
[0003] These low loss loops, or gain loops, can have significant impact on all wavelengths within the fiber, causing partial or complete loss of end-to-end communication due to degraded Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR). Consequently, these loops need to be prevented by deploying appropriate techniques at the NEs. Moreover, if an optical network is susceptible to ASE loop occurrence, due to failures of network devices or elements for instance, the ASE loop susceptibility needs to be identified and eliminated. This is especially problematic in reconfigurable Optical Add Drop Multiplexer (OADM) and Wavelength Selectable Cross Connect (WSXC) environments. Thus, without some prevention mechanism, wavelength rings can be created as a result of simple mis-provisioning events or device failures within reconfigurable OADM and WSXC environments.
[0004] Different techniques have been deployed in prior art for avoiding ASE loops. The protection system deployed by one such technique described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,025,941 by Srivastava A. K. et al. issued Feb. 15, 2000 entitled “Stable Wavelength Division Multiplex Ring Network” changes the optical transmission characteristics of the transmission bandwidth of the network in such a way that the loop gain for any wavelength is smaller the network loop loss. Another way to prevent ASE gain loops is to impose one or more optical seams for a wavelength instance. Such a seam prevents the wavelength instance to continue in unspecified directions. For example, an optical seam created by the NE that adds a wavelength instance does not allow the wavelength instance to reach the preceding node. Similarly, an optical seam created by the NE that drops the wavelength instance does not allow the wavelength instance to continue beyond this node. Typically, a detailed network walk is required to ascertain the absence of a loop for a given wavelength instance. These methods either need altering the hardware or deploy a complex algorithm at NEs for loop identification at service creation time. ASE loops can also occur after service creation due to mis-provisioning or device failures. Preferably, the network itself is to be adaptive to events and should not only prevent ASE gain loops under normal operations but can also recognize when the system is susceptible to ASE gain loops under fault conditions. The prior arts discussed earlier do not address the scenario in which a fault has occurred in the system.
[0005] Thus there is a need in the field for the development of improved methods and system for avoiding ASE loops in an optical communication network.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Therefore it is an objective of the invention to provide an effective method and system for avoiding ASE loops in an optical communication network.
[0007] A method for avoiding Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE) loops in an optical communication network, including a plurality of Network Elements (NEs) and transmitting a plurality of wavelength instances, the method comprising the steps of: transmitting a wavelength instance from a head NE, where the wavelength instance is added to the optical communication network, to a tail NE, where the wavelength instance is dropped from the optical communication network; creating and advertising optical seams for the wavelength instance in the optical communication network, the optical seams preventing the wavelength instance from propagating on the optical communication network in unspecified directions; and processing the optical seams for the wavelength instance in the optical communication network. The step of creating and advertising optical seams for a wavelength instance, further comprises the steps of: receiving an add-request by the head NE for the wavelength instance for adding the wavelength instance into the optical communication network; completing an optical seam for the wavelength instance by the head NE for the wavelength instance; and advertising the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance to other NEs in the optical communication network. The step of processing the optical seams further comprises the steps of: receiving a through-request by an intermediate NE for the wavelength instance, used for forwarding the wavelength instance to the next NE on a path for the wavelength instance; receiving an advertisement from the head NE for the wavelength instance; and completing the through-request; wherein the path includes the head NE, the tail NE and the intermediate NEs for the wavelength instance. The step of creating and advertising optical seams for a wavelength instance, further comprises the steps of: creating and advertising the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance; and creating and advertising the optical seam by the tail NE for the wavelength instance. The step of creating and advertising the optical seam by the head NE further comprises the steps of: receiving an add-request by the head NE for the wavelength instance for adding the wavelength instance into the optical communication network; completing the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance; and advertising the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance to the other NEs in the optical communication network. The step of creating and advertising the optical seam by the tail NE further comprises the steps of: receiving a drop-request by the tail NE for the wavelength instance for dropping the wavelength instance from the optical communication network; completing the optical seam by the tail NE for the wavelength instance; and advertising the optical seam by the tail NE for the wavelength instance to the other NEs in the optical communication network. The step of processing the optical seams further comprises the steps of: receiving a through-request by an intermediate NE for the wavelength instance, used for forwarding the wavelength instance to the next NE on a path for the wavelength instance; receiving the advertisement from the head NE for the wavelength instance; receiving the advertisement from the tail NE for the wavelength instance; and completing the through-request; wherein the path includes the head NE, the tail NE and the intermediate NEs for the wavelength instance.
[0008] A method for avoiding Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE) loops in an optical communication network, including a plurality of Network Elements (NEs) and transmitting a plurality of wavelength instances, the method comprising the steps of: transmitting a wavelength instance from a head NE, where the wavelength instance is added to the optical communication network, to a tail NE, where the wavelength instance is dropped from the optical communication network; creating an optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance in the optical communication network, the optical seam preventing the wavelength instance from propagating on the optical communication network in unspecified directions; creating an optical seam by the tail NE for the wavelength instance in the optical communication network; processing optical seams at intermediate NEs in the optical communication network; and eliminating collisions among wavelength instances. The step of creating an optical seam by the head NE further comprises the steps of: receiving an add-request by the head NE for the wavelength instance for adding the wavelength instance into the optical communication network; completing the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance; and advertising the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance to the other NEs in the optical communication network.
[0009] The step of creating an optical seam by the tail NE further comprises the steps of: receiving a drop-request by the tail NE for the wavelength instance for dropping the wavelength instance from the optical communication network; completing the optical seam by the tail NE for the wavelength instance; and advertising the optical seam by the tail NE for the wavelength instance to the other NEs in the optical communication network. The step of processing the optical seams further comprises the steps of: receiving a through-request by the intermediate NE for the wavelength instance for forwarding the wavelength instance to the next NE on a path for the wavelength instance; receiving the advertisement from the head NE for the wavelength instance; receiving the advertisement from the tail NE for the wavelength instance; receiving a valid channel ID generated by using Wavelength Tracker Technology for the wavelength instance; and completing the through-request; wherein the path includes the head NE, the tail NE and the intermediate NEs for the wavelength instance and the Wavelength Tracker technology provides a unique signature in the form of a low frequency dither tone modulation called Wavekey for each wavelength instance. The step of eliminating collisions among the wavelength instances further comprises the steps of: identifying collisions of wavelength instances at the NEs; and forcing a break at the NEs that identify the collisions. The step of identifying collisions among wavelength instances at the NEs further comprises the steps of: monitoring the wavelength instances continuously; and observing a plurality of channel IDs generated at the instant of collisions.
[0010] A system for avoiding Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE) loops in an optical communication network, including a plurality of Network Elements (NEs) and transmitting a plurality of wavelength instances, the system comprising: means for transmitting a wavelength instance from a head NE, where the wavelength instance is added to the optical communication network, to a tail NE, where the wavelength instance is dropped from the optical communication network; means for creating and advertising optical seams for the wavelength instance in the optical communication network, the optical seams preventing the wavelength instance from propagating on the optical communication network in unspecified directions; and means for processing the optical seams for the wavelength instance in the optical communication network. The means for creating and advertising optical seams for a wavelength instance, further comprises: means for receiving an add-request by the head NE for the wavelength instance for adding the wavelength instance into the optical communication network; means for completing an optical seam for the wavelength instance by the head NE for the wavelength instance; and means for advertising the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance to other NEs in the optical communication network. The means for processing the optical seams further comprises: means for receiving a through-request by an intermediate NE for the wavelength instance used for forwarding the wavelength instance to the next NE on a path for the wavelength instance; means for receiving an advertisement from the head NE for the wavelength instance; and means for completing the through-request; wherein the path includes the head NE, the tail NE and the intermediate NEs for the wavelength instance. The means for creating and advertising optical seams for a wavelength instance, further comprises: means for creating and advertising the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance; and means for creating and advertising the optical seam by the tail NE for the wavelength instance. The means for creating and advertising the optical seam by the head NE further comprises: means for receiving an add-request by the head NE for the wavelength instance for adding the wavelength instance into the optical communication network; means for completing the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance; and means for advertising the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance to the other NEs in the optical communication network. The means for creating and advertising the optical seam by the tail NE further comprises: means for receiving a drop-request by the tail NE for the wavelength instance for dropping the wavelength instance from the optical communication network; means for completing the optical seam by the tail NE for the wavelength instance; and means for advertising the optical seam by the tail NE for the wavelength instance to the other NEs in the optical communication network. The means for processing the optical seams further comprises: means for receiving a through-request by the intermediate NEs for the wavelength instance for forwarding the wavelength instance to the next NE on a path for the wavelength instance; means for receiving the advertisement from the head NE for the wavelength instance; means for receiving the advertisement from the tail NE for the wavelength instance; and means for completing the through-request; wherein the path includes the head NE, the tail NE and the intermediate NEs for the wavelength instance.
[0011] A system for avoiding Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE) loops in an optical communication network, including a plurality of Network Elements (NEs) and transmitting a plurality of wavelength instances, the system comprising: means for transmitting a wavelength instance from a head NE, where the wavelength instance is added to the optical communication network, to a tail NE, where the wavelength instance is dropped from the optical communication network; means for creating an optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance, where the optical seams are used for preventing the wavelength instance from propagating on the optical communication network in unspecified directions; means for creating an optical seam by the tail NE for a wavelength instance; means for processing optical seams at intermediate NEs in the optical communication network; and means for eliminating collisions among wavelength instances. The means for creating an optical seam by the head NE further comprises: means for receiving an add-request by the head NE for the wavelength instance for adding the wavelength instance into the optical communication network; means for completing the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance; and means for advertising the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance to the other NEs in the optical communication network. The means for creating an optical seam by the tail NE further comprises: means for receiving a drop-request by the tail NE for the wavelength instance for dropping the wavelength instance from the optical communication network; means for completing the optical seam by the tail NE for the wavelength instance; and means for advertising the optical seam by the tail NE for the wavelength instance to the other NEs in the optical communication network. The means for processing optical seams further comprises: means for receiving a through-request by the intermediate NE for the wavelength instance for forwarding the wavelength instance to the next NE on a path for the wavelength instance; means for receiving the advertisement from the head NE for the wavelength instance; means for receiving the advertisement from the tail NE for the wavelength instance; means for receiving a valid channel ID generated by using Wavelength Tracker Technology for the wavelength instance; and means for completing the through-request; wherein the path includes the head NE, the tail NE and the intermediate NEs for the wavelength instance and the Wavelength Tracker technology provides a unique signature in the form of a low frequency dither tone modulation called Wavekey for each wavelength instance. The means for eliminating collisions among wavelength instances further comprises: means for identifying collisions of wavelength instances at the NEs; and means for forcing a break at the NEs that identify the collisions. The means for identifying collisions among wavelength instances at the NEs further comprises: means for monitoring the wavelength instances continuously; and means for observing a plurality of channel IDs generated at the instant of collisions.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the embodiment, which is described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
[0013] FIG. 1 presents an example optical communication network with three wavelength instances;
[0014] FIG. 2 shows a flowchart that illustrates the steps of the method used by the head NE in the first embodiment;
[0015] FIG. 3 shows a flowchart that illustrates the steps of the method used by the intermediate NEs in the first embodiment;
[0016] FIG. 4 illustrates an example sequence of events that occur when the first embodiment is used;
[0017] FIG. 5 shows a flowchart that illustrates the steps of the method used by the head NE in the second embodiment;
[0018] FIG. 6 shows a flowchart that illustrates the steps of the method used by the intermediate NEs in the second embodiment;
[0019] FIG. 7 illustrates an example sequence of events that occur when the second embodiment is used;
[0020] FIG. 8 ( a ) presents the desired connectivity for an example optical communication network;
[0021] FIG. 8 ( b ) illustrates the occurrence of an ASE loop due to a mis-provisioning event;
[0022] FIG. 9 shows a flowchart that illustrates the steps of the method used by the intermediate NEs in the third embodiment;
[0023] FIG. 10 illustrates an example sequence of events that occur when the third embodiment is used;
[0024] FIG. 11 ( a ) presents an example optical communication network before an error or a device failure has occurred; and
[0025] FIG. 11 ( b ) presents an example optical communication network after an error or a device failure has occurred.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0026] Before describing the embodiments of the invention the terminologies used in the description are introduced. An example optical communication network is shown in FIG. 1 . The network consists of six NE's: N 1 102 , N 2 104 , N 3 106 , N 4 108 , N 5 110 , and N 6 112 . A NE is connected to its two neighboring NE's through optical links. Multiple wavelength instances each of which is identified by a separate channel ID can be used in such a network, with each wavelength instance flowing through a particular network segment. FIG. 1 for example, shows three instances of the wavelength λ 1 : λ 1 instance 1 , λ 1 instance 2 and λ 1 instance 3 . Each wavelength instance is added to the optical communication network by a head NE, is forwarded from one intermediate NE to another by intermediate NEs and is dropped from the network by the tail NE. For the λ 1 Instance 1 in FIG. 1 for example, the head NE is N 1 102 , the tail NE is N 4 108 whereas N 2 104 and N 3 106 are the intermediate NEs. The set of NE's that include the head NE, the tail NE and the intermediate NEs that lie between the head NE and the tail NE constitute the path for the wavelength instance. The wavelength instance that is added to the optical communication network by the head NE is forwarded by the intermediate NEs until it reaches the tail NE where it is dropped from the network.
[0027] Three embodiments for the invention are described. The embodiments differ from one another in terms of the degree of resilience they provide. All the embodiments deploy optical seams for preventing a wavelength instance to be transmitted in unspecified directions. Note that an optical seam used in the embodiments is on the Optical Channel (OCH) layer and not on the Optical Multiplexing Section (OMS) nor the Optical Transmission Section (OTS) layers. The first embodiment ensures a single optical seam for the avoidance of ASE loops whereas the second ensures two optical seams so that if one of the optical seams fails due to a fault in the network the second is still able to prevent an ASE loop. In addition to the two optical seams the third embodiment provides a facility for continuous monitoring of the wavelength instance such that ASE gain loops due to mis-provisioning or device failure can be avoided. The continuous monitoring technique is also useful after service creation when a collision among wavelength instances that may accrue from a mis-provisioning or a device failure and can lead to an ASE loop is detected. Upon detection of such a collision the third embodiment provides a method and system for taking corrective actions such that ASE loops are avoided. A detailed discussion of each of the embodiments is presented next.
[0028] As discussed earlier the wavelength instance is added to the network by the head NE, transmitted to a tail NE where it is dropped from the network. The first two embodiments are based on the creation and advertisement of optical seams: by the head NE in the first embodiment and the by both the head NE and the tail NE in the second embodiment. Such an advertisement may be provided by an existing technique such as OSPF-TE Opaque LSAs described in Katz D. et al. “3630 Traffic Engineering (TE) Extensions to OSPF Version 2”, September 2003 (Format: TXT=27717 bytes) (Updates RFC2370) (Updated by RFC4203) (Status: PROPOSED STANDARD). A short description of the first embodiment is presented next. The method deployed by the head NE for the wavelength instance is illustrated with the help of FIG. 2 . Upon start (box 202 ) the head NE receives an add-request for adding a specific wavelength instance to the optical communication network (box 204 ). The head NE performs the add operation and then creates an optical seam for the wavelength instance that does not allow the wavelength instance to propagate in unspecified directions. For the example network shown in FIG. 1 , the optical seam created at the head NE N 1 102 will not allow the wavelength instance, λ 1 instance 1 , to reach N 6 112 . After creating the optical seam the head NE advertises the optical seam creation to all the other NEs in the network (box 208 ) and exits (box 210 ). NEs (e.g. N 5 110 and N 6 112 in the example of FIG. 1 ) that do not lie in the path that spans from a head NE to the tail NE and includes the intermediate NEs for the wavelength instance record this information but do not process it. An intermediate NE that lies in the path processes the advertisement when it receives a through-request for forwarding the wavelength instance to the next NE in the path for the wavelength instance.
[0029] The method deployed by an intermediate NE is explained with the help of the flow chart presented in FIG. 3 . Upon start (box 302 ) the intermediate NE receives a through-request (box 304 ). The procedure then checks whether or not an advertisement for optical seam creation is received from the head NE of the wavelength instance (box 306 ). If the advertisement is not received the procedure exits NO and loops back to the entry of box 306 . If the advertisement is received the procedure exits YES from box 306 and completes the through-request (box 308 ) and exits (box 310 ).
[0030] The operations performed at the head NE and the intermediate NEs are asynchronous and can occur in any order. The creation of a service for a wavelength instance deploying the method of this embodiment is explained further with the help of an example presented in FIG. 4 . The optical communication network shown in the figure consists of six NEs: N 1 402 , N 2 404 , N 3 406 , N 4 408 , N 5 410 and N 6 412 . The head NE and the tail NE for the wavelength instance are N 1 402 and N 4 408 respectively whereas N 2 404 and N 3 406 are the intermediate NEs. The wavelength instance is added at the head NE N 1 402 and is dropped at the tail NE N 4 408 . The sequence of events that lead to the creation of service is presented next. The event numbers in the following text correspond to the numbers shown within the gray circles in FIG. 4 .
[0031] 1—Through-request received at N 3 406 . Completing the through-request is held off since the optical seam advertisement is not received.
[0032] 2—Add-request is received at N 1 402 .
[0033] N 1 402 creates optical seam and performs the add operation.
[0034] N 1 402 advertises optical seam creation.
[0035] 3—All NE's receive optical seam creation advertisement and record it.
[0036] N 3 406 completes the through-request.
[0037] 4—N 2 404 receives through-request.
[0038] Since optical seam advertisement is already received, N 2 completes the through-request immediately.
[0039] 5—N 4 408 receives drop-request.
[0040] N 4 408 performs drop.
[0041] Service is created and light flows.
[0042] The method of the second embodiment is based on the creation and advertisement of optical seams by both the head NE and the tail NE for the wavelength instance. The advantage of creating a second optical seam during the creation of service is the added resilience: if one of the optical seams fails, an ASE loop is still prevented by the second optical seam. The method deployed at the head NE is exactly the same as the one depicted for the first embodiment in FIG. 2 . The method deployed by the tail NE is explained with the help of the flow chart in FIG. 5 . Upon start (box 502 ) the head NE receives a drop-request for dropping a specific wavelength instance to the optical communication network (box 504 ). The tail NE performs the drop operation and then creates an optical seam for the wavelength instance that does not allow the wavelength instance to continue in unspecified directions (box 506 ). For the example network shown in FIG. 1 , the optical seam created at the tail NE N 4 108 will not allow the wavelength instance, λ 1 instance 1 , to reach N 5 110 . After creating the optical seam the tail NE advertises the optical seam creation to all the other NEs in the network (box 508 ) and exits (box 510 ). NEs that do not lie in the path (e.g. N 5 110 and N 6 112 in the example of FIG. 1 ) record this information but do not process it. An intermediate NE that lies in the path between the head NE and the tail NE processes the advertisement when it receives a through-request for forwarding the wavelength instance to the next NE in the path.
[0043] The method deployed by an intermediate NE is explained with the help of the flow chart presented in FIG. 6 . Upon start (box 602 ) the intermediate NE receives a through-request (box 604 ). The procedure then checks whether or not advertisements for optical seam creation are received from both the head NE and the tail NE for the wavelength instance (box 606 ). If both the advertisements are not received the procedure exits NO and loops back to the entry of box 606 . If both advertisements are received the procedure exits YES from box 606 and completes the through-request (box 608 ) and exits (box 610 ).
[0044] As mentioned earlier, the operations performed at the head NE, the tail NE and the intermediate NEs are asynchronous and can occur in any order. The creation of a service for a wavelength instance deploying the method of this embodiment is explained further with the help of an example presented in FIG. 7 . The optical communication network shown in the figure consists of six NEs: N 1 702 , N 2 704 , N 3 706 , N 4 708 , N 5 710 and N 6 712 . The head NE and the tail NE for the wavelength instance are N 1 702 and N 4 708 respectively whereas N 2 704 and N 3 706 are the intermediate NEs. The wavelength instance is added at the head NE N 1 702 and is dropped at the tail NE N 4 708 . The sequence of operations that lead to the creation of service is captured in the sequence of events presented next. The event numbers in the following text correspond to the numbers shown within gray circles in FIG. 7 .
[0045] 1—Through-request received at N 3 706 . Completing the through-request is held off since the optical seam advertisements are not yet received.
[0046] 2—Add-request is received at N 1 702 .
[0047] N 1 702 creates optical seam and performs the add operation.
[0048] N 1 702 advertises optical seam creation.
[0049] 3—All NE's receive optical seam creation advertisement and record it.
[0050] 4—N 4 708 receives a drop-request.
[0051] N 4 708 creates second optical seam and performs the drop operation.
[0052] N 4 708 advertises optical seam creation.
[0053] 5—All NE's receive optical seam creation advertisement and record it.
[0054] N 3 completes the through-request.
[0055] 6—N 2 704 receives a through-request.
[0056] Since both optical seam advertisements are already known, N 2 completes the through-request immediately.
[0057] Service is created and light flows.
[0058] In addition to the two optical seams used in the second embodiment, the method of the third embodiment introduces a step of checking the valid channel ID for avoiding ASE loops that may occur as a result of a number of mis-provisioning operations. This is explained with the help of FIG. 8 . Consider a set of NEs X 802 , Z 804 , B 806 , C 808 and A 810 . The desired path for a given wavelength instance with a channel ID α is shown in bold in FIG. 8 ( a ) with X 802 as the head NE and Z 804 as the tail NE. Consider a mis-provisioning event in B 806 that resulted in connecting B 806 to A 810 instead of Z 804 . In the absence of channel ID monitoring, even if both optical seams are advertised, this error can lead to an ASE loop shown in FIG. 8 ( b ), the loop including A 810 , C 808 and B 806 . This is because as soon as both optical seams are advertised A 810 , B 806 and C 808 will comply with the through requests that can lead to the ASE loop. The third embodiment that ensures that a valid channel ID is observed at the NE before completing a though-request prevents the formation of such an ASE loop. In this example, since the expected channel ID α is absent on the interface to B 806 at A 810 , A 810 will not complete the through-request. Similarly due to the absence of channel ID α at the provisioned interfaces, B 806 and C 808 will not complete their through-requests. This prevents the formation of the ASE loop shown in FIG. 8 ( b ). The channel ID is incorporated by using the Wavelength Tracker technology that is discussed next.
[0059] Tropic Network's Wavelength Tracker technology is useful in monitoring of optical networks that carry wavelength instances. Monitoring of the path followed by a wavelength instance is achieved by deploying Wavelength Tracker that identifies the path. The Wavelength Tracker technology applies a unique optical signature to each wavelength instance at the Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) layer. The unique optical signature includes a low frequency modulation of one or more dither tones onto the wavelength instance, which uniquely identify the wavelength instance. This optical signature (also called a Wavekey) is applied to the wavelength instance at the head NE for the wavelength instance. The optical signature is detectable at intermediate NEs on the path via inexpensive decoders present on line cards. Detection of the optical signature is accomplished without an Optical-Electrical-Optical (OEO) conversion at intermediate nodes, thus resulting in a cost-effective solution. Wavelength Tracker technology is used for a variety of applications including optical power monitoring and loss of light avoidance. The technology for generating and detecting Wavekeys has been described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/963,501 by Obeda, P. D., et al, entitled “Topology Discovery in Optical WDM Networks”, filed on 27 Sep. 2001.
[0060] As discussed earlier the wavelength instance is added to the network by the head NE, transmitted to a tail NE where it is dropped from the network. The methods deployed in the third embodiment by the head NE and the tail NE for the wavelength instance are the same as depicted in FIG. 2 and FIG. 5 respectively. The method used at the intermediate NEs is explained with the flowchart presented in FIG. 9 . Upon start (box 902 ) the intermediate NE receives a through-request (box 904 ). The procedure then checks whether or not advertisements for optical seam creation are received from both the head NE and the tail NE for the wavelength instance (box 906 ). If both the advertisements are not received the procedure exits NO and loops back to the entry of box 906 . If both advertisements are received the procedure exits YES from box 906 . The next step is to check whether or not a valid channel ID for the wavelength instance is received at the intermediate NE (box 908 ). If a valid channel ID is not received the procedure exits NO from box 908 and loops back to the entry of box 908 . Once a valid channel ID is received the procedure exits YES from box 908 , completes the through-request (box 910 ) and exits (box 912 ).
[0061] The creation of a service for a wavelength instance deploying the method of this embodiment is explained further with the help of an example presented in FIG. 10 . The optical communication network shown in the figure consists of six NEs: N 1 1002 , N 2 1004 , N 3 1006 , N 4 1008 , N 5 1010 and N 6 1012 . The head NE and the tail NE for the wavelength instance are N 1 1002 and N 4 1008 respectively whereas N 2 1004 and N 3 1006 are the intermediate NEs. The wavelength instance is added at the head NE N 1 1002 and is dropped at the tail NE N 4 1008 . The sequence of operations that lead to the creation of service is captured in the sequence of events presented next. The event numbers in the following text correspond to the numbers shown within the gray circles in FIG. 10 .
[0062] 1—Through-request received at N 3 1006 . Completing the through-request is held off since the optical seam advertisements are not yet received.
[0063] 2—Add-request is received at N 1 1002 .
[0064] N 1 1002 creates optical seam and performs the add operation.
[0065] N 1 1002 advertises optical seam creation.
[0066] N 1 1002 launches wavelength instance with Channel ID
[0067] 3—All NE's receive optical seam creation advertisement and record it.
[0068] 4—N 2 1004 observes valid channel ID. Wavelength instance is blocked because through-request is not yet received.
[0069] 5—N 4 1008 receives drop-request.
[0070] N 4 1008 creates second optical seam and performs the drop operation.
[0071] N 4 1008 advertises optical seam creation.
[0072] 6—All NE's receive optical seam creation advertisements and record them.
[0073] 7—N 2 1004 receives through-request.
[0074] Since both optical seam advertisements are already known and valid channel ID is received, N 2 1004 completes the through-request immediately.
[0075] 8—N 3 1006 observes valid channel ID.
[0076] Since both optical seam advertisements are already known, N 3 completes the through-request.
[0077] It is possible for ASE loops to occur even after a service is created. Such ASE loops can be caused by a mis-provisioning event or a device failure. Consider for example the example system presented in FIG. 11 ( a ). The system consists of six NEs: N 1 1102 , N 2 1104 , N 3 1106 , N 4 1108 , N 5 1110 and N 6 1112 . Two wavelength instances are considered. The head NE and the tail NE for λ 1 Instance 1 are N 1 1102 and N 4 1106 whereas the head NE and tail NE for λ 1 Instance 2 are N 5 1110 and N 6 1112 . FIG. 11 ( b ) describes a situation in which an error or failure has occurred at NE N 4 1108 in the example system of FIG. 11 ( a ). As a result and this NE forwards λ 1 Instance 1 onto N 5 1110 . A collision between λ 1 Instance 1 and λ 1 Instance 2 will occur. Such a collision is indicative of an ASE loop that spans all the NEs in the example system. Continuous monitoring of the wavelength instance is performed at each NE in the third embodiment to avoid such a problem. Whenever a collision of multiple wavelength instances occurs, multiple channel IDs instead of the single valid channel ID will be observed at NEs. As soon as a collision is detected, the detecting NE forces a break that disables the ASE loop.
[0078] The systems used in the embodiments of this invention include computing devices and network interfaces for inter-communication between the NEs. A computing device has a memory for storing the program that performs the steps of the method for avoiding ASE loops in optical communication networks.
[0079] The invention deploys effective methods that provide resilience. For example, two optical seams are used in the second and third embodiments. Thus, in the event of the failure of one optical seam, the other optical seam can still prevent an ASE loop. An important advantage of the invention is that it provides effective solutions to the problems that that include mis-provisioning events and device failures. Such problems are handled effectively both during service creation as well as during normal operation.
[0080] Numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. For example, instead of broadcasting an optical seam creation advertisement to all the NEs in the network, the advertisement can be multicast to only those NEs that lie in the path for the wavelength instance. Moreover, instead of using OSPF-TE LSA broadcast, a path-based approach implemented via Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching (GMPLS) for example, can be used for advertising the optical seams. In the case of the third embodiment, once a collision is detected, a break can be forced only at one NE. Also, the on-going monitoring approach could be achieved by careful use of Optical Spectrum Analyzers (OSA)/Optical Performance Monitoring (OPM) on either side of the WSXC device. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. | Optical communication networks often incorporate fiber rings or fiber mesh topologies for interconnecting its nodes. Both of these topologies can contain closed optical loops at one or more wavelengths within the optical spectrum. In amplified optical systems, the inherent loss of these optical loops is counteracted by the amplifier gain. Thus, the optical loop may have a net loss that is too low to prevent excessive noise buildup resulting in a lasing fiber loop. The noise that builds up within such amplified systems is dominated by the Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE) noise resulting in ASE loops. Such loops can have a serious impact on all wavelengths carried by the fiber and lead to a partial or complete loss of end to end communication due to a severe degradation in signal to noise ratio. This invention provides an effective method and system for avoiding ASE loops in optical communication networks. The method deploys optical seams as well as a unique signature for a wavelength instance for achieving an effective solution that is resilient to errors and failures that may occur on the system both during service creation and normal operation. | Briefly describe the main idea outlined in the provided context. | [
"FIELD OF INVENTION [0001] The invention relates to optical communication networks, and in particular to a method and system for avoiding Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE) loops that can result in excessive noise buildup in an optical communication network.",
"BACKGROUND OF INVENTION [0002] An optical communication network consists of multiple nodes each of which is controlled by a Network Element (NE).",
"Most optical communication networks incorporate fiber rings or fiber mesh topologies for interconnecting its nodes, both of which can contain closed optical loops at one or more wavelengths within the optical spectrum.",
"In amplified optical systems, the inherent loss of these optical loops is counteracted by the amplifier gain, such that the optical loop may have a net loss that is too low to prevent excessive noise buildup, or a net gain, resulting in a lasing fiber loop.",
"The noise that builds up within such amplified systems is dominated by the Amplified Spontaneous Emission noise resulting in ASE loops.",
"[0003] These low loss loops, or gain loops, can have significant impact on all wavelengths within the fiber, causing partial or complete loss of end-to-end communication due to degraded Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR).",
"Consequently, these loops need to be prevented by deploying appropriate techniques at the NEs.",
"Moreover, if an optical network is susceptible to ASE loop occurrence, due to failures of network devices or elements for instance, the ASE loop susceptibility needs to be identified and eliminated.",
"This is especially problematic in reconfigurable Optical Add Drop Multiplexer (OADM) and Wavelength Selectable Cross Connect (WSXC) environments.",
"Thus, without some prevention mechanism, wavelength rings can be created as a result of simple mis-provisioning events or device failures within reconfigurable OADM and WSXC environments.",
"[0004] Different techniques have been deployed in prior art for avoiding ASE loops.",
"The protection system deployed by one such technique described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,025,941 by Srivastava A. K. et al.",
"issued Feb. 15, 2000 entitled “Stable Wavelength Division Multiplex Ring Network”",
"changes the optical transmission characteristics of the transmission bandwidth of the network in such a way that the loop gain for any wavelength is smaller the network loop loss.",
"Another way to prevent ASE gain loops is to impose one or more optical seams for a wavelength instance.",
"Such a seam prevents the wavelength instance to continue in unspecified directions.",
"For example, an optical seam created by the NE that adds a wavelength instance does not allow the wavelength instance to reach the preceding node.",
"Similarly, an optical seam created by the NE that drops the wavelength instance does not allow the wavelength instance to continue beyond this node.",
"Typically, a detailed network walk is required to ascertain the absence of a loop for a given wavelength instance.",
"These methods either need altering the hardware or deploy a complex algorithm at NEs for loop identification at service creation time.",
"ASE loops can also occur after service creation due to mis-provisioning or device failures.",
"Preferably, the network itself is to be adaptive to events and should not only prevent ASE gain loops under normal operations but can also recognize when the system is susceptible to ASE gain loops under fault conditions.",
"The prior arts discussed earlier do not address the scenario in which a fault has occurred in the system.",
"[0005] Thus there is a need in the field for the development of improved methods and system for avoiding ASE loops in an optical communication network.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0006] Therefore it is an objective of the invention to provide an effective method and system for avoiding ASE loops in an optical communication network.",
"[0007] A method for avoiding Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE) loops in an optical communication network, including a plurality of Network Elements (NEs) and transmitting a plurality of wavelength instances, the method comprising the steps of: transmitting a wavelength instance from a head NE, where the wavelength instance is added to the optical communication network, to a tail NE, where the wavelength instance is dropped from the optical communication network;",
"creating and advertising optical seams for the wavelength instance in the optical communication network, the optical seams preventing the wavelength instance from propagating on the optical communication network in unspecified directions;",
"and processing the optical seams for the wavelength instance in the optical communication network.",
"The step of creating and advertising optical seams for a wavelength instance, further comprises the steps of: receiving an add-request by the head NE for the wavelength instance for adding the wavelength instance into the optical communication network;",
"completing an optical seam for the wavelength instance by the head NE for the wavelength instance;",
"and advertising the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance to other NEs in the optical communication network.",
"The step of processing the optical seams further comprises the steps of: receiving a through-request by an intermediate NE for the wavelength instance, used for forwarding the wavelength instance to the next NE on a path for the wavelength instance;",
"receiving an advertisement from the head NE for the wavelength instance;",
"and completing the through-request;",
"wherein the path includes the head NE, the tail NE and the intermediate NEs for the wavelength instance.",
"The step of creating and advertising optical seams for a wavelength instance, further comprises the steps of: creating and advertising the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance;",
"and creating and advertising the optical seam by the tail NE for the wavelength instance.",
"The step of creating and advertising the optical seam by the head NE further comprises the steps of: receiving an add-request by the head NE for the wavelength instance for adding the wavelength instance into the optical communication network;",
"completing the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance;",
"and advertising the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance to the other NEs in the optical communication network.",
"The step of creating and advertising the optical seam by the tail NE further comprises the steps of: receiving a drop-request by the tail NE for the wavelength instance for dropping the wavelength instance from the optical communication network;",
"completing the optical seam by the tail NE for the wavelength instance;",
"and advertising the optical seam by the tail NE for the wavelength instance to the other NEs in the optical communication network.",
"The step of processing the optical seams further comprises the steps of: receiving a through-request by an intermediate NE for the wavelength instance, used for forwarding the wavelength instance to the next NE on a path for the wavelength instance;",
"receiving the advertisement from the head NE for the wavelength instance;",
"receiving the advertisement from the tail NE for the wavelength instance;",
"and completing the through-request;",
"wherein the path includes the head NE, the tail NE and the intermediate NEs for the wavelength instance.",
"[0008] A method for avoiding Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE) loops in an optical communication network, including a plurality of Network Elements (NEs) and transmitting a plurality of wavelength instances, the method comprising the steps of: transmitting a wavelength instance from a head NE, where the wavelength instance is added to the optical communication network, to a tail NE, where the wavelength instance is dropped from the optical communication network;",
"creating an optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance in the optical communication network, the optical seam preventing the wavelength instance from propagating on the optical communication network in unspecified directions;",
"creating an optical seam by the tail NE for the wavelength instance in the optical communication network;",
"processing optical seams at intermediate NEs in the optical communication network;",
"and eliminating collisions among wavelength instances.",
"The step of creating an optical seam by the head NE further comprises the steps of: receiving an add-request by the head NE for the wavelength instance for adding the wavelength instance into the optical communication network;",
"completing the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance;",
"and advertising the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance to the other NEs in the optical communication network.",
"[0009] The step of creating an optical seam by the tail NE further comprises the steps of: receiving a drop-request by the tail NE for the wavelength instance for dropping the wavelength instance from the optical communication network;",
"completing the optical seam by the tail NE for the wavelength instance;",
"and advertising the optical seam by the tail NE for the wavelength instance to the other NEs in the optical communication network.",
"The step of processing the optical seams further comprises the steps of: receiving a through-request by the intermediate NE for the wavelength instance for forwarding the wavelength instance to the next NE on a path for the wavelength instance;",
"receiving the advertisement from the head NE for the wavelength instance;",
"receiving the advertisement from the tail NE for the wavelength instance;",
"receiving a valid channel ID generated by using Wavelength Tracker Technology for the wavelength instance;",
"and completing the through-request;",
"wherein the path includes the head NE, the tail NE and the intermediate NEs for the wavelength instance and the Wavelength Tracker technology provides a unique signature in the form of a low frequency dither tone modulation called Wavekey for each wavelength instance.",
"The step of eliminating collisions among the wavelength instances further comprises the steps of: identifying collisions of wavelength instances at the NEs;",
"and forcing a break at the NEs that identify the collisions.",
"The step of identifying collisions among wavelength instances at the NEs further comprises the steps of: monitoring the wavelength instances continuously;",
"and observing a plurality of channel IDs generated at the instant of collisions.",
"[0010] A system for avoiding Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE) loops in an optical communication network, including a plurality of Network Elements (NEs) and transmitting a plurality of wavelength instances, the system comprising: means for transmitting a wavelength instance from a head NE, where the wavelength instance is added to the optical communication network, to a tail NE, where the wavelength instance is dropped from the optical communication network;",
"means for creating and advertising optical seams for the wavelength instance in the optical communication network, the optical seams preventing the wavelength instance from propagating on the optical communication network in unspecified directions;",
"and means for processing the optical seams for the wavelength instance in the optical communication network.",
"The means for creating and advertising optical seams for a wavelength instance, further comprises: means for receiving an add-request by the head NE for the wavelength instance for adding the wavelength instance into the optical communication network;",
"means for completing an optical seam for the wavelength instance by the head NE for the wavelength instance;",
"and means for advertising the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance to other NEs in the optical communication network.",
"The means for processing the optical seams further comprises: means for receiving a through-request by an intermediate NE for the wavelength instance used for forwarding the wavelength instance to the next NE on a path for the wavelength instance;",
"means for receiving an advertisement from the head NE for the wavelength instance;",
"and means for completing the through-request;",
"wherein the path includes the head NE, the tail NE and the intermediate NEs for the wavelength instance.",
"The means for creating and advertising optical seams for a wavelength instance, further comprises: means for creating and advertising the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance;",
"and means for creating and advertising the optical seam by the tail NE for the wavelength instance.",
"The means for creating and advertising the optical seam by the head NE further comprises: means for receiving an add-request by the head NE for the wavelength instance for adding the wavelength instance into the optical communication network;",
"means for completing the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance;",
"and means for advertising the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance to the other NEs in the optical communication network.",
"The means for creating and advertising the optical seam by the tail NE further comprises: means for receiving a drop-request by the tail NE for the wavelength instance for dropping the wavelength instance from the optical communication network;",
"means for completing the optical seam by the tail NE for the wavelength instance;",
"and means for advertising the optical seam by the tail NE for the wavelength instance to the other NEs in the optical communication network.",
"The means for processing the optical seams further comprises: means for receiving a through-request by the intermediate NEs for the wavelength instance for forwarding the wavelength instance to the next NE on a path for the wavelength instance;",
"means for receiving the advertisement from the head NE for the wavelength instance;",
"means for receiving the advertisement from the tail NE for the wavelength instance;",
"and means for completing the through-request;",
"wherein the path includes the head NE, the tail NE and the intermediate NEs for the wavelength instance.",
"[0011] A system for avoiding Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE) loops in an optical communication network, including a plurality of Network Elements (NEs) and transmitting a plurality of wavelength instances, the system comprising: means for transmitting a wavelength instance from a head NE, where the wavelength instance is added to the optical communication network, to a tail NE, where the wavelength instance is dropped from the optical communication network;",
"means for creating an optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance, where the optical seams are used for preventing the wavelength instance from propagating on the optical communication network in unspecified directions;",
"means for creating an optical seam by the tail NE for a wavelength instance;",
"means for processing optical seams at intermediate NEs in the optical communication network;",
"and means for eliminating collisions among wavelength instances.",
"The means for creating an optical seam by the head NE further comprises: means for receiving an add-request by the head NE for the wavelength instance for adding the wavelength instance into the optical communication network;",
"means for completing the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance;",
"and means for advertising the optical seam by the head NE for the wavelength instance to the other NEs in the optical communication network.",
"The means for creating an optical seam by the tail NE further comprises: means for receiving a drop-request by the tail NE for the wavelength instance for dropping the wavelength instance from the optical communication network;",
"means for completing the optical seam by the tail NE for the wavelength instance;",
"and means for advertising the optical seam by the tail NE for the wavelength instance to the other NEs in the optical communication network.",
"The means for processing optical seams further comprises: means for receiving a through-request by the intermediate NE for the wavelength instance for forwarding the wavelength instance to the next NE on a path for the wavelength instance;",
"means for receiving the advertisement from the head NE for the wavelength instance;",
"means for receiving the advertisement from the tail NE for the wavelength instance;",
"means for receiving a valid channel ID generated by using Wavelength Tracker Technology for the wavelength instance;",
"and means for completing the through-request;",
"wherein the path includes the head NE, the tail NE and the intermediate NEs for the wavelength instance and the Wavelength Tracker technology provides a unique signature in the form of a low frequency dither tone modulation called Wavekey for each wavelength instance.",
"The means for eliminating collisions among wavelength instances further comprises: means for identifying collisions of wavelength instances at the NEs;",
"and means for forcing a break at the NEs that identify the collisions.",
"The means for identifying collisions among wavelength instances at the NEs further comprises: means for monitoring the wavelength instances continuously;",
"and means for observing a plurality of channel IDs generated at the instant of collisions.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0012] Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the embodiment, which is described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: [0013] FIG. 1 presents an example optical communication network with three wavelength instances;",
"[0014] FIG. 2 shows a flowchart that illustrates the steps of the method used by the head NE in the first embodiment;",
"[0015] FIG. 3 shows a flowchart that illustrates the steps of the method used by the intermediate NEs in the first embodiment;",
"[0016] FIG. 4 illustrates an example sequence of events that occur when the first embodiment is used;",
"[0017] FIG. 5 shows a flowchart that illustrates the steps of the method used by the head NE in the second embodiment;",
"[0018] FIG. 6 shows a flowchart that illustrates the steps of the method used by the intermediate NEs in the second embodiment;",
"[0019] FIG. 7 illustrates an example sequence of events that occur when the second embodiment is used;",
"[0020] FIG. 8 ( a ) presents the desired connectivity for an example optical communication network;",
"[0021] FIG. 8 ( b ) illustrates the occurrence of an ASE loop due to a mis-provisioning event;",
"[0022] FIG. 9 shows a flowchart that illustrates the steps of the method used by the intermediate NEs in the third embodiment;",
"[0023] FIG. 10 illustrates an example sequence of events that occur when the third embodiment is used;",
"[0024] FIG. 11 ( a ) presents an example optical communication network before an error or a device failure has occurred;",
"and [0025] FIG. 11 ( b ) presents an example optical communication network after an error or a device failure has occurred.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0026] Before describing the embodiments of the invention the terminologies used in the description are introduced.",
"An example optical communication network is shown in FIG. 1 .",
"The network consists of six NE's: N 1 102 , N 2 104 , N 3 106 , N 4 108 , N 5 110 , and N 6 112 .",
"A NE is connected to its two neighboring NE's through optical links.",
"Multiple wavelength instances each of which is identified by a separate channel ID can be used in such a network, with each wavelength instance flowing through a particular network segment.",
"FIG. 1 for example, shows three instances of the wavelength λ 1 : λ 1 instance 1 , λ 1 instance 2 and λ 1 instance 3 .",
"Each wavelength instance is added to the optical communication network by a head NE, is forwarded from one intermediate NE to another by intermediate NEs and is dropped from the network by the tail NE.",
"For the λ 1 Instance 1 in FIG. 1 for example, the head NE is N 1 102 , the tail NE is N 4 108 whereas N 2 104 and N 3 106 are the intermediate NEs.",
"The set of NE's that include the head NE, the tail NE and the intermediate NEs that lie between the head NE and the tail NE constitute the path for the wavelength instance.",
"The wavelength instance that is added to the optical communication network by the head NE is forwarded by the intermediate NEs until it reaches the tail NE where it is dropped from the network.",
"[0027] Three embodiments for the invention are described.",
"The embodiments differ from one another in terms of the degree of resilience they provide.",
"All the embodiments deploy optical seams for preventing a wavelength instance to be transmitted in unspecified directions.",
"Note that an optical seam used in the embodiments is on the Optical Channel (OCH) layer and not on the Optical Multiplexing Section (OMS) nor the Optical Transmission Section (OTS) layers.",
"The first embodiment ensures a single optical seam for the avoidance of ASE loops whereas the second ensures two optical seams so that if one of the optical seams fails due to a fault in the network the second is still able to prevent an ASE loop.",
"In addition to the two optical seams the third embodiment provides a facility for continuous monitoring of the wavelength instance such that ASE gain loops due to mis-provisioning or device failure can be avoided.",
"The continuous monitoring technique is also useful after service creation when a collision among wavelength instances that may accrue from a mis-provisioning or a device failure and can lead to an ASE loop is detected.",
"Upon detection of such a collision the third embodiment provides a method and system for taking corrective actions such that ASE loops are avoided.",
"A detailed discussion of each of the embodiments is presented next.",
"[0028] As discussed earlier the wavelength instance is added to the network by the head NE, transmitted to a tail NE where it is dropped from the network.",
"The first two embodiments are based on the creation and advertisement of optical seams: by the head NE in the first embodiment and the by both the head NE and the tail NE in the second embodiment.",
"Such an advertisement may be provided by an existing technique such as OSPF-TE Opaque LSAs described in Katz D. et al.",
"“3630 Traffic Engineering (TE) Extensions to OSPF Version 2”, September 2003 (Format: TXT=27717 bytes) (Updates RFC2370) (Updated by RFC4203) (Status: PROPOSED STANDARD).",
"A short description of the first embodiment is presented next.",
"The method deployed by the head NE for the wavelength instance is illustrated with the help of FIG. 2 .",
"Upon start (box 202 ) the head NE receives an add-request for adding a specific wavelength instance to the optical communication network (box 204 ).",
"The head NE performs the add operation and then creates an optical seam for the wavelength instance that does not allow the wavelength instance to propagate in unspecified directions.",
"For the example network shown in FIG. 1 , the optical seam created at the head NE N 1 102 will not allow the wavelength instance, λ 1 instance 1 , to reach N 6 112 .",
"After creating the optical seam the head NE advertises the optical seam creation to all the other NEs in the network (box 208 ) and exits (box 210 ).",
"NEs (e.g. N 5 110 and N 6 112 in the example of FIG. 1 ) that do not lie in the path that spans from a head NE to the tail NE and includes the intermediate NEs for the wavelength instance record this information but do not process it.",
"An intermediate NE that lies in the path processes the advertisement when it receives a through-request for forwarding the wavelength instance to the next NE in the path for the wavelength instance.",
"[0029] The method deployed by an intermediate NE is explained with the help of the flow chart presented in FIG. 3 .",
"Upon start (box 302 ) the intermediate NE receives a through-request (box 304 ).",
"The procedure then checks whether or not an advertisement for optical seam creation is received from the head NE of the wavelength instance (box 306 ).",
"If the advertisement is not received the procedure exits NO and loops back to the entry of box 306 .",
"If the advertisement is received the procedure exits YES from box 306 and completes the through-request (box 308 ) and exits (box 310 ).",
"[0030] The operations performed at the head NE and the intermediate NEs are asynchronous and can occur in any order.",
"The creation of a service for a wavelength instance deploying the method of this embodiment is explained further with the help of an example presented in FIG. 4 .",
"The optical communication network shown in the figure consists of six NEs: N 1 402 , N 2 404 , N 3 406 , N 4 408 , N 5 410 and N 6 412 .",
"The head NE and the tail NE for the wavelength instance are N 1 402 and N 4 408 respectively whereas N 2 404 and N 3 406 are the intermediate NEs.",
"The wavelength instance is added at the head NE N 1 402 and is dropped at the tail NE N 4 408 .",
"The sequence of events that lead to the creation of service is presented next.",
"The event numbers in the following text correspond to the numbers shown within the gray circles in FIG. 4 .",
"[0031] 1—Through-request received at N 3 406 .",
"Completing the through-request is held off since the optical seam advertisement is not received.",
"[0032] 2—Add-request is received at N 1 402 .",
"[0033] N 1 402 creates optical seam and performs the add operation.",
"[0034] N 1 402 advertises optical seam creation.",
"[0035] 3—All NE's receive optical seam creation advertisement and record it.",
"[0036] N 3 406 completes the through-request.",
"[0037] 4—N 2 404 receives through-request.",
"[0038] Since optical seam advertisement is already received, N 2 completes the through-request immediately.",
"[0039] 5—N 4 408 receives drop-request.",
"[0040] N 4 408 performs drop.",
"[0041] Service is created and light flows.",
"[0042] The method of the second embodiment is based on the creation and advertisement of optical seams by both the head NE and the tail NE for the wavelength instance.",
"The advantage of creating a second optical seam during the creation of service is the added resilience: if one of the optical seams fails, an ASE loop is still prevented by the second optical seam.",
"The method deployed at the head NE is exactly the same as the one depicted for the first embodiment in FIG. 2 .",
"The method deployed by the tail NE is explained with the help of the flow chart in FIG. 5 .",
"Upon start (box 502 ) the head NE receives a drop-request for dropping a specific wavelength instance to the optical communication network (box 504 ).",
"The tail NE performs the drop operation and then creates an optical seam for the wavelength instance that does not allow the wavelength instance to continue in unspecified directions (box 506 ).",
"For the example network shown in FIG. 1 , the optical seam created at the tail NE N 4 108 will not allow the wavelength instance, λ 1 instance 1 , to reach N 5 110 .",
"After creating the optical seam the tail NE advertises the optical seam creation to all the other NEs in the network (box 508 ) and exits (box 510 ).",
"NEs that do not lie in the path (e.g. N 5 110 and N 6 112 in the example of FIG. 1 ) record this information but do not process it.",
"An intermediate NE that lies in the path between the head NE and the tail NE processes the advertisement when it receives a through-request for forwarding the wavelength instance to the next NE in the path.",
"[0043] The method deployed by an intermediate NE is explained with the help of the flow chart presented in FIG. 6 .",
"Upon start (box 602 ) the intermediate NE receives a through-request (box 604 ).",
"The procedure then checks whether or not advertisements for optical seam creation are received from both the head NE and the tail NE for the wavelength instance (box 606 ).",
"If both the advertisements are not received the procedure exits NO and loops back to the entry of box 606 .",
"If both advertisements are received the procedure exits YES from box 606 and completes the through-request (box 608 ) and exits (box 610 ).",
"[0044] As mentioned earlier, the operations performed at the head NE, the tail NE and the intermediate NEs are asynchronous and can occur in any order.",
"The creation of a service for a wavelength instance deploying the method of this embodiment is explained further with the help of an example presented in FIG. 7 .",
"The optical communication network shown in the figure consists of six NEs: N 1 702 , N 2 704 , N 3 706 , N 4 708 , N 5 710 and N 6 712 .",
"The head NE and the tail NE for the wavelength instance are N 1 702 and N 4 708 respectively whereas N 2 704 and N 3 706 are the intermediate NEs.",
"The wavelength instance is added at the head NE N 1 702 and is dropped at the tail NE N 4 708 .",
"The sequence of operations that lead to the creation of service is captured in the sequence of events presented next.",
"The event numbers in the following text correspond to the numbers shown within gray circles in FIG. 7 .",
"[0045] 1—Through-request received at N 3 706 .",
"Completing the through-request is held off since the optical seam advertisements are not yet received.",
"[0046] 2—Add-request is received at N 1 702 .",
"[0047] N 1 702 creates optical seam and performs the add operation.",
"[0048] N 1 702 advertises optical seam creation.",
"[0049] 3—All NE's receive optical seam creation advertisement and record it.",
"[0050] 4—N 4 708 receives a drop-request.",
"[0051] N 4 708 creates second optical seam and performs the drop operation.",
"[0052] N 4 708 advertises optical seam creation.",
"[0053] 5—All NE's receive optical seam creation advertisement and record it.",
"[0054] N 3 completes the through-request.",
"[0055] 6—N 2 704 receives a through-request.",
"[0056] Since both optical seam advertisements are already known, N 2 completes the through-request immediately.",
"[0057] Service is created and light flows.",
"[0058] In addition to the two optical seams used in the second embodiment, the method of the third embodiment introduces a step of checking the valid channel ID for avoiding ASE loops that may occur as a result of a number of mis-provisioning operations.",
"This is explained with the help of FIG. 8 .",
"Consider a set of NEs X 802 , Z 804 , B 806 , C 808 and A 810 .",
"The desired path for a given wavelength instance with a channel ID α is shown in bold in FIG. 8 ( a ) with X 802 as the head NE and Z 804 as the tail NE.",
"Consider a mis-provisioning event in B 806 that resulted in connecting B 806 to A 810 instead of Z 804 .",
"In the absence of channel ID monitoring, even if both optical seams are advertised, this error can lead to an ASE loop shown in FIG. 8 ( b ), the loop including A 810 , C 808 and B 806 .",
"This is because as soon as both optical seams are advertised A 810 , B 806 and C 808 will comply with the through requests that can lead to the ASE loop.",
"The third embodiment that ensures that a valid channel ID is observed at the NE before completing a though-request prevents the formation of such an ASE loop.",
"In this example, since the expected channel ID α is absent on the interface to B 806 at A 810 , A 810 will not complete the through-request.",
"Similarly due to the absence of channel ID α at the provisioned interfaces, B 806 and C 808 will not complete their through-requests.",
"This prevents the formation of the ASE loop shown in FIG. 8 ( b ).",
"The channel ID is incorporated by using the Wavelength Tracker technology that is discussed next.",
"[0059] Tropic Network's Wavelength Tracker technology is useful in monitoring of optical networks that carry wavelength instances.",
"Monitoring of the path followed by a wavelength instance is achieved by deploying Wavelength Tracker that identifies the path.",
"The Wavelength Tracker technology applies a unique optical signature to each wavelength instance at the Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) layer.",
"The unique optical signature includes a low frequency modulation of one or more dither tones onto the wavelength instance, which uniquely identify the wavelength instance.",
"This optical signature (also called a Wavekey) is applied to the wavelength instance at the head NE for the wavelength instance.",
"The optical signature is detectable at intermediate NEs on the path via inexpensive decoders present on line cards.",
"Detection of the optical signature is accomplished without an Optical-Electrical-Optical (OEO) conversion at intermediate nodes, thus resulting in a cost-effective solution.",
"Wavelength Tracker technology is used for a variety of applications including optical power monitoring and loss of light avoidance.",
"The technology for generating and detecting Wavekeys has been described in U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 09/963,501 by Obeda, P. D., et al, entitled “Topology Discovery in Optical WDM Networks”, filed on 27 Sep. 2001.",
"[0060] As discussed earlier the wavelength instance is added to the network by the head NE, transmitted to a tail NE where it is dropped from the network.",
"The methods deployed in the third embodiment by the head NE and the tail NE for the wavelength instance are the same as depicted in FIG. 2 and FIG. 5 respectively.",
"The method used at the intermediate NEs is explained with the flowchart presented in FIG. 9 .",
"Upon start (box 902 ) the intermediate NE receives a through-request (box 904 ).",
"The procedure then checks whether or not advertisements for optical seam creation are received from both the head NE and the tail NE for the wavelength instance (box 906 ).",
"If both the advertisements are not received the procedure exits NO and loops back to the entry of box 906 .",
"If both advertisements are received the procedure exits YES from box 906 .",
"The next step is to check whether or not a valid channel ID for the wavelength instance is received at the intermediate NE (box 908 ).",
"If a valid channel ID is not received the procedure exits NO from box 908 and loops back to the entry of box 908 .",
"Once a valid channel ID is received the procedure exits YES from box 908 , completes the through-request (box 910 ) and exits (box 912 ).",
"[0061] The creation of a service for a wavelength instance deploying the method of this embodiment is explained further with the help of an example presented in FIG. 10 .",
"The optical communication network shown in the figure consists of six NEs: N 1 1002 , N 2 1004 , N 3 1006 , N 4 1008 , N 5 1010 and N 6 1012 .",
"The head NE and the tail NE for the wavelength instance are N 1 1002 and N 4 1008 respectively whereas N 2 1004 and N 3 1006 are the intermediate NEs.",
"The wavelength instance is added at the head NE N 1 1002 and is dropped at the tail NE N 4 1008 .",
"The sequence of operations that lead to the creation of service is captured in the sequence of events presented next.",
"The event numbers in the following text correspond to the numbers shown within the gray circles in FIG. 10 .",
"[0062] 1—Through-request received at N 3 1006 .",
"Completing the through-request is held off since the optical seam advertisements are not yet received.",
"[0063] 2—Add-request is received at N 1 1002 .",
"[0064] N 1 1002 creates optical seam and performs the add operation.",
"[0065] N 1 1002 advertises optical seam creation.",
"[0066] N 1 1002 launches wavelength instance with Channel ID [0067] 3—All NE's receive optical seam creation advertisement and record it.",
"[0068] 4—N 2 1004 observes valid channel ID.",
"Wavelength instance is blocked because through-request is not yet received.",
"[0069] 5—N 4 1008 receives drop-request.",
"[0070] N 4 1008 creates second optical seam and performs the drop operation.",
"[0071] N 4 1008 advertises optical seam creation.",
"[0072] 6—All NE's receive optical seam creation advertisements and record them.",
"[0073] 7—N 2 1004 receives through-request.",
"[0074] Since both optical seam advertisements are already known and valid channel ID is received, N 2 1004 completes the through-request immediately.",
"[0075] 8—N 3 1006 observes valid channel ID.",
"[0076] Since both optical seam advertisements are already known, N 3 completes the through-request.",
"[0077] It is possible for ASE loops to occur even after a service is created.",
"Such ASE loops can be caused by a mis-provisioning event or a device failure.",
"Consider for example the example system presented in FIG. 11 ( a ).",
"The system consists of six NEs: N 1 1102 , N 2 1104 , N 3 1106 , N 4 1108 , N 5 1110 and N 6 1112 .",
"Two wavelength instances are considered.",
"The head NE and the tail NE for λ 1 Instance 1 are N 1 1102 and N 4 1106 whereas the head NE and tail NE for λ 1 Instance 2 are N 5 1110 and N 6 1112 .",
"FIG. 11 ( b ) describes a situation in which an error or failure has occurred at NE N 4 1108 in the example system of FIG. 11 ( a ).",
"As a result and this NE forwards λ 1 Instance 1 onto N 5 1110 .",
"A collision between λ 1 Instance 1 and λ 1 Instance 2 will occur.",
"Such a collision is indicative of an ASE loop that spans all the NEs in the example system.",
"Continuous monitoring of the wavelength instance is performed at each NE in the third embodiment to avoid such a problem.",
"Whenever a collision of multiple wavelength instances occurs, multiple channel IDs instead of the single valid channel ID will be observed at NEs.",
"As soon as a collision is detected, the detecting NE forces a break that disables the ASE loop.",
"[0078] The systems used in the embodiments of this invention include computing devices and network interfaces for inter-communication between the NEs.",
"A computing device has a memory for storing the program that performs the steps of the method for avoiding ASE loops in optical communication networks.",
"[0079] The invention deploys effective methods that provide resilience.",
"For example, two optical seams are used in the second and third embodiments.",
"Thus, in the event of the failure of one optical seam, the other optical seam can still prevent an ASE loop.",
"An important advantage of the invention is that it provides effective solutions to the problems that that include mis-provisioning events and device failures.",
"Such problems are handled effectively both during service creation as well as during normal operation.",
"[0080] Numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings.",
"For example, instead of broadcasting an optical seam creation advertisement to all the NEs in the network, the advertisement can be multicast to only those NEs that lie in the path for the wavelength instance.",
"Moreover, instead of using OSPF-TE LSA broadcast, a path-based approach implemented via Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching (GMPLS) for example, can be used for advertising the optical seams.",
"In the case of the third embodiment, once a collision is detected, a break can be forced only at one NE.",
"Also, the on-going monitoring approach could be achieved by careful use of Optical Spectrum Analyzers (OSA)/Optical Performance Monitoring (OPM) on either side of the WSXC device.",
"It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein."
] |
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is based on, and claims priority from, Taiwan Application Serial Number 93128726, filed Sep. 22, 2004, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a method for detecting foreign object, and more particularly, relates to a method of detecting foreign objects on a working stage or a substrate for a display panel fabrication.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Generally, keeping a working stage and the surface of a substrate clean is crucial for fabricating a liquid crystal display (LCD), for any particle existing thereon may degrade the quality and stability of the process, or even result in damages to the working stage and the product.
[0004] Especially, during an alignment film coating process of the LCD back-end process, the foreign objects existing on the working stage or on the surface of the substrate will deter the coating process from being smoothly performed, thus effecting the quality of the alignment film and lowering the quality control of the LCD. Further, the foreign particles may cause damages to coating rollers or other equipment, and even break a glass substrate, thus effecting productivity and reducing the operation life of the equipment.
[0005] Hence, besides keeping the working stage and the surface of the substrate clean, a foreign objects detecting step is also needed. Generally, before the manufacturing process starts, the foreign objects detecting step is first performed onto the working stage or the substrate surface, wherein if any foreign object is detected, then the manufacturing process is stopped, thus effectively preventing the foreign objects on the working stage or the substrate surface from damaging the products and equipment.
[0006] The conventional foreign objects detecting step uses a laser beam or diffusion light to perform detection on the working stage or the substrate surface, wherein the foreign objects are monitored in accordance with the intensity changes of light diffusion, reflection or refraction. However, by using the diffusion light, the object size that can be identifies is rather limited, and the precision of detecting the foreign objects thereby is not sufficient to be suitable us in a display panel or even semiconductor manufacturing process. Therefore, the current foreign objects detecting method mostly adopts the laser source so as to increase the precision of detecting the foreign objects.
[0007] However, the current foreign objects detecting methods all place a laser source above a working stage or a substrate, and directly irradiate the surface of the working stage or substrate, and then observe the states of the laser light before and after reflection or diffusion and refraction. The laser light is interfered simultaneously by the working stage, the substrate and the foreign objects, and thus, if the refractive indexes of the foreign objects located on the working stage and the substrate are close to those of the working stage and the substrate, then the foreign objects cannot be detected. For example, the refractive index of the glass scrap is the same as that of the glass substrate. Further more, since the even smaller foreign particles have less apparent degrees of interference against the laser light, and are susceptible to the inference from the working stage and the substrate, they are hardly to be detected. Further, the laser light has to be frequently calibrated effecting accordance with the materials forming the working stage and the substrate, thus resulting in many errors of the actual measurement and limiting the detection precision.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Therefore, it is desirable to provide a method for promoting the accuracy and precision for detecting foreign objects, thereby benefiting the monitoring of foreign objects on the working stage or a substrate.
[0009] One aspect of the present invention is to provide a method for detecting foreign objects on the working stage or a substrate for manufacturing a LCD or a semiconductor circuit. A laser beam passing across the top surface of a working stage or a substrate for a LCD fabrication is provided, and is reflected to form a feed back laser beam by a reflector. Then, the intensity of the feed back laser beam by a reflector is determined. If there exists any foreign objects, the intensity of the feedback laser beam should be attenuated due to refraction or absorption by the foreign objects.
[0010] According to the aspect of the present invention, an improved method used for detecting foreign objects on the working stage or a substrate is provided for manufacturing a LCD or a semiconductor circuit. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the method used for detecting foreign objects on a target to be detected comprises the steps as follows: At first, a laser device having a laser source and a laser detector is installed on one side of the target, and a reflector aligned the laser detector is installed on the other side of the target. Then, a laser beam provided by the laser source passes across the surface of the target and is reflected back to the laser detector by the reflector, and thus a feedback light beam is formed by the reflector. Subsequently, the intensity of the feedback laser beam is measured to determine if any laser intensity is attenuated, so as to determine, if there is any foreign objects existing on the surface of the target.
[0011] In the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the target can be referred to a working stage or a substrate for manufacturing a LCD. The laser device is mounted on an adjustable gauge to adjust both horizontal and vertical positions of the laser detector precisely, so that the laser beam coming from the laser device can pass through a predetermined position over the surface of the target to a reflecting mirror. Then, a feedback light beam is formed by the reflecting mirror and returns to the laser device. In accordance with the difference between the intensity of the laser beam and the intensity of the feedback light beam, any foreign objects existing on the surface of the target can thus be recognized.
[0012] According to the method disclosed in the present invention, since the intensity of the laser beam may be refracted or absorbed only by the foreign objects existing on the surface of the target, and is not affected by the target at all, the existence of the foreign objects can be detected clearly, and even the foreign objects having similar refractivity with the target also can be accurately detected thereby.
[0013] Therefore, the application of the foreign objects detecting method of the present invention, not only can increase the accuracy and precision of detecting foreign objects, but also can reduce the frequency of performing a calibration step in accordance with the changes of the target to be detected, and further can prevent the manufacturing process from being damaged and affected by the existence of the foreign objects, thus maintaining the stability of the manufacturing process and the product yield; reducing the loss of the fabrication cost; and elongating the operation life of the processing equipment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0015] FIG. 1 regards a method for detecting the foreign objects on a working stage or a substrate during a LCD fabrication, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0016] An improved method used for detecting foreign objects on a target to be detected is provided. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a laser device having a laser source and a laser detector is installed on one side of a target, and a reflector aligned the laser detector is installed on the other side of the target. Then, a laser beam provided by the laser source passes across the surface of the target and is reflected back to the laser detector by the reflector, wherein a feedback light beam is formed by the reflector. Subsequently, the intensity of the feedback laser beam is measured and compared to the intensity of the laser beam, so as to determine if the laser intensity is attenuated. In accordance with the result, whether there is any foreign object existing on the surface of the target can thus be recognized.
[0017] The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated by reference to the following detailed embodiment:
Embodiment
[0018] The following detailed embodiment is an improved method for detecting foreign objects on a working stage or a substrate is provided for a LCD fabrication.
[0019] FIG. 1 is about a method for detecting the foreign objects on a working stage or a substrate during a LCD fabrication, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. A working stage 102 is horizontally mounted on a movable carrier 100 . An adjustable gauge 104 located on one side of the working stage 102 is provided, wherein the adjustable gauge 104 can be adjusted along both horizontal and vertical directions. A laser device 106 having a laser source and a laser detector is mounted on the adjustable gauge 104 , wherein the laser source can provide a long-distance laser beam and the laser detector can receive and measure a long-distance laser beam. A reflector 108 , such as a reflecting mirror is installed in alignment with the laser detector of the laser device 106 . A laser beam 107 that is parallel to the top surface of the working stage 102 is provided by the laser source of the laser device 106 , and then the laser beam is reflected back to form a feedback laser beam 109 by the reflector 108 . The intensity of the feedback laser beam 109 is measured and compared to that of the laser beam 107 by the laser device 106 .
[0020] The position of the laser device 106 can be adjusted along both horizontal and vertical directions via the gauge 104 so as to control the positions of the laser beam 107 passing through above the working stage 102 . The movable carrier 100 horizontally driving the working stage 102 can make the laser beam 107 passing through any position on the working stage 102 .
[0021] The reflector 108 is used to reflect the laser beam 107 back to the laser device 106 so as to form the feedback laser beam 109 . The laser detector of the laser device 106 is used for receiving the feedback laser beam 109 ; measuring the intensity of the feedback laser beam 109 ; and comparing the intensity of the feedback laser beam 109 with the intensity of the laser beam 107 . The difference between the intensity of the laser beam 107 and that of the intensity of the feedback laser beam 109 for a intensity attenuation value used for determining if there are any foreign objects on the surface of the working stage 102 .
[0022] The reflected laser beam 109 is not refracted or absorbed by the working stage 102 . Thus, when no foreign objects exist on the surface of the working stage 102 , the laser beam 107 can be reflected back to the laser device 106 by the reflector 108 with little loss, so that the intensity of the feedback laser beam 109 and that of the laser beam 107 are substantially the same. When foreign objects exist on the surface of the working stage 102 , the reflected laser beam 109 is refracted or absorbed by the foreign objects existing thereon, and the reflected laser intensity is attenuated with certain degrees of attenuation. Consequently, the existence of foreign objects on the surface of the working stage 102 can be recognized by the principle described above.
[0023] A predetermined laser intensity attenuation value is provided as a condition to determine if there are any foreign objects on the surface of the working stage 102 . When the intensity attenuation value is lower than the predetermined laser intensity attenuation value, it is indicated that there are foreign objects on the surface of the working stage 102 , and the processing apparatuses or the processing control system has to be shutdown immediately.
[0024] Although in the present embodiment uses the movable carrier 100 horizontally to move the working stage 102 , for detecting every position on the working stage 102 , yet the present invention also can horizontally change the position of the laser device to accomplishing the detection throughout every position on the working stage 102 . Furthermore, the method provided by the present invention may not be restricted for detecting the foreign objects on the working stage or the substrate for manufacturing a LCD. The present method may be suitable for any kind of working stage or substrate.
[0025] Accordingly, the laser beam merely passes across the surface of the target to be detected, so that the intensity of the laser beam is merely refracted or absorbed by the foreign objects existing on the surface of the target, and is not affected by the target at all. For example, since the working stage or the substrate of a LCD panel refracts little laser, the foreign objects having similar refractivity with the glass substrate, such as glass scraps can be identified easily, and particles refracts little laser can also be identified more easily. Furthermore, different laser beams can be applied in accordance with the context of the manufacture process to enhance the precision of the present method. For example, various laser beams with different intensities or wavelengths can be applied in accordance with the properties of the particles likely generated during the manufacture process, so as to enhance the reliability of the present method.
[0026] It must be appreciated that, since the working stage or the substrate of a LCD panel to be detected cannot affect the laser beam passing across the surface thereon, basically it is not necessary to change the laser beam when the material thereof is changed.
[0027] In some embodiment of the present invention, the present method applies a laser beam across a working stage to identify foreign objects rather applies a laser beam on a working stage directly. This can avoid the measuring variation due to vacuum holes that are set on the working stage for holding a substrate.
[0028] Therefore, the present invention can be applied in any kind of working stage or substrate for manufacturing a LCD or a semiconductor circuit to provide an improved method with more precision for detecting the existence of foreign objects. The improvement of the detecting results can prevent the apparatus and products from damage due to the impact of foreign objects during the manufacturing process, so as the yield can be increased, and the operation life of the apparatus can be elongated. For example the impact of a glass scrap occurs on a LCD panel during the process for forming an alignment layer may be reduced, as the foreign objects exists on the substrate is precisely identified.
[0029] As is understood by a person skilled in the art, the foregoing preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated of the present invention rather than limiting of the present invention. It is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, the scope of which should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structure. | A method of detecting foreign objects in display manufacturing process, wherein the method comprising steps as flows: First a laser source and a laser detector are provided on a first side of a target to be measured, wherein the laser detector is supported by an adjustable gauge to provide the laser detector both horizontal and vertical movement. Then, a reflector located is provided on a second side of the target, wherein a laser beam coming from the laser source passes through a detecting position over the surface of the target, and is reflected to the laser detector by the reflector. Subsequently the intensity of the reflected laser beam is received and measured of by the laser detector. | Summarize the document in concise, focusing on the main idea's functionality and advantages. | [
"RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application is based on, and claims priority from, Taiwan Application Serial Number 93128726, filed Sep. 22, 2004, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to a method for detecting foreign object, and more particularly, relates to a method of detecting foreign objects on a working stage or a substrate for a display panel fabrication.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Generally, keeping a working stage and the surface of a substrate clean is crucial for fabricating a liquid crystal display (LCD), for any particle existing thereon may degrade the quality and stability of the process, or even result in damages to the working stage and the product.",
"[0004] Especially, during an alignment film coating process of the LCD back-end process, the foreign objects existing on the working stage or on the surface of the substrate will deter the coating process from being smoothly performed, thus effecting the quality of the alignment film and lowering the quality control of the LCD.",
"Further, the foreign particles may cause damages to coating rollers or other equipment, and even break a glass substrate, thus effecting productivity and reducing the operation life of the equipment.",
"[0005] Hence, besides keeping the working stage and the surface of the substrate clean, a foreign objects detecting step is also needed.",
"Generally, before the manufacturing process starts, the foreign objects detecting step is first performed onto the working stage or the substrate surface, wherein if any foreign object is detected, then the manufacturing process is stopped, thus effectively preventing the foreign objects on the working stage or the substrate surface from damaging the products and equipment.",
"[0006] The conventional foreign objects detecting step uses a laser beam or diffusion light to perform detection on the working stage or the substrate surface, wherein the foreign objects are monitored in accordance with the intensity changes of light diffusion, reflection or refraction.",
"However, by using the diffusion light, the object size that can be identifies is rather limited, and the precision of detecting the foreign objects thereby is not sufficient to be suitable us in a display panel or even semiconductor manufacturing process.",
"Therefore, the current foreign objects detecting method mostly adopts the laser source so as to increase the precision of detecting the foreign objects.",
"[0007] However, the current foreign objects detecting methods all place a laser source above a working stage or a substrate, and directly irradiate the surface of the working stage or substrate, and then observe the states of the laser light before and after reflection or diffusion and refraction.",
"The laser light is interfered simultaneously by the working stage, the substrate and the foreign objects, and thus, if the refractive indexes of the foreign objects located on the working stage and the substrate are close to those of the working stage and the substrate, then the foreign objects cannot be detected.",
"For example, the refractive index of the glass scrap is the same as that of the glass substrate.",
"Further more, since the even smaller foreign particles have less apparent degrees of interference against the laser light, and are susceptible to the inference from the working stage and the substrate, they are hardly to be detected.",
"Further, the laser light has to be frequently calibrated effecting accordance with the materials forming the working stage and the substrate, thus resulting in many errors of the actual measurement and limiting the detection precision.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0008] Therefore, it is desirable to provide a method for promoting the accuracy and precision for detecting foreign objects, thereby benefiting the monitoring of foreign objects on the working stage or a substrate.",
"[0009] One aspect of the present invention is to provide a method for detecting foreign objects on the working stage or a substrate for manufacturing a LCD or a semiconductor circuit.",
"A laser beam passing across the top surface of a working stage or a substrate for a LCD fabrication is provided, and is reflected to form a feed back laser beam by a reflector.",
"Then, the intensity of the feed back laser beam by a reflector is determined.",
"If there exists any foreign objects, the intensity of the feedback laser beam should be attenuated due to refraction or absorption by the foreign objects.",
"[0010] According to the aspect of the present invention, an improved method used for detecting foreign objects on the working stage or a substrate is provided for manufacturing a LCD or a semiconductor circuit.",
"In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the method used for detecting foreign objects on a target to be detected comprises the steps as follows: At first, a laser device having a laser source and a laser detector is installed on one side of the target, and a reflector aligned the laser detector is installed on the other side of the target.",
"Then, a laser beam provided by the laser source passes across the surface of the target and is reflected back to the laser detector by the reflector, and thus a feedback light beam is formed by the reflector.",
"Subsequently, the intensity of the feedback laser beam is measured to determine if any laser intensity is attenuated, so as to determine, if there is any foreign objects existing on the surface of the target.",
"[0011] In the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the target can be referred to a working stage or a substrate for manufacturing a LCD.",
"The laser device is mounted on an adjustable gauge to adjust both horizontal and vertical positions of the laser detector precisely, so that the laser beam coming from the laser device can pass through a predetermined position over the surface of the target to a reflecting mirror.",
"Then, a feedback light beam is formed by the reflecting mirror and returns to the laser device.",
"In accordance with the difference between the intensity of the laser beam and the intensity of the feedback light beam, any foreign objects existing on the surface of the target can thus be recognized.",
"[0012] According to the method disclosed in the present invention, since the intensity of the laser beam may be refracted or absorbed only by the foreign objects existing on the surface of the target, and is not affected by the target at all, the existence of the foreign objects can be detected clearly, and even the foreign objects having similar refractivity with the target also can be accurately detected thereby.",
"[0013] Therefore, the application of the foreign objects detecting method of the present invention, not only can increase the accuracy and precision of detecting foreign objects, but also can reduce the frequency of performing a calibration step in accordance with the changes of the target to be detected, and further can prevent the manufacturing process from being damaged and affected by the existence of the foreign objects, thus maintaining the stability of the manufacturing process and the product yield;",
"reducing the loss of the fabrication cost;",
"and elongating the operation life of the processing equipment.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0014] The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: [0015] FIG. 1 regards a method for detecting the foreign objects on a working stage or a substrate during a LCD fabrication, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0016] An improved method used for detecting foreign objects on a target to be detected is provided.",
"In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a laser device having a laser source and a laser detector is installed on one side of a target, and a reflector aligned the laser detector is installed on the other side of the target.",
"Then, a laser beam provided by the laser source passes across the surface of the target and is reflected back to the laser detector by the reflector, wherein a feedback light beam is formed by the reflector.",
"Subsequently, the intensity of the feedback laser beam is measured and compared to the intensity of the laser beam, so as to determine if the laser intensity is attenuated.",
"In accordance with the result, whether there is any foreign object existing on the surface of the target can thus be recognized.",
"[0017] The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated by reference to the following detailed embodiment: Embodiment [0018] The following detailed embodiment is an improved method for detecting foreign objects on a working stage or a substrate is provided for a LCD fabrication.",
"[0019] FIG. 1 is about a method for detecting the foreign objects on a working stage or a substrate during a LCD fabrication, in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.",
"A working stage 102 is horizontally mounted on a movable carrier 100 .",
"An adjustable gauge 104 located on one side of the working stage 102 is provided, wherein the adjustable gauge 104 can be adjusted along both horizontal and vertical directions.",
"A laser device 106 having a laser source and a laser detector is mounted on the adjustable gauge 104 , wherein the laser source can provide a long-distance laser beam and the laser detector can receive and measure a long-distance laser beam.",
"A reflector 108 , such as a reflecting mirror is installed in alignment with the laser detector of the laser device 106 .",
"A laser beam 107 that is parallel to the top surface of the working stage 102 is provided by the laser source of the laser device 106 , and then the laser beam is reflected back to form a feedback laser beam 109 by the reflector 108 .",
"The intensity of the feedback laser beam 109 is measured and compared to that of the laser beam 107 by the laser device 106 .",
"[0020] The position of the laser device 106 can be adjusted along both horizontal and vertical directions via the gauge 104 so as to control the positions of the laser beam 107 passing through above the working stage 102 .",
"The movable carrier 100 horizontally driving the working stage 102 can make the laser beam 107 passing through any position on the working stage 102 .",
"[0021] The reflector 108 is used to reflect the laser beam 107 back to the laser device 106 so as to form the feedback laser beam 109 .",
"The laser detector of the laser device 106 is used for receiving the feedback laser beam 109 ;",
"measuring the intensity of the feedback laser beam 109 ;",
"and comparing the intensity of the feedback laser beam 109 with the intensity of the laser beam 107 .",
"The difference between the intensity of the laser beam 107 and that of the intensity of the feedback laser beam 109 for a intensity attenuation value used for determining if there are any foreign objects on the surface of the working stage 102 .",
"[0022] The reflected laser beam 109 is not refracted or absorbed by the working stage 102 .",
"Thus, when no foreign objects exist on the surface of the working stage 102 , the laser beam 107 can be reflected back to the laser device 106 by the reflector 108 with little loss, so that the intensity of the feedback laser beam 109 and that of the laser beam 107 are substantially the same.",
"When foreign objects exist on the surface of the working stage 102 , the reflected laser beam 109 is refracted or absorbed by the foreign objects existing thereon, and the reflected laser intensity is attenuated with certain degrees of attenuation.",
"Consequently, the existence of foreign objects on the surface of the working stage 102 can be recognized by the principle described above.",
"[0023] A predetermined laser intensity attenuation value is provided as a condition to determine if there are any foreign objects on the surface of the working stage 102 .",
"When the intensity attenuation value is lower than the predetermined laser intensity attenuation value, it is indicated that there are foreign objects on the surface of the working stage 102 , and the processing apparatuses or the processing control system has to be shutdown immediately.",
"[0024] Although in the present embodiment uses the movable carrier 100 horizontally to move the working stage 102 , for detecting every position on the working stage 102 , yet the present invention also can horizontally change the position of the laser device to accomplishing the detection throughout every position on the working stage 102 .",
"Furthermore, the method provided by the present invention may not be restricted for detecting the foreign objects on the working stage or the substrate for manufacturing a LCD.",
"The present method may be suitable for any kind of working stage or substrate.",
"[0025] Accordingly, the laser beam merely passes across the surface of the target to be detected, so that the intensity of the laser beam is merely refracted or absorbed by the foreign objects existing on the surface of the target, and is not affected by the target at all.",
"For example, since the working stage or the substrate of a LCD panel refracts little laser, the foreign objects having similar refractivity with the glass substrate, such as glass scraps can be identified easily, and particles refracts little laser can also be identified more easily.",
"Furthermore, different laser beams can be applied in accordance with the context of the manufacture process to enhance the precision of the present method.",
"For example, various laser beams with different intensities or wavelengths can be applied in accordance with the properties of the particles likely generated during the manufacture process, so as to enhance the reliability of the present method.",
"[0026] It must be appreciated that, since the working stage or the substrate of a LCD panel to be detected cannot affect the laser beam passing across the surface thereon, basically it is not necessary to change the laser beam when the material thereof is changed.",
"[0027] In some embodiment of the present invention, the present method applies a laser beam across a working stage to identify foreign objects rather applies a laser beam on a working stage directly.",
"This can avoid the measuring variation due to vacuum holes that are set on the working stage for holding a substrate.",
"[0028] Therefore, the present invention can be applied in any kind of working stage or substrate for manufacturing a LCD or a semiconductor circuit to provide an improved method with more precision for detecting the existence of foreign objects.",
"The improvement of the detecting results can prevent the apparatus and products from damage due to the impact of foreign objects during the manufacturing process, so as the yield can be increased, and the operation life of the apparatus can be elongated.",
"For example the impact of a glass scrap occurs on a LCD panel during the process for forming an alignment layer may be reduced, as the foreign objects exists on the substrate is precisely identified.",
"[0029] As is understood by a person skilled in the art, the foregoing preferred embodiments of the present invention are illustrated of the present invention rather than limiting of the present invention.",
"It is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, the scope of which should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structure."
] |
This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 07/362,248, filed Jun. 6, 1989 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,953.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to transparent resins having high surface hardness and excellent heat resistance, that are suitable for applications such as glazing materials, optical information recording media and optical lenses.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Methacrylic resins and polycarbonate resins have excellent transparency and mechanical properties, and are accordingly widely used as covers for light fixtures and signboards, and vehicle windows. Recently, the potential use of plastic lenses and substrates for optical disks has also been discussed. However, since these resins are linear polymers, their surface hardness and chemical resistance are not necessarily sufficient for these applications. Moreover, if the surface of the resin is treated with a hard coating agent, the selection of the type of the solvent that can be used is quite limited. Accordingly, in these respects, improvement in these types of resins is eagerly awaited.
To improve the surface hardness and the chemical resistance of methyl methacrylate resins, various methods have been proposed wherein a monomer having polymerizable functional groups is added to methyl methacrylate, and copolymerization is carried out to cause crosslinking to occur. However, a disadvantage of these methods is that the volume decrease of methyl methacrylate itself is high (about 21%) when polymerized, and the crosslinking reaction proceeds simultaneously with the onset of polymerization. This means that pre-polymerization processes cannot be performed. That is, in the early stages of polymerization, since the viscosity increases sharply, the mixture loses fluidity, and it becomes difficult to transfer the liquid for injection. Thus, in these methods, casting polymerization must be carried out without pre-polymerization, and therefore the problem of volume decrease, or shrinkage, cannot be solved.
Crosslinked resins produced by polymerizing diethylene glycol diallyl carbonate are widely known for their excellent surface hardness, but the volume shrinkage thereof is also high (about 14%) when polymerized, and it takes a long time before polymerization is complete. Again this cannot be solved by pre-polymerization, because of problems similar to those encountered with the above methods.
In order to solve these problems, urethane polyacrylic esters and urethane polymethacrylic esters have been proposed (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Nos. 3610/1986, and 75022/1988). However, since these monomers, like those discussed above, have only an acryl group or a methacryl group in the molecule, whose polymerization rate is similar, a crosslinking reaction also proceeds when free radical polymerization is effected. Consequently, pre-polymerization is difficult to carry out, and polymerization is hardly controlled, and takes place rapidly, with the likely result that the resultant polymer will separate from the mold and have a rough surface.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the problems and disadvantages of the prior art by providing a process for producing synthetic resins that are both highly transparent and possess high surface hardness.
An object of the present invention is to provide transparent resins that have a crosslinked structure and high surface hardness.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a process for producing a hard transparent resin, in which control of polymerization is easy, the run-away reaction at the onset of polymerization is easily controlled, and the polymerization time is capable of being considerably reduced.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a hard transparent resin well adapted for use as a glazing material.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a hard transparent resin well suited for use in the manufacture of optical lenses and optical recording media.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from a reading of the description that follows, or may be learned by practicing the invention.
To achieve the objects as set forth above, the present invention provides a process for preparing transparent resin comprising polymerizing a monomer (A) having in its molecular structure both a functional group of the general formula (I): ##STR4## wherein X is selected from the group consisting of an oxygen atom and a sulfur atom,
and either a functional group of the general formula (II): ##STR5## wherein R is selected form the group consisting of hydrogen and a methyl group, or a functional group of the formula (III): ##STR6##
The present invention also provides a process for preparing a hard transparent resin comprising copolymerizing said monomer (A) with a monomer (B) having at least one functional group selected from the group consisting of: ##STR7##
The resin obtained by polymerizing the monomer (A) alone is a very hard transparent resin having structural units of the following general formula (IV) and/or (V): ##STR8## wherein X and R are defined as above.
The resin obtained by copolymerizing the monomer (A) and the monomer (B) is a resin having basically the structural units represented by the general formulas (IV) and/or (V) as a backbone to which is attached, as structural units, the monomer having at least one functional group selected from the group consisting of: ##STR9##
The present invention is also directed to a glazing material, produced by cast-polymerizing the monomer (A) alone or cast-copolymerizing the monomer (A) with the monomer (B), or an optical lens obtained by machining the resin after cast-polymerization.
Applicants have found that by employing a compound containing polymerizable functional groups having very different polymerization rates, and by allowing the polymerizable group having a high rate and the polymerizable group having a low rate to polymerize selectively or stepwise, transparent resins having high surface hardness are produced. Further, applicants have found that control of polymerization is easy and the polymerization time is greatly reduced.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the invention.
When the monomer (A) is polymerized alone or is copolymerized with the monomer (B), not only the control of polymerization becomes quite easy in comparison with the case wherein the monomer (B) is polymerized alone, but also a transparent resin having high surface hardness can be obtained.
The monomer (A) used in the present invention that has in the molecule both a functional group of the general formula (I): ##STR10## wherein X is selected from the group consisting of an oxygen atom and a sulfur atom,
and a functional group of the general formula (II): ##STR11## wherein R is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and a methyl group,
or a functional group of the general formula (III): ##STR12## is a carbamate or a thiocarbamate obtained by reacting an isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate with a compound having in its molecule a hydroxyl group and/or a mercapto group, and at least one functional group selected from the group consisting of: ##STR13##
Specific and non-limiting examples of the isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate are 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate and 4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate. Specific and non-limiting examples of the compound having in its molecule a hydroxyl group and/or a mercapto group, and at least one functional group selected from the group consisting of: ##STR14## are compounds obtained by ring-opening an epoxy group or a thiirane group with acrylic acid or methacrylic acid, such as hydroxyethyl acrylate, hydroxyethyl methacrylate, hydroxypropyl acrylate, hydroxypropyl methacrylate, 1,4-butylene glycol monomethacrylate, 1,4-butylene glycol monoacrylate, glycerol-1,2-diacrylate, glycerol-1,2-dimethacrylate, glycerol-1,3-diacrylate, glycerol-1,3-dimethacrylate, and glycerol-1-acrylate-3-methacrylate, acrylic acid or methacrylic acid ring-opened reaction products of phenyl glycidyl ethers, such as 3-phenoxy-2-hydroxypropyl acrylate, 3-phenoxy-2-hydroxyppropylmethacrylate, 2,4-dibromophenoxy-2-hydroxypropyl acrylate and 2,4-dibromophenoxy-2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate; and acrylic acid or methacrylic acid ring-opened reaction products of bisphenol A diglycidyl ether, pentaerythritol triacrylate; pentaerythritol trimethacrylate, vinyl benzyl alcohol, vinyl thiobenzyl alcohol, bis(acryloyloxyethyl)isocyanurate, and bis(methacryloyloxyethyl)isocyanurate.
In order to obtain a carbamate or a thiocarbamate using these materials depending on the reaction between the isocyanate group in the isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate and the hydroxyl group or the mercapto group, a tin compound such as dibutyl tin dilaurate and dimethyl tin chloride or an amine such as morpholine and dimethylaminobenzene can be added to facilitate the synthesis reaction. It is preferable, however, to use a tin compound to prevent the subsequent radical reaction from becoming colored. If a solvent is used, the solvent is distilled off after the synthesis reaction. After optional purification is carried out, the product is used as the monomer (A) for the subsequent free radical reaction.
Non-limiting examples of the monomer (B) having at least one functional group selected from the group consisting of: ##STR15## are methyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, ethyl acrylate, ethyl methacrylate, propyl acrylate, propyl methacrylate, isopropyl acrylate, isopropyl methacrylate, cyclohexyl acrylate, cyclohexyl methacrylate, benzyl acrylate, benzyl methacrylate, ethylene glycol diacrylate, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, diethylene glycol diacrylate, diethylene glycol dimethacrylate, neopentyl glycol diacrylate, neopentyl glycol dimethacrylate, propylene glycol diacrylate, propylene glycol dimethacrylate, dipropylene glycol diacrylate, dipropylene glycol dimethacrylate, trimethylolpropane triacrylate, trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, pentaerythritol triacrylate, pentaerythritol trimethacrylate, pentaerythritol tetraacrylate, pentaerythritol tetramethacrylate, tris(acryloyloxyethyl)isocyanurate, tris(methacryloyloxyethyl)isocyanurate, styrene, chlorostyrene, bromostyrene, α-methylstyrene, and divinylbenzene.
To prepare the hard transparent resin in accordance with the present invention, the monomer (A) prepared above is polymerized alone or is copolymerized with the monomer (B). In either case, a cast polymerization process can be used, and the monomer (A) or a mixture of the monomer (A) and the monomer (B) can be subjected to free radical polymerization. The free radical polymerization can be thermal polymerization, ultraviolet-radiation-induced polymerization, or gamma-radiation-induced polymerization, with thermal polymerization being preferred.
There is no particular limitation on the free radical polymerization initiators, and such known compounds as peroxides, for example, benzoyl peroxide, p-chlorobenzoyl peroxide, diisopropyl peroxycarbonate, di-2-ethylhexyl peroxycarbonate, t-butylperoxy-2-ethylhexanoate, and t-butyl peroxypivalate, and azo compounds, for example, azobisisobutynonitrile, are used in amounts of 0.01 to 5wt. %.
The mixture containing the polymerization initiator can then be subjected to a known cast polymerization process, for example, the mixed solution containing the polymerization initiator is poured into a mold comprising a combination of a metal or glass mold and a gasket or a spacer, and is heated to promote setting. Prior to the onset of polymerization, if required, additives such as ultraviolet absorbers, antioxidants, coloring preventive agents, fluorescent dyes, and near infrared absorbers may suitably be added.
In the present invention a polymerizable group of the general formula (I) whose polymerization rate is low is combined with a polymerizable group whose polymerization rate is higher than the former. It is in this manner that the run-away reaction at the onset of the polymerization can be easily controlled, and not only can the polymerization time be reduced considerably, but also a highly hard transparent resin can be obtained, which is a principal object of the present invention.
Thus, the hard transparent resin produced according to the present invention has excellent heat resistance and workability as regards severing and cutting, and is well adapted for use as glazing materials, vehicle windows, optical information recording medium substrates, and optical lenses, and other advantageous applications that will be evident to those skilled in the art.
EXAMPLES
The present invention will now be described more particularly with reference to following examples, which are provided solely for purposes of illustration, and are in no way to be construed as limiting the invention to the particular materials described therein.
The first thirteen synthesis examples recount the synthesis of representative monomers (A) according to the present invention. The parts quoted in the examples are parts by weight.
SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 1
8.3 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, 10.0 parts of toluene, and 4.8 parts of 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate were mixed, and the resulting reaction was carried out for 5 hours with stirring while the temperature of the reaction medium was kept at 100° C. After the reaction was complete, the reaction medium was condensed. The condensed medium was purified by chromatography to yield 2.9 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-2-acryloyloxyethyl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.
______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub.18 H.sub.23 NO.sub.4): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 67.62 7.29 4.39Calculated (%) 68.12 7.31 4.42______________________________________NMR (δCDCl.sub.3) ##STR16## ##STR17## ##STR18## ##STR19## ##STR20## ##STR21##______________________________________
SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 2
10.0 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, 6.5 parts of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, and 0.1 part of dibutyl tin dilaurate (used as a urethanization reaction-promoting catalyst) were mixed, and the resulting reaction was carried our for 1 hour with stirring while the temperature of the reaction medium was kept at 65° C. After the reaction was complete, the reaction medium was purified by chromatography to yield 14.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,αdimethylbenzyl)-2-methacryloyloxyethyl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.
______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub.19 H.sub.25 NO.sub.4): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 68.77 7.32 4.28Calculated (%) 68.86 7.61 4.23______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.sub.3) ##STR22## ##STR23## ##STR24## ##STR25## ##STR26## ##STR27## ##STR28## ##STR29##______________________________________
SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 3
The procedure of Example 1 was repeated, except that 8.3 parts of 4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate were used instead of 8.3 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, thereby producing 3.2 parts of N-(4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-2-acryloyloxyethyl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.
______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub.18 H.sub.23 NO.sub.4): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 67.90 7.27 4.37Calculated (%) 68.12 7.31 4.42______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.sub.3) ##STR30## ##STR31## ##STR32## ##STR33## ##STR34##______________________________________
SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 4
The procedure of Example 2 was repeated, except that 10.0 parts of 4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate were used instead of 10.0 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, thereby producing 14.2 parts of N-(4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-2-methacryloyloxyethyl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.
______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub.19 H.sub.25 NO.sub.4): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 68.53 7.40 4.19Calculated (%) 68.86 7.61 4.23______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.sub.3) ##STR35## ##STR36##4.20(S, 4H, OC .sub.--H.sub.2 C .sub.--H.sub.2 O) ##STR37## ##STR38## ##STR39## ##STR40## ##STR41##______________________________________
SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 5
The procedure of Example 2 was repeated, except that 6.5 parts of 2-hydroxypropyl acrylate were used instead of 6.5 parts of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, and the temperature of the reaction medium was maintained at 80° C. instead of 65° C., thereby producing 13.8 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1-acryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.
______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub.19 H.sub.25 NO.sub.4): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 68.66 7.53 4.29Calculated (%) 68.86 7.61 4.23______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.sub.3) ##STR42## ##STR43## ##STR44## ##STR45## ##STR46## ##STR47## ##STR48##______________________________________
SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 6
The procedure of Example 2 was repeated, except that 7.5 parts of 2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate were used instead of 6.5 parts of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, the temperature of the reaction medium was maintained at 80° C. instead of 65° C., and the amount of the dibutyl tin laurate was 0.2 part instead of 0.1 part, thereby producing 15.1 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1-methacryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.
______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub.20 H.sub.27 NO.sub.4): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 69.45 7.71 4.01Calculated (%) 69.54 7.87 4.05______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.sub.3) ##STR49## ##STR50## ##STR51## ##STR52## ##STR53## ##STR54## ##STR55## ##STR56##______________________________________
SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 7
10.0 parts of 4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, 6.7 parts of 2-hydroxypropyl acrylate, 10.0 parts of benzene, and 0.5 part of dibutyl tin dilaurate (used as a reaction-promoting catalyst) were mixed, and the resulting reaction was carried out for 5 hours with stirring while the temperature of the reaction medium was kept at 60° C. After the reaction was complete, the reaction medium was purified by chromatography to yield 12.8 parts of N-(4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1-acryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.
______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub.19 H.sub.25 NO.sub.4): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 68.45 7.44 4.07Calculated (%) 68.86 7.61 4.23______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.sub.3) ##STR57## ##STR58## ##STR59## ##STR60## ##STR61## ##STR62##______________________________________
SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 8
12.0 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, 10.0 parts of toluene, and 11.9 parts of glycerol-1,3-diacrylate were mixed, and the resulting reaction was carried out for 3 hours with stirring while the temperature of the reaction medium was kept at 90° C. After the reaction was complete, the reaction medium was condensed. The condensed medium was purified by chromatography to yield 2.4 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1,3-diacryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.
______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub.22 H.sub.27 NO.sub.6): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 65.54 6.57 3.33Calculated (%) 65.82 6.78 3.49______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.sub.3) ##STR63## ##STR64## ##STR65## ##STR66## ##STR67## ##STR68## ##STR69## ##STR70## ##STR71## ##STR72## ##STR73##______________________________________
SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 9
48.0 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, 54.4 parts of glycerol-1,3-dimethacrylate, and 0.5 part of dibutyl tin dilaurate (used as a reaction-promoting catalyst) were mixed, and the resulting reaction was carried out for 1 hour with stirring while the temperature of the reaction medium was kept at 60° C. After the reaction was complete, the reaction medium was purified by chromatography to yield 63.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl-1,3-dimethacryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.
______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub.24 H.sub.31 NO.sub.6): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 66.90 7.13 3.09Calculated (%) 67.11 7.27 3.26______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.sub.3) ##STR74## ##STR75## ##STR76## ##STR77## ##STR78## ##STR79## ##STR80## ##STR81## ##STR82## ##STR83## ##STR84##______________________________________
SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 10
The procedure of Example 9 was repeated, except that 51.5 parts of glycerol-1-acrylate-3-methacrylate were used instead of 54.4 parts of glycerol-1,3-dimethacrylate, thereby producing 71.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1-acryloyloxy-3-methacryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.
______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub.23 H.sub.29 NO.sub.6): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 66.11 6.99 3.23Calculated (%) 66.49 7.04 3.37______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.sub.3)δ = ##STR85## ##STR86## ##STR87## ##STR88## ##STR89## ##STR90## ##STR91## ##STR92## ##STR93## ##STR94## ##STR95## ##STR96## ##STR97##______________________________________
SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 11
The procedure of Example 9 was repeated, except that 48.0 of parts of 4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, and 47.8 parts of glycerol-1,3-diacrylate were used instead of 48.0 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, and 54.4 parts of glycerol-1,3-dimethacrylate, respectively, thereby producing 62.1 parts of N-(4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1,3-diacryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.
______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub.22 H.sub.27 NO.sub.6): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 65.31 6.49 3.40Calculated (%) 65.82 6.78 3.49______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.sub.3)δ = ##STR98## ##STR99## ##STR100## ##STR101## ##STR102## ##STR103## ##STR104## ##STR105## ##STR106## ##STR107##______________________________________
SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 12
The procedure of Example 9 was repeated, except that 71.2 parts of pentaerythritol triacrylate were used instead of 54.4 parts of glycerol-1,3-dimethacrylate, thereby producing 50.2 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-2,2-diacryloyloxymethyl-3-acryloyloxypropyl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.
______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub.27 H.sub.33 NO.sub.8): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 64.19 6.37 2.80Calculated (%) 64.92 6.66 2.80______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.sub.3)δ = ##STR108## ##STR109## ##STR110## ##STR111## ##STR112## ##STR113## ##STR114## ##STR115## ##STR116## ##STR117##______________________________________
SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 13
The procedure of Example 9 was repeated, except that 48.0 parts of 4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, and 81.3 parts of pentaerythritol methacrylate were used instead of 48.0 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, and 54.4 parts of glycerol-1,3-dimethacrylate, respectively, thereby producing 77.1 parts of N-(4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-2,-dimethacryloyloxymethyl-3-methacryloyloxypropyl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.
______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub.30 H.sub.39 NO.sub.8): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 66.11 7.00 2.50Calculated (%) 66.53 7.26 2.59______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.sub.3)δ = ##STR118## ##STR119## ##STR120## ##STR121## ##STR122## ##STR123## ##STR124## ##STR125## ##STR126## ##STR127##______________________________________
The following examples recount preparation of representative hard transparent resins according to the present invention. The parts quoted are parts by weight and the percentages quoted are percentages by weight.
EXAMPLE 1
0.5 part of dibutyl tin dilaurate was added to 201 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, and then 130 parts of hydroxyethyl methacrylate were added gradually thereto while the reaction mixture was heated to maintain an internal temperature of 60° C., thereby carrying out a urethanization reaction to produce a viscous carbamate compound wherein absorption by the isocyanate group in the infrared absorption spectrum was almost nonexistent. After 0.2 part of t-butylperoxy-2-ethyl hexanoate was added thereto, and the mixture was stirred well, the resulting liquid was deaerated under reduced pressure and poured into a mold composed of two glass plates each having a thickness of 5 mm and a polyvinyl chloride spacer positioned therebetween and extending along the peripheries of the plates. With the glass plates clamped firmly, polymerization was effected by raising the temperature from 45° C. to 120° C. over 3 hours under heating in a hot-air oven. After cooling, a faintly yellowish transparent resin plate with a smooth surface was removed from the mold. The hardness of the plate, measured by the pencil hardness method (JIS-K-5401), was found to be 5H, the chemical resistance was good (as tested by immersing the resin plate in isopropanol and toluene at room temperature for 24 hours, and when it was not marked by an HB pencil, it was judged good), severing of the plate with a metal severing saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for machining lenses of spectacles was also possible.
EXAMPLE 2
0.5 part of dibutyl tin dilaurate was added to 201 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, and then 116 parts of hydroxyethyl acrylate were added gradually thereto while the reaction mixture was heated to attain an internal temperature of 60° C., thereby carrying out a urethanization reaction to produce a viscous urethane compound wherein absorption by the isocyanate group in the infrared absorption spectrum was almost nonexistent. After 2.0 parts of t-butylperoxy-2-ethyl hexanoate were added thereto, and the mixture was stirred well, the resulting mixture was deaerated under reduced pressure and poured into a mold composed of two glass plates each having a thickness of 5 mm and a polyvinyl chloride spacer positioned therebetween and extending along the peripheries of the plates. With the glass plates clamped firmly, polymerization was effected by raising the temperature from 60° C. to 120° C. over 3 hours under heating in a hot-air oven. After cooling, a colorless transparent resin plate was removed from the mold. The pencil hardness of the plate was 5H, the chemical resistance thereof was good, severing of the plate with a metal severing saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for machining lenses of spectacles was also possible.
EXAMPLE 3
The procedure of Example 2 was repeated, except that 144 parts of 2-hydroxypropyl acrylate were used instead of 130 parts of hydroxyethyl acrylate, thereby producing a colorless transparent resin plate. The pencil hardness of the plate was 4H, the chemical resistance thereof was good, severing of the plate with a metal severing saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for machining lenses of spectacles was also possible.
EXAMPLE 4
0.5 part of dibutyl tin dilaurate was added to 201 parts of 4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, and then 222 parts of 3-phenoxy-2-hydroxypropyl acrylate were added gradually thereto while the reaction mixture was heated to attain an internal temperature of 60° C., thereby carrying out a urethanization reaction to produce a viscous urethane compound wherein absorption by the isocyanate group in the infrared absorption spectrum was almost nonexistent. After 200 parts of methyl acrylate and 3.0 parts of t-butylperoxy-2-ethyl hexanoate were mixed well with the urethane compound, the resultant mixture was preliminarily polymerized with stirring at an internal temperature of 50° C. until the viscosity of the mixture reached 150 centipoises. Then the mixture was deaerated under reduced pressure and poured into a mold composed of two glass plates each having a thickness of 5 mm and a polyvinyl chloride spacer positioned therebetween and extending along the peripheries of the plates. With the glass plates clamped firmly, polymerization was effected by raising the temperature from 50° C. to 120° C. over 3 hours under heating in a hot-air oven. After cooling, a colorless transparent resin plate was removed from the mold. The pencil hardness of the plate was 4H, severing of the plate with a metal severing saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for machining lenses of spectacles was also possible.
EXAMPLE 5
1.0 part of dibutyl tin dilaurate was added to 300 parts of styrene, and 201 parts of 3-isopropenyldimethylbenzyl isocyanate, and then 514 parts of bisphenol A bis(2-hydroxymethacryloyloxypropylether) were added gradually thereto while the reaction mixture was heated to provide an internal temperature of 60° C., thereby carrying out a urethanization reaction to produce a viscous styrene mixture of a urethane compound wherein absorption by the isocyanate group in the infrared absorption spectrum was almost nonexistent. After 5.0 parts of t-butylperoxy-2-ethyl hexanoate were added thereto, and the mixture was stirred well, the resulting liquid was deaerated under reduced pressure and poured into a mold composed of two glass plates each having a thickness of 5 mm and a polyvinyl chloride spacer positioned therebetween and extending along the peripheries of the plates. With the glass plates clamped firmly, polymerization was effected by raising the temperature from 50° C. to 120° C. over 3 hours under heating in a hot-air oven. After cooling, a colorless transparent resin plate was removed from the mold. The pencil hardness of the plate was 5H, the chemical resistance thereof was good, severing of the plate with a metal severing saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for machining lenses of spectacles was also possible.
EXAMPLE 6
148 parts of 4-mercaptomethyl-1-vinylstyrene were added to 201 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, then 4 parts of dibutyl tin dilaurate were added thereto, and the mixture was heated to provide an internal temperature of 60° C., thereby producing a viscous urethane compound wherein absorption by the isocyanate group in the infrared absorption spectrum was almost nonexistent. After 200 parts of neopentyl glycol dimethacrylate and 5 parts of t-butylperoxy-2-ethyl hexanoate were added thereto, and the mixture was stirred well, the resulting mixture was deaerated under reduced pressure and poured into a mold composed of two glass plates each having a thickness of 5 mm and a polyvinyl chloride spacer positioned therebetween and extending along the peripheries of the plates. With the glass plates clamped firmly, polymerization was effected by raising the temperature from 50° C. to 120° C. over 3 hours under heating in a hot-air oven. After cooling, a faintly yellowish transparent resin plate was removed from the mold. The pencil hardness of the plate was 4H, the chemical resistance thereof was good, severing of the plate with a metal severing saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for machining lenses of spectacles was also possible.
EXAMPLE 7
0.5 part of dibutyl tin dilaurate was added to 201 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, then 93 parts of hydroxyethyl acrylate were added gradually thereto while the reaction mixture was heated to provide an internal temperature of 60° C., and 60 parts of pentaerythritol triacrylate were added gradually thereto, thereby carrying out a urethanization reaction to produce a viscous urethane compound wherein absorption by the isocyanate group in the infrared absorption spectrum was almost nonexistent. After 2.0 parts of t-butylperoxy-2-ethyl hexanoate were added thereto, and the mixture was stirred well, the resulting liquid was deaerated under reduced pressure and poured into a mold composed of two glass plates each having a thickness of 5 mm and a polyvinyl chloride spacer positioned therebetween and extending along the peripheries of the plates. With the glass plates clamped firmly, polymerization was effected by raising the temperature from 50° C. to 120° C. over 3 hours under heating in a hot-air oven. After cooling, a colorless transparent resin plate was removed from the mold. The pencil hardness of the plate was 6H, the chemical resistance thereof was good, severing of the plate with a metal severing saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for machining lenses of spectacles was also possible.
EXAMPLE 8
200 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate were added to 100 parts of methyl acrylate, then 1 part of dibutyl tin dilaurate was added thereto, the mixture was heated to provide an internal temperature of 60° C., and then 300 parts of pentaerythritol triacrylate were added gradually to the reaction mixture, thereby producing a viscous methyl acrylate mixture of a urethane compound wherein absorption by the isocyanate group in the infrared absorption spectrum was almost nonexistent. After 5 parts of t-butylperoxy-2-ethyl hexanoate were added thereto, and the mixture was stirred well, the resulting mixture was deaerated under reduced pressure and poured into a mold composed of two glass plates each having a thickness of 5 mm and a polyvinyl chloride spacer positioned therebetween and extending along the peripheries of the plates. With the glass plates clamped firmly, polymerization was effected by raising the temperature from 45° C. to 120° C. over 3 hours under heating in a hot-air oven. After cooling, a colorless transparent resin plate was removed from the mold. The pencil hardness of the plate was 4H, the chemical resistance thereof was good, severing of the plate with a metal severing saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for machining lenses of spectacles was also possible.
EXAMPLE 9
201 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate were added to 113 parts of trimethylolpropane triacrylate, then 1 part of dibutyl tin dilaurate was added thereto, the mixture was heated to provide an internal temperature of 60° C., and then 116 parts of hydroxyethyl acrylate were added gradually to the reaction mixture, thereby producing a viscous trimethylolpropane mixture of a urethane compound wherein absorption by the isocyanate group in the infrared absorption spectrum was almost nonexistent. After 5 parts of t-butylperoxy-2-ethyl hexanoate were added thereto, and the mixture was stirred well, the resulting mixture was deaerated under reduced pressure and poured into a mold composed of two glass plates each having a thickness of 5 mm with a polyvinyl chloride spacer positioned therebetween and extending along the peripheries of the plates. With the glass plates clamped firmly, polymerization was effected by raising the temperature from 50° C. to 120° C. over 3 hours under heating in a hot-air oven. After cooling, a colorless transparent resin plate was removed from the mold. The pencil hardness of the plate was 6H, the chemical resistance thereof was good, severing of the plate with a metal severing saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for machining lenses of spectacles was also possible.
COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 1
3 parts of t-butylperoxy-2-ethyl hexanoate were added to 100 parts of diethylene glycol diallyl carbonate, stirred well, and the resulting mixture was deaerated and poured into a mold composed of two glass plates each having a thickness of 5 mm and a polyvinyl chloride spacer clamped firmly between the glass plates and extending along the peripheries thereof. Polymerization was effected by raising the temperature from 50° C. to 120° C. over 3 hours under heating in a hot-air oven. In the course of polymerization, rapid polymerization occurred at about 70° C., and the polymerized product separated from the glass mold, and turned yellow.
Only when the mixture was polymerized by raising the temperature from 50° C. to 120° C. over a period 10 hours, could a resin plate be obtained without separation from the mold. The pencil hardness of the plate was 3 H.
COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 2
188 parts of m-xylylene diisocyanate were added to 200 parts of methyl methacrylate, then 0.5 part of dibutyl tin dilaurate was added thereto, and 260 parts of hydroxyethyl methacrylate were added gradually thereto while the mixture was heated to provide an internal temperature of 60° C., thereby producing a viscous methyl methacrylate mixture of a urethane compound wherein absorption by the isocyanate group in the infrared absorption spectrum was almost nonexistent. After 3 parts of t-butylperoxy-2-ethyl hexanoate were added thereto, and the mixture was stirred well, the resulting mixture was deaerated under reduced pressure and poured into a mold composed of two glass plates each having a thickness of 5 mm and a polyvinyl chloride spacer positioned therebetween and extending along the peripheries of the plates. With the glass plates clamped firmly, polymerization was effected by raising the temperature from 45° C. to 120° C. over 3 hours under heating in a hot-air oven. In the course of polymerization, rapid polymerization occurred at about 65° C., and the polymerized product separated from the mold.
EXAMPLE 10
30.0 parts of N-(m-isopropenyldimethylbenzyl)-2-methacryloyloxyethyl carbamate, as prepared in Synthesis Example 2, 0.1 part of bis(4-t-butylcyclohexyl) peroxydicarbonate, and 0.1 part of t-butyl peroxyisopropyl carbonate were mixed to form a homogeneous mixture, and the mixture was deaerated under reduced pressure, and then was cast in a mold composed of a 150 mm×150 mm glass sheet, and a vinyl chloride gasket. Polymerization was then effected for 1 hour at 60° C., and further for 1 hour at 120° C., whereafter the plate-like polymerized item was removed from the mold. The hardness of the plate, as measured by the pencil hardness method (JIS-K-5401), was found to be 5H, the chemical resistance thereof was good, severing of the plate with a metal severing saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for machining lenses of spectacles was also possible. The results of these test are given in Table 1.
The physical properties of the resins were measured by the following methods:
(1) Appearance: the plate-like polymerized item was visually observed, without magnification.
(2) Light transmittance: measured in accordance with ASTM D1003.
(3) Surface hardness: a pencil hardness test for paints according to JIS K-5401 was used.
(4) Heat resistance: after the polymerized item was allowed to stand in a hot-air drying chamber at 120° C. for 1 hour, it was visually observed without magnification. If it was not colored and was free of surface imperfections, it was judged to be ◯; when it was colored and had surface imperfections, it was judged to be X.
(5) Workability: when the polymerized item could be ground by a lens polisher for working lenses of spectacles, it was judged to be ◯, and when it could not be cut, it was judged to be X.
(6) Chemical resistance: the polymerized item was immersed in isopropanol and toluene at room temperature for 24 hours. When it was not marked by an HB pencil, it was judged as ◯, while when it was marked by an HB pencil, it was judged as X.
EXAMPLE 11
The procedure of Example 10 was repeated, except that 30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1-acryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate, as prepared in Synthesis Example 5, were used instead of 30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-2-methacryloyloxyethyl carbamate, thereby producing a platelike polymerized item.
The pencil hardness of the plate was 5H, the chemical resistance thereof was good, severing of the plate with a metal cutting saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for working lenses of spectacles was also possible.
EXAMPLE 12
The procedure of Example 10 was repeated, except that 30.0 parts of N-(4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-2-acryloyl-oxyethyl carbamate, as prepared in Example 7, were 25 used instead of 30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)- 2-methacryloyloxyethyl carbamate, thereby producing a plate-like polymerized item.
The pencil hardness of the plate was 5H, the chemical resistance thereof was good, severing of the plate with a metal cutting saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for working lenses of spectacles was also possible.
EXAMPLE 13
The procedure of Example 10 was repeated, except that 30.0 parts of N-(4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1-methacryloyloxypropan- 2-yl carbamate, as prepared in Example 4, were used instead of 30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)methacryloyloxyethyl carbamate, thereby producing a platelike polymerized item.
The pencil hardness of the plate was 5H, the chemical resistance thereof, severing of the plate with a metal cutting saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for working lenses of spectacles was also possible.
EXAMPLE 14
30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)acryloyloxyethyl carbamate, as prepared in Synthesis Example 1, 1.5 parts of styrene, 0.1 part of t-butyl peroxypivalate, and 0.1 part of t-butyl peroxyisopropyl carbonate were homogeneously mixed, and the resulting mixture was cast in a mold composed of a 150 mm×150 mm glass sheet, and a vinyl chloride gasket. After polymerization at 70° C. for 1 hour, and further at 120° C. for 1 hour, the resultant platelike polymerized item was removed from the mold.
The pencil hardness of the plate was 5H, the chemical resistance was good, severing of the plate with a metal cutting saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for working lenses of spectacles was also possible.
EXAMPLE 15
30.0 parts of N-(4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)methacryloyloxypropyl carbamate, 1.5 parts of methyl methacrylate, 0.1 part of bis(4-t-butylcyclohexyl) peroxydicarbonate, and 0.1 part of t-butyl peroxyisopropyl carbonate were homogeneously mixed, and the resulting mixture was cast in a mold composed of a 150 mm×150 mm glass sheet, and a vinyl chloride gasket. After polymerization at 60° C. for 1 hour, and further at 120° C. for 1 hour, the resultant platelike polymerized item was removed from the mold.
The pencil hardness of the plate was 5H, the chemical resistance thereof was good, severing of the plate with a metal cutting saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for working lenses of spectacles was also possible.
TABLE 1__________________________________________________________________________ Application Application Application Application Application Application Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Example 4 Example 5 Example 6__________________________________________________________________________Appearance colorless, colorless colorless colorless colorless colorless transparent transparent transparent transparent transparent transparentLight 91 91 91 90 90 91transmittance (%)Surface hardness 5H 5H 5H 5H 5H 5HHeat resistance ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯Workability ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯Chemical resistance ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯__________________________________________________________________________
EXAMPLE 16
30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1,3-diacryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate, as prepared in Synthesis Example 8, 0.03 part of lauroyl peroxide, and 0.15 part of benzoyl peroxide were mixed uniformly, and the resulting mixture was cast in a mold composed of a 150 mm×150 mm glass sheet, and a vinyl chloride gasket. After polymerization at 55° C. for 1 hour, and further at 130° C. for 1 hour, the platelike polymerized item was removed from the mold.
EXAMPLE 17
The procedure of Example 16 was repeated, except that 30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1,3-dimethacryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate, as prepared in Example 9, were used instead of 30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1,3-diacryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate, polymerization was effected for 1 hour at 60° C. instead of 55° C., and further for 2 hours at 140° C. instead of 130° C., thereby producing a plate-like polymerized item.
EXAMPLE 18
The procedure of Example 17 was repeated, except that 30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1-acryloyloxy-3-methacryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate, as prepared in Example 10, were used instead of 30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1,3-dimethacryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate, thereby producing a plate-like polymerized item.
EXAMPLE 19
The procedure of Example 17 was repeated, except that 30.0 parts of N-(4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1,3-acryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate, as prepared in Example 11, were used instead of 30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1,3-dimethacryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate, thereby producing a plate-like polymerized item.
EXAMPLE 20
30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-2,2-diacryloyloxymethyl-3-acryloyloxypropyl carbamate, as prepared in Synthesis Example 12, 0.01 part of lauroyl peroxide, and 0.15 part of t-butyl peroxy-2-ethyl hexanoate were mixed uniformly, and the resulting mixture was cast in a mold composed of a 150 mm×150 mm glass sheet, and a vinyl chloride gasket. After polymerization at 55° C. for 1 hour, and further at 130° C. for 2 hours, the platelike polymerized item was removed from the mold.
The results of these test are given in Table 2.
Although the present invention has been described in connection with various preferred embodiments thereof, it is evident that other embodiments thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the present specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. Accordingly, it is intended that the true scope and spirit of the invention be indicated by the following claims.
TABLE 2__________________________________________________________________________ Application Application Application Application Application Example 7 Example 8 Example 9 Example 10 Example 11__________________________________________________________________________Appearance colorless, colorless colorless colorless colorless transparent transparent transparent transparent transparentLight 91 91 91 91 91transmittance (%)Surface hardness 9H 5H 6H 9H 9HHeat resistance ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯Workability ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯Chemical resistance ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯__________________________________________________________________________ | The present invention relates to a process for preparing a hard transparent resin comprising polymerizing a monomer (A) having both a functional group of the following formula (I): ##STR1## wherein X is selected from the group consisting of an oxygen atom and a sulfur atom,
and a functional group selected from the group consisting of a functional group of the formula (II):
CH.sub.2 CR--COO-- (II)
wherein R is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and methyl group,
and a functional group of the formula (III): ##STR2## The invention also provides a process for preparing a transparent resin comprising copolymerizing monomer (A) with a monomer (B) having at least one functional group selected from the group consisting of
CH 2 CH═COO--,
CH 2 ═C(CH 3 )--COO--, and ##STR3## This resin can be suitably used as a glazing material, and in the manufacture of optical lenses, optical information recording medium substrates, etc. It has a crosslinked structure, high surface hardness, and may be easily polymerized. | Summarize the document in concise, focusing on the main idea's functionality and advantages. | [
"This application is a divisional of application Ser.",
"No. 07/362,248, filed Jun. 6, 1989 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,953.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention The present invention relates to transparent resins having high surface hardness and excellent heat resistance, that are suitable for applications such as glazing materials, optical information recording media and optical lenses.",
"(2) Description of the Prior Art Methacrylic resins and polycarbonate resins have excellent transparency and mechanical properties, and are accordingly widely used as covers for light fixtures and signboards, and vehicle windows.",
"Recently, the potential use of plastic lenses and substrates for optical disks has also been discussed.",
"However, since these resins are linear polymers, their surface hardness and chemical resistance are not necessarily sufficient for these applications.",
"Moreover, if the surface of the resin is treated with a hard coating agent, the selection of the type of the solvent that can be used is quite limited.",
"Accordingly, in these respects, improvement in these types of resins is eagerly awaited.",
"To improve the surface hardness and the chemical resistance of methyl methacrylate resins, various methods have been proposed wherein a monomer having polymerizable functional groups is added to methyl methacrylate, and copolymerization is carried out to cause crosslinking to occur.",
"However, a disadvantage of these methods is that the volume decrease of methyl methacrylate itself is high (about 21%) when polymerized, and the crosslinking reaction proceeds simultaneously with the onset of polymerization.",
"This means that pre-polymerization processes cannot be performed.",
"That is, in the early stages of polymerization, since the viscosity increases sharply, the mixture loses fluidity, and it becomes difficult to transfer the liquid for injection.",
"Thus, in these methods, casting polymerization must be carried out without pre-polymerization, and therefore the problem of volume decrease, or shrinkage, cannot be solved.",
"Crosslinked resins produced by polymerizing diethylene glycol diallyl carbonate are widely known for their excellent surface hardness, but the volume shrinkage thereof is also high (about 14%) when polymerized, and it takes a long time before polymerization is complete.",
"Again this cannot be solved by pre-polymerization, because of problems similar to those encountered with the above methods.",
"In order to solve these problems, urethane polyacrylic esters and urethane polymethacrylic esters have been proposed (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Nos. 3610/1986, and 75022/1988).",
"However, since these monomers, like those discussed above, have only an acryl group or a methacryl group in the molecule, whose polymerization rate is similar, a crosslinking reaction also proceeds when free radical polymerization is effected.",
"Consequently, pre-polymerization is difficult to carry out, and polymerization is hardly controlled, and takes place rapidly, with the likely result that the resultant polymer will separate from the mold and have a rough surface.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention overcomes the problems and disadvantages of the prior art by providing a process for producing synthetic resins that are both highly transparent and possess high surface hardness.",
"An object of the present invention is to provide transparent resins that have a crosslinked structure and high surface hardness.",
"A further object of the present invention is to provide a process for producing a hard transparent resin, in which control of polymerization is easy, the run-away reaction at the onset of polymerization is easily controlled, and the polymerization time is capable of being considerably reduced.",
"Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a hard transparent resin well adapted for use as a glazing material.",
"A still further object of the present invention is to provide a hard transparent resin well suited for use in the manufacture of optical lenses and optical recording media.",
"These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from a reading of the description that follows, or may be learned by practicing the invention.",
"To achieve the objects as set forth above, the present invention provides a process for preparing transparent resin comprising polymerizing a monomer (A) having in its molecular structure both a functional group of the general formula (I): ##STR4## wherein X is selected from the group consisting of an oxygen atom and a sulfur atom, and either a functional group of the general formula (II): ##STR5## wherein R is selected form the group consisting of hydrogen and a methyl group, or a functional group of the formula (III): ##STR6## The present invention also provides a process for preparing a hard transparent resin comprising copolymerizing said monomer (A) with a monomer (B) having at least one functional group selected from the group consisting of: ##STR7## The resin obtained by polymerizing the monomer (A) alone is a very hard transparent resin having structural units of the following general formula (IV) and/or (V): ##STR8## wherein X and R are defined as above.",
"The resin obtained by copolymerizing the monomer (A) and the monomer (B) is a resin having basically the structural units represented by the general formulas (IV) and/or (V) as a backbone to which is attached, as structural units, the monomer having at least one functional group selected from the group consisting of: ##STR9## The present invention is also directed to a glazing material, produced by cast-polymerizing the monomer (A) alone or cast-copolymerizing the monomer (A) with the monomer (B), or an optical lens obtained by machining the resin after cast-polymerization.",
"Applicants have found that by employing a compound containing polymerizable functional groups having very different polymerization rates, and by allowing the polymerizable group having a high rate and the polymerizable group having a low rate to polymerize selectively or stepwise, transparent resins having high surface hardness are produced.",
"Further, applicants have found that control of polymerization is easy and the polymerization time is greatly reduced.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the invention.",
"When the monomer (A) is polymerized alone or is copolymerized with the monomer (B), not only the control of polymerization becomes quite easy in comparison with the case wherein the monomer (B) is polymerized alone, but also a transparent resin having high surface hardness can be obtained.",
"The monomer (A) used in the present invention that has in the molecule both a functional group of the general formula (I): ##STR10## wherein X is selected from the group consisting of an oxygen atom and a sulfur atom, and a functional group of the general formula (II): ##STR11## wherein R is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and a methyl group, or a functional group of the general formula (III): ##STR12## is a carbamate or a thiocarbamate obtained by reacting an isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate with a compound having in its molecule a hydroxyl group and/or a mercapto group, and at least one functional group selected from the group consisting of: ##STR13## Specific and non-limiting examples of the isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate are 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate and 4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate.",
"Specific and non-limiting examples of the compound having in its molecule a hydroxyl group and/or a mercapto group, and at least one functional group selected from the group consisting of: ##STR14## are compounds obtained by ring-opening an epoxy group or a thiirane group with acrylic acid or methacrylic acid, such as hydroxyethyl acrylate, hydroxyethyl methacrylate, hydroxypropyl acrylate, hydroxypropyl methacrylate, 1,4-butylene glycol monomethacrylate, 1,4-butylene glycol monoacrylate, glycerol-1,2-diacrylate, glycerol-1,2-dimethacrylate, glycerol-1,3-diacrylate, glycerol-1,3-dimethacrylate, and glycerol-1-acrylate-3-methacrylate, acrylic acid or methacrylic acid ring-opened reaction products of phenyl glycidyl ethers, such as 3-phenoxy-2-hydroxypropyl acrylate, 3-phenoxy-2-hydroxyppropylmethacrylate, 2,4-dibromophenoxy-2-hydroxypropyl acrylate and 2,4-dibromophenoxy-2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate;",
"and acrylic acid or methacrylic acid ring-opened reaction products of bisphenol A diglycidyl ether, pentaerythritol triacrylate;",
"pentaerythritol trimethacrylate, vinyl benzyl alcohol, vinyl thiobenzyl alcohol, bis(acryloyloxyethyl)isocyanurate, and bis(methacryloyloxyethyl)isocyanurate.",
"In order to obtain a carbamate or a thiocarbamate using these materials depending on the reaction between the isocyanate group in the isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate and the hydroxyl group or the mercapto group, a tin compound such as dibutyl tin dilaurate and dimethyl tin chloride or an amine such as morpholine and dimethylaminobenzene can be added to facilitate the synthesis reaction.",
"It is preferable, however, to use a tin compound to prevent the subsequent radical reaction from becoming colored.",
"If a solvent is used, the solvent is distilled off after the synthesis reaction.",
"After optional purification is carried out, the product is used as the monomer (A) for the subsequent free radical reaction.",
"Non-limiting examples of the monomer (B) having at least one functional group selected from the group consisting of: ##STR15## are methyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, ethyl acrylate, ethyl methacrylate, propyl acrylate, propyl methacrylate, isopropyl acrylate, isopropyl methacrylate, cyclohexyl acrylate, cyclohexyl methacrylate, benzyl acrylate, benzyl methacrylate, ethylene glycol diacrylate, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, diethylene glycol diacrylate, diethylene glycol dimethacrylate, neopentyl glycol diacrylate, neopentyl glycol dimethacrylate, propylene glycol diacrylate, propylene glycol dimethacrylate, dipropylene glycol diacrylate, dipropylene glycol dimethacrylate, trimethylolpropane triacrylate, trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, pentaerythritol triacrylate, pentaerythritol trimethacrylate, pentaerythritol tetraacrylate, pentaerythritol tetramethacrylate, tris(acryloyloxyethyl)isocyanurate, tris(methacryloyloxyethyl)isocyanurate, styrene, chlorostyrene, bromostyrene, α-methylstyrene, and divinylbenzene.",
"To prepare the hard transparent resin in accordance with the present invention, the monomer (A) prepared above is polymerized alone or is copolymerized with the monomer (B).",
"In either case, a cast polymerization process can be used, and the monomer (A) or a mixture of the monomer (A) and the monomer (B) can be subjected to free radical polymerization.",
"The free radical polymerization can be thermal polymerization, ultraviolet-radiation-induced polymerization, or gamma-radiation-induced polymerization, with thermal polymerization being preferred.",
"There is no particular limitation on the free radical polymerization initiators, and such known compounds as peroxides, for example, benzoyl peroxide, p-chlorobenzoyl peroxide, diisopropyl peroxycarbonate, di-2-ethylhexyl peroxycarbonate, t-butylperoxy-2-ethylhexanoate, and t-butyl peroxypivalate, and azo compounds, for example, azobisisobutynonitrile, are used in amounts of 0.01 to 5wt.",
"The mixture containing the polymerization initiator can then be subjected to a known cast polymerization process, for example, the mixed solution containing the polymerization initiator is poured into a mold comprising a combination of a metal or glass mold and a gasket or a spacer, and is heated to promote setting.",
"Prior to the onset of polymerization, if required, additives such as ultraviolet absorbers, antioxidants, coloring preventive agents, fluorescent dyes, and near infrared absorbers may suitably be added.",
"In the present invention a polymerizable group of the general formula (I) whose polymerization rate is low is combined with a polymerizable group whose polymerization rate is higher than the former.",
"It is in this manner that the run-away reaction at the onset of the polymerization can be easily controlled, and not only can the polymerization time be reduced considerably, but also a highly hard transparent resin can be obtained, which is a principal object of the present invention.",
"Thus, the hard transparent resin produced according to the present invention has excellent heat resistance and workability as regards severing and cutting, and is well adapted for use as glazing materials, vehicle windows, optical information recording medium substrates, and optical lenses, and other advantageous applications that will be evident to those skilled in the art.",
"EXAMPLES The present invention will now be described more particularly with reference to following examples, which are provided solely for purposes of illustration, and are in no way to be construed as limiting the invention to the particular materials described therein.",
"The first thirteen synthesis examples recount the synthesis of representative monomers (A) according to the present invention.",
"The parts quoted in the examples are parts by weight.",
"SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 1 8.3 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, 10.0 parts of toluene, and 4.8 parts of 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate were mixed, and the resulting reaction was carried out for 5 hours with stirring while the temperature of the reaction medium was kept at 100° C. After the reaction was complete, the reaction medium was condensed.",
"The condensed medium was purified by chromatography to yield 2.9 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-2-acryloyloxyethyl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.",
"______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub[.",
"].18 H.sub[.",
"].23 NO.",
"sub[.",
"].4): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 67.62 7.29 4.39Calculated (%) 68.12 7.31 4.42______________________________________NMR (δCDCl.",
"sub[.",
"].3) ##STR16## ##STR17## ##STR18## ##STR19## ##STR20## ##STR21##______________________________________ SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 2 10.0 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, 6.5 parts of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, and 0.1 part of dibutyl tin dilaurate (used as a urethanization reaction-promoting catalyst) were mixed, and the resulting reaction was carried our for 1 hour with stirring while the temperature of the reaction medium was kept at 65° C. After the reaction was complete, the reaction medium was purified by chromatography to yield 14.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,αdimethylbenzyl)-2-methacryloyloxyethyl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.",
"______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub[.",
"].19 H.sub[.",
"].25 NO.",
"sub[.",
"].4): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 68.77 7.32 4.28Calculated (%) 68.86 7.61 4.23______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.",
"sub[.",
"].3) ##STR22## ##STR23## ##STR24## ##STR25## ##STR26## ##STR27## ##STR28## ##STR29##______________________________________ SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 3 The procedure of Example 1 was repeated, except that 8.3 parts of 4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate were used instead of 8.3 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, thereby producing 3.2 parts of N-(4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-2-acryloyloxyethyl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.",
"______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub[.",
"].18 H.sub[.",
"].23 NO.",
"sub[.",
"].4): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 67.90 7.27 4.37Calculated (%) 68.12 7.31 4.42______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.",
"sub[.",
"].3) ##STR30## ##STR31## ##STR32## ##STR33## ##STR34##______________________________________ SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 4 The procedure of Example 2 was repeated, except that 10.0 parts of 4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate were used instead of 10.0 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, thereby producing 14.2 parts of N-(4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-2-methacryloyloxyethyl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.",
"______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub[.",
"].19 H.sub[.",
"].25 NO.",
"sub[.",
"].4): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 68.53 7.40 4.19Calculated (%) 68.86 7.61 4.23______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.",
"sub[.",
"].3) ##STR35## ##STR36##4.20(S, 4H, OC .",
"sub.",
"--H.",
"sub[.",
"].2 C .",
"sub.",
"--H.",
"sub[.",
"].2 O) ##STR37## ##STR38## ##STR39## ##STR40## ##STR41##______________________________________ SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 5 The procedure of Example 2 was repeated, except that 6.5 parts of 2-hydroxypropyl acrylate were used instead of 6.5 parts of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, and the temperature of the reaction medium was maintained at 80° C. instead of 65° C., thereby producing 13.8 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1-acryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.",
"______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub[.",
"].19 H.sub[.",
"].25 NO.",
"sub[.",
"].4): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 68.66 7.53 4.29Calculated (%) 68.86 7.61 4.23______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.",
"sub[.",
"].3) ##STR42## ##STR43## ##STR44## ##STR45## ##STR46## ##STR47## ##STR48##______________________________________ SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 6 The procedure of Example 2 was repeated, except that 7.5 parts of 2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate were used instead of 6.5 parts of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, the temperature of the reaction medium was maintained at 80° C. instead of 65° C., and the amount of the dibutyl tin laurate was 0.2 part instead of 0.1 part, thereby producing 15.1 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1-methacryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.",
"______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub[.",
"].20 H.sub[.",
"].27 NO.",
"sub[.",
"].4): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 69.45 7.71 4.01Calculated (%) 69.54 7.87 4.05______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.",
"sub[.",
"].3) ##STR49## ##STR50## ##STR51## ##STR52## ##STR53## ##STR54## ##STR55## ##STR56##______________________________________ SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 7 10.0 parts of 4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, 6.7 parts of 2-hydroxypropyl acrylate, 10.0 parts of benzene, and 0.5 part of dibutyl tin dilaurate (used as a reaction-promoting catalyst) were mixed, and the resulting reaction was carried out for 5 hours with stirring while the temperature of the reaction medium was kept at 60° C. After the reaction was complete, the reaction medium was purified by chromatography to yield 12.8 parts of N-(4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1-acryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.",
"______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub[.",
"].19 H.sub[.",
"].25 NO.",
"sub[.",
"].4): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 68.45 7.44 4.07Calculated (%) 68.86 7.61 4.23______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.",
"sub[.",
"].3) ##STR57## ##STR58## ##STR59## ##STR60## ##STR61## ##STR62##______________________________________ SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 8 12.0 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, 10.0 parts of toluene, and 11.9 parts of glycerol-1,3-diacrylate were mixed, and the resulting reaction was carried out for 3 hours with stirring while the temperature of the reaction medium was kept at 90° C. After the reaction was complete, the reaction medium was condensed.",
"The condensed medium was purified by chromatography to yield 2.4 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1,3-diacryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.",
"______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub[.",
"].22 H.sub[.",
"].27 NO.",
"sub[.",
"].6): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 65.54 6.57 3.33Calculated (%) 65.82 6.78 3.49______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.",
"sub[.",
"].3) ##STR63## ##STR64## ##STR65## ##STR66## ##STR67## ##STR68## ##STR69## ##STR70## ##STR71## ##STR72## ##STR73##______________________________________ SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 9 48.0 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, 54.4 parts of glycerol-1,3-dimethacrylate, and 0.5 part of dibutyl tin dilaurate (used as a reaction-promoting catalyst) were mixed, and the resulting reaction was carried out for 1 hour with stirring while the temperature of the reaction medium was kept at 60° C. After the reaction was complete, the reaction medium was purified by chromatography to yield 63.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl-1,3-dimethacryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.",
"______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub[.",
"].24 H.sub[.",
"].31 NO.",
"sub[.",
"].6): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 66.90 7.13 3.09Calculated (%) 67.11 7.27 3.26______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.",
"sub[.",
"].3) ##STR74## ##STR75## ##STR76## ##STR77## ##STR78## ##STR79## ##STR80## ##STR81## ##STR82## ##STR83## ##STR84##______________________________________ SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 10 The procedure of Example 9 was repeated, except that 51.5 parts of glycerol-1-acrylate-3-methacrylate were used instead of 54.4 parts of glycerol-1,3-dimethacrylate, thereby producing 71.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1-acryloyloxy-3-methacryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.",
"______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub[.",
"].23 H.sub[.",
"].29 NO.",
"sub[.",
"].6): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 66.11 6.99 3.23Calculated (%) 66.49 7.04 3.37______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.",
"sub[.",
"].3)δ = ##STR85## ##STR86## ##STR87## ##STR88## ##STR89## ##STR90## ##STR91## ##STR92## ##STR93## ##STR94## ##STR95## ##STR96## ##STR97##______________________________________ SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 11 The procedure of Example 9 was repeated, except that 48.0 of parts of 4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, and 47.8 parts of glycerol-1,3-diacrylate were used instead of 48.0 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, and 54.4 parts of glycerol-1,3-dimethacrylate, respectively, thereby producing 62.1 parts of N-(4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1,3-diacryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.",
"______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub[.",
"].22 H.sub[.",
"].27 NO.",
"sub[.",
"].6): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 65.31 6.49 3.40Calculated (%) 65.82 6.78 3.49______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.",
"sub[.",
"].3)δ = ##STR98## ##STR99## ##STR100## ##STR101## ##STR102## ##STR103## ##STR104## ##STR105## ##STR106## ##STR107##______________________________________ SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 12 The procedure of Example 9 was repeated, except that 71.2 parts of pentaerythritol triacrylate were used instead of 54.4 parts of glycerol-1,3-dimethacrylate, thereby producing 50.2 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-2,2-diacryloyloxymethyl-3-acryloyloxypropyl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.",
"______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub[.",
"].27 H.sub[.",
"].33 NO.",
"sub[.",
"].8): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 64.19 6.37 2.80Calculated (%) 64.92 6.66 2.80______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.",
"sub[.",
"].3)δ = ##STR108## ##STR109## ##STR110## ##STR111## ##STR112## ##STR113## ##STR114## ##STR115## ##STR116## ##STR117##______________________________________ SYNTHESIS EXAMPLE 13 The procedure of Example 9 was repeated, except that 48.0 parts of 4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, and 81.3 parts of pentaerythritol methacrylate were used instead of 48.0 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, and 54.4 parts of glycerol-1,3-dimethacrylate, respectively, thereby producing 77.1 parts of N-(4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-2,-dimethacryloyloxymethyl-3-methacryloyloxypropyl carbamate that was colorless and syrupy.",
"______________________________________Elemental analysis figures (calculated for C.sub[.",
"].30 H.sub[.",
"].39 NO.",
"sub[.",
"].8): C H N______________________________________Found (%) 66.11 7.00 2.50Calculated (%) 66.53 7.26 2.59______________________________________NMR (δ CDCl.",
"sub[.",
"].3)δ = ##STR118## ##STR119## ##STR120## ##STR121## ##STR122## ##STR123## ##STR124## ##STR125## ##STR126## ##STR127##______________________________________ The following examples recount preparation of representative hard transparent resins according to the present invention.",
"The parts quoted are parts by weight and the percentages quoted are percentages by weight.",
"EXAMPLE 1 0.5 part of dibutyl tin dilaurate was added to 201 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, and then 130 parts of hydroxyethyl methacrylate were added gradually thereto while the reaction mixture was heated to maintain an internal temperature of 60° C., thereby carrying out a urethanization reaction to produce a viscous carbamate compound wherein absorption by the isocyanate group in the infrared absorption spectrum was almost nonexistent.",
"After 0.2 part of t-butylperoxy-2-ethyl hexanoate was added thereto, and the mixture was stirred well, the resulting liquid was deaerated under reduced pressure and poured into a mold composed of two glass plates each having a thickness of 5 mm and a polyvinyl chloride spacer positioned therebetween and extending along the peripheries of the plates.",
"With the glass plates clamped firmly, polymerization was effected by raising the temperature from 45° C. to 120° C. over 3 hours under heating in a hot-air oven.",
"After cooling, a faintly yellowish transparent resin plate with a smooth surface was removed from the mold.",
"The hardness of the plate, measured by the pencil hardness method (JIS-K-5401), was found to be 5H, the chemical resistance was good (as tested by immersing the resin plate in isopropanol and toluene at room temperature for 24 hours, and when it was not marked by an HB pencil, it was judged good), severing of the plate with a metal severing saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for machining lenses of spectacles was also possible.",
"EXAMPLE 2 0.5 part of dibutyl tin dilaurate was added to 201 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, and then 116 parts of hydroxyethyl acrylate were added gradually thereto while the reaction mixture was heated to attain an internal temperature of 60° C., thereby carrying out a urethanization reaction to produce a viscous urethane compound wherein absorption by the isocyanate group in the infrared absorption spectrum was almost nonexistent.",
"After 2.0 parts of t-butylperoxy-2-ethyl hexanoate were added thereto, and the mixture was stirred well, the resulting mixture was deaerated under reduced pressure and poured into a mold composed of two glass plates each having a thickness of 5 mm and a polyvinyl chloride spacer positioned therebetween and extending along the peripheries of the plates.",
"With the glass plates clamped firmly, polymerization was effected by raising the temperature from 60° C. to 120° C. over 3 hours under heating in a hot-air oven.",
"After cooling, a colorless transparent resin plate was removed from the mold.",
"The pencil hardness of the plate was 5H, the chemical resistance thereof was good, severing of the plate with a metal severing saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for machining lenses of spectacles was also possible.",
"EXAMPLE 3 The procedure of Example 2 was repeated, except that 144 parts of 2-hydroxypropyl acrylate were used instead of 130 parts of hydroxyethyl acrylate, thereby producing a colorless transparent resin plate.",
"The pencil hardness of the plate was 4H, the chemical resistance thereof was good, severing of the plate with a metal severing saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for machining lenses of spectacles was also possible.",
"EXAMPLE 4 0.5 part of dibutyl tin dilaurate was added to 201 parts of 4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, and then 222 parts of 3-phenoxy-2-hydroxypropyl acrylate were added gradually thereto while the reaction mixture was heated to attain an internal temperature of 60° C., thereby carrying out a urethanization reaction to produce a viscous urethane compound wherein absorption by the isocyanate group in the infrared absorption spectrum was almost nonexistent.",
"After 200 parts of methyl acrylate and 3.0 parts of t-butylperoxy-2-ethyl hexanoate were mixed well with the urethane compound, the resultant mixture was preliminarily polymerized with stirring at an internal temperature of 50° C. until the viscosity of the mixture reached 150 centipoises.",
"Then the mixture was deaerated under reduced pressure and poured into a mold composed of two glass plates each having a thickness of 5 mm and a polyvinyl chloride spacer positioned therebetween and extending along the peripheries of the plates.",
"With the glass plates clamped firmly, polymerization was effected by raising the temperature from 50° C. to 120° C. over 3 hours under heating in a hot-air oven.",
"After cooling, a colorless transparent resin plate was removed from the mold.",
"The pencil hardness of the plate was 4H, severing of the plate with a metal severing saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for machining lenses of spectacles was also possible.",
"EXAMPLE 5 1.0 part of dibutyl tin dilaurate was added to 300 parts of styrene, and 201 parts of 3-isopropenyldimethylbenzyl isocyanate, and then 514 parts of bisphenol A bis(2-hydroxymethacryloyloxypropylether) were added gradually thereto while the reaction mixture was heated to provide an internal temperature of 60° C., thereby carrying out a urethanization reaction to produce a viscous styrene mixture of a urethane compound wherein absorption by the isocyanate group in the infrared absorption spectrum was almost nonexistent.",
"After 5.0 parts of t-butylperoxy-2-ethyl hexanoate were added thereto, and the mixture was stirred well, the resulting liquid was deaerated under reduced pressure and poured into a mold composed of two glass plates each having a thickness of 5 mm and a polyvinyl chloride spacer positioned therebetween and extending along the peripheries of the plates.",
"With the glass plates clamped firmly, polymerization was effected by raising the temperature from 50° C. to 120° C. over 3 hours under heating in a hot-air oven.",
"After cooling, a colorless transparent resin plate was removed from the mold.",
"The pencil hardness of the plate was 5H, the chemical resistance thereof was good, severing of the plate with a metal severing saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for machining lenses of spectacles was also possible.",
"EXAMPLE 6 148 parts of 4-mercaptomethyl-1-vinylstyrene were added to 201 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, then 4 parts of dibutyl tin dilaurate were added thereto, and the mixture was heated to provide an internal temperature of 60° C., thereby producing a viscous urethane compound wherein absorption by the isocyanate group in the infrared absorption spectrum was almost nonexistent.",
"After 200 parts of neopentyl glycol dimethacrylate and 5 parts of t-butylperoxy-2-ethyl hexanoate were added thereto, and the mixture was stirred well, the resulting mixture was deaerated under reduced pressure and poured into a mold composed of two glass plates each having a thickness of 5 mm and a polyvinyl chloride spacer positioned therebetween and extending along the peripheries of the plates.",
"With the glass plates clamped firmly, polymerization was effected by raising the temperature from 50° C. to 120° C. over 3 hours under heating in a hot-air oven.",
"After cooling, a faintly yellowish transparent resin plate was removed from the mold.",
"The pencil hardness of the plate was 4H, the chemical resistance thereof was good, severing of the plate with a metal severing saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for machining lenses of spectacles was also possible.",
"EXAMPLE 7 0.5 part of dibutyl tin dilaurate was added to 201 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate, then 93 parts of hydroxyethyl acrylate were added gradually thereto while the reaction mixture was heated to provide an internal temperature of 60° C., and 60 parts of pentaerythritol triacrylate were added gradually thereto, thereby carrying out a urethanization reaction to produce a viscous urethane compound wherein absorption by the isocyanate group in the infrared absorption spectrum was almost nonexistent.",
"After 2.0 parts of t-butylperoxy-2-ethyl hexanoate were added thereto, and the mixture was stirred well, the resulting liquid was deaerated under reduced pressure and poured into a mold composed of two glass plates each having a thickness of 5 mm and a polyvinyl chloride spacer positioned therebetween and extending along the peripheries of the plates.",
"With the glass plates clamped firmly, polymerization was effected by raising the temperature from 50° C. to 120° C. over 3 hours under heating in a hot-air oven.",
"After cooling, a colorless transparent resin plate was removed from the mold.",
"The pencil hardness of the plate was 6H, the chemical resistance thereof was good, severing of the plate with a metal severing saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for machining lenses of spectacles was also possible.",
"EXAMPLE 8 200 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate were added to 100 parts of methyl acrylate, then 1 part of dibutyl tin dilaurate was added thereto, the mixture was heated to provide an internal temperature of 60° C., and then 300 parts of pentaerythritol triacrylate were added gradually to the reaction mixture, thereby producing a viscous methyl acrylate mixture of a urethane compound wherein absorption by the isocyanate group in the infrared absorption spectrum was almost nonexistent.",
"After 5 parts of t-butylperoxy-2-ethyl hexanoate were added thereto, and the mixture was stirred well, the resulting mixture was deaerated under reduced pressure and poured into a mold composed of two glass plates each having a thickness of 5 mm and a polyvinyl chloride spacer positioned therebetween and extending along the peripheries of the plates.",
"With the glass plates clamped firmly, polymerization was effected by raising the temperature from 45° C. to 120° C. over 3 hours under heating in a hot-air oven.",
"After cooling, a colorless transparent resin plate was removed from the mold.",
"The pencil hardness of the plate was 4H, the chemical resistance thereof was good, severing of the plate with a metal severing saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for machining lenses of spectacles was also possible.",
"EXAMPLE 9 201 parts of 3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate were added to 113 parts of trimethylolpropane triacrylate, then 1 part of dibutyl tin dilaurate was added thereto, the mixture was heated to provide an internal temperature of 60° C., and then 116 parts of hydroxyethyl acrylate were added gradually to the reaction mixture, thereby producing a viscous trimethylolpropane mixture of a urethane compound wherein absorption by the isocyanate group in the infrared absorption spectrum was almost nonexistent.",
"After 5 parts of t-butylperoxy-2-ethyl hexanoate were added thereto, and the mixture was stirred well, the resulting mixture was deaerated under reduced pressure and poured into a mold composed of two glass plates each having a thickness of 5 mm with a polyvinyl chloride spacer positioned therebetween and extending along the peripheries of the plates.",
"With the glass plates clamped firmly, polymerization was effected by raising the temperature from 50° C. to 120° C. over 3 hours under heating in a hot-air oven.",
"After cooling, a colorless transparent resin plate was removed from the mold.",
"The pencil hardness of the plate was 6H, the chemical resistance thereof was good, severing of the plate with a metal severing saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for machining lenses of spectacles was also possible.",
"COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 1 3 parts of t-butylperoxy-2-ethyl hexanoate were added to 100 parts of diethylene glycol diallyl carbonate, stirred well, and the resulting mixture was deaerated and poured into a mold composed of two glass plates each having a thickness of 5 mm and a polyvinyl chloride spacer clamped firmly between the glass plates and extending along the peripheries thereof.",
"Polymerization was effected by raising the temperature from 50° C. to 120° C. over 3 hours under heating in a hot-air oven.",
"In the course of polymerization, rapid polymerization occurred at about 70° C., and the polymerized product separated from the glass mold, and turned yellow.",
"Only when the mixture was polymerized by raising the temperature from 50° C. to 120° C. over a period 10 hours, could a resin plate be obtained without separation from the mold.",
"The pencil hardness of the plate was 3 H. COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 2 188 parts of m-xylylene diisocyanate were added to 200 parts of methyl methacrylate, then 0.5 part of dibutyl tin dilaurate was added thereto, and 260 parts of hydroxyethyl methacrylate were added gradually thereto while the mixture was heated to provide an internal temperature of 60° C., thereby producing a viscous methyl methacrylate mixture of a urethane compound wherein absorption by the isocyanate group in the infrared absorption spectrum was almost nonexistent.",
"After 3 parts of t-butylperoxy-2-ethyl hexanoate were added thereto, and the mixture was stirred well, the resulting mixture was deaerated under reduced pressure and poured into a mold composed of two glass plates each having a thickness of 5 mm and a polyvinyl chloride spacer positioned therebetween and extending along the peripheries of the plates.",
"With the glass plates clamped firmly, polymerization was effected by raising the temperature from 45° C. to 120° C. over 3 hours under heating in a hot-air oven.",
"In the course of polymerization, rapid polymerization occurred at about 65° C., and the polymerized product separated from the mold.",
"EXAMPLE 10 30.0 parts of N-(m-isopropenyldimethylbenzyl)-2-methacryloyloxyethyl carbamate, as prepared in Synthesis Example 2, 0.1 part of bis(4-t-butylcyclohexyl) peroxydicarbonate, and 0.1 part of t-butyl peroxyisopropyl carbonate were mixed to form a homogeneous mixture, and the mixture was deaerated under reduced pressure, and then was cast in a mold composed of a 150 mm×150 mm glass sheet, and a vinyl chloride gasket.",
"Polymerization was then effected for 1 hour at 60° C., and further for 1 hour at 120° C., whereafter the plate-like polymerized item was removed from the mold.",
"The hardness of the plate, as measured by the pencil hardness method (JIS-K-5401), was found to be 5H, the chemical resistance thereof was good, severing of the plate with a metal severing saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for machining lenses of spectacles was also possible.",
"The results of these test are given in Table 1.",
"The physical properties of the resins were measured by the following methods: (1) Appearance: the plate-like polymerized item was visually observed, without magnification.",
"(2) Light transmittance: measured in accordance with ASTM D1003.",
"(3) Surface hardness: a pencil hardness test for paints according to JIS K-5401 was used.",
"(4) Heat resistance: after the polymerized item was allowed to stand in a hot-air drying chamber at 120° C. for 1 hour, it was visually observed without magnification.",
"If it was not colored and was free of surface imperfections, it was judged to be ◯;",
"when it was colored and had surface imperfections, it was judged to be X. (5) Workability: when the polymerized item could be ground by a lens polisher for working lenses of spectacles, it was judged to be ◯, and when it could not be cut, it was judged to be X. (6) Chemical resistance: the polymerized item was immersed in isopropanol and toluene at room temperature for 24 hours.",
"When it was not marked by an HB pencil, it was judged as ◯, while when it was marked by an HB pencil, it was judged as X. EXAMPLE 11 The procedure of Example 10 was repeated, except that 30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1-acryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate, as prepared in Synthesis Example 5, were used instead of 30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-2-methacryloyloxyethyl carbamate, thereby producing a platelike polymerized item.",
"The pencil hardness of the plate was 5H, the chemical resistance thereof was good, severing of the plate with a metal cutting saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for working lenses of spectacles was also possible.",
"EXAMPLE 12 The procedure of Example 10 was repeated, except that 30.0 parts of N-(4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-2-acryloyl-oxyethyl carbamate, as prepared in Example 7, were 25 used instead of 30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)- 2-methacryloyloxyethyl carbamate, thereby producing a plate-like polymerized item.",
"The pencil hardness of the plate was 5H, the chemical resistance thereof was good, severing of the plate with a metal cutting saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for working lenses of spectacles was also possible.",
"EXAMPLE 13 The procedure of Example 10 was repeated, except that 30.0 parts of N-(4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1-methacryloyloxypropan- 2-yl carbamate, as prepared in Example 4, were used instead of 30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)methacryloyloxyethyl carbamate, thereby producing a platelike polymerized item.",
"The pencil hardness of the plate was 5H, the chemical resistance thereof, severing of the plate with a metal cutting saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for working lenses of spectacles was also possible.",
"EXAMPLE 14 30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)acryloyloxyethyl carbamate, as prepared in Synthesis Example 1, 1.5 parts of styrene, 0.1 part of t-butyl peroxypivalate, and 0.1 part of t-butyl peroxyisopropyl carbonate were homogeneously mixed, and the resulting mixture was cast in a mold composed of a 150 mm×150 mm glass sheet, and a vinyl chloride gasket.",
"After polymerization at 70° C. for 1 hour, and further at 120° C. for 1 hour, the resultant platelike polymerized item was removed from the mold.",
"The pencil hardness of the plate was 5H, the chemical resistance was good, severing of the plate with a metal cutting saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for working lenses of spectacles was also possible.",
"EXAMPLE 15 30.0 parts of N-(4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)methacryloyloxypropyl carbamate, 1.5 parts of methyl methacrylate, 0.1 part of bis(4-t-butylcyclohexyl) peroxydicarbonate, and 0.1 part of t-butyl peroxyisopropyl carbonate were homogeneously mixed, and the resulting mixture was cast in a mold composed of a 150 mm×150 mm glass sheet, and a vinyl chloride gasket.",
"After polymerization at 60° C. for 1 hour, and further at 120° C. for 1 hour, the resultant platelike polymerized item was removed from the mold.",
"The pencil hardness of the plate was 5H, the chemical resistance thereof was good, severing of the plate with a metal cutting saw was possible, and grinding of the plate with a lens polisher for working lenses of spectacles was also possible.",
"TABLE 1__________________________________________________________________________ Application Application Application Application Application Application Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Example 4 Example 5 Example 6__________________________________________________________________________Appearance colorless, colorless colorless colorless colorless colorless transparent transparent transparent transparent transparent transparentLight 91 91 91 90 90 91transmittance (%)Surface hardness 5H 5H 5H 5H 5H 5HHeat resistance ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯Workability ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯Chemical resistance ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯__________________________________________________________________________ EXAMPLE 16 30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1,3-diacryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate, as prepared in Synthesis Example 8, 0.03 part of lauroyl peroxide, and 0.15 part of benzoyl peroxide were mixed uniformly, and the resulting mixture was cast in a mold composed of a 150 mm×150 mm glass sheet, and a vinyl chloride gasket.",
"After polymerization at 55° C. for 1 hour, and further at 130° C. for 1 hour, the platelike polymerized item was removed from the mold.",
"EXAMPLE 17 The procedure of Example 16 was repeated, except that 30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1,3-dimethacryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate, as prepared in Example 9, were used instead of 30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1,3-diacryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate, polymerization was effected for 1 hour at 60° C. instead of 55° C., and further for 2 hours at 140° C. instead of 130° C., thereby producing a plate-like polymerized item.",
"EXAMPLE 18 The procedure of Example 17 was repeated, except that 30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1-acryloyloxy-3-methacryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate, as prepared in Example 10, were used instead of 30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1,3-dimethacryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate, thereby producing a plate-like polymerized item.",
"EXAMPLE 19 The procedure of Example 17 was repeated, except that 30.0 parts of N-(4-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1,3-acryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate, as prepared in Example 11, were used instead of 30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-1,3-dimethacryloyloxypropan-2-yl carbamate, thereby producing a plate-like polymerized item.",
"EXAMPLE 20 30.0 parts of N-(3-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl)-2,2-diacryloyloxymethyl-3-acryloyloxypropyl carbamate, as prepared in Synthesis Example 12, 0.01 part of lauroyl peroxide, and 0.15 part of t-butyl peroxy-2-ethyl hexanoate were mixed uniformly, and the resulting mixture was cast in a mold composed of a 150 mm×150 mm glass sheet, and a vinyl chloride gasket.",
"After polymerization at 55° C. for 1 hour, and further at 130° C. for 2 hours, the platelike polymerized item was removed from the mold.",
"The results of these test are given in Table 2.",
"Although the present invention has been described in connection with various preferred embodiments thereof, it is evident that other embodiments thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the present specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein.",
"Accordingly, it is intended that the true scope and spirit of the invention be indicated by the following claims.",
"TABLE 2__________________________________________________________________________ Application Application Application Application Application Example 7 Example 8 Example 9 Example 10 Example 11__________________________________________________________________________Appearance colorless, colorless colorless colorless colorless transparent transparent transparent transparent transparentLight 91 91 91 91 91transmittance (%)Surface hardness 9H 5H 6H 9H 9HHeat resistance ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯Workability ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯Chemical resistance ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯ ◯__________________________________________________________________________"
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to communications systems and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for increasing the utility and interoperability of peripheral devices, e.g., voice mail devices and speech recognition platforms, used in communications systems.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In telephone systems, electronic switches are used to route calls to their destination, e.g., as designated by a destination telephone number. They are also used to connect telephone service subscribers to various peripheral devices, such as, e.g., voice messaging systems (also sometimes referred to as voice mail systems), speech recognizers, voice dialing services, etc. Peripheral devices are usually provided with some degree of intelligence, e.g., logic in the form of a CPU, so that the subscriber and peripheral device can communicate in an interactive fashion and/or to enable the peripheral device to interact with the switch in a meaningful way. Peripheral devices with such built in intelligence are frequently referred to as intelligent peripherals or “IPs”.
FIG. 1 illustrates a known telephone system 100 which supports voice mail services. The known system 100 includes first and second telephone networks 10 , 11 coupled together by a fiber optic connection 32 . Each of the telephone networks 10 , 11 includes a plurality of telephones 12 , 14 , a central office (C.O.) switch 16 and first and second voice mail IPs 28 , 30 . As illustrated the switch 16 includes first and second interfaces 18 , 24 , a central processing unit (CPU) 20 , memory 22 and digit receiver 26 . As discussed below, the C.O. switch 16 is capable of connecting a telephone to a voice mail IP 28 , 30 or one of the other telephones 12 , 14 . The central office switch 16 is coupled to each voice mail IP 28 , 30 by a T 1 link and a simplified message desk interface (SMDI) connection. The voice mail IPs 28 , 30 can indicate to the central office switch 16 that a message is waiting for a particular subscriber and that the subscriber's message waiting light should be activated in the event that the particular subscriber's telephone 12 , 14 includes message waiting light functionality.
One common technique for providing telephone service subscribers access to an IP, which provides a desired service, involves the subscriber dialing a telephone number corresponding to the IP. For example, when a subscriber to a voice mail service desires to check for received messages in one known system the subscriber would normally dial a telephone number corresponding to the subscriber's voice mail service. In response to detecting the telephone number corresponding to the voice mail IP, the C.O. switch 16 couples the voice mail subscriber to the voice mail IP 28 or 30 as indicated by the dialed telephone number. In addition to dialing the telephone number of the voice mail service, a subscriber may also have to enter into the telephone, e.g., by depressing a series of keys, account number and/or a personal identification number (PIN) required by the voice mail IP to gain access to the subscriber's account.
In the case of multi-party mail box accounts, once access to a voice mail account is obtained, the mail service may request that the subscriber depress one or more keys to identify which particular individual is attempting to retrieve his or her messages. For example, the caller may be asked to press “1” for John's messages or “2” for Mary's messages. Such mail systems may require a subscriber to enter, e.g., 10-20 keys, prior to the subscriber being informed as to whether or not there are any stored messages for the particular calling subscriber.
In addition to requiring a caller to enter account information, most voice mail systems may require the subscriber to press additional keys and thereby generate DTMF tones, e.g., to replay or delete a message.
The large number of keys which must be depressed, and thus the relatively large amount of time and effort required merely to discover whether a message is waiting for a subscriber, is a major disadvantage of the known mail system described above.
In order to facilitate the routing of calls to an IP, e.g., for providing voice mail and voice dialing services, a communication protocol referred to as the network facility access (“NFA”) protocol, was designed for communicating information between a subscriber and an IP via a central office switch. This protocol overcomes the need for a subscriber to dial a telephone number to be connected to an IP when calling from the subscribers own telephone.
When the NFA protocol is enabled at the central office switch for a subscriber's telephone line, upon detecting an off-hook condition on the subscriber's line the central office switch will immediately establish a connection between the subscriber and an IP which is specified at the central office switch. In accordance with the NFA protocol, if the subscriber begins dialing a telephone number while the connection to the IP is being established, the central office switch will terminate the process of connecting the subscriber to the IP and route the call in the usual manner.
While use of the NFA protocol makes it easier for a subscriber to gain access to an IP by eliminating the need to dial a telephone number to be connected to the IP, there remains room for improvement in the manner in which subscribers are coupled to IPs and the manner in which IPs interact.
For the most part, subscribers to voice mail services usually want to be connected to a voice mail service when there is a new message waiting for them and not at other times. Accordingly, automatically coupling a subscriber to an IP which provides voice mail services in response to every off-hook condition of a subscriber can result in an inefficient use of switch and IP resources. This is because, in many if not most cases, the subscriber will be initiating the off-hook condition to place a call as opposed to connect to the voice messaging IP.
Problems may also arise with current methods of automatically connecting a telephone customer to an IP in response to an office hook condition when the telephone customer subscribes to multiple services implemented on different IPs. In the known systems, a subscriber is generally capable of being coupled automatically to a single IP in response to an off-hook condition.
Accordingly, if a telephone customer subscribes to multiple telephone messaging services, e.g., one for work and one for personal use, using known techniques he may only be able to be automatically connected to one of the services upon detection of an off-hook condition. This may force, for example, a person trying to retrieve business voice mail messages to dial a telephone number corresponding to a work voice mail service when at home and the home voice mail service when at work to check for messages.
Additional complications may arise in the known systems when, for example, when a subscriber to a voice messaging service also subscribes to a voice dialing service implemented on a different IP than the voice messaging service. In such a case, connecting a caller automatically to the voice dialing service IP in response to an off-hook condition may be preferable to connecting the caller to the voice messaging IP since the subscriber will, in many cases, place calls more frequently than check for messages. Unfortunately, automatically connecting the subscriber to one IP will normally preclude automatic connection to the other IP thereby preventing a subscriber from automatically having access to services provided on multiple IPs.
From the above discussion it is apparent that there is a need for improved methods and apparatus for connecting subscribers to peripheral devices. In particular, there is a need for methods and apparatus which enable a subscriber to be automatically coupled to a plurality of IPs in response to an off-hook condition.
In addition, there is a need for methods of improving the use of switch and IP resources by selectively connecting subscribers to IPs when the subscriber is most likely to use or desire access to the service provided by the IP and not in response to every off-hook condition initiated by the subscriber.
In addition to improving the efficiency and ease of the subscriber to IP connection process, it is desirable that the interaction with IP's be simplified from a subscriber's perspective. For example, it is desirable that the number of telephone keys a subscriber must press to obtain a desired service be minimized.
It is also desirable, from a cost and implementation efficiency standpoint, that circuitry found in one IP not be duplicated in other IPs which will service the same subscribers. It is also desirable from a cost and implementation standpoint that IP resources be used in an efficient and cost effective manner thereby minimizing overall IP and telephone system hardware costs.
In view of the above, it is apparent that there remains room for considerable improvement in how IPs are connected to subscribers, the way in which they are interconnected, and the actual manner in which IPs are implemented.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention is directed to methods and apparatus for increasing the utility and interoperability of peripheral devices, e.g., voice mail devices and speech recognition platforms, used in communications systems such as telephone systems.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a control IP is used to control the interaction of various IPs in the system and to control user access to the various IPs.
As discussed above, it is desirable that a subscriber be able to obtain messages from the subscriber's voice mail services regardless of which IP the messages reside upon without requiring the subscriber to dial a telephone number corresponding to the voice mail IP. However, at the same time, it is desirable from a telephone system efficiency standpoint that the subscriber not be automatically connected to a voice mail IP in response to every off-hook condition but rather when new messages are waiting for the subscriber.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the central office switch to which a subscriber is connected is dynamically controlled, in response to IP status information, to automatically connect a subscriber in response to an off-hook condition. In such an embodiment, the C.O. switch is controlled to connect the subscriber to an I.P. when the subscriber is likely to desire the services provided by the IP but not at other times. In one particular embodiment, this is achieved by having an IP, e.g., a control IP, signal the C.O. switch to enable/disable use of the NFA protocol on a subscriber's line in response to IP status information. The IP status information may include, e.g., message waiting information provided from a voice mail IP to a control IP though use of an SMDI line or a digital data/control line.
The present invention, uses a control IP, in order to enable a subscriber to voice mail services implemented on multiple IPs automatic access, in response to an off-hook condition to the IPs when messages are waiting. Upon detecting an off-hook condition, when the NFA protocol is enabled, the C.O. switch will automatically connect a subscriber to the control IP. Through the use of a switching matrix, the subscriber is then connected, e.g., sequentially, to one or more IPs which provide, e.g., voice mail services to the subscriber.
In one embodiment, in order to reduce the amount of input required by a subscriber, the control IP, as part of establishing a connection between the subscriber and voice mail IP, automatically provides stored subscriber account number and pin number information to the voice mail IP. Accordingly, the subscriber is provided, from the subscriber's phone, access to his/her messages without having to enter any information.
In order to further simplify interaction with service IPs, e.g., voice mail IPs, the control IP of the present invention includes speech recognition functionality. In one embodiment, the connection between the subscriber and the service IP is monitored by the control IP. Numbers and/or commands spoken by the subscriber are recognized and converted into DTMF tones which are commonly used for controlling service, e.g., voice mail, IPs. In this manner, interaction with voice mail IPs is simplified from the subscriber's perspective since the subscriber can orally select certain options by, e.g., saying “one” as opposed to having to press a number on a telephone keypad.
Using the control IP to perform speech recognition for multiple service IPs has the advantage of allowing the same speech recognition hardware to service multiple IPs. Thus, in accordance with the present invention the need to implement speech recognition hardware for which speech interactions is to be supported, in each individual IP is eliminated.
In one particular embodiment, the functionality of a voice dialing IP and a control IP are merged. In such an embodiment, the control IP performs the above discussed control operations as well as provides voice dialing functionality. The control functionality of a control IP may also be merged with that of a voice mail system if desired.
In order to provide speech recognition capabilities in a cost effective manner, in one embodiment of the present invention, the speech recognition circuits which are used during different portions of a call are varied. In this manner, the least powerful and thus least costly available speech recognition circuit capable of performing the necessary speech recognition operation at any given time is used. In one particular embodiment, this involves switching, upon connection to a voice mail IP, from a speech recognition circuit capable of performing speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition, to one that can perform only speaker independent speech recognition, e.g., of numbers and a few keywords or phrases.
In another embodiment, the amount of processing time allocated for performing speech recognition for an individual subscriber is dynamically varied as a function of the stage of the call. In one such embodiment, more processing time is allocated for speech recognition when voice dialing is being performed than when instructions, in the form of numbers, are being provided to a voice mail IP. Such an embodiment is particularly well suited where a single processor is used on a time shared basis to provide speech recognition functionality to multiple connected subscribers at the same time.
In still yet another embodiment, a plurality of speech recognition circuits are employed with differing speech recognition capabilities and therefore different individual implementation costs. In one such embodiment, the system includes a high end speech recognition circuit, e.g., a large vocabulary speaker independent speech recognition circuit, a medium cost speech recognition circuit, e.g., a combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit capable of identifying a vocabulary of, e.g., 50 words, and a low end, e.g., small vocabulary, speaker independent speech recognition circuit capable of identifying, e.g., 20 spoken numbers, phrases or words. A single speech capture and segmentation circuit is used with the various speech recognition circuits avoiding the need to duplicate such circuitry for each speech recognition circuit. In one such embodiment, a service code received from the C.O. switch is used to determine the most appropriate, in terms of cost efficiency, of the various available speech recognizers to use.
In another embodiment, the captured speech is monitored by a default speech recognition circuit, e.g., the combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit. During a call, the one of the plurality of speech recognition circuits, performing the speech recognition task, monitors for keywords or phrases used as a trigger in selecting which one of the speech recognition units should be used at any given time. For example, in one such embodiment detection of the phrase “corporate directory” by the combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit will result in the large vocabulary speaker independent speech recognition circuit being substituted for the combined speech recognition circuit. By dynamically switching between speech recognition circuits in response to such voice triggers, switching between speech recognition circuits can occur on-the-fly with multiple switches between speech recognition circuits occurring during a single phone call in a manner that is transparent to the caller.
Using such a speech recognition system according to the present invention to service a large number of telephone subscribers in parallel allows the number of relatively powerful and therefore costly high end speech recognition circuits to be minimized when servicing a given number of subscribers. Such a desirable result is achieved while still providing callers a high quality speech recognition service since the recognition circuit's capabilities are matched to each particular caller's detected speech recognition needs at any given time.
By providing a speech recognition capability in accordance with the present invention, numerous callers can be provided speech recognition service in parallel at a lower cost than if all of the customers were serviced by high end speech recognizers at all times.
In addition to the above described features, many other features and embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a known telephone system including IPs for providing telephone users with voice mail service.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a telephone system implemented in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3A is a block diagram of an intelligent peripheral implemented in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3B is a database suitable for use as the database of the control IP illustrated in FIG. 3 A.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a speech recognizer array implemented in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 5A-5C are flow charts illustrating a method of operating the control IP of FIG. 2 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 illustrates a telephone system implemented in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
As discussed above, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for increasing the utility and interoperability of peripheral devices, e.g., voice mail devices and speech recognition platforms, used in communications systems, e.g., telephone systems.
FIG. 2 illustrates a telephone system 200 implemented in accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated the telephone system 200 includes a plurality of telephone networks 210 , 211 which are coupled together by a fiber optic connection 32 . The first telephone network 210 is illustrated in detail in FIG. 2 . The second telephone network 211 may be the same as the first telephone network 210 or, e.g., a known telephone network, e.g., the network 10 of FIG. 1 . While two telephone networks are shown in the FIG. 2 embodiment, it is to be understood that the system may comprise any number of networks 210 , 211 and/or other additional communications networks which provide, e.g., Internet services.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the telephone network 210 includes a plurality of telephones 212 , 214 , a C.O. switch 216 , a first voice mail IP 228 , a second voice mail IP 230 , a control IP 232 and a switching matrix 234 . The telephones 212 , 214 are coupled to the central office switch 216 via a first interface 218 . Each telephone 212 , 214 corresponds to a telephone subscriber who, in addition to subscribing to basic telephone service may also subscribe to one or more additional services such as voice mail and/or voice dialing services provided though the use of IPs 228 , 230 , 232 .
The switch's interface 218 is coupled by a local bus to a CPU 220 , memory 222 , digit receiver 226 and a second interface 224 . The CPU 220 controls call routing and other switch operations in response to inputs received via the first and second interfaces 218 , 224 in accordance with program routines stored in the memory 222 .
The digit receiver 226 , when active, detects the receipt of DTMF tones and converts them to digits which are supplied to the CPU 220 for, e.g., call routing purposes. The switch 216 is capable of implementing the known NFA protocol for communicating between one or more of the telephones 212 , 214 coupled thereto and one or more of the IPs 228 , 230 , 232 . In one embodiment, the switch 216 is a Class V digital communications switch.
The switch 216 is coupled to each one of the first and second voice mail IPs 228 , 230 via its second interface 224 , and one or more T 1 links and SMDI lines. A voice and/or data connection can be established between a subscriber operating one of the telephones 212 , 214 and either the first or second voice mail IPs 228 , 230 using one of the T 1 links. The SMDI links between the voice mail IPs 228 , 230 and the C.O. switch 216 are used to notify the central office switch when a new message has been received and is waiting for a particular subscriber corresponding to one of the telephones 212 , 214 coupled to the central office switch. The central office switch uses the SMDI information to activate a message waiting light on the particular subscriber's telephone 212 , 214 , when such message waiting functionality is supported by the telephone 212 , 214 .
In accordance with the present invention, the SMDI lines of the first and second voice mail IPs 228 , 230 are also coupled to SMDI inputs of the control IP 232 . In this manner, the control IP 232 receives information regarding messages which are waiting for a voice mail subscriber at the voice mail IPs, 228 , 230 .
In addition to being coupled to the voice mail IPs 228 , 230 , the control IP 232 is coupled to the C.O. switch 216 by a recent change channel (RCC) and a plurality of T 1 links. The T 1 links are routed through the switching matrix 234 . The switching matrix 234 is controlled by a switching control signal (SCS) received from to the control IP 232 . Though use of the SCS the control IP 232 can control the routing of incoming and outgoing lines to establish a connection to anyone of a plurality of line termination points including the first and second voice mail IPs 228 , 230 and telephones 212 , 214 .
Where communication protocol conversion is required, the switching matrix 234 may be replaced by a programmable switch such as those made by the Summa Four Corporation.
FIG. 3A illustrates a control IP 300 suitable for use as the control IP 232 of the system 200 . As will be discussed in detail below, in accordance with the present invention, the control IP 300 may be used to support voice dialing services in addition to switch and call routing control functions.
As illustrated, the control IP 300 comprises a plurality of speech recognizer arrays, 302 , 304 , 306 , a control interface 308 , and an application processor 312 . Each of the speech recognizer circuits 302 is coupled to at least one T 1 link for receiving and transmitting voice and data to and from the switch 216 . Each of the speech recognizer arrays 302 , 304 , 306 is also coupled to an interface 318 of the application processor 312 .
The application processor 312 , includes the interface 318 , a CPU 314 , and a plurality of data storage devices including a memory 316 , a database 310 , and service logic 311 . The memory 316 stores instructions in the form of a program as well as data about the speech recognizer arrays 302 , 304 , 306 and the speech recognition capabilities of various circuits included therein. The service logic includes data and program code used to implement one or more services, e.g., a voice dialing service. The program stored in the memory 316 , in conjunction with the information and program code stored in the service logic 311 , when executed by the CPU 314 , controls the operation of the control IP in accordance with the present invention. The interface 318 is used to couple and interface the various components of the application processor, such as the database 310 , CPU 314 , memory 316 and service logic 311 to the speech recognizer arrays 302 , 304 , 306 and the control interface 308 . The interface 318 converts the various signals received by the application processor 312 into a format that can be interpreted and processed by the CPU 314 as well as converts signals generated by the CPU 314 into a signal format that can be used to control and interact with the various circuits coupled to the application processor 312 .
The control interface 308 is responsible for receiving SMDI signal inputs from the voice mail IPs 228 , 230 which form part of the network 210 . The information regarding waiting messages, e.g., subscriber's account number and message waiting indicator, received via the SMDI links, is conveyed to the application processor 312 . The application processor 312 is responsive to the information received via the SMDI links which it uses in conjunction with information from the database 310 to determine the action which is to be taken by the control IP 300 . Via the control interface 308 , the application processor can instruct, e.g., using the recent change channel (RCC), the C.O. switch 216 , to enable/disable the NFA protocol on a particular subscriber's line and/or perform other operations such as enable/disable the C.O. switch's digit receiver 226 with regard to an ongoing connection. In addition, via the control interface 308 , which generates the switching matrix control signal (SCS), the application processor 312 can control the switching matrix 234 to establish connections via the C.O. switch with one or more IPs and/or destination telephones.
The database 310 , which is included in the application processor 312 , is used to store relevant subscriber information. FIG. 3B illustrates an exemplary control IP database 310 .
As illustrated, the database 310 comprises a plurality of entries. One set of entries, represented by a horizontal row, is associated with each subscriber being serviced by the control IP 232 . Each set of entries includes information pertinent to servicing one subscription which, in most cases, will correspond to a single individual subscriber. However, in the case of a multi-party mailbox, the single subscription may correspond to multiple individuals.
In the FIG. 3B embodiment, columns 1 - 9 represent different information entries which are maintained in the database 310 for each subscription. Column 1 , corresponds to subscriber name information, column 2 corresponds to a subscriber ID number. The subscriber ID number may be, e.g., a number used to identify the subscriber for voice mail purposes. Column 3 corresponds to subscriber telephone number information. The telephone number information may be used, e.g., to identify to the C.O. switch 216 , the line on which the NFA protocol is to be enabled/disabled. In addition, in the case where the SMDI link provides message waiting information associated with a subscriber's telephone number, the control IP 232 can identify the particular subscriber for which a message is waiting by using the received telephone number and the telephone number information stored in the database 310 .
Column 4 of the database 310 corresponds to the subscriber's personal identification number (PIN) which the subscriber would normally use to access the messaging service or services to which the subscriber subscribes.
While, in columns 2 and 4 only one subscriber and PIN is shown for each subscriber, it is to be understood that a different subscriber ID and PIN may be stored for each one of a plurality of messaging services to which a customer subscribers.
Columns 5 , 6 , 7 , and 8 include status and service information used by the IP 232 in determining how to control call routing, e.g., which IPs a customer should be connected to, and what services are to be provided to a customer.
Column 5 , corresponds to NFA protocol status. If the NFA protocol is enabled for a particular subscriber, the subscriber will automatically be coupled to the control IP 232 when the C.O. switch detects an off-hook condition on the subscriber's line.
If the NFA protocol is not enabled for a particular subscriber, that subscriber will not be automatically connected to the control IP when an off-hook condition is initiated. Under such circumstances, the subscriber would have to dial the number of an IP to gain access to his or her voice mail service or other IP provided service.
Database column 6 corresponds to message waiting status. If a message is waiting for a particular subscriber, e.g., as indicated by the receipt of an SMDI signal including the subscriber's telephone number, this column will include an IP identifier identifying the IP where a message is waiting. In the event that messages are waiting on multiple IPs for a subscriber, the entry in column 6 associated with the subscriber will include an IP identifier for each IP with a waiting message.
Database column 7 indicates the type of message prompt to be played to the subscriber once a connection is established between the subscriber and the control IP. In the case where no message is waiting, a message that there are no waiting messages is played to the subscriber in the event that the subscriber connects to the control IP, e.g. by dialing the IP. Accordingly, in column 7 , “NONE” is indicated with regard to the prompt that should be used for subscribers without waiting messages. In the case where a voice message is waiting for an individual subscriber to an individual voice mail service, default message is played to the subscriber upon connection to the IP. The default message may be something like “You have at least one new message.” In at least one embodiment the default message provides a user with the actual number of new waiting messages. In the case where the voice mail service being provided corresponds to a multi-party account, as in the case of the last account listed in database 310 , a prompt identifying the individual for whom the waiting message is intended may be played when such information is available. For example, in one embodiment the prompt which is played states: “NEW MESSAGE FOR: NAME” where NAME is the name of the individual to whom the waiting message is directed. When individual name information is not available regarding the intended recipient of a waiting message the default message prompt may be used.
Column 8 indicates whether the customer subscribes to a Voice Dialing service supported by the control IP 232 . As will be discussed below, this information is important with regard to call flow handling by the control IP 232 . Normally, for voice dialing service subscribers, the NFA protocol feature will be enabled at the central office switch 216 even when messages are not waiting for the subscriber. This allows the subscriber to obtain direct access to the voice dialing capability of the control IP without having to dial the IP.
As discussed above, in the case where a customer subscribes to a voice mail service but not a voice dialing service, the NFA protocol feature is disabled in accordance with the present invention at the C.O. switch when there are no messages waiting for the subscriber.
Column 9 includes voice template and voice recording information (TR) used for supporting voice dialing services for subscribers to the voice dialing service. For each voice dialing service subscriber, at least one speaker dependent speech recognition template is stored for each name to be recognized using speaker dependent speech recognition techniques. A recording of the name corresponding to a speech template, e.g., made when the template was created, is also stored in the database 310 so that it can be played back to the subscriber as a way of indicating to the caller which name was identified by the speech recognition circuit. A telephone number, to be dialed, is also normally stored in the database 310 for each name for which there is a stored template.
With regard to customer John Smith, columns 5 - 9 of the first row of database 310 indicate, for example, that the NFA protocol is not enabled for his telephone line, that there are no messages waiting for him, that a prompt is to be played to John Smith indicating that there are no waiting messages in the event that he establishes a connection with the control IP, e.g., via a direct dial operation, that he does not subscribe to the control IP's voice dialing service, and that there are no stored templates or recordings for John Smith.
With regard to customer Mary Wells, columns 5 - 9 of the second row of database 310 indicate, for example, that the NFA protocol is enabled for her telephone line, that there is one or more messages waiting for her on the first voice mail IP 228 , that a default prompt is to be played to her indicating that there are one or more waiting messages in the event that she establishes a connection with the control IP, e.g., via initiating an off-hook condition on the telephone line identified by the telephone number listed in database 310 , that she does not subscribe to the control IP's voice dialing service, and that there are no stored templates or recordings for her.
FIG. 4 illustrates a speech recognizer array 400 suitable for use as any one of the speech recognizer arrays 302 , 304 , 306 . The speech recognizer array 400 includes a T 1 interface for coupling the recognizer array to a T 1 link, first and second speaker independent speech recognition circuits 404 , 406 , a primary speech recognizer 407 and a DTMF tone generator/receiver 410 . These circuits 402 , 404 , 406 , 407 , 410 are coupled together by a data bus 403 and a high bandwidth bus 401 capable of carrying voice communications. The high bandwidth bus 401 is also coupled to the control IP's application processor 312 .
The data bus 403 couples a CPU 412 , memory 414 and an Ethernet adapter 416 to the data bus 403 thereby allowing them to interact with the various speech recognition circuits 404 , 406 , 408 , T 1 interface 402 and DTMF tone generator/receiver 410 . The Ethernet adapter 416 is used to couple the data bus 403 to the application processor 312 .
The primary speech recognizer 407 includes a speech capture circuit 409 and a combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit 408 . The speech capture circuit 409 is used to collect speech data and to arrange it into segments which are then supplied to one of the speech recognition circuits 404 , 406 or 408 for processing. By coupling the various speech recognition circuits 404 , 406 , 408 and the speech capture circuit 409 to the same high speed bus 401 , the speech capture circuit 409 can transmit captured speech to any of the voice recognition circuits 404 , 406 , 408 thereby eliminating the need to provide a separate speech capture circuit 409 for each of the speech recognition circuits 404 , 406 , 408 .
Each of the speech recognition units 404 , 406 , 408 include a processor and memory which are used to perform speech recognition operations. The large vocabulary speaker independent speech recognition circuit 404 may support, e.g., the recognition of, e.g., over 100 words or phrases using speaker independent speech recognition techniques. The combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit may support, e.g., the recognition of 20-75 words or phrases. In contrast, the small vocabulary speaker independent speech recognition circuit may support the recognition of 20 or fewer words, e.g., spoken numbers or keywords, which may be included in phrases.
Because of the relative complexity of the speech recognition tasks to be performed, the large vocabulary recognition circuit 406 will normally be implemented using a relatively powerful CPU and a large amount of memory. The combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit 408 will normally be implemented using a less powerful CPU and less memory than the speech recognizer 406 while the small vocabulary speaker independent speech recognition circuit 404 will normally be implemented using the least amount of memory and the least powerful CPU out of the three speech recognition circuits 404 , 406 , 408 . The recognition circuit 404 , uses the least powerful CPU and least memory because it needs to perform the least processing operations per unit time, out of the three recognizer circuits, for each caller being serviced to perform real time speech recognition. In contrast, the large vocabulary recognition circuit 406 has to perform the most processing operations, out of the three circuits 404 , 406 , 408 , per caller per unit time, to perform real time speech recognition and therefore includes the most powerful CPU out of the speech recognition circuits 404 , 406 , 408 .
The large vocabulary speaker independent speech recognition circuit 406 is capable is capable of detecting a large number of names and phrases using speaker independent speech recognition techniques. For this reason, it is particularly well suited for, e.g., providing corporate directory information where it is desirable to be able to identify hundreds or even thousands of names of individual people and words which are, e.g., part of the name of a corporate department title. The large vocabulary speech recognition circuit 406 may be thought of as a high end, e.g., relatively expensive and powerful, speech recognition circuit.
The small vocabulary speaker independent speech recognition circuit 404 supports the recognition of relatively few words or phrases, e.g., less than 20. In one embodiment the circuit 404 is used to recognize numbers spoken as part of a phrase such as “press number”. In addition, in various embodiments, it is used to recognize words which may be interpreted as a trigger to switch to the use of another voice dialing circuit.
The combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit 408 may be characterized as a mid-level speech recognition circuit capable of recognizing, e.g., up to 100 words or phrases in one exemplary embodiment. The circuit 408 is particularly well suited for voice dialing purposes and may be the same as or similar to the speech recognition circuit described at length in U.S. Pat. No. 5,719,921 which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference.
The combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit 408 is used, in one embodiment, to support voice dialing. Voice dialing generally involves performing speaker independent speech recognition used to identify commands, e.g., dial, forward, cancel call forward, and speaker dependent speech recognition to identify names, e.g., the names of the people to be called. See, U.S. Pat. No. 5,719,921 for a discussion of the use of speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition to support voice dialing services. In order to support speaker dependent voice dialing services speaker dependent speech recognition templates, e.g., of names are stored in the database 310 for each voice dialing service subscriber. This information is retrieved, stored in the memory of the speech recognition circuit 408 , and used to support voice dialing, when a connection is established between the control IP 232 and a voice dialing service subscriber.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the speech recognition circuit 404 , 406 , 408 which is used to support speech recognition is dynamically changed according to the speech recognition task to be performed during the particular stage of a call. In this manner, hardware is used in a more cost effective manner than would be possible if an unnecessarily powerful, and therefore, relatively expensive, speech recognition circuit were used for all stages of call processing.
As will be discussed further below, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit 408 is used during portions of a call where voice dialing is to be provided. However, during portions of a call where the detection of, e.g., spoken digits alone or as part of a phrase, is the primary concern, the small vocabulary speaker independent speech recognition circuit 404 is used. In cases where large vocabulary speaker independent speech recognition operations are required, e.g., providing corporate directory information, circuit 406 is used.
In accordance with the present invention, the dynamic switching between speech recognition units 404 , 406 , 408 , as a call progresses and/or the service being provided the subscriber changes during a call, is performed under control of the application processor 312 and/or CPU 412 .
In one particular embodiment, when a call connection is initially established with the control IP 232 a service code, e.g., a number indicating voice dialing, corporate directory, or a voice mail service request, is provided by the switch 216 to the control IP. Subsequently, a new service code may be supplied to the control IP during the same call connection, e.g., in response to the switch detecting the pressing of the * key followed by a number indicating a requested service such as voice mail service.
In one such embodiment, CPU 412 of the speech recognizer array detects the service code associated with a particular call connection and assigns one of the speech recognizer circuits 408 , 406 , 404 to service the call as a function of the service code. In the event that another service code is received during the same call connection, the CPU will re-assess the speech recognition circuit assignment in response to receipt of the new service code. Thus, as a result of receipt of a new service code, the speech recognizer assigned to service a call may be dynamically changed during the call. For example, if a voice dialing service code is initially received, the combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit 408 would be assigned to service the call. If during the call a voice message service code were received, the CPU 412 would de-assign the combined speech recognizer and assign the small vocabulary speaker independent speech recognition to servicing the call.
In another embodiment, the call connection established with the control IP 232 is monitored throughout the period in which the call connection is maintained for spoken words or phrases, referred to herein as “trigger phrases” which may be used to determine the service to be performed and thus which speech recognizer is best suited for servicing a particular portion of a call. For example, detection of the phrase “corporate directory” would be interpreted as indicative of a corporate directory information request and, in response to detection of such a phrase, the large vocabulary recognition circuit 406 would be assigned to service the call. Detection of the word “DIAL” or a spoken name included in the caller's voice dialing database could be interpreted as indicating a voice dialing service request. In such an instance the combined speech recognition circuit 408 would be assigned to service the call. Similarly, the phrase “voice mail” would trigger use of the small vocabulary speech recognition circuit 404 to service the call.
Each of the speech recognition circuits 404 , 406 , 408 can use speaker independent speech recognition techniques to detect such keywords or trigger phrases. Accordingly, such keywords or trigger phrases can be detected at any point during a call causing the CPU 412 to reassess and possibly re-assign the call to a different one of the speech recognition circuits 404 , 406 , 408 . In this manner the CPU 412 matches the requested service to the most cost effective one of the speech recognition circuits available.
Operation of the telephone system 200 of the present invention, and use of the control IP 232 will now be discussed in detail with reference to FIGS. 5A-5C which are a flow diagram illustrating the operations performed by the control IP in servicing a subscriber.
Operation of the control IP begins in step 502 , the START step. In this step the control IP's application processor 312 is initialized, the IP control program stored in the memory 316 is loaded and executed by the CPU 314 . Once various initialization procedures have been completed control IP operation proceeds to step 504 . In step 504 , the application processor 312 , via the speech recognizer arrays 303 , 304 , 306 and control interface 308 , monitors for inputs to the control IP, (e.g.) from either the SMDI lines or T 1 links coupled to the control IP 232 .
In step 506 , a determination is made by the application processor as to whether or not an input has been detected. If no input has been detected operation proceeds once again to the monitoring step 504 . If, however, in step 506 , a message waiting indicator signal is detected, e.g., on one of the SMDI lines, operation progresses to step 508 .
In step 508 the subscriber for which the message is intended is identified. This is accomplished by, e.g., using either a telephone number or subscriber ID received from the SMDI line in conjunction with a message waiting signal, with the corresponding subscriber information stored in the database 310 . Once the subscriber for which the message is intended is identified, and the corresponding data base entries for the subscriber retrieved from the database 310 , operation proceeds to step 510 .
In step 510 , a determination is made, e.g., from the data included in column 5 of the database 310 , as to whether or not the NFA protocol is active at the C.O. switch for the identified subscriber for which the message is intended.
Active NFA protocol status at the switch for the identified subscriber will result in the identified subscriber being coupled automatically to the control IP 232 in response to the detection of an off-hook condition on the identified subscriber's line.
Normally, if there is already one or more waiting messages for the identified subscriber, not including the current message being reported by the detected signal on the SMDI line, the NFA protocol will be active for the identified subscriber as the result of the earlier unretrieved waiting messages. Similarly, if the subscriber subscribes to the voice dialing service supported by the control IP 232 , the NFA protocol will be enabled for the subscriber.
If, in step 510 it is determined that the NFA protocol is already active for the identified subscriber, operation proceeds directly to step 514 .
However, if in step 510 it is determined that the NFA protocol is not active for the subscriber at the C.O. switch operator proceeds to step 512 wherein a control signal is sent by the control IP to the C.O. switch, via the recent change channel (RCC). The control signal instructs the C.O. switch to connect the identified subscriber to the control I.P., in response to an off-hook condition on the identified subscriber's telephone line, e.g., by using the NFA protocol. From step 512 , operation progresses to step 514 .
Step 514 involves updating of the database 310 to reflect changes in the status information associated with the identified subscriber. This involves, e.g., changing the NFA status information if it was activated in step 512 , and updating the message waiting and message prompt information to reflect the waiting message. For example, the message waiting status information in col. 6 may be updated to reflect that there is an additional waiting message for the identified subscriber and the VMIP where the message is waiting. In addition, the message prompt information, included in database column 7 , will be modified, if necessary, so that the identified subscriber will be informed of the waiting message upon connecting to the control IP.
Once the subscriber database is updated in step 514 , operation returns to the monitoring step 504 wherein the control IP monitors for additional inputs. From step 504 , operation proceeds to step 506 .
If, in step 506 , a subscriber connection signal is detected as a result of the monitoring for received signals which occurred in step 504 , operation proceeds to step 520 via flow chart connectors 516 , 518 . The subscriber connection signal will normally include information sufficient to identify the subscriber for database access purposes, e.g., the subscriber's telephone number or account number information. For purposes of this exemplary discussion, the exemplary individual subscriber who established the connection to the IP will be referred to as “the connected subscriber”.
In step 520 , the database 310 is accessed and the information included therein, pertinent to the connected subscriber, is retrieved. The retrieved information may include, e.g., in the case where the caller is a voice dialing service subscriber, speaker dependent voice dialing templates and recordings in addition to the other information illustrated in FIG. 3 B.
Once the subscriber data is retrieved from the database 310 , operation proceeds to step 522 wherein a determination is made, using the retrieved information, as to whether the connected subscriber is a voice dialing subscriber. If the answer to this inquiry is yes, operation proceeds to step 524 wherein the voice dialing service is provided to the caller. This step involves, e.g., loading retrieved speaker dependent speech recognition templates and recordings into the speech recognition circuit 408 . It also involves controlling the recognition circuit 408 so that it monitors the line which connects the subscriber to the control IP and performs speech recognition operations on speech transmitted thereon.
Once the voice dialing service is activated, if the speech recognition circuit 408 receives an instruction to dial a telephone number over the line connecting the subscriber to the control IP 232 , a voice dialing operation will be performed by the IP in a manner that is the same as or similar to the manner in which known voice dialing service is provided.
From step 524 operation proceeds to step 526 . Operation will proceed directly from step 522 to step 526 if in step 522 it is determined that the connected subscriber is not a voice dialing subscriber.
In step 526 , a determination is made from the retrieved database information, e.g., by the application processor 312 , as to whether there are any new messages waiting for the connected subscriber. If there are no new messages, operation proceeds to step 527 . In step 527 , the caller is notified, e.g., via an audio prompt that there are no new messages. The connection between the IP and the subscriber is then allowed to terminate, in step 528 , in accordance with voice dialing procedures in the event a voice dialing call is placed or if the subscriber hangs up.
In one embodiment, in the case where the connected subscriber is a voice dialing customer, a preselected amount of time may be allowed to pass in step 527 before the no new messages prompt is played. If the subscriber initiates a voice dialing call during this period, the call will be allowed to terminate as a conventional voice dialing call without the prompt being played to the subscriber.
If, in step 526 it is determined that there are new messages for the subscriber, operation proceeds to step 530 . In step 530 , the subscriber is notified of the presence of a waiting message, e.g., by playing the prompt indicated in the database 310 for the connected subscriber. From step 530 operation proceeds to step 531 wherein an inquiry is made as to whether or not the subscriber wants to retrieve the messages. The inquiry may involve playing of a message asking if the subscriber wants to retrieve the messages followed by monitoring of the call connection to detect a spoken YES or NO response.
If, in step 531 , a NO response is detected operation proceeds to step 528 wherein the call connection is allowed to terminate according to normal voice dialing procedure or NFA protocol operation.
If, in step 531 , a YES response is detected indicating that the subscriber wants to retrieve the waiting messages operation proceeds to step 532 .
In step 532 the control IP establishes a connection between the subscriber and a voice mail IP where one or more messages are waiting for the subscriber. The voice mail IP 228 , 230 to which the subscriber is connected is determined by the information in the database 310 which indicates which IP contains the subscriber's waiting message or messages.
As part of the process of establishing the connection between the connected subscriber and voice mail IP, the control IP seizes a line of one of the T 1 links coupled to the control IP. In addition, it controls the switching matrix 234 to route the subscribers call, via the C.O. switch 216 , to the desired voice mail IP 228 , 230 . In this manner, the control IP 232 establishes a connection between the subscriber and the voice mail IP 228 or 230 while remaining connected to the line.
As part of the process of establishing the connection between the subscriber and voice mail IP 228 or 230 , the control IP supplies both the connected subscriber's account number and PIN number information to the voice mail IP thereby eliminating the need for the connected subscriber to enter this information.
Once a connection is established with one of the voice mail IPs 228 , 230 , the control IP 232 signals, in step 534 , the C.O. switch 216 to take its digit receiver off-line. In step 536 voice dialing support is de-activated if it was enabled. Accordingly, by the end of step 536 , the relatively expensive combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit 408 used for voice dialing is released from servicing the connected subscriber. In addition, because the DTMF receiver of the central office switch is disable with regard to the connected subscriber, the connected subscriber is free to interact with the voice messaging IP through the use of DTMF or voice instructions without accidentally initiating a telephone call.
From step 536 control IP operation proceeds to steps 542 and 548 via connectors 538 , 540 .
The path comprising steps 542 , 544 , 546 represents speech recognition and DTMF generation functionality supported by the control IP 232 which is provided to facilitate subscriber interaction with a voice mail or other connected service IP. This functionality is provided through the use of one of the speaker independent speech recognition circuits 404 , 406 and the DTMF tone generator/receiver 410 . While speaker independent recognition is used in the illustrated embodiment speaker dependent recognition may be used alone or in combination with speaker independent speech recognition
Step 542 involves monitoring the line connected to the subscriber for speech such as the instruction “press one” or “one” which is to be recognized and converted into DTMF tones. Upon one of the speech recognition circuits 404 or 406 detecting a spoken digit, e.g., as part of a phrase such as “press one”, a signal is sent to the DTMF tone generator circuit 410 instructing it to generate a DTMF tone corresponding to the detected digit. In step 544 , one or more DTMF tones are generated in response to the speech recognized in step 542 .
The generated DTMF tones 546 are transmitted by the control IP 232 to the voice mail IP 228 or 230 to which the subscriber is connected. However, to avoid annoying the subscriber with the DTMF tones, in one embodiment, the line to the subscriber is muted while the tones are transmitted to the voice mail IP. Thus, the voice mail IP receives the DTMF signals generated from the subscribers speech and can respond thereto without the subscriber having to enter the signals by pressing keys and without the subscriber having to listen to the tones.
After transmission of the generated tone operation proceeds to step 542 where the connection is monitored for additional speech. The process of monitoring the connection to a voice mail IP will continue for the duration of the connection to the voice mail IP. Accordingly, while connected to the voice mail IP 228 or 230 , the subscriber will have the opportunity to input responses or commands to the voice mail IP using speech as opposed to having to press keys of a telephone.
The path beginning with step 548 may occur in parallel with the path beginning with step 542 . In step 548 the connection between the subscriber and the voice mail IP 228 , 230 is monitored for a voice mail IP connection termination control signal e.g. from the voice mail IP or subscriber. Operation progresses to step 550 when a termination signal is detected. In step 550 the connection between the subscriber and the voice mail IP 228 , 230 is terminated. From step 550 operation proceeds to step 552 wherein the database 310 is updated to reflect the review of messages by the subscriber which were stored on the voice mail IP to which the subscriber was connected.
After termination of the connection with the voice mail IP 228 or 230 , a determination is made in step 554 as to whether or not there are new messages waiting for the subscriber on another voice mail IP.
This is done by, e.g., checking the updated database entry for the connected subscriber indicating the message waiting status. For example, if the connected subscriber were Bob Barker, after connecting to the second voice mail IP 230 , there would still be voice mail messages on first voice mail IP 228 . However, if the connected subscriber were Mary Wells, there would be no additional messages waiting for the subscriber.
If in step 554 , it is determined that there are additional new messages waiting for the subscriber, e.g., on a different voice IP, operation proceeds to step 524 thereby causing the subscriber to automatically be connected to the IP with the messages.
However, in step 554 if it is determined that there are no more messages waiting for the connected subscriber, operation proceeds to step 558 wherein a determination is made as to whether or not the connected subscriber is a voice dialing subscriber. If the connected subscriber is a voice dialing subscriber, operation proceeds to step 560 wherein the voice dialing function of the control IP 232 is enabled by, e.g., re-connecting the combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit 408 to the connected subscriber's line.
In addition, the C.O. switch's digit receiver 226 is also enabled in step 560 . Accordingly, the connected subscriber can complete a call to a spoken or dialed telephone number without the need to hang-up after receiving his or her messages. Under such circumstances, termination of the connection with the caller will occur in accordance with normal voice dialing procedures which may include the connected subscriber hanging up the telephone.
While not explicitly stated in the flow diagram of FIGS. 5A-5B it is to be understood that a connected subscriber can terminate the call at any time by hanging up. Hanging up causes the control IP 232 to terminate the subscriber's connection with any voice mail IP's which may exist at the time of call termination. In addition, the control IP 232 updates the database 232 to reflect the retrieval of messages prior to call termination if, in fact, any messages where retrieved.
FIG. 6 illustrates a telephone system 600 implemented in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. The system 600 comprises a plurality of telephone networks 610 , 211 coupled together by a fiber optic line 32 . The telephone network 610 comprises many of the same elements as the network 210 . Elements of the FIG. 2 and FIG. 6 embodiments which are the same, or similar, bear the same reference numbers and will not be described again.
The FIG. 2 and FIG., 6 embodiments differ principally in the way in which the telephone network's peripheral devices, including first and second voice mail IPs 628 , 630 and a control IP 632 are connected together. Note that SMDI lines are not used in the FIG. 6 embodiment as they are in the FIG. 2 embodiment. Instead, digital lines 631 , 633 are used to connect the first and second voice mail IPs 631 , 633 to the control IP 632 .
By using digital lines in this manner, information not available over an ordinary SMDI line can be supplied to the control IP 632 . For example, a brief message introduction may be sent by the voice mail IP to the control IP 632 . The introduction may include a 15 or 30 second sound message provided by a person leaving the message to identify him or herself. Alternatively, in the case of a multi-person account, the information provided by the digital line 631 or 632 may be a recording identifying the name of the recipient for which the message is intended. In addition to receiving information about waiting messages from the first and second voice mail IP's, in one embodiment, the control IP 632 uses the lines 631 , 633 when establishing a connection between a connected caller and subscriber. The lines 631 , 633 may be implemented using a plurality of digital data and/or control lines. In one particular embodiment the lines 631 , 632 are implemented as lines which implement the known signaling system 7 (SS7) protocol frequently used to implement telecommunications and data networks.
While the use of a control IP to facilitate the interaction of multiple IPs which provide services to the same subscriber has been described in the context of a voice mail embodiment, it is to be understood, that the features of the present invention are applicable to facilitating subscriber/IP access and IP interaction regardless of the type or types of services being provided by the IPs.
While the substitution of speech recognizer circuits has been discussed above as a cost effective method of providing speech recognition services to a plurality of telephone users, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, multiple speech recognizers are used to process the same speech. In one such embodiment, a low or mid level speech recognizer circuit such as the recognizer circuit 404 or 408 is used to service all or most of a call. For portions of a call where more complicated, e.g., large vocabulary, speech recognition is required, an additional speech recognizer such as the speech recognition circuit 406 is also assigned to service the call in conjunction with the other speech recognizer. By switching in a high end speech recognition unit for the small portion of a call where, e.g., large vocabulary speech recognition is required, speech recognition service is provided without having to use the large vocabulary speech recognizer for the entire duration of the call. In addition, speech recognition functionality included in the low or mid level speech recognizer circuit need not be duplicated in the higher end speech recognition circuit which is switched in to supplement the speech recognition capability being provided.
Additional embodiments and features of the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the above discussion and exemplary embodiments set forth in the present application. | Methods and apparatus for providing speech recognition capability to callers in a cost efficient manner as part of one or more telephone services are described. Multiple speech recognition units with differing capabilities and therefore implementation costs are provided. Calls are assigned to speech recognition circuits throughout a call based on a signal such as a service type identifier indicating the type of service to be provided to the caller. During different phases of a call different speech recognition units may be used. In addition, different amounts of speech recognition processing capability may be allocated to service a call at different points during a call. In this manner efficient use of available speech recognition resources can be achieved. | Summarize the information, clearly outlining the challenges and proposed solutions. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to communications systems and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for increasing the utility and interoperability of peripheral devices, e.g., voice mail devices and speech recognition platforms, used in communications systems.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In telephone systems, electronic switches are used to route calls to their destination, e.g., as designated by a destination telephone number.",
"They are also used to connect telephone service subscribers to various peripheral devices, such as, e.g., voice messaging systems (also sometimes referred to as voice mail systems), speech recognizers, voice dialing services, etc.",
"Peripheral devices are usually provided with some degree of intelligence, e.g., logic in the form of a CPU, so that the subscriber and peripheral device can communicate in an interactive fashion and/or to enable the peripheral device to interact with the switch in a meaningful way.",
"Peripheral devices with such built in intelligence are frequently referred to as intelligent peripherals or “IPs.”",
"FIG. 1 illustrates a known telephone system 100 which supports voice mail services.",
"The known system 100 includes first and second telephone networks 10 , 11 coupled together by a fiber optic connection 32 .",
"Each of the telephone networks 10 , 11 includes a plurality of telephones 12 , 14 , a central office (C.O.) switch 16 and first and second voice mail IPs 28 , 30 .",
"As illustrated the switch 16 includes first and second interfaces 18 , 24 , a central processing unit (CPU) 20 , memory 22 and digit receiver 26 .",
"As discussed below, the C.O. switch 16 is capable of connecting a telephone to a voice mail IP 28 , 30 or one of the other telephones 12 , 14 .",
"The central office switch 16 is coupled to each voice mail IP 28 , 30 by a T 1 link and a simplified message desk interface (SMDI) connection.",
"The voice mail IPs 28 , 30 can indicate to the central office switch 16 that a message is waiting for a particular subscriber and that the subscriber's message waiting light should be activated in the event that the particular subscriber's telephone 12 , 14 includes message waiting light functionality.",
"One common technique for providing telephone service subscribers access to an IP, which provides a desired service, involves the subscriber dialing a telephone number corresponding to the IP.",
"For example, when a subscriber to a voice mail service desires to check for received messages in one known system the subscriber would normally dial a telephone number corresponding to the subscriber's voice mail service.",
"In response to detecting the telephone number corresponding to the voice mail IP, the C.O. switch 16 couples the voice mail subscriber to the voice mail IP 28 or 30 as indicated by the dialed telephone number.",
"In addition to dialing the telephone number of the voice mail service, a subscriber may also have to enter into the telephone, e.g., by depressing a series of keys, account number and/or a personal identification number (PIN) required by the voice mail IP to gain access to the subscriber's account.",
"In the case of multi-party mail box accounts, once access to a voice mail account is obtained, the mail service may request that the subscriber depress one or more keys to identify which particular individual is attempting to retrieve his or her messages.",
"For example, the caller may be asked to press “1”",
"for John's messages or “2”",
"for Mary's messages.",
"Such mail systems may require a subscriber to enter, e.g., 10-20 keys, prior to the subscriber being informed as to whether or not there are any stored messages for the particular calling subscriber.",
"In addition to requiring a caller to enter account information, most voice mail systems may require the subscriber to press additional keys and thereby generate DTMF tones, e.g., to replay or delete a message.",
"The large number of keys which must be depressed, and thus the relatively large amount of time and effort required merely to discover whether a message is waiting for a subscriber, is a major disadvantage of the known mail system described above.",
"In order to facilitate the routing of calls to an IP, e.g., for providing voice mail and voice dialing services, a communication protocol referred to as the network facility access (“NFA”) protocol, was designed for communicating information between a subscriber and an IP via a central office switch.",
"This protocol overcomes the need for a subscriber to dial a telephone number to be connected to an IP when calling from the subscribers own telephone.",
"When the NFA protocol is enabled at the central office switch for a subscriber's telephone line, upon detecting an off-hook condition on the subscriber's line the central office switch will immediately establish a connection between the subscriber and an IP which is specified at the central office switch.",
"In accordance with the NFA protocol, if the subscriber begins dialing a telephone number while the connection to the IP is being established, the central office switch will terminate the process of connecting the subscriber to the IP and route the call in the usual manner.",
"While use of the NFA protocol makes it easier for a subscriber to gain access to an IP by eliminating the need to dial a telephone number to be connected to the IP, there remains room for improvement in the manner in which subscribers are coupled to IPs and the manner in which IPs interact.",
"For the most part, subscribers to voice mail services usually want to be connected to a voice mail service when there is a new message waiting for them and not at other times.",
"Accordingly, automatically coupling a subscriber to an IP which provides voice mail services in response to every off-hook condition of a subscriber can result in an inefficient use of switch and IP resources.",
"This is because, in many if not most cases, the subscriber will be initiating the off-hook condition to place a call as opposed to connect to the voice messaging IP.",
"Problems may also arise with current methods of automatically connecting a telephone customer to an IP in response to an office hook condition when the telephone customer subscribes to multiple services implemented on different IPs.",
"In the known systems, a subscriber is generally capable of being coupled automatically to a single IP in response to an off-hook condition.",
"Accordingly, if a telephone customer subscribes to multiple telephone messaging services, e.g., one for work and one for personal use, using known techniques he may only be able to be automatically connected to one of the services upon detection of an off-hook condition.",
"This may force, for example, a person trying to retrieve business voice mail messages to dial a telephone number corresponding to a work voice mail service when at home and the home voice mail service when at work to check for messages.",
"Additional complications may arise in the known systems when, for example, when a subscriber to a voice messaging service also subscribes to a voice dialing service implemented on a different IP than the voice messaging service.",
"In such a case, connecting a caller automatically to the voice dialing service IP in response to an off-hook condition may be preferable to connecting the caller to the voice messaging IP since the subscriber will, in many cases, place calls more frequently than check for messages.",
"Unfortunately, automatically connecting the subscriber to one IP will normally preclude automatic connection to the other IP thereby preventing a subscriber from automatically having access to services provided on multiple IPs.",
"From the above discussion it is apparent that there is a need for improved methods and apparatus for connecting subscribers to peripheral devices.",
"In particular, there is a need for methods and apparatus which enable a subscriber to be automatically coupled to a plurality of IPs in response to an off-hook condition.",
"In addition, there is a need for methods of improving the use of switch and IP resources by selectively connecting subscribers to IPs when the subscriber is most likely to use or desire access to the service provided by the IP and not in response to every off-hook condition initiated by the subscriber.",
"In addition to improving the efficiency and ease of the subscriber to IP connection process, it is desirable that the interaction with IP's be simplified from a subscriber's perspective.",
"For example, it is desirable that the number of telephone keys a subscriber must press to obtain a desired service be minimized.",
"It is also desirable, from a cost and implementation efficiency standpoint, that circuitry found in one IP not be duplicated in other IPs which will service the same subscribers.",
"It is also desirable from a cost and implementation standpoint that IP resources be used in an efficient and cost effective manner thereby minimizing overall IP and telephone system hardware costs.",
"In view of the above, it is apparent that there remains room for considerable improvement in how IPs are connected to subscribers, the way in which they are interconnected, and the actual manner in which IPs are implemented.",
"SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION The present invention is directed to methods and apparatus for increasing the utility and interoperability of peripheral devices, e.g., voice mail devices and speech recognition platforms, used in communications systems such as telephone systems.",
"In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a control IP is used to control the interaction of various IPs in the system and to control user access to the various IPs.",
"As discussed above, it is desirable that a subscriber be able to obtain messages from the subscriber's voice mail services regardless of which IP the messages reside upon without requiring the subscriber to dial a telephone number corresponding to the voice mail IP.",
"However, at the same time, it is desirable from a telephone system efficiency standpoint that the subscriber not be automatically connected to a voice mail IP in response to every off-hook condition but rather when new messages are waiting for the subscriber.",
"In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the central office switch to which a subscriber is connected is dynamically controlled, in response to IP status information, to automatically connect a subscriber in response to an off-hook condition.",
"In such an embodiment, the C.O. switch is controlled to connect the subscriber to an I.P. when the subscriber is likely to desire the services provided by the IP but not at other times.",
"In one particular embodiment, this is achieved by having an IP, e.g., a control IP, signal the C.O. switch to enable/disable use of the NFA protocol on a subscriber's line in response to IP status information.",
"The IP status information may include, e.g., message waiting information provided from a voice mail IP to a control IP though use of an SMDI line or a digital data/control line.",
"The present invention, uses a control IP, in order to enable a subscriber to voice mail services implemented on multiple IPs automatic access, in response to an off-hook condition to the IPs when messages are waiting.",
"Upon detecting an off-hook condition, when the NFA protocol is enabled, the C.O. switch will automatically connect a subscriber to the control IP.",
"Through the use of a switching matrix, the subscriber is then connected, e.g., sequentially, to one or more IPs which provide, e.g., voice mail services to the subscriber.",
"In one embodiment, in order to reduce the amount of input required by a subscriber, the control IP, as part of establishing a connection between the subscriber and voice mail IP, automatically provides stored subscriber account number and pin number information to the voice mail IP.",
"Accordingly, the subscriber is provided, from the subscriber's phone, access to his/her messages without having to enter any information.",
"In order to further simplify interaction with service IPs, e.g., voice mail IPs, the control IP of the present invention includes speech recognition functionality.",
"In one embodiment, the connection between the subscriber and the service IP is monitored by the control IP.",
"Numbers and/or commands spoken by the subscriber are recognized and converted into DTMF tones which are commonly used for controlling service, e.g., voice mail, IPs.",
"In this manner, interaction with voice mail IPs is simplified from the subscriber's perspective since the subscriber can orally select certain options by, e.g., saying “one”",
"as opposed to having to press a number on a telephone keypad.",
"Using the control IP to perform speech recognition for multiple service IPs has the advantage of allowing the same speech recognition hardware to service multiple IPs.",
"Thus, in accordance with the present invention the need to implement speech recognition hardware for which speech interactions is to be supported, in each individual IP is eliminated.",
"In one particular embodiment, the functionality of a voice dialing IP and a control IP are merged.",
"In such an embodiment, the control IP performs the above discussed control operations as well as provides voice dialing functionality.",
"The control functionality of a control IP may also be merged with that of a voice mail system if desired.",
"In order to provide speech recognition capabilities in a cost effective manner, in one embodiment of the present invention, the speech recognition circuits which are used during different portions of a call are varied.",
"In this manner, the least powerful and thus least costly available speech recognition circuit capable of performing the necessary speech recognition operation at any given time is used.",
"In one particular embodiment, this involves switching, upon connection to a voice mail IP, from a speech recognition circuit capable of performing speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition, to one that can perform only speaker independent speech recognition, e.g., of numbers and a few keywords or phrases.",
"In another embodiment, the amount of processing time allocated for performing speech recognition for an individual subscriber is dynamically varied as a function of the stage of the call.",
"In one such embodiment, more processing time is allocated for speech recognition when voice dialing is being performed than when instructions, in the form of numbers, are being provided to a voice mail IP.",
"Such an embodiment is particularly well suited where a single processor is used on a time shared basis to provide speech recognition functionality to multiple connected subscribers at the same time.",
"In still yet another embodiment, a plurality of speech recognition circuits are employed with differing speech recognition capabilities and therefore different individual implementation costs.",
"In one such embodiment, the system includes a high end speech recognition circuit, e.g., a large vocabulary speaker independent speech recognition circuit, a medium cost speech recognition circuit, e.g., a combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit capable of identifying a vocabulary of, e.g., 50 words, and a low end, e.g., small vocabulary, speaker independent speech recognition circuit capable of identifying, e.g., 20 spoken numbers, phrases or words.",
"A single speech capture and segmentation circuit is used with the various speech recognition circuits avoiding the need to duplicate such circuitry for each speech recognition circuit.",
"In one such embodiment, a service code received from the C.O. switch is used to determine the most appropriate, in terms of cost efficiency, of the various available speech recognizers to use.",
"In another embodiment, the captured speech is monitored by a default speech recognition circuit, e.g., the combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit.",
"During a call, the one of the plurality of speech recognition circuits, performing the speech recognition task, monitors for keywords or phrases used as a trigger in selecting which one of the speech recognition units should be used at any given time.",
"For example, in one such embodiment detection of the phrase “corporate directory”",
"by the combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit will result in the large vocabulary speaker independent speech recognition circuit being substituted for the combined speech recognition circuit.",
"By dynamically switching between speech recognition circuits in response to such voice triggers, switching between speech recognition circuits can occur on-the-fly with multiple switches between speech recognition circuits occurring during a single phone call in a manner that is transparent to the caller.",
"Using such a speech recognition system according to the present invention to service a large number of telephone subscribers in parallel allows the number of relatively powerful and therefore costly high end speech recognition circuits to be minimized when servicing a given number of subscribers.",
"Such a desirable result is achieved while still providing callers a high quality speech recognition service since the recognition circuit's capabilities are matched to each particular caller's detected speech recognition needs at any given time.",
"By providing a speech recognition capability in accordance with the present invention, numerous callers can be provided speech recognition service in parallel at a lower cost than if all of the customers were serviced by high end speech recognizers at all times.",
"In addition to the above described features, many other features and embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a known telephone system including IPs for providing telephone users with voice mail service.",
"FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a telephone system implemented in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.",
"FIG. 3A is a block diagram of an intelligent peripheral implemented in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.",
"FIG. 3B is a database suitable for use as the database of the control IP illustrated in FIG. 3 A. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a speech recognizer array implemented in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.",
"FIGS. 5A-5C are flow charts illustrating a method of operating the control IP of FIG. 2 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.",
"FIG. 6 illustrates a telephone system implemented in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION As discussed above, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for increasing the utility and interoperability of peripheral devices, e.g., voice mail devices and speech recognition platforms, used in communications systems, e.g., telephone systems.",
"FIG. 2 illustrates a telephone system 200 implemented in accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention.",
"As illustrated the telephone system 200 includes a plurality of telephone networks 210 , 211 which are coupled together by a fiber optic connection 32 .",
"The first telephone network 210 is illustrated in detail in FIG. 2 .",
"The second telephone network 211 may be the same as the first telephone network 210 or, e.g., a known telephone network, e.g., the network 10 of FIG. 1 .",
"While two telephone networks are shown in the FIG. 2 embodiment, it is to be understood that the system may comprise any number of networks 210 , 211 and/or other additional communications networks which provide, e.g., Internet services.",
"As illustrated in FIG. 2, the telephone network 210 includes a plurality of telephones 212 , 214 , a C.O. switch 216 , a first voice mail IP 228 , a second voice mail IP 230 , a control IP 232 and a switching matrix 234 .",
"The telephones 212 , 214 are coupled to the central office switch 216 via a first interface 218 .",
"Each telephone 212 , 214 corresponds to a telephone subscriber who, in addition to subscribing to basic telephone service may also subscribe to one or more additional services such as voice mail and/or voice dialing services provided though the use of IPs 228 , 230 , 232 .",
"The switch's interface 218 is coupled by a local bus to a CPU 220 , memory 222 , digit receiver 226 and a second interface 224 .",
"The CPU 220 controls call routing and other switch operations in response to inputs received via the first and second interfaces 218 , 224 in accordance with program routines stored in the memory 222 .",
"The digit receiver 226 , when active, detects the receipt of DTMF tones and converts them to digits which are supplied to the CPU 220 for, e.g., call routing purposes.",
"The switch 216 is capable of implementing the known NFA protocol for communicating between one or more of the telephones 212 , 214 coupled thereto and one or more of the IPs 228 , 230 , 232 .",
"In one embodiment, the switch 216 is a Class V digital communications switch.",
"The switch 216 is coupled to each one of the first and second voice mail IPs 228 , 230 via its second interface 224 , and one or more T 1 links and SMDI lines.",
"A voice and/or data connection can be established between a subscriber operating one of the telephones 212 , 214 and either the first or second voice mail IPs 228 , 230 using one of the T 1 links.",
"The SMDI links between the voice mail IPs 228 , 230 and the C.O. switch 216 are used to notify the central office switch when a new message has been received and is waiting for a particular subscriber corresponding to one of the telephones 212 , 214 coupled to the central office switch.",
"The central office switch uses the SMDI information to activate a message waiting light on the particular subscriber's telephone 212 , 214 , when such message waiting functionality is supported by the telephone 212 , 214 .",
"In accordance with the present invention, the SMDI lines of the first and second voice mail IPs 228 , 230 are also coupled to SMDI inputs of the control IP 232 .",
"In this manner, the control IP 232 receives information regarding messages which are waiting for a voice mail subscriber at the voice mail IPs, 228 , 230 .",
"In addition to being coupled to the voice mail IPs 228 , 230 , the control IP 232 is coupled to the C.O. switch 216 by a recent change channel (RCC) and a plurality of T 1 links.",
"The T 1 links are routed through the switching matrix 234 .",
"The switching matrix 234 is controlled by a switching control signal (SCS) received from to the control IP 232 .",
"Though use of the SCS the control IP 232 can control the routing of incoming and outgoing lines to establish a connection to anyone of a plurality of line termination points including the first and second voice mail IPs 228 , 230 and telephones 212 , 214 .",
"Where communication protocol conversion is required, the switching matrix 234 may be replaced by a programmable switch such as those made by the Summa Four Corporation.",
"FIG. 3A illustrates a control IP 300 suitable for use as the control IP 232 of the system 200 .",
"As will be discussed in detail below, in accordance with the present invention, the control IP 300 may be used to support voice dialing services in addition to switch and call routing control functions.",
"As illustrated, the control IP 300 comprises a plurality of speech recognizer arrays, 302 , 304 , 306 , a control interface 308 , and an application processor 312 .",
"Each of the speech recognizer circuits 302 is coupled to at least one T 1 link for receiving and transmitting voice and data to and from the switch 216 .",
"Each of the speech recognizer arrays 302 , 304 , 306 is also coupled to an interface 318 of the application processor 312 .",
"The application processor 312 , includes the interface 318 , a CPU 314 , and a plurality of data storage devices including a memory 316 , a database 310 , and service logic 311 .",
"The memory 316 stores instructions in the form of a program as well as data about the speech recognizer arrays 302 , 304 , 306 and the speech recognition capabilities of various circuits included therein.",
"The service logic includes data and program code used to implement one or more services, e.g., a voice dialing service.",
"The program stored in the memory 316 , in conjunction with the information and program code stored in the service logic 311 , when executed by the CPU 314 , controls the operation of the control IP in accordance with the present invention.",
"The interface 318 is used to couple and interface the various components of the application processor, such as the database 310 , CPU 314 , memory 316 and service logic 311 to the speech recognizer arrays 302 , 304 , 306 and the control interface 308 .",
"The interface 318 converts the various signals received by the application processor 312 into a format that can be interpreted and processed by the CPU 314 as well as converts signals generated by the CPU 314 into a signal format that can be used to control and interact with the various circuits coupled to the application processor 312 .",
"The control interface 308 is responsible for receiving SMDI signal inputs from the voice mail IPs 228 , 230 which form part of the network 210 .",
"The information regarding waiting messages, e.g., subscriber's account number and message waiting indicator, received via the SMDI links, is conveyed to the application processor 312 .",
"The application processor 312 is responsive to the information received via the SMDI links which it uses in conjunction with information from the database 310 to determine the action which is to be taken by the control IP 300 .",
"Via the control interface 308 , the application processor can instruct, e.g., using the recent change channel (RCC), the C.O. switch 216 , to enable/disable the NFA protocol on a particular subscriber's line and/or perform other operations such as enable/disable the C.O. switch's digit receiver 226 with regard to an ongoing connection.",
"In addition, via the control interface 308 , which generates the switching matrix control signal (SCS), the application processor 312 can control the switching matrix 234 to establish connections via the C.O. switch with one or more IPs and/or destination telephones.",
"The database 310 , which is included in the application processor 312 , is used to store relevant subscriber information.",
"FIG. 3B illustrates an exemplary control IP database 310 .",
"As illustrated, the database 310 comprises a plurality of entries.",
"One set of entries, represented by a horizontal row, is associated with each subscriber being serviced by the control IP 232 .",
"Each set of entries includes information pertinent to servicing one subscription which, in most cases, will correspond to a single individual subscriber.",
"However, in the case of a multi-party mailbox, the single subscription may correspond to multiple individuals.",
"In the FIG. 3B embodiment, columns 1 - 9 represent different information entries which are maintained in the database 310 for each subscription.",
"Column 1 , corresponds to subscriber name information, column 2 corresponds to a subscriber ID number.",
"The subscriber ID number may be, e.g., a number used to identify the subscriber for voice mail purposes.",
"Column 3 corresponds to subscriber telephone number information.",
"The telephone number information may be used, e.g., to identify to the C.O. switch 216 , the line on which the NFA protocol is to be enabled/disabled.",
"In addition, in the case where the SMDI link provides message waiting information associated with a subscriber's telephone number, the control IP 232 can identify the particular subscriber for which a message is waiting by using the received telephone number and the telephone number information stored in the database 310 .",
"Column 4 of the database 310 corresponds to the subscriber's personal identification number (PIN) which the subscriber would normally use to access the messaging service or services to which the subscriber subscribes.",
"While, in columns 2 and 4 only one subscriber and PIN is shown for each subscriber, it is to be understood that a different subscriber ID and PIN may be stored for each one of a plurality of messaging services to which a customer subscribers.",
"Columns 5 , 6 , 7 , and 8 include status and service information used by the IP 232 in determining how to control call routing, e.g., which IPs a customer should be connected to, and what services are to be provided to a customer.",
"Column 5 , corresponds to NFA protocol status.",
"If the NFA protocol is enabled for a particular subscriber, the subscriber will automatically be coupled to the control IP 232 when the C.O. switch detects an off-hook condition on the subscriber's line.",
"If the NFA protocol is not enabled for a particular subscriber, that subscriber will not be automatically connected to the control IP when an off-hook condition is initiated.",
"Under such circumstances, the subscriber would have to dial the number of an IP to gain access to his or her voice mail service or other IP provided service.",
"Database column 6 corresponds to message waiting status.",
"If a message is waiting for a particular subscriber, e.g., as indicated by the receipt of an SMDI signal including the subscriber's telephone number, this column will include an IP identifier identifying the IP where a message is waiting.",
"In the event that messages are waiting on multiple IPs for a subscriber, the entry in column 6 associated with the subscriber will include an IP identifier for each IP with a waiting message.",
"Database column 7 indicates the type of message prompt to be played to the subscriber once a connection is established between the subscriber and the control IP.",
"In the case where no message is waiting, a message that there are no waiting messages is played to the subscriber in the event that the subscriber connects to the control IP, e.g. by dialing the IP.",
"Accordingly, in column 7 , “NONE”",
"is indicated with regard to the prompt that should be used for subscribers without waiting messages.",
"In the case where a voice message is waiting for an individual subscriber to an individual voice mail service, default message is played to the subscriber upon connection to the IP.",
"The default message may be something like “You have at least one new message.”",
"In at least one embodiment the default message provides a user with the actual number of new waiting messages.",
"In the case where the voice mail service being provided corresponds to a multi-party account, as in the case of the last account listed in database 310 , a prompt identifying the individual for whom the waiting message is intended may be played when such information is available.",
"For example, in one embodiment the prompt which is played states: “NEW MESSAGE FOR: NAME”",
"where NAME is the name of the individual to whom the waiting message is directed.",
"When individual name information is not available regarding the intended recipient of a waiting message the default message prompt may be used.",
"Column 8 indicates whether the customer subscribes to a Voice Dialing service supported by the control IP 232 .",
"As will be discussed below, this information is important with regard to call flow handling by the control IP 232 .",
"Normally, for voice dialing service subscribers, the NFA protocol feature will be enabled at the central office switch 216 even when messages are not waiting for the subscriber.",
"This allows the subscriber to obtain direct access to the voice dialing capability of the control IP without having to dial the IP.",
"As discussed above, in the case where a customer subscribes to a voice mail service but not a voice dialing service, the NFA protocol feature is disabled in accordance with the present invention at the C.O. switch when there are no messages waiting for the subscriber.",
"Column 9 includes voice template and voice recording information (TR) used for supporting voice dialing services for subscribers to the voice dialing service.",
"For each voice dialing service subscriber, at least one speaker dependent speech recognition template is stored for each name to be recognized using speaker dependent speech recognition techniques.",
"A recording of the name corresponding to a speech template, e.g., made when the template was created, is also stored in the database 310 so that it can be played back to the subscriber as a way of indicating to the caller which name was identified by the speech recognition circuit.",
"A telephone number, to be dialed, is also normally stored in the database 310 for each name for which there is a stored template.",
"With regard to customer John Smith, columns 5 - 9 of the first row of database 310 indicate, for example, that the NFA protocol is not enabled for his telephone line, that there are no messages waiting for him, that a prompt is to be played to John Smith indicating that there are no waiting messages in the event that he establishes a connection with the control IP, e.g., via a direct dial operation, that he does not subscribe to the control IP's voice dialing service, and that there are no stored templates or recordings for John Smith.",
"With regard to customer Mary Wells, columns 5 - 9 of the second row of database 310 indicate, for example, that the NFA protocol is enabled for her telephone line, that there is one or more messages waiting for her on the first voice mail IP 228 , that a default prompt is to be played to her indicating that there are one or more waiting messages in the event that she establishes a connection with the control IP, e.g., via initiating an off-hook condition on the telephone line identified by the telephone number listed in database 310 , that she does not subscribe to the control IP's voice dialing service, and that there are no stored templates or recordings for her.",
"FIG. 4 illustrates a speech recognizer array 400 suitable for use as any one of the speech recognizer arrays 302 , 304 , 306 .",
"The speech recognizer array 400 includes a T 1 interface for coupling the recognizer array to a T 1 link, first and second speaker independent speech recognition circuits 404 , 406 , a primary speech recognizer 407 and a DTMF tone generator/receiver 410 .",
"These circuits 402 , 404 , 406 , 407 , 410 are coupled together by a data bus 403 and a high bandwidth bus 401 capable of carrying voice communications.",
"The high bandwidth bus 401 is also coupled to the control IP's application processor 312 .",
"The data bus 403 couples a CPU 412 , memory 414 and an Ethernet adapter 416 to the data bus 403 thereby allowing them to interact with the various speech recognition circuits 404 , 406 , 408 , T 1 interface 402 and DTMF tone generator/receiver 410 .",
"The Ethernet adapter 416 is used to couple the data bus 403 to the application processor 312 .",
"The primary speech recognizer 407 includes a speech capture circuit 409 and a combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit 408 .",
"The speech capture circuit 409 is used to collect speech data and to arrange it into segments which are then supplied to one of the speech recognition circuits 404 , 406 or 408 for processing.",
"By coupling the various speech recognition circuits 404 , 406 , 408 and the speech capture circuit 409 to the same high speed bus 401 , the speech capture circuit 409 can transmit captured speech to any of the voice recognition circuits 404 , 406 , 408 thereby eliminating the need to provide a separate speech capture circuit 409 for each of the speech recognition circuits 404 , 406 , 408 .",
"Each of the speech recognition units 404 , 406 , 408 include a processor and memory which are used to perform speech recognition operations.",
"The large vocabulary speaker independent speech recognition circuit 404 may support, e.g., the recognition of, e.g., over 100 words or phrases using speaker independent speech recognition techniques.",
"The combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit may support, e.g., the recognition of 20-75 words or phrases.",
"In contrast, the small vocabulary speaker independent speech recognition circuit may support the recognition of 20 or fewer words, e.g., spoken numbers or keywords, which may be included in phrases.",
"Because of the relative complexity of the speech recognition tasks to be performed, the large vocabulary recognition circuit 406 will normally be implemented using a relatively powerful CPU and a large amount of memory.",
"The combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit 408 will normally be implemented using a less powerful CPU and less memory than the speech recognizer 406 while the small vocabulary speaker independent speech recognition circuit 404 will normally be implemented using the least amount of memory and the least powerful CPU out of the three speech recognition circuits 404 , 406 , 408 .",
"The recognition circuit 404 , uses the least powerful CPU and least memory because it needs to perform the least processing operations per unit time, out of the three recognizer circuits, for each caller being serviced to perform real time speech recognition.",
"In contrast, the large vocabulary recognition circuit 406 has to perform the most processing operations, out of the three circuits 404 , 406 , 408 , per caller per unit time, to perform real time speech recognition and therefore includes the most powerful CPU out of the speech recognition circuits 404 , 406 , 408 .",
"The large vocabulary speaker independent speech recognition circuit 406 is capable is capable of detecting a large number of names and phrases using speaker independent speech recognition techniques.",
"For this reason, it is particularly well suited for, e.g., providing corporate directory information where it is desirable to be able to identify hundreds or even thousands of names of individual people and words which are, e.g., part of the name of a corporate department title.",
"The large vocabulary speech recognition circuit 406 may be thought of as a high end, e.g., relatively expensive and powerful, speech recognition circuit.",
"The small vocabulary speaker independent speech recognition circuit 404 supports the recognition of relatively few words or phrases, e.g., less than 20.",
"In one embodiment the circuit 404 is used to recognize numbers spoken as part of a phrase such as “press number.”",
"In addition, in various embodiments, it is used to recognize words which may be interpreted as a trigger to switch to the use of another voice dialing circuit.",
"The combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit 408 may be characterized as a mid-level speech recognition circuit capable of recognizing, e.g., up to 100 words or phrases in one exemplary embodiment.",
"The circuit 408 is particularly well suited for voice dialing purposes and may be the same as or similar to the speech recognition circuit described at length in U.S. Pat. No. 5,719,921 which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference.",
"The combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit 408 is used, in one embodiment, to support voice dialing.",
"Voice dialing generally involves performing speaker independent speech recognition used to identify commands, e.g., dial, forward, cancel call forward, and speaker dependent speech recognition to identify names, e.g., the names of the people to be called.",
"See, U.S. Pat. No. 5,719,921 for a discussion of the use of speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition to support voice dialing services.",
"In order to support speaker dependent voice dialing services speaker dependent speech recognition templates, e.g., of names are stored in the database 310 for each voice dialing service subscriber.",
"This information is retrieved, stored in the memory of the speech recognition circuit 408 , and used to support voice dialing, when a connection is established between the control IP 232 and a voice dialing service subscriber.",
"In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the speech recognition circuit 404 , 406 , 408 which is used to support speech recognition is dynamically changed according to the speech recognition task to be performed during the particular stage of a call.",
"In this manner, hardware is used in a more cost effective manner than would be possible if an unnecessarily powerful, and therefore, relatively expensive, speech recognition circuit were used for all stages of call processing.",
"As will be discussed further below, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit 408 is used during portions of a call where voice dialing is to be provided.",
"However, during portions of a call where the detection of, e.g., spoken digits alone or as part of a phrase, is the primary concern, the small vocabulary speaker independent speech recognition circuit 404 is used.",
"In cases where large vocabulary speaker independent speech recognition operations are required, e.g., providing corporate directory information, circuit 406 is used.",
"In accordance with the present invention, the dynamic switching between speech recognition units 404 , 406 , 408 , as a call progresses and/or the service being provided the subscriber changes during a call, is performed under control of the application processor 312 and/or CPU 412 .",
"In one particular embodiment, when a call connection is initially established with the control IP 232 a service code, e.g., a number indicating voice dialing, corporate directory, or a voice mail service request, is provided by the switch 216 to the control IP.",
"Subsequently, a new service code may be supplied to the control IP during the same call connection, e.g., in response to the switch detecting the pressing of the * key followed by a number indicating a requested service such as voice mail service.",
"In one such embodiment, CPU 412 of the speech recognizer array detects the service code associated with a particular call connection and assigns one of the speech recognizer circuits 408 , 406 , 404 to service the call as a function of the service code.",
"In the event that another service code is received during the same call connection, the CPU will re-assess the speech recognition circuit assignment in response to receipt of the new service code.",
"Thus, as a result of receipt of a new service code, the speech recognizer assigned to service a call may be dynamically changed during the call.",
"For example, if a voice dialing service code is initially received, the combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit 408 would be assigned to service the call.",
"If during the call a voice message service code were received, the CPU 412 would de-assign the combined speech recognizer and assign the small vocabulary speaker independent speech recognition to servicing the call.",
"In another embodiment, the call connection established with the control IP 232 is monitored throughout the period in which the call connection is maintained for spoken words or phrases, referred to herein as “trigger phrases”",
"which may be used to determine the service to be performed and thus which speech recognizer is best suited for servicing a particular portion of a call.",
"For example, detection of the phrase “corporate directory”",
"would be interpreted as indicative of a corporate directory information request and, in response to detection of such a phrase, the large vocabulary recognition circuit 406 would be assigned to service the call.",
"Detection of the word “DIAL”",
"or a spoken name included in the caller's voice dialing database could be interpreted as indicating a voice dialing service request.",
"In such an instance the combined speech recognition circuit 408 would be assigned to service the call.",
"Similarly, the phrase “voice mail”",
"would trigger use of the small vocabulary speech recognition circuit 404 to service the call.",
"Each of the speech recognition circuits 404 , 406 , 408 can use speaker independent speech recognition techniques to detect such keywords or trigger phrases.",
"Accordingly, such keywords or trigger phrases can be detected at any point during a call causing the CPU 412 to reassess and possibly re-assign the call to a different one of the speech recognition circuits 404 , 406 , 408 .",
"In this manner the CPU 412 matches the requested service to the most cost effective one of the speech recognition circuits available.",
"Operation of the telephone system 200 of the present invention, and use of the control IP 232 will now be discussed in detail with reference to FIGS. 5A-5C which are a flow diagram illustrating the operations performed by the control IP in servicing a subscriber.",
"Operation of the control IP begins in step 502 , the START step.",
"In this step the control IP's application processor 312 is initialized, the IP control program stored in the memory 316 is loaded and executed by the CPU 314 .",
"Once various initialization procedures have been completed control IP operation proceeds to step 504 .",
"In step 504 , the application processor 312 , via the speech recognizer arrays 303 , 304 , 306 and control interface 308 , monitors for inputs to the control IP, (e.g.) from either the SMDI lines or T 1 links coupled to the control IP 232 .",
"In step 506 , a determination is made by the application processor as to whether or not an input has been detected.",
"If no input has been detected operation proceeds once again to the monitoring step 504 .",
"If, however, in step 506 , a message waiting indicator signal is detected, e.g., on one of the SMDI lines, operation progresses to step 508 .",
"In step 508 the subscriber for which the message is intended is identified.",
"This is accomplished by, e.g., using either a telephone number or subscriber ID received from the SMDI line in conjunction with a message waiting signal, with the corresponding subscriber information stored in the database 310 .",
"Once the subscriber for which the message is intended is identified, and the corresponding data base entries for the subscriber retrieved from the database 310 , operation proceeds to step 510 .",
"In step 510 , a determination is made, e.g., from the data included in column 5 of the database 310 , as to whether or not the NFA protocol is active at the C.O. switch for the identified subscriber for which the message is intended.",
"Active NFA protocol status at the switch for the identified subscriber will result in the identified subscriber being coupled automatically to the control IP 232 in response to the detection of an off-hook condition on the identified subscriber's line.",
"Normally, if there is already one or more waiting messages for the identified subscriber, not including the current message being reported by the detected signal on the SMDI line, the NFA protocol will be active for the identified subscriber as the result of the earlier unretrieved waiting messages.",
"Similarly, if the subscriber subscribes to the voice dialing service supported by the control IP 232 , the NFA protocol will be enabled for the subscriber.",
"If, in step 510 it is determined that the NFA protocol is already active for the identified subscriber, operation proceeds directly to step 514 .",
"However, if in step 510 it is determined that the NFA protocol is not active for the subscriber at the C.O. switch operator proceeds to step 512 wherein a control signal is sent by the control IP to the C.O. switch, via the recent change channel (RCC).",
"The control signal instructs the C.O. switch to connect the identified subscriber to the control I.P., in response to an off-hook condition on the identified subscriber's telephone line, e.g., by using the NFA protocol.",
"From step 512 , operation progresses to step 514 .",
"Step 514 involves updating of the database 310 to reflect changes in the status information associated with the identified subscriber.",
"This involves, e.g., changing the NFA status information if it was activated in step 512 , and updating the message waiting and message prompt information to reflect the waiting message.",
"For example, the message waiting status information in col.",
"6 may be updated to reflect that there is an additional waiting message for the identified subscriber and the VMIP where the message is waiting.",
"In addition, the message prompt information, included in database column 7 , will be modified, if necessary, so that the identified subscriber will be informed of the waiting message upon connecting to the control IP.",
"Once the subscriber database is updated in step 514 , operation returns to the monitoring step 504 wherein the control IP monitors for additional inputs.",
"From step 504 , operation proceeds to step 506 .",
"If, in step 506 , a subscriber connection signal is detected as a result of the monitoring for received signals which occurred in step 504 , operation proceeds to step 520 via flow chart connectors 516 , 518 .",
"The subscriber connection signal will normally include information sufficient to identify the subscriber for database access purposes, e.g., the subscriber's telephone number or account number information.",
"For purposes of this exemplary discussion, the exemplary individual subscriber who established the connection to the IP will be referred to as “the connected subscriber.”",
"In step 520 , the database 310 is accessed and the information included therein, pertinent to the connected subscriber, is retrieved.",
"The retrieved information may include, e.g., in the case where the caller is a voice dialing service subscriber, speaker dependent voice dialing templates and recordings in addition to the other information illustrated in FIG. 3 B. Once the subscriber data is retrieved from the database 310 , operation proceeds to step 522 wherein a determination is made, using the retrieved information, as to whether the connected subscriber is a voice dialing subscriber.",
"If the answer to this inquiry is yes, operation proceeds to step 524 wherein the voice dialing service is provided to the caller.",
"This step involves, e.g., loading retrieved speaker dependent speech recognition templates and recordings into the speech recognition circuit 408 .",
"It also involves controlling the recognition circuit 408 so that it monitors the line which connects the subscriber to the control IP and performs speech recognition operations on speech transmitted thereon.",
"Once the voice dialing service is activated, if the speech recognition circuit 408 receives an instruction to dial a telephone number over the line connecting the subscriber to the control IP 232 , a voice dialing operation will be performed by the IP in a manner that is the same as or similar to the manner in which known voice dialing service is provided.",
"From step 524 operation proceeds to step 526 .",
"Operation will proceed directly from step 522 to step 526 if in step 522 it is determined that the connected subscriber is not a voice dialing subscriber.",
"In step 526 , a determination is made from the retrieved database information, e.g., by the application processor 312 , as to whether there are any new messages waiting for the connected subscriber.",
"If there are no new messages, operation proceeds to step 527 .",
"In step 527 , the caller is notified, e.g., via an audio prompt that there are no new messages.",
"The connection between the IP and the subscriber is then allowed to terminate, in step 528 , in accordance with voice dialing procedures in the event a voice dialing call is placed or if the subscriber hangs up.",
"In one embodiment, in the case where the connected subscriber is a voice dialing customer, a preselected amount of time may be allowed to pass in step 527 before the no new messages prompt is played.",
"If the subscriber initiates a voice dialing call during this period, the call will be allowed to terminate as a conventional voice dialing call without the prompt being played to the subscriber.",
"If, in step 526 it is determined that there are new messages for the subscriber, operation proceeds to step 530 .",
"In step 530 , the subscriber is notified of the presence of a waiting message, e.g., by playing the prompt indicated in the database 310 for the connected subscriber.",
"From step 530 operation proceeds to step 531 wherein an inquiry is made as to whether or not the subscriber wants to retrieve the messages.",
"The inquiry may involve playing of a message asking if the subscriber wants to retrieve the messages followed by monitoring of the call connection to detect a spoken YES or NO response.",
"If, in step 531 , a NO response is detected operation proceeds to step 528 wherein the call connection is allowed to terminate according to normal voice dialing procedure or NFA protocol operation.",
"If, in step 531 , a YES response is detected indicating that the subscriber wants to retrieve the waiting messages operation proceeds to step 532 .",
"In step 532 the control IP establishes a connection between the subscriber and a voice mail IP where one or more messages are waiting for the subscriber.",
"The voice mail IP 228 , 230 to which the subscriber is connected is determined by the information in the database 310 which indicates which IP contains the subscriber's waiting message or messages.",
"As part of the process of establishing the connection between the connected subscriber and voice mail IP, the control IP seizes a line of one of the T 1 links coupled to the control IP.",
"In addition, it controls the switching matrix 234 to route the subscribers call, via the C.O. switch 216 , to the desired voice mail IP 228 , 230 .",
"In this manner, the control IP 232 establishes a connection between the subscriber and the voice mail IP 228 or 230 while remaining connected to the line.",
"As part of the process of establishing the connection between the subscriber and voice mail IP 228 or 230 , the control IP supplies both the connected subscriber's account number and PIN number information to the voice mail IP thereby eliminating the need for the connected subscriber to enter this information.",
"Once a connection is established with one of the voice mail IPs 228 , 230 , the control IP 232 signals, in step 534 , the C.O. switch 216 to take its digit receiver off-line.",
"In step 536 voice dialing support is de-activated if it was enabled.",
"Accordingly, by the end of step 536 , the relatively expensive combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit 408 used for voice dialing is released from servicing the connected subscriber.",
"In addition, because the DTMF receiver of the central office switch is disable with regard to the connected subscriber, the connected subscriber is free to interact with the voice messaging IP through the use of DTMF or voice instructions without accidentally initiating a telephone call.",
"From step 536 control IP operation proceeds to steps 542 and 548 via connectors 538 , 540 .",
"The path comprising steps 542 , 544 , 546 represents speech recognition and DTMF generation functionality supported by the control IP 232 which is provided to facilitate subscriber interaction with a voice mail or other connected service IP.",
"This functionality is provided through the use of one of the speaker independent speech recognition circuits 404 , 406 and the DTMF tone generator/receiver 410 .",
"While speaker independent recognition is used in the illustrated embodiment speaker dependent recognition may be used alone or in combination with speaker independent speech recognition Step 542 involves monitoring the line connected to the subscriber for speech such as the instruction “press one”",
"or “one”",
"which is to be recognized and converted into DTMF tones.",
"Upon one of the speech recognition circuits 404 or 406 detecting a spoken digit, e.g., as part of a phrase such as “press one”, a signal is sent to the DTMF tone generator circuit 410 instructing it to generate a DTMF tone corresponding to the detected digit.",
"In step 544 , one or more DTMF tones are generated in response to the speech recognized in step 542 .",
"The generated DTMF tones 546 are transmitted by the control IP 232 to the voice mail IP 228 or 230 to which the subscriber is connected.",
"However, to avoid annoying the subscriber with the DTMF tones, in one embodiment, the line to the subscriber is muted while the tones are transmitted to the voice mail IP.",
"Thus, the voice mail IP receives the DTMF signals generated from the subscribers speech and can respond thereto without the subscriber having to enter the signals by pressing keys and without the subscriber having to listen to the tones.",
"After transmission of the generated tone operation proceeds to step 542 where the connection is monitored for additional speech.",
"The process of monitoring the connection to a voice mail IP will continue for the duration of the connection to the voice mail IP.",
"Accordingly, while connected to the voice mail IP 228 or 230 , the subscriber will have the opportunity to input responses or commands to the voice mail IP using speech as opposed to having to press keys of a telephone.",
"The path beginning with step 548 may occur in parallel with the path beginning with step 542 .",
"In step 548 the connection between the subscriber and the voice mail IP 228 , 230 is monitored for a voice mail IP connection termination control signal e.g. from the voice mail IP or subscriber.",
"Operation progresses to step 550 when a termination signal is detected.",
"In step 550 the connection between the subscriber and the voice mail IP 228 , 230 is terminated.",
"From step 550 operation proceeds to step 552 wherein the database 310 is updated to reflect the review of messages by the subscriber which were stored on the voice mail IP to which the subscriber was connected.",
"After termination of the connection with the voice mail IP 228 or 230 , a determination is made in step 554 as to whether or not there are new messages waiting for the subscriber on another voice mail IP.",
"This is done by, e.g., checking the updated database entry for the connected subscriber indicating the message waiting status.",
"For example, if the connected subscriber were Bob Barker, after connecting to the second voice mail IP 230 , there would still be voice mail messages on first voice mail IP 228 .",
"However, if the connected subscriber were Mary Wells, there would be no additional messages waiting for the subscriber.",
"If in step 554 , it is determined that there are additional new messages waiting for the subscriber, e.g., on a different voice IP, operation proceeds to step 524 thereby causing the subscriber to automatically be connected to the IP with the messages.",
"However, in step 554 if it is determined that there are no more messages waiting for the connected subscriber, operation proceeds to step 558 wherein a determination is made as to whether or not the connected subscriber is a voice dialing subscriber.",
"If the connected subscriber is a voice dialing subscriber, operation proceeds to step 560 wherein the voice dialing function of the control IP 232 is enabled by, e.g., re-connecting the combined speaker independent and speaker dependent speech recognition circuit 408 to the connected subscriber's line.",
"In addition, the C.O. switch's digit receiver 226 is also enabled in step 560 .",
"Accordingly, the connected subscriber can complete a call to a spoken or dialed telephone number without the need to hang-up after receiving his or her messages.",
"Under such circumstances, termination of the connection with the caller will occur in accordance with normal voice dialing procedures which may include the connected subscriber hanging up the telephone.",
"While not explicitly stated in the flow diagram of FIGS. 5A-5B it is to be understood that a connected subscriber can terminate the call at any time by hanging up.",
"Hanging up causes the control IP 232 to terminate the subscriber's connection with any voice mail IP's which may exist at the time of call termination.",
"In addition, the control IP 232 updates the database 232 to reflect the retrieval of messages prior to call termination if, in fact, any messages where retrieved.",
"FIG. 6 illustrates a telephone system 600 implemented in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.",
"The system 600 comprises a plurality of telephone networks 610 , 211 coupled together by a fiber optic line 32 .",
"The telephone network 610 comprises many of the same elements as the network 210 .",
"Elements of the FIG. 2 and FIG. 6 embodiments which are the same, or similar, bear the same reference numbers and will not be described again.",
"The FIG. 2 and FIG., 6 embodiments differ principally in the way in which the telephone network's peripheral devices, including first and second voice mail IPs 628 , 630 and a control IP 632 are connected together.",
"Note that SMDI lines are not used in the FIG. 6 embodiment as they are in the FIG. 2 embodiment.",
"Instead, digital lines 631 , 633 are used to connect the first and second voice mail IPs 631 , 633 to the control IP 632 .",
"By using digital lines in this manner, information not available over an ordinary SMDI line can be supplied to the control IP 632 .",
"For example, a brief message introduction may be sent by the voice mail IP to the control IP 632 .",
"The introduction may include a 15 or 30 second sound message provided by a person leaving the message to identify him or herself.",
"Alternatively, in the case of a multi-person account, the information provided by the digital line 631 or 632 may be a recording identifying the name of the recipient for which the message is intended.",
"In addition to receiving information about waiting messages from the first and second voice mail IP's, in one embodiment, the control IP 632 uses the lines 631 , 633 when establishing a connection between a connected caller and subscriber.",
"The lines 631 , 633 may be implemented using a plurality of digital data and/or control lines.",
"In one particular embodiment the lines 631 , 632 are implemented as lines which implement the known signaling system 7 (SS7) protocol frequently used to implement telecommunications and data networks.",
"While the use of a control IP to facilitate the interaction of multiple IPs which provide services to the same subscriber has been described in the context of a voice mail embodiment, it is to be understood, that the features of the present invention are applicable to facilitating subscriber/IP access and IP interaction regardless of the type or types of services being provided by the IPs.",
"While the substitution of speech recognizer circuits has been discussed above as a cost effective method of providing speech recognition services to a plurality of telephone users, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, multiple speech recognizers are used to process the same speech.",
"In one such embodiment, a low or mid level speech recognizer circuit such as the recognizer circuit 404 or 408 is used to service all or most of a call.",
"For portions of a call where more complicated, e.g., large vocabulary, speech recognition is required, an additional speech recognizer such as the speech recognition circuit 406 is also assigned to service the call in conjunction with the other speech recognizer.",
"By switching in a high end speech recognition unit for the small portion of a call where, e.g., large vocabulary speech recognition is required, speech recognition service is provided without having to use the large vocabulary speech recognizer for the entire duration of the call.",
"In addition, speech recognition functionality included in the low or mid level speech recognizer circuit need not be duplicated in the higher end speech recognition circuit which is switched in to supplement the speech recognition capability being provided.",
"Additional embodiments and features of the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the above discussion and exemplary embodiments set forth in the present application."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application claims the benefit of 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/364,474, filed Jul. 15, 2010, and titled “LINEAR FLOW PERISTALTIC PUMP,” which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND
A peristaltic pump (roller pump) is a type of positive displacement pump used for pumping fluids contained within a flexible tube. A peristaltic pump can use a turning cam to place part of a tube under compression, closing or occluding a section of the tube, and forcing the fluid to be pumped to move through the tube. The tube reopens to its natural state after the passing of the cam. This pumping process may be referred to as peristalsis. Peristaltic pumps may be used in laboratory instrumentation, including sample preparation devices, analytic devices, and so forth. For example, peristaltic pumps may be used to move fluids in a clean or sterile environment without the disturbances resulting from shear forces. Further, it is often desirable to use peristaltic pumps to pump clean, sterile, or aggressive fluids because cross contamination with exposed pump components does not occur.
SUMMARY
A peristaltic pump is disclosed. In one or more implementations, the peristaltic pump includes a rotating member operably coupled to a drive. The drive may be disposed at least partially within a pump housing. The rotating member includes a plurality of rollers coupled to the rotating member in a circular configuration, where the plurality of rollers is configured to orbit about the axis of the rotating member. A guide member coupled to the pump housing defines a channel configured to direct a peristaltic tube around the rotating member so that the peristaltic tube interfaces with the plurality of rollers. The peristaltic tube is pressed against the plurality of rollers by a retaining shoe. The retaining shoe contains surface irregularities configured to restrict movement of the peristaltic tube. The peristaltic pump also includes a keeper for bracing the retaining shoe against the peristaltic tube. The rotating rollers compressing the peristaltic tube against the retaining shoe as the rotating member rotates results in a peristaltic action that produces a nearly pulse free linear flow.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
DRAWINGS
The Detailed Description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. The use of the same reference numbers in different instances in the description and the figures may indicate similar or identical items.
FIG. 1 is an isometric view illustrating a peristaltic pump, shown in an opened position ready to receive a peristaltic tube in accordance with an example implementation of the present disclosure.
FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the peristaltic pump illustrated in FIG. 1 , where the peristaltic pump is shown with peristaltic tubes in a pumping position.
FIG. 3 is a partial isometric view of the peristaltic pump illustrated in FIG. 1 , further illustrating retaining shoes in an opened position.
FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional top plan view of the peristaltic pump illustrated in FIG. 1 , where the peristaltic pump is shown in a pumping position.
FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional side elevation view of the linear flow peristaltic pump illustrated in FIG. 1 , where the peristaltic pump is shown in a pumping position.
FIG. 6 is an isometric view illustrating another peristaltic pump in accordance with an example implementation of the present disclosure.
FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating the effect of drive speed on flow rate for a peristaltic pump implemented in accordance with an example implementation of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Overview
Linear flow is highly desirable in a variety of circumstances. Pulse free or nearly pulse free pumping is also highly desirable. For example, it may be desirable to pump slurries (e.g., suspensions of one or more solids in a liquid), viscous, shear-sensitive, and/or aggressive fluids without subjecting such materials to excessive turbulent mixing, pulsations, and/or shear forces. Accordingly, the present disclosure is directed to a peristaltic pump that can provide both linear flow and nearly pulse free operation. One or more peristaltic tubes are guided through a guide member, around a rotating member with rollers, and back through the guide member. Retaining shoes, braced by a keeper, compress the peristaltic tubes against the rollers. The retaining shoes may include surface irregularities to restrict movement of a peristaltic tube. The rotating member rotates, rolling the rollers along the peristaltic tube. The compression of the peristaltic tube by the rollers results in a peristaltic action that pumps the fluid through the peristaltic tube. The shoe may be configured to compress the peristaltic tube in such a way that only one roller pinches the peristaltic tube at a time. Further, multiple rollers may pinch the peristaltic tube at a time. Implementations of the present disclosure may provide nearly pulse free pumping even at low flow rates. Further, flow rate may be linearly related to the speed of the rotating member, resulting in linear flow.
In the following discussion, example implementations of peristaltic pumps are first described.
Example Implementations
FIGS. 1 through 6 illustrate peristaltic pumps in accordance with example implementations of the present disclosure. As shown, a peristaltic pump may be implemented as a linear flow peristaltic pump 100 . The linear flow peristaltic pump 100 may include a guide member 102 for guiding a peristaltic tube 200 around a rotating member 104 . The rotating member 104 may be coupled with a number of rollers 106 for contacting the peristaltic tube 200 , where the rollers are arranged in a circular configuration generally centered on the axis of rotation of the rotating member 104 . Linear flow peristaltic pump 100 may further include a retaining shoe 108 for bracing (pressing) the peristaltic tube 200 against the rollers 106 , and a keeper 110 for locking (bracing) the retaining shoe 108 against the peristaltic tube 200 . The rollers 106 compressing the peristaltic tube 200 against the retaining shoe 108 provide for a peristaltic pumping action when the rotating member 104 is rotated, causing the rollers 106 to revolve/orbit about the axis of rotation of the rotating member 104 . The linear flow peristaltic pump 100 may further include a pump housing 114 for supporting the guide member 102 , rotating member 104 , retaining shoe 108 , and/or the keeper 110 . In implementations, the keeper 110 may be adjustable (e.g., movable with respect to the pump housing 114 ). In other implementations, the keeper 110 may be stationary (e.g., fixed with respect to the pump housing 114 ). In implementations, the keeper 110 can be integrally formed with the pump housing 114 .
Guide member 102 may define a single channel or multiple channels 103 . Channels 103 may be configured to guide a tube (e.g., peristaltic tube 200 ) around the rotating member 104 . Guide member 102 may include two guides 105 for a single channel 103 or multiple guides 105 for multiple channels 103 . In implementations, guide member 102 can define four channels 103 with two guides 105 for each channel. Further, the guides 105 for each channel 103 can be located on opposing sides of the guide member 102 . Thus, it should be noted that channels 103 are not necessarily continuous around the rotating member 104 . Peristaltic tube 200 is placed in a semi-elliptical shape as it is guided through the guide member 102 on one side, around the rotating member 104 and guided back through the guide member 102 on the opposite side. Multiple guide members 102 may also be used. Guide member 102 may comprise a concave shape configured to allow the guide member 102 to extend on either side of the rotating member 104 partially around the rotating member 104 (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 4 ). Guide member 102 may be formed from a variety of materials including metal, plastic, wood, nylon, ceramic, and so forth. However these materials are provided by way of example only, and are not meant to be restrictive of the present disclosure. In embodiments, guide member 102 may be an integral part of pump housing 114 or may be coupled to pump housing 114 .
Rotating member 104 may be substantially cylindrical in nature, having a substantially circular base plate 502 coupled to a substantially circular top plate 504 . The base plate 502 and top plate 504 may have the same diameter or different diameters. Base plate 502 and top plate 504 may be configured for supporting rollers 106 in a circular configuration generally centered on the axis of rotation of the rotating member 104 . The rollers 106 may be oriented longitudinally perpendicular to the base plate 502 and top plate 504 , wherein the length of the rollers 106 may determine the distance between the base plate 502 and top plate 504 . Rotating member 104 may be coupled to the pump housing 114 using a bearing, or another rotational support structure. The bearing may provide an axis of rotation for the rotating member 104 . Rotating member 104 may further include a receiving end for receiving rotational power from a drive (power source), such as a motor 500 , a drive shaft, gearing, and so forth. Rotating member 104 may be operably coupled to the drive. In some implementations (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 5 ), rotating member 104 is directly connected to motor 500 . In other implementations, rotating member 104 can be coupled to motor 500 via gears or other mechanisms for transferring power from the motor 500 to the rotating member 104 . For example, gears may be used to change rotational speed and/or torque characteristics of the power delivered from the motor 500 . In implementations, motor 500 can be at least partially contained within the pump housing 114 .
In operation, the rollers 106 may compress the peristaltic tube 200 as the rotating member 104 rotates, providing a peristaltic action. Each roller 106 may have a substantially cylindrical shape with a longitudinal axis extending between the base plate 502 and top plate 504 of the rotating member 104 . The longitudinal axis of each roller 106 may be substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the rotating member 104 . Rollers 106 may be in a circular configuration around the rotating member 104 . Thus, as the rotating member 104 is rotated, the rollers 106 orbit about the axis of rotation of the rotating member 104 .
It should be noted that the diameter of a roller 106 with respect to the peristaltic tubing 200 may alter pumping performance. For example, a roller 106 having a smaller diameter may compress a smaller area of peristaltic tube 200 as compared with a roller 106 having a larger diameter. In some implementations, a reduced area of compression may lead to reduced stretching of peristaltic tube 200 , leading to improved tube performance and/or a longer usable life for a tube. Further, it should be noted that smaller diameter rollers 106 may allow for an increased number of rollers 106 on rotating member 104 as compared with rollers 106 having a larger diameter. Smaller diameter rollers 106 may alter the increments of fluid pumped. For example, different combinations of roller diameters and numbers of rollers may allow for varying pulsation of fluid pumping. In one specific implementation, twelve (12) rollers 106 may be included with the linear flow peristaltic pump 100 . However, in other implementations, more than twelve rollers or fewer than twelve rollers can be included with the linear flow peristaltic pump 100 .
Retaining shoe 108 may press the peristaltic tube 200 against the rollers 106 . Shoe 108 may include a curvature correlating with the circular configuration of the rollers 106 . Further, shoe 108 may include a lower planar surface 301 and a corresponding upper planar surface 303 , an inner concave surface 305 correlating with the circular configuration of the rollers 106 , and an outer surface 307 , which may be convex, planar, concave, or of some other geometry. Shoe 108 may be plastic, metal, wood, nylon and so forth. However these materials are provided by way of example only, and are not meant to be restrictive of the present disclosure.
Shoe 108 may rotate about an axis of rotation 308 . Rotation about axis 308 may allow the shoe 108 to compress the peristaltic tube 200 when shoe 108 is in a closed position, and release compression when shoe 108 is in an open position. Peristaltic tube 200 may be accessible when shoe 108 is in an open position. In implementations, axis 308 may be on a single end of the shoe 108 resulting in a pivoting end near the axis 308 and a swinging end opposite the pivoting end.
Referring now to FIG. 3 , the lower planar surface 301 may extend beyond the inner concave surface 305 resulting in a lower ridge 302 . The upper planar surface 303 may also extend beyond the inner concave surface 305 resulting in an upper ridge 304 . Lower ridge 302 and/or upper ridge 304 may restrict or prevent the peristaltic tube 200 from moving beyond lower ridge 302 and/or upper ridge 304 . FIG. 3 depicts an implementation with four shoes 108 coupled together. Generally, one shoe 108 can be used per channel 103 ; thus, in a four channel implementation, four shoes 108 A through 108 D can be used, with one shoe 108 per channel 103 . In an implementation with more than one shoe 108 (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 3 ), a rod 306 inserted in the swinging end of a number of shoes 108 may be used to keep the shoes 108 together. Rod 306 may be formed of carbon fiber or another material for keeping the shoes 108 together. Each shoe 108 may contain a through hole or a partial hole in the swinging end of the shoe 108 , for the purpose of receiving rod 306 . In FIG. 3 , shoes 108 A and 108 D include partial holes and shoes 108 B and 108 C include through holes. The diameter of a through hole or a partial hole may be larger than the diameter of the rod 306 , allowing for individual adjustment of each shoe 108 , one relative to another. Further, rod 306 may be generally linear, or may include a shape that varies for biasing one or more of the shoes 108 relative to the other shoes, such as the rod 306 seen in FIG. 3 , which biases shoe 108 C relative to shoes 108 A, 108 B and 108 D. For example, rod 306 may include various segments that are not coaxial with respect to a long dimension of the rod. In FIG. 3 , for instance, a longitudinal axis of a segment of rod 306 that extends through shoe 108 C is not coaxial with longitudinal axes of rod segments that extend through shoes 108 A, 108 B, and 108 D.
Referring again to FIG. 3 , the inner concave surface 305 may contain surface irregularities, such as striations 300 . Surface irregularities can include one or more ridges, grooves, marks, and/or disturbances on the inner concave surface 305 that can be raised and/or recessed. In implementations, surface irregularities may occur naturally in a material (e.g. as part of a materials naturally occurring structure) or can be the result of manufacture or process (e.g. machined, molded, and so forth). For example, striations 300 may restrict movement of the peristaltic tube 200 (e.g., restricting lengthwise stretching of the peristaltic tube 200 , restricting movement of the peristaltic tube 200 in a longitudinal direction along the lengthwise curvature of the peristaltic tube 200 , and/or restricting movement of the peristaltic tube 200 in a lateral direction perpendicular to the lengthwise curvature of the peristaltic tube 200 ). Further, striations 300 may allow for incremental peristaltic tube 200 segments to be stretched one at a time allowing for low pulse pumping and/or extended tube life.
Keeper 110 may brace the retaining shoe 108 against the peristaltic tube 200 . Keeper 110 may rotate about an axis 402 . Referring to FIG. 4 , shoe 108 may include a receiver 400 to receive the keeper 110 . The keeper 110 may function to lock the retaining shoe 108 in place. For example, keeper 110 may rotate about axis 402 and interface with receiver 400 to lock shoe 108 in place. Receiver 400 may be a slot, groove, or another feature for receiving the keeper 110 . Keeper 110 may include an adjustment mechanism 112 for adjusting the compression between the shoe 108 and the rollers 106 . In implementations, the adjustment mechanism 112 may be a set screw. It should be noted that adjustment of the shoe 108 by adjustment mechanism 112 may have a limited effect on flow rate through a peristaltic tube 200 , which may be desirable, such as during extended use of the pump 100 during which different users may operate the pump 100 and use the keeper 110 .
Peristaltic tubing 200 may be compressed between the rollers 106 and the shoe 108 to allow fluid to be pumped by a peristaltic action as the rotating member 104 rotates. Referring now to FIG. 5 , the compression of the peristaltic tube 200 between the shoes 108 and rollers 106 is shown. Generally, the compression of rollers against a peristaltic tube may function to wear out the peristaltic tube, resulting in limited tube life and memory effects in the peristaltic tube. In implementations of the present disclosure, roller 106 wear on peristaltic tube 200 may be reduced, resulting in improved tube lifetime and reduced memory effects of tube compression.
Referring specifically to FIG. 6 , another specific implementation is shown. A configuration of two linear flow peristaltic pumps 100 is shown. Pumps 100 may be distinct and separate, or may be integrated together in a variety of configurations. Integration may include utilizing a single pump housing 114 as in FIG. 6 . Because flow rate is linear, a configuration of more than one linear flow peristaltic pump 100 may be used to mix multiple flow rates. Because the flow rates are linear, desired concentrations or dilutions may be achieved accurately and continuously without a residence chamber. For example, one rotating member 104 of a first peristaltic pump may have a different diameter and/or may be operated at a different speed than another rotating member 104 of another peristaltic pump. Thus, the two pumps may pump at different flow rates. When outputs of the peristaltic pumps are combined, the varying flow rates may provide a resulting mixture that contains a higher concentration of fluid from one pump than from another. By varying the flow rate, this concentration can be changed accordingly. However, two pumps are mentioned by way of example only, and are not meant to be restrictive of the present disclosure. Thus, the outputs of more than two pumps can be combined, such as combining the output of three or more pumps to control mixtures of three or more fluids.
Referring to FIG. 7 , the effect of drive speed on flow rate is shown for several example implementations. In FIG. 7 , flow rate is plotted with respect to drive motor speed through three different peristaltic tubes implemented with peristaltic pumps in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 7 , the relationship between flow rate and drive motor speed is at least substantially linear for the three tubes. This can be seen, for example, by R 2 measurements corresponding to linear regression analysis of the drive speed vs. flow rate data included in the legend of the graph in FIG. 7 . It is noted that the linear relationship may hold for very low flow rates (e.g., as represented by data at or between zero (0) and one thousand (1,000) steps per minute (steps/min) on the graph in FIG. 7 ).
With reference to other example implementations of the present disclosure, a table containing flow rate calibration for peristaltic pump tubing having various diameters is included below.
Inside
Calibration Slope
Diameter
(mL/min per RPM)
0.13 mm
0.00060
0.19 mm
0.00129
0.27 mm
0.00266
0.38 mm
0.00468
0.44 mm
0.00763
0.51 mm
0.00948
0.57 mm
0.01144
0.64 mm
0.01395
0.76 mm
0.01871
0.89 mm
0.02423
0.95 mm
0.02809
1.02 mm
0.03052
1.09 mm
0.03320
1.14 mm
0.03538
1.22 mm
0.04608
1.30 mm
0.04714
1.42 mm
0.05034
1.52 mm
0.05125
1.65 mm
0.05500
1.75 mm
0.05776
1.85 mm
0.06116
2.06 mm
0.06356
2.20 mm
0.06480
2.54 mm
0.06680
2.79 mm
0.06860
3.17 mm
0.06964
CONCLUSION
Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or process operations, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims. | A peristaltic pump includes a rotating member operably coupled to a drive. The rotating member includes a plurality of rollers arranged in a circular configuration. A guide member defines a channel configured to direct a peristaltic tube around the rotating member so that the peristaltic tube interfaces with the plurality of rollers. The peristaltic tube is pressed against the plurality of rollers by a retaining shoe. The retaining shoe contains surface irregularities configured to restrict movement of the peristaltic tube. A keeper braces the restraining shoe against the peristaltic tube. The rotating rollers compressing the peristaltic tube against the retaining shoe as the rotating member rotates results in a peristaltic action that produces a nearly pulse free linear flow. | Summarize the patent information, clearly outlining the technical challenges and proposed solutions. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims the benefit of 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.",
"No. 61/364,474, filed Jul. 15, 2010, and titled “LINEAR FLOW PERISTALTIC PUMP,” which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.",
"BACKGROUND A peristaltic pump (roller pump) is a type of positive displacement pump used for pumping fluids contained within a flexible tube.",
"A peristaltic pump can use a turning cam to place part of a tube under compression, closing or occluding a section of the tube, and forcing the fluid to be pumped to move through the tube.",
"The tube reopens to its natural state after the passing of the cam.",
"This pumping process may be referred to as peristalsis.",
"Peristaltic pumps may be used in laboratory instrumentation, including sample preparation devices, analytic devices, and so forth.",
"For example, peristaltic pumps may be used to move fluids in a clean or sterile environment without the disturbances resulting from shear forces.",
"Further, it is often desirable to use peristaltic pumps to pump clean, sterile, or aggressive fluids because cross contamination with exposed pump components does not occur.",
"SUMMARY A peristaltic pump is disclosed.",
"In one or more implementations, the peristaltic pump includes a rotating member operably coupled to a drive.",
"The drive may be disposed at least partially within a pump housing.",
"The rotating member includes a plurality of rollers coupled to the rotating member in a circular configuration, where the plurality of rollers is configured to orbit about the axis of the rotating member.",
"A guide member coupled to the pump housing defines a channel configured to direct a peristaltic tube around the rotating member so that the peristaltic tube interfaces with the plurality of rollers.",
"The peristaltic tube is pressed against the plurality of rollers by a retaining shoe.",
"The retaining shoe contains surface irregularities configured to restrict movement of the peristaltic tube.",
"The peristaltic pump also includes a keeper for bracing the retaining shoe against the peristaltic tube.",
"The rotating rollers compressing the peristaltic tube against the retaining shoe as the rotating member rotates results in a peristaltic action that produces a nearly pulse free linear flow.",
"This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description.",
"This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.",
"DRAWINGS The Detailed Description is described with reference to the accompanying figures.",
"The use of the same reference numbers in different instances in the description and the figures may indicate similar or identical items.",
"FIG. 1 is an isometric view illustrating a peristaltic pump, shown in an opened position ready to receive a peristaltic tube in accordance with an example implementation of the present disclosure.",
"FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the peristaltic pump illustrated in FIG. 1 , where the peristaltic pump is shown with peristaltic tubes in a pumping position.",
"FIG. 3 is a partial isometric view of the peristaltic pump illustrated in FIG. 1 , further illustrating retaining shoes in an opened position.",
"FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional top plan view of the peristaltic pump illustrated in FIG. 1 , where the peristaltic pump is shown in a pumping position.",
"FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional side elevation view of the linear flow peristaltic pump illustrated in FIG. 1 , where the peristaltic pump is shown in a pumping position.",
"FIG. 6 is an isometric view illustrating another peristaltic pump in accordance with an example implementation of the present disclosure.",
"FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating the effect of drive speed on flow rate for a peristaltic pump implemented in accordance with an example implementation of the present disclosure.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION Overview Linear flow is highly desirable in a variety of circumstances.",
"Pulse free or nearly pulse free pumping is also highly desirable.",
"For example, it may be desirable to pump slurries (e.g., suspensions of one or more solids in a liquid), viscous, shear-sensitive, and/or aggressive fluids without subjecting such materials to excessive turbulent mixing, pulsations, and/or shear forces.",
"Accordingly, the present disclosure is directed to a peristaltic pump that can provide both linear flow and nearly pulse free operation.",
"One or more peristaltic tubes are guided through a guide member, around a rotating member with rollers, and back through the guide member.",
"Retaining shoes, braced by a keeper, compress the peristaltic tubes against the rollers.",
"The retaining shoes may include surface irregularities to restrict movement of a peristaltic tube.",
"The rotating member rotates, rolling the rollers along the peristaltic tube.",
"The compression of the peristaltic tube by the rollers results in a peristaltic action that pumps the fluid through the peristaltic tube.",
"The shoe may be configured to compress the peristaltic tube in such a way that only one roller pinches the peristaltic tube at a time.",
"Further, multiple rollers may pinch the peristaltic tube at a time.",
"Implementations of the present disclosure may provide nearly pulse free pumping even at low flow rates.",
"Further, flow rate may be linearly related to the speed of the rotating member, resulting in linear flow.",
"In the following discussion, example implementations of peristaltic pumps are first described.",
"Example Implementations FIGS. 1 through 6 illustrate peristaltic pumps in accordance with example implementations of the present disclosure.",
"As shown, a peristaltic pump may be implemented as a linear flow peristaltic pump 100 .",
"The linear flow peristaltic pump 100 may include a guide member 102 for guiding a peristaltic tube 200 around a rotating member 104 .",
"The rotating member 104 may be coupled with a number of rollers 106 for contacting the peristaltic tube 200 , where the rollers are arranged in a circular configuration generally centered on the axis of rotation of the rotating member 104 .",
"Linear flow peristaltic pump 100 may further include a retaining shoe 108 for bracing (pressing) the peristaltic tube 200 against the rollers 106 , and a keeper 110 for locking (bracing) the retaining shoe 108 against the peristaltic tube 200 .",
"The rollers 106 compressing the peristaltic tube 200 against the retaining shoe 108 provide for a peristaltic pumping action when the rotating member 104 is rotated, causing the rollers 106 to revolve/orbit about the axis of rotation of the rotating member 104 .",
"The linear flow peristaltic pump 100 may further include a pump housing 114 for supporting the guide member 102 , rotating member 104 , retaining shoe 108 , and/or the keeper 110 .",
"In implementations, the keeper 110 may be adjustable (e.g., movable with respect to the pump housing 114 ).",
"In other implementations, the keeper 110 may be stationary (e.g., fixed with respect to the pump housing 114 ).",
"In implementations, the keeper 110 can be integrally formed with the pump housing 114 .",
"Guide member 102 may define a single channel or multiple channels 103 .",
"Channels 103 may be configured to guide a tube (e.g., peristaltic tube 200 ) around the rotating member 104 .",
"Guide member 102 may include two guides 105 for a single channel 103 or multiple guides 105 for multiple channels 103 .",
"In implementations, guide member 102 can define four channels 103 with two guides 105 for each channel.",
"Further, the guides 105 for each channel 103 can be located on opposing sides of the guide member 102 .",
"Thus, it should be noted that channels 103 are not necessarily continuous around the rotating member 104 .",
"Peristaltic tube 200 is placed in a semi-elliptical shape as it is guided through the guide member 102 on one side, around the rotating member 104 and guided back through the guide member 102 on the opposite side.",
"Multiple guide members 102 may also be used.",
"Guide member 102 may comprise a concave shape configured to allow the guide member 102 to extend on either side of the rotating member 104 partially around the rotating member 104 (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 4 ).",
"Guide member 102 may be formed from a variety of materials including metal, plastic, wood, nylon, ceramic, and so forth.",
"However these materials are provided by way of example only, and are not meant to be restrictive of the present disclosure.",
"In embodiments, guide member 102 may be an integral part of pump housing 114 or may be coupled to pump housing 114 .",
"Rotating member 104 may be substantially cylindrical in nature, having a substantially circular base plate 502 coupled to a substantially circular top plate 504 .",
"The base plate 502 and top plate 504 may have the same diameter or different diameters.",
"Base plate 502 and top plate 504 may be configured for supporting rollers 106 in a circular configuration generally centered on the axis of rotation of the rotating member 104 .",
"The rollers 106 may be oriented longitudinally perpendicular to the base plate 502 and top plate 504 , wherein the length of the rollers 106 may determine the distance between the base plate 502 and top plate 504 .",
"Rotating member 104 may be coupled to the pump housing 114 using a bearing, or another rotational support structure.",
"The bearing may provide an axis of rotation for the rotating member 104 .",
"Rotating member 104 may further include a receiving end for receiving rotational power from a drive (power source), such as a motor 500 , a drive shaft, gearing, and so forth.",
"Rotating member 104 may be operably coupled to the drive.",
"In some implementations (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 5 ), rotating member 104 is directly connected to motor 500 .",
"In other implementations, rotating member 104 can be coupled to motor 500 via gears or other mechanisms for transferring power from the motor 500 to the rotating member 104 .",
"For example, gears may be used to change rotational speed and/or torque characteristics of the power delivered from the motor 500 .",
"In implementations, motor 500 can be at least partially contained within the pump housing 114 .",
"In operation, the rollers 106 may compress the peristaltic tube 200 as the rotating member 104 rotates, providing a peristaltic action.",
"Each roller 106 may have a substantially cylindrical shape with a longitudinal axis extending between the base plate 502 and top plate 504 of the rotating member 104 .",
"The longitudinal axis of each roller 106 may be substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the rotating member 104 .",
"Rollers 106 may be in a circular configuration around the rotating member 104 .",
"Thus, as the rotating member 104 is rotated, the rollers 106 orbit about the axis of rotation of the rotating member 104 .",
"It should be noted that the diameter of a roller 106 with respect to the peristaltic tubing 200 may alter pumping performance.",
"For example, a roller 106 having a smaller diameter may compress a smaller area of peristaltic tube 200 as compared with a roller 106 having a larger diameter.",
"In some implementations, a reduced area of compression may lead to reduced stretching of peristaltic tube 200 , leading to improved tube performance and/or a longer usable life for a tube.",
"Further, it should be noted that smaller diameter rollers 106 may allow for an increased number of rollers 106 on rotating member 104 as compared with rollers 106 having a larger diameter.",
"Smaller diameter rollers 106 may alter the increments of fluid pumped.",
"For example, different combinations of roller diameters and numbers of rollers may allow for varying pulsation of fluid pumping.",
"In one specific implementation, twelve (12) rollers 106 may be included with the linear flow peristaltic pump 100 .",
"However, in other implementations, more than twelve rollers or fewer than twelve rollers can be included with the linear flow peristaltic pump 100 .",
"Retaining shoe 108 may press the peristaltic tube 200 against the rollers 106 .",
"Shoe 108 may include a curvature correlating with the circular configuration of the rollers 106 .",
"Further, shoe 108 may include a lower planar surface 301 and a corresponding upper planar surface 303 , an inner concave surface 305 correlating with the circular configuration of the rollers 106 , and an outer surface 307 , which may be convex, planar, concave, or of some other geometry.",
"Shoe 108 may be plastic, metal, wood, nylon and so forth.",
"However these materials are provided by way of example only, and are not meant to be restrictive of the present disclosure.",
"Shoe 108 may rotate about an axis of rotation 308 .",
"Rotation about axis 308 may allow the shoe 108 to compress the peristaltic tube 200 when shoe 108 is in a closed position, and release compression when shoe 108 is in an open position.",
"Peristaltic tube 200 may be accessible when shoe 108 is in an open position.",
"In implementations, axis 308 may be on a single end of the shoe 108 resulting in a pivoting end near the axis 308 and a swinging end opposite the pivoting end.",
"Referring now to FIG. 3 , the lower planar surface 301 may extend beyond the inner concave surface 305 resulting in a lower ridge 302 .",
"The upper planar surface 303 may also extend beyond the inner concave surface 305 resulting in an upper ridge 304 .",
"Lower ridge 302 and/or upper ridge 304 may restrict or prevent the peristaltic tube 200 from moving beyond lower ridge 302 and/or upper ridge 304 .",
"FIG. 3 depicts an implementation with four shoes 108 coupled together.",
"Generally, one shoe 108 can be used per channel 103 ;",
"thus, in a four channel implementation, four shoes 108 A through 108 D can be used, with one shoe 108 per channel 103 .",
"In an implementation with more than one shoe 108 (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 3 ), a rod 306 inserted in the swinging end of a number of shoes 108 may be used to keep the shoes 108 together.",
"Rod 306 may be formed of carbon fiber or another material for keeping the shoes 108 together.",
"Each shoe 108 may contain a through hole or a partial hole in the swinging end of the shoe 108 , for the purpose of receiving rod 306 .",
"In FIG. 3 , shoes 108 A and 108 D include partial holes and shoes 108 B and 108 C include through holes.",
"The diameter of a through hole or a partial hole may be larger than the diameter of the rod 306 , allowing for individual adjustment of each shoe 108 , one relative to another.",
"Further, rod 306 may be generally linear, or may include a shape that varies for biasing one or more of the shoes 108 relative to the other shoes, such as the rod 306 seen in FIG. 3 , which biases shoe 108 C relative to shoes 108 A, 108 B and 108 D. For example, rod 306 may include various segments that are not coaxial with respect to a long dimension of the rod.",
"In FIG. 3 , for instance, a longitudinal axis of a segment of rod 306 that extends through shoe 108 C is not coaxial with longitudinal axes of rod segments that extend through shoes 108 A, 108 B, and 108 D. Referring again to FIG. 3 , the inner concave surface 305 may contain surface irregularities, such as striations 300 .",
"Surface irregularities can include one or more ridges, grooves, marks, and/or disturbances on the inner concave surface 305 that can be raised and/or recessed.",
"In implementations, surface irregularities may occur naturally in a material (e.g. as part of a materials naturally occurring structure) or can be the result of manufacture or process (e.g. machined, molded, and so forth).",
"For example, striations 300 may restrict movement of the peristaltic tube 200 (e.g., restricting lengthwise stretching of the peristaltic tube 200 , restricting movement of the peristaltic tube 200 in a longitudinal direction along the lengthwise curvature of the peristaltic tube 200 , and/or restricting movement of the peristaltic tube 200 in a lateral direction perpendicular to the lengthwise curvature of the peristaltic tube 200 ).",
"Further, striations 300 may allow for incremental peristaltic tube 200 segments to be stretched one at a time allowing for low pulse pumping and/or extended tube life.",
"Keeper 110 may brace the retaining shoe 108 against the peristaltic tube 200 .",
"Keeper 110 may rotate about an axis 402 .",
"Referring to FIG. 4 , shoe 108 may include a receiver 400 to receive the keeper 110 .",
"The keeper 110 may function to lock the retaining shoe 108 in place.",
"For example, keeper 110 may rotate about axis 402 and interface with receiver 400 to lock shoe 108 in place.",
"Receiver 400 may be a slot, groove, or another feature for receiving the keeper 110 .",
"Keeper 110 may include an adjustment mechanism 112 for adjusting the compression between the shoe 108 and the rollers 106 .",
"In implementations, the adjustment mechanism 112 may be a set screw.",
"It should be noted that adjustment of the shoe 108 by adjustment mechanism 112 may have a limited effect on flow rate through a peristaltic tube 200 , which may be desirable, such as during extended use of the pump 100 during which different users may operate the pump 100 and use the keeper 110 .",
"Peristaltic tubing 200 may be compressed between the rollers 106 and the shoe 108 to allow fluid to be pumped by a peristaltic action as the rotating member 104 rotates.",
"Referring now to FIG. 5 , the compression of the peristaltic tube 200 between the shoes 108 and rollers 106 is shown.",
"Generally, the compression of rollers against a peristaltic tube may function to wear out the peristaltic tube, resulting in limited tube life and memory effects in the peristaltic tube.",
"In implementations of the present disclosure, roller 106 wear on peristaltic tube 200 may be reduced, resulting in improved tube lifetime and reduced memory effects of tube compression.",
"Referring specifically to FIG. 6 , another specific implementation is shown.",
"A configuration of two linear flow peristaltic pumps 100 is shown.",
"Pumps 100 may be distinct and separate, or may be integrated together in a variety of configurations.",
"Integration may include utilizing a single pump housing 114 as in FIG. 6 .",
"Because flow rate is linear, a configuration of more than one linear flow peristaltic pump 100 may be used to mix multiple flow rates.",
"Because the flow rates are linear, desired concentrations or dilutions may be achieved accurately and continuously without a residence chamber.",
"For example, one rotating member 104 of a first peristaltic pump may have a different diameter and/or may be operated at a different speed than another rotating member 104 of another peristaltic pump.",
"Thus, the two pumps may pump at different flow rates.",
"When outputs of the peristaltic pumps are combined, the varying flow rates may provide a resulting mixture that contains a higher concentration of fluid from one pump than from another.",
"By varying the flow rate, this concentration can be changed accordingly.",
"However, two pumps are mentioned by way of example only, and are not meant to be restrictive of the present disclosure.",
"Thus, the outputs of more than two pumps can be combined, such as combining the output of three or more pumps to control mixtures of three or more fluids.",
"Referring to FIG. 7 , the effect of drive speed on flow rate is shown for several example implementations.",
"In FIG. 7 , flow rate is plotted with respect to drive motor speed through three different peristaltic tubes implemented with peristaltic pumps in accordance with the present disclosure.",
"As shown in FIG. 7 , the relationship between flow rate and drive motor speed is at least substantially linear for the three tubes.",
"This can be seen, for example, by R 2 measurements corresponding to linear regression analysis of the drive speed vs.",
"flow rate data included in the legend of the graph in FIG. 7 .",
"It is noted that the linear relationship may hold for very low flow rates (e.g., as represented by data at or between zero (0) and one thousand (1,000) steps per minute (steps/min) on the graph in FIG. 7 ).",
"With reference to other example implementations of the present disclosure, a table containing flow rate calibration for peristaltic pump tubing having various diameters is included below.",
"Inside Calibration Slope Diameter (mL/min per RPM) 0.13 mm 0.00060 0.19 mm 0.00129 0.27 mm 0.00266 0.38 mm 0.00468 0.44 mm 0.00763 0.51 mm 0.00948 0.57 mm 0.01144 0.64 mm 0.01395 0.76 mm 0.01871 0.89 mm 0.02423 0.95 mm 0.02809 1.02 mm 0.03052 1.09 mm 0.03320 1.14 mm 0.03538 1.22 mm 0.04608 1.30 mm 0.04714 1.42 mm 0.05034 1.52 mm 0.05125 1.65 mm 0.05500 1.75 mm 0.05776 1.85 mm 0.06116 2.06 mm 0.06356 2.20 mm 0.06480 2.54 mm 0.06680 2.79 mm 0.06860 3.17 mm 0.06964 CONCLUSION Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or process operations, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.",
"Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/032,747, filed Jan. 11, 2005 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,688,855, which claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/616,306 filed Oct. 6, 2004, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference; and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/840,878, filed on May 7, 2004 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,463,642, which claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/560,303 filed Apr. 7, 2004, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to high throughput wireless networks and in particular to aggregation technology.
The next generation of high throughput (HT) wireless networks, to be covered by the 802.11n specification that is currently being formed, specifies 100 Mbps at the MAC SAP (Media Access Control Service Access Port) of an 802.11n device. Frame aggregation is a key technology employed to achieve such a high throughput.
One frame aggregation technique, MRMRA (multi-receiver multi-response aggregation), allows for frames for a number of receivers to be aggregated and allows for immediate responses from those multiple receivers as well, thus greatly increases the MAC efficiency, especially for QoS sensitive enterprise applications, such as wireless voice over IP (WVoIP). A benefit of MRMRA is that MRMRA not only allows for more than double the number of admissible phone calls, but also provides considerable amount of additional bandwidth for regular data traffic.
Another aggregation technique, MMRA (multi-rate multi-receiver aggregation), allows frames for multiple receivers of various rates and modulation schemes to be aggregated. MMRA consists of a bursting of a series of Physical Layer Service Data Units (PSDUs) possibly with various rates and modulation schemes. Each PSDU consists of a single frame or an aggregation of multiple frames either to the same receiver or to multiple receivers of the same rate. MMRA has the advantage of aggregating frames for receivers in a wide range of distances. However, MMRA's lack of support for immediate responses makes its use very limited, especially for latency sensitive applications such as WVoIP.
MMRA does not support multiple responses mainly for two reasons. First, an initiator for an MMRA does not know, in general, how long the bursting will last, so it lacks adequate information to schedule multiple responses. Second, the MMRA approach lacks a protection mechanism to protect the multi-responses from legacy nodes or hidden nodes. Moreover, scheduling multiple responses after the end of bursting is not favorable because it introduces excessive latency into the responses, which can be intolerable for latency sensitive applications, such as WVoIP in an enterprise environment, making QoS requirements hard to meet.
All terms and acronyms unless otherwise defined herein should if defined in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer's (IEEE) TGn Sync Proposal Technical Specification, TGn Sync Technical Proposal R00 (TGn Sync) dated Aug. 13, 2004, available at http://www.tgnsync.org/techdocs/tgnsync-proposal-technical-specification.pdf, be accorded the definition given in TGn Sync, otherwise they should be given their usual and customary definitions.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed herein a new aggregation technology, the multi-rate multi-response, multi-receiver aggregation (MRMRMRA). MRMRMRA introduces two new operations for an MRA: suspension and resumption of MMRA bursting, along with the protection and scheduling aspects of MRMRA. In particular the following steps are taken for an MRMRMRA:
1) MRMRMRA bursting suspend temporarily after the transmission of an MRMRA aggregate;
2) The MRMRA comprises the channel reservation information for protection against legacy and hidden nodes and the multi-response scheduling information;
3) Multiple receivers of the MRMRA respond with ACKs (Acknowledgements) or Bas (Block Acknowledgements), possibly with bi-directional data attached, conforming to the response schedule of the MRMRA;
4) After the MRMRMRA initiator receives responses for the MRMRA, it sends a BA to the multiple receivers and finishes the MRMRA; and
5) The MRMRMRA bursting resumes and continues until the burst is complete or until another MRMRA aggregate is encountered.
The present invention comprises a methodology and system for implementing the MRMRMRA as described herein. MRMRMRA significantly enhances existing aggregation technology by broadening the scope of the applications of aggregation and benefiting from both MMRA and MRMRA. The present invention seamlessly combines MRMRA and MMRA without introducing any degradation in channel utilization. A feature of the present inventions is that the overhead to support the multi-response aspect of an MRMRMRA is very low. Moreover, the MRMRMRA minimizes latency, which is advantageous for latency sensitive applications, such as WVoIP, allowing them to meet their QoS requirements.
Still other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following description wherein there is shown and described a preferred embodiment of this invention, simply by way of illustration of one of the best modes best suited for to carry out the invention. As it will be realized, the invention is capable of other different embodiments and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious aspects all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawing and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING
The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification, illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.
FIG. 1 is a timing diagram of an exemplary multi-rate aggregation scheme in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an aggregate data frame with multiple messages in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a PSDU frame header in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a methodology in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a computer system for implementing an aspect of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a system for implementing an aspect of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
Throughout this description, the preferred embodiment and examples shown should be considered as exemplars, rather than limitations, of the present invention. The present invention is directed to a multi-rate aggregation scheme that is in the form of PSDU bursting, which aggregates multiple frames, either to the same receiver or a number of receivers of the same rate, in a single PSDU and bursts a number of PSDUs of various rates in sequence. To allow for a MRMRA, the PSDU bursting suspends temporarily after it transmits a MRMRA. After receiving acknowledgements from the recipients of the MRMRA, a block acknowledgement, is transmitted and the bursting resumes. This approach seamlessly combines MRMRA and multi-rate aggregation without introducing any degradation in channel utilization.
Referring to FIG. 1 , there is illustrated an example timing diagram 100 illustrating an aspect of the present invention. A timeline T is employed for the purpose of illustrating the various timing sequences illustrated in timing diagram 100 . At T 1 , illustrated by doted line 130 , a burst is initiated that sends a portion 102 of a PPDU that comprises Frame 0 104 , Frame 1 106 and Frame 2 , 108 , where frame 2 108 is a MRMRA frame. The burst continues, and at time T 2 , illustrated by dotted line 132 , the MRMA Frame 108 is encountered. The burst is suspended after sending the MRMA Frame 108 at T 3 , illustrated by dotted line 134 .
The burst is suspended until time T 4 , illustrated by dotted line 136 . In a preferred embodiment the amount of time for suspending the burst is contained within the MRMRA frame 108 . For example, MRMRA frame 108 contains a spoofed NAV field to prevent third parties from transmitting between times T 3 and T 4 which can also be used by the initiator to determine how long to suspend the burst transmission. While the burst is suspended, e.g., from T 3 to T 4 , acknowledgements are received from receivers of the MRMRA frame 108 . As shown in the example of FIG. 1 , acknowledgements with data (ACK+Data 110 and ACK+Data 112 ) are received between T 3 and T 4 . IT should be noted that Acknowledgements can be sent by themselves, or can include bi-directional data as shown in FIG. 1 . The initiator of the burst sends a block acknowledgement with data (BA+Data) 114 . Preferably, all of the receivers of the MRMRA have sent an ACK or an ACK+Data in response to the MRMRA frame 108 . However, if one of the intended recipients of the MRMRA frame 108 does not respond to an MPDU, the initiator may retry transmitting the MPDU after sending the block acknowledgement 114 , or alternatively, may include the MPDU in a future MRMRA, depending on the initiator's policy. Time line 118 illustrates the amount of time, T 2 to T 4 , used for sending the MRMRA frame 108 , receiving the acknowledgements 112 and 114 , and the block acknowledgement 116 .
At T 4 , the burst resumes, sending the remaining portion 120 of the PPDU. The burst comprising Frame 3 122 , Frame 4 124 and Frame 5 126 , and is completed, as shown at time T 6 . However, if another MRMRA frame (not shown) is encountered in the remaining portion of 120 of the PPDU, the burst is again suspended and the MRMRA is processed.
Extending MRMRA to multi-rate aggregation is a significant enhancement to aggregation mechanism, which greatly widens the application scopes of both MRMRA and multi-rate aggregation. It is especially beneficial in enterprise environment for applications such as wireless voice over IP.
One aspect of the present invention is that it allows for multiple responses, a desirable feature for many wireless applications. Another aspect of the present invention is that it allows for multi-rate aggregation, so that there are more frames to aggregate than single rate cases.
Referring now to FIG. 2 , there is illustrated a block diagram of an aggregate data frame 200 with multiple messages in accordance with an aspect of the present invention. Data frame 200 , as shown has a PPDU header (PLCP Header) 202 , a first data unit (PSDU 1 ) 204 , a second data unit PSDU 2 ) 206 and can have additional data units 208 . PSDU 1 204 comprises a first header and a first data segment. The first header has data fields for indicating the scheduled response time for acknowledging receipt of PDSU 1 204 . Likewise, PSDU 2 206 has a second header and a second data segment, wherein the second header has data fields for indicating the scheduled response time for acknowledging receipt of PSDU 2 206 . Additional data units 208 can be appended to aggregate data frame 200 as desired. The additional data units 208 can have fields to indicate scheduled response times for corresponding data units. PLCP header 202 can have a field indicating the length of aggregate data frame 200 . The value set in the field indicating the length of aggregate data frame 200 can be spoofed to include the length of time of aggregate data frame 200 , the length of time allocated for a response to PSDU 1 204 , the time period allocated for a response to PSDU 2 206 , and the time period allocated for responding to any additional data units 208 .
For example, if aggregate data frame 200 is a PPDU frame, a NAV in PCLP header 202 can be used to indicate the length of data frame 200 . Each data unit, PSDU 1 204 , PSDU 2 206 and any additional data units 208 can have a corresponding NAV and TXOP set to indicate the time to respond and the length of time allocated for their corresponding response. The NAV in PLCP header 202 would be set to include the length of aggregate data frame 110 , the scheduled response period (TXOP) for PSDU 1 204 , scheduled response period (TXOP) for PSDU 2 206 and any other additional data units 208 . The NAV for the aggregate data frame can also include any SIF or other interframe time periods.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary PPDU header 202 in accordance with an aspect of the present invention. The frame header includes at least one header field 222 , NAV 224 and TXOP 226 . The at least one header field 222 can include any fields desired for the header of the associated PSDU frame, including but not limited to synchronization (SYNCH), source, destination, frame check sequence (e.g., CRC) or for any field defined in the 802.11 or appropriate specification for the frame. NAV 224 indicates to the recipient when to send an acknowledgement to the PSDU frame. TXOP 226 field indicates the amount of time allocated for the acknowledgement for the PSDU frame. Frame headers similarly configured like frame header 202 can be employed by the PSDU's within the MRMRA, for example PSDU 1 204 , PSDU 2 206 and additional data units 208 ( FIG. 2 ). When a receiver that is not a recipient of the MRMRA receives the MRMRA, it sets its NAV corresponding to the NAV in the PPDU header 202 . If the receiver is a receiver of the MRMRA, then it sets its NAV according to the NAV in the corresponding PSDU.
In view of the foregoing structural and functional features described above, a methodology in accordance with various aspects of the present invention will be better appreciated with reference to FIG. 4 . While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the methodology of FIG. 4 , is shown and described as executing serially, it is to be understood and appreciated that the present invention is not limited by the illustrated order, as some aspects could, in accordance with the present invention, occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other aspects from that shown and described herein. Moreover, not all illustrated features may be required to implement a methodology in accordance with an aspect the present invention. Embodiments of the present invention are suitably adapted to implement the methodology in hardware, software, or a combination thereof.
Referring to FIG. 4 , there is illustrated a block diagram of a methodology 400 in accordance with an aspect of the present invention. At 402 a burst transmission is initiated. Frames of the burst transmission are examined at 404 , where it is determined whether a multi-receiver multi-response (MRMRA) frame is encountered.
If at 404 it is determined an MRMRA frame is being processed (YES) at 406 the MRMRA frame is transmitted. At 408 the burst is suspended. The initiator of the burst then waits for the end of the response period as shown at 410 . In a preferred embodiment, the length of time for the initiator to wait is included in the MRMRA. For example, for an 802.11 implementation, a spoofed NAV in the header of the MRMRA is used to determine how long to wait. The NAV for the MRMRA can also include any SIF or other interframe time periods. During the response period, recipients of the MRMRA packet respond with an acknowledgement (ACK) or with an acknowledgement that includes data for the initiator (ACK+Data).
At 412 the initiator sends a block acknowledgement (Block ACK). Optionally, the block acknowledgement may include bi-directional data. The block acknowledgement is sent to the recipients of the MRMRA. Preferably, all of the receivers of the MRMRA have sent an ACK or an ACK+Data in response to the MRMRA. However, if one of the intended recipients of the MRMRA does not respond to an MPDU, the initiator may retry transmitting the MPDU after sending the block acknowledgement at 412 , or alternatively, may include the MPDU in a future MRMRA, depending on the initiator's policy.
At 414 , it is determined whether the burst is finished. If the burst is finished (YES), then the initiator stops transmitting at 416 . If the burst is not finished (NO), then the methodology 400 returns to 404 where the next frame is evaluated.
If at 404 it is determined that the frame being transmitted is not an MRMRA (NO), then at 418 bursting continues and the next frame is transmitted. At 414 , it is determined whether the burst is finished. If the burst is finished (YES), then the initiator stops transmitting at 416 . If the burst is not finished (NO), then the methodology 400 returns to 404 where the next frame is evaluated.
It should be noted that if at 414 it is determined that the burst is not completed, processing returns to 404 for the next frame. If the next frame is an MRMRA, then the burst is again suspended and 406 , 408 , 410 and 412 are repeated. If the next frame is not an MRMRA, then as shown at 418 the burst continues. The burst may be suspended as many times as necessary for processing MRMRA frames.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram that illustrates a computer system 500 upon which an embodiment of the invention may be implemented. Computer system 500 includes a bus 502 or other communication mechanism for communicating information and a processor 504 coupled with bus 502 for processing information. Computer system 500 also includes a main memory 506 , such as random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device coupled to bus 502 for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor 504 . Main memory 506 also may be used for storing a temporary variable or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor 504 . Computer system 500 further includes a ready only memory (ROM) 508 or other static storage device coupled to bus 502 for storing static information and instructions for processor 504 . A storage device 510 , such as a magnetic disk or optical disk, is provided and coupled to bus 502 for storing information and instructions.
An aspect of the present invention is related to the use of computer system 500 for Multi-Rate Multi-Receiver Multi-Response Aggregation (MRMRMRA). According to one embodiment of the invention, MRMRA is provided by computer system 500 in response to processor 504 executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in main memory 506 . Such instructions may be read into main memory 506 from another computer-readable medium, such as storage device 510 . Execution of the sequence of instructions contained in main memory 506 causes processor 504 to perform the process steps described herein. One or more processors in a multi-processing arrangement may also be employed to execute the sequences of instructions contained in main memory 506 . In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement the invention. Thus, embodiments of the invention are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.
The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to any medium that participates in providing instructions to processor 504 for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to non-volatile media, and volatile media. Non-volatile media include for example optical or magnetic disks, such as storage device 510 . Volatile media include dynamic memory such as main memory 506 . Common forms of computer-readable media include for example floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASHPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can read.
Various forms of computer-readable media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to processor 504 for execution. For example, the instructions may initially be borne on a magnetic disk of a remote computer. The remote computer can load the instructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over a telephone line using a modem. A modem local to computer system 500 can receive the data on the telephone line and use an infrared transmitter to convert the data to an infrared signal. An infrared detector coupled to bus 502 can receive the data carried in the infrared signal and place the data on bus 502 . Bus 502 carries the data to main memory 506 from which processor 504 retrieves and executes the instructions. The instructions received by main memory 506 may optionally be stored on storage device 510 either before or after execution by processor 504 .
Optionally, computer system 500 includes a communication interface 518 coupled to bus 502 . Communication interface 518 provides a two-way data communication coupling to a network link 520 that is connected to a local network 522 . For example, communication interface 518 may be an integrated services digital network (ISDN) card or a modem to provide a data communication connection to a corresponding type of telephone line. As another example, communication interface 518 may be a local area network (LAN) card to provide a data communication connection to a compatible LAN. Wireless links may also be implemented. In any such implementation, communication interface 518 sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic, or optical signals that carry digital data streams representing various types of information.
Network link 520 typically provides data communication through one or more networks to other data devices. For example, network link 520 may provide a connection through local network 522 to a host computer 524 . Local network 122 uses electrical, electromagnetic, and/or optical signals that carry the digital data to and from computer system 500 .
Computer system 500 can send messages and receive data, including program codes, through the network(s), network link 520 , and communication interface 518 . For example, host 524 might transmit a requested code for an application program through local network 522 , and communication interface 518 . In accordance with the invention, one such downloaded application provides for implementing MRMRMRA as described herein. The received code may be executed by processor 504 as it is received, and/or stored in storage device 510 , or other non-volatile storage for later execution.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a system 600 configured to operate in accordance with an aspect of the present invention. System 600 includes a transmitter 602 and a receiver 604 . A controller (Control) 606 , for example a computer system 500 ( FIG. 5 ), is suitably adapted for controlling the transmitter 602 and receiver 604 . Controller 606 suitably includes program code, or logic for performing control functions. “Logic”, as used herein, includes but is not limited to hardware, firmware, software and/or combinations of each to perform a function(s) or an action(s), and/or to cause a function or action from another component. For example, based on a desired application or need, logic may include a software controlled microprocessor, discrete logic such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable/programmed logic device, memory device containing instructions, or the like, or combinational logic embodied in hardware. Logic may also be fully embodied as software. A transmit buffer 608 is used for buffering frames for transmission by transmitter 608 . Controller 606 may suitably be connected to both transmit buffer 608 and transmitter 602 to monitor frames being transmitted or waiting to be transmitted by transmitter 602 . Receiver 604 receives frames and stores them in receive buffer 610 . Memory 612 is coupled to controller 606 . Memory 612 is at least one of volatile or non-volatile memory and may be used by controller 606 for storing variables or other data used by controller 606 for controlling transmitter 602 and receiver 604 . In addition, controller 606 can be configured for transferring data between memory 606 and transmit buffer 608 and/or memory 606 and receive buffer 610 .
In operation, controller 606 puts frames into transmit buffer 608 for transmitting. Transmitter 602 initiates a burst transmission. When a MRMRA frame is detected, then controller 606 signals transmitter 602 to suspend transmitting the burst. In one embodiment, controller 606 may determine when an MRMRA is about to be transmitted by monitoring transmit buffer 608 . In another embodiment, transmitter 602 signals controller 606 when it encounters an MRMRA frame. Controller 606 determines from the MRMRA frame the amount of time allocated for the MRMRA to receive responses, such as ACKs or ACKs+data and sets timer 614 accordingly.
While the burst transmission is suspended, receiver 604 receives responses to the MRMRA. The responses are forwarded to receive buffer 610 . Optionally, controller 606 can examine the packets in receive buffer 610 to determine which receivers responded to the MRMRA and use memory 612 to track which receivers responded.
When timer 614 expires, controller 606 sends a block acknowledgement (BA) or a block acknowledgement with data (BA+data). Preferably, all receivers of the MRMRA responded and the BA or BA+data is directed to all recipients of the MRMRA. However, as those skilled in the art can readily appreciate, there may be circumstances where a receiver does not acknowledge the MRMRA, for example the receiver doesn't receive the MRMRA, or the corresponding MPDU within the MRMRA, and therefore doesn't respond. How the controller 606 handles a missing ACK can vary. For example, in one embodiment controller 606 resends the MPDU via transmitter 602 immediately after sending the BA. In another embodiment, controller 606 resends the MRMRA in a future packet. In still another embodiment, if the time period for delivering the MPDU expired, the MPDU is discarded.
In view of the foregoing, those skilled in the art can readily appreciate that the present invention extends the use of MRMRA to multi-rate aggregation. Furthermore, the present invention substantially enhances MMRA by allowing multiple immediate responses, a desirable feature for many wireless applications, such as QoS sensitive applications like WVoIP for example. The present invention provides higher MAC efficiency and much wider application scope than either MMRA or MRMRA by themselves while adding very little overhead and very little additional implementation cost for MMRA.
What has been described above includes exemplary implementations of the present invention. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the present invention, but one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the present invention are possible. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally and equitably entitled. | A method for sending a multi-rate multi-receiver message containing a multi-receiver multi-response aggregate. The multi-rate multi-receiver aggregate is transmitted until a multi-receiver multi-response aggregate embedded within the multi-rate multi-receiver aggregate is encountered. Transmission of the multi-rate multi-receiver aggregate is suspended for a predetermined time period. After the expiration of the predetermined time period, transmission of the multi-rate multi-receiver aggregate resumes. | Summarize the key points of the given patent document. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 11/032,747, filed Jan. 11, 2005 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,688,855, which claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/616,306 filed Oct. 6, 2004, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference;",
"and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 10/840,878, filed on May 7, 2004 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,463,642, which claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/560,303 filed Apr. 7, 2004, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to high throughput wireless networks and in particular to aggregation technology.",
"The next generation of high throughput (HT) wireless networks, to be covered by the 802.11n specification that is currently being formed, specifies 100 Mbps at the MAC SAP (Media Access Control Service Access Port) of an 802.11n device.",
"Frame aggregation is a key technology employed to achieve such a high throughput.",
"One frame aggregation technique, MRMRA (multi-receiver multi-response aggregation), allows for frames for a number of receivers to be aggregated and allows for immediate responses from those multiple receivers as well, thus greatly increases the MAC efficiency, especially for QoS sensitive enterprise applications, such as wireless voice over IP (WVoIP).",
"A benefit of MRMRA is that MRMRA not only allows for more than double the number of admissible phone calls, but also provides considerable amount of additional bandwidth for regular data traffic.",
"Another aggregation technique, MMRA (multi-rate multi-receiver aggregation), allows frames for multiple receivers of various rates and modulation schemes to be aggregated.",
"MMRA consists of a bursting of a series of Physical Layer Service Data Units (PSDUs) possibly with various rates and modulation schemes.",
"Each PSDU consists of a single frame or an aggregation of multiple frames either to the same receiver or to multiple receivers of the same rate.",
"MMRA has the advantage of aggregating frames for receivers in a wide range of distances.",
"However, MMRA's lack of support for immediate responses makes its use very limited, especially for latency sensitive applications such as WVoIP.",
"MMRA does not support multiple responses mainly for two reasons.",
"First, an initiator for an MMRA does not know, in general, how long the bursting will last, so it lacks adequate information to schedule multiple responses.",
"Second, the MMRA approach lacks a protection mechanism to protect the multi-responses from legacy nodes or hidden nodes.",
"Moreover, scheduling multiple responses after the end of bursting is not favorable because it introduces excessive latency into the responses, which can be intolerable for latency sensitive applications, such as WVoIP in an enterprise environment, making QoS requirements hard to meet.",
"All terms and acronyms unless otherwise defined herein should if defined in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer's (IEEE) TGn Sync Proposal Technical Specification, TGn Sync Technical Proposal R00 (TGn Sync) dated Aug. 13, 2004, available at http://www.",
"tgnsync.org/techdocs/tgnsync-proposal-technical-specification.",
"pdf, be accorded the definition given in TGn Sync, otherwise they should be given their usual and customary definitions.",
"BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed herein a new aggregation technology, the multi-rate multi-response, multi-receiver aggregation (MRMRMRA).",
"MRMRMRA introduces two new operations for an MRA: suspension and resumption of MMRA bursting, along with the protection and scheduling aspects of MRMRA.",
"In particular the following steps are taken for an MRMRMRA: 1) MRMRMRA bursting suspend temporarily after the transmission of an MRMRA aggregate;",
"2) The MRMRA comprises the channel reservation information for protection against legacy and hidden nodes and the multi-response scheduling information;",
"3) Multiple receivers of the MRMRA respond with ACKs (Acknowledgements) or Bas (Block Acknowledgements), possibly with bi-directional data attached, conforming to the response schedule of the MRMRA;",
"4) After the MRMRMRA initiator receives responses for the MRMRA, it sends a BA to the multiple receivers and finishes the MRMRA;",
"and 5) The MRMRMRA bursting resumes and continues until the burst is complete or until another MRMRA aggregate is encountered.",
"The present invention comprises a methodology and system for implementing the MRMRMRA as described herein.",
"MRMRMRA significantly enhances existing aggregation technology by broadening the scope of the applications of aggregation and benefiting from both MMRA and MRMRA.",
"The present invention seamlessly combines MRMRA and MMRA without introducing any degradation in channel utilization.",
"A feature of the present inventions is that the overhead to support the multi-response aspect of an MRMRMRA is very low.",
"Moreover, the MRMRMRA minimizes latency, which is advantageous for latency sensitive applications, such as WVoIP, allowing them to meet their QoS requirements.",
"Still other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following description wherein there is shown and described a preferred embodiment of this invention, simply by way of illustration of one of the best modes best suited for to carry out the invention.",
"As it will be realized, the invention is capable of other different embodiments and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious aspects all without departing from the invention.",
"Accordingly, the drawing and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification, illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.",
"FIG. 1 is a timing diagram of an exemplary multi-rate aggregation scheme in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.",
"FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an aggregate data frame with multiple messages in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.",
"FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a PSDU frame header in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.",
"FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a methodology in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.",
"FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a computer system for implementing an aspect of the present invention.",
"FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a system for implementing an aspect of the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION Throughout this description, the preferred embodiment and examples shown should be considered as exemplars, rather than limitations, of the present invention.",
"The present invention is directed to a multi-rate aggregation scheme that is in the form of PSDU bursting, which aggregates multiple frames, either to the same receiver or a number of receivers of the same rate, in a single PSDU and bursts a number of PSDUs of various rates in sequence.",
"To allow for a MRMRA, the PSDU bursting suspends temporarily after it transmits a MRMRA.",
"After receiving acknowledgements from the recipients of the MRMRA, a block acknowledgement, is transmitted and the bursting resumes.",
"This approach seamlessly combines MRMRA and multi-rate aggregation without introducing any degradation in channel utilization.",
"Referring to FIG. 1 , there is illustrated an example timing diagram 100 illustrating an aspect of the present invention.",
"A timeline T is employed for the purpose of illustrating the various timing sequences illustrated in timing diagram 100 .",
"At T 1 , illustrated by doted line 130 , a burst is initiated that sends a portion 102 of a PPDU that comprises Frame 0 104 , Frame 1 106 and Frame 2 , 108 , where frame 2 108 is a MRMRA frame.",
"The burst continues, and at time T 2 , illustrated by dotted line 132 , the MRMA Frame 108 is encountered.",
"The burst is suspended after sending the MRMA Frame 108 at T 3 , illustrated by dotted line 134 .",
"The burst is suspended until time T 4 , illustrated by dotted line 136 .",
"In a preferred embodiment the amount of time for suspending the burst is contained within the MRMRA frame 108 .",
"For example, MRMRA frame 108 contains a spoofed NAV field to prevent third parties from transmitting between times T 3 and T 4 which can also be used by the initiator to determine how long to suspend the burst transmission.",
"While the burst is suspended, e.g., from T 3 to T 4 , acknowledgements are received from receivers of the MRMRA frame 108 .",
"As shown in the example of FIG. 1 , acknowledgements with data (ACK+Data 110 and ACK+Data 112 ) are received between T 3 and T 4 .",
"IT should be noted that Acknowledgements can be sent by themselves, or can include bi-directional data as shown in FIG. 1 .",
"The initiator of the burst sends a block acknowledgement with data (BA+Data) 114 .",
"Preferably, all of the receivers of the MRMRA have sent an ACK or an ACK+Data in response to the MRMRA frame 108 .",
"However, if one of the intended recipients of the MRMRA frame 108 does not respond to an MPDU, the initiator may retry transmitting the MPDU after sending the block acknowledgement 114 , or alternatively, may include the MPDU in a future MRMRA, depending on the initiator's policy.",
"Time line 118 illustrates the amount of time, T 2 to T 4 , used for sending the MRMRA frame 108 , receiving the acknowledgements 112 and 114 , and the block acknowledgement 116 .",
"At T 4 , the burst resumes, sending the remaining portion 120 of the PPDU.",
"The burst comprising Frame 3 122 , Frame 4 124 and Frame 5 126 , and is completed, as shown at time T 6 .",
"However, if another MRMRA frame (not shown) is encountered in the remaining portion of 120 of the PPDU, the burst is again suspended and the MRMRA is processed.",
"Extending MRMRA to multi-rate aggregation is a significant enhancement to aggregation mechanism, which greatly widens the application scopes of both MRMRA and multi-rate aggregation.",
"It is especially beneficial in enterprise environment for applications such as wireless voice over IP.",
"One aspect of the present invention is that it allows for multiple responses, a desirable feature for many wireless applications.",
"Another aspect of the present invention is that it allows for multi-rate aggregation, so that there are more frames to aggregate than single rate cases.",
"Referring now to FIG. 2 , there is illustrated a block diagram of an aggregate data frame 200 with multiple messages in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.",
"Data frame 200 , as shown has a PPDU header (PLCP Header) 202 , a first data unit (PSDU 1 ) 204 , a second data unit PSDU 2 ) 206 and can have additional data units 208 .",
"PSDU 1 204 comprises a first header and a first data segment.",
"The first header has data fields for indicating the scheduled response time for acknowledging receipt of PDSU 1 204 .",
"Likewise, PSDU 2 206 has a second header and a second data segment, wherein the second header has data fields for indicating the scheduled response time for acknowledging receipt of PSDU 2 206 .",
"Additional data units 208 can be appended to aggregate data frame 200 as desired.",
"The additional data units 208 can have fields to indicate scheduled response times for corresponding data units.",
"PLCP header 202 can have a field indicating the length of aggregate data frame 200 .",
"The value set in the field indicating the length of aggregate data frame 200 can be spoofed to include the length of time of aggregate data frame 200 , the length of time allocated for a response to PSDU 1 204 , the time period allocated for a response to PSDU 2 206 , and the time period allocated for responding to any additional data units 208 .",
"For example, if aggregate data frame 200 is a PPDU frame, a NAV in PCLP header 202 can be used to indicate the length of data frame 200 .",
"Each data unit, PSDU 1 204 , PSDU 2 206 and any additional data units 208 can have a corresponding NAV and TXOP set to indicate the time to respond and the length of time allocated for their corresponding response.",
"The NAV in PLCP header 202 would be set to include the length of aggregate data frame 110 , the scheduled response period (TXOP) for PSDU 1 204 , scheduled response period (TXOP) for PSDU 2 206 and any other additional data units 208 .",
"The NAV for the aggregate data frame can also include any SIF or other interframe time periods.",
"FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary PPDU header 202 in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.",
"The frame header includes at least one header field 222 , NAV 224 and TXOP 226 .",
"The at least one header field 222 can include any fields desired for the header of the associated PSDU frame, including but not limited to synchronization (SYNCH), source, destination, frame check sequence (e.g., CRC) or for any field defined in the 802.11 or appropriate specification for the frame.",
"NAV 224 indicates to the recipient when to send an acknowledgement to the PSDU frame.",
"TXOP 226 field indicates the amount of time allocated for the acknowledgement for the PSDU frame.",
"Frame headers similarly configured like frame header 202 can be employed by the PSDU's within the MRMRA, for example PSDU 1 204 , PSDU 2 206 and additional data units 208 ( FIG. 2 ).",
"When a receiver that is not a recipient of the MRMRA receives the MRMRA, it sets its NAV corresponding to the NAV in the PPDU header 202 .",
"If the receiver is a receiver of the MRMRA, then it sets its NAV according to the NAV in the corresponding PSDU.",
"In view of the foregoing structural and functional features described above, a methodology in accordance with various aspects of the present invention will be better appreciated with reference to FIG. 4 .",
"While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the methodology of FIG. 4 , is shown and described as executing serially, it is to be understood and appreciated that the present invention is not limited by the illustrated order, as some aspects could, in accordance with the present invention, occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other aspects from that shown and described herein.",
"Moreover, not all illustrated features may be required to implement a methodology in accordance with an aspect the present invention.",
"Embodiments of the present invention are suitably adapted to implement the methodology in hardware, software, or a combination thereof.",
"Referring to FIG. 4 , there is illustrated a block diagram of a methodology 400 in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.",
"At 402 a burst transmission is initiated.",
"Frames of the burst transmission are examined at 404 , where it is determined whether a multi-receiver multi-response (MRMRA) frame is encountered.",
"If at 404 it is determined an MRMRA frame is being processed (YES) at 406 the MRMRA frame is transmitted.",
"At 408 the burst is suspended.",
"The initiator of the burst then waits for the end of the response period as shown at 410 .",
"In a preferred embodiment, the length of time for the initiator to wait is included in the MRMRA.",
"For example, for an 802.11 implementation, a spoofed NAV in the header of the MRMRA is used to determine how long to wait.",
"The NAV for the MRMRA can also include any SIF or other interframe time periods.",
"During the response period, recipients of the MRMRA packet respond with an acknowledgement (ACK) or with an acknowledgement that includes data for the initiator (ACK+Data).",
"At 412 the initiator sends a block acknowledgement (Block ACK).",
"Optionally, the block acknowledgement may include bi-directional data.",
"The block acknowledgement is sent to the recipients of the MRMRA.",
"Preferably, all of the receivers of the MRMRA have sent an ACK or an ACK+Data in response to the MRMRA.",
"However, if one of the intended recipients of the MRMRA does not respond to an MPDU, the initiator may retry transmitting the MPDU after sending the block acknowledgement at 412 , or alternatively, may include the MPDU in a future MRMRA, depending on the initiator's policy.",
"At 414 , it is determined whether the burst is finished.",
"If the burst is finished (YES), then the initiator stops transmitting at 416 .",
"If the burst is not finished (NO), then the methodology 400 returns to 404 where the next frame is evaluated.",
"If at 404 it is determined that the frame being transmitted is not an MRMRA (NO), then at 418 bursting continues and the next frame is transmitted.",
"At 414 , it is determined whether the burst is finished.",
"If the burst is finished (YES), then the initiator stops transmitting at 416 .",
"If the burst is not finished (NO), then the methodology 400 returns to 404 where the next frame is evaluated.",
"It should be noted that if at 414 it is determined that the burst is not completed, processing returns to 404 for the next frame.",
"If the next frame is an MRMRA, then the burst is again suspended and 406 , 408 , 410 and 412 are repeated.",
"If the next frame is not an MRMRA, then as shown at 418 the burst continues.",
"The burst may be suspended as many times as necessary for processing MRMRA frames.",
"FIG. 5 is a block diagram that illustrates a computer system 500 upon which an embodiment of the invention may be implemented.",
"Computer system 500 includes a bus 502 or other communication mechanism for communicating information and a processor 504 coupled with bus 502 for processing information.",
"Computer system 500 also includes a main memory 506 , such as random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device coupled to bus 502 for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor 504 .",
"Main memory 506 also may be used for storing a temporary variable or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor 504 .",
"Computer system 500 further includes a ready only memory (ROM) 508 or other static storage device coupled to bus 502 for storing static information and instructions for processor 504 .",
"A storage device 510 , such as a magnetic disk or optical disk, is provided and coupled to bus 502 for storing information and instructions.",
"An aspect of the present invention is related to the use of computer system 500 for Multi-Rate Multi-Receiver Multi-Response Aggregation (MRMRMRA).",
"According to one embodiment of the invention, MRMRA is provided by computer system 500 in response to processor 504 executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in main memory 506 .",
"Such instructions may be read into main memory 506 from another computer-readable medium, such as storage device 510 .",
"Execution of the sequence of instructions contained in main memory 506 causes processor 504 to perform the process steps described herein.",
"One or more processors in a multi-processing arrangement may also be employed to execute the sequences of instructions contained in main memory 506 .",
"In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement the invention.",
"Thus, embodiments of the invention are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.",
"The term “computer-readable medium”",
"as used herein refers to any medium that participates in providing instructions to processor 504 for execution.",
"Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to non-volatile media, and volatile media.",
"Non-volatile media include for example optical or magnetic disks, such as storage device 510 .",
"Volatile media include dynamic memory such as main memory 506 .",
"Common forms of computer-readable media include for example floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASHPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can read.",
"Various forms of computer-readable media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to processor 504 for execution.",
"For example, the instructions may initially be borne on a magnetic disk of a remote computer.",
"The remote computer can load the instructions into its dynamic memory and send the instructions over a telephone line using a modem.",
"A modem local to computer system 500 can receive the data on the telephone line and use an infrared transmitter to convert the data to an infrared signal.",
"An infrared detector coupled to bus 502 can receive the data carried in the infrared signal and place the data on bus 502 .",
"Bus 502 carries the data to main memory 506 from which processor 504 retrieves and executes the instructions.",
"The instructions received by main memory 506 may optionally be stored on storage device 510 either before or after execution by processor 504 .",
"Optionally, computer system 500 includes a communication interface 518 coupled to bus 502 .",
"Communication interface 518 provides a two-way data communication coupling to a network link 520 that is connected to a local network 522 .",
"For example, communication interface 518 may be an integrated services digital network (ISDN) card or a modem to provide a data communication connection to a corresponding type of telephone line.",
"As another example, communication interface 518 may be a local area network (LAN) card to provide a data communication connection to a compatible LAN.",
"Wireless links may also be implemented.",
"In any such implementation, communication interface 518 sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic, or optical signals that carry digital data streams representing various types of information.",
"Network link 520 typically provides data communication through one or more networks to other data devices.",
"For example, network link 520 may provide a connection through local network 522 to a host computer 524 .",
"Local network 122 uses electrical, electromagnetic, and/or optical signals that carry the digital data to and from computer system 500 .",
"Computer system 500 can send messages and receive data, including program codes, through the network(s), network link 520 , and communication interface 518 .",
"For example, host 524 might transmit a requested code for an application program through local network 522 , and communication interface 518 .",
"In accordance with the invention, one such downloaded application provides for implementing MRMRMRA as described herein.",
"The received code may be executed by processor 504 as it is received, and/or stored in storage device 510 , or other non-volatile storage for later execution.",
"FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a system 600 configured to operate in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.",
"System 600 includes a transmitter 602 and a receiver 604 .",
"A controller (Control) 606 , for example a computer system 500 ( FIG. 5 ), is suitably adapted for controlling the transmitter 602 and receiver 604 .",
"Controller 606 suitably includes program code, or logic for performing control functions.",
"“Logic”, as used herein, includes but is not limited to hardware, firmware, software and/or combinations of each to perform a function(s) or an action(s), and/or to cause a function or action from another component.",
"For example, based on a desired application or need, logic may include a software controlled microprocessor, discrete logic such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable/programmed logic device, memory device containing instructions, or the like, or combinational logic embodied in hardware.",
"Logic may also be fully embodied as software.",
"A transmit buffer 608 is used for buffering frames for transmission by transmitter 608 .",
"Controller 606 may suitably be connected to both transmit buffer 608 and transmitter 602 to monitor frames being transmitted or waiting to be transmitted by transmitter 602 .",
"Receiver 604 receives frames and stores them in receive buffer 610 .",
"Memory 612 is coupled to controller 606 .",
"Memory 612 is at least one of volatile or non-volatile memory and may be used by controller 606 for storing variables or other data used by controller 606 for controlling transmitter 602 and receiver 604 .",
"In addition, controller 606 can be configured for transferring data between memory 606 and transmit buffer 608 and/or memory 606 and receive buffer 610 .",
"In operation, controller 606 puts frames into transmit buffer 608 for transmitting.",
"Transmitter 602 initiates a burst transmission.",
"When a MRMRA frame is detected, then controller 606 signals transmitter 602 to suspend transmitting the burst.",
"In one embodiment, controller 606 may determine when an MRMRA is about to be transmitted by monitoring transmit buffer 608 .",
"In another embodiment, transmitter 602 signals controller 606 when it encounters an MRMRA frame.",
"Controller 606 determines from the MRMRA frame the amount of time allocated for the MRMRA to receive responses, such as ACKs or ACKs+data and sets timer 614 accordingly.",
"While the burst transmission is suspended, receiver 604 receives responses to the MRMRA.",
"The responses are forwarded to receive buffer 610 .",
"Optionally, controller 606 can examine the packets in receive buffer 610 to determine which receivers responded to the MRMRA and use memory 612 to track which receivers responded.",
"When timer 614 expires, controller 606 sends a block acknowledgement (BA) or a block acknowledgement with data (BA+data).",
"Preferably, all receivers of the MRMRA responded and the BA or BA+data is directed to all recipients of the MRMRA.",
"However, as those skilled in the art can readily appreciate, there may be circumstances where a receiver does not acknowledge the MRMRA, for example the receiver doesn't receive the MRMRA, or the corresponding MPDU within the MRMRA, and therefore doesn't respond.",
"How the controller 606 handles a missing ACK can vary.",
"For example, in one embodiment controller 606 resends the MPDU via transmitter 602 immediately after sending the BA.",
"In another embodiment, controller 606 resends the MRMRA in a future packet.",
"In still another embodiment, if the time period for delivering the MPDU expired, the MPDU is discarded.",
"In view of the foregoing, those skilled in the art can readily appreciate that the present invention extends the use of MRMRA to multi-rate aggregation.",
"Furthermore, the present invention substantially enhances MMRA by allowing multiple immediate responses, a desirable feature for many wireless applications, such as QoS sensitive applications like WVoIP for example.",
"The present invention provides higher MAC efficiency and much wider application scope than either MMRA or MRMRA by themselves while adding very little overhead and very little additional implementation cost for MMRA.",
"What has been described above includes exemplary implementations of the present invention.",
"It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the present invention, but one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the present invention are possible.",
"Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally and equitably entitled."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of the filing of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/100,733, entitled Fast All-Optical Switch, filed on Sep. 17, 1998, and the specification thereof is incorporated herein by reference.
GOVERNMENT RIGHTS
The U.S. Government has a paid-up license in this invention and the right in limited circumstances to require the patent owner to license others on reasonable terms as provided for by the terms of Contract No. NAG-5-1491, awarded by NASA.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field)
The present invention relates to linear optical devices used to effectuate switching.
2. Background Art
Since lasers have become routinely utilized, there has been considerable interest in the development of optical computing devices. In modem communication links, the requirement for both a high data rate and small error probability requires implementation of all-optical devices. It has become widely accepted that optical networks should fully replace the traditional electronics.
All-optical devices have the advantage of such important properties of light as high frequency, broad spectral range, high speed and capability of parallel processing. Various applications of optical computing and its essential components have been presented, including pattern recognition, polarization-encoding, optical interconnects, and logic gates which were initially based on spatial filtering. Among these, optical gates and/or optical switches are key devices for all-optical networks. For example, ultrafast switches are very attractive for time division, multiplexers and demultiplexers apart from being the basic logic elements of future computing devices.
The operating principles of all-optical elements can differ significantly from one realization to another. (the different techniques are compared by their performance in Table 1.) However, several common features unify them. A signal beam of a definite polarization or a known frequency is used. Upon propagation through some optically active medium or a waveguide with variable characteristics, the initial polarization and/or the frequency of the signal beam changes. Generally, the logic element is built on the state of the polarization or the frequency change for the signal beam, while the initial signal state serves as a reference point. Some methods exploit optical anisotropy of organic molecules, while others utilize the nonlinear properties of a medium. An alternative approach is the implementation of polarization rotation.
The variations of medium characteristics can be caused by absorption/gain saturation and/or a non-linear phase shift, or by some other mechanism. These variations are typically associated with a refractive index change induced by the applied electromagnetic field(s) and/or their interactions with the medium. To control the logic element performance, a command link, such as an external source linked to variation of medium characteristics to change of the signal state, is usually formed.
A modified Mach-Zehnder all-optical switch (see Table 1) utilizes a semiconductor band-filling effect. A phase difference between two components of the signal beam is obtained in a non-linear waveguide, and the subsequent polarization discrimination is implemented. Although rise and fall times of 1.3 ps can be obtained (by ultrafast pulse excitation) and are not limited by the slow relaxation time of induced optical non-linearities, there exist several impeding factors. In spite of reaching switching speed (on-off time) of 40 ps, the repetition rate is only approximately 12 ns, which is approximately three orders of magnitude larger. The non-linear refractive index change, induced in the waveguide, is not constant with time. Therefore, it is not clear how stable this switch is over time intervals exceeding several cycles. The low light coupling efficiency, typical for many non-linear processes, is estimated to be approximately 10% and brings up the question of the stability of the optical non-linearities.
The amplifying optical Kerr gate overcomes the problem of low efficiency as the maximum transition intensity gain reaches 40 at a wavelength of 650 nm. This is due to amplification in a non-linear Kerr medium composed of organic molecules and laser dyes with intrinsic anisotropy. Nevertheless, the pulse width of such a gate is only about 20 ps and is limited by the reorientation time of the dye molecules. Reorientation time represents the repetition rate, during which the signal amplification can be obtained, and during which the Kerr gate operates successfully. In order to increase the time interval, the polarization must be adjusted as well as the amplitude of a closing pulse, but such a procedure is very delicate and critical. The alternative method of finding non-linear materials with much longer relaxation times is still the subject of future research.
Other methods, shown in Table 1, exploit a signal beam scattering from dynamic gratings induced in a non-linear medium due to the presence of second or third-order susceptibility. An AND gate based on four-wave mixing in a semiconductor laser amplifier can provide two 10 GBit/s data streams with an error bit rate less than 10 −10 . However, gate operation is limited by the nanosecond time interval, during which the induced grating exists. Another all-optical AND gate results in a signal-to-noise ratio of 17 dB. Due to high waveguide losses and the lack of diffraction in the planar direction, the second-harmonic generated signal is only about 150 nW, which shows the low efficiency of the process. Another disadvantage of both gates is their slow repetition rates.
A more promising alternative is the implementation of polarization rotation. Polarization saturation spectroscopy examines the interaction of counter-propagating beams in a moderately dense atomic/molecular vapor. Due to the atomic/molecular interactions with laser beams and subsequent changes in the polarization, a significant amount of optical birefringence is introduced so that there can be large differences in transmission. Beam transmission controlled by another laser can be applied for some form of an all-optical device.
Different aspects of polarization rotation phenomena have been studied, especially the effects in alkali vapors. A resonant birefringence due to the optically induced level shifts and optical dichroism under the direct resonance absorption have been suggested. The polarization rotation induced by resonant two-photon dispersion in sodium vapor has also been studied. Self-induced optical activity under resonant and non-resonant conditions in rubidium vapors have been observed experimentally. An optical NOR gate using another alkali vapor, cesium, has also been demonstrated.
Although published less than one year before the priority date of this application, the New Mexico State University thesis entitled Optical Switching in Atomic Vapors: Theoretical Model of an All-Optical AND Gate, by Evgeni Yurij Poliakov, provides useful background information and is herein incorporated by reference.
The following patents disclose all optical devices and related subject matter but are quite different from the present invention: U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,117, to Harris et al., entitled Method and Apparatus for Nonlinear Frequency Generation Using a Strongly-Driven Local Oscillator; U.S. Pat. No. 5,710,845, to Tajima, entitled AH-Optical Switch; U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,436, to Chaillout et al., entitled Optical Pumping, Resonance Magnetometer Using a Light Beam with Controlled Polarization; U.S. Pat. No. 5,268,785, to Crenshaw et al., entitled All-Optical Switch Utilizing Inversion of Two-Level Systems; U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,672, to Tsuda et al., entitled All-Optical Switch Apparatus Using a Nonlinear Etalon; U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,699, to Boyd et al., entitled System for Combining Laser Beam by Transfer of Energy Therebetween in Atomic Vapor, U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,439, to Wessel, entitled System for Nanosecond Modulation of an Infrared Laser Beam by Coherent Stark Switching; U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,003, to Eberly et al., entitled Optical Transmission System; U.S. Pat. No. 3,720,882, to Tang et al., entitled Parametric Frequency Conversion; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,667,066, to Kastler et al., entitled Optically Pumped Alkali Atomic Beam Frequency Standard.
Optical devices based on nonlinear optical processes are typically characterized by low efficiency. Another disadvantage of such devices is low repetition rates. The present invention is an all optical multiplexer based on linear polarization rotation in alkali vapors and does not induce optical nonlinearities.
This approach is based on linear interactions of the laser radiation with an active medium of alkali atoms. Fast and efficient optical switching can be reached in a linear regime. Fast rise times and fast fall times are both necessary. To increase speed, stimulated induced emission of the excited atoms to the ground state effectively reduces the relaxation time of the atoms. Fast oscillations, obtained through the interactions of a pump beam with the alkali atoms controls the polarization rotation and the transmission of a linearly polarized signal beam. Specifically, a circularly polarized pump is tuned to exact resonance of the S ½ →P ½ (J ½ →J ½ ) transition of alkali vapors. Multiplexers and other forms of digital logic are accomplished with this methodology. Excited atoms are driven with rates that are much faster than the spontaneous relaxation rate.
TABLE 1
Performances of various all-optical elements.
Different Types of Gates/Switches
“Fast”
Ultrafast
AND Gate on
Programmable
Proposed
Performance
Kerr
Mach-Zehnder
Four-Wave
AND
Gate
Characteristics
Gate
Switch
Mixing
Gate
Model
Data Rate per Channel
50 Gbit/s
0.1 Gbit/s
N/A
10 Gbit/s
30-50 Gbit/s
Signal Gain
2.4-40
<0.1
10 −3
10 −5
0.25-4.0
Response Times:
a) rise time
2.5 ps
1.3 ps
est. 50 ps
N/A
˜10-15 ps
b) fall time
5-15 ps
1.3 ps
est. 50 ps
N/A
˜10-15 ps
Repetition Rate
20 ps
12 ns
est. 100 ps
1 ms*
˜20-35 ns
Saturation Time
N/A
N/A
nanoseconds**
nanoseconds**
˜200 ns
Pump Requirements:
a) laser operation
pulse
pulse
continuous
pulse
continuous
b) pulse duration
˜1 ps
40 ps
N/A
100 ps
N/A
c) power
˜20 MW
˜125 mW
10 mW
0.24-0.3 W
est. 1.0 W
Extinction Ratio
N/A
N/A
>100
N/A
200
Operating Wavelength
650 nm
880 nm
1548.8 nm
532 nm
400-780 nm
*- due to Q-switching technique
**- time is limited by the existence of the dynamic gratings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION (DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION)
In summary, the present invention is an all-optical switch made up of an incident optical signal, an optically active polarization rotation medium, an optical pump to produce stimulated emission within the polarization rotation medium and a polarizing beam splitter. The optical pump further induces Rabi flopping of the atomic states. Preferably the optical pump is made of a continuous wave optical pump, rather than a pulse, to continuously stimulate the polarization rotation medium. Preferably the optical pump is circularly polarized to create time dependent circular birefringence within the polarization rotation medium. A wavelength selective coupler, for example a dichroic mirror, is located between the output of the polarization rotation medium and the polarizing beam splitter. The polarization rotation medium can be made up of an optically active vapor, for example, an alkali vapor. The incident optical signal is preferably linearly polarized, having a right-hand circularly polarized component and a left-hand circularly polarized component. The path length of the polarization rotation medium is of a length so that the right-hand circularly polarized component and left-hand circularly polarized component of the incident optical signal experience different indices of refraction within the polarization rotation medium. These different indices of refraction cause the two circularly polarized components to be separated by approximately 180 degrees. The fast all-optical switch can be used to perform multiplexing, demultiplexing, all-optical modulation, frequency shift-keying, and digital logic.
In a second embodiment, the optically active polarization rotation medium is solid state. In this embodiment, a wavelength selective coupler is located between the solid state medium and the polarizing beam splitter, as in the first embodiment. The optical pump is a continuous wave optical pump to continuously stimulate the solid state medium and can induce Rabi flopping of the atomic states. The optical pump also is circularly polarized to create time dependent circular birefringence within the solid state medium. The incident optical signal is linearly polarized, having both right-hand and left-hand circularly polarized components. These components experience different indices of refraction within the solid state medium and become separated by preferably approximately 180 degrees. In the solid state embodiment, the optical pump can be linearly polarized to produce linear birefringence within the solid state medium, instead of being circularly polarized. The incident optical signal is linearly polarized, and is preferably polarized at approximately 45 degrees relative to the linearly polarized optical pump. The path length of the solid state embodiment provides approximately 90 degrees of polarization rotation to the incident optical signal. This embodiment also has application in multiplexing, demultiplexing, all-optical modulation, frequency shifting, and digital logic.
A method is also provided for all-optical switching, and the method comprises the steps of providing an optical signal and passing that optical signal through an optically active polarization rotation medium. Stimulated emission and Rabi flopping of the atomic states is provided by pumping with an optical pump the polarization rotation medium, and the components of the optical signal are split with a polarizing beam splitter after having passed through the polarization rotation medium. Continuous pumping provides stimulated emission of the polarization rotation medium. Time dependent circular birefringence is created within the polarization rotation medium with a circularly polarized optical pump. Coupling the optical signal coming out of the polarization rotation medium with the polarizing beam splitter is accomplished with a wavelength selective coupler. Preferably the optical signal is passed through an optically active vapor, for example, an alkali vapor. Preferably a linearly polarized optical signal is provided, having both left- and right-hand circularly polarized components for passage through the polarization rotation medium. Upon passing the optical signal through the polarization rotation medium, the path length of the rotation medium is such that the two components of the optical signal experience different indices of refraction and are preferably separated by approximately 180 degrees.
The step of passing the optical signal through an optically active polarization rotation medium can comprise passing it through a solid state medium. Again, a wavelength selective coupler couples the optical signal coming out of the solid state medium with the polarizing beam splitter. While this is occurring, the optical pump is continuously pumping the solid state medium to produce stimulated emission and can induce Rabi flopping of the atomic states. Either time-dependent circular birefringence or linear birefringence is created within the solid state medium using the optical pump. If circular birefringence is created, then the optical signal needs to be linearly polarized so that its two components will experience different indices of refraction within the solid state medium. If the optical pump is linearly polarized, then the optical signal must also be linearly polarized and preferably is polarized at approximately 45 degrees relative to the linearly polarized optical pump. Furthermore, the path length of the solid state medium must provide approximately 90 degrees of polarization rotation to the optical signal if linearly polarized pumping is used. Either of these methods can include any of the steps of demultiplexing the optical signal, modulating the optical signal, frequency shift-keying the optical signal, and digital logic gating the optical signal.
A primary object of the present invention is to achieve an all-optical switch which can switch signals at rates significantly higher than electronic switching rates.
Another object of the present invention is to use an optical pump to drive atoms at rates much faster than spontaneous relaxation rate.
Yet another object of the present invention is to base the switch on linear interactions of the laser radiation with an active medium of alkali atoms.
A primary advantage of the present invention is that high multiplexing rates (Gbitsec) are achieved by Rabi flopping of the atomic states.
Other objects, advantages and novel features, and further scope of applicability of the present invention will be set forth in part in the detailed description to follow, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and form a part of the specification, illustrate several embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. The drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. In the drawings:
FIG. 1 a is a block diagram of an experimental configuration for an all-optical multiplexer based on polarization rotation;
FIG. 1 b is a simple four-level model of an alkali atom that neglects nuclear spin;
FIG. 2 a is a plot of the transmission coefficient near atomic resonance, δ<γ ind , for different amounts of signal detuning δ,
FIG. 2 b is a plot of multiplexer transmission stability for different amounts of signal detuning δ,
FIG. 3 is a plot of phase locking near atomic resonance for t<τ s wherein the polarization rotation angle φ is plotted exactly versus the approximation of φ,
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a typical experimental set-up for a polarization rotation mechanism; and
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the linearly polarized optical pump embodiment of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Polarization spectroscopy deals with signals whose polarization can change with time. The change of the polarization state for a signal beam, propagating through a cell containing an optically active vapor, is caused by interactions of this vapor with a pump beam, which is also applied to the system. The pump beam induces the optical transitions in the gas medium and changes its refractive index and the absorption coefficient. As a result, the polarization rotation of the signal beam becomes possible. The scheme of a common experimental set-up is illustrated in FIG. 4 .
In FIG. 4 a , a probe beam, which is the incident optical signal, propagates in the opposite direction with respect to the direction of the pump. This signal can be, for example, a laser. The probe beam passes through a linear polarizer, enters the cell and goes through a second polarizer, which is crossed with the first one. Without the applied field, the gas density remains unchanged and isotropic, if the intensity of the signal wave is weak enough. The detector, placed behind the second polarizer, registers a low portion of the signal beam intensity caused by the residual transmission of the crossed polarizer.
However, if the sufficiently strong pump beam induces atomic transitions in the cell, the isotropic media becomes anisotropic Any atomic system is very sensitive to the polarization of the applied field. Only specific transitions induced by the electromagnetic field are allowed, and they depend on a particular orientation of the field in space, the field polarization. The atomic populations of the levels involved in the allowed induced transitions are driven by the applied field, while all the others remain unaffected. The presence of the pump field of a definite polarization produces a non-uniform population distribution of atomic sub-levels and unequal saturation regimes.
In these conditions, an incident linearly polarized field propagates through a vapor with an anisotropic refractive index Indeed, the refractive index is proportional to the atomic density. As mentioned before, if some of the (degenerate) levels of the ground state are affected by the field, whereas the others are not, the previously isotropic distribution among them becomes non-uniform.
For sake of simplicity, the linear polarization are decomposed into two independent left-hand circular polarization (LHCP) and right-hand circular polarization (RHCP) components. Without a pumping field, there is no change in the atomic densities, and there is no difference between the refractive indices of the LHCP and RHCP components of the signal wave, n LHCP and n RHCP , respectively. Both wave components arrive at the end of the cell at the same time with velocity c/n LHCP=c/n RHCP . However, if there is an applied field of, say, RHCP, n RHCP becomes smaller. The population difference between certain degenerate sub-levels of the ground state and some excited states is reduced as the excited states, previously empty, become intensively populated through the transitions induced by the RHCP field. At the same time the refractive index n LHCP does not change because the atomic populations, which define its value, remain the same since there are no induced transitions for them. As a result, the RHCP component of the signal wave propagates faster so that a non-zero phase delay angle occurs between the both components, and a plane of the polarization rotates.
By selecting a sufficiently long cell, the phase difference dose to π can be accumulated. The linear polarization of the signal beam at the end of the cell becomes perpendicular with respect to the incident polarization. The final polarizer is transparent in this direction, so that the detector registers a maximum transmitted signal.
This analysis can be equivalently done for the pump field with LHCP. Effectively, different atomic transitions induced by the RHCP and LHCP components of the field are necessary. The effect of obtaining optical birefringence for the incident, linearly polarized probe beam is quite analogous to the Faraday effect. In the Faraday effect, non-isotropic orientation of the atoms is caused by the magnetic field. For polarization spectroscopy the optical field polarizes the atoms or molecules. Contrary to the Faraday effect where all molecules are oriented, here only those molecules which interact with the monochromatic pump become oriented through their induced dipole moments.
Attention is now turned to FIG. 1 a . In FIG. 1 a , similar to the common configuration used in polarization saturation spectroscopy, a linearly polarized signal beam of a low intensity I s propagates in an alkali vapor and then goes through a polarizing beam splitter, BS. An optical pump signal is represented by I p . If the medium is isotropic, the signal light propagates through the beam splitter to channel 1 . However, if a sufficiently strong pump beam, I p , of a definite polarization is applied, the atomic density distribution changes. As shown in FIG. 1 b , a left-hand circularly polarized (LHCP) pump reduces the population difference between ground level 1 and excited level 3 . The selection rules forbid pumping level 4 . Since the refractive index is proportional to the population difference, the two independent circular components, RHCP and LHCP, of the linearly polarized signal, I s , experience different refractive indices. In FIG. 1 a , the LHCP signal component propagates faster than the RHCP one. For an appropriate vapor length, a phase difference dose to π can be accumulated, so that the plane of signal polarization is rotated by 90 degrees. Under these conditions, the polarizing beam splitter BS switches the signal to channel 2 . Thus, the signal is switched to channel 2 , if and only if the both beams are present when the pump field is turned on abruptly.
Rabi flopping of the atomic states controls polarization rotation and, therefore, the multiplexer output channel. To obtain Rabi flopping, a continuously operating pump that is switched on abruptly is required. Specifically, a LHCP atomic beam of intensity I p is turned to the resonance frequency ω 0 of S ½ →P ½ transition in the alkali vapor. Four levels with neglection of nuclear spin are modeled in this configuration. To obtain GBit/s rates, induced emission of the excited atoms of level 3 is stimulated and they are driven back to zero with much faster rates than the spontaneous relaxation rate of P ½ state, Γ. On such short time scales, the widely employed steady state solutions are invalid. Therefore, a new solution for the exact time dependences of the atomic populations is required.
For the purposes of the model, it is assumed that the pump beam is monochromatic and the atoms are in an atomic beam. The latter assumption allows neglect of the atomic collisions and Doppler broadening. In addition, the pump is LHCP so it is not necessary to consider level 4 . (The signal beam does not induce significant amount of optical transitions in the vapor because I s <<I p .) Effectively, the four-level system in FIG. 1 b reduces to the three levels, for which a closed form solution exists. The atomic probabilities, ρ ii , are described by the system of density matrix equations:
Im({dot over (ρ)} 13 )=−ΓIm(ρ 13 )+γ ind (ρ 11 −ρ 33 ),
{dot over (ρ)} 11 −2Γρ 33 /3−2γ ind Im(ρ 13 ),
{dot over (ρ)} 22 =Γρ 33 /3,
{dot over (ρ)} 33 =−Γρ 33 +2γ ind Im(ρ 13 ).
where the induced (by the pump field) multiplexing rate is given by
γ ind =({square root over (2+L )}e/3)E p <Ψ 3 |r|Ψ 1 >=Ep{square root over (Γc 3 +L /(2ω 0 3 +L ))},
and Ψ i is the wave function of i-th level; E p is the pump amplitude.
The induced rate γ ind is the Rabi flopping rate of the atoms between levels 1 and 3 . If γ ind >>Γ, the atomic probabilities ρ 11 −ρ 33 or ρ 11 −ρ 33 oscillate sinusoidally with a period τ ind (the results are not shown). The amount of polarization rotation is proportional to the difference ρ 11 −ρ 33 . As a result, if a signal beam is also present, the output channel oscillates periodically and the signal is switched between channels 1 and 2 . Note that the multiplexing (Rabi) rate is directly proportional to the pump field amplitude E p .
To decrease the signal beam attenuation in a vapor, the signal is shifted off-resonance by δ=ω 0 −ω. A linearly polarized signal can be decomposed into the two independent LHCP and RHCP components: E s =E s (e + +e−) {square root over (2+L )}, where e ± = ( x ^ ± i y ^ ) / 2
are the corresponding unit vectors. In an absorptive medium with a complex refraction index, n=n′+in″, and induced atomic transitions 1 ←→ 3 . the refractive coefficients β±=wn′±/c and the absorption coefficients a±=wn″/c, are different for the LHCP and RHCP waves. After propagating through the vapor cell, the resultant attenuation for the signal beam is given as
E s,out =E s (e (iβ + −α + )L e + +e (iβ − −α − )L e − )/{square root over (2)}
The intensity ratio of the signal with polarization rotated by 90 degrees to the initial signal defines the transmission coefficient.
T≡|E s,out ·ê ⊥ | 2 /|E s | 2 ,
where ê ⊥ is a unit vector perpendicular to E s :
T=(e −2α + L +e −2α − L −2e −(α + +α − )L cos Ø)/4
and the polarization rotation angle is
Ø≡(β − −β + )L=ω(n′ − −n′ + )L/c.
The multiplexer performance can be analyzed exactly based on the above equations and the calculations of the refraction index n and linear atomic susceptibility.
The second embodiment of the present invention can also be implemented in the solid state as shown in FIG. 5 . Rabi flopping still allows the switch to operate at a speed that is many orders of magnitude higher than the natural decay time and by tuning the pump and signal frequencies to absorption resonances the required pump power is minimized. In the solid state, unlike in the gas phase, the pump beam may be linearly or circularly polarized depending upon the characteristics of the medium. If the strongest transitions in the medium are optimally excited by circular polarized photons, then the pump beam should be circularly polarized to optimize the excitation. Likewise, if the strongest transitions are excited by linearly polarized photons, then the pump beam should be linearly polarized In a direction to optimize the excitation. When a circularly polarized pump is used, the configuration is identical to the gaseous phase case discussed above. However, if a linearly polarized pump is utilized, then the signal beam should preferably be polarized at 45 degrees relative to the polarization of the pump beam however, other relative angles are achievable with different amounts of pumping and/or different path lengths. If that is done, then the linearly polarized pumped solid state medium will be a linearly birefringent material that can provide a 90-degree polarization rotation for the signal beam if the pump intensity and material length are properly adjusted.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
The invention is further illustrated by the following non-limiting example.
EXAMPLE 1
To avoid unessential complexity, approximations that are justified by typical experiments were applied. The region of γ ind >>Γ was considered to be of fastest bit rates. Furthermore, γ ind =500 Γ was used, but conclusions are independent of this ratio. The signal and pump beam frequency are dose to each other: ω,ω 0 >>δ, but far exceed the feasible induced rates so that ω,ω 0 >>γ ind .
A plot of the transmission for signal frequencies near atomic resonance is presented in FIG. 2 a . The signal beam transmission, based on the amount of polarization rotation, changed from channel 1 to channel 2 with the period while the pump was on. When T=T max , LHCP pump produced population inversion in the medium so that ρ 11 −ρ 33 ˜−½, but ρ 22 −ρ 44 ˜½. At this time, the difference in the refractive indices for both circular components of the signal beam was maximum as n + was proportional ρ 22 −ρ 44 and n − was proportional to ρ 11 −ρ 33 . By selecting the appropriate cell length L and vapor density N, the angle φ can be set to ±π. There is a certain gain in channel 2 associated with the population inversion ρ 11 −ρ 33 ˜−½ while the transmission in channel 1 is always less than unity due to absorption. (Note that the sum of the transmissions of channels 1 and 2 divided by 2 equals unity.) Also note that the net signal attenuation decreases with δ. When level 3 is unpopulated, the atomic density distribution becomes isotropic so that n − ≈N + and φ≈O. The signal polarization remains unchanged, and the multiplexer output is channel 1 .
The transmission was maximized when φ=±π. Using this as a design requirement and noting that φ was proportional to LN, the required atomic density N was determined. Although N depends strongly on δ, it is between 10 11 and 10 14 cc for L˜1 cm. The product LN and δ became the multiplexer design parameters, and are independent of a particular vapor.
As was shown in FIG. 2 a, τ ind is independent of δ. While the pump beam cannot stimulate transitions between levels 2 and 4 , spontaneous emission from level 3 to 2 does occur, which results in an eventual optical pumping of population from level 1 to 2 . As a result of partial depletion of level 1 , the polarization rotation was decreased. This led to a time dependent decay Vs in the switching efficiency, dependent upon spontaneous relaxation time for level 3 . To obtain optimum performance, the extinction ratio, T max /T min was examined. In FIG. 2 b it is shown that the extinction ratio always increases with δ while δ>Γ/2. In fact, the atomic density is an increasing function in the same region. Clearly, if there are more atoms in the beam path, the polarization rotation is more efficient, and the ratio T max /T min grows. However, the multiplexer transmission stability exhibits the opposite behavior, decreasing with δ and being the shortest in the off-resonance region, δ>γ ind . As a result, a trade-off is made between the desired level of the extinction ratio and its stability. In FIGS. 2 a and 2 b it is shown that the period of optical switching τ ind is independent of τ s . Numerically, if γ ind >10Γ, τ ind =π/γ ind and τ s =6/Γ. Since Γ −1 ˜30 ns for the alkali vapors, the multiplexer functions for ˜200 ns (see FIG. 2 b ). The corresponding bit rate is R b =τ ind −1 =γ ind /π.
It is interesting to note that for small δ's, the extinction ratio T max /T min is approximately unity. This is due to the fact that the phase variations φ(t) are suppressed over the period τ ind , shown in FIG. 3, resulting in phase locking for t<τ s .
In conclusion, a model of an all-optical modulator, which can operate continuously for approximately 200 ns was presented. Fast Rabi flopping of the atomic states can also be utilized for all-optical modulation, frequency shift-keying, and realization of all-optical gates/switches (for example, an AND gate), including multilevel logics. Using the above equations for R b =γ ind /π calculations reveal that 50 Gbiks data rates per linear channel require pump field E p =10V/m. The intensity of the cw-laser I p ≈125kW/cm 2 is low enough not to induce optical nonlinearities in a vapor.
A key component in increasing the capacity of fiber optic networks is the ability to switch signals at rates that are significantly higher than electronic switching rates. This device allows switching well beyond the limits of electronic switching. In addition, all-optical switching allows the switching signal to travel in the fiber eliminating the need to supply electronically power remotely. Currently, the telecommunications industry is attempting to increase the capacity of the fiber optic system using Time Division Multiplexing, TDM. In fact, this has been identified as one of the needs for the next generation internet. The present invention has an obvious application as an ultra-high speed multiplexer/demultiplexer for TDM. Currently it is very difficult to generate high frequency side-bands on the optical waves at frequencies of more than 10 GHz, but this device does this easily. In this mode the device can be used to generate an oscillator or dock frequency in the mm wave region.
The preceding example can be repeated with similar success by substituting the generically or specifically described operating conditions of this invention for those used in the preceding example.
Although the invention has been described in detail with particular reference to these preferred embodiments, other embodiments can achieve the same results. Variations and modifications of the present invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such modifications and equivalents. The entire disclosures of all references, applications, patents, and publications cited above are hereby incorporated by reference. | An apparatus and method wherein polarization rotation in alkali vapors or other mediums is used for all-optical switching and digital logic and where the rate of operation is proportional to the amplitude of the pump field. High rates of speed are accomplished by Rabi flopping of the atomic states using a continuously operating monochromatic atomic beam as the pump. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the concept presented in the passage. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of the filing of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser.",
"No. 60/100,733, entitled Fast All-Optical Switch, filed on Sep. 17, 1998, and the specification thereof is incorporated herein by reference.",
"GOVERNMENT RIGHTS The U.S. Government has a paid-up license in this invention and the right in limited circumstances to require the patent owner to license others on reasonable terms as provided for by the terms of Contract No. NAG-5-1491, awarded by NASA.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.",
"Field of the Invention (Technical Field) The present invention relates to linear optical devices used to effectuate switching.",
"Background Art Since lasers have become routinely utilized, there has been considerable interest in the development of optical computing devices.",
"In modem communication links, the requirement for both a high data rate and small error probability requires implementation of all-optical devices.",
"It has become widely accepted that optical networks should fully replace the traditional electronics.",
"All-optical devices have the advantage of such important properties of light as high frequency, broad spectral range, high speed and capability of parallel processing.",
"Various applications of optical computing and its essential components have been presented, including pattern recognition, polarization-encoding, optical interconnects, and logic gates which were initially based on spatial filtering.",
"Among these, optical gates and/or optical switches are key devices for all-optical networks.",
"For example, ultrafast switches are very attractive for time division, multiplexers and demultiplexers apart from being the basic logic elements of future computing devices.",
"The operating principles of all-optical elements can differ significantly from one realization to another.",
"(the different techniques are compared by their performance in Table 1.) However, several common features unify them.",
"A signal beam of a definite polarization or a known frequency is used.",
"Upon propagation through some optically active medium or a waveguide with variable characteristics, the initial polarization and/or the frequency of the signal beam changes.",
"Generally, the logic element is built on the state of the polarization or the frequency change for the signal beam, while the initial signal state serves as a reference point.",
"Some methods exploit optical anisotropy of organic molecules, while others utilize the nonlinear properties of a medium.",
"An alternative approach is the implementation of polarization rotation.",
"The variations of medium characteristics can be caused by absorption/gain saturation and/or a non-linear phase shift, or by some other mechanism.",
"These variations are typically associated with a refractive index change induced by the applied electromagnetic field(s) and/or their interactions with the medium.",
"To control the logic element performance, a command link, such as an external source linked to variation of medium characteristics to change of the signal state, is usually formed.",
"A modified Mach-Zehnder all-optical switch (see Table 1) utilizes a semiconductor band-filling effect.",
"A phase difference between two components of the signal beam is obtained in a non-linear waveguide, and the subsequent polarization discrimination is implemented.",
"Although rise and fall times of 1.3 ps can be obtained (by ultrafast pulse excitation) and are not limited by the slow relaxation time of induced optical non-linearities, there exist several impeding factors.",
"In spite of reaching switching speed (on-off time) of 40 ps, the repetition rate is only approximately 12 ns, which is approximately three orders of magnitude larger.",
"The non-linear refractive index change, induced in the waveguide, is not constant with time.",
"Therefore, it is not clear how stable this switch is over time intervals exceeding several cycles.",
"The low light coupling efficiency, typical for many non-linear processes, is estimated to be approximately 10% and brings up the question of the stability of the optical non-linearities.",
"The amplifying optical Kerr gate overcomes the problem of low efficiency as the maximum transition intensity gain reaches 40 at a wavelength of 650 nm.",
"This is due to amplification in a non-linear Kerr medium composed of organic molecules and laser dyes with intrinsic anisotropy.",
"Nevertheless, the pulse width of such a gate is only about 20 ps and is limited by the reorientation time of the dye molecules.",
"Reorientation time represents the repetition rate, during which the signal amplification can be obtained, and during which the Kerr gate operates successfully.",
"In order to increase the time interval, the polarization must be adjusted as well as the amplitude of a closing pulse, but such a procedure is very delicate and critical.",
"The alternative method of finding non-linear materials with much longer relaxation times is still the subject of future research.",
"Other methods, shown in Table 1, exploit a signal beam scattering from dynamic gratings induced in a non-linear medium due to the presence of second or third-order susceptibility.",
"An AND gate based on four-wave mixing in a semiconductor laser amplifier can provide two 10 GBit/s data streams with an error bit rate less than 10 −10 .",
"However, gate operation is limited by the nanosecond time interval, during which the induced grating exists.",
"Another all-optical AND gate results in a signal-to-noise ratio of 17 dB.",
"Due to high waveguide losses and the lack of diffraction in the planar direction, the second-harmonic generated signal is only about 150 nW, which shows the low efficiency of the process.",
"Another disadvantage of both gates is their slow repetition rates.",
"A more promising alternative is the implementation of polarization rotation.",
"Polarization saturation spectroscopy examines the interaction of counter-propagating beams in a moderately dense atomic/molecular vapor.",
"Due to the atomic/molecular interactions with laser beams and subsequent changes in the polarization, a significant amount of optical birefringence is introduced so that there can be large differences in transmission.",
"Beam transmission controlled by another laser can be applied for some form of an all-optical device.",
"Different aspects of polarization rotation phenomena have been studied, especially the effects in alkali vapors.",
"A resonant birefringence due to the optically induced level shifts and optical dichroism under the direct resonance absorption have been suggested.",
"The polarization rotation induced by resonant two-photon dispersion in sodium vapor has also been studied.",
"Self-induced optical activity under resonant and non-resonant conditions in rubidium vapors have been observed experimentally.",
"An optical NOR gate using another alkali vapor, cesium, has also been demonstrated.",
"Although published less than one year before the priority date of this application, the New Mexico State University thesis entitled Optical Switching in Atomic Vapors: Theoretical Model of an All-Optical AND Gate, by Evgeni Yurij Poliakov, provides useful background information and is herein incorporated by reference.",
"The following patents disclose all optical devices and related subject matter but are quite different from the present invention: U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,117, to Harris et al.",
", entitled Method and Apparatus for Nonlinear Frequency Generation Using a Strongly-Driven Local Oscillator;",
"U.S. Pat. No. 5,710,845, to Tajima, entitled AH-Optical Switch;",
"U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,436, to Chaillout et al.",
", entitled Optical Pumping, Resonance Magnetometer Using a Light Beam with Controlled Polarization;",
"U.S. Pat. No. 5,268,785, to Crenshaw et al.",
", entitled All-Optical Switch Utilizing Inversion of Two-Level Systems;",
"U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,672, to Tsuda et al.",
", entitled All-Optical Switch Apparatus Using a Nonlinear Etalon;",
"U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,699, to Boyd et al.",
", entitled System for Combining Laser Beam by Transfer of Energy Therebetween in Atomic Vapor, U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,439, to Wessel, entitled System for Nanosecond Modulation of an Infrared Laser Beam by Coherent Stark Switching;",
"U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,003, to Eberly et al.",
", entitled Optical Transmission System;",
"U.S. Pat. No. 3,720,882, to Tang et al.",
", entitled Parametric Frequency Conversion;",
"and U.S. Pat. No. 3,667,066, to Kastler et al.",
", entitled Optically Pumped Alkali Atomic Beam Frequency Standard.",
"Optical devices based on nonlinear optical processes are typically characterized by low efficiency.",
"Another disadvantage of such devices is low repetition rates.",
"The present invention is an all optical multiplexer based on linear polarization rotation in alkali vapors and does not induce optical nonlinearities.",
"This approach is based on linear interactions of the laser radiation with an active medium of alkali atoms.",
"Fast and efficient optical switching can be reached in a linear regime.",
"Fast rise times and fast fall times are both necessary.",
"To increase speed, stimulated induced emission of the excited atoms to the ground state effectively reduces the relaxation time of the atoms.",
"Fast oscillations, obtained through the interactions of a pump beam with the alkali atoms controls the polarization rotation and the transmission of a linearly polarized signal beam.",
"Specifically, a circularly polarized pump is tuned to exact resonance of the S ½ →P ½ (J ½ →J ½ ) transition of alkali vapors.",
"Multiplexers and other forms of digital logic are accomplished with this methodology.",
"Excited atoms are driven with rates that are much faster than the spontaneous relaxation rate.",
"TABLE 1 Performances of various all-optical elements.",
"Different Types of Gates/Switches “Fast”",
"Ultrafast AND Gate on Programmable Proposed Performance Kerr Mach-Zehnder Four-Wave AND Gate Characteristics Gate Switch Mixing Gate Model Data Rate per Channel 50 Gbit/s 0.1 Gbit/s N/A 10 Gbit/s 30-50 Gbit/s Signal Gain 2.4-40 <0.1 10 −3 10 −5 0.25-4.0 Response Times: a) rise time 2.5 ps 1.3 ps est.",
"50 ps N/A ˜10-15 ps b) fall time 5-15 ps 1.3 ps est.",
"50 ps N/A ˜10-15 ps Repetition Rate 20 ps 12 ns est.",
"100 ps 1 ms* ˜20-35 ns Saturation Time N/A N/A nanoseconds** nanoseconds** ˜200 ns Pump Requirements: a) laser operation pulse pulse continuous pulse continuous b) pulse duration ˜1 ps 40 ps N/A 100 ps N/A c) power ˜20 MW ˜125 mW 10 mW 0.24-0.3 W est.",
"1.0 W Extinction Ratio N/A N/A >100 N/A 200 Operating Wavelength 650 nm 880 nm 1548.8 nm 532 nm 400-780 nm *- due to Q-switching technique **- time is limited by the existence of the dynamic gratings.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION (DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION) In summary, the present invention is an all-optical switch made up of an incident optical signal, an optically active polarization rotation medium, an optical pump to produce stimulated emission within the polarization rotation medium and a polarizing beam splitter.",
"The optical pump further induces Rabi flopping of the atomic states.",
"Preferably the optical pump is made of a continuous wave optical pump, rather than a pulse, to continuously stimulate the polarization rotation medium.",
"Preferably the optical pump is circularly polarized to create time dependent circular birefringence within the polarization rotation medium.",
"A wavelength selective coupler, for example a dichroic mirror, is located between the output of the polarization rotation medium and the polarizing beam splitter.",
"The polarization rotation medium can be made up of an optically active vapor, for example, an alkali vapor.",
"The incident optical signal is preferably linearly polarized, having a right-hand circularly polarized component and a left-hand circularly polarized component.",
"The path length of the polarization rotation medium is of a length so that the right-hand circularly polarized component and left-hand circularly polarized component of the incident optical signal experience different indices of refraction within the polarization rotation medium.",
"These different indices of refraction cause the two circularly polarized components to be separated by approximately 180 degrees.",
"The fast all-optical switch can be used to perform multiplexing, demultiplexing, all-optical modulation, frequency shift-keying, and digital logic.",
"In a second embodiment, the optically active polarization rotation medium is solid state.",
"In this embodiment, a wavelength selective coupler is located between the solid state medium and the polarizing beam splitter, as in the first embodiment.",
"The optical pump is a continuous wave optical pump to continuously stimulate the solid state medium and can induce Rabi flopping of the atomic states.",
"The optical pump also is circularly polarized to create time dependent circular birefringence within the solid state medium.",
"The incident optical signal is linearly polarized, having both right-hand and left-hand circularly polarized components.",
"These components experience different indices of refraction within the solid state medium and become separated by preferably approximately 180 degrees.",
"In the solid state embodiment, the optical pump can be linearly polarized to produce linear birefringence within the solid state medium, instead of being circularly polarized.",
"The incident optical signal is linearly polarized, and is preferably polarized at approximately 45 degrees relative to the linearly polarized optical pump.",
"The path length of the solid state embodiment provides approximately 90 degrees of polarization rotation to the incident optical signal.",
"This embodiment also has application in multiplexing, demultiplexing, all-optical modulation, frequency shifting, and digital logic.",
"A method is also provided for all-optical switching, and the method comprises the steps of providing an optical signal and passing that optical signal through an optically active polarization rotation medium.",
"Stimulated emission and Rabi flopping of the atomic states is provided by pumping with an optical pump the polarization rotation medium, and the components of the optical signal are split with a polarizing beam splitter after having passed through the polarization rotation medium.",
"Continuous pumping provides stimulated emission of the polarization rotation medium.",
"Time dependent circular birefringence is created within the polarization rotation medium with a circularly polarized optical pump.",
"Coupling the optical signal coming out of the polarization rotation medium with the polarizing beam splitter is accomplished with a wavelength selective coupler.",
"Preferably the optical signal is passed through an optically active vapor, for example, an alkali vapor.",
"Preferably a linearly polarized optical signal is provided, having both left- and right-hand circularly polarized components for passage through the polarization rotation medium.",
"Upon passing the optical signal through the polarization rotation medium, the path length of the rotation medium is such that the two components of the optical signal experience different indices of refraction and are preferably separated by approximately 180 degrees.",
"The step of passing the optical signal through an optically active polarization rotation medium can comprise passing it through a solid state medium.",
"Again, a wavelength selective coupler couples the optical signal coming out of the solid state medium with the polarizing beam splitter.",
"While this is occurring, the optical pump is continuously pumping the solid state medium to produce stimulated emission and can induce Rabi flopping of the atomic states.",
"Either time-dependent circular birefringence or linear birefringence is created within the solid state medium using the optical pump.",
"If circular birefringence is created, then the optical signal needs to be linearly polarized so that its two components will experience different indices of refraction within the solid state medium.",
"If the optical pump is linearly polarized, then the optical signal must also be linearly polarized and preferably is polarized at approximately 45 degrees relative to the linearly polarized optical pump.",
"Furthermore, the path length of the solid state medium must provide approximately 90 degrees of polarization rotation to the optical signal if linearly polarized pumping is used.",
"Either of these methods can include any of the steps of demultiplexing the optical signal, modulating the optical signal, frequency shift-keying the optical signal, and digital logic gating the optical signal.",
"A primary object of the present invention is to achieve an all-optical switch which can switch signals at rates significantly higher than electronic switching rates.",
"Another object of the present invention is to use an optical pump to drive atoms at rates much faster than spontaneous relaxation rate.",
"Yet another object of the present invention is to base the switch on linear interactions of the laser radiation with an active medium of alkali atoms.",
"A primary advantage of the present invention is that high multiplexing rates (Gbitsec) are achieved by Rabi flopping of the atomic states.",
"Other objects, advantages and novel features, and further scope of applicability of the present invention will be set forth in part in the detailed description to follow, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned by practice of the invention.",
"The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and form a part of the specification, illustrate several embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.",
"The drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.",
"In the drawings: FIG. 1 a is a block diagram of an experimental configuration for an all-optical multiplexer based on polarization rotation;",
"FIG. 1 b is a simple four-level model of an alkali atom that neglects nuclear spin;",
"FIG. 2 a is a plot of the transmission coefficient near atomic resonance, δ<γ ind , for different amounts of signal detuning δ, FIG. 2 b is a plot of multiplexer transmission stability for different amounts of signal detuning δ, FIG. 3 is a plot of phase locking near atomic resonance for t<τ s wherein the polarization rotation angle φ is plotted exactly versus the approximation of φ, FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a typical experimental set-up for a polarization rotation mechanism;",
"and FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the linearly polarized optical pump embodiment of the present invention.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Polarization spectroscopy deals with signals whose polarization can change with time.",
"The change of the polarization state for a signal beam, propagating through a cell containing an optically active vapor, is caused by interactions of this vapor with a pump beam, which is also applied to the system.",
"The pump beam induces the optical transitions in the gas medium and changes its refractive index and the absorption coefficient.",
"As a result, the polarization rotation of the signal beam becomes possible.",
"The scheme of a common experimental set-up is illustrated in FIG. 4 .",
"In FIG. 4 a , a probe beam, which is the incident optical signal, propagates in the opposite direction with respect to the direction of the pump.",
"This signal can be, for example, a laser.",
"The probe beam passes through a linear polarizer, enters the cell and goes through a second polarizer, which is crossed with the first one.",
"Without the applied field, the gas density remains unchanged and isotropic, if the intensity of the signal wave is weak enough.",
"The detector, placed behind the second polarizer, registers a low portion of the signal beam intensity caused by the residual transmission of the crossed polarizer.",
"However, if the sufficiently strong pump beam induces atomic transitions in the cell, the isotropic media becomes anisotropic Any atomic system is very sensitive to the polarization of the applied field.",
"Only specific transitions induced by the electromagnetic field are allowed, and they depend on a particular orientation of the field in space, the field polarization.",
"The atomic populations of the levels involved in the allowed induced transitions are driven by the applied field, while all the others remain unaffected.",
"The presence of the pump field of a definite polarization produces a non-uniform population distribution of atomic sub-levels and unequal saturation regimes.",
"In these conditions, an incident linearly polarized field propagates through a vapor with an anisotropic refractive index Indeed, the refractive index is proportional to the atomic density.",
"As mentioned before, if some of the (degenerate) levels of the ground state are affected by the field, whereas the others are not, the previously isotropic distribution among them becomes non-uniform.",
"For sake of simplicity, the linear polarization are decomposed into two independent left-hand circular polarization (LHCP) and right-hand circular polarization (RHCP) components.",
"Without a pumping field, there is no change in the atomic densities, and there is no difference between the refractive indices of the LHCP and RHCP components of the signal wave, n LHCP and n RHCP , respectively.",
"Both wave components arrive at the end of the cell at the same time with velocity c/n LHCP=c/n RHCP .",
"However, if there is an applied field of, say, RHCP, n RHCP becomes smaller.",
"The population difference between certain degenerate sub-levels of the ground state and some excited states is reduced as the excited states, previously empty, become intensively populated through the transitions induced by the RHCP field.",
"At the same time the refractive index n LHCP does not change because the atomic populations, which define its value, remain the same since there are no induced transitions for them.",
"As a result, the RHCP component of the signal wave propagates faster so that a non-zero phase delay angle occurs between the both components, and a plane of the polarization rotates.",
"By selecting a sufficiently long cell, the phase difference dose to π can be accumulated.",
"The linear polarization of the signal beam at the end of the cell becomes perpendicular with respect to the incident polarization.",
"The final polarizer is transparent in this direction, so that the detector registers a maximum transmitted signal.",
"This analysis can be equivalently done for the pump field with LHCP.",
"Effectively, different atomic transitions induced by the RHCP and LHCP components of the field are necessary.",
"The effect of obtaining optical birefringence for the incident, linearly polarized probe beam is quite analogous to the Faraday effect.",
"In the Faraday effect, non-isotropic orientation of the atoms is caused by the magnetic field.",
"For polarization spectroscopy the optical field polarizes the atoms or molecules.",
"Contrary to the Faraday effect where all molecules are oriented, here only those molecules which interact with the monochromatic pump become oriented through their induced dipole moments.",
"Attention is now turned to FIG. 1 a .",
"In FIG. 1 a , similar to the common configuration used in polarization saturation spectroscopy, a linearly polarized signal beam of a low intensity I s propagates in an alkali vapor and then goes through a polarizing beam splitter, BS.",
"An optical pump signal is represented by I p .",
"If the medium is isotropic, the signal light propagates through the beam splitter to channel 1 .",
"However, if a sufficiently strong pump beam, I p , of a definite polarization is applied, the atomic density distribution changes.",
"As shown in FIG. 1 b , a left-hand circularly polarized (LHCP) pump reduces the population difference between ground level 1 and excited level 3 .",
"The selection rules forbid pumping level 4 .",
"Since the refractive index is proportional to the population difference, the two independent circular components, RHCP and LHCP, of the linearly polarized signal, I s , experience different refractive indices.",
"In FIG. 1 a , the LHCP signal component propagates faster than the RHCP one.",
"For an appropriate vapor length, a phase difference dose to π can be accumulated, so that the plane of signal polarization is rotated by 90 degrees.",
"Under these conditions, the polarizing beam splitter BS switches the signal to channel 2 .",
"Thus, the signal is switched to channel 2 , if and only if the both beams are present when the pump field is turned on abruptly.",
"Rabi flopping of the atomic states controls polarization rotation and, therefore, the multiplexer output channel.",
"To obtain Rabi flopping, a continuously operating pump that is switched on abruptly is required.",
"Specifically, a LHCP atomic beam of intensity I p is turned to the resonance frequency ω 0 of S ½ →P ½ transition in the alkali vapor.",
"Four levels with neglection of nuclear spin are modeled in this configuration.",
"To obtain GBit/s rates, induced emission of the excited atoms of level 3 is stimulated and they are driven back to zero with much faster rates than the spontaneous relaxation rate of P ½ state, Γ.",
"On such short time scales, the widely employed steady state solutions are invalid.",
"Therefore, a new solution for the exact time dependences of the atomic populations is required.",
"For the purposes of the model, it is assumed that the pump beam is monochromatic and the atoms are in an atomic beam.",
"The latter assumption allows neglect of the atomic collisions and Doppler broadening.",
"In addition, the pump is LHCP so it is not necessary to consider level 4 .",
"(The signal beam does not induce significant amount of optical transitions in the vapor because I s <<I p .) Effectively, the four-level system in FIG. 1 b reduces to the three levels, for which a closed form solution exists.",
"The atomic probabilities, ρ ii , are described by the system of density matrix equations: Im({dot over (ρ)} 13 )=−ΓIm(ρ 13 )+γ ind (ρ 11 −ρ 33 ), {dot over (ρ)} 11 −2Γρ 33 /3−2γ ind Im(ρ 13 ), {dot over (ρ)} 22 =Γρ 33 /3, {dot over (ρ)} 33 =−Γρ 33 +2γ ind Im(ρ 13 ).",
"where the induced (by the pump field) multiplexing rate is given by γ ind =({square root over (2+L )}e/3)E p <Ψ 3 |r|Ψ 1 >=Ep{square root over (Γc 3 +L /(2ω 0 3 +L ))}, and Ψ i is the wave function of i-th level;",
"E p is the pump amplitude.",
"The induced rate γ ind is the Rabi flopping rate of the atoms between levels 1 and 3 .",
"If γ ind >>Γ, the atomic probabilities ρ 11 −ρ 33 or ρ 11 −ρ 33 oscillate sinusoidally with a period τ ind (the results are not shown).",
"The amount of polarization rotation is proportional to the difference ρ 11 −ρ 33 .",
"As a result, if a signal beam is also present, the output channel oscillates periodically and the signal is switched between channels 1 and 2 .",
"Note that the multiplexing (Rabi) rate is directly proportional to the pump field amplitude E p .",
"To decrease the signal beam attenuation in a vapor, the signal is shifted off-resonance by δ=ω 0 −ω.",
"A linearly polarized signal can be decomposed into the two independent LHCP and RHCP components: E s =E s (e + +e−) {square root over (2+L )}, where e ± = ( x ^ ± i y ^ ) / 2 are the corresponding unit vectors.",
"In an absorptive medium with a complex refraction index, n=n′+in″, and induced atomic transitions 1 ←→ 3 .",
"the refractive coefficients β±=wn′±/c and the absorption coefficients a±=wn″/c, are different for the LHCP and RHCP waves.",
"After propagating through the vapor cell, the resultant attenuation for the signal beam is given as E s,out =E s (e (iβ + −α + )L e + +e (iβ − −α − )L e − )/{square root over (2)} The intensity ratio of the signal with polarization rotated by 90 degrees to the initial signal defines the transmission coefficient.",
"T≡|E s,out ·ê ⊥ | 2 /|E s | 2 , where ê ⊥ is a unit vector perpendicular to E s : T=(e −2α + L +e −2α − L −2e −(α + +α − )L cos Ø)/4 and the polarization rotation angle is Ø≡(β − −β + )L=ω(n′ − −n′ + )L/c.",
"The multiplexer performance can be analyzed exactly based on the above equations and the calculations of the refraction index n and linear atomic susceptibility.",
"The second embodiment of the present invention can also be implemented in the solid state as shown in FIG. 5 .",
"Rabi flopping still allows the switch to operate at a speed that is many orders of magnitude higher than the natural decay time and by tuning the pump and signal frequencies to absorption resonances the required pump power is minimized.",
"In the solid state, unlike in the gas phase, the pump beam may be linearly or circularly polarized depending upon the characteristics of the medium.",
"If the strongest transitions in the medium are optimally excited by circular polarized photons, then the pump beam should be circularly polarized to optimize the excitation.",
"Likewise, if the strongest transitions are excited by linearly polarized photons, then the pump beam should be linearly polarized In a direction to optimize the excitation.",
"When a circularly polarized pump is used, the configuration is identical to the gaseous phase case discussed above.",
"However, if a linearly polarized pump is utilized, then the signal beam should preferably be polarized at 45 degrees relative to the polarization of the pump beam however, other relative angles are achievable with different amounts of pumping and/or different path lengths.",
"If that is done, then the linearly polarized pumped solid state medium will be a linearly birefringent material that can provide a 90-degree polarization rotation for the signal beam if the pump intensity and material length are properly adjusted.",
"INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The invention is further illustrated by the following non-limiting example.",
"EXAMPLE 1 To avoid unessential complexity, approximations that are justified by typical experiments were applied.",
"The region of γ ind >>Γ was considered to be of fastest bit rates.",
"Furthermore, γ ind =500 Γ was used, but conclusions are independent of this ratio.",
"The signal and pump beam frequency are dose to each other: ω,ω 0 >>δ, but far exceed the feasible induced rates so that ω,ω 0 >>γ ind .",
"A plot of the transmission for signal frequencies near atomic resonance is presented in FIG. 2 a .",
"The signal beam transmission, based on the amount of polarization rotation, changed from channel 1 to channel 2 with the period while the pump was on.",
"When T=T max , LHCP pump produced population inversion in the medium so that ρ 11 −ρ 33 ˜−½, but ρ 22 −ρ 44 ˜½.",
"At this time, the difference in the refractive indices for both circular components of the signal beam was maximum as n + was proportional ρ 22 −ρ 44 and n − was proportional to ρ 11 −ρ 33 .",
"By selecting the appropriate cell length L and vapor density N, the angle φ can be set to ±π.",
"There is a certain gain in channel 2 associated with the population inversion ρ 11 −ρ 33 ˜−½ while the transmission in channel 1 is always less than unity due to absorption.",
"(Note that the sum of the transmissions of channels 1 and 2 divided by 2 equals unity.) Also note that the net signal attenuation decreases with δ.",
"When level 3 is unpopulated, the atomic density distribution becomes isotropic so that n − ≈N + and φ≈O.",
"The signal polarization remains unchanged, and the multiplexer output is channel 1 .",
"The transmission was maximized when φ=±π.",
"Using this as a design requirement and noting that φ was proportional to LN, the required atomic density N was determined.",
"Although N depends strongly on δ, it is between 10 11 and 10 14 cc for L˜1 cm.",
"The product LN and δ became the multiplexer design parameters, and are independent of a particular vapor.",
"As was shown in FIG. 2 a, τ ind is independent of δ.",
"While the pump beam cannot stimulate transitions between levels 2 and 4 , spontaneous emission from level 3 to 2 does occur, which results in an eventual optical pumping of population from level 1 to 2 .",
"As a result of partial depletion of level 1 , the polarization rotation was decreased.",
"This led to a time dependent decay Vs in the switching efficiency, dependent upon spontaneous relaxation time for level 3 .",
"To obtain optimum performance, the extinction ratio, T max /T min was examined.",
"In FIG. 2 b it is shown that the extinction ratio always increases with δ while δ>Γ/2.",
"In fact, the atomic density is an increasing function in the same region.",
"Clearly, if there are more atoms in the beam path, the polarization rotation is more efficient, and the ratio T max /T min grows.",
"However, the multiplexer transmission stability exhibits the opposite behavior, decreasing with δ and being the shortest in the off-resonance region, δ>γ ind .",
"As a result, a trade-off is made between the desired level of the extinction ratio and its stability.",
"In FIGS. 2 a and 2 b it is shown that the period of optical switching τ ind is independent of τ s .",
"Numerically, if γ ind >10Γ, τ ind =π/γ ind and τ s =6/Γ.",
"Since Γ −1 ˜30 ns for the alkali vapors, the multiplexer functions for ˜200 ns (see FIG. 2 b ).",
"The corresponding bit rate is R b =τ ind −1 =γ ind /π.",
"It is interesting to note that for small δ's, the extinction ratio T max /T min is approximately unity.",
"This is due to the fact that the phase variations φ(t) are suppressed over the period τ ind , shown in FIG. 3, resulting in phase locking for t<τ s .",
"In conclusion, a model of an all-optical modulator, which can operate continuously for approximately 200 ns was presented.",
"Fast Rabi flopping of the atomic states can also be utilized for all-optical modulation, frequency shift-keying, and realization of all-optical gates/switches (for example, an AND gate), including multilevel logics.",
"Using the above equations for R b =γ ind /π calculations reveal that 50 Gbiks data rates per linear channel require pump field E p =10V/m.",
"The intensity of the cw-laser I p ≈125kW/cm 2 is low enough not to induce optical nonlinearities in a vapor.",
"A key component in increasing the capacity of fiber optic networks is the ability to switch signals at rates that are significantly higher than electronic switching rates.",
"This device allows switching well beyond the limits of electronic switching.",
"In addition, all-optical switching allows the switching signal to travel in the fiber eliminating the need to supply electronically power remotely.",
"Currently, the telecommunications industry is attempting to increase the capacity of the fiber optic system using Time Division Multiplexing, TDM.",
"In fact, this has been identified as one of the needs for the next generation internet.",
"The present invention has an obvious application as an ultra-high speed multiplexer/demultiplexer for TDM.",
"Currently it is very difficult to generate high frequency side-bands on the optical waves at frequencies of more than 10 GHz, but this device does this easily.",
"In this mode the device can be used to generate an oscillator or dock frequency in the mm wave region.",
"The preceding example can be repeated with similar success by substituting the generically or specifically described operating conditions of this invention for those used in the preceding example.",
"Although the invention has been described in detail with particular reference to these preferred embodiments, other embodiments can achieve the same results.",
"Variations and modifications of the present invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such modifications and equivalents.",
"The entire disclosures of all references, applications, patents, and publications cited above are hereby incorporated by reference."
] |
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an improved tissue and bone surface scraping and cutting device for preparation of the spinal disc space for implantation of a fusion implant device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In open spinal vertebrae surgical procedures, the surgeon makes an incision through the skin and muscle tissue and exposes the area to be worked on using retractors separating the tissue above the adjacent vertebral bodies and the interposed disc. Using cutting devices such as a spoon curette or rongeur, the surgeon cuts away the bone and disc material and prepares a space for a spinal fusion device to be placed.
In minimal invasive surgery, the large incision is not used and in its place a smaller cut is made just large enough to position a small hollow tube or cylinder into the disc space between the two vertebrae to be fused together. It is through this tube that the cutting tools must pass to remove the disc material and prepare the space for a fusion implant device. The vast majority of these cutting devices operate by rotational cutting of the tissue to be removed. This allows for a circular cross sectional removal of the disc, but requires rather difficult angulation to flatten or widen the space being prepared. A secondary issue is to flex into a tube fitting compressed size; the blades typically have two or more separate cutting blades as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,697. This enables the blades to deflect into a tube, but uses a small pointy tip prone to break when in use leaving metal fragments.
Very importantly, these rotational devices are limited in vertical reach that can be achieved. In some small patients, this represents little trouble, but in larger boned patients, the vertical space required for the implant can exceed the capacity of the device.
The present invention as described hereinafter avoids these issues in a new and improved way to provide the surgeon a much simpler and efficient way to prepare the disc space for implantation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A vertical cutter for insertion into a cylinder or tube is formed as a single unitary structure. The single blade has a pair of tool attachment end portions and a cutting blade extending in a loop between the attachment ends. The cutting blade is inclined vertically relative to a longitudinal axis of a cylinder or tube into which the attachment ends can slide into. The cutting blade has a cutting edge, a portion of which when extended free of the cylinder or tube will extend a distance greater than the tube outside diameter. The cutting edge when pushed inwardly and pulled outwardly between adjacent vertebrae scrapes and cuts disc material. When retracted the cutting blade deflects into the cylinder or tube for insertion or extraction into or from the disc space.
The blade is cut from a flat sheet of shaped memory alloy and heat set to form the loop. The sheet has a nominal thickness of 0.5 mm or greater. The cutting blade has a nominal width of 2.0 mm or greater. The cutting edges are the inclined outer edges at the intersection of the thickness and the width. The cutting blade has curved opposing sides spanning a nominal maximum width between opposite sides a distance of 10.5 mm or greater.
The cutting blade when withdrawn into the tube or cylinder bends or deflects the curved opposing sides of the cutting blade to fit the inside diameter. This also lowers or bends the flattened end vertical inclination to slide into the tube or cylinder. The cutting blade has flattened distal end portion between the two curved sides along a vertical cutting peak extending at least 3 mm. The cutting blade is configured to fit into a tube or cylinder having a nominal outside diameter of 8 mm. The vertical inclination of the cutting blade extends at least 2 mm or greater above the outside diameter of the tube when the cutting blade is extended free of the tube.
A vertical cutting tool has a shaft, a tube or cylinder and a single cutting blade. The shaft has the cutting blade attached at one end and is externally threaded at an opposite end. This hollow tube or cylinder is for receiving the shaft internally. A rotatable knot is affixed to the hollow tube and is rotatable independent of the tube or cylinder. The knob has internal threads to engage the threads of the shaft. This rotatable knob adjusts the protruding amount to deploy the cutting blade. The single vertical cutter has a pair of tool attachment end portions and a cutting blade extending in a loop between the attachment ends. The cutting blade is inclined vertically relative to a longitudinal axis of a cylinder or tube into which the attachment ends slide into. The cutting blade has a cutting edge, a portion of which when extended free of the cylinder or tube extends a distance above the tube outside diameter. The cutting edge when pushed inwardly and pulled outwardly scrapes and cuts the disc material, and when retracted deflects into the cylinder or tube for insertion or extraction into or from the disc space. The vertical cutting tool further comprises a push pull knob fixed to the rotatable knob to cut inwardly and outwardly parallel to the tube or cylinder longitudinal axis.
The vertical cutter of the present invention allows for the method of preparing a void space between adjacent vertebrae for placing a fusion implant device comprises the steps of locating a position on the patient to make an incision; cutting the tissue at the location by making a small incision; placing an outer guide tube having an inside diameter into the incision; inserting a cutting tool with a retracted cutting blade inside a tube sized to pass through the inside diameter of the guide tube while having the cutter stowed internally; extending the tool tube past the guide tube directed toward a disc space; protracting the cutting blade free of the tool tube while orienting the cutting blade vertically up or down relative to a longitudinal axis of the tool tube and wherein the protracted cutting blade has a loop shape with an inclined cutting edge extending several mm above or below the tube; cutting away disc tissue directed at one vertebrae to form a void space by pushing and pulling the tool in an axial direction; scraping the cutting blade along the exposed bone surfaces of the adjacent vertebrae thereby removing an outer layer or layers of bone tissue and laterally inclining the guide tool left or right slightly to widen the void space; turning the tool 180 degrees to repeat the steps of cutting away disc tissue and scraping bone layers of the other vertebra to complete the void space; and retracting the cutting blade and withdrawing the cutting tool.
The method can further include a step of retracting the cutting blade prior to turning the tool 180 degrees. The method wherein the cutting edge has a flat portion extending at least 3 mm above the tool tube and the tool tube has an outside diameter of 8 mm. The method wherein the cutting edge can cut disc tissue and vertebral bone to form a total maximum void space height over 14 mm, 7 mm upwardly and 7 mm downwardly between two adjacent vertebrae. The method wherein the cutting blade can be partially refracted to cut at lower heights.
DEFINITIONS
As used herein and in the claims:
A “curette” is a surgical instrument designed for scraping or debriding biological tissue or debris in a biopsy, excision, or cleaning procedure. In form, the curette is a small hand tool, often similar in shape to a stylus; at the tip of the curette is a small scoop, hook, or gouge.
A “rongeur” is a strongly constructed instrument with a sharp-edged, scoop-shaped tip, used for gouging out bone.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cutter tool assembly of the present invention.
FIG. 1A is an exploded view of the tool assembly of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 2A is a plan view of the tooling tube.
FIG. 2B is side plan view of the internal shaft.
FIG. 3 is a plan side view illustrating the rotatable retraction and protraction knob for moving the cutter blade of the cutting tool into and out of the tooling tube.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the cutting blade of the present invention as formed.
FIG. 4A is a plan view of the cutting blade, the dashed lines representing the sheet from which the cutting blade can be formed.
FIG. 4B is a top view of the cutting blade as formed.
FIG. 4C is a partial view taken along lines A-A of FIG. 4B showing one portion of the cutting blade, the opposite portion having been removed.
FIG. 4D is an end view of the cutting blade illustrating the vertical elevation of the cutting blade relative to the attachment portions.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the cutting blade protracted and extending outward from the tooling tube.
FIG. 6 is a side perspective view showing the cutting blade protracted relative to the tooling tube.
FIG. 7 is a side view showing a portion of the cutting blade with dimensions from the attachment knob to the vertical elevation above the attachment means.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 1A , the cutting tool device 100 of the present invention is illustrated. The device 100 includes a detachable vertical cutter 10 , a tool tube 102 , a rotatable retraction and protraction knob 120 and a push pull knob 130 to provide linear cutting capability as the tool 100 is pushed and pulled inward between two vertebral bodies to remove disc tissue and to scrape the bone exposed end plate surfaces.
With reference to FIG. 1A , further illustrated internal to the tool tube 102 is a shaft 112 . The shaft 112 provides a way to attach the vertical cutter 10 . As further illustrated in FIG. 2A , the tube 102 has a “T” shaped end 104 that is adapted to fit in the rotatable knob 120 as illustrated in FIG. 3 . The “T” shaped end 104 has a knob 120 mounted thereabout so that the knob 120 can rotate without rotating the tube 102 . The knob 120 has internal threads 122 adapted to engage the threads 110 of the shaft 112 as illustrated in FIG. 2B . The combination of threads 110 , 122 are designed so the shaft can be pulled or pushed axially along the longitudinal axis of the tool by the rotation of the knob 120 best illustrated in FIG. 3 . A slot is provided in the tool in FIG. 3 exposing the threads 110 of the shaft 112 . The threads 110 can be moved between positions 105 and 103 or further if so desired. This open window 106 provides a means for the surgeon to see the amount of travel that the vertical cutter 10 is making relative to the tool tube 102 when it is positioned inside the vertebral bodies. The shaft 112 has a flat end 116 to which the knob 130 is fixed.
With particular reference to the detachable vertical cutter 10 , as illustrated in FIGS. 4 through 7 , the vertical cutter 10 has attachment ends 12 and 14 with an opening 11 that will conveniently fit on the attachment location 114 of the shaft 112 . The openings 11 are oriented at 90 degrees to attachment locations 114 . The attachment locations 114 are positioned on each side of the shaft 112 such that when the vertical cutter 10 is mounted on the attachment shaft 112 and pulled inside the tube 102 it securely holds the vertical cutter 10 in position so that it can be pulled internally within the tube 102 . As illustrated in FIG. 4A , the vertical cutter 10 was formed as a single piece, preferably of shaped memory alloy material such as Nitinol wherein the material was cut from a blank sheet approximately 0.5 mm thick. The blank sheet is illustrated by dashed lines in FIG. 4A . As shown, the attachment ends 12 and 14 are at the extremes of this sheet where the cutting blade 20 is interposed between the attachment ends 12 , 14 . As shown, the width W B is approximately 2 mm in the exemplary embodiment. Punched through the attachment ends 12 , 14 are the attachment holes 11 as illustrated. The cutting blade width W B is substantially uniform across the cutting blade 20 , however may be slightly narrower at a flat portion 25 . The flat portion 25 extends about 3 mm in length. When the shaped memory alloy material is formed into the desired cutting blade shape which is of a general oval nature as illustrated in the top view of FIG. 4B , the flat portion 25 will be at the very peak of the vertically inclined cutting blade 20 . As shown, the cutting blade sides 22 and 24 are inclined relative to the attachment ends 12 , 14 and are offset slightly lower than the center line of the attachment ends 12 , 14 . This enables the cutting blade 20 when bent in the configuration shown in FIG. 4B to take the shape as illustrated. The cutting blade sides 22 , 24 extend widthwise a distance W T of approximately 10.5 mm in this exemplary embodiment to form a large oval with a flat top.
As illustrated in FIG. 4C , the blade side portion 22 on the attachment end 12 is shown, the other side of the cutting blade 20 has the end portion 24 and 14 (not illustrated) similarly inclined. An acute angle is shown of approximately θ relative to a horizontal plane which can be varied dependent on the length and the amount of height required. However, it is believed important that the angle θ be less than 45 degrees preferably less than 30 degrees as illustrated.
With reference to FIG. 4D , the cutting blade portion 20 has the sides 24 and 22 shown inclined to the flat portion 25 inclined and raised upward relative to the attachment ends 12 , 14 to the flat portion 25 . Again, as previously mentioned, the width of the cutting blade 20 is of substantially uniform thickness W B of about 2 mm and has a cutting edge that is also generally uniform in thickness of 0.5 mm or less. This provides a substantially strong and yet flexible blade 20 such that it can be retracted and pulled inside the tube 102 . This attachment of the vertical cutter 10 is illustrated in FIG. 5 where the thickness of the blade 20 is illustrated as dimension t. In the exemplary vertical cutter 10 , t was about 0.5 mm.
With reference to FIG. 6 , the vertical cutter 10 is also shown in the protracted position where it is free of the tool tube 102 . The tool tube 102 has an outside diameter OD of approximately 8 mm in this exemplary embodiment with an inside diameter of 6.85 mm. The width of the attachment ends 12 , 14 is slightly less than the 6.85 mm such that they can slide inwardly to be attached to the shaft 112 at the attachment locations 114 . The vertical cutter 10 , when attached, has a vertical distance from the axis of rotation, this is called the cutting travel distance CT or cutting travel from the axis and it approximately 7.3 mm in the exemplary embodiment. This means that the cutting blade 20 extends above the outside diameter of the tool tube 102 by a distance of approximately 3.3 mm. It is important to note that this distance CV extending vertically above or below the tube 102 on an inclination, as shown, is achieved when the cutting blade 20 is free from the tube 102 . As shown, the cutting blade 20 will extend vertically upward relative to the axis in such a fashion that the flat end 25 cutting edge can reach a maximum level of 7.3 mm in height to the vertebrae surface above it. This allows the cutting blade 20 to cut not only into the disc material, both the nucleus pulposus and the annulus fibrosus, but also to be able to scrape along the interior surface of the vertebral plate. The vertebral plate must be remembered to be somewhat of a saucer shape turned upside down wherein the edges conform inwardly slightly while the inner portion of the vertebral plate is raised in a flattened elevated dome shape. This is important in that the cutting blade 20 is designed to be able to scrape not only the disc material, but also the thin layers of this end plate of the vertebral body. By scraping it, microfractures occur and improved bone surface preparation can be achieved for a fusion implant device. As shown, the flat portion 25 has a width of approximately 3 mm or greater. This enables the device to be pushed and pulled into and out of the disc space without any rotational cutting. All cutting is achieved by linear action and to widen this void space required for the implant it is important to remember that one simply can grab the outer tube 200 that has been inserted into a small incision at the direct location and tilt it laterally slightly left or slightly right on a very small inclination. This allows the cutting blade 20 to move slightly laterally and continued pushing and pulling can create a void space approximately 10 to 15 mm for an implant 9 mm wide if so desired. The cutting blade 20 can be held in a slightly retracted position if lowered cutting heights are need. So on initial cutting, the cutting blade 20 can be slightly retracted and pushed and pulled to cut some material away and then continue to be pushed and pulled in a fully retracted condition due to the flexibility of the cutting blade 20 , it will simply scrape along the bones outer edge removing a thin layer and also provide a good planar surface to receive the fusion implant device.
FIG. 7 is a similar view to that of FIG. 6 only showing a side view and only one portion of the blade 20 . It is important to note that since the cutting blade 20 is made in a looped configuration, having a somewhat oval shape flattened at the peak, it provides a substantial amount of width for cutting as the entire cutting edge 21 is on a slight incline meaning that the side surface and the top of the blade 20 form an angulation such that only the edge 21 of the cutting surface is doing the primary cutting, therefore there is no need for a very sharp razor edged blade. This blade 20 will cut at the edge 21 of the width and thickness performing a scraping action to remove both the disc material and the layers of bone material needed to be removed in preparation of the void space.
This cutting tool 100 , as illustrated, with the vertical cutter 10 provides a unique way of removing disc material and preparing two adjacent vertebrae for receiving any spinal fusion implant device. The surgeon will simply locate a position on the patient's back to make an end incision. The surgeon cuts the tissue at the location by making a small incision and inserting a solid tapered dilator to allow insertion of an outer guide tube 200 that will hold the tool tube 102 portion of the tool 100 . This outer tube 200 is illustrated in FIG. 7 . This tube 200 is then placed into the small incision in the desired location and inserted partially therein. This tube 200 will have an outside diameter of approximately 9.2 mm when using a tool tube 102 having an outside diameter of 8 mm. This means that the outer tube 200 has an inside diameter of approximately slightly greater than 8 mm so that the tool tube 102 can slide freely in and out of this outer sheathing or guide tube 200 . As illustrated, the surgeon will insert the cutting tool 100 with the retracted vertical cutter 10 inside the tool tube 102 which has been sized to pass through the inside diameter of the guide tube 200 while having the cutting blade 10 stowed internally. The surgeon will use the outer tube 200 to space the adjacent vertebral bodies wherein the disc material is intended to be removed. This spacing of the vertebrae allows the tool tube 102 to slide inward to the disc material and extending past the guide tube 200 directly towards or into the disc space. At this point the surgeon protracts the vertical cutter 10 by rotating the knob 120 . As the cutting blade 20 extends past the tool tube 102 it will be moved into a free position and the shaped memory alloy cutting blade 20 will return to its free and unrestrained condition. As such the blade 20 will then extend above the inner tube by approximately 3.3 mm as discussed. When this occurs, the surgeon can then push and pull on the cutting blade 10 creating a void surface by removing the disc tissue. This includes the nucleus pulposus and the annulus fibrosus of the disc. Once this is removed the surgeon can continue to remove disc material by tilting on a slight lateral angulation, the entire guide tube 200 and tool 100 inside on a very slight angle using a lateral movement. This increases the width that can be cut such that the flat edge 25 can create a void space of at least 10 to 15 mm wide to receive the fusion implant device of 9 mm. Once this has occurred, the surgeon can continue to scrape on the exposed end plate of the vertebral body. By doing this, he or she will create cracks and fissures that will improve the osteoinductivity of the bone material adjacent the implant. This will accelerate the fusion of the bone implant and accelerate the healing time.
In order to cut the opposite adjacent vertebral body disc material, the surgeon can either retract if so desired or simply rotate the tool 100 such that it lines up with a vertical downward extension if he has previously cut in a vertical upward position. By extending the tool 100 in a downward direction he can now cut the lower vertebral body disc tissue above it and prepare that space by repeating the procedure in a push pull manner completing all the cutting without any requirement for rotational cutting of disc material. In this way, a chamber or void space that is basically rectilinear and ideally suited for receiving a spinal implant device is formed. Once all the material has been cut away and the end plates have been scraped, the device can be retracted and pulled out of the guide tube 200 such that an implant device can be positioned through the guide tube 200 to complete the procedure. While various dimensions have been mentioned for the exemplary embodiment, these dimensions can be varied using the concepts taught herein and will still be within the scope of the present invention.
Variations in the present invention are possible in light of the description of it provided herein. While certain representative embodiments and details have been shown for the purpose of illustrating the subject invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in this art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope of the subject invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that changes can be made in the particular embodiments described, which will be within the full intended scope of the invention as defined by the following appended claims. | A detachable vertical cutter for insertion into a cylinder or tube is formed as a single unitary structure. The single blade has a pair of tool attachment end portions and a cutting blade extending in a loop between the attachment ends. The cutting blade is inclined vertically relative to a longitudinal axis of a cylinder or tube into which the attachment ends can slide into. The cutting blade has a cutting edge, a portion of which when extended free of the cylinder or tube will extend a distance greater than the tube outside diameter. The cutting edge when pushed inwardly and pulled outwardly between adjacent vertebrae scrapes and cuts disc material. When retracted the cutting blade deflects into the cylinder or tube for insertion or extraction into or from the disc space. | Briefly summarize the main idea's components and working principles as described in the context. | [
"TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an improved tissue and bone surface scraping and cutting device for preparation of the spinal disc space for implantation of a fusion implant device.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In open spinal vertebrae surgical procedures, the surgeon makes an incision through the skin and muscle tissue and exposes the area to be worked on using retractors separating the tissue above the adjacent vertebral bodies and the interposed disc.",
"Using cutting devices such as a spoon curette or rongeur, the surgeon cuts away the bone and disc material and prepares a space for a spinal fusion device to be placed.",
"In minimal invasive surgery, the large incision is not used and in its place a smaller cut is made just large enough to position a small hollow tube or cylinder into the disc space between the two vertebrae to be fused together.",
"It is through this tube that the cutting tools must pass to remove the disc material and prepare the space for a fusion implant device.",
"The vast majority of these cutting devices operate by rotational cutting of the tissue to be removed.",
"This allows for a circular cross sectional removal of the disc, but requires rather difficult angulation to flatten or widen the space being prepared.",
"A secondary issue is to flex into a tube fitting compressed size;",
"the blades typically have two or more separate cutting blades as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,697.",
"This enables the blades to deflect into a tube, but uses a small pointy tip prone to break when in use leaving metal fragments.",
"Very importantly, these rotational devices are limited in vertical reach that can be achieved.",
"In some small patients, this represents little trouble, but in larger boned patients, the vertical space required for the implant can exceed the capacity of the device.",
"The present invention as described hereinafter avoids these issues in a new and improved way to provide the surgeon a much simpler and efficient way to prepare the disc space for implantation.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A vertical cutter for insertion into a cylinder or tube is formed as a single unitary structure.",
"The single blade has a pair of tool attachment end portions and a cutting blade extending in a loop between the attachment ends.",
"The cutting blade is inclined vertically relative to a longitudinal axis of a cylinder or tube into which the attachment ends can slide into.",
"The cutting blade has a cutting edge, a portion of which when extended free of the cylinder or tube will extend a distance greater than the tube outside diameter.",
"The cutting edge when pushed inwardly and pulled outwardly between adjacent vertebrae scrapes and cuts disc material.",
"When retracted the cutting blade deflects into the cylinder or tube for insertion or extraction into or from the disc space.",
"The blade is cut from a flat sheet of shaped memory alloy and heat set to form the loop.",
"The sheet has a nominal thickness of 0.5 mm or greater.",
"The cutting blade has a nominal width of 2.0 mm or greater.",
"The cutting edges are the inclined outer edges at the intersection of the thickness and the width.",
"The cutting blade has curved opposing sides spanning a nominal maximum width between opposite sides a distance of 10.5 mm or greater.",
"The cutting blade when withdrawn into the tube or cylinder bends or deflects the curved opposing sides of the cutting blade to fit the inside diameter.",
"This also lowers or bends the flattened end vertical inclination to slide into the tube or cylinder.",
"The cutting blade has flattened distal end portion between the two curved sides along a vertical cutting peak extending at least 3 mm.",
"The cutting blade is configured to fit into a tube or cylinder having a nominal outside diameter of 8 mm.",
"The vertical inclination of the cutting blade extends at least 2 mm or greater above the outside diameter of the tube when the cutting blade is extended free of the tube.",
"A vertical cutting tool has a shaft, a tube or cylinder and a single cutting blade.",
"The shaft has the cutting blade attached at one end and is externally threaded at an opposite end.",
"This hollow tube or cylinder is for receiving the shaft internally.",
"A rotatable knot is affixed to the hollow tube and is rotatable independent of the tube or cylinder.",
"The knob has internal threads to engage the threads of the shaft.",
"This rotatable knob adjusts the protruding amount to deploy the cutting blade.",
"The single vertical cutter has a pair of tool attachment end portions and a cutting blade extending in a loop between the attachment ends.",
"The cutting blade is inclined vertically relative to a longitudinal axis of a cylinder or tube into which the attachment ends slide into.",
"The cutting blade has a cutting edge, a portion of which when extended free of the cylinder or tube extends a distance above the tube outside diameter.",
"The cutting edge when pushed inwardly and pulled outwardly scrapes and cuts the disc material, and when retracted deflects into the cylinder or tube for insertion or extraction into or from the disc space.",
"The vertical cutting tool further comprises a push pull knob fixed to the rotatable knob to cut inwardly and outwardly parallel to the tube or cylinder longitudinal axis.",
"The vertical cutter of the present invention allows for the method of preparing a void space between adjacent vertebrae for placing a fusion implant device comprises the steps of locating a position on the patient to make an incision;",
"cutting the tissue at the location by making a small incision;",
"placing an outer guide tube having an inside diameter into the incision;",
"inserting a cutting tool with a retracted cutting blade inside a tube sized to pass through the inside diameter of the guide tube while having the cutter stowed internally;",
"extending the tool tube past the guide tube directed toward a disc space;",
"protracting the cutting blade free of the tool tube while orienting the cutting blade vertically up or down relative to a longitudinal axis of the tool tube and wherein the protracted cutting blade has a loop shape with an inclined cutting edge extending several mm above or below the tube;",
"cutting away disc tissue directed at one vertebrae to form a void space by pushing and pulling the tool in an axial direction;",
"scraping the cutting blade along the exposed bone surfaces of the adjacent vertebrae thereby removing an outer layer or layers of bone tissue and laterally inclining the guide tool left or right slightly to widen the void space;",
"turning the tool 180 degrees to repeat the steps of cutting away disc tissue and scraping bone layers of the other vertebra to complete the void space;",
"and retracting the cutting blade and withdrawing the cutting tool.",
"The method can further include a step of retracting the cutting blade prior to turning the tool 180 degrees.",
"The method wherein the cutting edge has a flat portion extending at least 3 mm above the tool tube and the tool tube has an outside diameter of 8 mm.",
"The method wherein the cutting edge can cut disc tissue and vertebral bone to form a total maximum void space height over 14 mm, 7 mm upwardly and 7 mm downwardly between two adjacent vertebrae.",
"The method wherein the cutting blade can be partially refracted to cut at lower heights.",
"DEFINITIONS As used herein and in the claims: A “curette”",
"is a surgical instrument designed for scraping or debriding biological tissue or debris in a biopsy, excision, or cleaning procedure.",
"In form, the curette is a small hand tool, often similar in shape to a stylus;",
"at the tip of the curette is a small scoop, hook, or gouge.",
"A “rongeur”",
"is a strongly constructed instrument with a sharp-edged, scoop-shaped tip, used for gouging out bone.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cutter tool assembly of the present invention.",
"FIG. 1A is an exploded view of the tool assembly of FIG. 1 .",
"FIG. 2A is a plan view of the tooling tube.",
"FIG. 2B is side plan view of the internal shaft.",
"FIG. 3 is a plan side view illustrating the rotatable retraction and protraction knob for moving the cutter blade of the cutting tool into and out of the tooling tube.",
"FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the cutting blade of the present invention as formed.",
"FIG. 4A is a plan view of the cutting blade, the dashed lines representing the sheet from which the cutting blade can be formed.",
"FIG. 4B is a top view of the cutting blade as formed.",
"FIG. 4C is a partial view taken along lines A-A of FIG. 4B showing one portion of the cutting blade, the opposite portion having been removed.",
"FIG. 4D is an end view of the cutting blade illustrating the vertical elevation of the cutting blade relative to the attachment portions.",
"FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the cutting blade protracted and extending outward from the tooling tube.",
"FIG. 6 is a side perspective view showing the cutting blade protracted relative to the tooling tube.",
"FIG. 7 is a side view showing a portion of the cutting blade with dimensions from the attachment knob to the vertical elevation above the attachment means.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION With reference to FIGS. 1 and 1A , the cutting tool device 100 of the present invention is illustrated.",
"The device 100 includes a detachable vertical cutter 10 , a tool tube 102 , a rotatable retraction and protraction knob 120 and a push pull knob 130 to provide linear cutting capability as the tool 100 is pushed and pulled inward between two vertebral bodies to remove disc tissue and to scrape the bone exposed end plate surfaces.",
"With reference to FIG. 1A , further illustrated internal to the tool tube 102 is a shaft 112 .",
"The shaft 112 provides a way to attach the vertical cutter 10 .",
"As further illustrated in FIG. 2A , the tube 102 has a “T”",
"shaped end 104 that is adapted to fit in the rotatable knob 120 as illustrated in FIG. 3 .",
"The “T”",
"shaped end 104 has a knob 120 mounted thereabout so that the knob 120 can rotate without rotating the tube 102 .",
"The knob 120 has internal threads 122 adapted to engage the threads 110 of the shaft 112 as illustrated in FIG. 2B .",
"The combination of threads 110 , 122 are designed so the shaft can be pulled or pushed axially along the longitudinal axis of the tool by the rotation of the knob 120 best illustrated in FIG. 3 .",
"A slot is provided in the tool in FIG. 3 exposing the threads 110 of the shaft 112 .",
"The threads 110 can be moved between positions 105 and 103 or further if so desired.",
"This open window 106 provides a means for the surgeon to see the amount of travel that the vertical cutter 10 is making relative to the tool tube 102 when it is positioned inside the vertebral bodies.",
"The shaft 112 has a flat end 116 to which the knob 130 is fixed.",
"With particular reference to the detachable vertical cutter 10 , as illustrated in FIGS. 4 through 7 , the vertical cutter 10 has attachment ends 12 and 14 with an opening 11 that will conveniently fit on the attachment location 114 of the shaft 112 .",
"The openings 11 are oriented at 90 degrees to attachment locations 114 .",
"The attachment locations 114 are positioned on each side of the shaft 112 such that when the vertical cutter 10 is mounted on the attachment shaft 112 and pulled inside the tube 102 it securely holds the vertical cutter 10 in position so that it can be pulled internally within the tube 102 .",
"As illustrated in FIG. 4A , the vertical cutter 10 was formed as a single piece, preferably of shaped memory alloy material such as Nitinol wherein the material was cut from a blank sheet approximately 0.5 mm thick.",
"The blank sheet is illustrated by dashed lines in FIG. 4A .",
"As shown, the attachment ends 12 and 14 are at the extremes of this sheet where the cutting blade 20 is interposed between the attachment ends 12 , 14 .",
"As shown, the width W B is approximately 2 mm in the exemplary embodiment.",
"Punched through the attachment ends 12 , 14 are the attachment holes 11 as illustrated.",
"The cutting blade width W B is substantially uniform across the cutting blade 20 , however may be slightly narrower at a flat portion 25 .",
"The flat portion 25 extends about 3 mm in length.",
"When the shaped memory alloy material is formed into the desired cutting blade shape which is of a general oval nature as illustrated in the top view of FIG. 4B , the flat portion 25 will be at the very peak of the vertically inclined cutting blade 20 .",
"As shown, the cutting blade sides 22 and 24 are inclined relative to the attachment ends 12 , 14 and are offset slightly lower than the center line of the attachment ends 12 , 14 .",
"This enables the cutting blade 20 when bent in the configuration shown in FIG. 4B to take the shape as illustrated.",
"The cutting blade sides 22 , 24 extend widthwise a distance W T of approximately 10.5 mm in this exemplary embodiment to form a large oval with a flat top.",
"As illustrated in FIG. 4C , the blade side portion 22 on the attachment end 12 is shown, the other side of the cutting blade 20 has the end portion 24 and 14 (not illustrated) similarly inclined.",
"An acute angle is shown of approximately θ relative to a horizontal plane which can be varied dependent on the length and the amount of height required.",
"However, it is believed important that the angle θ be less than 45 degrees preferably less than 30 degrees as illustrated.",
"With reference to FIG. 4D , the cutting blade portion 20 has the sides 24 and 22 shown inclined to the flat portion 25 inclined and raised upward relative to the attachment ends 12 , 14 to the flat portion 25 .",
"Again, as previously mentioned, the width of the cutting blade 20 is of substantially uniform thickness W B of about 2 mm and has a cutting edge that is also generally uniform in thickness of 0.5 mm or less.",
"This provides a substantially strong and yet flexible blade 20 such that it can be retracted and pulled inside the tube 102 .",
"This attachment of the vertical cutter 10 is illustrated in FIG. 5 where the thickness of the blade 20 is illustrated as dimension t. In the exemplary vertical cutter 10 , t was about 0.5 mm.",
"With reference to FIG. 6 , the vertical cutter 10 is also shown in the protracted position where it is free of the tool tube 102 .",
"The tool tube 102 has an outside diameter OD of approximately 8 mm in this exemplary embodiment with an inside diameter of 6.85 mm.",
"The width of the attachment ends 12 , 14 is slightly less than the 6.85 mm such that they can slide inwardly to be attached to the shaft 112 at the attachment locations 114 .",
"The vertical cutter 10 , when attached, has a vertical distance from the axis of rotation, this is called the cutting travel distance CT or cutting travel from the axis and it approximately 7.3 mm in the exemplary embodiment.",
"This means that the cutting blade 20 extends above the outside diameter of the tool tube 102 by a distance of approximately 3.3 mm.",
"It is important to note that this distance CV extending vertically above or below the tube 102 on an inclination, as shown, is achieved when the cutting blade 20 is free from the tube 102 .",
"As shown, the cutting blade 20 will extend vertically upward relative to the axis in such a fashion that the flat end 25 cutting edge can reach a maximum level of 7.3 mm in height to the vertebrae surface above it.",
"This allows the cutting blade 20 to cut not only into the disc material, both the nucleus pulposus and the annulus fibrosus, but also to be able to scrape along the interior surface of the vertebral plate.",
"The vertebral plate must be remembered to be somewhat of a saucer shape turned upside down wherein the edges conform inwardly slightly while the inner portion of the vertebral plate is raised in a flattened elevated dome shape.",
"This is important in that the cutting blade 20 is designed to be able to scrape not only the disc material, but also the thin layers of this end plate of the vertebral body.",
"By scraping it, microfractures occur and improved bone surface preparation can be achieved for a fusion implant device.",
"As shown, the flat portion 25 has a width of approximately 3 mm or greater.",
"This enables the device to be pushed and pulled into and out of the disc space without any rotational cutting.",
"All cutting is achieved by linear action and to widen this void space required for the implant it is important to remember that one simply can grab the outer tube 200 that has been inserted into a small incision at the direct location and tilt it laterally slightly left or slightly right on a very small inclination.",
"This allows the cutting blade 20 to move slightly laterally and continued pushing and pulling can create a void space approximately 10 to 15 mm for an implant 9 mm wide if so desired.",
"The cutting blade 20 can be held in a slightly retracted position if lowered cutting heights are need.",
"So on initial cutting, the cutting blade 20 can be slightly retracted and pushed and pulled to cut some material away and then continue to be pushed and pulled in a fully retracted condition due to the flexibility of the cutting blade 20 , it will simply scrape along the bones outer edge removing a thin layer and also provide a good planar surface to receive the fusion implant device.",
"FIG. 7 is a similar view to that of FIG. 6 only showing a side view and only one portion of the blade 20 .",
"It is important to note that since the cutting blade 20 is made in a looped configuration, having a somewhat oval shape flattened at the peak, it provides a substantial amount of width for cutting as the entire cutting edge 21 is on a slight incline meaning that the side surface and the top of the blade 20 form an angulation such that only the edge 21 of the cutting surface is doing the primary cutting, therefore there is no need for a very sharp razor edged blade.",
"This blade 20 will cut at the edge 21 of the width and thickness performing a scraping action to remove both the disc material and the layers of bone material needed to be removed in preparation of the void space.",
"This cutting tool 100 , as illustrated, with the vertical cutter 10 provides a unique way of removing disc material and preparing two adjacent vertebrae for receiving any spinal fusion implant device.",
"The surgeon will simply locate a position on the patient's back to make an end incision.",
"The surgeon cuts the tissue at the location by making a small incision and inserting a solid tapered dilator to allow insertion of an outer guide tube 200 that will hold the tool tube 102 portion of the tool 100 .",
"This outer tube 200 is illustrated in FIG. 7 .",
"This tube 200 is then placed into the small incision in the desired location and inserted partially therein.",
"This tube 200 will have an outside diameter of approximately 9.2 mm when using a tool tube 102 having an outside diameter of 8 mm.",
"This means that the outer tube 200 has an inside diameter of approximately slightly greater than 8 mm so that the tool tube 102 can slide freely in and out of this outer sheathing or guide tube 200 .",
"As illustrated, the surgeon will insert the cutting tool 100 with the retracted vertical cutter 10 inside the tool tube 102 which has been sized to pass through the inside diameter of the guide tube 200 while having the cutting blade 10 stowed internally.",
"The surgeon will use the outer tube 200 to space the adjacent vertebral bodies wherein the disc material is intended to be removed.",
"This spacing of the vertebrae allows the tool tube 102 to slide inward to the disc material and extending past the guide tube 200 directly towards or into the disc space.",
"At this point the surgeon protracts the vertical cutter 10 by rotating the knob 120 .",
"As the cutting blade 20 extends past the tool tube 102 it will be moved into a free position and the shaped memory alloy cutting blade 20 will return to its free and unrestrained condition.",
"As such the blade 20 will then extend above the inner tube by approximately 3.3 mm as discussed.",
"When this occurs, the surgeon can then push and pull on the cutting blade 10 creating a void surface by removing the disc tissue.",
"This includes the nucleus pulposus and the annulus fibrosus of the disc.",
"Once this is removed the surgeon can continue to remove disc material by tilting on a slight lateral angulation, the entire guide tube 200 and tool 100 inside on a very slight angle using a lateral movement.",
"This increases the width that can be cut such that the flat edge 25 can create a void space of at least 10 to 15 mm wide to receive the fusion implant device of 9 mm.",
"Once this has occurred, the surgeon can continue to scrape on the exposed end plate of the vertebral body.",
"By doing this, he or she will create cracks and fissures that will improve the osteoinductivity of the bone material adjacent the implant.",
"This will accelerate the fusion of the bone implant and accelerate the healing time.",
"In order to cut the opposite adjacent vertebral body disc material, the surgeon can either retract if so desired or simply rotate the tool 100 such that it lines up with a vertical downward extension if he has previously cut in a vertical upward position.",
"By extending the tool 100 in a downward direction he can now cut the lower vertebral body disc tissue above it and prepare that space by repeating the procedure in a push pull manner completing all the cutting without any requirement for rotational cutting of disc material.",
"In this way, a chamber or void space that is basically rectilinear and ideally suited for receiving a spinal implant device is formed.",
"Once all the material has been cut away and the end plates have been scraped, the device can be retracted and pulled out of the guide tube 200 such that an implant device can be positioned through the guide tube 200 to complete the procedure.",
"While various dimensions have been mentioned for the exemplary embodiment, these dimensions can be varied using the concepts taught herein and will still be within the scope of the present invention.",
"Variations in the present invention are possible in light of the description of it provided herein.",
"While certain representative embodiments and details have been shown for the purpose of illustrating the subject invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in this art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the scope of the subject invention.",
"It is, therefore, to be understood that changes can be made in the particular embodiments described, which will be within the full intended scope of the invention as defined by the following appended claims."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention pertains generally to the field of optical diffraction methods and apparatus, and more specifically to the field of apparatus and methods for generating high-resolution diffractive elements and holographic images.
BACKGROUND
Apparatus and methods for generating and interrogating holograms and other optical diffractive devices have been known since the early 1960's however such devices were largely sophisticated laboratory research tools. More recently, the advent of high resolution color photocopying, digital scanning, and image processing have made counterfeiting documents incorporating only 2-dimensional information much simpler. Holograms and other media capable of storing 3-dimensional information have become increasingly important in preventing counterfeiting and assuring the authenticity of documents and items attached to such documents. For example, it is common for Visa and MasterCard type credit cards to include an embossed "rainbow" hologram on the front of the card. Computer software developers including Lotus Development Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, and others have included a holographic label on their product packaging to help distinguish their product from a potential unauthorized reproduction of their product. It is also anticipated that commercial instruments, including stock certificates, currency, and other negotiable financial instruments, may someday benefit from the inclusion of holographic indicia on the instrument itself.
The incorporation of holographic security devices, such as the holograms built into credit cards and fused to negotiable instruments, as well as applications to currency, raises a need for high quality holograms that cannot easily be counterfeited and that can be produced quickly and cheaply in volume to reduce the cost per hologram or diffraction grating. High resolution holographic grating array masters are currently produced using E-Beam techniques and are therefore relatively expensive and slow to manufacture. Other methods of producing lower resolution grating arrays have become commonplace enough to threaten their potential usefulness in the field of security. Therefore, there is a need for high resolution but inexpensive gratings that cannot easily be produced by counterfeiting.
Holographic diffraction grating arrays have been manufactured since as early as 1980. In the last few years, high resolution grating arrays have found a new use in the security field as anti-counterfeiting devices. The technologies used in the manufacture of these arrays include holographic recording of spot diffraction gratings and E-Beam etching of the holographic grating fringe structure itself.
Conventional holographic systems extant at this time seem to be limited to spot sizes and therefore feature sizes on the order of 1/400 inch (about 60 microns). Even at this relatively large feature size, the recording of large array areas with conventional techniques can be prohibitively slow (and therefore expensive) since each image pixel typically requires individual motion of the film platen and subsequent exposure. These conventional systems are also generally limited to fixed spatial frequencies, or at best to a predetermined set of fixed spatial frequencies, which limits the type of imagery or graphical information they are capable of recording. There are also quite a number of such systems in operation at this time, a situation which seriously limits their credibility and utility in the field of security.
E-Beam writing of grating arrays which is capable of high resolution, is so prohibitively expensive a process and requires such a large capital investment that it's utility in anti-counterfeiting is secure. It is not seriously limited as to feature size as each fringe of any desired grating array can be written individually. Unfortunately, the production of relatively small grating arrays requires a considerable amount of time on extremely expensive equipment. As with the invention described herein, clever programming is also necessary to take full advantage of such as system. E-Beam recording techniques also require relatively sophisticated equipment control and computer control techniques to achieve the desired output.
To date there seems to be no system extant capable of producing inexpensive, large area, high resolution, grating arrays. Therefore, it is clear that there is a need for system, apparatus, and method that provide solutions to these limitations in the prior art.
In one aspect the invention provides means for controlling the shape of the exposure area in a very accurate and precise manner, and to generate final images that contain microscopic two-dimensional image data such as text or other graphical art, where such data can be unique for each exposure area.
In another aspect the invention provides means for representing features in greater detail than provided in conventional systems.
In another aspect the invention provides means for controlling the shape of each output exposure footprint.
In yet another aspect the invention reduces pixelation, quantization, or stair stepping and the rough edges which result from pixel quantization in the final output image so that the output image follows the actual contours in the macroscopic image.
In another aspect the invention provides means for adjusting the output grating spatial frequencies and spatial orientations at will, including presenting or altering the frequencies and orientations continuously and in real-time during operation of the apparatus.
In another aspect the invention provides means for modifying or controlling the spatial frequencies during operation without changing the optical configuration.
In another aspect the invention provides means for generating a multitude of diffractive patterns rapidly, with the potential for generating the diffractive patterns in real time.
In another aspect the invention eliminates moving parts in the optical system and to thereby increase speed and provide greater stability.
In another aspect the invention provides means for more readily maintaining system alignment than would be provided in conventional two beam configurations, or configurations involving mirrors or prisms.
In another aspect the invention provides means for generating diffractive areas which are smaller than have been realized with conventional systems.
In another aspect the invention provides means for forming multi-directional gratings in a single exposure.
In another aspect the invention provides means for accurately and precisely controlling diffraction efficiency by modifying the contrast of the image displayed on the image display device.
In yet a further aspect the invention provides means for using system noise characteristics (including noise introduced by the optical system and image display device imperfections) to uniquely identify the system from which a particular hologram or grating was produced, as a security feature to verify the hologram or grating authenticity.
In another aspect the invention provides means for generating holograms having even exposure density across the entire hologram and for eliminating the Gaussian pits that are typically present in conventional systems which use a focussed narrow beam, by providing a filtered and expanded beam to illuminate the image display device.
In another aspect the invention provides a system permitting rapid photographic exposure by reducing settling times typically required in conventional systems having moving optical components and hence vibration, and by providing a large exposure footprint even for small pixel dimensions, and for providing means for exposing multiple angles in the same exposure footprint simultaneously.
These and other features and advantages are provided by the present invention as will be readily apparent in light of the accompanying drawings and detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, of a first exemplary embodiment of the inventive apparatus.
FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing some of the components of the embodiment in FIG. 1, but at a larger scale so that details of the diffracted waves and the relationship between the image displayed by the LCD and the output are more readily apparent.
FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing a planar representation of the LCD and exemplary data displayed thereon.
FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing an exemplary grey-level fringe pattern (alternating bands of light and dark) on LCD display.
FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing the mechanism by which the ±1st order diffracted beams from certain regions displayed on the LCD are recombined to generate new interference fringes in focal plane.
FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing the manner in which a more general composite output graphic design is built up from component parts.
FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing an embodiment of the inventive method for generating a hologram.
FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing an image section related to a prior-art procedure for generating a hologram.
FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing additional features of the inventive structure and method including a super-region formed from a plurality of regions corresponding to addressable portions parts of a full LCD display.
FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing an alternative second embodiment of the inventive apparatus already shown and described relative to FIGS. 1-4 wherein light reaching the photo receptive material are made by contributions from the undiffracted zeroth (0th) order beam and either one of the 1st order diffracted beams.
FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing an alternative third embodiment of the inventive apparatus having characteristics analogous to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, but having a Kineform or a Gabor Zone Plate created within the LCD to effectively refocus the expanding beam emerging from the spatial filter assembly in the absence of a separate condenser lens.
FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing a fourth embodiment having a rotary servo motor with mounted grating and means for expanding the beam to cover a large area on the grating.
FIG. 13 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing a fifth embodiment of the invention similar with the embodiment already shown and described relative to the embodiment in FIG. 11 except that characteristics of some optical components and their placement in the optical path has been altered to achieve particular alternative advantages.
FIG. 14 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing a simulation of imbedded microtext or micrograhic including diffractive fringes within the microtext in a section of printed currency prepared in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention is directed to a device, method, and system for recording very high resolution text, pictorial, and/or other graphical information on a recording medium. It is particularly suited to recording information that would be difficult to reproduce by typical counterfeiting methods which do not achieve the resolution of the present invention, such that some of the information recorded may be used to authenticate the recorded item or indirectly, the item to which the recorded item is attached. Such items may include but are not limited to currency, official documents, legal, financial and commercial instruments, credit cards, and packaging for such items as software, art, and other items where forgery may be a concern.
In one embodiment of the invention an electromagnetic radiation such as visible light generated by a radiation source (such as a laser) is received by a shutter or other control device for selectively passing or blocking passage of the received light. A spatial filter cleans the beam to generally remove undesirable frequency components and generates a diverging 10 beam with the desired spatial frequency content. A display, preferably a liquid crystal display (LCD) dynamically receives a data stream such as may be generated on a computer, either in real time, or prestored and downloaded or otherwise communicated to the display when required. The data includes a plurality of data values and a corresponding plurality of spatial location values for each the data value for presenting the data values at the corresponding spatial locations in a two dimensional data array of picture elements on the LCD. Each of the displayed data value presenting an optical characteristic related to the corresponding data value in the path of the received converging illumination beam. The optical characteristic is typically either an optical density which alters the amplitude of the light transmitted through a particular pixel of the LCD, or an optical polarization change, such as may result from a birefringence, in the LCD pixel. The presence of the two-dimensional array of optical density or polarization causing diffraction of the incident radiation into a plurality of diffracted beams each the beam having a particular diffracted angle relative to a plane of the display and particular spatial frequency components. A mask receiving the plurality of diffracted beams and selectively passes first predetermined ones of the beams and selectively blocks second ones of the beams different from the first ones so that only the desired frequency components that will generate the optical interference fringes are allowed to pass to an output plane. Additional optical components receive the first beams and redirecting them to overlap in the output plane, the overlap resulting in the formation of interference fringes related to relative phase difference between the overlapping beams. These interference fringes may have a very high spatial frequency so that extremely fine lines or small objects, including text and graphics, can be recorded.
The inventive method for recording a diffractive element such as a diffraction grating or hologram includes generating a first data set representative of a two-dimensional diffraction grating having particular diffraction characteristics, communicating the stored first data set to an LCD display, allowing a beam of radiation such as light to impinge on the LCD in a predetermined manner for a predetermined period of time such that the incident beam is diffracted by the LCD diffraction pattern, optically collecting and redirecting selected components of the diffracted radiation to overlap at a predetermined output focal plane to thereby interfere and generate interference fringes; and recording or otherwise detecting the interference fringes at the output focal plane. The method may also include repeating the process for a plurality of data set representations; and spatially combining each the fringe representations into a final hologram. The invention also includes devices or structures made or recorded according to the methods disclosed herein.
Various embodiments of the device, structure, and method are described that have particular advantages that are addressed in the detailed description of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The inventive apparatus, system, and method provide structure and procedure for rapidly generating high resolution diffraction grating arrays including holograms with fringe structures of about one micron or smaller and discernable image features on the order of about six microns or smaller.
These arrays may be produced in a photo-sensitive etch-resistant material or on other high resolution photo-sensitive materials such as the fine grain silver halide emulsions or other conventional photo sensor materials currently used in holography and micro lithography. The output images may be used for many purposes including anti-counterfeiting, product verification, security badges, decoration, binary optics, and other optical, security, and decorative applications. The invention is now described in detail relative to the appurtenant drawings.
With reference to FIG. 1, there is shown an exemplary first embodiment of the inventive apparatus. In this embodiment a laser 50 emits a beam of light 51 from a laser exit aperture. Laser 50 may be a laser of any conventional type commonly used for holography emitting a wavelength of light (or other electromagnetic radiation) to which the sensitive material in emulsion of choice is sensitive. A filtered incoherent or quasi-coherent light source may also be used in place of a coherent laser since the difference in path length for the two recording beams is typically less than 100 microns; however, a coherent source generally is preferred.
The laser beam 51 is intercepted by shutter 52 which receives control signals to open and dose the shutter in response to signals 21 received from computer 20. Computer 20 may be any conventional computer such as personal computer than incorporates Intel, AMD, Cyrix, or Motorola microprocessor for controlling peripheral devices, such as shutter assembly 52, X-Y stage positioned control means such as stepping motors 82 and 83, and for providing data to the LCD display 68 including display controller 68b. The display controller 68b may be a separate device and power supply, or may be incorporated into computer 20, either as an integral part of the processor or as an add in printed circuit (PC) board, or the like. Conventional display controller boards are suitable, such as for example, the LCD display controller made by QAI. It should be understood that the LCD display 68 provides means for displaying data in a two-dimensional array. Other devices such as a spatial light modulator, a reflective micro-mirror, and devices having appropriate real-time or near real-time data switching and optical characteristics may alternatively be used as the data display means in place of an LCD.
When shutter 52 is open, beam 51 passes through the shutter assembly 52 aperture to spatial filter assembly 54. Spatial filter assembly 54 includes an optical system typically implemented by a microscope objective 54a or conventional construction and a pinhole aperture 54b also of conventional variety. The microscope objective 54a receives the raw laser beam 51 from the laser and focuses it to a point coincident with the plane of pinhole 54b. Pinhole 54b is a round aperture sized to perform spatial filtering of the beam in that plane. Other spatial filter means known in the art may alternatively be used.
In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1, microscope objective 54a has a magnification (such as when used for normal microscope applications) of about 10×. Pinhole 54b is selected in conjunction with microscope objective 54a, and will typically have a round aperture of between about 10 microns and about 25 microns; however, a larger aperture such as a 50-100 microns or larger aperture may be used where filtered beam uniformity is not as critical and greater optical throughput is desirable.
The output beam 55 diverges as it exits pinhole 54b and expands to partially fill a first lens 56 which images the spatial filter pinhole aperture 54b at an intermediate focal plane 75. First lens 56 intercepts the expanding beam 55 to generate a converging beam 57 and refocuses the converging beam through the full aperture of liquid crystal display (LCD) 68. While the focal length of the lens in particular, and dimensions of the apparatus in general, will depend on a particular implementation of the apparatus; in a first exemplary embodiment of the apparatus, the first lens 56 has a diameter of about 60 mm and a focal length of about 250 millimeters. It should be understood that the optical system must generally be scaled depending upon the choice of LCD module 68 dimensions and first focussing lens 56 to achieve the particular desired imaging goals.
LCD 68 may generally be of conventional design, but should have the contrast and resolution characteristics appropriate to provide the desired diffraction characteristics include angular deviation and efficiency. The LCD module 68 generally comprises an electronic driver and controller component 68b with an integral or separate power supply, and a substantially transparent display component having a display area or aperture 68a, which is controlled by the driver section 69b in conjunction with computer 20 to provide desired transparency (clear) and opacity (black or multi-level grey-scale) characteristics as a function of information data signals 23 received over wires from computer 20.
An "active-matrix" type LCD display is preferred because of the high contrast, and highdata switching speeds, although so called "passive" type LCD displays may be used with a possible resultant loss of contrast. In general passive displays may require longer exposure times or a more powerful light source 50 than active matrix displays. Active matrix LCDs of conventional variety typically achieve contrast ratios on the order of between about 100:1 and about 200:1 or more, while so called "passive" displays achieve contrast ratios on the order of between about 10:1 and about 40:1, more typically about 20:1. Conventional LCDs may incorporate polarizing sheets adhered to each side of the display. Color LCDs may be used however they are not preferred because they typically employ color filters which are not advantageously used here.
For applications of these LCDs as diffractive elements, any such polarizing materials are advantageously removed to increase transmitted light and reduce noise or other optical degradations. This permits the use of the LCD as a phase transmission hologram rather than as an absorption transmission hologram and will increase the light at the final plate 80.
Liquid crystal display 68 presents or displays data in a two dimensional picture or image element or picture element (pixel) array. The displayed information creates a diffraction array which causes various areas in the incident laser beam 57 (emerging from lens 56) to diffract into one or more diffracted beams 59, the number and character of which depending on the characteristics of the displayed data. In general, the diffracted beams 59 include an undiffracted or zeroth order (0th) beam 70, a first order diffracted pair (±1st) of beams 72a and 72b, a pair of second order (±2nd) diffracted beams 74a and 74b, and typically higher order diffracted beams (not shown), generally having lower amplitude and intensity than the lower order beams. The higher order beams may be, but are typically not, used in the preferred embodiments of the inventive apparatus and method. Those workers having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the existence and characteristics of the zeroth, first, second and higher order beams will be determined by the spatial information presented on LCD display 68. Where constant data (e.g. a clear aperture or fixed grey-level aperture) having only a so called d.c. component is presented by LCD 68, there will only be a single (undiffracted) beam referred to as the zeroth (0 th ) order beam. For example, data simulating a sine function diffractive structure will diffract into several orders in each direction, and a kineform will diffract principally into the orders which it was designed to generate. Data forming or simulating blazed gratings, square wave gratings, and other grating structures may also be provided.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a mask in the form of an annular aperture 76 having clear (transparent) and opaque regions is provided which masks or blocks the zeroth (0th) order beam 70, the pair of second order (±2nd) beams 74a and 74b, and although not shown, also blocks the ±3rd, ±4th, and higher order beams. In this particular embodiment, only the first order (±1st) diffracted beams 72a and 72b are allowed to pass through the mask 76 to subsequently impinge at focal plane 80. The radial distance of the ±1st diffracted beams from the central optical axis are determined by the spatial frequency of the displayed LCD data, and the distance to and focal length of lens 56. As an example, for a lens 56 having a focal length of 35 millimeters, a 20 mm×15 mm LCD display having 640×480 pixels in each direction respectively, the inner radius (r1) and the outer radius (r2) of the aperture in mask 76 are about 3 mm and 15 mm respectively when the distance to the lens is adjusted to provide an exposure footprint (utilizing a 480×480 pixel area of the LCD) of about 0.127 mm (1/200 inch on each side). Embodiments wherein different beams are blocked or passed are described hereinafter, have different characteristics, and it will be understood that means for altering the optical system to selectively block or pass one or more beams may be provided.
These diffracted first order beams 72a, 72b are intercepted by a second lens, or LCD reimaging lens, 78 which redirects the diffracted first order beams back toward the optical axis and reimages the LCD display onto a predefined image focal plane 80, the focal plane at which a photo receptive material such as photographic film or etch resistant photo sensitive resist material 81 would be installed or applied in order to create the desired final hologram or diffraction grating. LCD reimaging lens 78 can be either a conventional high quality photographic or micro-photographic lens, a holographic optical element, or any lens system capable of imaging the LCD with good fidelity. Focusing the lens onto the film plane causes the overlap of the +1 and -1 diffracted beams incident on lens 78 thereby creating interference fringes at the focal plane 80 which becomes the grating structure in the photosensitive material 81.
The photo receptor 81 may be photographic film, photo resist material as used in the semiconductor production industry, or the like materials, and is mounted at image output focal plane 80 on a X-Y transport assembly 24 which is operative to transport the two dimensional photo receptor 81 in substantially orthogonal X- and Y-coordinate directions, in response to stepper motor transport control signals 84, 85, received from stepper motor control unit 22, so that where desired, a composite image may be constructed from a mosaic of separate exposures. Any conventional means for moving the photoreceptor 81 may be used such as motors, piezoelectric transducer, lead screw, or ultrasonic motors, for example so long as the photoreceptor 81 is maintained at the focal plane during movement. Means for sensing the actual focus at focal plane 80 may also be optionally provided, such as contrast or alternatively parallel detection means commonly employed in automatic focus detection and adjustment systems such as cameras. In such case, a z-axis movement means may also be provided for photo receptor 81 position adjustment.
Various linear movement means are known in the art and may be used for the X-Y position adjustment desired. Rotational movement capability may also be provided in a conventional manner. In the preferred embodiment, stepper motors 82 and 83 receive control signals in the form of pulses on control lines 84 and 85 respectively, from stepper motor control 22. Stepper motor control unit 22 receives inputs 86 from computer 20 in a conventional manner. It will be appreciated that the operation of shutter 52, LCD display 68, and stepper motor control unit 22, are coordinated via signals 21, 23 and 86 in an operative manner to provide the desired operation of the apparatus. It will also be appreciated that these functions may be performed by one computer 20, by separate computers, or by a controller integrated with the computer such as with a microprocessor, to perform the required device interface and control.
Numerous optical, electrical, and scientific products including lenses, shutters, diffraction gratings, spatial filters, multi-dimensional translation stages and other transport assemblies, rotation stages, and lasers are available from Newport Corporation, 1791 Deere Avenue, Irvine, Calif., 92714, U.S.A., and may be employed in conjunction with making and using the inventive apparatus.
The entire optical subsystem of the inventive structure 15 illustrated in FIG. 1 may be enclosed in a housing (not shown) to preserve the cleanliness of the optical and mechanical components and to prevent stray ambient light from exposing the photo sensitive materials. Light baffles may also be included to further suppress any external light or reflected/scattered light within the housing.
The structure of an embodiment of the inventive apparatus having now been described, attention is now directed to a partial diagrammatic perspective drawing in FIG. 2 which shows some of the components in FIG. 1, but at a larger scale so that details of the diffracted waves and the relationship between the image displayed at LCD 68a and the output image at focal plane 80 are more readily apparent.
LCD 68a is shown presenting or displaying the composite image of the outline of a letter A (as an exemplary graphic) in which diagonal fringes 201 within the A (at about 45-degree inclination counter-clockwise from vertical) are displayed on a background of vertical fringes 202. (The LCD drivers, associated electronics, and signal lines are not shown). The spacing of the fringes in the drawing is illustrative only. In a typical implementation of the inventive structure and method, for a 20 mm×15 mm display of 640×480 pixels, fringes would have center-to-center spacings of about 220 microns, the resulting ±1st order beams being diffracted to diverge after passing the LCD at an angle of about ±0.1 degrees. A planar representation of the LCD 68a and the data displayed thereon is shown separately in FIG. 3.
The exemplary LCD 68 has 640 addressable samples in one dimension (e.g. the x- or horizontal direction) and 480 addressable lines in the orthogonal direction (e.g. the y- or vertical) direction, and measures about 20 mm by about 15 mm. The pixel dimensions are about 30 microns on a side. The thickness of the LCD module in the z-dimension (Z LCD ) is about 1.1 mm. The LCD is preferably active matrix and has a small pixel spacing, good contrast, and a relatively large active area per pixel. For, example the Hitachi Model MTM25V01 LCD made by Hitachi may be used. It is also anticipated that LCD displays having smaller addressable pixels (e.g. 15 micron or smaller) and larger arrays of pixels (e.g. 3000×3000 or larger pixel arrays) are or will become available, and that such larger and/or higher resolution LCD displays may also be advantageously employed in the invention.
The LCD 68a is reimaged onto the image focal plane 80 at greatly reduced scale by lens 78 positioned such that in the exemplary embodiment illustrated, the ratio of third to fourth lens conjugate distances d 3 /d 4 is about 200:1. In this configuration, the LCD is reimaged at a magnification ratio of 200:1, such that a one-inch LCD section is reimaged as a 1/200 inch optical image of the LCD at the image plane 80.
Different parts of the LCD image, that is, the vertical background fringes 202, and the "A" diagonal fringes 201, cause diffraction of the incident light at different angular orientations and/or at different radial distances from the optical axis. Even the physical structure of the LCD (e.g. the array of equally spaced pixels) itself diffracts light. Undiffracted light remains along the central optical axis, and higher spatial frequencies including light diffracted by the LCD pixel array itself result in greater angular deviation. The physical separation of the diffracted beams is a function of the exposure wavelength, the spatial frequency of the displayed data, and the distance from the LCD to lens 78, according to the relationship defined in Bragg's Law, i.e. Lambda=2D×Sin(Theta) where λ is wavelength of the light, D is distance, and Theta is the diffracted angle. A separation is chosen which will produce the desired spatial frequency at the final image plane and this will depend on the focal length of lens 78, again applying Bragg's Law. Note that in this disclosure the terms diffraction, grating, hologram, and the like are used synonymously.
Although data to generate a fringe structure (e.g. 201, 202) is generated by, or stored on, computer 20 and displayed on LCD 68, the fringe structure at the LCD generated by individual resolvable pixels or groups of pixels on the LCD is not typically reimaged into focal plane 80. In fact, the fringe structure required at focal plane 80 to produce the hologram will generally be beyond the resolution and/or contrast performance of the preceding optical system components. The fringe structure present at LCD 68 is not actually imaged by the lenses in that it is not optically transferred from the LCD plane to the focal plane 80. Instead the fringe structure displayed on the LCD diffracts the incident laser beam 57 generating the diffracted orders so that they separate from the optical axis as illustrated at the plane of mask 76 in FIG. 2. Lens 56 causes the diverging beams (0th, ±1, ±2, ±3, etc) to come to separate foci in the plane of lens 78. Energy diffracted from the background fringes at constant frequency f 1 is concentrated in regions 210 and 211 at lens 78, and the energy from the A fringes at constant frequency f 2 is concentrated in regions 212 and 213 at lens 78.
FIG. 4 shows a diagrammatic illustration of exemplary fringes (alternating bands of light and dark) on the multi-grey level LCD display. Fringes can be generated having sinusoidal, square-wave, sawtooth, binary, or other mathematical characteristics. Generating the diffracting pattern on the LCD in this manner using a multi-level (e.g. 256 grey level) display provides advantages over a binary display having only two levels because of this flexibility. The white area 105 in FIG. 4 represents low density transparent regions of the LCD, and the black areas represent high density regions. The "speckled" regions 107 represent intermediate grey scale areas of the LCD having intermediate density, and the density is constant within any one addressable LCD pixel. The speckling is merely used in the drawings to provide the appearance of a multiplicity of grey levels.)
In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, only the ±1st order beams 72a, 72b from each of the background LCD fringe pattern 202 (shown in the plane of mask 76 as regions 210, 211) and the beam diffracted from A region 201 (shown in the plane of mask 76 as regions 213, 214) are allowed to pass mask 76. (For purposed of clarity, approximate ray traces for the incident and diffracted orders are only shown for the background LCD fringes.) Upon existing mask 76 second lens 78 located at the focus of first lens 56 redirects the ±1 background and A diffracted beams (and in other embodiments, other diffracted orders) from each region of the mask 210, 211, 212, 213 so as to reunite or overlap all of the beams diffracted from the LCD image at their respective positions in focal plane 80. (Region 203 has a constant grey level without fringes and does not diffract any significant energy outside of the d.c. or 0th frequency order component.) These intersecting beams cause interference and because the ±1st order beams are used, the number of interference fringes are effectively doubled over those that would result from interference between the 0th order and either of the +1 or -1 order beams. In general, the LCD may display a virtually unlimited graphical content and such content is not limited to the examples specifically described in this description. Those workers having ordinary skill in the art, in light of this description will appreciate the manner in which content dependent diffraction occurs as a result of diffraction by data displayed on LCD 68, and the manner in which the frequency components of that diffraction are separated in the Fourier transform plane of mask 76.
The relationship between the image data fringe spacing on the LCD and the interference fringes produced on the output focal plane 80 is linear and is determined by the distances between the optical components and the focal length of lens 78. For example, if the LCD region representing the letter A had 15 fringes across the length of the "A", then the final hologram would contain 30 fringes across the area containing the focused "A", and these fringes would have a spatial frequency 400 times that of the original, though the image of the "A" would have been reduced only 200 times.
Therefore, the inventive structure and method provide for extremely high spatial frequency grating structures and holograms at the focal plane 80, in spite of the relatively modest resolution at the LCD itself. Of course the image will be transposed, that is flipped or mirrored about the vertical and/or horizontal axis, but these effects are conventional and easily accounted for either by reorienting the photosensitive material 81, or by geometrically manipulating the data sent to LCD 68 so that the final output has appropriate geometrical orientation on the photo sensor. The distribution of light in the lens plane 78 is a frequency domain representation (e.g. Fourier transform representation) of the information in the LCD plane.
The mechanism by which the 1st order diffracted beams from the background regions 210, 211 are recombined to generate new interference fringes 221 in focal plane 80 are illustrated further in FIG. 5. The ray trace lines generally indicate how the light from regions 210, 211, 212, 213 at the plane of mask 76 diverge from points in the plane of lens 78 to overlap at the output focal plane 80. Although ray-trace lines are not illustrated in FIG. 5 for the A region 231 or the black region 232, new fringes are also produced in similar manner from the A region. Region 232 remains unexposed in the output plane 80 since no light was diffracted from the LCD data in region 203, and since undiffracted components are blocked by the central stop of mask 76.
In general, the LCD 68 will display an image having one or a plurality of frequency components defining an image or a portion of an image. These components diffract the laser light A causing separation of the spatial frequency components in the Fourier transform plane of the lens 78, and subsequent recombination by lens 78 at the focal plane.
The manner in which a composite output graphic design 601 is built up is now described with respect to FIG. 6. Magnified portions of several exemplary portions of each exposure area 602a, 602b, and 602c of the composite focal plane graphic and corresponding LCD inputs are illustrated in FIG. 6, that is in FIGS. 6a(1), 6a(2), 6b(1), 6b(2), and 6c(1), 6c(2), respectively. In this example, the LCD has 480×640 addressable elements but only a square 480×480 is used to display data that appears in the demagnified footprint. Each of the smallest rectangles 601 represents an LCD footprint. The composite output image can be any size, for example it can vary from the size of a single LCD footprint (1/200 inch×1/200 inch in this case), to the several hundred or more footprints on each side of the composite image. A composite image built up from a 400 by 400 array of LCD footprints (160,000 exposures) at a 1:200 LCD demagnification would be about 2 inches square.
With respect to FIGS. 6a, each region 602a, 602b, and 602c represents an exposure "footprint" of the full LCD display 68 as reimaged onto the final photosensitive plate material 81 in focal plane 80. In this embodiment, the composite image is built up a "footprint" at a time. In general, the exposed region at plate 81 could correspond to the entire LCD screen (e.g. 640×480 pixels) or it could correspond to a subportion of the LCD screen area, for example, it could correspond to a square 480×480 pixel region, or to 1/16 of the LCD area (e.g. 160×120 pixels), or any other portion.
The rectangular area within the circular region identifies the pixels in the LCD only, as the dark border does not actually exist in the output data. The individual LCD footprints are precisely aligned so that each footprint abuts without overlap or gap. Also, it will be understood that the region within the magnified circle and the darker rectangular border represents LCD data that appears in the composite and is not a component of the LCD itself during that particular exposure.
It is convenient, from an imaging and software standpoint, to utilize a square region of the LCD to correspond to the exposure footprint. Here an exposure footprint corresponds to a 480×480 pixel section of the display which is reimaged at 1/200 scale. The composite image is built up from a series of exposures, such as for example: (i) the exposure footprint illustrated in FIG. 6a(1) at time to T a from the LCD data in FIG. 6a(2); (ii) the exposure in FIG. 6b(1) at time T b from the LCD data in FIG. 6b(2); (iii) the exposure in FIG. 6c(1) at time T c from the LCD data in FIG. 6c(2); and (iv) other exposures (not shown); to build up the entire image comprising regions 602a, . . . , 602b, . . . 602c, . . . etc. as shown in FIG. 6a. It is generally convenient to control the x- and y- motion of stepper motors 82 and 83 to sequentially step the photosensitive material in x- and then y-dimensions until the entire image is formed as a latent exposure.
In other embodiments, different wavelength lasers may also desirably be employed to expose different or overlapping regions so that each exposure is made at both a different location and with a different wavelength. Other embodiments may also incorporate scales other than 1/200. Further embodiments may physically or optically abut multiple LCD arrays so that exposure is performed in parallel.
The large thick dark (black) region 610 in the LCD data shown in FIG. 6b(2) and region 612 in FIG. 6c(2), are data regions that will form black line regions in the final image. The dark black regions 610, 612 in the LCD do not diffract the incident laser radiation, so that no light is reimaged back to the corresponding regions in the final output focal plane 80. LCD regions displaying fringes, such as region 615 in FIG. 6a(2) (here the entire 480×480 region of the LCD display) diffract light into ±1st order beams which become imaged to form new interference fringes over the footprint 616 in FIG. 6a(1). As each of the footprints 602a, . . . 602n is a representation of the LCD display, the image created by diffraction at the focal plane 80 will look substantially like the image being displayed at the LCD except for the optical mirroring, flipping, or other inversions that necessarily occur after passing through center optical components. In other words, some of the footprints will be entirely filled with fringes oriented in the same direction, some of the footprints will also have black or unexposed regions, and some footprints will have a multitude of diffractive patterns at different spatial frequencies or angles.
In the simplest case, each region 602a, . . . 602b, . . . , 602c, . . . 602n in the image plane 80 of FIG. 6a is created by a data display on the LCD, that is, it is formed from the entire image displayed on the LCD 68. A step and repeat procedure, described hereinafter, steps each exposure in both x- and y- coordinates. For each step, the data (image) displayed on the LCD is or may be changed.
With further reference to FIG. 6, FIG. 6A is a diagrammatic illustration of the manner in which the image at the plate 80 is built up or integrated from a sequence of separate exposures. Exposure 1 (region 602a) is formed at time t 1 by sending data to LCD 68 having a fringe pattern only at a frequency of about 7 pixels and at an angle of about 135 degrees clockwise from vertical. Exposure 2 (region 602b) is formed at time t 2 by stepping the plate 80 along the x- or horizontal axis by distance of about 0.005 inches corresponding to the size of the LCD display area times the magnification factor (actually a reduction factor of 1/200 in this example). For example, if the LCD has a 1-inch display area, and the magnification is 1/200, then the step increment in x- and y-directions will be 1/200 inches so that the successive exposures will abut without overlap. Exposure 5 (region 602c) is formed at time t 5 by displaying an LCD display as shown in FIG. 6b(2) wherein pixels on the lower left and upper right hand side regions 621, 622 contain only fringes, and pixels in region 610 form an arcuate path from upper left to lower right that are either black or clear (here shown as black) so as to avoid diffraction from this area.
Note that the fringes in the LCD 68 created by digital data are generated from computer 20, while the fringes at the output plate 80 are produced by physical wave interference of the recombined diffracted orders, here the +1 and -1 diffracted orders. The LCD display fringes and interference fringes formed at the output plane also have a different physical separation and corresponding spatial frequency but have the same relative orientation (except for optical reversal) as the LCD displayed fringes.
Beams incident onto the black areas 610, 612 of the LCD are not diffracted since these regions do not display fringes. Whether these regions are represented as black or clear in the data sent to the LCD, and whether or not the polarizing filters are left on the LCD, the light incident on these regions passes through as undiffracted energy in the zeroth order beam, and in this particular embodiment are blocked by mask 76 so that no light from this area reaches plate 80 from areas 610 and 612.
An embodiment of the inventive method 600 is now described with reference to FIG. 7. The method begins (step 602) with the choice of the final size in the hologram of the data elements from a digital image file (Step 604), i.e., the choice of how many data elements will be displayed on the LCD per exposure. This digital image file defines the data to be displayed in each sub-region or super-region (if the elements define areas larger than the footprint of the system) of the LCD 68. Next, the number of horizontal data elements (image samples) and the number of vertical data elements (image lines) per exposure are calculated (Step 606). Once the size of the horizontal and vertical data elements are known, the total number of horizontal exposures or footprints in the x-direction are computed (Step 608), as well as the total number of vertical exposures in the y-direction (Step 610). These computations define, in conjunction with the size of the data display (e.g. the LCD 68) and the optical magnification (reduction), the final size of the composite output image. Note that characterization as horizontal or vertical, or as X-, Y-, or Z-coordinate are merely for descriptive convenience, and that those workers having ordinary skill in the art in light of the description provided herein will appreciate that the inventive apparatus and method may be oriented or implemented in any orientation and are not constrained to horizontal or vertical orientation, and that motion of the photo sensitive materials relative to the optical system output beam(s) may be performed using non-orthogonal movements.
Prior to exposing the first footprint, the X- and Y- positions of the stage 24 are adjusted for the location of the first exposure (Steps 612, 614). Normally exposure will begin at one corner and proceed in a back and forth raster pattern, however, any other exposure location addressing scheme may be used so long as accurate positioning is maintained.
Data is created or preferably retrieved from memory storage 18 (Steps 616, 618) coupled to computer 20, and sent via display controller 68b to LCD display 68 (Step 620). The data may include periodic or non periodic grid lines (fringes), as well as text and graphics data, and the like. The grid data may include linear diffraction fringe data, but is not limited to linear forms, and it is contemplated that any form, including circles, ellipses, polygons, and any other shape may be displayed including representations of more complex diffractive data such as holographic fringe patterns. The data may be created and/or stored in raster, vector, or any other conventional form, and may be compressed or uncompressed, but ultimately it is displayed as a two-dimensional matrix of pixels that define diffractive structures or constant areas as already described. The display preferably displays data in a multiple grey level monochomatic format preferably having at least 256 grey levels. Displays having more than 256 grey levels may be used with some increase in quality and cost, and displays of fewer grey levels may be used with some possible degradation. Binary displays (e.g. pixel is either ON or OFF) may be used for certain limited applications.
Once the data is displayed, the computer commands shutter 52 to open for an appropriate exposure time that will depend on the transmissivity (density) of the LCD, optical throughput of the system, and the sensitivity of the photosensitive material 81 in conventional manner, thereby exposing the LCD display onto the photo resist material to create the hologram (Step 624). After all regions are exposed, the latent image is developed or otherwise processed in conventional manner to form the diffraction grating or holographic structure(s).
The computer 20 computes the new position for the second exposure by stepping in the scan line (horizontal) direction (Step 626), retrieving or generating appropriate data for the second exposure, displaying the data, and exposing the new data as before. This process is continued until the complete scan line is exposed. The entire process is repeated for the next y-coordinate position until the entire image has been exposed (Step 628, 630). It should be noted that while a rectangular array of footprints is illustrated, the exposure pattern need not be rectangular, and that the footprints may be non-rectangular and/or disjoint from each other if the application requires these characteristics. The invention structure and method are very flexible in this regard.
The data generated for the LCD 68 will typically be a raster type image file. For example, one example of data that would generate a diffraction grating at the surface of the final hologram would be a graphical representation of the fringe structure of a diffraction grating saved as a Windows BMP (bit mapped) file or as any other file format, whether standardized or not, so long as it can be displayed on the LCD.
FIG. 8 illustrates image section for a prior-art procedure for generating a hologram. From this diagram it is clear that the inventive structure and method provide a fundamentally different approach as compared to other possible structures and methods. FIG. 8, shows an output having an overall macroscopic appearance similar to the output generated by the inventive apparatus in FIG. 6a, but which actually differs in significant ways, both at microscopic and macroscopic levels.
In conventional methods and apparatus, each region of the holographic output is formed by the exposure of a region 801 on the photoreceptor, such as a photo resist material as illustrated in FIGS. 8a and 8b. The laser light and data pattern for the exposure is formed at the photoreceptor by focussing two narrow gaussian intensity profile laser beams onto the surface. The interference fringe pattern is formed by interference of the two overlapping beams. No microscopic data other than the fringe pattern itself can be recorded as there is no mechanism for imaging anything more complex than the point which is exposed as a gaussian beam. By comparison, the inventive apparatus and method provides a means to add microscopic type or other graphics to each exposure region and to expose any number of gratings at arbitrary angles and spatial frequencies in the same or different areas of the exposure footprint simultaneously, and to control the content of each exposed region in a very controlled and flexible manner.
In the existing conventional device and methods, the practitioner is limited to a single or fixed number of grating spacings. Among its numerous advantages, the inventive apparatus and method provides for a continuously variable grating spacing.
While some prior art methods provide for using a rotary turret holding a plurality of different diffraction gratings, the number of gratings is limited by physical space, and the ability to maintain optical alignment is compromised as the physical size of the turret is increased to accommodate a greater number of gratings. Therefore, as a practiced matter, the number of gratings that could be implemented using conventional techniques is severely limited. The present invention allows an almost infinite number of LCD images for use as gratings (limited only by the LCD quantization and the overall LCD and lens sizes) so that it is not necessary to stop to rotate the turret to obtain different gratings as in conventional systems.
In these conventional systems, the orientation and frequency of the interference fringes present in each exposure region 801 (see FIG. 8), are determined by the phase difference of the interfering beams, and are not easily controlled. These prior art devices rely either on a fixed fringe pattern, or rely on physical changes (e.g. mechanical modifications) to the optical system in order to change the output interference pattern spacing or orientation. At best, these prior art device may provide means for rotating the beam splitter responsible for creating the reference and data beams, and/or for altering the path/phase difference between the beams to effect the fringe spacing and angular orientation. Conventional systems have not provided means to alter the spot size so that the footprint in the output focal plane could be changed. Finally, conventional devices are not known to provide any means for shaping the output spot at the output focal plane and the output footprint is limited to circular spots having diameters only as small as about 1/400 of an inch (about 0.0025 inches) as illustrated in FIG. 8d.
Therefore, even if conventional systems were modified to add capability to mechanically alter the optical system to change fringe orientation, fringe spacing, spot size, and spot shape (if possible with conventional gaussian beam shape) these additions would necessarily slow the exposure cycle during the mechanical change and decrease system stability since components cannot be fixedly mounted in a stable configuration. They would also be prone to mechanical vibration and/or to misalignment.
In addition, even if circular exposure regions (e.g. 804, 806, 808) were directed to abut at their tangent points, they would not completely fill the space but would leave regions such as regions 810, (see FIG. 8d) without exposure. Because individual exposure regions cannot have unique contours the final image will have jagged or pixellated edges 811. The black areas in FIG. 8 including the large exposures of black surrounding the generally circular area and the black star shaped areas between the exposure circles need not be exposed.
In such conventional systems, the exposure process must be stopped when a change in optical characteristics is required (e.g. change in fringe frequency) which thereby slows the exposure process, or all regions having the same fringe characteristics must be exposed (skipping different regions) and then the process is repeated for regions requiring different characteristics. The present invention clearly solves the problem in these conventional systems.
While several embodiments have been described that use a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) to display data that diffracts light as described, those workers having ordinary skill in the art in light of this description will appreciate that the LCD is one device of several devices that provide means for presenting or displaying information at a high resolution and in a small format, and that further provide means for rapidly changing the information content of that display without physical movement of the device, other optical system components to achieve movement, or the information containing media itself. Other types of data displays such as micro-mirror devices that operate in a reflection mode with suitable folding of the optical system, and other spatial light modulators such as the Light-Valve spatial light modulator made by the General Electric Corporation may be used.
Multiple LCD displays might also be used and optically combined at the focal plane 80 to build up the entire image at the same time rather than sequentially or in sections. For example, four LCDs could be set up and used simultaneously. They could be either be set to image adjacent regions or offset; the step and repeat would be adjusted accordingly.
Other features of the inventive structure and method are now described with respect to FIG. 9. Here super-region formed from a plurality of regions correspond to parts of a full LCD display, and each separate region (e.g. region 920) corresponds to 1/4 the linear dimension or 1/16 of the area or total number of pixels of the entire LCD display. This demonstrates the great flexibility of the invention, where in a single exposure, regions of the final image can be created incorporating a multitude of spatial frequencies, overall shape, multidirectional fringes, and microscopic graphic or text structures. In similar manner, other arbitrary numbers of regions can be imaged together and exposed simultaneously.
For example, in FIG. 9, a large text letter T is illustrated in the upper left hand region of the LCD 68. The screen is divided into 16 regions each display different data, including different fringes. The T is superimposed on four regions 920, 921, 922, 923. The T is displayed at one spatial frequency, which is different from the spatial frequencies of the other regions 920, 921, 922, 923 which it overlies or is contained within. The T is formed at a different spatial frequency and at a different angular area from the surrounding regions, and will therefore diffract to a different angle and/or to a different radial off-axis distance from the other regions 920, 921, 922, 923.
In the exemplary system, the entire footprint for the exposure created from FIG. 9 would be 1/200 inch, yielding a plethora of image information at much finer effective resolution, clearly unachievable by conventional holographic systems where each exposure region is an undifferentiated dot of similar size. While similar images could conceivably be produced using E-Beam systems or by other systems if alignment could be kept accurate enough to allow much smaller foci, the former would be constrained to scan each fringe in the final image area individually, and the latter would have to expose hundreds of dots to compose an exposure similar to the one created in the exemplary system in a fraction of a second.
With respect to the triangular areas 927, 928, 929, image elements are not constrained to any particular geometrical form, for example, they are not limited to square or rectangular regions. Regions may be rectangular, hexagonal, triangular, circular, or have a completely arbitrary shape so long as the area can be defined by the distribution of pixel levels displayed on the LCD pixel array.
The LCD screen can either be subdivided or alternatively used as subdivision of a larger image area, that is larger than the footprint of the system. The term footprint refers to the entire exposure area on the photoreceptor plate 81 for each exposure, and is different from the term "pixel" which refers to an addressable element of the LCD. Footprint is the entire utilized LCD area as it has been reimaged and reduced onto the photo resist material 81.
While the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1 has been described in detail, various alternative embodiments may also be implemented to practice the inventive structure and method.
For example, with reference to FIG. 10, an alternative embodiment of the inventive apparatus similar to the embodiment already described is shown, except that exposures at the photo receptive material 81 are made by contributions from the undiffracted zeroth (0th) order beam 70, and either one of the diffracted beams 72a, 72b. The other diffracted beams are blocked by a somewhat different aperture or mask 76b which blocks all frequencies except 70 and 72a (or 72b).
This second alternative embodiment is different from that described relative to the embodiment in FIG. 1 because the interference fringes created at the photoreceptor plane 80 are generated by interference between the 0th (undiffracted) beam and one other diffracted beam 72a. The spectral frequency of the fingers are 1/2 that frequency which would be provided by the embodiment in FIG. 1, since the angular difference between the 0th and the +1 or -1 beams is 1/2 the angle between the +1 and -1 beams.
With reference to FIG. 11, which shows a third embodiment of the inventive apparatus having characteristics similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, but having no separate condenser lens 56 interposed between the spatial filter assembly 54 and the liquid crystal display 68. In this configuration, a structure analogous to a Kineform or a Gabor Zone Plate is created within LCD structure 68 which effectively forms a condenser lens that refocuses the expanding beam 55 from the spatial filter assembly so that two beams diverge to a focus at lens 78. The kineform displayed on the LCD simultaneously diffracts and focuses the beam, in the same manner that the separate condenser lens 56 and LCD 68 did in the first embodiment. Conventional Kineforms are often binary, however the multi-level LCD is not constrained to a binary Kineform and is capable of displaying any of a number of diffracting patterns. In order to focus the light as a real image from the same location on the LCD to two different points on the camera lens 78, one must superimpose two grating structures at the LCD that each focus light but to two different points.
The Kineform at LCD 68 can also focus light directly to the final plate without use of an additional lens 78 at the correct angle. Unfortunately, the grating spatial frequencies recorded at the plate in such a configuration are the same or some low multiple of those displayed on the LCD and are generally too low to be useful as decorative gratings with presently available LCDs. However, usefulness of this configuration will increase as such higher resolution LCD's become available.
Those workers having ordinary skill in the art in light of the disclosure presented herein, will appreciate that depending upon the characteristics of the apparatus, such as the embodiments illustrated and described with respect to FIGS. 1, 10, 11, 12, and 13, that the data supplied along signal line 23 from computer 20 will be different depending upon the characteristics of the optical system and the desired output. In particular, it will be appreciated that the data communicated to LCD display 68 for the embodiment shown in FIG. 11 will include components to produce the desired Kineform focusing effect that would not otherwise be needed, for example in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 where a separate condenser lens 56 is already provided. Data displayed on the LCD will be similar to that displayed in the system illustrated in FIG. 1 with the exception that fringes in the various regions of the image will be curved to focus the incoming light onto lens 78, and will generally have two sets of curved fringes superimposed to create the two beams necessary to create the final diffractive structure.
As has already been mentioned, the data sent to the LCD will depend upon the embodiment and the desired effect, but programming for any of the embodiments described need not be complex to be effective. Simple but visually dynamic images can be created from a fixed set of chosen angles of diffraction. It should be noted that since the final image will diffract into both plus and minus orders of diffraction, 180 discrete angles with one degree separations will, for example, diffract into a range of 360 degrees. The macroscopic appearance of such images can be designed in any of several commercially available art programs such as for example, Adobe Photoshop. Other workers in the field have noted the utility of designing and saving such data as designs in a palettized bitmap format, coding angles of diffraction as colors in the image file. Standard palette replacement and rotation techniques can then be used to preview on the computer screen the kinetic effect of tipping the final diffractive image to different angles. For embodiments where microscopic text or other graphics are added to each exposure footprint, separate files containing this data can be created which ideally are combined and maintain registration with the image data during the recording process.
Bitmap file formats are also convenient for storing the diffractive image data sent to the LCD in the preferred embodiment. The files should either be made large enough to cover the entire display area of the LCD or in images where only linear gratings are formed, smaller sections of diffractive image data can be tiled to create larger areas on the display, so long as the fringes can be kept in alignment. All or some portions of such image files are then used to compose the final data sent to the LCD, depending upon design. The LCD image data can be generated in a simple Basic routine or routines in any other programming language which calculates the sine of the offset into the scan line for each pixel, adjustments being made for the angle of inclination for the fringes in each file.
Computers used for either the programming, data generation, and interface with the LCD display including the LCD display controller may be any of the commonly available microprocessor based computers, such as those made by IBM, Apple, Sun, Digital Equipment corporation and the like. They typically incorporate 386, 486, 586, Pentium, PentiumPro, or equivalent or higher microprocessors.
The fourth embodiment illustrated in FIG. 12 has rotary servo 58 with mounted grating 60, and the inventive system includes means for expanding the beam to cover a large area on the grating 60 to go through a mask 76 and to focus the beam down to the camera lens 78. Conventional systems merely take a raw beam from the laser, direct it through a diffraction grating, and then spin or rotate the diffraction grating to make the beams move around on the camera lens 78. The lens 78 is referred to as a camera lens because a conventional camera lens is suitable for this purpose although a holographic optical element or many other conventional lens arrangements are equally suitable for this task. Lens 56 is referred to as a condenser lens because of it's functional purpose in the system, and need not be a conventional condenser type lens.
The inventive structure provides means for varying the information provided in the aperture of LCD 68, and provides the ability to alter the final fringe angles at will typically under computer contract via the servo, and provides additional features, such as recording text and graphic elements in each exposure. The inventive device also provides means for masking portions of each footprint and for changing shape of each footprint individually if desired. The advantages of this structure and method include the relative ease of programming the data sent to the LCD system, which includes only gross features of the final image relative to the fringe structure as no fringes need be generated or displayed by the LCD, which acts only as a mask in this embodiment.
A fifth embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 13. This apparatus represents a modification of the embodiment already illustrated and described with respect to FIG. 11; however, the characteristics of some optical components and their placement in the optical path has been altered to achieve the particular benefits now described.
In this fifth embodiment there is a one-to-one correspondence between the pixels of the LCD and the pixels exposed in the final hologram. More particularly, condenser lens 56 is selected so as to intercept the expanding laser beam from spatial filter assembly 54, and to redirect that intercepted beam in a converging path to rotationally mounted diffraction grating 60. The diffraction grating 60 is rotatable to select particular angles of diffraction in the final image. This selection is accomplished by generating an image structure within LCD 68 by "opening" (e.g. making transparent) all the pixels in the footprint portion of the final image which are required by design to diffract at a first orientation and by aligning diffraction grating 68 to match that first orientation. In this matter, the photo receptive material 81 in focal plane 80 (or the footprint region) is exposed such that all information at one particular diffraction grating angle is exposed at the same time, and then during subsequent exposures other orientations are selected by rotating diffraction grating 60 to those other orientations, opening the regions of the LCD for which exposure to the other regions are desired, and exposing these other orientations. If an image larger than the focused size of the LCD on the final plate is required by the design of the final hologram, the plate is then moved using an X-Y transport to the next exposure region and the process is repeated until the entire image has been exposed.
Operation of this fifth embodiment also has some different characteristics from the operation of other embodiments already described. The magnification of lens 78 determines the area of exposure on the final plate and this can be as large or larger than the LCD itself, depending on the pitch desired in the final image. In operation, all of the pixels that one wants to expose at one diffraction grating angle are made transparent, the shutter 52 is opened, an exposure is made, the shutter is closed, the angular orientation for the rotatable grating is changed, and the same or different pixels where exposure at a different grating angle are desired are made transparent, and a subsequent exposure is made. If there are 180 different angles desired in the final image, then the procedure will expose the entire 640×480 LCD display swatch (or any portion thereof) in 180 separate spatially overlapping or discrete exposures. No microscopic graphic or text data is possible in the final image, save that built from the gross pixel patterns displayed on the screen, but exposures of large areas of undifferentiated (save for angle) pixels can be created rapidly. For example, in the preceding example, conventional systems would require 640×480-, or 307,200 exposures for the same region this embodiment can expose in 180 exposures.
A computer simulation of a representative security device or security marking made in accordance with the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 14A-14E. FIG. 14 illustrates a section of printed currency 501. FIGS. 14B-14E illustrate progressively smaller sections of section 501 at greater magnification so that greater detail may be seen in particular regions of the currency. In FIG. 14D, a small portion 504 of the currency 501 is illustrated showing a background region 506 on which is recorded microtext 507. Other graphic or pictorial information either alone or in combination with text may be used. Of course where test is provided, it may be in any alphabet, symbol set, or the like.
With respect to FIG. 14E, there is shown a magnified portion 511 of the currency in FIG. 14D illustrating additional details of the microprinted text (or other graphic) that are preferably but optionally provided. Each of the rectangular regions (or partial rectangular regions) 512-520 represent a region corresponding to an LCD footprint.
As illustrated in FIG. 14E, each footprint may provide one or more regions having either no fringes (such as region 513) or may have a combination of regions having fringes at different angular orientations and/or different fringe spacings. For example, in one region 516 background fringes are oriented at a first angle (about 135 degrees in the drawing) with a spacing of 1/f B1 where f B1 is the spatial frequency of the background fringes. Also illustrated is a second text region 522 having fringes at a second orientation relative to the first set of background fringes and a fringe spacing of 1/f T1 where f T1 is the spatial frequency of the text fringes within the letter "E". These fringes will generally have alternating light and dark bands with a continuum of shades of grey of the character already illustrated in FIG. 4, that is they will not generally be the solid black and white lines illustrated in FIG. 14E. Those workers having ordinary skill in the art in light of this description will appreciate the characteristics exhibited by interference fringes.
It should also be appreciated from the enlarged view in FIG. 14E, that the rectangular regions 512-520 ideally appear as a continuum in the actual output (here the currency note) and that delineating the separate regions is merely for the sake of the description herein. In light of this, the "E" which appears in each of regions 516 and 518 is not divided by the boundary between these two regions. To the extent that some misalignment between LCD exposure footprints may be tolerated, the invention is not to be construed to cover only embodiments in which perfect footprint abutment is realized.
The fringes in the currency result in diffraction of light, the angle at which diffraction occurs being a function of the fringe spacing, the orientation of the fringes relative to the plate at the output plane, and the wavelength of incident light that is diffracted by the fringes. Therefore, as is well understood by those workers having ordinary skill in the art, the fringes will produce a rainbow effect so that for a polychromatic illumination (e.g. normal white light) different colors are directed at an observer's eye (or an instrument's sensor) from the various different spatial frequencies, and further the rainbow of colors will tend to roll as the currency note is moved or rotated past the eye of the observer. These diffractive elements provide the distinctive diffractive rainbow effect.
Use of such diffractive elements, imbedded micro-text or micro-graphics, and other features described herein does not preclude the inclusion of other distinctive features such as specially formulated and/or colored inks or dyes, magnetic encoding, papers or other substrates, watermarks, diffractive foils applied to the surface of the currency note, or combinations of these and other features. It is also understood that the example of a currency note is merely illustrative of the features that may be incorporated into a document or other item. The method and apparatus disclosed herein is more generally applicable to recording small features on a substrate where the small features requires or benefits from high spatial frequency information such as may be achieved by electromagnetic interference fringes at predefined locations in space.
While the present inventive structure and method has been described with reference to a few specific embodiments, the description is illustrative of the invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention. Various modifications may occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. All references cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference. | Device, method, and system for recording diffractive high resolution text, pictorial, and/or other graphical information is provided which is particularly suited to recording information that would be difficult to reproduce by typical counterfeiting methods. The information recorded may be used to authenticate the recorded item, or indirectly, an item to which the recording is attached. Such items may include legal, financial and commercial instruments, credit cards, and packaging for such items as software, art, and other items where forgery of the item may be a concern. In one embodiment of the invention light is selectively passed by a shutter, and a spatial filter then cleans the beam to remove undesirable frequency components. A liquid crystal display (LCD) dynamically receives a data stream from a computer where each of the displayed data values presents an optical characteristic (for example density, phase, or polarization) to the filtered beam and causes diffraction into a plurality of diffracted beams, the character of which is dependent on the data displayed. A mask selectively passes only predetermined ones of the beams so that only frequency components that will generate the desired optical interference fringes are allowed to pass. Additional optical components receive the passed beams and redirect them to overlap at an output plane to form interference fringes. These interference fringes can have a very high spatial frequency so that extremely fine lines or small objects, including text and graphics, can be recorded. | Briefly describe the main idea outlined in the provided context. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention pertains generally to the field of optical diffraction methods and apparatus, and more specifically to the field of apparatus and methods for generating high-resolution diffractive elements and holographic images.",
"BACKGROUND Apparatus and methods for generating and interrogating holograms and other optical diffractive devices have been known since the early 1960's however such devices were largely sophisticated laboratory research tools.",
"More recently, the advent of high resolution color photocopying, digital scanning, and image processing have made counterfeiting documents incorporating only 2-dimensional information much simpler.",
"Holograms and other media capable of storing 3-dimensional information have become increasingly important in preventing counterfeiting and assuring the authenticity of documents and items attached to such documents.",
"For example, it is common for Visa and MasterCard type credit cards to include an embossed "rainbow"",
"hologram on the front of the card.",
"Computer software developers including Lotus Development Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, and others have included a holographic label on their product packaging to help distinguish their product from a potential unauthorized reproduction of their product.",
"It is also anticipated that commercial instruments, including stock certificates, currency, and other negotiable financial instruments, may someday benefit from the inclusion of holographic indicia on the instrument itself.",
"The incorporation of holographic security devices, such as the holograms built into credit cards and fused to negotiable instruments, as well as applications to currency, raises a need for high quality holograms that cannot easily be counterfeited and that can be produced quickly and cheaply in volume to reduce the cost per hologram or diffraction grating.",
"High resolution holographic grating array masters are currently produced using E-Beam techniques and are therefore relatively expensive and slow to manufacture.",
"Other methods of producing lower resolution grating arrays have become commonplace enough to threaten their potential usefulness in the field of security.",
"Therefore, there is a need for high resolution but inexpensive gratings that cannot easily be produced by counterfeiting.",
"Holographic diffraction grating arrays have been manufactured since as early as 1980.",
"In the last few years, high resolution grating arrays have found a new use in the security field as anti-counterfeiting devices.",
"The technologies used in the manufacture of these arrays include holographic recording of spot diffraction gratings and E-Beam etching of the holographic grating fringe structure itself.",
"Conventional holographic systems extant at this time seem to be limited to spot sizes and therefore feature sizes on the order of 1/400 inch (about 60 microns).",
"Even at this relatively large feature size, the recording of large array areas with conventional techniques can be prohibitively slow (and therefore expensive) since each image pixel typically requires individual motion of the film platen and subsequent exposure.",
"These conventional systems are also generally limited to fixed spatial frequencies, or at best to a predetermined set of fixed spatial frequencies, which limits the type of imagery or graphical information they are capable of recording.",
"There are also quite a number of such systems in operation at this time, a situation which seriously limits their credibility and utility in the field of security.",
"E-Beam writing of grating arrays which is capable of high resolution, is so prohibitively expensive a process and requires such a large capital investment that it's utility in anti-counterfeiting is secure.",
"It is not seriously limited as to feature size as each fringe of any desired grating array can be written individually.",
"Unfortunately, the production of relatively small grating arrays requires a considerable amount of time on extremely expensive equipment.",
"As with the invention described herein, clever programming is also necessary to take full advantage of such as system.",
"E-Beam recording techniques also require relatively sophisticated equipment control and computer control techniques to achieve the desired output.",
"To date there seems to be no system extant capable of producing inexpensive, large area, high resolution, grating arrays.",
"Therefore, it is clear that there is a need for system, apparatus, and method that provide solutions to these limitations in the prior art.",
"In one aspect the invention provides means for controlling the shape of the exposure area in a very accurate and precise manner, and to generate final images that contain microscopic two-dimensional image data such as text or other graphical art, where such data can be unique for each exposure area.",
"In another aspect the invention provides means for representing features in greater detail than provided in conventional systems.",
"In another aspect the invention provides means for controlling the shape of each output exposure footprint.",
"In yet another aspect the invention reduces pixelation, quantization, or stair stepping and the rough edges which result from pixel quantization in the final output image so that the output image follows the actual contours in the macroscopic image.",
"In another aspect the invention provides means for adjusting the output grating spatial frequencies and spatial orientations at will, including presenting or altering the frequencies and orientations continuously and in real-time during operation of the apparatus.",
"In another aspect the invention provides means for modifying or controlling the spatial frequencies during operation without changing the optical configuration.",
"In another aspect the invention provides means for generating a multitude of diffractive patterns rapidly, with the potential for generating the diffractive patterns in real time.",
"In another aspect the invention eliminates moving parts in the optical system and to thereby increase speed and provide greater stability.",
"In another aspect the invention provides means for more readily maintaining system alignment than would be provided in conventional two beam configurations, or configurations involving mirrors or prisms.",
"In another aspect the invention provides means for generating diffractive areas which are smaller than have been realized with conventional systems.",
"In another aspect the invention provides means for forming multi-directional gratings in a single exposure.",
"In another aspect the invention provides means for accurately and precisely controlling diffraction efficiency by modifying the contrast of the image displayed on the image display device.",
"In yet a further aspect the invention provides means for using system noise characteristics (including noise introduced by the optical system and image display device imperfections) to uniquely identify the system from which a particular hologram or grating was produced, as a security feature to verify the hologram or grating authenticity.",
"In another aspect the invention provides means for generating holograms having even exposure density across the entire hologram and for eliminating the Gaussian pits that are typically present in conventional systems which use a focussed narrow beam, by providing a filtered and expanded beam to illuminate the image display device.",
"In another aspect the invention provides a system permitting rapid photographic exposure by reducing settling times typically required in conventional systems having moving optical components and hence vibration, and by providing a large exposure footprint even for small pixel dimensions, and for providing means for exposing multiple angles in the same exposure footprint simultaneously.",
"These and other features and advantages are provided by the present invention as will be readily apparent in light of the accompanying drawings and detailed description.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, of a first exemplary embodiment of the inventive apparatus.",
"FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing some of the components of the embodiment in FIG. 1, but at a larger scale so that details of the diffracted waves and the relationship between the image displayed by the LCD and the output are more readily apparent.",
"FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing a planar representation of the LCD and exemplary data displayed thereon.",
"FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing an exemplary grey-level fringe pattern (alternating bands of light and dark) on LCD display.",
"FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing the mechanism by which the ±1st order diffracted beams from certain regions displayed on the LCD are recombined to generate new interference fringes in focal plane.",
"FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing the manner in which a more general composite output graphic design is built up from component parts.",
"FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing an embodiment of the inventive method for generating a hologram.",
"FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing an image section related to a prior-art procedure for generating a hologram.",
"FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing additional features of the inventive structure and method including a super-region formed from a plurality of regions corresponding to addressable portions parts of a full LCD display.",
"FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing an alternative second embodiment of the inventive apparatus already shown and described relative to FIGS. 1-4 wherein light reaching the photo receptive material are made by contributions from the undiffracted zeroth (0th) order beam and either one of the 1st order diffracted beams.",
"FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing an alternative third embodiment of the inventive apparatus having characteristics analogous to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, but having a Kineform or a Gabor Zone Plate created within the LCD to effectively refocus the expanding beam emerging from the spatial filter assembly in the absence of a separate condenser lens.",
"FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing a fourth embodiment having a rotary servo motor with mounted grating and means for expanding the beam to cover a large area on the grating.",
"FIG. 13 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing a fifth embodiment of the invention similar with the embodiment already shown and described relative to the embodiment in FIG. 11 except that characteristics of some optical components and their placement in the optical path has been altered to achieve particular alternative advantages.",
"FIG. 14 is a diagrammatic illustration, somewhat schematic, showing a simulation of imbedded microtext or micrograhic including diffractive fringes within the microtext in a section of printed currency prepared in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention is directed to a device, method, and system for recording very high resolution text, pictorial, and/or other graphical information on a recording medium.",
"It is particularly suited to recording information that would be difficult to reproduce by typical counterfeiting methods which do not achieve the resolution of the present invention, such that some of the information recorded may be used to authenticate the recorded item or indirectly, the item to which the recorded item is attached.",
"Such items may include but are not limited to currency, official documents, legal, financial and commercial instruments, credit cards, and packaging for such items as software, art, and other items where forgery may be a concern.",
"In one embodiment of the invention an electromagnetic radiation such as visible light generated by a radiation source (such as a laser) is received by a shutter or other control device for selectively passing or blocking passage of the received light.",
"A spatial filter cleans the beam to generally remove undesirable frequency components and generates a diverging 10 beam with the desired spatial frequency content.",
"A display, preferably a liquid crystal display (LCD) dynamically receives a data stream such as may be generated on a computer, either in real time, or prestored and downloaded or otherwise communicated to the display when required.",
"The data includes a plurality of data values and a corresponding plurality of spatial location values for each the data value for presenting the data values at the corresponding spatial locations in a two dimensional data array of picture elements on the LCD.",
"Each of the displayed data value presenting an optical characteristic related to the corresponding data value in the path of the received converging illumination beam.",
"The optical characteristic is typically either an optical density which alters the amplitude of the light transmitted through a particular pixel of the LCD, or an optical polarization change, such as may result from a birefringence, in the LCD pixel.",
"The presence of the two-dimensional array of optical density or polarization causing diffraction of the incident radiation into a plurality of diffracted beams each the beam having a particular diffracted angle relative to a plane of the display and particular spatial frequency components.",
"A mask receiving the plurality of diffracted beams and selectively passes first predetermined ones of the beams and selectively blocks second ones of the beams different from the first ones so that only the desired frequency components that will generate the optical interference fringes are allowed to pass to an output plane.",
"Additional optical components receive the first beams and redirecting them to overlap in the output plane, the overlap resulting in the formation of interference fringes related to relative phase difference between the overlapping beams.",
"These interference fringes may have a very high spatial frequency so that extremely fine lines or small objects, including text and graphics, can be recorded.",
"The inventive method for recording a diffractive element such as a diffraction grating or hologram includes generating a first data set representative of a two-dimensional diffraction grating having particular diffraction characteristics, communicating the stored first data set to an LCD display, allowing a beam of radiation such as light to impinge on the LCD in a predetermined manner for a predetermined period of time such that the incident beam is diffracted by the LCD diffraction pattern, optically collecting and redirecting selected components of the diffracted radiation to overlap at a predetermined output focal plane to thereby interfere and generate interference fringes;",
"and recording or otherwise detecting the interference fringes at the output focal plane.",
"The method may also include repeating the process for a plurality of data set representations;",
"and spatially combining each the fringe representations into a final hologram.",
"The invention also includes devices or structures made or recorded according to the methods disclosed herein.",
"Various embodiments of the device, structure, and method are described that have particular advantages that are addressed in the detailed description of the invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The inventive apparatus, system, and method provide structure and procedure for rapidly generating high resolution diffraction grating arrays including holograms with fringe structures of about one micron or smaller and discernable image features on the order of about six microns or smaller.",
"These arrays may be produced in a photo-sensitive etch-resistant material or on other high resolution photo-sensitive materials such as the fine grain silver halide emulsions or other conventional photo sensor materials currently used in holography and micro lithography.",
"The output images may be used for many purposes including anti-counterfeiting, product verification, security badges, decoration, binary optics, and other optical, security, and decorative applications.",
"The invention is now described in detail relative to the appurtenant drawings.",
"With reference to FIG. 1, there is shown an exemplary first embodiment of the inventive apparatus.",
"In this embodiment a laser 50 emits a beam of light 51 from a laser exit aperture.",
"Laser 50 may be a laser of any conventional type commonly used for holography emitting a wavelength of light (or other electromagnetic radiation) to which the sensitive material in emulsion of choice is sensitive.",
"A filtered incoherent or quasi-coherent light source may also be used in place of a coherent laser since the difference in path length for the two recording beams is typically less than 100 microns;",
"however, a coherent source generally is preferred.",
"The laser beam 51 is intercepted by shutter 52 which receives control signals to open and dose the shutter in response to signals 21 received from computer 20.",
"Computer 20 may be any conventional computer such as personal computer than incorporates Intel, AMD, Cyrix, or Motorola microprocessor for controlling peripheral devices, such as shutter assembly 52, X-Y stage positioned control means such as stepping motors 82 and 83, and for providing data to the LCD display 68 including display controller 68b.",
"The display controller 68b may be a separate device and power supply, or may be incorporated into computer 20, either as an integral part of the processor or as an add in printed circuit (PC) board, or the like.",
"Conventional display controller boards are suitable, such as for example, the LCD display controller made by QAI.",
"It should be understood that the LCD display 68 provides means for displaying data in a two-dimensional array.",
"Other devices such as a spatial light modulator, a reflective micro-mirror, and devices having appropriate real-time or near real-time data switching and optical characteristics may alternatively be used as the data display means in place of an LCD.",
"When shutter 52 is open, beam 51 passes through the shutter assembly 52 aperture to spatial filter assembly 54.",
"Spatial filter assembly 54 includes an optical system typically implemented by a microscope objective 54a or conventional construction and a pinhole aperture 54b also of conventional variety.",
"The microscope objective 54a receives the raw laser beam 51 from the laser and focuses it to a point coincident with the plane of pinhole 54b.",
"Pinhole 54b is a round aperture sized to perform spatial filtering of the beam in that plane.",
"Other spatial filter means known in the art may alternatively be used.",
"In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1, microscope objective 54a has a magnification (such as when used for normal microscope applications) of about 10×.",
"Pinhole 54b is selected in conjunction with microscope objective 54a, and will typically have a round aperture of between about 10 microns and about 25 microns;",
"however, a larger aperture such as a 50-100 microns or larger aperture may be used where filtered beam uniformity is not as critical and greater optical throughput is desirable.",
"The output beam 55 diverges as it exits pinhole 54b and expands to partially fill a first lens 56 which images the spatial filter pinhole aperture 54b at an intermediate focal plane 75.",
"First lens 56 intercepts the expanding beam 55 to generate a converging beam 57 and refocuses the converging beam through the full aperture of liquid crystal display (LCD) 68.",
"While the focal length of the lens in particular, and dimensions of the apparatus in general, will depend on a particular implementation of the apparatus;",
"in a first exemplary embodiment of the apparatus, the first lens 56 has a diameter of about 60 mm and a focal length of about 250 millimeters.",
"It should be understood that the optical system must generally be scaled depending upon the choice of LCD module 68 dimensions and first focussing lens 56 to achieve the particular desired imaging goals.",
"LCD 68 may generally be of conventional design, but should have the contrast and resolution characteristics appropriate to provide the desired diffraction characteristics include angular deviation and efficiency.",
"The LCD module 68 generally comprises an electronic driver and controller component 68b with an integral or separate power supply, and a substantially transparent display component having a display area or aperture 68a, which is controlled by the driver section 69b in conjunction with computer 20 to provide desired transparency (clear) and opacity (black or multi-level grey-scale) characteristics as a function of information data signals 23 received over wires from computer 20.",
"An "active-matrix"",
"type LCD display is preferred because of the high contrast, and highdata switching speeds, although so called "passive"",
"type LCD displays may be used with a possible resultant loss of contrast.",
"In general passive displays may require longer exposure times or a more powerful light source 50 than active matrix displays.",
"Active matrix LCDs of conventional variety typically achieve contrast ratios on the order of between about 100:1 and about 200:1 or more, while so called "passive"",
"displays achieve contrast ratios on the order of between about 10:1 and about 40:1, more typically about 20:1.",
"Conventional LCDs may incorporate polarizing sheets adhered to each side of the display.",
"Color LCDs may be used however they are not preferred because they typically employ color filters which are not advantageously used here.",
"For applications of these LCDs as diffractive elements, any such polarizing materials are advantageously removed to increase transmitted light and reduce noise or other optical degradations.",
"This permits the use of the LCD as a phase transmission hologram rather than as an absorption transmission hologram and will increase the light at the final plate 80.",
"Liquid crystal display 68 presents or displays data in a two dimensional picture or image element or picture element (pixel) array.",
"The displayed information creates a diffraction array which causes various areas in the incident laser beam 57 (emerging from lens 56) to diffract into one or more diffracted beams 59, the number and character of which depending on the characteristics of the displayed data.",
"In general, the diffracted beams 59 include an undiffracted or zeroth order (0th) beam 70, a first order diffracted pair (±1st) of beams 72a and 72b, a pair of second order (±2nd) diffracted beams 74a and 74b, and typically higher order diffracted beams (not shown), generally having lower amplitude and intensity than the lower order beams.",
"The higher order beams may be, but are typically not, used in the preferred embodiments of the inventive apparatus and method.",
"Those workers having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the existence and characteristics of the zeroth, first, second and higher order beams will be determined by the spatial information presented on LCD display 68.",
"Where constant data (e.g. a clear aperture or fixed grey-level aperture) having only a so called d.c. component is presented by LCD 68, there will only be a single (undiffracted) beam referred to as the zeroth (0 th ) order beam.",
"For example, data simulating a sine function diffractive structure will diffract into several orders in each direction, and a kineform will diffract principally into the orders which it was designed to generate.",
"Data forming or simulating blazed gratings, square wave gratings, and other grating structures may also be provided.",
"In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a mask in the form of an annular aperture 76 having clear (transparent) and opaque regions is provided which masks or blocks the zeroth (0th) order beam 70, the pair of second order (±2nd) beams 74a and 74b, and although not shown, also blocks the ±3rd, ±4th, and higher order beams.",
"In this particular embodiment, only the first order (±1st) diffracted beams 72a and 72b are allowed to pass through the mask 76 to subsequently impinge at focal plane 80.",
"The radial distance of the ±1st diffracted beams from the central optical axis are determined by the spatial frequency of the displayed LCD data, and the distance to and focal length of lens 56.",
"As an example, for a lens 56 having a focal length of 35 millimeters, a 20 mm×15 mm LCD display having 640×480 pixels in each direction respectively, the inner radius (r1) and the outer radius (r2) of the aperture in mask 76 are about 3 mm and 15 mm respectively when the distance to the lens is adjusted to provide an exposure footprint (utilizing a 480×480 pixel area of the LCD) of about 0.127 mm (1/200 inch on each side).",
"Embodiments wherein different beams are blocked or passed are described hereinafter, have different characteristics, and it will be understood that means for altering the optical system to selectively block or pass one or more beams may be provided.",
"These diffracted first order beams 72a, 72b are intercepted by a second lens, or LCD reimaging lens, 78 which redirects the diffracted first order beams back toward the optical axis and reimages the LCD display onto a predefined image focal plane 80, the focal plane at which a photo receptive material such as photographic film or etch resistant photo sensitive resist material 81 would be installed or applied in order to create the desired final hologram or diffraction grating.",
"LCD reimaging lens 78 can be either a conventional high quality photographic or micro-photographic lens, a holographic optical element, or any lens system capable of imaging the LCD with good fidelity.",
"Focusing the lens onto the film plane causes the overlap of the +1 and -1 diffracted beams incident on lens 78 thereby creating interference fringes at the focal plane 80 which becomes the grating structure in the photosensitive material 81.",
"The photo receptor 81 may be photographic film, photo resist material as used in the semiconductor production industry, or the like materials, and is mounted at image output focal plane 80 on a X-Y transport assembly 24 which is operative to transport the two dimensional photo receptor 81 in substantially orthogonal X- and Y-coordinate directions, in response to stepper motor transport control signals 84, 85, received from stepper motor control unit 22, so that where desired, a composite image may be constructed from a mosaic of separate exposures.",
"Any conventional means for moving the photoreceptor 81 may be used such as motors, piezoelectric transducer, lead screw, or ultrasonic motors, for example so long as the photoreceptor 81 is maintained at the focal plane during movement.",
"Means for sensing the actual focus at focal plane 80 may also be optionally provided, such as contrast or alternatively parallel detection means commonly employed in automatic focus detection and adjustment systems such as cameras.",
"In such case, a z-axis movement means may also be provided for photo receptor 81 position adjustment.",
"Various linear movement means are known in the art and may be used for the X-Y position adjustment desired.",
"Rotational movement capability may also be provided in a conventional manner.",
"In the preferred embodiment, stepper motors 82 and 83 receive control signals in the form of pulses on control lines 84 and 85 respectively, from stepper motor control 22.",
"Stepper motor control unit 22 receives inputs 86 from computer 20 in a conventional manner.",
"It will be appreciated that the operation of shutter 52, LCD display 68, and stepper motor control unit 22, are coordinated via signals 21, 23 and 86 in an operative manner to provide the desired operation of the apparatus.",
"It will also be appreciated that these functions may be performed by one computer 20, by separate computers, or by a controller integrated with the computer such as with a microprocessor, to perform the required device interface and control.",
"Numerous optical, electrical, and scientific products including lenses, shutters, diffraction gratings, spatial filters, multi-dimensional translation stages and other transport assemblies, rotation stages, and lasers are available from Newport Corporation, 1791 Deere Avenue, Irvine, Calif.",
", 92714, U.S.A., and may be employed in conjunction with making and using the inventive apparatus.",
"The entire optical subsystem of the inventive structure 15 illustrated in FIG. 1 may be enclosed in a housing (not shown) to preserve the cleanliness of the optical and mechanical components and to prevent stray ambient light from exposing the photo sensitive materials.",
"Light baffles may also be included to further suppress any external light or reflected/scattered light within the housing.",
"The structure of an embodiment of the inventive apparatus having now been described, attention is now directed to a partial diagrammatic perspective drawing in FIG. 2 which shows some of the components in FIG. 1, but at a larger scale so that details of the diffracted waves and the relationship between the image displayed at LCD 68a and the output image at focal plane 80 are more readily apparent.",
"LCD 68a is shown presenting or displaying the composite image of the outline of a letter A (as an exemplary graphic) in which diagonal fringes 201 within the A (at about 45-degree inclination counter-clockwise from vertical) are displayed on a background of vertical fringes 202.",
"(The LCD drivers, associated electronics, and signal lines are not shown).",
"The spacing of the fringes in the drawing is illustrative only.",
"In a typical implementation of the inventive structure and method, for a 20 mm×15 mm display of 640×480 pixels, fringes would have center-to-center spacings of about 220 microns, the resulting ±1st order beams being diffracted to diverge after passing the LCD at an angle of about ±0.1 degrees.",
"A planar representation of the LCD 68a and the data displayed thereon is shown separately in FIG. 3. The exemplary LCD 68 has 640 addressable samples in one dimension (e.g. the x- or horizontal direction) and 480 addressable lines in the orthogonal direction (e.g. the y- or vertical) direction, and measures about 20 mm by about 15 mm.",
"The pixel dimensions are about 30 microns on a side.",
"The thickness of the LCD module in the z-dimension (Z LCD ) is about 1.1 mm.",
"The LCD is preferably active matrix and has a small pixel spacing, good contrast, and a relatively large active area per pixel.",
"For, example the Hitachi Model MTM25V01 LCD made by Hitachi may be used.",
"It is also anticipated that LCD displays having smaller addressable pixels (e.g. 15 micron or smaller) and larger arrays of pixels (e.g. 3000×3000 or larger pixel arrays) are or will become available, and that such larger and/or higher resolution LCD displays may also be advantageously employed in the invention.",
"The LCD 68a is reimaged onto the image focal plane 80 at greatly reduced scale by lens 78 positioned such that in the exemplary embodiment illustrated, the ratio of third to fourth lens conjugate distances d 3 /d 4 is about 200:1.",
"In this configuration, the LCD is reimaged at a magnification ratio of 200:1, such that a one-inch LCD section is reimaged as a 1/200 inch optical image of the LCD at the image plane 80.",
"Different parts of the LCD image, that is, the vertical background fringes 202, and the "A"",
"diagonal fringes 201, cause diffraction of the incident light at different angular orientations and/or at different radial distances from the optical axis.",
"Even the physical structure of the LCD (e.g. the array of equally spaced pixels) itself diffracts light.",
"Undiffracted light remains along the central optical axis, and higher spatial frequencies including light diffracted by the LCD pixel array itself result in greater angular deviation.",
"The physical separation of the diffracted beams is a function of the exposure wavelength, the spatial frequency of the displayed data, and the distance from the LCD to lens 78, according to the relationship defined in Bragg's Law, i.e. Lambda=2D×Sin(Theta) where λ is wavelength of the light, D is distance, and Theta is the diffracted angle.",
"A separation is chosen which will produce the desired spatial frequency at the final image plane and this will depend on the focal length of lens 78, again applying Bragg's Law.",
"Note that in this disclosure the terms diffraction, grating, hologram, and the like are used synonymously.",
"Although data to generate a fringe structure (e.g. 201, 202) is generated by, or stored on, computer 20 and displayed on LCD 68, the fringe structure at the LCD generated by individual resolvable pixels or groups of pixels on the LCD is not typically reimaged into focal plane 80.",
"In fact, the fringe structure required at focal plane 80 to produce the hologram will generally be beyond the resolution and/or contrast performance of the preceding optical system components.",
"The fringe structure present at LCD 68 is not actually imaged by the lenses in that it is not optically transferred from the LCD plane to the focal plane 80.",
"Instead the fringe structure displayed on the LCD diffracts the incident laser beam 57 generating the diffracted orders so that they separate from the optical axis as illustrated at the plane of mask 76 in FIG. 2. Lens 56 causes the diverging beams (0th, ±1, ±2, ±3, etc) to come to separate foci in the plane of lens 78.",
"Energy diffracted from the background fringes at constant frequency f 1 is concentrated in regions 210 and 211 at lens 78, and the energy from the A fringes at constant frequency f 2 is concentrated in regions 212 and 213 at lens 78.",
"FIG. 4 shows a diagrammatic illustration of exemplary fringes (alternating bands of light and dark) on the multi-grey level LCD display.",
"Fringes can be generated having sinusoidal, square-wave, sawtooth, binary, or other mathematical characteristics.",
"Generating the diffracting pattern on the LCD in this manner using a multi-level (e.g. 256 grey level) display provides advantages over a binary display having only two levels because of this flexibility.",
"The white area 105 in FIG. 4 represents low density transparent regions of the LCD, and the black areas represent high density regions.",
"The "speckled"",
"regions 107 represent intermediate grey scale areas of the LCD having intermediate density, and the density is constant within any one addressable LCD pixel.",
"The speckling is merely used in the drawings to provide the appearance of a multiplicity of grey levels.) In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, only the ±1st order beams 72a, 72b from each of the background LCD fringe pattern 202 (shown in the plane of mask 76 as regions 210, 211) and the beam diffracted from A region 201 (shown in the plane of mask 76 as regions 213, 214) are allowed to pass mask 76.",
"(For purposed of clarity, approximate ray traces for the incident and diffracted orders are only shown for the background LCD fringes.) Upon existing mask 76 second lens 78 located at the focus of first lens 56 redirects the ±1 background and A diffracted beams (and in other embodiments, other diffracted orders) from each region of the mask 210, 211, 212, 213 so as to reunite or overlap all of the beams diffracted from the LCD image at their respective positions in focal plane 80.",
"(Region 203 has a constant grey level without fringes and does not diffract any significant energy outside of the d.c. or 0th frequency order component.) These intersecting beams cause interference and because the ±1st order beams are used, the number of interference fringes are effectively doubled over those that would result from interference between the 0th order and either of the +1 or -1 order beams.",
"In general, the LCD may display a virtually unlimited graphical content and such content is not limited to the examples specifically described in this description.",
"Those workers having ordinary skill in the art, in light of this description will appreciate the manner in which content dependent diffraction occurs as a result of diffraction by data displayed on LCD 68, and the manner in which the frequency components of that diffraction are separated in the Fourier transform plane of mask 76.",
"The relationship between the image data fringe spacing on the LCD and the interference fringes produced on the output focal plane 80 is linear and is determined by the distances between the optical components and the focal length of lens 78.",
"For example, if the LCD region representing the letter A had 15 fringes across the length of the "A", then the final hologram would contain 30 fringes across the area containing the focused "A", and these fringes would have a spatial frequency 400 times that of the original, though the image of the "A"",
"would have been reduced only 200 times.",
"Therefore, the inventive structure and method provide for extremely high spatial frequency grating structures and holograms at the focal plane 80, in spite of the relatively modest resolution at the LCD itself.",
"Of course the image will be transposed, that is flipped or mirrored about the vertical and/or horizontal axis, but these effects are conventional and easily accounted for either by reorienting the photosensitive material 81, or by geometrically manipulating the data sent to LCD 68 so that the final output has appropriate geometrical orientation on the photo sensor.",
"The distribution of light in the lens plane 78 is a frequency domain representation (e.g. Fourier transform representation) of the information in the LCD plane.",
"The mechanism by which the 1st order diffracted beams from the background regions 210, 211 are recombined to generate new interference fringes 221 in focal plane 80 are illustrated further in FIG. 5. The ray trace lines generally indicate how the light from regions 210, 211, 212, 213 at the plane of mask 76 diverge from points in the plane of lens 78 to overlap at the output focal plane 80.",
"Although ray-trace lines are not illustrated in FIG. 5 for the A region 231 or the black region 232, new fringes are also produced in similar manner from the A region.",
"Region 232 remains unexposed in the output plane 80 since no light was diffracted from the LCD data in region 203, and since undiffracted components are blocked by the central stop of mask 76.",
"In general, the LCD 68 will display an image having one or a plurality of frequency components defining an image or a portion of an image.",
"These components diffract the laser light A causing separation of the spatial frequency components in the Fourier transform plane of the lens 78, and subsequent recombination by lens 78 at the focal plane.",
"The manner in which a composite output graphic design 601 is built up is now described with respect to FIG. 6. Magnified portions of several exemplary portions of each exposure area 602a, 602b, and 602c of the composite focal plane graphic and corresponding LCD inputs are illustrated in FIG. 6, that is in FIGS. 6a(1), 6a(2), 6b(1), 6b(2), and 6c(1), 6c(2), respectively.",
"In this example, the LCD has 480×640 addressable elements but only a square 480×480 is used to display data that appears in the demagnified footprint.",
"Each of the smallest rectangles 601 represents an LCD footprint.",
"The composite output image can be any size, for example it can vary from the size of a single LCD footprint (1/200 inch×1/200 inch in this case), to the several hundred or more footprints on each side of the composite image.",
"A composite image built up from a 400 by 400 array of LCD footprints (160,000 exposures) at a 1:200 LCD demagnification would be about 2 inches square.",
"With respect to FIGS. 6a, each region 602a, 602b, and 602c represents an exposure "footprint"",
"of the full LCD display 68 as reimaged onto the final photosensitive plate material 81 in focal plane 80.",
"In this embodiment, the composite image is built up a "footprint"",
"at a time.",
"In general, the exposed region at plate 81 could correspond to the entire LCD screen (e.g. 640×480 pixels) or it could correspond to a subportion of the LCD screen area, for example, it could correspond to a square 480×480 pixel region, or to 1/16 of the LCD area (e.g. 160×120 pixels), or any other portion.",
"The rectangular area within the circular region identifies the pixels in the LCD only, as the dark border does not actually exist in the output data.",
"The individual LCD footprints are precisely aligned so that each footprint abuts without overlap or gap.",
"Also, it will be understood that the region within the magnified circle and the darker rectangular border represents LCD data that appears in the composite and is not a component of the LCD itself during that particular exposure.",
"It is convenient, from an imaging and software standpoint, to utilize a square region of the LCD to correspond to the exposure footprint.",
"Here an exposure footprint corresponds to a 480×480 pixel section of the display which is reimaged at 1/200 scale.",
"The composite image is built up from a series of exposures, such as for example: (i) the exposure footprint illustrated in FIG. 6a(1) at time to T a from the LCD data in FIG. 6a(2);",
"(ii) the exposure in FIG. 6b(1) at time T b from the LCD data in FIG. 6b(2);",
"(iii) the exposure in FIG. 6c(1) at time T c from the LCD data in FIG. 6c(2);",
"and (iv) other exposures (not shown);",
"to build up the entire image comprising regions 602a, .",
", 602b, .",
"602c, .",
"etc.",
"as shown in FIG. 6a.",
"It is generally convenient to control the x- and y- motion of stepper motors 82 and 83 to sequentially step the photosensitive material in x- and then y-dimensions until the entire image is formed as a latent exposure.",
"In other embodiments, different wavelength lasers may also desirably be employed to expose different or overlapping regions so that each exposure is made at both a different location and with a different wavelength.",
"Other embodiments may also incorporate scales other than 1/200.",
"Further embodiments may physically or optically abut multiple LCD arrays so that exposure is performed in parallel.",
"The large thick dark (black) region 610 in the LCD data shown in FIG. 6b(2) and region 612 in FIG. 6c(2), are data regions that will form black line regions in the final image.",
"The dark black regions 610, 612 in the LCD do not diffract the incident laser radiation, so that no light is reimaged back to the corresponding regions in the final output focal plane 80.",
"LCD regions displaying fringes, such as region 615 in FIG. 6a(2) (here the entire 480×480 region of the LCD display) diffract light into ±1st order beams which become imaged to form new interference fringes over the footprint 616 in FIG. 6a(1).",
"As each of the footprints 602a, .",
"602n is a representation of the LCD display, the image created by diffraction at the focal plane 80 will look substantially like the image being displayed at the LCD except for the optical mirroring, flipping, or other inversions that necessarily occur after passing through center optical components.",
"In other words, some of the footprints will be entirely filled with fringes oriented in the same direction, some of the footprints will also have black or unexposed regions, and some footprints will have a multitude of diffractive patterns at different spatial frequencies or angles.",
"In the simplest case, each region 602a, .",
"602b, .",
", 602c, .",
"602n in the image plane 80 of FIG. 6a is created by a data display on the LCD, that is, it is formed from the entire image displayed on the LCD 68.",
"A step and repeat procedure, described hereinafter, steps each exposure in both x- and y- coordinates.",
"For each step, the data (image) displayed on the LCD is or may be changed.",
"With further reference to FIG. 6, FIG. 6A is a diagrammatic illustration of the manner in which the image at the plate 80 is built up or integrated from a sequence of separate exposures.",
"Exposure 1 (region 602a) is formed at time t 1 by sending data to LCD 68 having a fringe pattern only at a frequency of about 7 pixels and at an angle of about 135 degrees clockwise from vertical.",
"Exposure 2 (region 602b) is formed at time t 2 by stepping the plate 80 along the x- or horizontal axis by distance of about 0.005 inches corresponding to the size of the LCD display area times the magnification factor (actually a reduction factor of 1/200 in this example).",
"For example, if the LCD has a 1-inch display area, and the magnification is 1/200, then the step increment in x- and y-directions will be 1/200 inches so that the successive exposures will abut without overlap.",
"Exposure 5 (region 602c) is formed at time t 5 by displaying an LCD display as shown in FIG. 6b(2) wherein pixels on the lower left and upper right hand side regions 621, 622 contain only fringes, and pixels in region 610 form an arcuate path from upper left to lower right that are either black or clear (here shown as black) so as to avoid diffraction from this area.",
"Note that the fringes in the LCD 68 created by digital data are generated from computer 20, while the fringes at the output plate 80 are produced by physical wave interference of the recombined diffracted orders, here the +1 and -1 diffracted orders.",
"The LCD display fringes and interference fringes formed at the output plane also have a different physical separation and corresponding spatial frequency but have the same relative orientation (except for optical reversal) as the LCD displayed fringes.",
"Beams incident onto the black areas 610, 612 of the LCD are not diffracted since these regions do not display fringes.",
"Whether these regions are represented as black or clear in the data sent to the LCD, and whether or not the polarizing filters are left on the LCD, the light incident on these regions passes through as undiffracted energy in the zeroth order beam, and in this particular embodiment are blocked by mask 76 so that no light from this area reaches plate 80 from areas 610 and 612.",
"An embodiment of the inventive method 600 is now described with reference to FIG. 7. The method begins (step 602) with the choice of the final size in the hologram of the data elements from a digital image file (Step 604), i.e., the choice of how many data elements will be displayed on the LCD per exposure.",
"This digital image file defines the data to be displayed in each sub-region or super-region (if the elements define areas larger than the footprint of the system) of the LCD 68.",
"Next, the number of horizontal data elements (image samples) and the number of vertical data elements (image lines) per exposure are calculated (Step 606).",
"Once the size of the horizontal and vertical data elements are known, the total number of horizontal exposures or footprints in the x-direction are computed (Step 608), as well as the total number of vertical exposures in the y-direction (Step 610).",
"These computations define, in conjunction with the size of the data display (e.g. the LCD 68) and the optical magnification (reduction), the final size of the composite output image.",
"Note that characterization as horizontal or vertical, or as X-, Y-, or Z-coordinate are merely for descriptive convenience, and that those workers having ordinary skill in the art in light of the description provided herein will appreciate that the inventive apparatus and method may be oriented or implemented in any orientation and are not constrained to horizontal or vertical orientation, and that motion of the photo sensitive materials relative to the optical system output beam(s) may be performed using non-orthogonal movements.",
"Prior to exposing the first footprint, the X- and Y- positions of the stage 24 are adjusted for the location of the first exposure (Steps 612, 614).",
"Normally exposure will begin at one corner and proceed in a back and forth raster pattern, however, any other exposure location addressing scheme may be used so long as accurate positioning is maintained.",
"Data is created or preferably retrieved from memory storage 18 (Steps 616, 618) coupled to computer 20, and sent via display controller 68b to LCD display 68 (Step 620).",
"The data may include periodic or non periodic grid lines (fringes), as well as text and graphics data, and the like.",
"The grid data may include linear diffraction fringe data, but is not limited to linear forms, and it is contemplated that any form, including circles, ellipses, polygons, and any other shape may be displayed including representations of more complex diffractive data such as holographic fringe patterns.",
"The data may be created and/or stored in raster, vector, or any other conventional form, and may be compressed or uncompressed, but ultimately it is displayed as a two-dimensional matrix of pixels that define diffractive structures or constant areas as already described.",
"The display preferably displays data in a multiple grey level monochomatic format preferably having at least 256 grey levels.",
"Displays having more than 256 grey levels may be used with some increase in quality and cost, and displays of fewer grey levels may be used with some possible degradation.",
"Binary displays (e.g. pixel is either ON or OFF) may be used for certain limited applications.",
"Once the data is displayed, the computer commands shutter 52 to open for an appropriate exposure time that will depend on the transmissivity (density) of the LCD, optical throughput of the system, and the sensitivity of the photosensitive material 81 in conventional manner, thereby exposing the LCD display onto the photo resist material to create the hologram (Step 624).",
"After all regions are exposed, the latent image is developed or otherwise processed in conventional manner to form the diffraction grating or holographic structure(s).",
"The computer 20 computes the new position for the second exposure by stepping in the scan line (horizontal) direction (Step 626), retrieving or generating appropriate data for the second exposure, displaying the data, and exposing the new data as before.",
"This process is continued until the complete scan line is exposed.",
"The entire process is repeated for the next y-coordinate position until the entire image has been exposed (Step 628, 630).",
"It should be noted that while a rectangular array of footprints is illustrated, the exposure pattern need not be rectangular, and that the footprints may be non-rectangular and/or disjoint from each other if the application requires these characteristics.",
"The invention structure and method are very flexible in this regard.",
"The data generated for the LCD 68 will typically be a raster type image file.",
"For example, one example of data that would generate a diffraction grating at the surface of the final hologram would be a graphical representation of the fringe structure of a diffraction grating saved as a Windows BMP (bit mapped) file or as any other file format, whether standardized or not, so long as it can be displayed on the LCD.",
"FIG. 8 illustrates image section for a prior-art procedure for generating a hologram.",
"From this diagram it is clear that the inventive structure and method provide a fundamentally different approach as compared to other possible structures and methods.",
"FIG. 8, shows an output having an overall macroscopic appearance similar to the output generated by the inventive apparatus in FIG. 6a, but which actually differs in significant ways, both at microscopic and macroscopic levels.",
"In conventional methods and apparatus, each region of the holographic output is formed by the exposure of a region 801 on the photoreceptor, such as a photo resist material as illustrated in FIGS. 8a and 8b.",
"The laser light and data pattern for the exposure is formed at the photoreceptor by focussing two narrow gaussian intensity profile laser beams onto the surface.",
"The interference fringe pattern is formed by interference of the two overlapping beams.",
"No microscopic data other than the fringe pattern itself can be recorded as there is no mechanism for imaging anything more complex than the point which is exposed as a gaussian beam.",
"By comparison, the inventive apparatus and method provides a means to add microscopic type or other graphics to each exposure region and to expose any number of gratings at arbitrary angles and spatial frequencies in the same or different areas of the exposure footprint simultaneously, and to control the content of each exposed region in a very controlled and flexible manner.",
"In the existing conventional device and methods, the practitioner is limited to a single or fixed number of grating spacings.",
"Among its numerous advantages, the inventive apparatus and method provides for a continuously variable grating spacing.",
"While some prior art methods provide for using a rotary turret holding a plurality of different diffraction gratings, the number of gratings is limited by physical space, and the ability to maintain optical alignment is compromised as the physical size of the turret is increased to accommodate a greater number of gratings.",
"Therefore, as a practiced matter, the number of gratings that could be implemented using conventional techniques is severely limited.",
"The present invention allows an almost infinite number of LCD images for use as gratings (limited only by the LCD quantization and the overall LCD and lens sizes) so that it is not necessary to stop to rotate the turret to obtain different gratings as in conventional systems.",
"In these conventional systems, the orientation and frequency of the interference fringes present in each exposure region 801 (see FIG. 8), are determined by the phase difference of the interfering beams, and are not easily controlled.",
"These prior art devices rely either on a fixed fringe pattern, or rely on physical changes (e.g. mechanical modifications) to the optical system in order to change the output interference pattern spacing or orientation.",
"At best, these prior art device may provide means for rotating the beam splitter responsible for creating the reference and data beams, and/or for altering the path/phase difference between the beams to effect the fringe spacing and angular orientation.",
"Conventional systems have not provided means to alter the spot size so that the footprint in the output focal plane could be changed.",
"Finally, conventional devices are not known to provide any means for shaping the output spot at the output focal plane and the output footprint is limited to circular spots having diameters only as small as about 1/400 of an inch (about 0.0025 inches) as illustrated in FIG. 8d.",
"Therefore, even if conventional systems were modified to add capability to mechanically alter the optical system to change fringe orientation, fringe spacing, spot size, and spot shape (if possible with conventional gaussian beam shape) these additions would necessarily slow the exposure cycle during the mechanical change and decrease system stability since components cannot be fixedly mounted in a stable configuration.",
"They would also be prone to mechanical vibration and/or to misalignment.",
"In addition, even if circular exposure regions (e.g. 804, 806, 808) were directed to abut at their tangent points, they would not completely fill the space but would leave regions such as regions 810, (see FIG. 8d) without exposure.",
"Because individual exposure regions cannot have unique contours the final image will have jagged or pixellated edges 811.",
"The black areas in FIG. 8 including the large exposures of black surrounding the generally circular area and the black star shaped areas between the exposure circles need not be exposed.",
"In such conventional systems, the exposure process must be stopped when a change in optical characteristics is required (e.g. change in fringe frequency) which thereby slows the exposure process, or all regions having the same fringe characteristics must be exposed (skipping different regions) and then the process is repeated for regions requiring different characteristics.",
"The present invention clearly solves the problem in these conventional systems.",
"While several embodiments have been described that use a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) to display data that diffracts light as described, those workers having ordinary skill in the art in light of this description will appreciate that the LCD is one device of several devices that provide means for presenting or displaying information at a high resolution and in a small format, and that further provide means for rapidly changing the information content of that display without physical movement of the device, other optical system components to achieve movement, or the information containing media itself.",
"Other types of data displays such as micro-mirror devices that operate in a reflection mode with suitable folding of the optical system, and other spatial light modulators such as the Light-Valve spatial light modulator made by the General Electric Corporation may be used.",
"Multiple LCD displays might also be used and optically combined at the focal plane 80 to build up the entire image at the same time rather than sequentially or in sections.",
"For example, four LCDs could be set up and used simultaneously.",
"They could be either be set to image adjacent regions or offset;",
"the step and repeat would be adjusted accordingly.",
"Other features of the inventive structure and method are now described with respect to FIG. 9. Here super-region formed from a plurality of regions correspond to parts of a full LCD display, and each separate region (e.g. region 920) corresponds to 1/4 the linear dimension or 1/16 of the area or total number of pixels of the entire LCD display.",
"This demonstrates the great flexibility of the invention, where in a single exposure, regions of the final image can be created incorporating a multitude of spatial frequencies, overall shape, multidirectional fringes, and microscopic graphic or text structures.",
"In similar manner, other arbitrary numbers of regions can be imaged together and exposed simultaneously.",
"For example, in FIG. 9, a large text letter T is illustrated in the upper left hand region of the LCD 68.",
"The screen is divided into 16 regions each display different data, including different fringes.",
"The T is superimposed on four regions 920, 921, 922, 923.",
"The T is displayed at one spatial frequency, which is different from the spatial frequencies of the other regions 920, 921, 922, 923 which it overlies or is contained within.",
"The T is formed at a different spatial frequency and at a different angular area from the surrounding regions, and will therefore diffract to a different angle and/or to a different radial off-axis distance from the other regions 920, 921, 922, 923.",
"In the exemplary system, the entire footprint for the exposure created from FIG. 9 would be 1/200 inch, yielding a plethora of image information at much finer effective resolution, clearly unachievable by conventional holographic systems where each exposure region is an undifferentiated dot of similar size.",
"While similar images could conceivably be produced using E-Beam systems or by other systems if alignment could be kept accurate enough to allow much smaller foci, the former would be constrained to scan each fringe in the final image area individually, and the latter would have to expose hundreds of dots to compose an exposure similar to the one created in the exemplary system in a fraction of a second.",
"With respect to the triangular areas 927, 928, 929, image elements are not constrained to any particular geometrical form, for example, they are not limited to square or rectangular regions.",
"Regions may be rectangular, hexagonal, triangular, circular, or have a completely arbitrary shape so long as the area can be defined by the distribution of pixel levels displayed on the LCD pixel array.",
"The LCD screen can either be subdivided or alternatively used as subdivision of a larger image area, that is larger than the footprint of the system.",
"The term footprint refers to the entire exposure area on the photoreceptor plate 81 for each exposure, and is different from the term "pixel"",
"which refers to an addressable element of the LCD.",
"Footprint is the entire utilized LCD area as it has been reimaged and reduced onto the photo resist material 81.",
"While the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1 has been described in detail, various alternative embodiments may also be implemented to practice the inventive structure and method.",
"For example, with reference to FIG. 10, an alternative embodiment of the inventive apparatus similar to the embodiment already described is shown, except that exposures at the photo receptive material 81 are made by contributions from the undiffracted zeroth (0th) order beam 70, and either one of the diffracted beams 72a, 72b.",
"The other diffracted beams are blocked by a somewhat different aperture or mask 76b which blocks all frequencies except 70 and 72a (or 72b).",
"This second alternative embodiment is different from that described relative to the embodiment in FIG. 1 because the interference fringes created at the photoreceptor plane 80 are generated by interference between the 0th (undiffracted) beam and one other diffracted beam 72a.",
"The spectral frequency of the fingers are 1/2 that frequency which would be provided by the embodiment in FIG. 1, since the angular difference between the 0th and the +1 or -1 beams is 1/2 the angle between the +1 and -1 beams.",
"With reference to FIG. 11, which shows a third embodiment of the inventive apparatus having characteristics similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, but having no separate condenser lens 56 interposed between the spatial filter assembly 54 and the liquid crystal display 68.",
"In this configuration, a structure analogous to a Kineform or a Gabor Zone Plate is created within LCD structure 68 which effectively forms a condenser lens that refocuses the expanding beam 55 from the spatial filter assembly so that two beams diverge to a focus at lens 78.",
"The kineform displayed on the LCD simultaneously diffracts and focuses the beam, in the same manner that the separate condenser lens 56 and LCD 68 did in the first embodiment.",
"Conventional Kineforms are often binary, however the multi-level LCD is not constrained to a binary Kineform and is capable of displaying any of a number of diffracting patterns.",
"In order to focus the light as a real image from the same location on the LCD to two different points on the camera lens 78, one must superimpose two grating structures at the LCD that each focus light but to two different points.",
"The Kineform at LCD 68 can also focus light directly to the final plate without use of an additional lens 78 at the correct angle.",
"Unfortunately, the grating spatial frequencies recorded at the plate in such a configuration are the same or some low multiple of those displayed on the LCD and are generally too low to be useful as decorative gratings with presently available LCDs.",
"However, usefulness of this configuration will increase as such higher resolution LCD's become available.",
"Those workers having ordinary skill in the art in light of the disclosure presented herein, will appreciate that depending upon the characteristics of the apparatus, such as the embodiments illustrated and described with respect to FIGS. 1, 10, 11, 12, and 13, that the data supplied along signal line 23 from computer 20 will be different depending upon the characteristics of the optical system and the desired output.",
"In particular, it will be appreciated that the data communicated to LCD display 68 for the embodiment shown in FIG. 11 will include components to produce the desired Kineform focusing effect that would not otherwise be needed, for example in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 where a separate condenser lens 56 is already provided.",
"Data displayed on the LCD will be similar to that displayed in the system illustrated in FIG. 1 with the exception that fringes in the various regions of the image will be curved to focus the incoming light onto lens 78, and will generally have two sets of curved fringes superimposed to create the two beams necessary to create the final diffractive structure.",
"As has already been mentioned, the data sent to the LCD will depend upon the embodiment and the desired effect, but programming for any of the embodiments described need not be complex to be effective.",
"Simple but visually dynamic images can be created from a fixed set of chosen angles of diffraction.",
"It should be noted that since the final image will diffract into both plus and minus orders of diffraction, 180 discrete angles with one degree separations will, for example, diffract into a range of 360 degrees.",
"The macroscopic appearance of such images can be designed in any of several commercially available art programs such as for example, Adobe Photoshop.",
"Other workers in the field have noted the utility of designing and saving such data as designs in a palettized bitmap format, coding angles of diffraction as colors in the image file.",
"Standard palette replacement and rotation techniques can then be used to preview on the computer screen the kinetic effect of tipping the final diffractive image to different angles.",
"For embodiments where microscopic text or other graphics are added to each exposure footprint, separate files containing this data can be created which ideally are combined and maintain registration with the image data during the recording process.",
"Bitmap file formats are also convenient for storing the diffractive image data sent to the LCD in the preferred embodiment.",
"The files should either be made large enough to cover the entire display area of the LCD or in images where only linear gratings are formed, smaller sections of diffractive image data can be tiled to create larger areas on the display, so long as the fringes can be kept in alignment.",
"All or some portions of such image files are then used to compose the final data sent to the LCD, depending upon design.",
"The LCD image data can be generated in a simple Basic routine or routines in any other programming language which calculates the sine of the offset into the scan line for each pixel, adjustments being made for the angle of inclination for the fringes in each file.",
"Computers used for either the programming, data generation, and interface with the LCD display including the LCD display controller may be any of the commonly available microprocessor based computers, such as those made by IBM, Apple, Sun, Digital Equipment corporation and the like.",
"They typically incorporate 386, 486, 586, Pentium, PentiumPro, or equivalent or higher microprocessors.",
"The fourth embodiment illustrated in FIG. 12 has rotary servo 58 with mounted grating 60, and the inventive system includes means for expanding the beam to cover a large area on the grating 60 to go through a mask 76 and to focus the beam down to the camera lens 78.",
"Conventional systems merely take a raw beam from the laser, direct it through a diffraction grating, and then spin or rotate the diffraction grating to make the beams move around on the camera lens 78.",
"The lens 78 is referred to as a camera lens because a conventional camera lens is suitable for this purpose although a holographic optical element or many other conventional lens arrangements are equally suitable for this task.",
"Lens 56 is referred to as a condenser lens because of it's functional purpose in the system, and need not be a conventional condenser type lens.",
"The inventive structure provides means for varying the information provided in the aperture of LCD 68, and provides the ability to alter the final fringe angles at will typically under computer contract via the servo, and provides additional features, such as recording text and graphic elements in each exposure.",
"The inventive device also provides means for masking portions of each footprint and for changing shape of each footprint individually if desired.",
"The advantages of this structure and method include the relative ease of programming the data sent to the LCD system, which includes only gross features of the final image relative to the fringe structure as no fringes need be generated or displayed by the LCD, which acts only as a mask in this embodiment.",
"A fifth embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 13.",
"This apparatus represents a modification of the embodiment already illustrated and described with respect to FIG. 11;",
"however, the characteristics of some optical components and their placement in the optical path has been altered to achieve the particular benefits now described.",
"In this fifth embodiment there is a one-to-one correspondence between the pixels of the LCD and the pixels exposed in the final hologram.",
"More particularly, condenser lens 56 is selected so as to intercept the expanding laser beam from spatial filter assembly 54, and to redirect that intercepted beam in a converging path to rotationally mounted diffraction grating 60.",
"The diffraction grating 60 is rotatable to select particular angles of diffraction in the final image.",
"This selection is accomplished by generating an image structure within LCD 68 by "opening"",
"(e.g. making transparent) all the pixels in the footprint portion of the final image which are required by design to diffract at a first orientation and by aligning diffraction grating 68 to match that first orientation.",
"In this matter, the photo receptive material 81 in focal plane 80 (or the footprint region) is exposed such that all information at one particular diffraction grating angle is exposed at the same time, and then during subsequent exposures other orientations are selected by rotating diffraction grating 60 to those other orientations, opening the regions of the LCD for which exposure to the other regions are desired, and exposing these other orientations.",
"If an image larger than the focused size of the LCD on the final plate is required by the design of the final hologram, the plate is then moved using an X-Y transport to the next exposure region and the process is repeated until the entire image has been exposed.",
"Operation of this fifth embodiment also has some different characteristics from the operation of other embodiments already described.",
"The magnification of lens 78 determines the area of exposure on the final plate and this can be as large or larger than the LCD itself, depending on the pitch desired in the final image.",
"In operation, all of the pixels that one wants to expose at one diffraction grating angle are made transparent, the shutter 52 is opened, an exposure is made, the shutter is closed, the angular orientation for the rotatable grating is changed, and the same or different pixels where exposure at a different grating angle are desired are made transparent, and a subsequent exposure is made.",
"If there are 180 different angles desired in the final image, then the procedure will expose the entire 640×480 LCD display swatch (or any portion thereof) in 180 separate spatially overlapping or discrete exposures.",
"No microscopic graphic or text data is possible in the final image, save that built from the gross pixel patterns displayed on the screen, but exposures of large areas of undifferentiated (save for angle) pixels can be created rapidly.",
"For example, in the preceding example, conventional systems would require 640×480-, or 307,200 exposures for the same region this embodiment can expose in 180 exposures.",
"A computer simulation of a representative security device or security marking made in accordance with the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 14A-14E.",
"FIG. 14 illustrates a section of printed currency 501.",
"FIGS. 14B-14E illustrate progressively smaller sections of section 501 at greater magnification so that greater detail may be seen in particular regions of the currency.",
"In FIG. 14D, a small portion 504 of the currency 501 is illustrated showing a background region 506 on which is recorded microtext 507.",
"Other graphic or pictorial information either alone or in combination with text may be used.",
"Of course where test is provided, it may be in any alphabet, symbol set, or the like.",
"With respect to FIG. 14E, there is shown a magnified portion 511 of the currency in FIG. 14D illustrating additional details of the microprinted text (or other graphic) that are preferably but optionally provided.",
"Each of the rectangular regions (or partial rectangular regions) 512-520 represent a region corresponding to an LCD footprint.",
"As illustrated in FIG. 14E, each footprint may provide one or more regions having either no fringes (such as region 513) or may have a combination of regions having fringes at different angular orientations and/or different fringe spacings.",
"For example, in one region 516 background fringes are oriented at a first angle (about 135 degrees in the drawing) with a spacing of 1/f B1 where f B1 is the spatial frequency of the background fringes.",
"Also illustrated is a second text region 522 having fringes at a second orientation relative to the first set of background fringes and a fringe spacing of 1/f T1 where f T1 is the spatial frequency of the text fringes within the letter "E".",
"These fringes will generally have alternating light and dark bands with a continuum of shades of grey of the character already illustrated in FIG. 4, that is they will not generally be the solid black and white lines illustrated in FIG. 14E.",
"Those workers having ordinary skill in the art in light of this description will appreciate the characteristics exhibited by interference fringes.",
"It should also be appreciated from the enlarged view in FIG. 14E, that the rectangular regions 512-520 ideally appear as a continuum in the actual output (here the currency note) and that delineating the separate regions is merely for the sake of the description herein.",
"In light of this, the "E"",
"which appears in each of regions 516 and 518 is not divided by the boundary between these two regions.",
"To the extent that some misalignment between LCD exposure footprints may be tolerated, the invention is not to be construed to cover only embodiments in which perfect footprint abutment is realized.",
"The fringes in the currency result in diffraction of light, the angle at which diffraction occurs being a function of the fringe spacing, the orientation of the fringes relative to the plate at the output plane, and the wavelength of incident light that is diffracted by the fringes.",
"Therefore, as is well understood by those workers having ordinary skill in the art, the fringes will produce a rainbow effect so that for a polychromatic illumination (e.g. normal white light) different colors are directed at an observer's eye (or an instrument's sensor) from the various different spatial frequencies, and further the rainbow of colors will tend to roll as the currency note is moved or rotated past the eye of the observer.",
"These diffractive elements provide the distinctive diffractive rainbow effect.",
"Use of such diffractive elements, imbedded micro-text or micro-graphics, and other features described herein does not preclude the inclusion of other distinctive features such as specially formulated and/or colored inks or dyes, magnetic encoding, papers or other substrates, watermarks, diffractive foils applied to the surface of the currency note, or combinations of these and other features.",
"It is also understood that the example of a currency note is merely illustrative of the features that may be incorporated into a document or other item.",
"The method and apparatus disclosed herein is more generally applicable to recording small features on a substrate where the small features requires or benefits from high spatial frequency information such as may be achieved by electromagnetic interference fringes at predefined locations in space.",
"While the present inventive structure and method has been described with reference to a few specific embodiments, the description is illustrative of the invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention.",
"Various modifications may occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.",
"All references cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a carbon dioxide gas (CO 2 ) incubator or a multigas incubator as an incubator for incubating cultures (samples) such as cells, microbes and the like.
The incubator maintains a temperature and a CO 2 concentration constant therein (in incubation room) and keeps its inside in a sterile condition to incubate cultures (samples) such as cells or microbes as incubation targets. Therefore, the inside of the incubator must be periodically processed by sterilization treatment. There has been a multigas incubator provided with a heater and its controller for adjusting the temperature in the incubation room (storing room), gas supply means for supplying and controlling supply gases such as CO 2 , O 2 and the like for controlling concentrations of gases, and a humidifying tray for adjusting the humidity, respectively for the purpose of incubating samples in the incubation room.
On the other hand, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid Open Nos. 31,462/1995 and 166,536/2000, there have been incubating devices each comprise an outer box provided on its inner side with a heat insulating material for uniformly and effectively heating the inside of an inner box to improve its temperature-returning characteristics, the inner box arranged inside the outer box with a space more inside than the heat insulating material, and a heating device secured in the space in contact with the inner box for heating the inside thereof. The space described above serves to form an air layer (air jacket) provided for the thermal insulation between the incubation room of the incubator and its outside and promotion of heat transfer by natural convection. As shown in the latter patent literature, particularly, a humidifying tray is arranged at the bottom of the incubation room for storing humidification water for controlling the humidity in the incubation room.
On the other hand, a multigas incubator accommodates therein important and valuable cells, microbes or the like to be incubated so that variations in humidity in the incubation room cannot be avoided by the ambient air entering the incubator when an inner door is opened. Taking account of the fact that variations in humidity adversely affect samples such as cells and the like to be incubated, it is needed to shorten the time as much as possible, which is required to return a desired humidity after the inner door is once opened and then closed (that is, humidity-returning time). In the case incubating human cells for ectosomatic fertilization or animal fertile eggs as samples, particularly, these samples are likely to be remarkably affected by humidity so that extra precautions are required. In the incubators for treating such samples, the concentration of O 2 is frequently set and kept at approximately 5%, and dried N 2 gas is supplied into an incubation room after closing the door in order to control the concentration of O 2 . Consequently, the humidity-returning time would be adversely prolonged by such a supply of the dried gas.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide an incubator such as a multigas incubator capable of shortening humidity-returning time after closing its inner door. In addition thereto, it is an object of the invention to improve evaporation faculty of humidification water for controlling the humidity in the incubation room.
The incubator ( 1 ) according to the invention comprises an adiabatic box main body ( 2 ) having an opening ( 2 A) on a front face thereof, an adiabatic door ( 7 ) mounted on the adiabatic box main body ( 2 ) in an openable and closable manner, a transparent inner door ( 3 ) for openably closing the opening ( 2 A), and an incubation room ( 4 ) surrounded by the inner door ( 3 ) and the adiabatic box main body ( 2 ) for incubating samples such as cells, microbes and the like, the adiabatic box main body ( 2 ) comprising an outer box ( 21 ) made of a metal, an inner box ( 22 ) made of a metal, a heat insulating material ( 24 ) arranged inside the outer box between the outer and inner boxes ( 21 , 22 ), and an air layer ( 25 ) arranged more inside than the heat insulating material ( 24 ), and gas supplied for controlling gas concentration in the incubation room ( 4 ) is jetted into humidification water ( 16 ).
According to this invention, the gases supplied for controlling the gas concentration in the incubation room ( 4 ) are jetted into the humidification water ( 16 ) so that the supplied gases absorb moisture to be humidified, while rising in the humidification water, thereby enabling the humidified gases to be circulated in the incubation room to contribute to the improvement of humidification faculty of the humidifying tray ( 15 ) in addition to the supply of gases.
Moreover, the incubator ( 1 ) according to the present invention further comprises a humidifying tray ( 15 ) for storing humidification water ( 16 ) for controlling the humidity in the incubation room ( 4 ), and gas supply means ( 17 ) for supplying gas for controlling the gas concentration in the incubation room ( 4 ), and a gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means is immersed in the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray ( 15 ).
According to this invention, as a gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means for supplying gases for controlling the concentrations of the gases in the incubation room ( 4 ) is immersed in the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray ( 15 ) for controlling the humidity in the incubation room ( 4 ), the gases supplied from the gas outlet port ( 17 A) can be jetted into the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray, making it possible to humidify the supply gases and to circulate them into the incubation room ( 4 ).
Further, the incubator ( 1 ) according to the present invention further comprises a support ( 18 ) for supporting the gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means ( 17 ).
According to this invention, as there is provided the support ( 18 ) for supporting the gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means ( 17 ), the gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means can be supported by the support ( 18 ) so as to be immersed in the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray ( 15 ).
In the incubator ( 1 ) of the present invention, moreover, the support ( 18 ) comprises restraining means ( 18 A) for restraining rising of the gas.
According to this invention, as the support ( 18 ) comprises restraining means ( 18 A) for restraining rising of the gases, a space can be formed between the restraining means ( 18 A) and the water surface of the humidification water so that the evaporation of the humidification water is promoted to improve the evaporation faculty by the gases accumulated in the space.
Furthermore, the incubator ( 1 ) of the present invention comprises an adiabatic box main body ( 2 ) having an opening ( 2 A) on a front face thereof, an adiabatic door ( 7 ) mounted on the adiabatic box main body in an openable and closable manner, a transparent inner door ( 3 ) for openably closing the opening, an incubation room ( 4 ) surrounded by the inner door and the adiabatic box main body for incubating samples such as cells, microbes and the like, a humidifying tray ( 15 ) for storing humidification water ( 16 ) for controlling the humidity in the incubation room, gas supply means ( 17 ) for supplying gas for controlling gas concentration in the incubation room, and a duct ( 11 ) and a circulation blower ( 14 ) for causing forced convection of air in the incubation room, and gas supplied for controlling the gas concentration in the incubation room ( 4 ) is jetted into the humidification water ( 16 ).
According to this invention, the incubator ( 1 ) of the present invention comprises an adiabatic box main body ( 2 ) having an opening ( 2 A) on a front face thereof, an adiabatic door ( 7 ) mounted on the adiabatic box main body in an openable and closable manner, a transparent inner door ( 3 ) for openably closing the opening, an incubation room ( 4 ) surrounded by the inner door and the adiabatic box main body for incubating samples such as cells, microbes and the like, a humidifying tray ( 15 ) for storing a humidification water ( 16 ) for controlling the humidity in the incubation room, gas supply means ( 17 ) for supplying gases for controlling concentrations of gases in the incubation room, and a duct ( 11 ) and a circulation blower ( 14 ) for causing forced convection of air in the incubation room, and gases supplied for controlling concentrations of the gases in the incubation room ( 4 ) are jetted into the humidification water ( 16 ). Therefore, the gases supplied from the gas supply means ( 17 ) absorb moisture to be humidified, while naturally rising in the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray ( 15 ) so that the humidified gases can be guided into the incubation room ( 4 ) by the circulation blower ( 14 ) and the duct ( 11 ), thereby promoting the evaporation of the humidification water ( 16 ) by the supplied gases to contribute to the improvement of evaporation faculty of the humidifying tray ( 15 ) in addition to the supply of gases.
In the incubator ( 1 ) of the present invention, further, a gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means is immersed in the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray.
According to this invention, the gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means for supplying gases for controlling the concentrations of the gases in the incubation room ( 4 ) is immersed in the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray ( 15 ) stored for controlling the humidity in the incubation room ( 4 ). Therefore, the gases (O 2 and N 2 ) supplied from the gas outlet port ( 17 A) can be jetted into the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray so that the supplied gases can be humidified and circulated into the incubation room ( 4 ).
In the incubator ( 1 ) of the present invention, further, the humidifying tray ( 15 ) is arranged in the duct ( 11 ) and at the bottom of the incubation room ( 4 ).
According to this invention, the humidifying tray ( 15 ) is arranged in the duct ( 11 ) and at the bottom of the incubation room ( 4 ) so that the humidified gases can be jetted with high efficiency into the air passage K formed by the circulation blower ( 14 ) and the duct ( 11 ) and leading to the incubation room ( 4 ).
The incubator ( 1 ) according to the present invention further comprises a support ( 8 ) for supporting the gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means.
According to this invention, there is provided the support ( 8 ) for supporting the gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means so that the gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means can be supported by the support ( 18 ) so as to be immersed in the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray ( 15 ).
In the incubator ( 1 ) according to the present invention, the support ( 18 ) forms a passage in the same direction as the air flowing direction formed by the duct ( 11 ).
According to the invention, the support ( 18 ) forms a passage in the same direction as the air flowing direction formed by the duct ( 11 ) so that the humidified gases can be conducted with high efficiency in the air flowing direction formed by the circulation blower ( 14 ) and the duct ( 11 ) and leading to the incubation room ( 4 ). Also, the spacing between the support ( 18 ) and the water surface can be less than the spacing between the water surface and the duct ( 11 ) so that the air velocity in the space formed by the support ( 18 ) and the water surface is higher than the velocity of the air flow in the air passage K, thereby enabling the evaporation faculty of the humidification water to be improved by the increase in the velocity of the air flow.
The incubator ( 1 ) comprises an adiabatic box main body ( 2 ) having an opening on its front face, an adiabatic door ( 7 ) mounted on the adiabatic box main body in an openable and closable manner, a transparent inner door ( 3 ) for openably closing the opening, an incubation room ( 4 ) surrounded by the inner door ( 3 ) and the adiabatic box main body ( 2 ) for incubating samples such as cells, microbes and the like, a duct ( 11 ) and a circulation blower ( 14 ) for causing forced convection of air in the incubation room, a humidifying tray ( 15 ) arranged in the duct ( 11 ) and at the bottom of the incubation room ( 4 ) for storing humidification water ( 16 ) for controlling the humidity in the incubation room, and gas supply means ( 17 ) for supplying gas for controlling gas concentration in the incubation room, the adiabatic box main body comprising an outer box ( 21 ) made of a metal, an inner box ( 22 ) made of a metal, a heat insulating material ( 24 ) arranged inside the outer box between the outer and inner boxes, and an air layer ( 25 ) arranged more inside than the heat insulating material, and the incubator further comprises a support ( 18 ) for immersing the gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means ( 17 ) in the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray ( 15 ).
According to the invention, the incubator ( 1 ) comprises an adiabatic box main body ( 2 ) having an opening on its front face, an adiabatic door ( 7 ) mounted on the adiabatic box main body in an openable and closable manner, a transparent inner door ( 3 ) for openably closing the opening, an incubation room ( 4 ) surrounded by the inner door ( 3 ) and the adiabatic box main body ( 2 ) for incubating samples such as cells, microbes and the like, a duct ( 11 ) and a circulation blower ( 14 ) for causing forced convection of air in the incubation room, a humidifying tray ( 15 ) arranged in the duct ( 11 ) and at the bottom of the incubation room ( 4 ) for storing humidification water ( 16 ) for controlling the humidity in the incubation room, and gas supply means ( 17 ) for supplying gas for controlling gas concentration in the incubation room, the adiabatic box main body comprising an outer box ( 21 ) made of a metal, an inner box ( 22 ) made of a metal, a heat insulating material ( 24 ) arranged inside the outer box between the outer and inner boxes, and an air layer ( 25 ) arranged more inside than the heat insulating material, and the incubator further comprises a support ( 18 ) for immersing the gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means ( 17 ) in the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray ( 15 ). Therefore, the gas outlet port ( 17 A) is supported by the support ( 18 ) so as to be immersed in the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray ( 15 ) so that the gases jetted from the gas outlet port ( 17 A) absorb the moisture to be humidified, while naturally raising in the humidification water ( 16 ), thereby enabling the humidified gases to be guided into the incubation room ( 4 ) by the circulation blower ( 14 ) and the duct ( 11 ) to improve the humidification faculty in addition to the supply of humidified gases.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the incubator with its adiabatic door opened according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the incubator according to the present invention viewed from the right for explaining the air circulation mainly through the incubation room and the duct;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the incubator according to the present invention viewed from the right mainly illustrating the incubation room and the humidifying tray;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the incubation room to illustrate the humidifying tray and the support according to the present invention; and
FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the support in detail according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings hereinafter.
(Embodiment 1)
A multigas incubator 1 as an incubator of the first embodiment of the present invention comprises left hand opening doors (an outer and an inner door in more detail) and smaller doors as biparting doors as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 . An incubation room 4 is formed by a space surrounded by an adiabatic box main body 2 having an opening 2 A in its front and a transparent door 3 as the inner door closing the opening 2 A in an openable and closable manner. The transparent door 3 is supported at its left end by the adiabatic box main body 2 by means of hinges in an openable and closable manner so that when closed, the opening 2 A is air-tightly closed with a gasket 2 B provided at the opening of the incubation room 4 . The adiabatic box main body 2 is provided with the seal member or gasket 2 B along the periphery of the opening 2 A of the adiabatic box main body 2 to seal the transparent inner door 3 and the main body 2 .
The inside of the incubation room 4 is divided into upper and lower portions by a plurality of shelves 5 (into five portions by four shelves 5 in the illustrated embodiment). As the incubator 1 in the embodiment is a multigas incubator, the concentration of O 2 is frequently set and kept at a value of the order of 5%. In this case, the concentration of O 2 may be controlled by supplying an amount of dried N 2 gas into the incubation room after the doors are closed. For this purpose, in order to prevent the ambient air from entering the entire incubation room 4 divided in the plurality of portions, even if the inner door 3 is opened, the smaller doors 6 A and 6 B as the biparting doors inside the inner door 3 are divided into a plurality (five pairs in the illustrated embodiment) of parts correspondingly to the number of the portions of the incubation room 4 divided by the shelves 5 . Reference numeral 7 denotes the adiabatic door as the outer door supported on the adiabatic box main body 2 through hinges in an openable and closable manner for preventing the heat from entering through the opening 2 A of the incubation room. The adiabatic door 7 is provided on its inner periphery with a gasket 8 having magnets therein.
Arranged in the incubation room 4 is a duct 11 consisting of a rear face duct 11 A and a bottom face duct 11 B respectively spaced from the rear wall and the bottom wall of the adiabatic box main body 2 to form the air passage K, respectively. The rear face duct 11 A is formed in its upper portion with suction openings 12 from which the air in the incubation room 4 is sucked into the duct 11 and exhausted through exhaust openings 13 provided in the bottom face duct 11 B at its front end and side faces to forcedly circulate the air, in the incubation room 4 . A circulation blower 14 for the forced circulation of the air in the incubation room is arranged in the duct 11 (in the upper portion of the duct 11 in the illustrated embodiment). The blower 14 comprises a fan, a motor and a shaft. The motor is located in a machine house 19 on the outer rear face of the incubation room 4 described later, while the shaft extends from the motor in the machine house 19 through the rear face of the main body 2 into the air passage K and is connected to the fan.
A humidifying tray 15 for storing water for humidification (that is, humidification water) 16 is arranged at the bottom of the incubation room 4 and in the duct 11 . The humidification water 16 in the humidifying tray 15 is heated to be evaporated by heating means (not shown) arranged outside the bottom surface of an inner box 22 made of a metal, for example, stainless steel. By arranging the humidifying tray 15 in the duct 11 and at the bottom of the incubation room 4 , it becomes possible to blow the humidified gas with high efficiency into the air passage K formed by the circulation blower 14 and the duct 11 and leading to the incubation room 4 .
On the rear face of an outer box 21 of the adiabatic box main body 2 is formed a machine house 19 for arranging a motor for driving the circulation blower 14 , gas supply means 17 for supplying gases such as N 2 , O 2 and the like to the incubation room 4 , and electrical equipment such as a control panel and the like (not shown).
The gas supply means 17 comprises a gas supply tube 17 A, an opening and closing valve 17 B, a filter 17 C and the like. The leading end portion of the gas supply tube 17 A is supported by a support 18 such that the leading end portion is in the humidification water 16 in the humidifying tray 15 . The support 18 consists of a main body 18 A having a left and a right side face and an upper face to from a U-shape in cross-section and legs 18 B for installing the main body 18 A. The upper surface of the main body 18 A provides restraining means for restraining the rising of the gas.
By providing the support 18 for supporting the gas outlet port 17 A of the gas supply means 17 , the gas outlet port 17 A of the gas supply means can be supported to be immersed in the humidification water 16 in the humidifying tray 15 . As the support 18 includes the restraining means 18 A for restraining the rising of the gas, moreover, when the height h 1 of the support 18 is set to a value substantially equal to the height h 2 of the humidifying tray 15 , it is possible to form a space between the restraining means 18 A and the water surface of the humidification water. The evaporation of the humidification water will be promoted by the gas accumulated in the space, thereby improving the evaporation faculty. In order to observe the improvement of the evaporation faculty and the promotion of the evaporation, the times required for returning to a targeted humidity after the smaller doors are opened for a constant period of time were measured with the cases that the gas outlet port 17 A of the gas supply means 17 is immersed in the humidification water 16 according to the present invention and that the gas is blown into the incubation room 4 or the air passage K in the conventional manner. The former according to the present invention required 12 minutes, while the later in the conventional manner took 36 minutes. It is apparent, therefore, that the evaporation faculty is improved by immersing the gas outlet port in the humidification water 16 according to the present invention.
As described above, the outlet port 17 A of the gas supply means for supplying the gases for controlling the concentration of the gases in the incubation room 4 is immersed in the humidification water 16 in the humidifying tray 15 , which is stored therein for the purpose of controlling the humidity in the incubation room 4 according to the invention. Accordingly, the gases (O 2 and N 2 ) supplied through the gas outlet port 17 A can be jetted into the humidification water 16 in the humidifying tray so that the supply gases can be humidified and circulated in the incubation room 4 .
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 , the adiabatic box main body 2 comprises the outer box 21 made of a metal, the inner box 22 made of stainless steel, a heat insulating material 24 arranged on the inner side of the outer box 21 between the outer box 21 and the inner box 22 , and an air layer (a so-called air jacket) 25 arranged more inside than the heat insulating material 24 . Heaters (not shown) for heating the incubation room are arranged on both the left and right side faces, the upper face and the rear face of the inner box 22 forming the incubation room 4 .
By providing the support 18 for supporting gas outlet port 17 A of the gas supply means 17 to be immersed in the humidification water 16 in the humidifying tray 15 in the first embodiment, the gas outlet port 17 A is supported to be immersed in the humidification water 16 in the humidifying tray 15 so that the gases jetted from the gas outlet port 17 A absorb the moisture to be humidified, while rising naturally in the humidification water 16 . Accordingly, the humidified gases can be guided into the incubation room 4 by means of the circulation blower 14 and the duct 11 so that in addition to the supply of the humidified gases the humidification faculty can be improved, thereby enabling shortening of the returning time to the targeted humidity after closing of the inner door (smaller door 6 A or 6 B in the embodiment).
Embodiment 2
The second embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5 hereinafter. A support 18 in the second embodiment of the present invention is so arranged that opposite open ends of the support 18 are arranged in a line in the same direction as the air flowing direction in the air passage K formed by the bottom face duct 11 B.
According to the support 18 in the second embodiment, it forms a passage in the same direction as the air flowing direction formed by the duct 11 so that the humidified gases are conducted with high efficiency in the air flowing direction formed by the circulation blower 14 and the duct 11 leading to the incubation room 4 . Accordingly, the spacing between the support 18 and the water surface can be less than the spacing between the water surface and the duct 11 so that the air flow velocity in the space formed by the support 18 and the water surface becomes faster than the air flow velocity in the air passage K, with the result that the evaporation faculty of the humidification water can be improved by the increase in the air flow velocity.
FIG. 5 shows that the gas outlet port 17 A is set transversely to a length of the U-shape of the support 18 . | An object of the invention is to provide a multigas incubator capable of shortening humidity-returning time after closing its door. The incubator comprises an adiabatic box main body having an opening on a front face thereof, an adiabatic door mounted on the adiabatic box main body in an openable and closable manner, a transparent inner door for openably closing the opening, and an incubation room surrounded by the inner door and the adiabatic box main body for incubating samples such as cells, microbes and the like. The adiabatic box main body comprises an outer box made of a metal, an inner box made of a metal, a heat insulating material arranged inside the outer box between the outer and inner boxes, and an air layer arranged more inside than the heat insulating material. Gases supplied for controlling concentrations of gases in the incubation room are jetted into humidification water. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the invention. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a carbon dioxide gas (CO 2 ) incubator or a multigas incubator as an incubator for incubating cultures (samples) such as cells, microbes and the like.",
"The incubator maintains a temperature and a CO 2 concentration constant therein (in incubation room) and keeps its inside in a sterile condition to incubate cultures (samples) such as cells or microbes as incubation targets.",
"Therefore, the inside of the incubator must be periodically processed by sterilization treatment.",
"There has been a multigas incubator provided with a heater and its controller for adjusting the temperature in the incubation room (storing room), gas supply means for supplying and controlling supply gases such as CO 2 , O 2 and the like for controlling concentrations of gases, and a humidifying tray for adjusting the humidity, respectively for the purpose of incubating samples in the incubation room.",
"On the other hand, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid Open Nos. 31,462/1995 and 166,536/2000, there have been incubating devices each comprise an outer box provided on its inner side with a heat insulating material for uniformly and effectively heating the inside of an inner box to improve its temperature-returning characteristics, the inner box arranged inside the outer box with a space more inside than the heat insulating material, and a heating device secured in the space in contact with the inner box for heating the inside thereof.",
"The space described above serves to form an air layer (air jacket) provided for the thermal insulation between the incubation room of the incubator and its outside and promotion of heat transfer by natural convection.",
"As shown in the latter patent literature, particularly, a humidifying tray is arranged at the bottom of the incubation room for storing humidification water for controlling the humidity in the incubation room.",
"On the other hand, a multigas incubator accommodates therein important and valuable cells, microbes or the like to be incubated so that variations in humidity in the incubation room cannot be avoided by the ambient air entering the incubator when an inner door is opened.",
"Taking account of the fact that variations in humidity adversely affect samples such as cells and the like to be incubated, it is needed to shorten the time as much as possible, which is required to return a desired humidity after the inner door is once opened and then closed (that is, humidity-returning time).",
"In the case incubating human cells for ectosomatic fertilization or animal fertile eggs as samples, particularly, these samples are likely to be remarkably affected by humidity so that extra precautions are required.",
"In the incubators for treating such samples, the concentration of O 2 is frequently set and kept at approximately 5%, and dried N 2 gas is supplied into an incubation room after closing the door in order to control the concentration of O 2 .",
"Consequently, the humidity-returning time would be adversely prolonged by such a supply of the dried gas.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide an incubator such as a multigas incubator capable of shortening humidity-returning time after closing its inner door.",
"In addition thereto, it is an object of the invention to improve evaporation faculty of humidification water for controlling the humidity in the incubation room.",
"The incubator ( 1 ) according to the invention comprises an adiabatic box main body ( 2 ) having an opening ( 2 A) on a front face thereof, an adiabatic door ( 7 ) mounted on the adiabatic box main body ( 2 ) in an openable and closable manner, a transparent inner door ( 3 ) for openably closing the opening ( 2 A), and an incubation room ( 4 ) surrounded by the inner door ( 3 ) and the adiabatic box main body ( 2 ) for incubating samples such as cells, microbes and the like, the adiabatic box main body ( 2 ) comprising an outer box ( 21 ) made of a metal, an inner box ( 22 ) made of a metal, a heat insulating material ( 24 ) arranged inside the outer box between the outer and inner boxes ( 21 , 22 ), and an air layer ( 25 ) arranged more inside than the heat insulating material ( 24 ), and gas supplied for controlling gas concentration in the incubation room ( 4 ) is jetted into humidification water ( 16 ).",
"According to this invention, the gases supplied for controlling the gas concentration in the incubation room ( 4 ) are jetted into the humidification water ( 16 ) so that the supplied gases absorb moisture to be humidified, while rising in the humidification water, thereby enabling the humidified gases to be circulated in the incubation room to contribute to the improvement of humidification faculty of the humidifying tray ( 15 ) in addition to the supply of gases.",
"Moreover, the incubator ( 1 ) according to the present invention further comprises a humidifying tray ( 15 ) for storing humidification water ( 16 ) for controlling the humidity in the incubation room ( 4 ), and gas supply means ( 17 ) for supplying gas for controlling the gas concentration in the incubation room ( 4 ), and a gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means is immersed in the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray ( 15 ).",
"According to this invention, as a gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means for supplying gases for controlling the concentrations of the gases in the incubation room ( 4 ) is immersed in the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray ( 15 ) for controlling the humidity in the incubation room ( 4 ), the gases supplied from the gas outlet port ( 17 A) can be jetted into the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray, making it possible to humidify the supply gases and to circulate them into the incubation room ( 4 ).",
"Further, the incubator ( 1 ) according to the present invention further comprises a support ( 18 ) for supporting the gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means ( 17 ).",
"According to this invention, as there is provided the support ( 18 ) for supporting the gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means ( 17 ), the gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means can be supported by the support ( 18 ) so as to be immersed in the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray ( 15 ).",
"In the incubator ( 1 ) of the present invention, moreover, the support ( 18 ) comprises restraining means ( 18 A) for restraining rising of the gas.",
"According to this invention, as the support ( 18 ) comprises restraining means ( 18 A) for restraining rising of the gases, a space can be formed between the restraining means ( 18 A) and the water surface of the humidification water so that the evaporation of the humidification water is promoted to improve the evaporation faculty by the gases accumulated in the space.",
"Furthermore, the incubator ( 1 ) of the present invention comprises an adiabatic box main body ( 2 ) having an opening ( 2 A) on a front face thereof, an adiabatic door ( 7 ) mounted on the adiabatic box main body in an openable and closable manner, a transparent inner door ( 3 ) for openably closing the opening, an incubation room ( 4 ) surrounded by the inner door and the adiabatic box main body for incubating samples such as cells, microbes and the like, a humidifying tray ( 15 ) for storing humidification water ( 16 ) for controlling the humidity in the incubation room, gas supply means ( 17 ) for supplying gas for controlling gas concentration in the incubation room, and a duct ( 11 ) and a circulation blower ( 14 ) for causing forced convection of air in the incubation room, and gas supplied for controlling the gas concentration in the incubation room ( 4 ) is jetted into the humidification water ( 16 ).",
"According to this invention, the incubator ( 1 ) of the present invention comprises an adiabatic box main body ( 2 ) having an opening ( 2 A) on a front face thereof, an adiabatic door ( 7 ) mounted on the adiabatic box main body in an openable and closable manner, a transparent inner door ( 3 ) for openably closing the opening, an incubation room ( 4 ) surrounded by the inner door and the adiabatic box main body for incubating samples such as cells, microbes and the like, a humidifying tray ( 15 ) for storing a humidification water ( 16 ) for controlling the humidity in the incubation room, gas supply means ( 17 ) for supplying gases for controlling concentrations of gases in the incubation room, and a duct ( 11 ) and a circulation blower ( 14 ) for causing forced convection of air in the incubation room, and gases supplied for controlling concentrations of the gases in the incubation room ( 4 ) are jetted into the humidification water ( 16 ).",
"Therefore, the gases supplied from the gas supply means ( 17 ) absorb moisture to be humidified, while naturally rising in the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray ( 15 ) so that the humidified gases can be guided into the incubation room ( 4 ) by the circulation blower ( 14 ) and the duct ( 11 ), thereby promoting the evaporation of the humidification water ( 16 ) by the supplied gases to contribute to the improvement of evaporation faculty of the humidifying tray ( 15 ) in addition to the supply of gases.",
"In the incubator ( 1 ) of the present invention, further, a gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means is immersed in the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray.",
"According to this invention, the gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means for supplying gases for controlling the concentrations of the gases in the incubation room ( 4 ) is immersed in the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray ( 15 ) stored for controlling the humidity in the incubation room ( 4 ).",
"Therefore, the gases (O 2 and N 2 ) supplied from the gas outlet port ( 17 A) can be jetted into the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray so that the supplied gases can be humidified and circulated into the incubation room ( 4 ).",
"In the incubator ( 1 ) of the present invention, further, the humidifying tray ( 15 ) is arranged in the duct ( 11 ) and at the bottom of the incubation room ( 4 ).",
"According to this invention, the humidifying tray ( 15 ) is arranged in the duct ( 11 ) and at the bottom of the incubation room ( 4 ) so that the humidified gases can be jetted with high efficiency into the air passage K formed by the circulation blower ( 14 ) and the duct ( 11 ) and leading to the incubation room ( 4 ).",
"The incubator ( 1 ) according to the present invention further comprises a support ( 8 ) for supporting the gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means.",
"According to this invention, there is provided the support ( 8 ) for supporting the gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means so that the gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means can be supported by the support ( 18 ) so as to be immersed in the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray ( 15 ).",
"In the incubator ( 1 ) according to the present invention, the support ( 18 ) forms a passage in the same direction as the air flowing direction formed by the duct ( 11 ).",
"According to the invention, the support ( 18 ) forms a passage in the same direction as the air flowing direction formed by the duct ( 11 ) so that the humidified gases can be conducted with high efficiency in the air flowing direction formed by the circulation blower ( 14 ) and the duct ( 11 ) and leading to the incubation room ( 4 ).",
"Also, the spacing between the support ( 18 ) and the water surface can be less than the spacing between the water surface and the duct ( 11 ) so that the air velocity in the space formed by the support ( 18 ) and the water surface is higher than the velocity of the air flow in the air passage K, thereby enabling the evaporation faculty of the humidification water to be improved by the increase in the velocity of the air flow.",
"The incubator ( 1 ) comprises an adiabatic box main body ( 2 ) having an opening on its front face, an adiabatic door ( 7 ) mounted on the adiabatic box main body in an openable and closable manner, a transparent inner door ( 3 ) for openably closing the opening, an incubation room ( 4 ) surrounded by the inner door ( 3 ) and the adiabatic box main body ( 2 ) for incubating samples such as cells, microbes and the like, a duct ( 11 ) and a circulation blower ( 14 ) for causing forced convection of air in the incubation room, a humidifying tray ( 15 ) arranged in the duct ( 11 ) and at the bottom of the incubation room ( 4 ) for storing humidification water ( 16 ) for controlling the humidity in the incubation room, and gas supply means ( 17 ) for supplying gas for controlling gas concentration in the incubation room, the adiabatic box main body comprising an outer box ( 21 ) made of a metal, an inner box ( 22 ) made of a metal, a heat insulating material ( 24 ) arranged inside the outer box between the outer and inner boxes, and an air layer ( 25 ) arranged more inside than the heat insulating material, and the incubator further comprises a support ( 18 ) for immersing the gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means ( 17 ) in the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray ( 15 ).",
"According to the invention, the incubator ( 1 ) comprises an adiabatic box main body ( 2 ) having an opening on its front face, an adiabatic door ( 7 ) mounted on the adiabatic box main body in an openable and closable manner, a transparent inner door ( 3 ) for openably closing the opening, an incubation room ( 4 ) surrounded by the inner door ( 3 ) and the adiabatic box main body ( 2 ) for incubating samples such as cells, microbes and the like, a duct ( 11 ) and a circulation blower ( 14 ) for causing forced convection of air in the incubation room, a humidifying tray ( 15 ) arranged in the duct ( 11 ) and at the bottom of the incubation room ( 4 ) for storing humidification water ( 16 ) for controlling the humidity in the incubation room, and gas supply means ( 17 ) for supplying gas for controlling gas concentration in the incubation room, the adiabatic box main body comprising an outer box ( 21 ) made of a metal, an inner box ( 22 ) made of a metal, a heat insulating material ( 24 ) arranged inside the outer box between the outer and inner boxes, and an air layer ( 25 ) arranged more inside than the heat insulating material, and the incubator further comprises a support ( 18 ) for immersing the gas outlet port ( 17 A) of the gas supply means ( 17 ) in the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray ( 15 ).",
"Therefore, the gas outlet port ( 17 A) is supported by the support ( 18 ) so as to be immersed in the humidification water ( 16 ) in the humidifying tray ( 15 ) so that the gases jetted from the gas outlet port ( 17 A) absorb the moisture to be humidified, while naturally raising in the humidification water ( 16 ), thereby enabling the humidified gases to be guided into the incubation room ( 4 ) by the circulation blower ( 14 ) and the duct ( 11 ) to improve the humidification faculty in addition to the supply of humidified gases.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the incubator with its adiabatic door opened according to the present invention;",
"FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the incubator according to the present invention viewed from the right for explaining the air circulation mainly through the incubation room and the duct;",
"FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the incubator according to the present invention viewed from the right mainly illustrating the incubation room and the humidifying tray;",
"FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the incubation room to illustrate the humidifying tray and the support according to the present invention;",
"and FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the support in detail according to the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings hereinafter.",
"(Embodiment 1) A multigas incubator 1 as an incubator of the first embodiment of the present invention comprises left hand opening doors (an outer and an inner door in more detail) and smaller doors as biparting doors as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 .",
"An incubation room 4 is formed by a space surrounded by an adiabatic box main body 2 having an opening 2 A in its front and a transparent door 3 as the inner door closing the opening 2 A in an openable and closable manner.",
"The transparent door 3 is supported at its left end by the adiabatic box main body 2 by means of hinges in an openable and closable manner so that when closed, the opening 2 A is air-tightly closed with a gasket 2 B provided at the opening of the incubation room 4 .",
"The adiabatic box main body 2 is provided with the seal member or gasket 2 B along the periphery of the opening 2 A of the adiabatic box main body 2 to seal the transparent inner door 3 and the main body 2 .",
"The inside of the incubation room 4 is divided into upper and lower portions by a plurality of shelves 5 (into five portions by four shelves 5 in the illustrated embodiment).",
"As the incubator 1 in the embodiment is a multigas incubator, the concentration of O 2 is frequently set and kept at a value of the order of 5%.",
"In this case, the concentration of O 2 may be controlled by supplying an amount of dried N 2 gas into the incubation room after the doors are closed.",
"For this purpose, in order to prevent the ambient air from entering the entire incubation room 4 divided in the plurality of portions, even if the inner door 3 is opened, the smaller doors 6 A and 6 B as the biparting doors inside the inner door 3 are divided into a plurality (five pairs in the illustrated embodiment) of parts correspondingly to the number of the portions of the incubation room 4 divided by the shelves 5 .",
"Reference numeral 7 denotes the adiabatic door as the outer door supported on the adiabatic box main body 2 through hinges in an openable and closable manner for preventing the heat from entering through the opening 2 A of the incubation room.",
"The adiabatic door 7 is provided on its inner periphery with a gasket 8 having magnets therein.",
"Arranged in the incubation room 4 is a duct 11 consisting of a rear face duct 11 A and a bottom face duct 11 B respectively spaced from the rear wall and the bottom wall of the adiabatic box main body 2 to form the air passage K, respectively.",
"The rear face duct 11 A is formed in its upper portion with suction openings 12 from which the air in the incubation room 4 is sucked into the duct 11 and exhausted through exhaust openings 13 provided in the bottom face duct 11 B at its front end and side faces to forcedly circulate the air, in the incubation room 4 .",
"A circulation blower 14 for the forced circulation of the air in the incubation room is arranged in the duct 11 (in the upper portion of the duct 11 in the illustrated embodiment).",
"The blower 14 comprises a fan, a motor and a shaft.",
"The motor is located in a machine house 19 on the outer rear face of the incubation room 4 described later, while the shaft extends from the motor in the machine house 19 through the rear face of the main body 2 into the air passage K and is connected to the fan.",
"A humidifying tray 15 for storing water for humidification (that is, humidification water) 16 is arranged at the bottom of the incubation room 4 and in the duct 11 .",
"The humidification water 16 in the humidifying tray 15 is heated to be evaporated by heating means (not shown) arranged outside the bottom surface of an inner box 22 made of a metal, for example, stainless steel.",
"By arranging the humidifying tray 15 in the duct 11 and at the bottom of the incubation room 4 , it becomes possible to blow the humidified gas with high efficiency into the air passage K formed by the circulation blower 14 and the duct 11 and leading to the incubation room 4 .",
"On the rear face of an outer box 21 of the adiabatic box main body 2 is formed a machine house 19 for arranging a motor for driving the circulation blower 14 , gas supply means 17 for supplying gases such as N 2 , O 2 and the like to the incubation room 4 , and electrical equipment such as a control panel and the like (not shown).",
"The gas supply means 17 comprises a gas supply tube 17 A, an opening and closing valve 17 B, a filter 17 C and the like.",
"The leading end portion of the gas supply tube 17 A is supported by a support 18 such that the leading end portion is in the humidification water 16 in the humidifying tray 15 .",
"The support 18 consists of a main body 18 A having a left and a right side face and an upper face to from a U-shape in cross-section and legs 18 B for installing the main body 18 A. The upper surface of the main body 18 A provides restraining means for restraining the rising of the gas.",
"By providing the support 18 for supporting the gas outlet port 17 A of the gas supply means 17 , the gas outlet port 17 A of the gas supply means can be supported to be immersed in the humidification water 16 in the humidifying tray 15 .",
"As the support 18 includes the restraining means 18 A for restraining the rising of the gas, moreover, when the height h 1 of the support 18 is set to a value substantially equal to the height h 2 of the humidifying tray 15 , it is possible to form a space between the restraining means 18 A and the water surface of the humidification water.",
"The evaporation of the humidification water will be promoted by the gas accumulated in the space, thereby improving the evaporation faculty.",
"In order to observe the improvement of the evaporation faculty and the promotion of the evaporation, the times required for returning to a targeted humidity after the smaller doors are opened for a constant period of time were measured with the cases that the gas outlet port 17 A of the gas supply means 17 is immersed in the humidification water 16 according to the present invention and that the gas is blown into the incubation room 4 or the air passage K in the conventional manner.",
"The former according to the present invention required 12 minutes, while the later in the conventional manner took 36 minutes.",
"It is apparent, therefore, that the evaporation faculty is improved by immersing the gas outlet port in the humidification water 16 according to the present invention.",
"As described above, the outlet port 17 A of the gas supply means for supplying the gases for controlling the concentration of the gases in the incubation room 4 is immersed in the humidification water 16 in the humidifying tray 15 , which is stored therein for the purpose of controlling the humidity in the incubation room 4 according to the invention.",
"Accordingly, the gases (O 2 and N 2 ) supplied through the gas outlet port 17 A can be jetted into the humidification water 16 in the humidifying tray so that the supply gases can be humidified and circulated in the incubation room 4 .",
"Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 , the adiabatic box main body 2 comprises the outer box 21 made of a metal, the inner box 22 made of stainless steel, a heat insulating material 24 arranged on the inner side of the outer box 21 between the outer box 21 and the inner box 22 , and an air layer (a so-called air jacket) 25 arranged more inside than the heat insulating material 24 .",
"Heaters (not shown) for heating the incubation room are arranged on both the left and right side faces, the upper face and the rear face of the inner box 22 forming the incubation room 4 .",
"By providing the support 18 for supporting gas outlet port 17 A of the gas supply means 17 to be immersed in the humidification water 16 in the humidifying tray 15 in the first embodiment, the gas outlet port 17 A is supported to be immersed in the humidification water 16 in the humidifying tray 15 so that the gases jetted from the gas outlet port 17 A absorb the moisture to be humidified, while rising naturally in the humidification water 16 .",
"Accordingly, the humidified gases can be guided into the incubation room 4 by means of the circulation blower 14 and the duct 11 so that in addition to the supply of the humidified gases the humidification faculty can be improved, thereby enabling shortening of the returning time to the targeted humidity after closing of the inner door (smaller door 6 A or 6 B in the embodiment).",
"Embodiment 2 The second embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5 hereinafter.",
"A support 18 in the second embodiment of the present invention is so arranged that opposite open ends of the support 18 are arranged in a line in the same direction as the air flowing direction in the air passage K formed by the bottom face duct 11 B. According to the support 18 in the second embodiment, it forms a passage in the same direction as the air flowing direction formed by the duct 11 so that the humidified gases are conducted with high efficiency in the air flowing direction formed by the circulation blower 14 and the duct 11 leading to the incubation room 4 .",
"Accordingly, the spacing between the support 18 and the water surface can be less than the spacing between the water surface and the duct 11 so that the air flow velocity in the space formed by the support 18 and the water surface becomes faster than the air flow velocity in the air passage K, with the result that the evaporation faculty of the humidification water can be improved by the increase in the air flow velocity.",
"FIG. 5 shows that the gas outlet port 17 A is set transversely to a length of the U-shape of the support 18 ."
] |
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/811,899, filed Mar. 30, 2004, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention generally relates to fuel cells, and more particularly to improvements in the performance of polymer fuel cells having a water channel.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] In a fuel cell that contains a pure water channel, the water in the pure water channel freezes at temperatures of 0° C. and below. Consequently, if the fuel cell is in an environment of 0° C. or below, the pure water channel may be blocked, and the fuel and air passages may also be clogged due to frozen water. If a fuel cell is started up in a frozen state, it may take a long time to reach the rated output, since it is necessary to melt the accumulated ice. Alternatively, the interior of the fuel cell stack, which includes the polymer membrane, may be damaged, thereby worsening cell performance.
[0004] One method of solving this problem is to discharge the pure water from the channel outside of the cell when the fuel cell is shut down. The water can be discharged by gravity, or by using a pump. For instance, in Patent Disclosure Heisei 11-273704, a fuel cell is equipped with a means of drainage. After cell operation is completed, the means of drainage comes into effect, and the water accumulated in the fixed polymer fuel cell, tank, supply means, and discharge means is discharged to the outside. Thus, even when the fuel cell equipment is operated outside in a cold climate and is subsequently shut down, there is no frozen water inside the fuel cell, and consequently the pure water channel is not blocked due to freezing when the fuel cell is restarted.
[0005] If the pure water channel has a humidifying or cooling function, it cannot perform these functions when the fuel cell is started up, since there is no pure water in the channel after discharge. Therefore, when the fuel cell is restarted, it is necessary to re-supply the water channel with pure water, because recirculated water alone is not enough. In addition, discharging a large quantity of water from the fuel cell has other disadvantages. For instance, given a fuel cell for automotive use, there is the risk of causing the road to ice over if a large quantity of pure water is discharged to the outside environment at sub-zero temperatures. For this reason, others have employed a reservoir tank outside of the fuel cell, and storing pure water in the reservoir tank while the fuel cell is shut down. However, since the pure water in the reservoir tank also freezes, it is necessary to melt the ice in the reservoir tank when re-starting. This lengthens the time required for startup, and increases the fuel consumption due to the utilization of a heater.
[0006] Once a fuel cell is being operated, it can run smoothly at an optimum temperature and efficiency. At startup, however, the cell requires a certain temperature, which is typically above the freezing point of the water contained therein to run efficiently. Hence, there is a continuing need for the efficient operation of fuel cells have water channels.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] An advantage of the present invention is an improved fuel cell having a water channel which minimizes the potential for water freezing in the channel.
[0008] These and other advantages are satisfied at least in part by a fuel cell having a water channel which contains a polymeric material attached to the walls of the channel. In an embodiment of the present invention, the fuel cell is characterized by having a pure water channel comprising polymers, wherein one end of the polymer chains are connected to a surface of the channel and said chains are capable of forming an entanglement among themselves. Advantageously, such a structure permits water contained in the channel to be bound by the polymer material through polymeric entanglements thereby minimizing the potential for the water to freeze when the cell is not in operation. When the cell is operated, the flow of water and/or the increase in temperature of the cell causes the polymeric material to disentangle thereby allowing water to flow through the channel during normal operation.
[0009] The fuel cell can further comprise a means for discharging excess water from the channel to outside of the cell when the cell is shut down and means for measuring at least the flow rate or at least the pressure of the water in the channel and a means for controlling the flow rate or pressure of the water in the channel so that it does not exceed a predetermined range.
[0010] Additional advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description, wherein only the preferred embodiment of the invention is shown and described, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated of carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and different embodiments, and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious respects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] The various features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent and facilitated by reference to the accompanying drawings, submitted for purposes of illustration and not to limit the scope of the invention, where the same numerals represent like structure and wherein:
[0012] FIG. 1 illustrates representative idealized polymer chain structure in a pure water channel of a fuel cell when it is shut down in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 2 shows a fuel cell in accordance with one aspect of the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 3 illustrates a fuel cell in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram showing the process flow of a coolant system upon starting up a fuel cell system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram showing the process flow of a coolant system upon shutting down a fuel cell system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 6 illustrates a graph showing the history of a fuel cell stack's operating temperature in accordance with one aspect of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0018] The present invention is directed to a polymer fuel cell and its operation which comprises at least one water channel to feed or remove water from the fuel cell. In accordance with the present invention, the water channel has a polymeric material contained therein to reduce or minimize the potential freezing of any water in the channel. The polymer fuel cell further comprises an electrolyte membrane sandwiched between an anode electrode and a cathode electrode. The fuel cell can have a plurality of such membrane cells to form a fuel cell stack. The fuel cell stack can also have a plurality of water channels each having a polymeric material contained therein to minimize potential freezing of water.
[0019] The water channels are typically associated with the anode side electrode and provide water vapor to the cell and transport byproducts and other components from the cell. These channels can contain pure water and/or other components. Hence, the terms water channels and pure water channels are used herein interchangeably.
[0020] In an embodiment of the present invention, the structure of the pure water channel having the polymeric material is such that one end of the polymer chain is connected to the surface of the pure water channel 11 , as shown in FIG. 1 . Such polymer chains can form an entanglement ( 12 ) when the environmental temperature is low or when the flow of water ceases. Within the polymer entanglements, there are water molecules that undergo binding (bound water) due to the interaction with the polymer chains. Water classified as “bound water” does not readily freeze, at or below 0° C., due to polymer-water interactions. In addition, due to the action of polymers (as well as other components) in lowering the freezing point, water contained within the polymer entanglement does not readily freeze, even at or below 0° C. Consequently, even when a fuel cell is used in an environment below 0° C., it is not necessary to discharge the pure water outside of the fuel cell beforehand to prevent freezing, or to use a reservoir tank to discharge the pure water. Advantageously, when the fuel cell is re-started, it can begin to operate immediately, without re-supplying water to the channel after the cell is stopped.
[0021] Connecting or attaching polymer chains to a pure water channel surface can be carried out by the general method of surface treating the contemplated surface to which the polymeric material is to be attached followed by polymerization of monomers or attachment of already formed materials. For instance, polymer chains are connected to the surface of a pure water channel by applying a plasma treatment to the channel surface and connecting the polymer chain at the active site, or by forming a polymer membrane layer on the channel surface beforehand and causing a portion of the membrane layer to react with the polymer chain.
[0022] Advantageously, the structure of the fuel cell is such that the flow of pure water in the water channel is ceased when the fuel cell is shut down. The polymeric material in the channel can then spread out and occupy more of the channel. When the cell is operated, however, the polymeric material occupies less channel volume. This can occur simply due to the natural tendency of the polymeric material (when some part is attached to the surface of the channel) to self associate (i.e., form entanglements) when there is no flowing water versus orienting along the flow direction when the cell is in operation, thereby ensuring the necessary flow rate of water for the operation of fuel cell. By using polymeric materials having weak entanglements among polymer chains, it is possible to form and break up the entanglements in accordance with the flow of water in the channel.
[0023] For example, polymeric materials having hydrophilic chains will spread out in water at reduced temperatures. While the fuel cell is in operation, i.e., at elevated temperatures, the polymer chains do not obstruct the flow of pure water, because the chains spread out in the direction in which the water flows.
[0024] In an embodiment of the present invention, the polymeric material attached to the water channel comprises an alkyl base. The polymer can have a principal chain which is a continuous structure having an alkyl base or it can be a copolymer whose principal chain structure is an alkyl base. Although an alkyl based polymer is preferred in this embodiment of the present invention, the polymeric material is not limited thereto. It is preferred that the polymer have enough flexibility so that entanglements can easily form in the water channel and can be easily disentangled by the flow of water in the channel.
[0025] Thermo-responsive polymers are also contemplated in the present invention. Thermo-responsive polymers can undergo volume phase transition in accordance with the temperature of the pure water that contain such polymers. For example, if the temperature of the pure water becomes high, as when the fuel cell is in operation, the polymer entanglements contract as they undergo a volume phase transition, thereby permitting the flow of pure water. In addition, when the temperature of the pure water falls, such as after the fuel cell is shut down, the polymer spreads out in the pure water, and the chains tend to form a weakly connected network. Since this network retains pure water within itself, the pure water does not readily freeze, even below its normal freezing point.
[0026] Any thermo-responsive polymer can be used in the present invention. Thermo-responsive polymers that contracts in water at temperatures of about 40° C. or higher, and expands in water at temperatures of about 20° C. or lower are preferred. These polymers do not block the flow of pure water when applied in a polymeric solid electrolyte fuel cell, within the preferred working temperature ranges of the fuel cell. In an embodiment of the present invention, the polymer chain comprises N-isopropyl acrylamide, or an N-isopropyl acrylamide co-polymer. These materials do not block the flow of pure water when applied in a polymeric solid electrolyte fuel cell, within the working temperature range of the fuel cell.
[0027] Although the use of a polymeric material in the water channel can reduce the potential of water freezing therein, which thereby reduces the need to discharge water from the channel, the present invention also contemplates the use of an external reservoir and connections thereto for the discharge of water from channels. Since the fuel cell has a means of discharging the water in the pure water channel to outside of the fuel cell when the fuel cell is shut down, it can further prevent the pure water from freezing in the cell. This structure is suitable, for example, when the sectional area of the pure water channel is so large that the polymer chain entanglement cannot retain all of the pure water, but is not limited thereto.
[0028] Discharging excess water from the cell can be by means of gravity or by employing a pump or by any other equivalent means. Since it is preferable that the polymer entanglement retain enough water that is needed when the fuel cell is re-started, it is sufficient if the quantity of pure water discharged to the outside is roughly the quantity that the polymer entanglement cannot retain. In addition, if a pump is used to discharge pure water to the outside, it is sufficient if the quantity of pure water discharged is approximately the quantity that the polymer entanglement cannot retain. Discharging approximately the quantity of water not needed upon startup advantageously reduces the energy consumption of the system.
[0029] Since the fuel cell system has a means of measuring at least one of either the flow rate of pure water flowing through the pure water channel of the fuel cell system or the pressure of the pure water, and since it has a means of control either the flow rate or the pressure of the water, the polymer chains connected to the surface of the pure water channel in the fuel cell are protected from being removed. The flow rate and pressure can be a predetermined level or range.
[0030] In another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a fuel cell structure. Fuel gas passage 24 and air passage 25 are provided, one on each side of membrane electrode structure 21 . Electrode structure 21 can comprise a polymer electrode membrane sandwiched between an anode electrode and a cathode electrode (not shown for illustrative convenience). Pure water channel 22 encloses porous separator 26 , and is partitioned by fuel gas passage 24 and air passage 25 . Pure water in pure water channel 22 is circulated by pump 27 . Pure water flowing in pure water channel 22 passes through porous separator 26 , and humidifies the fuel gas passing through fuel gas passage 24 and the air passing through air passage 25 . As an example of a polymeric material contained within a water channel, one end of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is connected to the surface of pure water channel 22 , and forms PMMA molecular layer 23 . In the PMMA molecular layer 23 , PMMA molecules are connected perpendicular to pure water channel 22 . PMMA molecular layer 23 can be formed using the general method of surface treatment for attaching polymers. For example, plasma treatment can be performed on separator 26 , and subsequently methyl methacrylate monomer can be polymerized to attach PMMA chains on pure water channel 22 only, so that PMMA molecular layer 23 is formed. When the fuel cell is shut down, pump 27 stops, so that pure water does not circulate. In this example, the PMMA molecules of the PMMA molecular layer spread out in pure water channel 22 , and form entanglement with other PMMA molecules.
[0031] When the atmospheric temperature surrounding a fuel cell structured as shown in FIG. 2 was lowered to −10° C., and the system was left for 8 hours, and dried hydrogen gas and air were then caused to flow, the fuel cell started to generate electricity again. At the same time, circulation of pure water was started by operating pump 27 , and since the pure water had not frozen, it was immediately able to circulate. Subsequently, the fuel cell operated normally at about 70° C.
[0032] In another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a fuel cell structure. The structure shown in FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 2 except that FIG. 3 illustrates a means for draining a water channel outside of the cell and outside of the system. As shown in FIG. 3 , fuel gas passage 24 and air passage 25 are provided on either side of membrane electrode 21 . Pure water channel 22 encloses porous separator 26 and is partitioned by fuel gas passage 24 and air passage 25 . Pure water channel includes polymer layer 23 which is attached to the inner surface of the channel. Blower 27 is connected to pure water channel 22 through lines A, B, E, and D. Pure water can be made to circulate through the cell by actuating blower 27 and three-way valves 30 and 31 . Water can be drained from the cell by actuating three-way valves 30 and 31 and blower 32 .
[0033] Also included in the circulating water loop are pressure gauges 34 and 36 which feed a signal to pressure controller 37 which in turn controls pressure controlled values 33 and 35 . As is known in the art, a computer or microprocessor can be used to control three-way valves 30 and 31 as well as pressure controller 37 and control valves 33 and 35 . The apparatus shown in FIG. 3 permits recycling of pure water while the cell is functioning during a normal electricity generation mode. When the cell is shut down, this apparatus can be operated such that water is drained from the cell as needed to remove excess water in the water channel that is not bound by polymer layer 23 .
[0034] The operation of a fuel cell with a water channel will be provided with reference to the flow diagrams of FIGS. 4 and 5 and with reference to the apparatus shown in FIG. 3 . As is understood by those skill in the art, this operation can be computer controlled for optimum results in operation.
[0035] As seen in FIG. 4 , start-up operation begins at 50 . During startup, three-way valve 30 , as shown in FIG. 3 , allows water to flow through lines A and B. Line C is closed. Three-way valve 31 , shown in FIG. 3 , allows water to flow through lines D and E and closes line F. At step 51 , pump 27 is turned on which permits water to circulate through the cell. At step 52 , the pressure drop in the circulating water is measured by pressure gauge 34 and 36 . The pressure measurements are inputted to controller 37 . At step 53 , pressure control valves 33 and 35 , are operated by controller 37 to maintain a predetermined pressure in the circulating flow of water circulating through the cell.
[0036] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating the operations of the fuel cell of FIG. 3 during a shut down operation. As seen in FIG. 5 , shut down begins at step 60 with the stopping of pump 27 . At step 61 , three-way valve 30 is set so that line A and line C are opened and line B is closed. Three-way valve 31 is set so that lines D and F are open and line E is closed. At step 62 , blower 32 is operated. At step 63 , the pressure in the water channel is monitored by pressure gauges 34 and 36 which sends a signal to controller 37 which in turn operates control valves 33 and 35 to ensure a predetermined pressure range. At step 64 , a decision is made whether enough time has elapsed. The elapsed time can be preset and can depend on such factors as the volume of water in the water channel, the amount of polymer contained in the water channel, the amount of water necessary to operate the cell at start up, the outside temperature, etc. all of which can be empirically predetermined. If the drainage time has not elapsed, the system returns to step 64 . If the time has elapsed, the system goes to step 65 which halts blower 32 .
[0037] Reference is now made to the following examples for illustrative purposes.
EXAMPLE 1
[0038] In this example, a fuel cell stack having cells with a basic structure shown in FIG. 2 was used. The cells differ in that one end of N-isopropyl acrylamide is connected to the surface of the pure water channel rather than PMMA. The N-isopropyl acrylamide was attached to the channel wall by plasma polymerization. This fuel cell stack was operated by the procedure shown in FIG. 6 . After startup at room temperature, the cell is operated at about 70° C., and is subsequently shut down. After shutdown, the atmospheric temperature surrounding the fuel cell is lowered to −20° C. The N-isopropyl acrylamide undergoes volume phase transition at about 40° C., and expands in the pure water channel. After maintaining the cell for 8 hours at −20° C., dried hydrogen gas and air at 40° C. were caused to flow, which caused the cell to start generating electricity again. At the stage where the fuel cell temperature reaches 40° C., pure water starts to circulate. Due to the rise in fuel cell temperature, the N-isopropyl acrylamide contracts in the pure water channel. Due to the contraction of the N-isopropyl acrylamide, the flow rate of pure water in the pure water channel is established at the rate necessary for normal operation. Subsequently, the fuel cell stack temperature reaches 70° C., and normal operation comes into effect, without a noticeable voltage drop.
EXAMPLE 2
[0039] In this example, a fuel cell having the basic cell structure as shown in FIG. 3 was used. In addition to the implementation of example 1, three-way valve 30 , three-way valve 31 and blower 32 are set in the coolant loop. Pressure gauge 34 and pressure gauge 36 are set to control pressure control valve 33 and pressure control valve 35 through pressure controller 37 . During operating the fuel cell system, three-way vale 30 and three-way valve 31 are set as follows to make a loop.
[0000]
Three-way valve 30
Three-way valve 31
Line A: Opened
Line D: Opened
Line B: Opened
Line E: Opened
Line C: Closed
Line F: Closed
[0040] First, three-way vale 30 and three-way valve 31 are set as follows to drain water from the fuel cell stack when the fuel cell system is shut down.
[0000]
Three-way valve 30
Three-way valve 31
Line A: Opened
Line D: Opened
Line B: Closed
Line E: Closed
Line C: Opened
Line F: Opened
[0041] Secondly, blower 32 starts to drain water from fuel cell stack. Blower 32 stops after a predetermined time period.
[0042] During operating a fuel cell system and draining water from a fuel cell stack, pressure controller 37 controls pressure control valve 33 and pressure control valve 35 to keep the pressure drop of the coolant channel inside the fuel cell stack under a predetermined pressure.
[0043] Only the preferred embodiment of the present invention and examples of its versatility are shown and described in the present disclosure. It is to be understood that the present invention is capable of use in various other combinations and environments and is capable of changes or modifications within the scope of the inventive concept as expressed herein. Thus, for example, those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain, using no more than routine experimentation, numerous equivalents to the specific procedures and arrangements described herein. Such equivalents are considered to be within the scope of this invention, and are covered by the following claims. | A fuel cell is disclosed having a water channel and a polymeric material contained in the water channel which minimizes freezing of water in the channel at sub-zero temperatures. Embodiments including attaching a thermo-responsive polymer such as an N-isopropyl acrylamide to the surface of the water channel to cause the thermo-responsive polymer to expand at low temperatures thereby reducing the propensity for water to freeze in the channel and also to cause the thermo-responsive polymer to contract at higher temperatures thereby preventing any restriction in the flow of circulating water in the channel. | Provide a concise summary of the essential information conveyed in the context. | [
"RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 10/811,899, filed Mar. 30, 2004, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention generally relates to fuel cells, and more particularly to improvements in the performance of polymer fuel cells having a water channel.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] In a fuel cell that contains a pure water channel, the water in the pure water channel freezes at temperatures of 0° C. and below.",
"Consequently, if the fuel cell is in an environment of 0° C. or below, the pure water channel may be blocked, and the fuel and air passages may also be clogged due to frozen water.",
"If a fuel cell is started up in a frozen state, it may take a long time to reach the rated output, since it is necessary to melt the accumulated ice.",
"Alternatively, the interior of the fuel cell stack, which includes the polymer membrane, may be damaged, thereby worsening cell performance.",
"[0004] One method of solving this problem is to discharge the pure water from the channel outside of the cell when the fuel cell is shut down.",
"The water can be discharged by gravity, or by using a pump.",
"For instance, in Patent Disclosure Heisei 11-273704, a fuel cell is equipped with a means of drainage.",
"After cell operation is completed, the means of drainage comes into effect, and the water accumulated in the fixed polymer fuel cell, tank, supply means, and discharge means is discharged to the outside.",
"Thus, even when the fuel cell equipment is operated outside in a cold climate and is subsequently shut down, there is no frozen water inside the fuel cell, and consequently the pure water channel is not blocked due to freezing when the fuel cell is restarted.",
"[0005] If the pure water channel has a humidifying or cooling function, it cannot perform these functions when the fuel cell is started up, since there is no pure water in the channel after discharge.",
"Therefore, when the fuel cell is restarted, it is necessary to re-supply the water channel with pure water, because recirculated water alone is not enough.",
"In addition, discharging a large quantity of water from the fuel cell has other disadvantages.",
"For instance, given a fuel cell for automotive use, there is the risk of causing the road to ice over if a large quantity of pure water is discharged to the outside environment at sub-zero temperatures.",
"For this reason, others have employed a reservoir tank outside of the fuel cell, and storing pure water in the reservoir tank while the fuel cell is shut down.",
"However, since the pure water in the reservoir tank also freezes, it is necessary to melt the ice in the reservoir tank when re-starting.",
"This lengthens the time required for startup, and increases the fuel consumption due to the utilization of a heater.",
"[0006] Once a fuel cell is being operated, it can run smoothly at an optimum temperature and efficiency.",
"At startup, however, the cell requires a certain temperature, which is typically above the freezing point of the water contained therein to run efficiently.",
"Hence, there is a continuing need for the efficient operation of fuel cells have water channels.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0007] An advantage of the present invention is an improved fuel cell having a water channel which minimizes the potential for water freezing in the channel.",
"[0008] These and other advantages are satisfied at least in part by a fuel cell having a water channel which contains a polymeric material attached to the walls of the channel.",
"In an embodiment of the present invention, the fuel cell is characterized by having a pure water channel comprising polymers, wherein one end of the polymer chains are connected to a surface of the channel and said chains are capable of forming an entanglement among themselves.",
"Advantageously, such a structure permits water contained in the channel to be bound by the polymer material through polymeric entanglements thereby minimizing the potential for the water to freeze when the cell is not in operation.",
"When the cell is operated, the flow of water and/or the increase in temperature of the cell causes the polymeric material to disentangle thereby allowing water to flow through the channel during normal operation.",
"[0009] The fuel cell can further comprise a means for discharging excess water from the channel to outside of the cell when the cell is shut down and means for measuring at least the flow rate or at least the pressure of the water in the channel and a means for controlling the flow rate or pressure of the water in the channel so that it does not exceed a predetermined range.",
"[0010] Additional advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description, wherein only the preferred embodiment of the invention is shown and described, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated of carrying out the invention.",
"As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and different embodiments, and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious respects, all without departing from the invention.",
"Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0011] The various features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent and facilitated by reference to the accompanying drawings, submitted for purposes of illustration and not to limit the scope of the invention, where the same numerals represent like structure and wherein: [0012] FIG. 1 illustrates representative idealized polymer chain structure in a pure water channel of a fuel cell when it is shut down in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;",
"[0013] FIG. 2 shows a fuel cell in accordance with one aspect of the present invention;",
"[0014] FIG. 3 illustrates a fuel cell in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;",
"[0015] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram showing the process flow of a coolant system upon starting up a fuel cell system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;",
"[0016] FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram showing the process flow of a coolant system upon shutting down a fuel cell system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;",
"[0017] FIG. 6 illustrates a graph showing the history of a fuel cell stack's operating temperature in accordance with one aspect of the present invention.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0018] The present invention is directed to a polymer fuel cell and its operation which comprises at least one water channel to feed or remove water from the fuel cell.",
"In accordance with the present invention, the water channel has a polymeric material contained therein to reduce or minimize the potential freezing of any water in the channel.",
"The polymer fuel cell further comprises an electrolyte membrane sandwiched between an anode electrode and a cathode electrode.",
"The fuel cell can have a plurality of such membrane cells to form a fuel cell stack.",
"The fuel cell stack can also have a plurality of water channels each having a polymeric material contained therein to minimize potential freezing of water.",
"[0019] The water channels are typically associated with the anode side electrode and provide water vapor to the cell and transport byproducts and other components from the cell.",
"These channels can contain pure water and/or other components.",
"Hence, the terms water channels and pure water channels are used herein interchangeably.",
"[0020] In an embodiment of the present invention, the structure of the pure water channel having the polymeric material is such that one end of the polymer chain is connected to the surface of the pure water channel 11 , as shown in FIG. 1 .",
"Such polymer chains can form an entanglement ( 12 ) when the environmental temperature is low or when the flow of water ceases.",
"Within the polymer entanglements, there are water molecules that undergo binding (bound water) due to the interaction with the polymer chains.",
"Water classified as “bound water”",
"does not readily freeze, at or below 0° C., due to polymer-water interactions.",
"In addition, due to the action of polymers (as well as other components) in lowering the freezing point, water contained within the polymer entanglement does not readily freeze, even at or below 0° C. Consequently, even when a fuel cell is used in an environment below 0° C., it is not necessary to discharge the pure water outside of the fuel cell beforehand to prevent freezing, or to use a reservoir tank to discharge the pure water.",
"Advantageously, when the fuel cell is re-started, it can begin to operate immediately, without re-supplying water to the channel after the cell is stopped.",
"[0021] Connecting or attaching polymer chains to a pure water channel surface can be carried out by the general method of surface treating the contemplated surface to which the polymeric material is to be attached followed by polymerization of monomers or attachment of already formed materials.",
"For instance, polymer chains are connected to the surface of a pure water channel by applying a plasma treatment to the channel surface and connecting the polymer chain at the active site, or by forming a polymer membrane layer on the channel surface beforehand and causing a portion of the membrane layer to react with the polymer chain.",
"[0022] Advantageously, the structure of the fuel cell is such that the flow of pure water in the water channel is ceased when the fuel cell is shut down.",
"The polymeric material in the channel can then spread out and occupy more of the channel.",
"When the cell is operated, however, the polymeric material occupies less channel volume.",
"This can occur simply due to the natural tendency of the polymeric material (when some part is attached to the surface of the channel) to self associate (i.e., form entanglements) when there is no flowing water versus orienting along the flow direction when the cell is in operation, thereby ensuring the necessary flow rate of water for the operation of fuel cell.",
"By using polymeric materials having weak entanglements among polymer chains, it is possible to form and break up the entanglements in accordance with the flow of water in the channel.",
"[0023] For example, polymeric materials having hydrophilic chains will spread out in water at reduced temperatures.",
"While the fuel cell is in operation, i.e., at elevated temperatures, the polymer chains do not obstruct the flow of pure water, because the chains spread out in the direction in which the water flows.",
"[0024] In an embodiment of the present invention, the polymeric material attached to the water channel comprises an alkyl base.",
"The polymer can have a principal chain which is a continuous structure having an alkyl base or it can be a copolymer whose principal chain structure is an alkyl base.",
"Although an alkyl based polymer is preferred in this embodiment of the present invention, the polymeric material is not limited thereto.",
"It is preferred that the polymer have enough flexibility so that entanglements can easily form in the water channel and can be easily disentangled by the flow of water in the channel.",
"[0025] Thermo-responsive polymers are also contemplated in the present invention.",
"Thermo-responsive polymers can undergo volume phase transition in accordance with the temperature of the pure water that contain such polymers.",
"For example, if the temperature of the pure water becomes high, as when the fuel cell is in operation, the polymer entanglements contract as they undergo a volume phase transition, thereby permitting the flow of pure water.",
"In addition, when the temperature of the pure water falls, such as after the fuel cell is shut down, the polymer spreads out in the pure water, and the chains tend to form a weakly connected network.",
"Since this network retains pure water within itself, the pure water does not readily freeze, even below its normal freezing point.",
"[0026] Any thermo-responsive polymer can be used in the present invention.",
"Thermo-responsive polymers that contracts in water at temperatures of about 40° C. or higher, and expands in water at temperatures of about 20° C. or lower are preferred.",
"These polymers do not block the flow of pure water when applied in a polymeric solid electrolyte fuel cell, within the preferred working temperature ranges of the fuel cell.",
"In an embodiment of the present invention, the polymer chain comprises N-isopropyl acrylamide, or an N-isopropyl acrylamide co-polymer.",
"These materials do not block the flow of pure water when applied in a polymeric solid electrolyte fuel cell, within the working temperature range of the fuel cell.",
"[0027] Although the use of a polymeric material in the water channel can reduce the potential of water freezing therein, which thereby reduces the need to discharge water from the channel, the present invention also contemplates the use of an external reservoir and connections thereto for the discharge of water from channels.",
"Since the fuel cell has a means of discharging the water in the pure water channel to outside of the fuel cell when the fuel cell is shut down, it can further prevent the pure water from freezing in the cell.",
"This structure is suitable, for example, when the sectional area of the pure water channel is so large that the polymer chain entanglement cannot retain all of the pure water, but is not limited thereto.",
"[0028] Discharging excess water from the cell can be by means of gravity or by employing a pump or by any other equivalent means.",
"Since it is preferable that the polymer entanglement retain enough water that is needed when the fuel cell is re-started, it is sufficient if the quantity of pure water discharged to the outside is roughly the quantity that the polymer entanglement cannot retain.",
"In addition, if a pump is used to discharge pure water to the outside, it is sufficient if the quantity of pure water discharged is approximately the quantity that the polymer entanglement cannot retain.",
"Discharging approximately the quantity of water not needed upon startup advantageously reduces the energy consumption of the system.",
"[0029] Since the fuel cell system has a means of measuring at least one of either the flow rate of pure water flowing through the pure water channel of the fuel cell system or the pressure of the pure water, and since it has a means of control either the flow rate or the pressure of the water, the polymer chains connected to the surface of the pure water channel in the fuel cell are protected from being removed.",
"The flow rate and pressure can be a predetermined level or range.",
"[0030] In another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a fuel cell structure.",
"Fuel gas passage 24 and air passage 25 are provided, one on each side of membrane electrode structure 21 .",
"Electrode structure 21 can comprise a polymer electrode membrane sandwiched between an anode electrode and a cathode electrode (not shown for illustrative convenience).",
"Pure water channel 22 encloses porous separator 26 , and is partitioned by fuel gas passage 24 and air passage 25 .",
"Pure water in pure water channel 22 is circulated by pump 27 .",
"Pure water flowing in pure water channel 22 passes through porous separator 26 , and humidifies the fuel gas passing through fuel gas passage 24 and the air passing through air passage 25 .",
"As an example of a polymeric material contained within a water channel, one end of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is connected to the surface of pure water channel 22 , and forms PMMA molecular layer 23 .",
"In the PMMA molecular layer 23 , PMMA molecules are connected perpendicular to pure water channel 22 .",
"PMMA molecular layer 23 can be formed using the general method of surface treatment for attaching polymers.",
"For example, plasma treatment can be performed on separator 26 , and subsequently methyl methacrylate monomer can be polymerized to attach PMMA chains on pure water channel 22 only, so that PMMA molecular layer 23 is formed.",
"When the fuel cell is shut down, pump 27 stops, so that pure water does not circulate.",
"In this example, the PMMA molecules of the PMMA molecular layer spread out in pure water channel 22 , and form entanglement with other PMMA molecules.",
"[0031] When the atmospheric temperature surrounding a fuel cell structured as shown in FIG. 2 was lowered to −10° C., and the system was left for 8 hours, and dried hydrogen gas and air were then caused to flow, the fuel cell started to generate electricity again.",
"At the same time, circulation of pure water was started by operating pump 27 , and since the pure water had not frozen, it was immediately able to circulate.",
"Subsequently, the fuel cell operated normally at about 70° C. [0032] In another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a fuel cell structure.",
"The structure shown in FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 2 except that FIG. 3 illustrates a means for draining a water channel outside of the cell and outside of the system.",
"As shown in FIG. 3 , fuel gas passage 24 and air passage 25 are provided on either side of membrane electrode 21 .",
"Pure water channel 22 encloses porous separator 26 and is partitioned by fuel gas passage 24 and air passage 25 .",
"Pure water channel includes polymer layer 23 which is attached to the inner surface of the channel.",
"Blower 27 is connected to pure water channel 22 through lines A, B, E, and D. Pure water can be made to circulate through the cell by actuating blower 27 and three-way valves 30 and 31 .",
"Water can be drained from the cell by actuating three-way valves 30 and 31 and blower 32 .",
"[0033] Also included in the circulating water loop are pressure gauges 34 and 36 which feed a signal to pressure controller 37 which in turn controls pressure controlled values 33 and 35 .",
"As is known in the art, a computer or microprocessor can be used to control three-way valves 30 and 31 as well as pressure controller 37 and control valves 33 and 35 .",
"The apparatus shown in FIG. 3 permits recycling of pure water while the cell is functioning during a normal electricity generation mode.",
"When the cell is shut down, this apparatus can be operated such that water is drained from the cell as needed to remove excess water in the water channel that is not bound by polymer layer 23 .",
"[0034] The operation of a fuel cell with a water channel will be provided with reference to the flow diagrams of FIGS. 4 and 5 and with reference to the apparatus shown in FIG. 3 .",
"As is understood by those skill in the art, this operation can be computer controlled for optimum results in operation.",
"[0035] As seen in FIG. 4 , start-up operation begins at 50 .",
"During startup, three-way valve 30 , as shown in FIG. 3 , allows water to flow through lines A and B. Line C is closed.",
"Three-way valve 31 , shown in FIG. 3 , allows water to flow through lines D and E and closes line F. At step 51 , pump 27 is turned on which permits water to circulate through the cell.",
"At step 52 , the pressure drop in the circulating water is measured by pressure gauge 34 and 36 .",
"The pressure measurements are inputted to controller 37 .",
"At step 53 , pressure control valves 33 and 35 , are operated by controller 37 to maintain a predetermined pressure in the circulating flow of water circulating through the cell.",
"[0036] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating the operations of the fuel cell of FIG. 3 during a shut down operation.",
"As seen in FIG. 5 , shut down begins at step 60 with the stopping of pump 27 .",
"At step 61 , three-way valve 30 is set so that line A and line C are opened and line B is closed.",
"Three-way valve 31 is set so that lines D and F are open and line E is closed.",
"At step 62 , blower 32 is operated.",
"At step 63 , the pressure in the water channel is monitored by pressure gauges 34 and 36 which sends a signal to controller 37 which in turn operates control valves 33 and 35 to ensure a predetermined pressure range.",
"At step 64 , a decision is made whether enough time has elapsed.",
"The elapsed time can be preset and can depend on such factors as the volume of water in the water channel, the amount of polymer contained in the water channel, the amount of water necessary to operate the cell at start up, the outside temperature, etc.",
"all of which can be empirically predetermined.",
"If the drainage time has not elapsed, the system returns to step 64 .",
"If the time has elapsed, the system goes to step 65 which halts blower 32 .",
"[0037] Reference is now made to the following examples for illustrative purposes.",
"EXAMPLE 1 [0038] In this example, a fuel cell stack having cells with a basic structure shown in FIG. 2 was used.",
"The cells differ in that one end of N-isopropyl acrylamide is connected to the surface of the pure water channel rather than PMMA.",
"The N-isopropyl acrylamide was attached to the channel wall by plasma polymerization.",
"This fuel cell stack was operated by the procedure shown in FIG. 6 .",
"After startup at room temperature, the cell is operated at about 70° C., and is subsequently shut down.",
"After shutdown, the atmospheric temperature surrounding the fuel cell is lowered to −20° C. The N-isopropyl acrylamide undergoes volume phase transition at about 40° C., and expands in the pure water channel.",
"After maintaining the cell for 8 hours at −20° C., dried hydrogen gas and air at 40° C. were caused to flow, which caused the cell to start generating electricity again.",
"At the stage where the fuel cell temperature reaches 40° C., pure water starts to circulate.",
"Due to the rise in fuel cell temperature, the N-isopropyl acrylamide contracts in the pure water channel.",
"Due to the contraction of the N-isopropyl acrylamide, the flow rate of pure water in the pure water channel is established at the rate necessary for normal operation.",
"Subsequently, the fuel cell stack temperature reaches 70° C., and normal operation comes into effect, without a noticeable voltage drop.",
"EXAMPLE 2 [0039] In this example, a fuel cell having the basic cell structure as shown in FIG. 3 was used.",
"In addition to the implementation of example 1, three-way valve 30 , three-way valve 31 and blower 32 are set in the coolant loop.",
"Pressure gauge 34 and pressure gauge 36 are set to control pressure control valve 33 and pressure control valve 35 through pressure controller 37 .",
"During operating the fuel cell system, three-way vale 30 and three-way valve 31 are set as follows to make a loop.",
"[0000] Three-way valve 30 Three-way valve 31 Line A: Opened Line D: Opened Line B: Opened Line E: Opened Line C: Closed Line F: Closed [0040] First, three-way vale 30 and three-way valve 31 are set as follows to drain water from the fuel cell stack when the fuel cell system is shut down.",
"[0000] Three-way valve 30 Three-way valve 31 Line A: Opened Line D: Opened Line B: Closed Line E: Closed Line C: Opened Line F: Opened [0041] Secondly, blower 32 starts to drain water from fuel cell stack.",
"Blower 32 stops after a predetermined time period.",
"[0042] During operating a fuel cell system and draining water from a fuel cell stack, pressure controller 37 controls pressure control valve 33 and pressure control valve 35 to keep the pressure drop of the coolant channel inside the fuel cell stack under a predetermined pressure.",
"[0043] Only the preferred embodiment of the present invention and examples of its versatility are shown and described in the present disclosure.",
"It is to be understood that the present invention is capable of use in various other combinations and environments and is capable of changes or modifications within the scope of the inventive concept as expressed herein.",
"Thus, for example, those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain, using no more than routine experimentation, numerous equivalents to the specific procedures and arrangements described herein.",
"Such equivalents are considered to be within the scope of this invention, and are covered by the following claims."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to by-products of cleaning processes, and more specifically relates to processes for collecting the by-products resulting from cleaning processes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In a typical fabrication process for forming a transistor, before forming the two contacting regions to provide electrical paths to the two source/drain regions of the transistor, a cleaning process is performed to remove native oxide layers at bottom walls of the two contact holes. This cleaning process usually creates by-products that may contaminate the surface of the wafer. Therefore, there is a need for a collecting process to prevent these by-products from contaminating the wafer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a device fabrication process. First, an apparatus is provided which includes (a) a chamber, wherein the chamber includes a first inlet and a second inlet, (b) an anode structure in the chamber, (c) a cathode structure in the chamber, wherein the cathode structure is more negatively charged than the anode structure, and (d) a wafer on the cathode structure. Then, a cleaning gas is injected into the chamber via the first inlet. Then, a collecting gas is injected into the chamber via the second inlet. The cleaning gas when ionized has a property of etching a top surface of the wafer resulting in a by-product mixture in the chamber. The collecting gas has a property of preventing the by-product mixture from depositing back to the surface of the wafer.
The present invention also provides a fabrication apparatus. The apparatus includes (a) a chamber; (b) an anode structure in the chamber; and (c) a cathode structure in the chamber. The cathode structure is more negatively charged than the anode structure. The apparatus further includes a wafer on the cathode structure; (e) a plasma region formed between the anode structure and the cathode structure; and (f) a cleaning gas in the chamber. The plasma region includes a plasma resulting from an ionization of the cleaning gas in the plasma region. The plasma region includes (g) a collecting gas in the chamber but not in the plasma region.
The present invention provides a collecting process that prevents the by-product contamination problem of the prior art.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates a cross section view of a semiconductor structure, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic view of a chamber structure used for processing the semiconductor structure of FIG. 1 , in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 illustrates a cross section view of a semiconductor structure 100 , in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. More specifically, in one embodiment, the semiconductor structure 100 comprises a semiconductor (e.g., silicon, . . . ) substrate 110 , a first silicide region 120 a , a second silicide region 120 b , a dielectric layer 130 , a first contact hole 140 a , and a second contact hole 140 b.
In one embodiment, the dielectric layer 130 comprises silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ), silicon nitride (Si x N y ), or a low-K carbon containing material. In one embodiment, the first contact hole 140 a and the second contact hole 140 b are formed by etching the dielectric layer 130 with RIE (reactive ion etching) until the first and second silicide regions 120 a and 120 b are exposed to the surrounding ambient.
Assume that two electrical contacting regions (not shown) are to be formed in the first and second contact holes 140 a and 140 b so as to provide electrical paths down to the first and second silicide regions 120 a and 120 b , respectively. As a result, it should be noted that, the surrounding ambient usually has oxygen, therefore, the first and second silicide regions 120 a and 120 b chemically react with the oxygen of the surrounding ambient to form native silicon oxide layers (not shown) on the bottom walls of the first and second contact holes 140 a and 140 b . It should be noted that, the resultant native silicon oxide layers prevent the subsequently formed electrical contacting regions (not shown) from making good electrical contacts with the silicide regions 120 a and 120 b , respectively. As a result, in one embodiment, a cleaning process is performed to remove the native silicon oxide layers before the electrical contacting regions are formed in the first and second contact holes 140 a and 140 b . In one embodiment, the cleaning process is performed in the chamber structure 200 ( FIG. 2 ).
FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic view of a chamber structure 200 used for processing the semiconductor structure 100 of FIG. 1 , in accordance with embodiment of the present invention. More specifically, in one embodiment, the chamber structure 200 comprises a grounding shield 210 , a pedestal 230 , a collecting gas exhaust 250 , a collecting gas supply 260 a , a collecting gas inlet 260 a ′, a cleaning gas supply 260 b , a cleaning gas inlet 260 b ′, a chamber wall 270 , a radio frequency source 280 , and a ground connector 290 .
In one embodiment, the cleaning process of the semiconductor structure 100 in the chamber structure 200 is as follows. Illustratively, the cleaning process starts with the placing of the semiconductor structure 100 on top of the pedestal 230 in the chamber structure 200 as shown.
Next, in one embodiment, the grounding shield 210 is electrically grounded, and the pedestal 230 is electrically connected to the radio frequency source 280 . As a result, the pedestal 230 is negatively charged resulting in the grounding shield 210 being more electrically positive than the pedestal 230 . Therefore, the pedestal 230 becomes a cathode 230 whereas the grounding shield 210 becomes an anode 210 . As a result, an electric field is formed between the cathode 230 and the anode 210 .
Next, in one embodiment, a cleaning gas is injected from the cleaning gas supply 260 b into the chamber structure 200 via the cleaning gas inlet 260 b ′. In one embodiment, the cleaning gas inlet 260 b ′ is disposed in proximity to the wafer 110 . In one embodiment, the cleaning gas comprises argon and HF. Under an electric field energy of the electric field formed between the cathode 230 (the pedestal 230 ) and the anode 210 (the grounding shield 210 ), argon molecules are ionized resulting in a plasma region 220 . It should be noted that, the plasma region 220 includes places in the chamber structure 200 where the electric field energy is stronger than an argon-ionizing threshold.
It should be noted that the ionizing potential of Argon is about 15.8 eV. Also, the energy in the plasma region 220 can be higher than this value of 15.8 eV. This is because of the following two reasons. First, electron energy follows a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, resulting in some points in the plasma region 220 necessarily having energy higher than 15.8 eV. Second, Thermal exicitation can drive energies higher than 15.8 eV.
The ionization of the argon molecules provides electrons and argon ions for the plasma region 220 . Under the electric field energy, the electrons travel toward the grounding shield 210 (the anode 210 ). Also under the electric field energy, the argon ions travel toward the pedestal 230 (the cathode 230 ) and bombard the native silicon oxide layers of the semiconductor structure 100 .
It should be noted that, while the argon ions bombard and the HF chemically reacts with the native silicon oxide layers resulting in the native silicon oxide layers being removed, the argon ions also bombard and the HF also chemically reacts with the dielectric layer 130 of the semiconductor structure 100 resulting in by-product particles of the cleaning process.
It should be noted that, the by-product particles of the cleaning process are dispersed into inner space of the chamber structure 200 . Some of the by-product particles adhere to the chamber wall 270 while some others of the by-product particles deposit back onto the semiconductor structure 100 . The deposition back of the by-product particles to the semiconductor structure 100 is not good for the formation of the electrical contacting regions in the first and second contact holes 140 a and 140 b (with reference to FIG. 1 ). As a result, in one embodiment, a by-product collecting process is performed simultaneously with the cleaning process so as to prevent the deposition back of the by-products to the semiconductor structure 100 or to a next semiconductor structure (not shown) being subsequently processed in the chamber structure 200 .
In a first embodiment, assume that the dielectric layer 130 comprises silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ). As a result, the by-product of the cleaning process comprises silicon dioxide. It should be noted that, silicon dioxide adheres well to the chamber wall 270 . As a result, the by-product collecting process may be omitted in this case.
In a second embodiment, assume alternatively that the dielectric layer 130 comprises silicon nitride (Si x N y ). As a result, a first by-product mixture comprising N 2 , Si, and silicon nitride (Si x N y ) is created by the cleaning process. In this case, in one embodiment, during the by-product collecting process, a first collecting gas is injected from the collecting gas supply 260 a into the chamber structure 200 via the collecting gas inlet 260 a ′. In one embodiment, the collecting gas inlet 260 a ′ is disposed in proximity to the chamber wall 270 .
Illustratively, the first collecting gas comprises N 2 and NF 3 . As a result, the first collecting gas serves as a catalyst to enhance the formation of Si 3 N 4 from the first by-product mixture. It should be noted that Si 3 N 4 adheres adequately to the chamber wall 270 . As a result, this essentially prevents the first by-product mixture of the cleaning process from depositing back to the semiconductor structure 100 or to the next semiconductor structure being subsequently processed in the chamber structure 200 .
In a third embodiment, assume alternatively that the dielectric layer 130 comprises a low-K carbon containing material or more generally a carbon containing dielectric material (such as polyimide). As a result, a second by-product mixture comprising carbon (C) and carbon containing materials is created by the cleaning process. In one embodiment, during the by-product collecting process, a second collecting gas from the collecting gas supply 260 a is injected into the chamber structure 200 via the collecting gas inlet 260 a′.
In one embodiment, the second collecting gas comprises ionized hydrogen. As a result, the ionized hydrogen chemically reacts with the carbon (C) and carbon containing materials to form hydrocarbon gases. One of the resulting hydrocarbon gases can be methane (CH 4 ).
In one embodiment, the resulting hydrocarbon gases formed by the by-product collecting process are pumped out of the chamber structure 200 via the collecting gas exhaust 250 . As a result, this essentially prevents the second by-product mixture of the cleaning process from depositing back to the semiconductor structure 100 or to the next semiconductor structure being subsequently processed in the chamber structure 200 .
It should be noted that the ionized hydrogen of the second collecting gas is positively charged. It should also be noted that the plasma region 220 comprises argon ions, which are positively charged. As a result, the ionized hydrogen tends to stay away from the plasma region 220 .
In one embodiment, the first and second collecting gases are ionized before being injected into the chamber structure 200 via the collecting gas inlet 260 a ′. In one embodiment, the first and second collecting gases are injected into the chamber structure 200 but outside the plasma region 220 .
In one embodiment, the semiconductor structure 100 can be a transistor and the cleaning process and the by-product collecting process can be performed before filling the first and second contact holes 140 a and 140 b with the two electrical contacting regions.
In summary, the cleaning process to remove the native silicon oxide layers may create the unwanted by-product particles that may deposit back to the semiconductor structure 100 or to the next semiconductor structure being subsequently processed in the chamber structure 200 .
If the dielectric layer 130 comprises silicon nitride (Si x N y ), then the cleaning process creates the first by-product mixture of N 2 , Si, and silicon nitride (Si x N y ). As a result, the first collecting gas comprising N 2 and NF 3 serves as the catalyst to enhance the formation of Si 3 N 4 , which adheres adequately to the chamber wall 270 .
If the dielectric layer 130 comprises a low-K carbon containing material, then the cleaning process creates the second by-product mixture of carbon (C) and carbon containing materials. As a result, the second collecting gas comprising ionized hydrogen chemically reacts with the second by-product mixture to form hydrocarbon gases which can be simultaneously pumped out of the chamber structure 200 .
In short, the by-product collecting process essentially prevents the by-product particles of the cleaning process from depositing back to the semiconductor structure 100 or to the next semiconductor structure being subsequently processed in the chamber structure 200 .
In the embodiments described above, the cleaning gas and the collecting gas are introduced simultaneously into the chamber structure 200 via the cleaning gas supply 260 b and the collecting gas supply 260 a , respectively. Alternatively, the cleaning gas and the collecting gas can be introduced into the chamber structure 200 via a single gas inlet (not shown) alternatingly. That is a first amount of the cleaning gas is first introduced into the chamber structure 200 via the single gas inlet. Then, a second amount of the collecting gas is introduced into the chamber structure 200 via the single gas inlet. Then, a third amount of the cleaning gas is introduced into the chamber structure 200 via the single gas inlet, and so on.
In the embodiments described above, with reference to FIG. 1 , the regions 120 a and 120 b comprise a silicide material (e.g., nickel silicide). Alternatively, the regions 120 a and 120 b can comprise copper, aluminum, or tungsten, etc.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration, many modifications and changes will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to encompass all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention. | An apparatus and a method for operating the same. The method includes providing an apparatus which includes a chamber, wherein the chamber includes first and second inlets, an anode and a cathode structures in the chamber, and a wafer on the cathode structure. A cleaning gas is injected into the chamber via the first inlet. A collecting gas is injected into the chamber via the second inlet. The cleaning gas when ionized has a property of etching a top surface of the wafer resulting in a by-product mixture in the chamber. The collecting gas has a property of preventing the by-product mixture from depositing back to the surface of the wafer. | Identify and summarize the most critical technical features from the given patent document. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to by-products of cleaning processes, and more specifically relates to processes for collecting the by-products resulting from cleaning processes.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In a typical fabrication process for forming a transistor, before forming the two contacting regions to provide electrical paths to the two source/drain regions of the transistor, a cleaning process is performed to remove native oxide layers at bottom walls of the two contact holes.",
"This cleaning process usually creates by-products that may contaminate the surface of the wafer.",
"Therefore, there is a need for a collecting process to prevent these by-products from contaminating the wafer.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a device fabrication process.",
"First, an apparatus is provided which includes (a) a chamber, wherein the chamber includes a first inlet and a second inlet, (b) an anode structure in the chamber, (c) a cathode structure in the chamber, wherein the cathode structure is more negatively charged than the anode structure, and (d) a wafer on the cathode structure.",
"Then, a cleaning gas is injected into the chamber via the first inlet.",
"Then, a collecting gas is injected into the chamber via the second inlet.",
"The cleaning gas when ionized has a property of etching a top surface of the wafer resulting in a by-product mixture in the chamber.",
"The collecting gas has a property of preventing the by-product mixture from depositing back to the surface of the wafer.",
"The present invention also provides a fabrication apparatus.",
"The apparatus includes (a) a chamber;",
"(b) an anode structure in the chamber;",
"and (c) a cathode structure in the chamber.",
"The cathode structure is more negatively charged than the anode structure.",
"The apparatus further includes a wafer on the cathode structure;",
"(e) a plasma region formed between the anode structure and the cathode structure;",
"and (f) a cleaning gas in the chamber.",
"The plasma region includes a plasma resulting from an ionization of the cleaning gas in the plasma region.",
"The plasma region includes (g) a collecting gas in the chamber but not in the plasma region.",
"The present invention provides a collecting process that prevents the by-product contamination problem of the prior art.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 illustrates a cross section view of a semiconductor structure, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.",
"FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic view of a chamber structure used for processing the semiconductor structure of FIG. 1 , in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIG. 1 illustrates a cross section view of a semiconductor structure 100 , in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.",
"More specifically, in one embodiment, the semiconductor structure 100 comprises a semiconductor (e.g., silicon, .",
") substrate 110 , a first silicide region 120 a , a second silicide region 120 b , a dielectric layer 130 , a first contact hole 140 a , and a second contact hole 140 b. In one embodiment, the dielectric layer 130 comprises silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ), silicon nitride (Si x N y ), or a low-K carbon containing material.",
"In one embodiment, the first contact hole 140 a and the second contact hole 140 b are formed by etching the dielectric layer 130 with RIE (reactive ion etching) until the first and second silicide regions 120 a and 120 b are exposed to the surrounding ambient.",
"Assume that two electrical contacting regions (not shown) are to be formed in the first and second contact holes 140 a and 140 b so as to provide electrical paths down to the first and second silicide regions 120 a and 120 b , respectively.",
"As a result, it should be noted that, the surrounding ambient usually has oxygen, therefore, the first and second silicide regions 120 a and 120 b chemically react with the oxygen of the surrounding ambient to form native silicon oxide layers (not shown) on the bottom walls of the first and second contact holes 140 a and 140 b .",
"It should be noted that, the resultant native silicon oxide layers prevent the subsequently formed electrical contacting regions (not shown) from making good electrical contacts with the silicide regions 120 a and 120 b , respectively.",
"As a result, in one embodiment, a cleaning process is performed to remove the native silicon oxide layers before the electrical contacting regions are formed in the first and second contact holes 140 a and 140 b .",
"In one embodiment, the cleaning process is performed in the chamber structure 200 ( FIG. 2 ).",
"FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic view of a chamber structure 200 used for processing the semiconductor structure 100 of FIG. 1 , in accordance with embodiment of the present invention.",
"More specifically, in one embodiment, the chamber structure 200 comprises a grounding shield 210 , a pedestal 230 , a collecting gas exhaust 250 , a collecting gas supply 260 a , a collecting gas inlet 260 a ′, a cleaning gas supply 260 b , a cleaning gas inlet 260 b ′, a chamber wall 270 , a radio frequency source 280 , and a ground connector 290 .",
"In one embodiment, the cleaning process of the semiconductor structure 100 in the chamber structure 200 is as follows.",
"Illustratively, the cleaning process starts with the placing of the semiconductor structure 100 on top of the pedestal 230 in the chamber structure 200 as shown.",
"Next, in one embodiment, the grounding shield 210 is electrically grounded, and the pedestal 230 is electrically connected to the radio frequency source 280 .",
"As a result, the pedestal 230 is negatively charged resulting in the grounding shield 210 being more electrically positive than the pedestal 230 .",
"Therefore, the pedestal 230 becomes a cathode 230 whereas the grounding shield 210 becomes an anode 210 .",
"As a result, an electric field is formed between the cathode 230 and the anode 210 .",
"Next, in one embodiment, a cleaning gas is injected from the cleaning gas supply 260 b into the chamber structure 200 via the cleaning gas inlet 260 b ′.",
"In one embodiment, the cleaning gas inlet 260 b ′ is disposed in proximity to the wafer 110 .",
"In one embodiment, the cleaning gas comprises argon and HF.",
"Under an electric field energy of the electric field formed between the cathode 230 (the pedestal 230 ) and the anode 210 (the grounding shield 210 ), argon molecules are ionized resulting in a plasma region 220 .",
"It should be noted that, the plasma region 220 includes places in the chamber structure 200 where the electric field energy is stronger than an argon-ionizing threshold.",
"It should be noted that the ionizing potential of Argon is about 15.8 eV.",
"Also, the energy in the plasma region 220 can be higher than this value of 15.8 eV.",
"This is because of the following two reasons.",
"First, electron energy follows a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, resulting in some points in the plasma region 220 necessarily having energy higher than 15.8 eV.",
"Second, Thermal exicitation can drive energies higher than 15.8 eV.",
"The ionization of the argon molecules provides electrons and argon ions for the plasma region 220 .",
"Under the electric field energy, the electrons travel toward the grounding shield 210 (the anode 210 ).",
"Also under the electric field energy, the argon ions travel toward the pedestal 230 (the cathode 230 ) and bombard the native silicon oxide layers of the semiconductor structure 100 .",
"It should be noted that, while the argon ions bombard and the HF chemically reacts with the native silicon oxide layers resulting in the native silicon oxide layers being removed, the argon ions also bombard and the HF also chemically reacts with the dielectric layer 130 of the semiconductor structure 100 resulting in by-product particles of the cleaning process.",
"It should be noted that, the by-product particles of the cleaning process are dispersed into inner space of the chamber structure 200 .",
"Some of the by-product particles adhere to the chamber wall 270 while some others of the by-product particles deposit back onto the semiconductor structure 100 .",
"The deposition back of the by-product particles to the semiconductor structure 100 is not good for the formation of the electrical contacting regions in the first and second contact holes 140 a and 140 b (with reference to FIG. 1 ).",
"As a result, in one embodiment, a by-product collecting process is performed simultaneously with the cleaning process so as to prevent the deposition back of the by-products to the semiconductor structure 100 or to a next semiconductor structure (not shown) being subsequently processed in the chamber structure 200 .",
"In a first embodiment, assume that the dielectric layer 130 comprises silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ).",
"As a result, the by-product of the cleaning process comprises silicon dioxide.",
"It should be noted that, silicon dioxide adheres well to the chamber wall 270 .",
"As a result, the by-product collecting process may be omitted in this case.",
"In a second embodiment, assume alternatively that the dielectric layer 130 comprises silicon nitride (Si x N y ).",
"As a result, a first by-product mixture comprising N 2 , Si, and silicon nitride (Si x N y ) is created by the cleaning process.",
"In this case, in one embodiment, during the by-product collecting process, a first collecting gas is injected from the collecting gas supply 260 a into the chamber structure 200 via the collecting gas inlet 260 a ′.",
"In one embodiment, the collecting gas inlet 260 a ′ is disposed in proximity to the chamber wall 270 .",
"Illustratively, the first collecting gas comprises N 2 and NF 3 .",
"As a result, the first collecting gas serves as a catalyst to enhance the formation of Si 3 N 4 from the first by-product mixture.",
"It should be noted that Si 3 N 4 adheres adequately to the chamber wall 270 .",
"As a result, this essentially prevents the first by-product mixture of the cleaning process from depositing back to the semiconductor structure 100 or to the next semiconductor structure being subsequently processed in the chamber structure 200 .",
"In a third embodiment, assume alternatively that the dielectric layer 130 comprises a low-K carbon containing material or more generally a carbon containing dielectric material (such as polyimide).",
"As a result, a second by-product mixture comprising carbon (C) and carbon containing materials is created by the cleaning process.",
"In one embodiment, during the by-product collecting process, a second collecting gas from the collecting gas supply 260 a is injected into the chamber structure 200 via the collecting gas inlet 260 a′.",
"In one embodiment, the second collecting gas comprises ionized hydrogen.",
"As a result, the ionized hydrogen chemically reacts with the carbon (C) and carbon containing materials to form hydrocarbon gases.",
"One of the resulting hydrocarbon gases can be methane (CH 4 ).",
"In one embodiment, the resulting hydrocarbon gases formed by the by-product collecting process are pumped out of the chamber structure 200 via the collecting gas exhaust 250 .",
"As a result, this essentially prevents the second by-product mixture of the cleaning process from depositing back to the semiconductor structure 100 or to the next semiconductor structure being subsequently processed in the chamber structure 200 .",
"It should be noted that the ionized hydrogen of the second collecting gas is positively charged.",
"It should also be noted that the plasma region 220 comprises argon ions, which are positively charged.",
"As a result, the ionized hydrogen tends to stay away from the plasma region 220 .",
"In one embodiment, the first and second collecting gases are ionized before being injected into the chamber structure 200 via the collecting gas inlet 260 a ′.",
"In one embodiment, the first and second collecting gases are injected into the chamber structure 200 but outside the plasma region 220 .",
"In one embodiment, the semiconductor structure 100 can be a transistor and the cleaning process and the by-product collecting process can be performed before filling the first and second contact holes 140 a and 140 b with the two electrical contacting regions.",
"In summary, the cleaning process to remove the native silicon oxide layers may create the unwanted by-product particles that may deposit back to the semiconductor structure 100 or to the next semiconductor structure being subsequently processed in the chamber structure 200 .",
"If the dielectric layer 130 comprises silicon nitride (Si x N y ), then the cleaning process creates the first by-product mixture of N 2 , Si, and silicon nitride (Si x N y ).",
"As a result, the first collecting gas comprising N 2 and NF 3 serves as the catalyst to enhance the formation of Si 3 N 4 , which adheres adequately to the chamber wall 270 .",
"If the dielectric layer 130 comprises a low-K carbon containing material, then the cleaning process creates the second by-product mixture of carbon (C) and carbon containing materials.",
"As a result, the second collecting gas comprising ionized hydrogen chemically reacts with the second by-product mixture to form hydrocarbon gases which can be simultaneously pumped out of the chamber structure 200 .",
"In short, the by-product collecting process essentially prevents the by-product particles of the cleaning process from depositing back to the semiconductor structure 100 or to the next semiconductor structure being subsequently processed in the chamber structure 200 .",
"In the embodiments described above, the cleaning gas and the collecting gas are introduced simultaneously into the chamber structure 200 via the cleaning gas supply 260 b and the collecting gas supply 260 a , respectively.",
"Alternatively, the cleaning gas and the collecting gas can be introduced into the chamber structure 200 via a single gas inlet (not shown) alternatingly.",
"That is a first amount of the cleaning gas is first introduced into the chamber structure 200 via the single gas inlet.",
"Then, a second amount of the collecting gas is introduced into the chamber structure 200 via the single gas inlet.",
"Then, a third amount of the cleaning gas is introduced into the chamber structure 200 via the single gas inlet, and so on.",
"In the embodiments described above, with reference to FIG. 1 , the regions 120 a and 120 b comprise a silicide material (e.g., nickel silicide).",
"Alternatively, the regions 120 a and 120 b can comprise copper, aluminum, or tungsten, etc.",
"While particular embodiments of the present invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration, many modifications and changes will become apparent to those skilled in the art.",
"Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to encompass all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a hollow fiber module with at least one bundle of hollow fibers made in a U shape, in which the two end regions of each of the hollow fibers are embedded in a sealing compound body and the exits of the hollow fibers open at their two ends are located on the outer end face of the sealing compound body. More specifically, it relates to a hollow fiber module adapted for gas, vapor or liquid suspension filtration, cross flow filtration, gas separation, isolation of gas from a liquid, mass transfer, or heat exchange.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Hollow fiber modules with hollow fibers made in a U shape--also called hairpin-shaped--are known in the art, for example as so-called dead-end filter candles, the microporous wall of the hollow fibers functioning as the actual filter agent.
Hollow fibers with a thin wall or with semipermeable or selective properties are as a rule also described as hollow fiber membranes, membranes in hollow fiber form, as capillary membranes in the case of small diameters and in similar terms. Such membranes having the last mentioned properties are also described as nonporous or dense membranes.
In hollow fibers, the separation (filtering) can take place from the outside inwards, that is to say into the interior (lumen) of the hollow fibers, but also in the converse direction. All dead-end separation devices (filters) of this type here have the common feature that the filtrate or permeate can be continuously discharged until the filter agent is exhausted, while the part or parts of the starting medium (non-filtrate), which has or have been separated off (filtered off), remain(s) in the outer space surrounding the hollow fibers or in the hollow fibers, and is or are sometimes deposited on the filter surface and sometimes form(s) a filter layer (filter cake) and is or are not likewise discharged continuously as, for example, in crossflow filtration. This is the reason for the name dead-end.
It has proved to be a disadvantage in the known hollow fiber modules with hollow fibers made in a U shape that the hollow fiber bundle takes up a substantially greater volume in the region of the substantially semicircular bend of the hollow fibers than in the region of the embedding of the end regions of the hollow fibers. Depending on the number of hollow fibers, such hollow fiber bundles therefore have a very pronounced pear shape. This has the consequence that the housing in which such a hollow fiber module is to be installed must have substantially greater dimensions, and in the case of a round crossection also a substantially greater diameter than the dimensions (the diameter) of the sealing compound body would require. This means that the space requirement of the known hollow fiber modules with hollow fibers made in a U shape is relatively large, which amounts to a not inconsiderable part of the costs in large-scale plants with a multiplicity of such hollow fiber modules.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore the object underlying the present invention to provide a hollow fiber module of the generic type with a substantially smaller space requirement, with the surface area remaining the same.
This object is achieved, according to the invention, by a hollow fiber module of the type described at the outset, wherein each hollow fiber bundle comprises of at least two part bundles, the part bundles having different average lengths, the hollow fibers being arranged essentially in the form of layers at least in the region of the substantially semicircular bend. These regions of at least two part bundles are located in another layer, the layers extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the module, the longitudinal axes of the layers and the longitudinal axis of the module approximately coinciding and--as viewed in the longitudinal direction--the layers forming an angle between them.
The part bundles can contain hollow fibers of equal length within one part bundle, so that the part bundles then have different lengths. However, the part bundles can also contain hollow fibers of different lengths, so that they nevertheless then contain different average lengths. Thus, it is readily possible here that individual hollow fibers of different part bundles have the same lengths, but that is to say the average, the mean, length of all the hollow fibers of one bundle is in every case greater or smaller than the mean (average) length of another part bundle.
Because the part bundles are, in a manner of speaking, in an intertwined arrangement, less space (volume) is required for the region in which the hollow fibers are bent in a substantially semicircular manner.
The module is produced in such a way that initially one or more hollow fiber bundles is or are produced by successively arranging part bundles. The end regions of the hollow fibers are then embedded (welded or cast) in a curable sealing compound and, after curing of the sealing compound, material is then removed from the outer end face of the sealing compound body formed in this way until the open hollow fibers are exposed. Before embedding, the hollow fibers can still or already be (have been) filled with a liquid, and a solid or active substance or medium.
For the purpose of easier processing, the hollow fibers of the part bundles can preferably be held together, for example, by previously adhesively bonding or welding the hollow fiber ends to one another or tying them together by means of a string.
The precise way of producing a hollow fiber bundle for the hollow fiber module according to the invention is described below in the detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the Figures.
In the hollow fiber module according to the invention, it is also possible for a plurality of hollow fiber bundles to be held by a common sealing compound body, each of which bundles includes, according to the invention, at least two part bundles.
By means of the hollow fiber module according to the invention, for example, so-called bag filters can be replaced, several of which are frequently arranged on a common base. The hollow fiber module according to the invention furthermore has the advantage that it has a substantially greater filter area per volume than the bag filters.
The hollow fiber bundle can be surrounded, i.e. enclosed, by a fabric enveloper or nonwoven envelope, or sheath, which acts as a pre-filter when the flow through the hollow fibers is from the outside inwards. The sheath can be woven, knitted or made of a fibrous fleece material. Moreover, the hollow fiber bundle can, alternatively or additionally, be surrounded by a grid-like guard shield or perforated protective jacket for protection from mechanical damage.
The part bundles can also have been formed from hollow fiber tapes or hollow fiber mats, which were produced by a weaving or knitting process and then rolled up to form the part bundles, before they are assembled to give a hollow fiber bundle for the module according to the invention.
With advantage, however, the hollow fiber module can also be designed and used as a cross-flow (micro) filter or as a mass exchanger and/or heat exchanger. For this purpose, one of the open ends of each of the hollow fibers must be spatially separated from the other open ends thereof so that flow through the hollow fibers is possible and the medium in the form of gas, vapor or liquid, which enters the hollow fibers, can be kept separate from that emerging from the hollow fibers. This is achieved, for example, by means of a partition which is provided on the outer end face of the sealing compound body and which, for example in interaction with a housing surrounding the module, subdivides the space adjoining the end face into a feed and distribution chamber and a collecting and discharge chamber.
A hollow fiber module of such a design is suitable in the use of corresponding hollow fibers for gas separation or for separating gas from liquids, which gas is in the form of gas bubbles or also in a dissolved form or chemically bound form. For separating gas components from a gas mixture, so-called nonporous membranes are used here, but for separating gas bubbles from a liquid, porous to microporous membranes are as a rule used. For the removal of dissolved or chemically bound gases from liquids, both porous and non-porous membranes can be used.
It is also possible to fill the hollow fibers of the module with a substance in the form of a solid, liquid, vapor and/or gas, then to seal the hollow fibers and to subject the hollow fiber module brought into this form then to mass transfer and/or heat transfer.
The hollow fiber module preferably is designed as an exchangeable or replaceable filter candle which can be releasably installed in a housing or an open container and, when the performance drops or after exhaustion, can be discarded, cleaned or regenerated in some other way.
In the region of the longitudinal axis of the module, the hollow fiber bundle can have a so-called core or, if appropriate, a perforated core tube, but it can also be coreless.
In a usual filter candle, the number of the hollow fibers per bundle can be 2,000 to 2,500, but it can also be substantially more or less. A usual degree of filling (packing density) is here in the region from 50 to 60%. A suitable hollow fiber diameter is, for example, 0.6 mm on the inside and 1 mm on the outside. In an example, the length of the filter candle was about 215 mm (about 10 inches) and the diameter was about 65 mm.
The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the appended drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a hollow fiber module in side view.
FIG. 2 shows a section through the hollow fiber bundle in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the hollow fiber module in longitudinal section.
FIG. 4 shows a hollow fiber module with an envelope.
FIG. 5 shows a hollow module with a guard shield.
FIG. 6 shows a hollow fiber module installed in a housing.
FIG. 7 shows a device for producing a hollow fiber bundle for the hollow fiber module.
FIG. 8 shows the end face of a hollow fiber module with a partition in plan view.
FIG. 9 shows the hollow fiber bundle end in the region of the bend in plan view.
In the figures, the same parts are provided with the same item numbers. For this reason, not every part is mentioned in every figure, if it has already been mentioned before.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The hollow fiber module shown in FIG. 1 includes the hollow fibers 1 which are made in a U shape (hairpin-shaped), the two end regions of which are embedded in the sealing compound body 2 made in the form of a flange. The exits of the hollow fibers 1 open at their two ends are located on the outer end face 3 of the sealing compound body 2. In the region 4, where the hollow fibers 1 are bent substantially in a semicircle, individual part bundles can be seen. It can also be clearly seen that the hollow fibers 1 belonging to different part bundles cross each other in this region 4 and form a crossing angle.
FIG. 2 shows the hollow fiber bundle according to FIG. 1 in a cross-section along the line II--II in FIG. 1. The illustration shows that the hollow fiber bundle consists of five part bundles 1a; 1b; 1c; 1d and 1e in total. The dashed lines indicate two layers in which the regions 4 are located in which the hollow fibers 1 are bent substantially in a semicircle. The illustration shows that the layers form an angle a with one another. It would also be possible to say that--as viewed in the longitudinal direction of the hollow fiber module--the individual part bundles are, at least in the region of the semicircular bend of the hollow fibers, each arranged with a twist by the angle a.
FIG. 3 shows a hollow fiber module in which the hollow fiber bundle comprises six part bundles 1a to 1f in total. The layers, in which the semicircularly bent regions 4 of the hollow fibers 1 are arranged, here form an angle of substantially 90° with one another. The sealing compound body 2 is here provided with a sealing surface 5 of conical shape.
The hollow fiber module shown in FIG. 4 corresponds to that shown in FIG. 1, the hollow fiber bundle here being enclosed by an envelope or sheath which can include woven fabric, knitted fabric, nonwoven material, fibrous fleece or the like. However, only a part of this envelope 6 is shown.
FIG. 5 shows a hollow fiber module which corresponds to that shown in FIG. 1, the hollow fiber bundle here being surrounded by a perforated guard shield or protective jacket 7 for protecting the hollow fibers 1 from mechanical damage. Only part of the guard shield 7 is shown.
FIG. 6 shows--in a partially sectional manner of illustration--a hollow fiber module which substantially corresponds to that shown in FIG. 3 and which is releasably installed in a housing 8. A connection adaptor 9 is located on the side of the housing 8 which is at the bottom in the illustration. It would be equally possible to provide a flange or another connecting element at this point. In the upper housing part, the hollow fiber module is fixed by means of the ring nut 10. Sealing of the chamber 11 surrounding the hollow fibers 1 is effected by means of the O-ring seal 12 which is forced against the conical sealing surface 5 of the sealing compound body 2.
The device shown in FIG. 7 for producing a hollow fiber bundle from part bundles for the hollow fiber module consists of the base plate 17, a bar 15 which is fixed at its lower end perpendicularly to the base plate 17 and to the upper end of bar 15 the hemispherical cap 16 is fixed, and of the six rods 13 which point upwards like spiders, legs in uniform distribution around cap 16. This device enables a hollow fiber bundle to be produced in which the layers, which are formed by the semicircularly bent sections of the hollow fibers, form an angle of 60° with one another. Any desired number of part bundles can here be, in a manner of speaking, stacked above one another. The semicircular bend in the middle of the hollow fibers is supported by the cap 16.
The production of a hollow fiber bundle from part bundles is carried out in the following way: a first part bundle 1a is inserted through the first and fourth gap 14 between the rods 13 in such a way that the middle of the hollow fibers rests in the upper region of the cap 16 and the unbent sections of the hollow fibers hang down freely. A second part bundle (not shown), the hollow fibers of which can now already have a greater average length, is then laid in the same way on top of the first part bundle 1a, but through the second and fifth gap 14. A third part bundle (likewise not shown), to which otherwise the comments given for the second part bundle apply, is laid on top of the second part bundle, but through the third and sixth gap 14. A fourth part bundle can then be laid again through the first and fourth gap 14 on top of the third part bundle, etc., until a hollow fiber bundle having the desired number of hollow fibers has been formed. In the illustration shown, this can then be pulled out upwards, for which purpose the rods 13 can first have been removed, to make it easier. Subsequently, the embedding of the end regions of the hollow fibers, in the manner described above and known per se, and the further processing to give the hollow fiber module according to the invention take place.
FIG. 8 shows a plan view of the outer end face 3 of the sealing compound body 2 of a hollow fiber module, in the case of which one of the open ends 19 of each of the hollow fibers is spatially separated from the other open ends 20 thereof by the partition (in section) 18, so that flow through the hollow fibers from the open ends 19 to the open ends 20 or vice versa is possible. In interaction with a housing, which is not shown and surrounds the module, this partition 18 subdivides the space, which adjoins the outer end face 3 and which is bounded by the housing which is bounded by the housing which is not shown, into a feed and distribution chamber and a collecting and discharge chamber.
In FIG. 9, the end of a hollow fiber bundle in the region of the substantially semicircular bend of the hollow fibers is shown in plan view, the hollow fiber bundle comprising three part bundles 1a, 1b and 1c, as resulting, for example, when the device shown in FIG. 7 is used. It will again be seen very clearly that the layers (dashed lines), in which the bent regions of the hollow fibers are arranged or, expressed in other words, the layers which are formed by these regions, for an angle of 60° with one another.
It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described and that other modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the scope of the invention is to be limited only the appended claims. | A hollow fiber module with at least one bundle of hollow fibers made in a U shape, in which each hollow fiber bundle comprises at least two part bundles of different average lengths, the hollow fibers arranged essentially in the form of layers at least in the region of the bend of the U shape, the layers extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the module, the longitudinal axes of the layers and the longitudinal axis of the module approximately coinciding and the layers forming an angle between them when viewed longitudinally. An apparatus and process for making the hollow fiber module are also disclosed. | Briefly summarize the invention's components and working principles as described in the document. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a hollow fiber module with at least one bundle of hollow fibers made in a U shape, in which the two end regions of each of the hollow fibers are embedded in a sealing compound body and the exits of the hollow fibers open at their two ends are located on the outer end face of the sealing compound body.",
"More specifically, it relates to a hollow fiber module adapted for gas, vapor or liquid suspension filtration, cross flow filtration, gas separation, isolation of gas from a liquid, mass transfer, or heat exchange.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Hollow fiber modules with hollow fibers made in a U shape--also called hairpin-shaped--are known in the art, for example as so-called dead-end filter candles, the microporous wall of the hollow fibers functioning as the actual filter agent.",
"Hollow fibers with a thin wall or with semipermeable or selective properties are as a rule also described as hollow fiber membranes, membranes in hollow fiber form, as capillary membranes in the case of small diameters and in similar terms.",
"Such membranes having the last mentioned properties are also described as nonporous or dense membranes.",
"In hollow fibers, the separation (filtering) can take place from the outside inwards, that is to say into the interior (lumen) of the hollow fibers, but also in the converse direction.",
"All dead-end separation devices (filters) of this type here have the common feature that the filtrate or permeate can be continuously discharged until the filter agent is exhausted, while the part or parts of the starting medium (non-filtrate), which has or have been separated off (filtered off), remain(s) in the outer space surrounding the hollow fibers or in the hollow fibers, and is or are sometimes deposited on the filter surface and sometimes form(s) a filter layer (filter cake) and is or are not likewise discharged continuously as, for example, in crossflow filtration.",
"This is the reason for the name dead-end.",
"It has proved to be a disadvantage in the known hollow fiber modules with hollow fibers made in a U shape that the hollow fiber bundle takes up a substantially greater volume in the region of the substantially semicircular bend of the hollow fibers than in the region of the embedding of the end regions of the hollow fibers.",
"Depending on the number of hollow fibers, such hollow fiber bundles therefore have a very pronounced pear shape.",
"This has the consequence that the housing in which such a hollow fiber module is to be installed must have substantially greater dimensions, and in the case of a round crossection also a substantially greater diameter than the dimensions (the diameter) of the sealing compound body would require.",
"This means that the space requirement of the known hollow fiber modules with hollow fibers made in a U shape is relatively large, which amounts to a not inconsiderable part of the costs in large-scale plants with a multiplicity of such hollow fiber modules.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore the object underlying the present invention to provide a hollow fiber module of the generic type with a substantially smaller space requirement, with the surface area remaining the same.",
"This object is achieved, according to the invention, by a hollow fiber module of the type described at the outset, wherein each hollow fiber bundle comprises of at least two part bundles, the part bundles having different average lengths, the hollow fibers being arranged essentially in the form of layers at least in the region of the substantially semicircular bend.",
"These regions of at least two part bundles are located in another layer, the layers extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the module, the longitudinal axes of the layers and the longitudinal axis of the module approximately coinciding and--as viewed in the longitudinal direction--the layers forming an angle between them.",
"The part bundles can contain hollow fibers of equal length within one part bundle, so that the part bundles then have different lengths.",
"However, the part bundles can also contain hollow fibers of different lengths, so that they nevertheless then contain different average lengths.",
"Thus, it is readily possible here that individual hollow fibers of different part bundles have the same lengths, but that is to say the average, the mean, length of all the hollow fibers of one bundle is in every case greater or smaller than the mean (average) length of another part bundle.",
"Because the part bundles are, in a manner of speaking, in an intertwined arrangement, less space (volume) is required for the region in which the hollow fibers are bent in a substantially semicircular manner.",
"The module is produced in such a way that initially one or more hollow fiber bundles is or are produced by successively arranging part bundles.",
"The end regions of the hollow fibers are then embedded (welded or cast) in a curable sealing compound and, after curing of the sealing compound, material is then removed from the outer end face of the sealing compound body formed in this way until the open hollow fibers are exposed.",
"Before embedding, the hollow fibers can still or already be (have been) filled with a liquid, and a solid or active substance or medium.",
"For the purpose of easier processing, the hollow fibers of the part bundles can preferably be held together, for example, by previously adhesively bonding or welding the hollow fiber ends to one another or tying them together by means of a string.",
"The precise way of producing a hollow fiber bundle for the hollow fiber module according to the invention is described below in the detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the Figures.",
"In the hollow fiber module according to the invention, it is also possible for a plurality of hollow fiber bundles to be held by a common sealing compound body, each of which bundles includes, according to the invention, at least two part bundles.",
"By means of the hollow fiber module according to the invention, for example, so-called bag filters can be replaced, several of which are frequently arranged on a common base.",
"The hollow fiber module according to the invention furthermore has the advantage that it has a substantially greater filter area per volume than the bag filters.",
"The hollow fiber bundle can be surrounded, i.e. enclosed, by a fabric enveloper or nonwoven envelope, or sheath, which acts as a pre-filter when the flow through the hollow fibers is from the outside inwards.",
"The sheath can be woven, knitted or made of a fibrous fleece material.",
"Moreover, the hollow fiber bundle can, alternatively or additionally, be surrounded by a grid-like guard shield or perforated protective jacket for protection from mechanical damage.",
"The part bundles can also have been formed from hollow fiber tapes or hollow fiber mats, which were produced by a weaving or knitting process and then rolled up to form the part bundles, before they are assembled to give a hollow fiber bundle for the module according to the invention.",
"With advantage, however, the hollow fiber module can also be designed and used as a cross-flow (micro) filter or as a mass exchanger and/or heat exchanger.",
"For this purpose, one of the open ends of each of the hollow fibers must be spatially separated from the other open ends thereof so that flow through the hollow fibers is possible and the medium in the form of gas, vapor or liquid, which enters the hollow fibers, can be kept separate from that emerging from the hollow fibers.",
"This is achieved, for example, by means of a partition which is provided on the outer end face of the sealing compound body and which, for example in interaction with a housing surrounding the module, subdivides the space adjoining the end face into a feed and distribution chamber and a collecting and discharge chamber.",
"A hollow fiber module of such a design is suitable in the use of corresponding hollow fibers for gas separation or for separating gas from liquids, which gas is in the form of gas bubbles or also in a dissolved form or chemically bound form.",
"For separating gas components from a gas mixture, so-called nonporous membranes are used here, but for separating gas bubbles from a liquid, porous to microporous membranes are as a rule used.",
"For the removal of dissolved or chemically bound gases from liquids, both porous and non-porous membranes can be used.",
"It is also possible to fill the hollow fibers of the module with a substance in the form of a solid, liquid, vapor and/or gas, then to seal the hollow fibers and to subject the hollow fiber module brought into this form then to mass transfer and/or heat transfer.",
"The hollow fiber module preferably is designed as an exchangeable or replaceable filter candle which can be releasably installed in a housing or an open container and, when the performance drops or after exhaustion, can be discarded, cleaned or regenerated in some other way.",
"In the region of the longitudinal axis of the module, the hollow fiber bundle can have a so-called core or, if appropriate, a perforated core tube, but it can also be coreless.",
"In a usual filter candle, the number of the hollow fibers per bundle can be 2,000 to 2,500, but it can also be substantially more or less.",
"A usual degree of filling (packing density) is here in the region from 50 to 60%.",
"A suitable hollow fiber diameter is, for example, 0.6 mm on the inside and 1 mm on the outside.",
"In an example, the length of the filter candle was about 215 mm (about 10 inches) and the diameter was about 65 mm.",
"The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the appended drawings.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a hollow fiber module in side view.",
"FIG. 2 shows a section through the hollow fiber bundle in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the hollow fiber module in longitudinal section.",
"FIG. 4 shows a hollow fiber module with an envelope.",
"FIG. 5 shows a hollow module with a guard shield.",
"FIG. 6 shows a hollow fiber module installed in a housing.",
"FIG. 7 shows a device for producing a hollow fiber bundle for the hollow fiber module.",
"FIG. 8 shows the end face of a hollow fiber module with a partition in plan view.",
"FIG. 9 shows the hollow fiber bundle end in the region of the bend in plan view.",
"In the figures, the same parts are provided with the same item numbers.",
"For this reason, not every part is mentioned in every figure, if it has already been mentioned before.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The hollow fiber module shown in FIG. 1 includes the hollow fibers 1 which are made in a U shape (hairpin-shaped), the two end regions of which are embedded in the sealing compound body 2 made in the form of a flange.",
"The exits of the hollow fibers 1 open at their two ends are located on the outer end face 3 of the sealing compound body 2.",
"In the region 4, where the hollow fibers 1 are bent substantially in a semicircle, individual part bundles can be seen.",
"It can also be clearly seen that the hollow fibers 1 belonging to different part bundles cross each other in this region 4 and form a crossing angle.",
"FIG. 2 shows the hollow fiber bundle according to FIG. 1 in a cross-section along the line II--II in FIG. 1. The illustration shows that the hollow fiber bundle consists of five part bundles 1a;",
"1b;",
"1c;",
"1d and 1e in total.",
"The dashed lines indicate two layers in which the regions 4 are located in which the hollow fibers 1 are bent substantially in a semicircle.",
"The illustration shows that the layers form an angle a with one another.",
"It would also be possible to say that--as viewed in the longitudinal direction of the hollow fiber module--the individual part bundles are, at least in the region of the semicircular bend of the hollow fibers, each arranged with a twist by the angle a. FIG. 3 shows a hollow fiber module in which the hollow fiber bundle comprises six part bundles 1a to 1f in total.",
"The layers, in which the semicircularly bent regions 4 of the hollow fibers 1 are arranged, here form an angle of substantially 90° with one another.",
"The sealing compound body 2 is here provided with a sealing surface 5 of conical shape.",
"The hollow fiber module shown in FIG. 4 corresponds to that shown in FIG. 1, the hollow fiber bundle here being enclosed by an envelope or sheath which can include woven fabric, knitted fabric, nonwoven material, fibrous fleece or the like.",
"However, only a part of this envelope 6 is shown.",
"FIG. 5 shows a hollow fiber module which corresponds to that shown in FIG. 1, the hollow fiber bundle here being surrounded by a perforated guard shield or protective jacket 7 for protecting the hollow fibers 1 from mechanical damage.",
"Only part of the guard shield 7 is shown.",
"FIG. 6 shows--in a partially sectional manner of illustration--a hollow fiber module which substantially corresponds to that shown in FIG. 3 and which is releasably installed in a housing 8.",
"A connection adaptor 9 is located on the side of the housing 8 which is at the bottom in the illustration.",
"It would be equally possible to provide a flange or another connecting element at this point.",
"In the upper housing part, the hollow fiber module is fixed by means of the ring nut 10.",
"Sealing of the chamber 11 surrounding the hollow fibers 1 is effected by means of the O-ring seal 12 which is forced against the conical sealing surface 5 of the sealing compound body 2.",
"The device shown in FIG. 7 for producing a hollow fiber bundle from part bundles for the hollow fiber module consists of the base plate 17, a bar 15 which is fixed at its lower end perpendicularly to the base plate 17 and to the upper end of bar 15 the hemispherical cap 16 is fixed, and of the six rods 13 which point upwards like spiders, legs in uniform distribution around cap 16.",
"This device enables a hollow fiber bundle to be produced in which the layers, which are formed by the semicircularly bent sections of the hollow fibers, form an angle of 60° with one another.",
"Any desired number of part bundles can here be, in a manner of speaking, stacked above one another.",
"The semicircular bend in the middle of the hollow fibers is supported by the cap 16.",
"The production of a hollow fiber bundle from part bundles is carried out in the following way: a first part bundle 1a is inserted through the first and fourth gap 14 between the rods 13 in such a way that the middle of the hollow fibers rests in the upper region of the cap 16 and the unbent sections of the hollow fibers hang down freely.",
"A second part bundle (not shown), the hollow fibers of which can now already have a greater average length, is then laid in the same way on top of the first part bundle 1a, but through the second and fifth gap 14.",
"A third part bundle (likewise not shown), to which otherwise the comments given for the second part bundle apply, is laid on top of the second part bundle, but through the third and sixth gap 14.",
"A fourth part bundle can then be laid again through the first and fourth gap 14 on top of the third part bundle, etc.",
", until a hollow fiber bundle having the desired number of hollow fibers has been formed.",
"In the illustration shown, this can then be pulled out upwards, for which purpose the rods 13 can first have been removed, to make it easier.",
"Subsequently, the embedding of the end regions of the hollow fibers, in the manner described above and known per se, and the further processing to give the hollow fiber module according to the invention take place.",
"FIG. 8 shows a plan view of the outer end face 3 of the sealing compound body 2 of a hollow fiber module, in the case of which one of the open ends 19 of each of the hollow fibers is spatially separated from the other open ends 20 thereof by the partition (in section) 18, so that flow through the hollow fibers from the open ends 19 to the open ends 20 or vice versa is possible.",
"In interaction with a housing, which is not shown and surrounds the module, this partition 18 subdivides the space, which adjoins the outer end face 3 and which is bounded by the housing which is bounded by the housing which is not shown, into a feed and distribution chamber and a collecting and discharge chamber.",
"In FIG. 9, the end of a hollow fiber bundle in the region of the substantially semicircular bend of the hollow fibers is shown in plan view, the hollow fiber bundle comprising three part bundles 1a, 1b and 1c, as resulting, for example, when the device shown in FIG. 7 is used.",
"It will again be seen very clearly that the layers (dashed lines), in which the bent regions of the hollow fibers are arranged or, expressed in other words, the layers which are formed by these regions, for an angle of 60° with one another.",
"It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described and that other modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.",
"Thus, the scope of the invention is to be limited only the appended claims."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an improved means of joining, or stacking, a plurality of structural, fluid, and/or electrical components. The invention can be used, in one example, to assemble components of a hydraulic control system.
Hydraulic control systems typically include a combination of fluid components, such as valves, actuators, pumps, and the like. The function of a particular hydraulic system is determined not only by the operation of the individual components, but also by their sequence or arrangement with respect to the flow path of fluid.
A control system is typically positioned between the source of the pressurized fluid (such as a pump), and the actuator that does the work (such as a linear cylinder or rotary motor). The control system dictates how the pressurized fluid will behave at the actuator, i.e. when the actuator will see pressurized fluid, at what pressure, how fast this pressure will ramp up or ramp down, at what flow rate, whether the flow will be constant or variable, in what direction the fluid will flow, etc.
Valve stacks have been a popular means of organizing the valves in a control system. Valve functions are separated and placed in their own body or envelope. These envelopes have opposing surfaces machined in a manner that allows fluid communication between them. Traditionally, these envelopes are stacked on a particular station of a manifold, with each station dedicated to a particular actuator. Thus, a four-station manifold would divide and control the fluid flow to four separate actuators.
The flow of fluid may be a round trip from the manifold, through the lowest valve element in the stack to the highest, and back again to the manifold, with each valve in the stack performing a particular function along the way. Separate channels would be provided in each valve element.
In practice, the last valve in a stack has often been a solenoid operated directional control valve. The other valves in the stack would be sandwiched between the directional control valve and the manifold.
The above-described stack configuration has significant problems. Long bolts or tie rods have been used to hold the components of a stack together, keeping them firmly abutted against their corresponding position on the manifold. For stacks containing many valve elements, this arrangement is problematic, as stretching of the bolt or tie-rod could cause the mating surfaces of adjacent valve envelopes to separate and leak. Also, the labor required in sizing and cutting thread stock for tie rods is considerable.
Stacking bolts have been used in the past to address the above problems. In a typical arrangement, a stacking bolt includes a head which has been hollowed and threaded, so that a fastening bolt, connected to a component above the first, could be screwed into the threaded portion of the stacking bolt. In principle, the system could include a series of bolts, each bolt being screwed into the head of an adjacent bolt. In effect, one replaces a long bolt or tie rod with a sequence of shorter bolts, each one being screwed to an adjacent bolt.
Stacking bolts have their own disadvantages, however, especially when a stack needs to be taken apart for servicing. The need for such servicing is common. For example, the electrical solenoid of a solenoid-operated directional control valve is prone to failure due to misapplication, and the solenoid often must be replaced. As this valve element is often the last in a stack, theoretically replacing the solenoid operated directional control valve should not be difficult. However, with the use of multiple stacking bolts in series, one is never certain which threaded connection in the series will loosen. When one unscrews the top bolt in the stack, it may not necessarily be the last set of stacking bolts associated with the directional control valve that loosens, but rather a bolt or bolts further down in the stack. This effect can cause leakage after the stack has been reassembled.
In recent years, larger manifolds that contain all the valve elements as cartridges have replaced stacks. Such a manifold comprises one monolithic piece of aluminum, steel, or cast iron. Each valve element is represented by a cartridge that is threaded into this manifold, and any cartridge may be removed for servicing, individually, without disturbing any other valve element. Although this type of monolithic manifold does solve the problems of stacked valve elements as described above, it can be quite expensive to design, and is not practical in short production runs where the engineering and machine set-up time can only be amortized over a few items. Thus it is not practical for prototype machines, or specialized or short production run machinery.
Furthermore, the design and machining of the above-described manifolds can be quite challenging. The design of complex manifolds often requires solid modeling software and experienced solid modeling engineers. The machining must be accomplished on very expensive numerically controlled four and five axis machining centers. Moreover, a machining error on the very last hole or cavity of the manifold can render the entire manifold scrap.
The flow paths within the above-described manifolds can be quite convoluted, with narrow bores having compound angles often necessary to connect the appropriate portions of the cartridge type valve elements. The pressure drops through these flow paths can be high, and often a large amount of potential work within the hydraulic fluid is wasted as heat.
Thus, in many circumstances, a valve stack arrangement is preferable to a monolithic manifold assembly.
A solution to some of the above-described problems with valve stack arrangements is provided by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,848,405 and 4,934,411, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein. Briefly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,405 describes an adapter plate within which a fastening bolt screws into the head of a stacking bolt below it. A resilient insert is located within the bore in the adapter plate, at the location where the bolts are screwed together. The insert causes the stacking bolt to be tightly held in a given position, such that when the fastening bolt is unscrewed, the torque exerted in unscrewing the fastening bolt does not cause rotation of the stacking bolt below. In effect, the insert stabilizes each joint, preventing unintended turning of bolts in the stack.
But the above-described solution has disadvantages. First, it is generally not compatible with mounting patterns made according to industry standards for directional control valves. The stacking arrangements of the prior art were conceived to be used with SAE, square, or other standard flange, tube, pipe, or hose mounting patterns, but not with industry standard directional control valve patterns where the distance between the bolt holes and the fluid channels are lessened. Generally, solenoid operated directional control valves used in valve stacks as described above are provided with industry standard fluid channel patterns (for example, D03, D05, etc.). These standards are delineated in ANSI/B93.7M-1986, entitled Hydraulic Fluid Power-Valves-Mounting interfaces. Each standard interface is defined by a group of fluid channel diameters and locations (i.e. pressure, tank, the work ports A and B, and pilot channels x and y), as well as mounting hole and locating pin locations and thread specifications.
The method of stacking described in the above-cited patents is not compatible with the above-mentioned industry standard valve-mounting interfaces. The enlarged bore portion of either the main body or the adapter portion that accommodates both the wrenching portion (i.e. the head) of the stacking bolt and the rotation resisting insert is of such a size that it interferes with either the locating pin, or comes unacceptably close to an O-ring cavity of a fluid port. There are literally millions of valves with these mounting interfaces in use today that are not compatible for use with the stacking systems of the above-cited patents.
Achieving such compatibility is not simply a matter of decreasing the outside diameter of the rotation-resisting insert. Doing so results in an insert that is too thin for the amount of deformation required to hold the stacking bolt firmly against rotation. Furthermore, the amount of deformation required in a thinner insert may result in permanent deformation of the insert and impair the ability to re-use the insert.
The solution proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,405 presents additional difficulties. The interior surface of the insert described above is keyed to the outside of the stacking bolt, and the polar orientation of the stacking bolts are unknown prior to installation. For this reason, the insert is provided as a separate piece from the adapter, with no reliable means for keeping it together with the adapter during shipping. Thus, an insert of this kind is frequently lost during transportation or handling.
Still another problem with the above solution is the difficulty of pressing the adapter plate onto the insert, while the insert is installed around the head of the stacking bolt. The insert is intentionally designed such that its outer diameter exceeds the inner diameter of the bore within which it is intended to sit, to insure a tight fit. But this tightness makes it very difficult to install the plate over the insert. An ideal solution to this problem is to use the fastening bolts, associated with the fluid component immediately above the adapter, as a jack. That is, one tightens the adapter plate by screwing the fastening bolt into the stacking bolt, and this tightening action forces the adapter plate into abutment with the fluid component below. However, this approach is generally not effective, because the fastening bolt is almost never long enough to serve adequately as a jack.
Still another problem with the use of the resilient insert described above is its tendency to become extruded when wedged between the head of the stacking bolt and the bore of the adapter plate. In particular, the material defining the insert sometimes becomes extruded upward, interfering with the seal between the adapter plate and the directional control valve (or other fluid component) located above the adapter plate. This effect ultimately leads to leakage of hydraulic fluid.
The present invention comprises an improvement to the stacking arrangement described above, and solves the above-mentioned problems. The invention may be used with standard hydraulic fluid power valve mounting interfaces. In addition, it may be used with SAE, square or other standard mounting patterns, and due to its advantages, it may be preferable for use with these patterns as well. More generally, the invention can be used in assembling many combinations of mechanical, hydraulic, and electrical components.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention comprises an assembly of structural, fluid, and/or electrical components.
In one preferred embodiment, the invention comprises a stack of fluid components, wherein the stack includes a component having a stacking bolt, and a component having a fastening bolt, the fastening bolt being capable of being screwed into a hollowed head of the stacking bolt. The connection of the bolts is accomplished within the bore of an adapter plate. A resilient, annular insert is attached to the head of the stacking bolt, and therefore occupies the space between the head and the bore, thus preventing rotation of the stacking bolt when the fastening bolt is turned. At least a portion of the bore of the adapter plate is tapered, such that the diameter of the bore at or near the superior surface of the adapter plate is less than the diameter of the bore at or near the inferior surface. The insert has corners having a chamfer, the chamfer defining an incline having an angle which is the same as, or approximately the same as, the angle made by the taper of the bore, in the vicinity of the superior surface, the angle being relative to the axis of the bore.
The above-described arrangement tends to prevent the insert from becoming lost during transportation or storage, because the insert can be wedged into the reduced diameter region of the bore produced by the taper, and tends to remain in this position due to friction. Also, as this reduced diameter region is located near the superior surface of the adapter plate, this construction tends to prevent upward extrusion of the material of the insert during assembly of the stack.
As noted above, due to the reduction in diameter effected by the taper, the hole in the superior surface of the adapter plate has a smaller diameter than the corresponding hole on the inferior surface. In particular, the hole on the superior surface is smaller than that provided in the industry standard patterns used in the prior art. Therefore, this arrangement prevents interference between fluid components, while still allowing the adapter plate to be used with fluid components having industry standard directional control valve mounting patterns.
The invention also includes a stacking kit, which can be used to form stacks of fluid components made according to the prior art. The kit includes the adapter plate as described above, one or more resilient inserts, and one or more stacking bolts.
The present invention therefore has the primary object of providing an assembly of structural, fluid, and/or electrical components, wherein components of the assembly can be easily removed for maintenance or replacement, without compromising the integrity of the other components of the assembly.
The invention has the further object of providing a stack of components, as described above.
The invention has the further object of providing an adapter plate for use in constructing a stack or assembly of components, the adapter plate having structure for assuring the integrity of seals in the assembly when the assembly is disassembled.
The invention has the further object of providing an improved stack or assembly having a resilient insert for locking the position of a stacking bolt, wherein the insert is unlikely to be lost, dislodged, or misplaced during transportation or storage.
The invention has the further object of providing a stacking kit for the stacking of conventional fluid components.
The invention has the further object of improving the efficiency and reliability of stacks or assemblies comprising structural, fluid, and/or electrical components.
The invention has the further object of enhancing the integrity of stacks of structural, fluid, and/or electrical components.
The invention has the further object of preventing leakage in stacks of fluid components, due to disassembly of such stacks for maintenance or for other purposes.
The invention has the further object of reducing or eliminating the labor required in sizing and cutting tie rods or thread stock.
The reader skilled in the art will recognize other objects and advantages of the present invention, from a reading of the following brief description of the drawings, the detailed description of the invention, and the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 provides a diagram representing a pattern of fluid ports and mounting holes, according to an industry standard, when used in connection with a stacking arrangement of the prior art.
FIG. 2 provides another diagram, similar to that of FIG. 1 , representing another pattern of fluid ports and mounting holes, according to another industry standard, as used with a stacking arrangement of the prior art.
FIG. 3 provides a side elevational view of a stack of fluid components, constructed according to the present invention.
FIG. 4A provides a more detailed, cross-sectional view of the adapter plate shown in FIG. 3 , the figure showing a stacking bolt and a rotation-resisting resilient insert affixed to the bolt.
FIG. 4B provides a view similar to that of FIG. 4A , but wherein the stacking bolt is not yet engaged with the resilient insert.
FIG. 4C provides a view similar to those of FIGS. 4A and 4B , but wherein the components are shown in an exploded configuration.
FIG. 5 provides a diagram analogous to that of FIG. 1 , but wherein the diameters of the mounting holes on the superior surface of an adapter plate have been reduced, in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 6 provides a diagram analogous to that of FIG. 2 , but wherein the diameters of the mounting holes on the superior surface of an adapter plate have been reduced, in accordance with the present invention.
FIGS. 7A , 7 B, and 7 C show a top view, and cross-sectional views taken from the side and the end, of the adapter plate of the present invention.
FIG. 8 provides an exploded view of a stack of fluid components, according to the present invention.
FIGS. 9-12A provide diagrams showing the sequence of an assembly process of the stack of the present invention. FIG. 9 shows a manifold used with a directional control valve. FIG. 10 shows a valve attached to the manifold. FIG. 11 shows an adapter plate being inserted atop the valve. FIG. 12 shows a directional control valve installed over the adapter plate, but wherein the adapter plate has not yet been brought into abutment with the valve below. FIG. 12A illustrates the condition wherein the components have all been brought into full abutment.
FIG. 13 provides a cross-sectional view showing the relationship between the rotation resisting insert and the bore in the adapter plate into which the insert is to be pressed.
FIG. 13A provides a cross-sectional view, and a detailed cross-sectional view, of the adapter plate of the present invention, showing a tapered bore.
FIG. 13B provides a cross-sectional and detailed cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 13A , but showing a stepped bore.
FIG. 14 provides a cross-sectional view, and a detail, showing the adapter plate of the present invention, in which the outside diameter of the insert is essentially the same as the diameter of the bore in the adapter plate.
FIG. 15 provides a diagram, analogous to FIG. 6 , showing the present invention as used with an assembly including hydraulic and electrical components.
FIG. 16 provides a diagram showing the components of a stacking kit, made according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides means for mechanical fastening and locking of assemblies comprising structural, fluid, and/or electrical components. One such assembly comprises a stack of components. In the following description, the embodiment described in the most detail will be a stack of fluid components. However, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to use exclusively with stacks of fluid components or other components, and that the concept of the invention can be broadly applied to assemblies having components which are mechanical, electrical, and/or hydraulic in nature.
A stack of fluid components, according to a representative embodiment of the present invention, is shown in FIG. 3 , and in the corresponding exploded view shown in FIG. 8 . At the bottom of the stack is a manifold plate 21 , which is shown with ports 22 (labeled “T” for “tank”) and 23 (labeled “P” for “pressure”). In the example shown, ports 22 and 23 provide fluid connections to a fluid tank and a pump. A valve module 24 is positioned above the manifold and in contact therewith. An adapter plate 25 is positioned above the valve module. A directional control valve 26 is located above the adapter plate.
A directional control valve is typically used to control the direction of movement of various components, and may be used, for example, in controlling the operation of a bulldozer or backhoe, or in controlling the operation of a flight control surface of an aircraft, or for other purposes. In general, a directional control valve directs pressurized hydraulic fluid through a selected path so that the fluid causes a specific component to move in a certain direction. In the present application, the directional control valve is used as an example of a device which can comprise a major element of a stack of fluid components. However, the invention is not limited to use with directional control valves. Such valve could be replaced by another fluid component, or by a plurality of such components. In this specification, it is understood that the term “directional control valve” is used only as an example of a fluid component which could be present in a stack.
It should also be understood that FIG. 3 shows one of many possible stacks of fluid components. Thus, valve module 24 could be replaced by a larger number of such valves. The stack could have a plurality of adapter plates, positioned at various locations in the stack. The present invention is intended for use in any of a large number of configurations of stacks of fluid components.
The adapter plate 25 , which will be shown and described in more detail later, includes a plurality of bores which accommodate stacking bolts 27 . The stacking bolts extend from within the adapter plate, passing through the valve module 24 , and enter the manifold 21 . The stacking bolt has a head, the exterior portion of which is typically polygonal (such as hexagonal) in shape. The head of the stacking bolt has a hollowed area which is provided with threads, so as to accommodate a fastening bolt 28 which is screwed into the head of the stacking bolt. Typically, the fastening bolt is supplied with the component being assembled into the stack, such as the directional control valve. A resilient annular insert 29 is installed around the exterior of the head of the stacking bolt, and is therefore located between the head of the stacking bolt and the bore of the adapter plate. The insert is used to resist rotation of the stacking bolt, when the fastening bolt above it is turned. The insert is preferably made of a deformable material such as nylon or polyethylene. The adapter plate has a superior surface 46 and an inferior surface 47 , these surfaces being generally parallel to each other. The superior and inferior surfaces of the adapter plate are preferably made to be compatible with a standard hydraulic valve-mounting interface, so that the directional control valve, or other component, which has a standard configuration of ports, will fit with this interface.
FIGS. 4A-4C provide detailed, cross-sectional views of the adapter plate, stacking bolt, and resilient insert. FIG. 4A shows an assembly of the stacking bolt 27 , the adapter plate 25 , and the rotation resisting insert 29 . FIG. 4B shows the stacking bolt 27 separate from the assembly comprising the adapter plate 25 and the rotation resisting insert 29 . This is the preferred way that these components are delivered to an end user, with the insert pre-assembled into the adapter plate. FIG. 4C provides an exploded view of all three components.
An important feature of the present invention is that the bore of the adapter plate has a taper. The taper is continuous, and is plainly visible in FIG. 4C , which shows tapered wall 31 , but is also shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B . As shown most clearly in FIG. 4C , the taper may be provided only in the vicinity of the superior surface of the adapter plate, with the majority of the bore being of generally constant diameter. More details about the function and advantages of the tapered construction will be provided later.
The natural (i.e. undeformed) outside diameter of the insert 29 is slightly larger than the inside diameter of the bore of the adapter plate 25 . The insert 29 is pressed into the bore until it is stopped by the taper in the bore. The interference between the insert and the bore holds the insert, by friction, within the bore both axially and radially.
The outside diameter of the head of the stacking bolt is larger than the inside diameter of the insert. Therefore, when the stacking bolt is driven into the rotation-resisting insert, the insert material is deformed around the vertices of the polygonal head, and resists rotation of the stacking bolt. Engaging the bolts of the component above provides the force required to drive the polygonal head of the stacking bolt into the rotation resisting insert.
FIGS. 7A-7C show an adapter plate 41 with its associated rotation resisting inserts 42 assembled within as the end user receives it. The adapter plate includes a bolt hole configuration which corresponds to an appropriate industry standard. In particular, holes 43 are used for mounting the adapter plate to adjacent components, and holes 44 comprise fluid port holes for providing fluid connections between components.
FIGS. 7B and 7C show the taper at the ends of the bores, formed in the adapter plate, which bores receive the wrenching portion (i.e. the polygonal head) of a stacking bolt. The taper decreases the diameter of the hole at the superior surface of the adapter plate, so that the hole does not interfere with sealing O-rings on the adjacent component. The taper also serves a secondary purpose in that it limits axial displacement of the insert. That is, the taper prevents extrusion of the insert material above the plane defined by the superior surface of the adapter plate. Such extrusion may interfere with the seals at the component interface. This taper, and limiting of axial displacement, is also useful during assembly, as it lends itself to mechanical automation of the assembly process in the factory. The inserts may be pressed into their respective bores until they come in contact with the taper.
FIGS. 7A and 7C also show slots 45 formed near the inferior surface of the adapter plate. When the adapter plate has been jacked down to abut an opposing surface, these slots 45 define recesses into which a screwdriver, or the like, can be inserted to pry the adapter plate loose, when it is necessary to disassemble the stack. This arrangement essentially provides the leverage necessary to disengage the resilient insert from the heads of the stacking bolt heads.
The same effect could be accomplished by other means. For example, one could provide an additional threaded hole in the adapter plate, the hole being perpendicular to the superior and inferior surfaces of the plate, and one can put a small setscrew within this hole. The setscrew could then be used as a jack to pry the adapter plate away from the component beneath. Such screws are commercially available with brass or nylon tips so as not to mar the finish of the superior surface of the components underneath.
FIGS. 9-12A show the sequence of steps in the assembly of the stack of the present invention. The process begins with manifold plate 51 , shown in FIG. 9 , the manifold being typical for use with stacks containing a directional control valve. FIG. 10 shows the same manifold 51 with a valve element 52 held in place by means of stacking bolts 53 . More than one valve element may be provided in series here. For example, two or three valve elements could be stacked on top of the appropriate station on the manifold and held in place by a set of stacking bolts.
FIG. 11 shows an assembly comprising an adapter plate 54 and rotation-resisting inserts 55 , placed atop the stacking bolts 53 . Absent any significant axial force, the inferior surface 56 of this adapter plate will rest above the superior surface 57 of the valve element due to the interference between the inside diameter of the inserts and the outside diameter of the stacking bolts.
FIG. 12 shows the addition of a directional control valve 58 and engagement of its associated bolts, including fastening bolts 59 . Full engagement of the bolts will result in the axial force necessary to deform the insert material around the head of the stacking bolt 53 , and to bring the adapter plate 54 and valve element 52 into direct contact. In FIG. 12A , the bolts have been fully engaged, and the components are in complete sealing abutment.
The cross-sectional view of FIG. 13 shows the relative diameters of the rotation resisting insert 61 and the bore 63 of the adapter plate 62 . The insert is to be pressed into bore 63 . The figure shows the desirability of a chamfer 64 at the leading edge of the insert, to facilitate introduction into the bore. The chamfer is provided on all corners of the insert, as shown, so that the insert can be installed in the bore of the adapter plate, without taking its orientation into account.
FIG. 13A shows a cross-sectional view similar to that of FIG. 13 , but showing the insert fully installed within the bore. FIG. 13A also contains a detail, illustrating more clearly the taper of the bore. Specifically, the detail shows tapered surface 70 of the bore of the adapter plate, the tapered surface generally mating with the chamfered portion of the insert 71 . That is, the tapered surface makes an angle, relative to the longitudinal axis of the bore, which is the same, or approximately the same, as the angle made by the chamfered surface relative to the longitudinal axis of the insert.
Note also that, in the preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 13 and 13A , most of the bore has a constant diameter, and the taper is present only in a small portion of the bore, near the superior surface of the adapter plate. The invention is not limited to this structure; the taper could occupy a greater proportion of the bore than what is shown in the figures, if desired.
FIG. 13B shows an alternative embodiment, in which the bore of the adapter plate is stepped and not tapered. FIG. 13B shows step 82 which contacts insert 81 . This embodiment has some advantages over the prior art, but is far less advantageous than the tapered embodiment, as will be discussed later.
One advantage of the tapered construction of the bore of the adapter plate is that it effectively reduces the diameter of the hole associated with the bore, on the superior (upper) surface of the adapter plate. This reduction in diameter enables the present invention to be used with standard port configurations, but without interference between components. This feature is illustrated by FIGS. 1 , 2 , 5 , and 6 .
FIG. 1 shows a standard valve-mounting interface 1 , known in the industry by the designation “D03”, representing an ANSI standard. This figure does not represent one component, per se, but comprises a pattern of bolt and port holes which would be present at an interface in a stack of fluid components. Holes 2 , 3 , 4 , and 5 comprise bolt holes, i.e. holes used for mounting a fluid component to an adjacent component. These holes therefore correspond to the stacking bolts used in a fluid component stack, and to the bores of the adapter plate. Holes 7 , 8 , 9 , and 10 are fluid port holes, i.e. holes which allow fluids to flow from one component to the next. Hole 6 represents the position of a locating pin, which may be provided with one of the fluid components. For example, many fluid components with symmetrical or mirror-image fluid bore patterns (such as the pattern labeled D03) have a locating pin to prevent them from being installed incorrectly. A directional control valve, with a D03 pattern in particular, normally has a locating pin extending from its inferior surface. FIG. 1 , in the latter example, represents fluid ports at the interface between the inferior surface of the directional control valve, and the superior surface of the adapter plate.
FIG. 1 illustrates the fact that, in the prior art, the locating pin, represented by hole 6 , is tangent to, and may interfere with, one of the stacking bolts, represented by hole 4 .
FIG. 5 illustrates the corresponding pattern achieved as a result of using the present invention. The only difference between FIG. 1 and FIG. 5 is that the mounting holes, such as hole 90 , have a smaller diameter than the corresponding holes of FIG. 1 . This smaller diameter is a consequence of the tapered bore in the adapter plate. Because the mounting holes are smaller, there is space between hole 90 and hole 91 , pertaining to a locating pin, and the components mounted in these holes are unlikely to interfere with each other.
FIGS. 2 and 6 illustrate a similar principle for another standard bolt and port pattern, namely the ANSI standard known as “D05”. In this example, the standard bolt pattern includes mounting holes 12 , 13 , 14 , and 15 , corresponding to stacking bolts, and fluid port holes 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , and 20 . FIG. 2 shows that bolt hole 15 may interfere with fluid port hole 19 , and bolt hole 14 may interfere with fluid port hole 20 .
But in FIG. 6 , which shows the result of the present invention, the bolt holes are smaller, due to the reduction in diameter achieved by the tapered adapter plate, and there is no longer interference between components mounted in these holes. Specifically, there is no interference between bolt hole 92 and fluid port hole 93 .
Thus, in FIGS. 1 and 2 , there is an unacceptably small clearance between the stacking bolt bore on the superior surface of the adapter plate, and structures associated with the adjacent component. In FIGS. 5 and 6 , the clearance is larger, and sufficiently large to avoid interference. In the case of FIG. 2 , the interference may occur between the stacking bolt and the O-ring cavity on the inferior surface of the directional control valve. There is a risk of overlap, leakage, and seal extrusion in light of manufacturing tolerances.
The above discussion addresses only the interface between the superior surface of the adapter plate and the inferior surface of the directional control valve, or other fluid component, above it. However, the bore of the adapter plate is not tapered towards its inferior surface. It turns out that any problem of interference at the inferior surface can be addressed conveniently in a different way. Specifically, any O-ring seals, with their respective cavities on the inferior surface of the adapter plate, can be made smaller than those present on the control valve adjacent to the superior surface, so that they do not interfere with the bore for the rotational insert. The superior surface of the adapter plate must be made to be compatible with the large quantity of directional control valves manufactured today. But the inferior surface, being a part of the adapter plate, need not have a pattern which is identical to the standard configuration.
Thus, for example, to avoid interference at the inferior surface of the adapter plate, one could simply make the diameter of an O-ring slightly smaller. Or one could move the position of the hole, in the adapter plate very slightly, to avoid interference while still maintaining the desired fluid communication. Such modifications could not conveniently be used at the superior surface because of the need to accommodate fluid components manufactured by others according to an industry standard.
The assembly of the fluid component stack of the present invention may be summarized as follows.
The stacking bolts are engaged and wrenched to fix the fluid component(s) beneath them. The adapter plate, containing the resilient inserts, is placed over the bolt heads. Due to the interference between the inside diameter of the inserts, and the normally polygonal heads of the stacking bolts, the adapter plate will be held offset from the component below, absent any axial force from above that would deform the insert around the head of the stacking bolt.
The component above is then placed onto the superior surface of the adapter plate, and its bolts are entered into threaded engagement with the stacking bolts below. This operation drives the adapter plate downward as the rotation resisting inserts are deformed about the heads of the stacking bolts. While the fastening bolts are being tightened into the heads of the stacking bolts, the taper of the bores in the adapter plate prevents upward displacement of the insert with respect to the adapter plate. The bolts of the final component are wrenched until the inferior surface of the adapter plate is in contact with the corresponding surface of the component beneath it, and an appropriate torque is applied to the bolts.
In the above-described assembly, the superior component may be disassembled without concern that the stacking bolt beneath it may become loosened. The adapter plate and inserts are engaged with their corresponding stacking bolts. These bolts are then provided with resistance to loosening, whereas the bolts above are not. This would be true if multiple stacking bolts/adapter plate combinations were used in series. In order for a wrench to engage the head of the stacking bolt, the adapter plate/inserts must be removed, thereby exposing the head of the bolt. (This may be accomplished by providing a pair of slots at the periphery of the inferior surface of the adapter plate into which a screwdriver or the like may be inserted to pry the adapter and insert assembly off of the stacking bolts). Any stacking bolts beneath these in series will still be engaged with their respective stacking bolt and inserts. Therefore, it will be the last set of stacking bolts in a series that will loosen.
It is strongly preferred that the bore of the adapter plate be tapered, rather than stepped. The rotation-resisting insert, in its preferred embodiment, is provided with a chamfer to allow it to more easily be introduced into the bore in the adapter plate. As the outside diameter of the insert is greater than the inside diameter of the bore, it is necessary to use a press to assemble the insert into the bore. The insert is pressed into the bore until it reaches the taper or step. In the case of the stepped bore, the insert comes in contact with the step only along a small portion at the periphery of its inside diameter (see FIG. 13B ). This results in almost point loading of the cantilevered section at the maximum distance away from the wall of the bore, and results in maximum bending stress at the root of the cantilevered section. Also, the force is distributed across a small area of the insert, and may result in yielding, or coining of the material, with the possibility of extrusion above the plane of the superior surface of the adapter plate, or extrusion into the ID. Extrusion above the plane of the superior surface can interfere with apposition of the superior surface of the adapter plate and the inferior surface of the directional control valve, and result in leakage. Extrusion into the ID can result in interference with the female threaded portion of the stacking bolt, and prevent engagement of the bolts of the directional control valve.
If a step were used, as illustrated in FIG. 13B and its detailed view, it would be desirable to make the step thick enough that it does not shear off during tightening of the bolts, but thin enough so as to minimize the distance between the top of the stacking bolt and the component above. With the tapered construction, as shown in FIG. 13A , the insert can be wedged almost all the way to the superior surface of the adapter plate.
In short, when the insert reaches the tapered section of the bore, the insert is in contact with the taper along the entire tapered section (see FIG. 13A ). This even distribution of the load results in a lower bending moment at the root of the cantilevered section. Also, the insert is in contact with the tapered section of the bore over a larger area, reducing the possibility of insert yielding or coining.
Finally, the incline of the taper provides increased radial force on the stacking bolt during assembly. As the stacking bolt is driven into the insert, any slight upward axial movement of the insert results in a slight decrease in the ID of the insert at its superior aspect, with a resultant increase in radial force at the interface of the stacking bolt and insert. This of course results in higher resistance to rotation of the stacking bolt within the insert/adapter plate assembly.
Also, as the thickness of the taper at the outside diameter of the stacking bolt is less than that of the stepped bore (for similarly stressed sections), the superior surface of the bolt is closer to the superior surface of the adapter plate in the tapered configuration. Thus, it is possible to use the standard length directional control valve bolts as jacking screws in this type of assembly.
The adapter plate and the inserts are shipped complete as one unit. This overcomes objection to shipping the inserts separately where they are at risk for loss due to misplacement. Also, assembly of the insert into the adapter plate can be done more economically at the factory, using an automated process.
The rotation-resisting insert is made with a bevel or chamfer that matches the taper of the bore. This allows the insert to be more easily started into the bore during assembly, and also allows the stacking bolt to be more closely positioned to the superior surface of the adapter plate prior to engagement of the bolt from the next component.
The insert may be cemented into the bore during assembly at the factory. Alternatively, the bore may be provided with longitudinal grooves into which the insert deforms as it is inserted into the bore. Either of these means serve to prevent the insert from rotating with respect to the bore. The inside diameter of the insert is made smaller than the outside diameter of the head of the stacking bolt. Therefore, during assembly, the head displaces the insert material and therefore the head is held in place and prevented from rotating.
The material for the insert is chosen to provide a sufficiently high modulus of elasticity to prevent the stacking bolt from rotating, while at the same time providing a material that allows a significant amount of deformation without permanent yield, so that the adapter plate and its associated inserts may be used over and over. Several materials fulfill these criteria, including certain types of nylon and polyethylene. Unfortunately, these materials also have a relatively low coefficient of friction against steel. However, it was determined experimentally that the outside diameter of the insert could be made larger than the bore so that the insert was radially compressed to a sufficient degree to provide a force between the insert and the bore adequate to overcome this low coefficient of friction.
For example, the recommended torque to tighten an oiled 10-24 socket head cap screw is 3.5 foot-pounds. This 10-24 thread is used on the D03 valve interface. The torque required to turn a stacking bolt with this thread, coupled only with a nylon insert dimensioned in the manner above, was as high as 12 foot pounds, far higher than the recommended torque for a socket head cap screw of this size. Therefore, the additional torque that will resist rotation provided by an insert held against the bore by friction alone is more than sufficient to guarantee that a stacking bolt held in this manner will not loosen before a bolt that is not so engaged.
The insert is designed so that when it is in place within the bore, the resulting inside diameter of the insert is about equal to the pitch diameter of the polygonal head of the stacking bolt that it will interface with. Therefore, the volume of material displaced by the head has an equal volume of space to flow to in the valleys between the points.
FIG. 14 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention, in which the outside diameter of the insert is essentially equal to the diameter of the bore of the adapter plate. In this embodiment, the insert is cemented or glued into the bore. FIG. 14 shows insert 73 , and adapter plate 72 having a tapered bore, with the insert being affixed within the bore by adhesive bond 74 .
FIG. 15 provides a diagram, analogous to FIG. 6 , showing the invention as used in a system comprising hydraulic and electrical components. FIG. 15 shows mounting holes 102 , 103 , 104 , and 105 , and fluid port holes 106 , 107 , 108 , and 109 . The figure also includes electrical receptacle 110 . As in FIG. 6 , the mounting holes have a diameter which is smaller than comparable mounting holes of the prior art (as exemplified by FIG. 2 ), so that such holes do not interfere with the components. FIG. 15 could be generalized further to include other combinations of structural, fluid, and/or electrical components.
FIG. 16 illustrates a stacking kit made according to the present invention. The kit comprises an adapter plate 113 , a plurality of resilient inserts 111 located within the bores of the adapter plate, and a plurality of stacking bolts 112 . The adapter plate may also be provided with slots, similar to those shown in FIGS. 7A and 7C , to facilitate removal of the adapter plate from the stack. The insert, the stacking bolt, and the adapter plate have the structures discussed with respect to the other figures. As illustrated in FIG. 16 , the thickness of the adapter plate is preferably slightly greater than the height of the head of the stacking bolt. In the example shown, the adapter plate has two bores. In practice, the number of bores can be varied, it being understood that, for each bore, there is included a resilient insert and a stacking bolt.
In some applications, the adapter plate may need to be very large. In such circumstances, it may be necessary to provide a larger number of stacking bolts than what is shown in the drawings. For example, in addition to the four stacking bolts located at or near the corners of the adapter plate, it may be appropriate to place additional stacking bolts midway along each side of the plate, or in other configurations. The present invention is intended to include these alternatives.
The invention can be modified in many other ways. As stated above, the stack of fluid components shown in the drawings is only one of a very large number of possible arrangements. The present invention is not limited to one particular stack. Also, more than one adapter plate can be used, according to the needs of a particular system. These and other modifications, which will be apparent to the reader skilled in the art, should be considered within the spirit and scope of the following claims. | A stack or assembly of fluid, mechanical, and/or electrical components permits removal of some components for maintenance, without compromising the fluid integrity of the remainder of the assembly. A fastening bolt, attached to at least one fluid component, is screwed into a stacking bolt, attached to another fluid component, the bolts being screwed together inside the bore of an adapter plate. A resilient insert sits between the head of the stacking bolt and the bore. At least a portion of the bore has a continuous taper, such that the diameter of the bore decreases in the vicinity of the insert. The taper creates a reduced diameter hole on one surface of the adapter plate, thus preventing interference between fluid ports on an adjacent fluid component. The taper also prevents loss of the insert during transportation and storage, and prevents undesired extrusion of material of the insert when the components are fastened together. | Provide a concise summary of the essential information conveyed in the context. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an improved means of joining, or stacking, a plurality of structural, fluid, and/or electrical components.",
"The invention can be used, in one example, to assemble components of a hydraulic control system.",
"Hydraulic control systems typically include a combination of fluid components, such as valves, actuators, pumps, and the like.",
"The function of a particular hydraulic system is determined not only by the operation of the individual components, but also by their sequence or arrangement with respect to the flow path of fluid.",
"A control system is typically positioned between the source of the pressurized fluid (such as a pump), and the actuator that does the work (such as a linear cylinder or rotary motor).",
"The control system dictates how the pressurized fluid will behave at the actuator, i.e. when the actuator will see pressurized fluid, at what pressure, how fast this pressure will ramp up or ramp down, at what flow rate, whether the flow will be constant or variable, in what direction the fluid will flow, etc.",
"Valve stacks have been a popular means of organizing the valves in a control system.",
"Valve functions are separated and placed in their own body or envelope.",
"These envelopes have opposing surfaces machined in a manner that allows fluid communication between them.",
"Traditionally, these envelopes are stacked on a particular station of a manifold, with each station dedicated to a particular actuator.",
"Thus, a four-station manifold would divide and control the fluid flow to four separate actuators.",
"The flow of fluid may be a round trip from the manifold, through the lowest valve element in the stack to the highest, and back again to the manifold, with each valve in the stack performing a particular function along the way.",
"Separate channels would be provided in each valve element.",
"In practice, the last valve in a stack has often been a solenoid operated directional control valve.",
"The other valves in the stack would be sandwiched between the directional control valve and the manifold.",
"The above-described stack configuration has significant problems.",
"Long bolts or tie rods have been used to hold the components of a stack together, keeping them firmly abutted against their corresponding position on the manifold.",
"For stacks containing many valve elements, this arrangement is problematic, as stretching of the bolt or tie-rod could cause the mating surfaces of adjacent valve envelopes to separate and leak.",
"Also, the labor required in sizing and cutting thread stock for tie rods is considerable.",
"Stacking bolts have been used in the past to address the above problems.",
"In a typical arrangement, a stacking bolt includes a head which has been hollowed and threaded, so that a fastening bolt, connected to a component above the first, could be screwed into the threaded portion of the stacking bolt.",
"In principle, the system could include a series of bolts, each bolt being screwed into the head of an adjacent bolt.",
"In effect, one replaces a long bolt or tie rod with a sequence of shorter bolts, each one being screwed to an adjacent bolt.",
"Stacking bolts have their own disadvantages, however, especially when a stack needs to be taken apart for servicing.",
"The need for such servicing is common.",
"For example, the electrical solenoid of a solenoid-operated directional control valve is prone to failure due to misapplication, and the solenoid often must be replaced.",
"As this valve element is often the last in a stack, theoretically replacing the solenoid operated directional control valve should not be difficult.",
"However, with the use of multiple stacking bolts in series, one is never certain which threaded connection in the series will loosen.",
"When one unscrews the top bolt in the stack, it may not necessarily be the last set of stacking bolts associated with the directional control valve that loosens, but rather a bolt or bolts further down in the stack.",
"This effect can cause leakage after the stack has been reassembled.",
"In recent years, larger manifolds that contain all the valve elements as cartridges have replaced stacks.",
"Such a manifold comprises one monolithic piece of aluminum, steel, or cast iron.",
"Each valve element is represented by a cartridge that is threaded into this manifold, and any cartridge may be removed for servicing, individually, without disturbing any other valve element.",
"Although this type of monolithic manifold does solve the problems of stacked valve elements as described above, it can be quite expensive to design, and is not practical in short production runs where the engineering and machine set-up time can only be amortized over a few items.",
"Thus it is not practical for prototype machines, or specialized or short production run machinery.",
"Furthermore, the design and machining of the above-described manifolds can be quite challenging.",
"The design of complex manifolds often requires solid modeling software and experienced solid modeling engineers.",
"The machining must be accomplished on very expensive numerically controlled four and five axis machining centers.",
"Moreover, a machining error on the very last hole or cavity of the manifold can render the entire manifold scrap.",
"The flow paths within the above-described manifolds can be quite convoluted, with narrow bores having compound angles often necessary to connect the appropriate portions of the cartridge type valve elements.",
"The pressure drops through these flow paths can be high, and often a large amount of potential work within the hydraulic fluid is wasted as heat.",
"Thus, in many circumstances, a valve stack arrangement is preferable to a monolithic manifold assembly.",
"A solution to some of the above-described problems with valve stack arrangements is provided by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,848,405 and 4,934,411, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein.",
"Briefly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,405 describes an adapter plate within which a fastening bolt screws into the head of a stacking bolt below it.",
"A resilient insert is located within the bore in the adapter plate, at the location where the bolts are screwed together.",
"The insert causes the stacking bolt to be tightly held in a given position, such that when the fastening bolt is unscrewed, the torque exerted in unscrewing the fastening bolt does not cause rotation of the stacking bolt below.",
"In effect, the insert stabilizes each joint, preventing unintended turning of bolts in the stack.",
"But the above-described solution has disadvantages.",
"First, it is generally not compatible with mounting patterns made according to industry standards for directional control valves.",
"The stacking arrangements of the prior art were conceived to be used with SAE, square, or other standard flange, tube, pipe, or hose mounting patterns, but not with industry standard directional control valve patterns where the distance between the bolt holes and the fluid channels are lessened.",
"Generally, solenoid operated directional control valves used in valve stacks as described above are provided with industry standard fluid channel patterns (for example, D03, D05, etc.).",
"These standards are delineated in ANSI/B93.7M-1986, entitled Hydraulic Fluid Power-Valves-Mounting interfaces.",
"Each standard interface is defined by a group of fluid channel diameters and locations (i.e. pressure, tank, the work ports A and B, and pilot channels x and y), as well as mounting hole and locating pin locations and thread specifications.",
"The method of stacking described in the above-cited patents is not compatible with the above-mentioned industry standard valve-mounting interfaces.",
"The enlarged bore portion of either the main body or the adapter portion that accommodates both the wrenching portion (i.e. the head) of the stacking bolt and the rotation resisting insert is of such a size that it interferes with either the locating pin, or comes unacceptably close to an O-ring cavity of a fluid port.",
"There are literally millions of valves with these mounting interfaces in use today that are not compatible for use with the stacking systems of the above-cited patents.",
"Achieving such compatibility is not simply a matter of decreasing the outside diameter of the rotation-resisting insert.",
"Doing so results in an insert that is too thin for the amount of deformation required to hold the stacking bolt firmly against rotation.",
"Furthermore, the amount of deformation required in a thinner insert may result in permanent deformation of the insert and impair the ability to re-use the insert.",
"The solution proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,405 presents additional difficulties.",
"The interior surface of the insert described above is keyed to the outside of the stacking bolt, and the polar orientation of the stacking bolts are unknown prior to installation.",
"For this reason, the insert is provided as a separate piece from the adapter, with no reliable means for keeping it together with the adapter during shipping.",
"Thus, an insert of this kind is frequently lost during transportation or handling.",
"Still another problem with the above solution is the difficulty of pressing the adapter plate onto the insert, while the insert is installed around the head of the stacking bolt.",
"The insert is intentionally designed such that its outer diameter exceeds the inner diameter of the bore within which it is intended to sit, to insure a tight fit.",
"But this tightness makes it very difficult to install the plate over the insert.",
"An ideal solution to this problem is to use the fastening bolts, associated with the fluid component immediately above the adapter, as a jack.",
"That is, one tightens the adapter plate by screwing the fastening bolt into the stacking bolt, and this tightening action forces the adapter plate into abutment with the fluid component below.",
"However, this approach is generally not effective, because the fastening bolt is almost never long enough to serve adequately as a jack.",
"Still another problem with the use of the resilient insert described above is its tendency to become extruded when wedged between the head of the stacking bolt and the bore of the adapter plate.",
"In particular, the material defining the insert sometimes becomes extruded upward, interfering with the seal between the adapter plate and the directional control valve (or other fluid component) located above the adapter plate.",
"This effect ultimately leads to leakage of hydraulic fluid.",
"The present invention comprises an improvement to the stacking arrangement described above, and solves the above-mentioned problems.",
"The invention may be used with standard hydraulic fluid power valve mounting interfaces.",
"In addition, it may be used with SAE, square or other standard mounting patterns, and due to its advantages, it may be preferable for use with these patterns as well.",
"More generally, the invention can be used in assembling many combinations of mechanical, hydraulic, and electrical components.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises an assembly of structural, fluid, and/or electrical components.",
"In one preferred embodiment, the invention comprises a stack of fluid components, wherein the stack includes a component having a stacking bolt, and a component having a fastening bolt, the fastening bolt being capable of being screwed into a hollowed head of the stacking bolt.",
"The connection of the bolts is accomplished within the bore of an adapter plate.",
"A resilient, annular insert is attached to the head of the stacking bolt, and therefore occupies the space between the head and the bore, thus preventing rotation of the stacking bolt when the fastening bolt is turned.",
"At least a portion of the bore of the adapter plate is tapered, such that the diameter of the bore at or near the superior surface of the adapter plate is less than the diameter of the bore at or near the inferior surface.",
"The insert has corners having a chamfer, the chamfer defining an incline having an angle which is the same as, or approximately the same as, the angle made by the taper of the bore, in the vicinity of the superior surface, the angle being relative to the axis of the bore.",
"The above-described arrangement tends to prevent the insert from becoming lost during transportation or storage, because the insert can be wedged into the reduced diameter region of the bore produced by the taper, and tends to remain in this position due to friction.",
"Also, as this reduced diameter region is located near the superior surface of the adapter plate, this construction tends to prevent upward extrusion of the material of the insert during assembly of the stack.",
"As noted above, due to the reduction in diameter effected by the taper, the hole in the superior surface of the adapter plate has a smaller diameter than the corresponding hole on the inferior surface.",
"In particular, the hole on the superior surface is smaller than that provided in the industry standard patterns used in the prior art.",
"Therefore, this arrangement prevents interference between fluid components, while still allowing the adapter plate to be used with fluid components having industry standard directional control valve mounting patterns.",
"The invention also includes a stacking kit, which can be used to form stacks of fluid components made according to the prior art.",
"The kit includes the adapter plate as described above, one or more resilient inserts, and one or more stacking bolts.",
"The present invention therefore has the primary object of providing an assembly of structural, fluid, and/or electrical components, wherein components of the assembly can be easily removed for maintenance or replacement, without compromising the integrity of the other components of the assembly.",
"The invention has the further object of providing a stack of components, as described above.",
"The invention has the further object of providing an adapter plate for use in constructing a stack or assembly of components, the adapter plate having structure for assuring the integrity of seals in the assembly when the assembly is disassembled.",
"The invention has the further object of providing an improved stack or assembly having a resilient insert for locking the position of a stacking bolt, wherein the insert is unlikely to be lost, dislodged, or misplaced during transportation or storage.",
"The invention has the further object of providing a stacking kit for the stacking of conventional fluid components.",
"The invention has the further object of improving the efficiency and reliability of stacks or assemblies comprising structural, fluid, and/or electrical components.",
"The invention has the further object of enhancing the integrity of stacks of structural, fluid, and/or electrical components.",
"The invention has the further object of preventing leakage in stacks of fluid components, due to disassembly of such stacks for maintenance or for other purposes.",
"The invention has the further object of reducing or eliminating the labor required in sizing and cutting tie rods or thread stock.",
"The reader skilled in the art will recognize other objects and advantages of the present invention, from a reading of the following brief description of the drawings, the detailed description of the invention, and the appended claims.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 provides a diagram representing a pattern of fluid ports and mounting holes, according to an industry standard, when used in connection with a stacking arrangement of the prior art.",
"FIG. 2 provides another diagram, similar to that of FIG. 1 , representing another pattern of fluid ports and mounting holes, according to another industry standard, as used with a stacking arrangement of the prior art.",
"FIG. 3 provides a side elevational view of a stack of fluid components, constructed according to the present invention.",
"FIG. 4A provides a more detailed, cross-sectional view of the adapter plate shown in FIG. 3 , the figure showing a stacking bolt and a rotation-resisting resilient insert affixed to the bolt.",
"FIG. 4B provides a view similar to that of FIG. 4A , but wherein the stacking bolt is not yet engaged with the resilient insert.",
"FIG. 4C provides a view similar to those of FIGS. 4A and 4B , but wherein the components are shown in an exploded configuration.",
"FIG. 5 provides a diagram analogous to that of FIG. 1 , but wherein the diameters of the mounting holes on the superior surface of an adapter plate have been reduced, in accordance with the present invention.",
"FIG. 6 provides a diagram analogous to that of FIG. 2 , but wherein the diameters of the mounting holes on the superior surface of an adapter plate have been reduced, in accordance with the present invention.",
"FIGS. 7A , 7 B, and 7 C show a top view, and cross-sectional views taken from the side and the end, of the adapter plate of the present invention.",
"FIG. 8 provides an exploded view of a stack of fluid components, according to the present invention.",
"FIGS. 9-12A provide diagrams showing the sequence of an assembly process of the stack of the present invention.",
"FIG. 9 shows a manifold used with a directional control valve.",
"FIG. 10 shows a valve attached to the manifold.",
"FIG. 11 shows an adapter plate being inserted atop the valve.",
"FIG. 12 shows a directional control valve installed over the adapter plate, but wherein the adapter plate has not yet been brought into abutment with the valve below.",
"FIG. 12A illustrates the condition wherein the components have all been brought into full abutment.",
"FIG. 13 provides a cross-sectional view showing the relationship between the rotation resisting insert and the bore in the adapter plate into which the insert is to be pressed.",
"FIG. 13A provides a cross-sectional view, and a detailed cross-sectional view, of the adapter plate of the present invention, showing a tapered bore.",
"FIG. 13B provides a cross-sectional and detailed cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 13A , but showing a stepped bore.",
"FIG. 14 provides a cross-sectional view, and a detail, showing the adapter plate of the present invention, in which the outside diameter of the insert is essentially the same as the diameter of the bore in the adapter plate.",
"FIG. 15 provides a diagram, analogous to FIG. 6 , showing the present invention as used with an assembly including hydraulic and electrical components.",
"FIG. 16 provides a diagram showing the components of a stacking kit, made according to the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides means for mechanical fastening and locking of assemblies comprising structural, fluid, and/or electrical components.",
"One such assembly comprises a stack of components.",
"In the following description, the embodiment described in the most detail will be a stack of fluid components.",
"However, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to use exclusively with stacks of fluid components or other components, and that the concept of the invention can be broadly applied to assemblies having components which are mechanical, electrical, and/or hydraulic in nature.",
"A stack of fluid components, according to a representative embodiment of the present invention, is shown in FIG. 3 , and in the corresponding exploded view shown in FIG. 8 .",
"At the bottom of the stack is a manifold plate 21 , which is shown with ports 22 (labeled “T”",
"for “tank”) and 23 (labeled “P”",
"for “pressure”).",
"In the example shown, ports 22 and 23 provide fluid connections to a fluid tank and a pump.",
"A valve module 24 is positioned above the manifold and in contact therewith.",
"An adapter plate 25 is positioned above the valve module.",
"A directional control valve 26 is located above the adapter plate.",
"A directional control valve is typically used to control the direction of movement of various components, and may be used, for example, in controlling the operation of a bulldozer or backhoe, or in controlling the operation of a flight control surface of an aircraft, or for other purposes.",
"In general, a directional control valve directs pressurized hydraulic fluid through a selected path so that the fluid causes a specific component to move in a certain direction.",
"In the present application, the directional control valve is used as an example of a device which can comprise a major element of a stack of fluid components.",
"However, the invention is not limited to use with directional control valves.",
"Such valve could be replaced by another fluid component, or by a plurality of such components.",
"In this specification, it is understood that the term “directional control valve”",
"is used only as an example of a fluid component which could be present in a stack.",
"It should also be understood that FIG. 3 shows one of many possible stacks of fluid components.",
"Thus, valve module 24 could be replaced by a larger number of such valves.",
"The stack could have a plurality of adapter plates, positioned at various locations in the stack.",
"The present invention is intended for use in any of a large number of configurations of stacks of fluid components.",
"The adapter plate 25 , which will be shown and described in more detail later, includes a plurality of bores which accommodate stacking bolts 27 .",
"The stacking bolts extend from within the adapter plate, passing through the valve module 24 , and enter the manifold 21 .",
"The stacking bolt has a head, the exterior portion of which is typically polygonal (such as hexagonal) in shape.",
"The head of the stacking bolt has a hollowed area which is provided with threads, so as to accommodate a fastening bolt 28 which is screwed into the head of the stacking bolt.",
"Typically, the fastening bolt is supplied with the component being assembled into the stack, such as the directional control valve.",
"A resilient annular insert 29 is installed around the exterior of the head of the stacking bolt, and is therefore located between the head of the stacking bolt and the bore of the adapter plate.",
"The insert is used to resist rotation of the stacking bolt, when the fastening bolt above it is turned.",
"The insert is preferably made of a deformable material such as nylon or polyethylene.",
"The adapter plate has a superior surface 46 and an inferior surface 47 , these surfaces being generally parallel to each other.",
"The superior and inferior surfaces of the adapter plate are preferably made to be compatible with a standard hydraulic valve-mounting interface, so that the directional control valve, or other component, which has a standard configuration of ports, will fit with this interface.",
"FIGS. 4A-4C provide detailed, cross-sectional views of the adapter plate, stacking bolt, and resilient insert.",
"FIG. 4A shows an assembly of the stacking bolt 27 , the adapter plate 25 , and the rotation resisting insert 29 .",
"FIG. 4B shows the stacking bolt 27 separate from the assembly comprising the adapter plate 25 and the rotation resisting insert 29 .",
"This is the preferred way that these components are delivered to an end user, with the insert pre-assembled into the adapter plate.",
"FIG. 4C provides an exploded view of all three components.",
"An important feature of the present invention is that the bore of the adapter plate has a taper.",
"The taper is continuous, and is plainly visible in FIG. 4C , which shows tapered wall 31 , but is also shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B .",
"As shown most clearly in FIG. 4C , the taper may be provided only in the vicinity of the superior surface of the adapter plate, with the majority of the bore being of generally constant diameter.",
"More details about the function and advantages of the tapered construction will be provided later.",
"The natural (i.e. undeformed) outside diameter of the insert 29 is slightly larger than the inside diameter of the bore of the adapter plate 25 .",
"The insert 29 is pressed into the bore until it is stopped by the taper in the bore.",
"The interference between the insert and the bore holds the insert, by friction, within the bore both axially and radially.",
"The outside diameter of the head of the stacking bolt is larger than the inside diameter of the insert.",
"Therefore, when the stacking bolt is driven into the rotation-resisting insert, the insert material is deformed around the vertices of the polygonal head, and resists rotation of the stacking bolt.",
"Engaging the bolts of the component above provides the force required to drive the polygonal head of the stacking bolt into the rotation resisting insert.",
"FIGS. 7A-7C show an adapter plate 41 with its associated rotation resisting inserts 42 assembled within as the end user receives it.",
"The adapter plate includes a bolt hole configuration which corresponds to an appropriate industry standard.",
"In particular, holes 43 are used for mounting the adapter plate to adjacent components, and holes 44 comprise fluid port holes for providing fluid connections between components.",
"FIGS. 7B and 7C show the taper at the ends of the bores, formed in the adapter plate, which bores receive the wrenching portion (i.e. the polygonal head) of a stacking bolt.",
"The taper decreases the diameter of the hole at the superior surface of the adapter plate, so that the hole does not interfere with sealing O-rings on the adjacent component.",
"The taper also serves a secondary purpose in that it limits axial displacement of the insert.",
"That is, the taper prevents extrusion of the insert material above the plane defined by the superior surface of the adapter plate.",
"Such extrusion may interfere with the seals at the component interface.",
"This taper, and limiting of axial displacement, is also useful during assembly, as it lends itself to mechanical automation of the assembly process in the factory.",
"The inserts may be pressed into their respective bores until they come in contact with the taper.",
"FIGS. 7A and 7C also show slots 45 formed near the inferior surface of the adapter plate.",
"When the adapter plate has been jacked down to abut an opposing surface, these slots 45 define recesses into which a screwdriver, or the like, can be inserted to pry the adapter plate loose, when it is necessary to disassemble the stack.",
"This arrangement essentially provides the leverage necessary to disengage the resilient insert from the heads of the stacking bolt heads.",
"The same effect could be accomplished by other means.",
"For example, one could provide an additional threaded hole in the adapter plate, the hole being perpendicular to the superior and inferior surfaces of the plate, and one can put a small setscrew within this hole.",
"The setscrew could then be used as a jack to pry the adapter plate away from the component beneath.",
"Such screws are commercially available with brass or nylon tips so as not to mar the finish of the superior surface of the components underneath.",
"FIGS. 9-12A show the sequence of steps in the assembly of the stack of the present invention.",
"The process begins with manifold plate 51 , shown in FIG. 9 , the manifold being typical for use with stacks containing a directional control valve.",
"FIG. 10 shows the same manifold 51 with a valve element 52 held in place by means of stacking bolts 53 .",
"More than one valve element may be provided in series here.",
"For example, two or three valve elements could be stacked on top of the appropriate station on the manifold and held in place by a set of stacking bolts.",
"FIG. 11 shows an assembly comprising an adapter plate 54 and rotation-resisting inserts 55 , placed atop the stacking bolts 53 .",
"Absent any significant axial force, the inferior surface 56 of this adapter plate will rest above the superior surface 57 of the valve element due to the interference between the inside diameter of the inserts and the outside diameter of the stacking bolts.",
"FIG. 12 shows the addition of a directional control valve 58 and engagement of its associated bolts, including fastening bolts 59 .",
"Full engagement of the bolts will result in the axial force necessary to deform the insert material around the head of the stacking bolt 53 , and to bring the adapter plate 54 and valve element 52 into direct contact.",
"In FIG. 12A , the bolts have been fully engaged, and the components are in complete sealing abutment.",
"The cross-sectional view of FIG. 13 shows the relative diameters of the rotation resisting insert 61 and the bore 63 of the adapter plate 62 .",
"The insert is to be pressed into bore 63 .",
"The figure shows the desirability of a chamfer 64 at the leading edge of the insert, to facilitate introduction into the bore.",
"The chamfer is provided on all corners of the insert, as shown, so that the insert can be installed in the bore of the adapter plate, without taking its orientation into account.",
"FIG. 13A shows a cross-sectional view similar to that of FIG. 13 , but showing the insert fully installed within the bore.",
"FIG. 13A also contains a detail, illustrating more clearly the taper of the bore.",
"Specifically, the detail shows tapered surface 70 of the bore of the adapter plate, the tapered surface generally mating with the chamfered portion of the insert 71 .",
"That is, the tapered surface makes an angle, relative to the longitudinal axis of the bore, which is the same, or approximately the same, as the angle made by the chamfered surface relative to the longitudinal axis of the insert.",
"Note also that, in the preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 13 and 13A , most of the bore has a constant diameter, and the taper is present only in a small portion of the bore, near the superior surface of the adapter plate.",
"The invention is not limited to this structure;",
"the taper could occupy a greater proportion of the bore than what is shown in the figures, if desired.",
"FIG. 13B shows an alternative embodiment, in which the bore of the adapter plate is stepped and not tapered.",
"FIG. 13B shows step 82 which contacts insert 81 .",
"This embodiment has some advantages over the prior art, but is far less advantageous than the tapered embodiment, as will be discussed later.",
"One advantage of the tapered construction of the bore of the adapter plate is that it effectively reduces the diameter of the hole associated with the bore, on the superior (upper) surface of the adapter plate.",
"This reduction in diameter enables the present invention to be used with standard port configurations, but without interference between components.",
"This feature is illustrated by FIGS. 1 , 2 , 5 , and 6 .",
"FIG. 1 shows a standard valve-mounting interface 1 , known in the industry by the designation “D03”, representing an ANSI standard.",
"This figure does not represent one component, per se, but comprises a pattern of bolt and port holes which would be present at an interface in a stack of fluid components.",
"Holes 2 , 3 , 4 , and 5 comprise bolt holes, i.e. holes used for mounting a fluid component to an adjacent component.",
"These holes therefore correspond to the stacking bolts used in a fluid component stack, and to the bores of the adapter plate.",
"Holes 7 , 8 , 9 , and 10 are fluid port holes, i.e. holes which allow fluids to flow from one component to the next.",
"Hole 6 represents the position of a locating pin, which may be provided with one of the fluid components.",
"For example, many fluid components with symmetrical or mirror-image fluid bore patterns (such as the pattern labeled D03) have a locating pin to prevent them from being installed incorrectly.",
"A directional control valve, with a D03 pattern in particular, normally has a locating pin extending from its inferior surface.",
"FIG. 1 , in the latter example, represents fluid ports at the interface between the inferior surface of the directional control valve, and the superior surface of the adapter plate.",
"FIG. 1 illustrates the fact that, in the prior art, the locating pin, represented by hole 6 , is tangent to, and may interfere with, one of the stacking bolts, represented by hole 4 .",
"FIG. 5 illustrates the corresponding pattern achieved as a result of using the present invention.",
"The only difference between FIG. 1 and FIG. 5 is that the mounting holes, such as hole 90 , have a smaller diameter than the corresponding holes of FIG. 1 .",
"This smaller diameter is a consequence of the tapered bore in the adapter plate.",
"Because the mounting holes are smaller, there is space between hole 90 and hole 91 , pertaining to a locating pin, and the components mounted in these holes are unlikely to interfere with each other.",
"FIGS. 2 and 6 illustrate a similar principle for another standard bolt and port pattern, namely the ANSI standard known as “D05.”",
"In this example, the standard bolt pattern includes mounting holes 12 , 13 , 14 , and 15 , corresponding to stacking bolts, and fluid port holes 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , and 20 .",
"FIG. 2 shows that bolt hole 15 may interfere with fluid port hole 19 , and bolt hole 14 may interfere with fluid port hole 20 .",
"But in FIG. 6 , which shows the result of the present invention, the bolt holes are smaller, due to the reduction in diameter achieved by the tapered adapter plate, and there is no longer interference between components mounted in these holes.",
"Specifically, there is no interference between bolt hole 92 and fluid port hole 93 .",
"Thus, in FIGS. 1 and 2 , there is an unacceptably small clearance between the stacking bolt bore on the superior surface of the adapter plate, and structures associated with the adjacent component.",
"In FIGS. 5 and 6 , the clearance is larger, and sufficiently large to avoid interference.",
"In the case of FIG. 2 , the interference may occur between the stacking bolt and the O-ring cavity on the inferior surface of the directional control valve.",
"There is a risk of overlap, leakage, and seal extrusion in light of manufacturing tolerances.",
"The above discussion addresses only the interface between the superior surface of the adapter plate and the inferior surface of the directional control valve, or other fluid component, above it.",
"However, the bore of the adapter plate is not tapered towards its inferior surface.",
"It turns out that any problem of interference at the inferior surface can be addressed conveniently in a different way.",
"Specifically, any O-ring seals, with their respective cavities on the inferior surface of the adapter plate, can be made smaller than those present on the control valve adjacent to the superior surface, so that they do not interfere with the bore for the rotational insert.",
"The superior surface of the adapter plate must be made to be compatible with the large quantity of directional control valves manufactured today.",
"But the inferior surface, being a part of the adapter plate, need not have a pattern which is identical to the standard configuration.",
"Thus, for example, to avoid interference at the inferior surface of the adapter plate, one could simply make the diameter of an O-ring slightly smaller.",
"Or one could move the position of the hole, in the adapter plate very slightly, to avoid interference while still maintaining the desired fluid communication.",
"Such modifications could not conveniently be used at the superior surface because of the need to accommodate fluid components manufactured by others according to an industry standard.",
"The assembly of the fluid component stack of the present invention may be summarized as follows.",
"The stacking bolts are engaged and wrenched to fix the fluid component(s) beneath them.",
"The adapter plate, containing the resilient inserts, is placed over the bolt heads.",
"Due to the interference between the inside diameter of the inserts, and the normally polygonal heads of the stacking bolts, the adapter plate will be held offset from the component below, absent any axial force from above that would deform the insert around the head of the stacking bolt.",
"The component above is then placed onto the superior surface of the adapter plate, and its bolts are entered into threaded engagement with the stacking bolts below.",
"This operation drives the adapter plate downward as the rotation resisting inserts are deformed about the heads of the stacking bolts.",
"While the fastening bolts are being tightened into the heads of the stacking bolts, the taper of the bores in the adapter plate prevents upward displacement of the insert with respect to the adapter plate.",
"The bolts of the final component are wrenched until the inferior surface of the adapter plate is in contact with the corresponding surface of the component beneath it, and an appropriate torque is applied to the bolts.",
"In the above-described assembly, the superior component may be disassembled without concern that the stacking bolt beneath it may become loosened.",
"The adapter plate and inserts are engaged with their corresponding stacking bolts.",
"These bolts are then provided with resistance to loosening, whereas the bolts above are not.",
"This would be true if multiple stacking bolts/adapter plate combinations were used in series.",
"In order for a wrench to engage the head of the stacking bolt, the adapter plate/inserts must be removed, thereby exposing the head of the bolt.",
"(This may be accomplished by providing a pair of slots at the periphery of the inferior surface of the adapter plate into which a screwdriver or the like may be inserted to pry the adapter and insert assembly off of the stacking bolts).",
"Any stacking bolts beneath these in series will still be engaged with their respective stacking bolt and inserts.",
"Therefore, it will be the last set of stacking bolts in a series that will loosen.",
"It is strongly preferred that the bore of the adapter plate be tapered, rather than stepped.",
"The rotation-resisting insert, in its preferred embodiment, is provided with a chamfer to allow it to more easily be introduced into the bore in the adapter plate.",
"As the outside diameter of the insert is greater than the inside diameter of the bore, it is necessary to use a press to assemble the insert into the bore.",
"The insert is pressed into the bore until it reaches the taper or step.",
"In the case of the stepped bore, the insert comes in contact with the step only along a small portion at the periphery of its inside diameter (see FIG. 13B ).",
"This results in almost point loading of the cantilevered section at the maximum distance away from the wall of the bore, and results in maximum bending stress at the root of the cantilevered section.",
"Also, the force is distributed across a small area of the insert, and may result in yielding, or coining of the material, with the possibility of extrusion above the plane of the superior surface of the adapter plate, or extrusion into the ID.",
"Extrusion above the plane of the superior surface can interfere with apposition of the superior surface of the adapter plate and the inferior surface of the directional control valve, and result in leakage.",
"Extrusion into the ID can result in interference with the female threaded portion of the stacking bolt, and prevent engagement of the bolts of the directional control valve.",
"If a step were used, as illustrated in FIG. 13B and its detailed view, it would be desirable to make the step thick enough that it does not shear off during tightening of the bolts, but thin enough so as to minimize the distance between the top of the stacking bolt and the component above.",
"With the tapered construction, as shown in FIG. 13A , the insert can be wedged almost all the way to the superior surface of the adapter plate.",
"In short, when the insert reaches the tapered section of the bore, the insert is in contact with the taper along the entire tapered section (see FIG. 13A ).",
"This even distribution of the load results in a lower bending moment at the root of the cantilevered section.",
"Also, the insert is in contact with the tapered section of the bore over a larger area, reducing the possibility of insert yielding or coining.",
"Finally, the incline of the taper provides increased radial force on the stacking bolt during assembly.",
"As the stacking bolt is driven into the insert, any slight upward axial movement of the insert results in a slight decrease in the ID of the insert at its superior aspect, with a resultant increase in radial force at the interface of the stacking bolt and insert.",
"This of course results in higher resistance to rotation of the stacking bolt within the insert/adapter plate assembly.",
"Also, as the thickness of the taper at the outside diameter of the stacking bolt is less than that of the stepped bore (for similarly stressed sections), the superior surface of the bolt is closer to the superior surface of the adapter plate in the tapered configuration.",
"Thus, it is possible to use the standard length directional control valve bolts as jacking screws in this type of assembly.",
"The adapter plate and the inserts are shipped complete as one unit.",
"This overcomes objection to shipping the inserts separately where they are at risk for loss due to misplacement.",
"Also, assembly of the insert into the adapter plate can be done more economically at the factory, using an automated process.",
"The rotation-resisting insert is made with a bevel or chamfer that matches the taper of the bore.",
"This allows the insert to be more easily started into the bore during assembly, and also allows the stacking bolt to be more closely positioned to the superior surface of the adapter plate prior to engagement of the bolt from the next component.",
"The insert may be cemented into the bore during assembly at the factory.",
"Alternatively, the bore may be provided with longitudinal grooves into which the insert deforms as it is inserted into the bore.",
"Either of these means serve to prevent the insert from rotating with respect to the bore.",
"The inside diameter of the insert is made smaller than the outside diameter of the head of the stacking bolt.",
"Therefore, during assembly, the head displaces the insert material and therefore the head is held in place and prevented from rotating.",
"The material for the insert is chosen to provide a sufficiently high modulus of elasticity to prevent the stacking bolt from rotating, while at the same time providing a material that allows a significant amount of deformation without permanent yield, so that the adapter plate and its associated inserts may be used over and over.",
"Several materials fulfill these criteria, including certain types of nylon and polyethylene.",
"Unfortunately, these materials also have a relatively low coefficient of friction against steel.",
"However, it was determined experimentally that the outside diameter of the insert could be made larger than the bore so that the insert was radially compressed to a sufficient degree to provide a force between the insert and the bore adequate to overcome this low coefficient of friction.",
"For example, the recommended torque to tighten an oiled 10-24 socket head cap screw is 3.5 foot-pounds.",
"This 10-24 thread is used on the D03 valve interface.",
"The torque required to turn a stacking bolt with this thread, coupled only with a nylon insert dimensioned in the manner above, was as high as 12 foot pounds, far higher than the recommended torque for a socket head cap screw of this size.",
"Therefore, the additional torque that will resist rotation provided by an insert held against the bore by friction alone is more than sufficient to guarantee that a stacking bolt held in this manner will not loosen before a bolt that is not so engaged.",
"The insert is designed so that when it is in place within the bore, the resulting inside diameter of the insert is about equal to the pitch diameter of the polygonal head of the stacking bolt that it will interface with.",
"Therefore, the volume of material displaced by the head has an equal volume of space to flow to in the valleys between the points.",
"FIG. 14 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention, in which the outside diameter of the insert is essentially equal to the diameter of the bore of the adapter plate.",
"In this embodiment, the insert is cemented or glued into the bore.",
"FIG. 14 shows insert 73 , and adapter plate 72 having a tapered bore, with the insert being affixed within the bore by adhesive bond 74 .",
"FIG. 15 provides a diagram, analogous to FIG. 6 , showing the invention as used in a system comprising hydraulic and electrical components.",
"FIG. 15 shows mounting holes 102 , 103 , 104 , and 105 , and fluid port holes 106 , 107 , 108 , and 109 .",
"The figure also includes electrical receptacle 110 .",
"As in FIG. 6 , the mounting holes have a diameter which is smaller than comparable mounting holes of the prior art (as exemplified by FIG. 2 ), so that such holes do not interfere with the components.",
"FIG. 15 could be generalized further to include other combinations of structural, fluid, and/or electrical components.",
"FIG. 16 illustrates a stacking kit made according to the present invention.",
"The kit comprises an adapter plate 113 , a plurality of resilient inserts 111 located within the bores of the adapter plate, and a plurality of stacking bolts 112 .",
"The adapter plate may also be provided with slots, similar to those shown in FIGS. 7A and 7C , to facilitate removal of the adapter plate from the stack.",
"The insert, the stacking bolt, and the adapter plate have the structures discussed with respect to the other figures.",
"As illustrated in FIG. 16 , the thickness of the adapter plate is preferably slightly greater than the height of the head of the stacking bolt.",
"In the example shown, the adapter plate has two bores.",
"In practice, the number of bores can be varied, it being understood that, for each bore, there is included a resilient insert and a stacking bolt.",
"In some applications, the adapter plate may need to be very large.",
"In such circumstances, it may be necessary to provide a larger number of stacking bolts than what is shown in the drawings.",
"For example, in addition to the four stacking bolts located at or near the corners of the adapter plate, it may be appropriate to place additional stacking bolts midway along each side of the plate, or in other configurations.",
"The present invention is intended to include these alternatives.",
"The invention can be modified in many other ways.",
"As stated above, the stack of fluid components shown in the drawings is only one of a very large number of possible arrangements.",
"The present invention is not limited to one particular stack.",
"Also, more than one adapter plate can be used, according to the needs of a particular system.",
"These and other modifications, which will be apparent to the reader skilled in the art, should be considered within the spirit and scope of the following claims."
] |
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application (Attorney's Ref. No. P216758) is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/240,098 filed Sep. 29, 2008.
[0002] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/240,098 is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/966,848 filed Oct. 14, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,853,645 which issued Dec. 14, 2010.
[0003] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/966,848 is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/780,316 filed Feb. 9, 2001, now abandoned.
[0004] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/780,316 claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/181,577, filed Feb. 10, 2000.
[0005] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/780,316 is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/944,529, filed Oct. 7, 1997, now abandoned.
[0006] All related applications cited in this Related Applications section, including the subject matter thereof, are incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0007] The present invention relates to control systems for programmable devices and, more particularly, to the generation and distribution of control commands that control the operation of programmable devices.
BACKGROUND
[0008] A wide variety of devices contain a combination of software and hardware that control the operation of the device. These devices will be referred to herein as programmable devices. Programmable devices include a wide variety of items such as toys, industrial motion control systems, exercise equipment, medical devices, household appliances, HVAC systems, and the like.
[0009] A common characteristic of such programmable devices is that they are programmed to perform a limited number of predetermined tasks. For example, a toy may be programmed to speak, move, or react to external stimulation in a predetermined manner. An industrial motion control system is programmed to assemble parts in a precise, repetitive manner. A household appliance may be programmed to perform one or more cooking or cleaning tasks. An HVAC system will be programmed to control a heating element and heat distribution systems to obtain a desired air temperature.
[0010] Some programmable devices contain means for allowing the end user to control the functionality of the system to a limited degree. In the context of a toy, the end user may operate a switch or joystick to select a manner of movement. An HVAC system will normally allow the end user to set the desired temperature. In most cases, however, the input of the end user is limited to changing variables or selecting from among a plurality of stand-alone programs.
[0011] Programmable devices thus take many forms but have certain common characteristics. A programmable device includes some form of memory for storing control commands that define a predetermined command program. The command program may accept input from the user or contain discrete sub-programs from which the end user may select, but the end user may not modify the command program.
[0012] A programmable device further comprises a processor capable of executing the command program and generating control signals. To reduce manufacturing costs, the processor is normally an inexpensive dedicated processor with relatively limited capabilities and resources.
[0013] A programmable device will also comprise control hardware that performs a desired task as defined by the control signals. The control hardware can be as simple as an LED or speaker that generates light or sound or as complicated as a multi-axis industrial motion control device that performs a complex welding procedure.
[0014] The relevance of the present invention is particularly significant given the varying degrees of technical skill possessed by the various patient end users involved in the design, manufacturing, and use of a typical programmable device. The user of a programmable device must be assumed to have little or no capability to create the command programs necessary to operate a programmable device. Certainly a typical child using a toy will not have the skills necessary to create command program for that toy. Even a highly trained technician operating an industrial motion control system typically will likely not have the skill to program the system to perform a desired task.
[0015] Accordingly, in this application the term “end user” will refer to a person who uses a programmable device but cannot be assumed to have the expertise to create a command program for that programmable device.
[0016] In contrast, the term “programmer” will be used herein to refer to a person having the expertise to create a command program for a particular programmable device. The skill level and background of the programmer will vary depending upon the specific programmable device; the term programmer is thus not intended to define a particular level of expertise, but is instead defined in relation to the specific programmable device.
[0017] With some programmable devices, the programmer has no direct contact with the end user. For example, a programmer of a toy or household appliance will typically not have direct contact with the end user. A programmer of an HVAC system or industrial motion control system may, on the other hand, have contact with the end user.
[0018] Without direct contact with the end user, the programmer must anticipate what task the end user will desire of the programmable device. Even with direct contact, the programmer may not fully comprehend the desired task, or the desired task may change after the command program has been created. In either case, obtaining the services of the programmer to modify the command program is likely to be difficult and expensive, if not impossible.
[0019] In general, while the end user may not be able to create a command program, the end user will be able to define the desired task. A technician operating an industrial motion control system will likely be able to observe that a change in the operation of the system will increase product yield or speed up the manufacturing process. Even a child might be able to determine that a doll that walks should also be able to jump.
[0020] The term “end user” may include any other person involved with a programmable device without the technical expertise to qualify as a programmer of that device. For example, a medical device may be used by a patient and controlled by a caregiver, neither of which would have the expertise to be considered a programmer; both the patient and the caregiver would be considered end users in the present application.
[0021] The purpose of the present invention is to facilitate the generation and distribution of command programs for programmable devices. In particular, the present invention is designed to allow an end user of a particular programmable device to define a desired task, interact with a remote computer over a communications network to generate a command program, and then download the command program into the programmable device over the communications network.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0022] The present invention may be embodied as a motion control system comprising at least one patient device, a server, and a workstation. Each patient device is in the possession of at least one patient user and is configured to operate based on at least one control program. The server is operatively connected to the at least one patient device and is configured to store a database of script programs and comprises a software application for facilitating the generation of script programs. The workstation is operatively connected to the server and defines a remote interface for allowing a medical user to operate the software application. The medical user uses the workstation to operate the software application to generate at least one script program, assign at least one script program to at least one associated patient user, convert each assigned script program into at least one control program, and transfer the at least one control program to the at least one patient device in the possession of the associated patient user. Each script program is associated with at least one notification sequence related to medical care of at least one patient user. Each notification sequence contains at least one instruction phrase and at least one movement. Each associated patient user operates the patient device in the possession of the associated user such that the patient device performs the at least one notification sequence related to medical care such that each associated patient user perceives the at least one instruction phrase and the at least one movement, and transmits to the server verification data acknowledging perception of the performance of the at least one notification sequence by each associated patient user.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a networked system according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.
[0024] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the interaction of the components of the system of FIG. 1 .
[0025] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a remotely programmable talking toy of the system of FIG. 1 .
[0026] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the components of the talking toy of FIG. 3 .
[0027] FIG. 5 is a script entry screen according to the preferred embodiment of the invention.
[0028] FIG. 6 is a listing of a sample script program according to the preferred embodiment of the invention.
[0029] FIG. 7 is a script assignment screen according to the preferred embodiment of the invention.
[0030] FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating the steps included in a software application executed by the server of FIG. 1 according to the preferred embodiment of the invention.
[0031] FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating the steps included in a control program executed by the talking toy of FIG. 3 according to the preferred embodiment of the invention.
[0032] FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating the steps included in the script program of FIG. 6 .
[0033] FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating the interaction of the server of FIG. 1 with the talking toy of FIG. 3 according to a second embodiment of the invention.
[0034] FIG. 12 is a script entry screen according to the second embodiment of the invention.
[0035] FIG. 13 is a listing of a generic script program according to the second embodiment of the invention.
[0036] FIG. 14 is a listing of a custom script program according to the second embodiment of the invention.
[0037] FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating the steps included in a software application executed by the server of FIG. 1 according to the second embodiment of the invention.
[0038] FIG. 16 is a script entry screen according to an alternative embodiment of the invention.
[0039] FIG. 17 is a script entry screen according to another embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0040] The present invention may be embodied in any programmable device. The present invention will be described below in the context of a toy that may be programmed to speak or move in a desired fashion. The present invention has application to other programmable devices, and the scope of the present invention should be determined by the claims appended hereto and not the following discussion.
[0041] The invention may be embodied as a networked system including one or more programmable toys that can be controlled to perform a desired task such as move and/or communicate messages to end users. In contrast to conventional programmable toys whose desired task is programmed during manufacture or through the insertion of external media, the programmable toys of the present invention are programmed remotely through the use of script programs. The script programs allow flexible and dynamic updating of the movement of or messages delivered by the toys, as well as convenient tailoring of toy movement and/or the communicated messages to the needs of particular end users.
[0042] In an example embodiment of the invention disclosed below, the end users as described above are patients and healthcare providers, and the programmable toys are remotely programmed to encourage healthy behavior in the patients. The terms “patient” and “health care provider” will be used below interchangeably with the term end user.
[0043] In the present exemplary embodiment, the programmable toys may be programmed to encourage children to take their medicine or to tolerate difficult healthcare regimens. The encouragement can take the form of a request audibly delivered to the patient in the form of speech and feedback in the form of movement when the request is followed.
[0044] As generally discussed throughout this application, the system of the present invention is equally well suited for purposes other than healthcare, such as industrial motion control systems, exercise equipment, HVAC systems, advertising, home appliances, education, entertainment, or any other application which involves the control of programmable devices to perform a desired task for an end user.
[0045] The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1-7 . Referring to FIG. 1 , a networked system 16 includes a server 18 and a workstation 20 connected to server 18 through a communication network 24 . Server 18 is preferably a world wide web server and communication network 24 is preferably the Internet. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that server 18 may comprise a single stand-alone computer or multiple computers distributed throughout a network. Workstation 20 is preferably a personal computer, remote terminal, or web TV unit connected to server 18 via the Internet. Workstation 20 functions as a remote interface for entering in server 18 the end task to be performed for the benefit of the end user.
[0046] System 16 also includes first and second programmable toys 26 and 28 . Each programmable toy interacts with a patient end user in accordance with script programs received from server 18 . Each programmable toy is connected to server 18 through communication network 24 , preferably the Internet. Alternatively, the programmable toys may be placed in communication with server 18 via wireless communication networks, cellular networks, telephone networks, or any other network which allows each programmable toy to exchange data with server 18 . For clarity of illustration, only two programmable toys are shown in FIG. 1 . It is to be understood that system 16 may include any number of programmable toys for communicating messages to any number of patient end users.
[0047] In general, a healthcare provider end user will operate the workstation 20 , a programmer will design and operate the server 18 , and the patient end user will use the toys 26 and 28 .
[0048] FIG. 2 shows server 18 , workstation 20 , and programmable toy 26 in greater detail. Server 18 includes a database 30 for storing script programs 32 . The script programs are executed by the programmable toys to communicate messages to the patients. Database 30 further includes a look-up table 34 . Table 34 contains a list of the patients who are to receive messages, and for each of the patient end user, a unique identification code and a respective pointer to the script program assigned to the end user. Each programmable toy is designed to execute assigned script programs which it receives from server 18 .
[0049] FIGS. 3-4 show the structure of each programmable toy according to the preferred embodiment. For clarity, only programmable toy 26 is illustrated since each programmable toy of the exemplary preferred embodiment has substantially identical structure to toy 26 . Referring to FIG. 3 , toy 26 is preferably embodied as a doll, such as a teddy bear. Alternatively, toy 26 may be embodied as an action figure, robot, or any other desired toy.
[0050] Toy 26 includes a modem jack 46 for connecting the toy to a telephone jack 22 through a connection cord 48 . Toy 26 also includes first and second user control buttons 50 and 52 . Button 50 is pressed to instruct the toy to execute a script program. Button 52 is pressed to instruct the toy to establish a communication link to the server and download a new script program. In alternative embodiments, the control buttons may be replaced by switches, keys, sensors, or any other type of interface suitable for receiving user input.
[0051] FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the internal components of toy 26 . Toy 26 includes an audio processor chip 54 , which is preferably an RSC-164 chip commercially available from Sensory Circuits Inc. of 1735 N. First Street, San Jose, Calif. 95112. Audio processor chip 54 has a microcontroller 56 for executing script programs received from the server. A memory 58 is connected to microcontroller 56 . Memory 58 stores the end user's unique identification code, script programs received from the server, and a script interpreter used by microcontroller 56 to execute the script programs.
[0052] The script interpreter translates script commands into the native processor code of microcontroller 56 . Specific techniques for translating and executing script commands in this manner are well known in the art. Memory 58 also stores a control program executed by microcontroller 56 to perform various control functions which are described in the operation section below. Memory 58 is preferably a non-volatile memory, such as a serial EEPROM.
[0053] Toy 26 also includes a modem 85 which is connected between microcontroller 56 and modem jack 46 . Modem 85 operates under the control of microcontroller 56 to establish communication links to the server through the communication network and to exchange data with the server. The data includes the end user's unique identification code which modem 85 transmits to the server, as well as assigned script programs which modem 85 receives from the server. Modem 85 is preferably a complete 28 . 8 K modem commercially available from Cermetek, although any suitable modem may be used.
[0054] Toy 26 further includes a speaker 64 and a microphone 66 . Audio processor chip 54 has built in speech synthesis functionality for audibly communicating messages and prompts to an end user through speaker 64 . For speech synthesis, chip 54 includes a digital to analog converter (DAC) 60 and an amplifier 62 . DAC 60 and amplifier 62 drive speaker 64 under the control of microcontroller 56 to communicate the messages and prompts.
[0055] Audio processor chip 54 also has built in speech recognition functionality for recognizing responses spoken into microphone 66 . Audio signals received through microphone 66 are converted to electrical signals and sent to a preamp and gain control circuit 68 . Circuit 68 is controlled by an automatic gain control circuit 70 , which is in turn controlled by microcontroller 56 . After being amplified by preamp 68 , the electrical signals enter chip 54 and pass through a multiplexer 72 and an analog to digital converter (ADC) 74 . The resulting digital signals pass through a digital logic circuit 76 and enter microcontroller 56 for speech recognition.
[0056] Audio processor chip 54 also includes a RAM 80 for short term memory storage and a ROM 82 which stores audio sounds for speech synthesis and programs executed by microcontroller 56 to perform speech recognition and speech synthesis. Chip 54 operates at a clock speed determined by a crystal 84 . Chip 54 further includes a clock 78 which provides the current date and time to microcontroller 56 . Microcontroller 56 is also connected to control buttons 50 and 52 to receive user input. Toy 26 is preferably powered by one or more batteries (not shown). Alternatively, the toy may be powered by a standard wall outlet. Both methods for supplying power to a toy are well known in the art.
[0057] The toy 26 further comprises a motion system 79 that receives control signals from the microcontroller 56 . The motion system 79 can be similar to the motion system used in the “FURBY” doll; this system 79 allows the toy 26 to shake, move its hands and feet, and open and close its mouth and eyes. The motion system 79 is well-known in the art, but is conventionally preprogrammed at the factory for particular ranges and sequences of movement.
[0058] Referring again to FIG. 2 , server 18 includes a controlling software application 36 which is executed by server 18 to perform the various functions described below. The controlling software application 36 may be a system for generating a sequence of control commands based on an application program for motion control systems such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,867,385 and 5,691,897 to Brown et al., which are incorporated herein by reference.
[0059] The controlling software application 36 includes a script generator 38 and a script assignor 40 . Script generator 38 is designed to generate script programs 32 from script information entered through workstation 20 . The script programs 32 are a specific type of command program such as those typically executed by programmable devices. The script programs 32 contain the information necessary for the microcontroller 56 to cause the toy 26 to perform a desired task.
[0060] The script information is entered through a script entry screen 42 . In the preferred embodiment, script entry screen 42 is implemented as a web page on server 18 . Workstation 20 includes a web browser for accessing the web page to enter the script information.
[0061] FIG. 5 illustrates a sample script entry screen 42 as it appears on workstation 20 . Screen 42 includes a script name field 86 for specifying the name of a script program to be generated. Screen 42 also includes entry fields 88 for entering information defining the desired task, such as a message containing instructions from the healthcare provider end user to be communicated to the patient end user and a movement to be performed when patient end user complies with the instructions.
[0062] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary set of statements which encourage the end user to comply with his or her diabetes care regimen. However, it is to be understood that any type of desired task may be entered in screen 42 , including movement, sounds, or other messages such as advertisements, educational messages, and entertainment messages. Screen 42 further includes a CREATE SCRIPT button 90 for instructing the script generator to generate a script program from the information entered in screen 42 . Screen 42 also includes a CANCEL button 92 for canceling the information entered.
[0063] In the preferred embodiment, each script program created by the script generator conforms to the standard file format used on UNIX systems. In the standard file format, each command is listed in the upper case and followed by a colon. Every line in the script program is terminated by a linefeed character {LF}, and only one command is placed on each line. The last character in the script program is a UNIX end of file character {EOF}. Table 1 shows an exemplary listing of script commands used in the preferred embodiment of the invention.
[0000]
TABLE 1
SCRIPT COMMANDS
Command
Description
SPEAK: {words} {LF}
Synthesize the words following the
SPEAK command.
RECOGNIZE: {word} {LF}
Recognize the word following the
RECOGNIZE command.
DELAY: t {LF}
Wait a period of seconds specified by
time parameter t.
[0064] The script commands illustrated in Table 1 are representative of the preferred embodiment and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. After consideration of the ensuing description, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art many other suitable scripting languages and sets of script commands may be used to implement the invention.
[0065] Script generator 38 preferably stores a script program template which it uses to create each script program. To generate a script program, script generator 38 inserts into the template the information entered in screen 42 . For example, FIG. 6 illustrates a sample script program created by the script generator from the script information shown in FIG. S. The script program includes speech commands to synthesize the phrases or statements entered in fields 88 . The steps included in the script program are also shown in the flow chart of FIG. 10 and will be discussed in the operation section below.
[0066] Referring again to FIG. 2 , script assignor 40 is for assigning script programs 32 to the patient end users. Script programs 32 are assigned in accordance with script assignment information entered through workstation 30 . The script assignment information is entered through a script assignment screen 44 , which is preferably implemented as a web page on server 18 .
[0067] FIG. 7 illustrates a sample script assignment screen 44 as it appears on workstation 20 . Screen 44 includes check boxes 94 for selecting a script program to be assigned and check boxes 96 for selecting the patient end users to whom the script program is to be assigned. Screen 44 also includes an ASSIGN SCRIPT button 100 for entering the assignments. When button 100 is pressed, the script assignor creates and stores for each patient end user selected in check boxes 96 a respective pointer to the script program selected in check boxes 94 . Each pointer is stored in the look-up table of the database. Screen 44 further includes an ADD SCRIPT button 98 for adding a new script program and a DELETE SCRIPT button 102 for deleting a script program.
[0068] The operation of the preferred embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 1-10 . FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating the steps included in the software application executed by server 18 . In step 202 , server 18 determines if new script information has been entered through script entry screen 42 . If new script information has not been entered, server 18 proceeds to step 206 . If new script information has been entered, server 18 proceeds to step 204 .
[0069] In the preferred embodiment, the script information is entered in server 18 by one or more healthcare provider end users, such as a physician or case manager assigned to the patient, as generally discussed above. Of course, any person desiring to communicate with the end users may be granted access to the server to create and assign script programs.
[0070] Further, it is to be understood that the system may include any number of remote interfaces for entering script generation and script assignment information in server 18 . In a toy created for entertainment rather than healthcare purposes, a child may log on to the server 18 , custom design a script program, and download the program into the toy.
[0071] As shown in FIG. 5 , the script information specifies a desired task, such as a message containing a set of statements or phrases, to be communicated to one or more patient end users. The desired task may further comprise movements selected and/or entered in a similar manner.
[0072] In step 204 , the script generator 38 generates a script program from the information entered in screen 42 . The script program is stored in database 30 . Steps 202 and 204 are preferably repeated to generate multiple script programs, e.g. a script program for diabetes patients, a script program for asthma patients, etc. Each script program corresponds to a respective one of the sets of statements entered through script entry screen 42 . In step 206 , the server 18 determines if new script assignment information has been entered through assignment screen 44 . If new script assignment information has not been entered, server 18 proceeds to step 210 . If new script assignment information has been entered server 18 proceeds to step 208 .
[0073] As shown in FIG. 7 , the script assignment information is entered by the healthcare provider end user by selecting a desired script program through check boxes 94 , selecting the patient end users to whom the selected script program is to be assigned through check boxes 96 , and pressing the ASSIGN SCRIPT button 100 . When button 100 is pressed, script assignor 40 creates for each end user selected in check boxes 96 a respective pointer to the script program selected in check boxes 94 . In step 208 , each pointer is stored in look-up table 34 of database 30 . In step 210 , server 18 determines if any one of the programmable toys is remotely connected to the server.
[0074] Each patient end user is preferably provided with his or her own programmable toy which has the end user's unique identification code stored therein. Each patient end user is thus uniquely associated with a respective one of the programmable toys. If none of the programmable toys is connected, server 18 returns to step 202 . If a programmable toy is connected, server 18 receives from the programmable toy the patient end user's unique identification code to retrieve from table 34 the pointer to the script program assigned to the patient end user. In step 214 , server 18 retrieves the assigned script program from database 30 . In step 216 , server 18 transmits the assigned script program to the patient end user's programmable toy through communication network 24 . Following step 216 , the server returns to step 202 .
[0075] Each programmable toy is initially programmed with its user's unique identification code, the script interpreter used by the toy to interpret and execute script program commands, and a control program executed by the toy to control its overall operation. The initial programming may be achieved during manufacture or during an initial connection to server 18 . FIG. 9 illustrates the steps included in the control program executed by microcontroller 56 of programmable toy 26 .
[0076] In step 302 , microcontroller 56 determines if any user input has been received. In the preferred embodiment, user input is received through control buttons 50 and 52 . Control button 50 is pressed to instruct the programmable toy to move and/or speak, and control button 52 is pressed to instruct the toy to connect to the server and download a new script program. If no user input is received for a predetermined period of time, such as two minutes, toy 26 enters sleep mode in step 304 . The sleep mode conserves battery power while the toy is not in use. Following step 304 , microcontroller 56 returns to step 302 and awaits user input.
[0077] If user input has been received, microcontroller 56 determines if the input is a task request, step 306 . If the user has pressed control button 50 , if microcontroller 56 executes the script program last received from the server, step 308 . The steps included in a sample script program are shown in the flow chart of FIG. 10 and will be discussed below. Following step 308 , microcontroller 56 returns to step 302 and awaits new user input.
[0078] If the user presses control button 52 requesting a connection to the server, microcontroller 56 attempts to establish a communication link to the server through modem 85 and communication network 24 , step 310 . In step 312 , microcontroller determines if the connection was successful. If the connection failed, the user is prompted to connect toy 26 to telephone jack 22 in step 314 . Microcontroller 56 preferably prompts the user by synthesizing the phrase “PLEASE CONNECT ME TO THE TELEPHONE JACK USING THE CONNECTION CORD AND SAY ‘DONE’ WHEN YOU HAVE FINISHED.”
[0079] In step 316 , microcontroller 56 waits until the appropriate reply is received through microphone 66 . Upon recognizing the reply ‘DONE’, microcontroller 56 repeats step 310 to get a successful connection to the server. Once a successful connection is established, microcontroller 56 transmits the unique identification code stored in memory 58 to server 18 in step 318 .
[0080] In step 320 , microcontroller 56 receives a new script program from the server through communication network 24 and modem 85 . The new script program is stored in memory 58 for subsequent execution by microcontroller 56 . Following step 320 , microcontroller 56 returns to step 302 and awaits new user input. FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating the steps included in a sample script program executed by microcontroller 56 . In step 402 , microcontroller 56 prompts the user by synthesizing through speaker 64 “SAY ‘OK’ WHEN YOU ARE READY”. In step 404 , microcontroller 56 waits until a reply to the prompt is received through the microphone 66 . When the reply ‘OK’ is recognized, microcontroller 55 proceeds to step 406 . If no reply is received within a predetermined period of time, such as two minutes, toy 26 preferably enters sleep mode until it is reactivated by pressing one of the control buttons.
[0081] In step 406 , microcontroller 56 executes successive speech commands to synthesize through speaker 64 the phrases or statements specified in the script program. Referring again to FIG. 6 , the speech commands are preferably separated by delay commands which instruct microcontroller 56 to pause for a number of seconds between statements. The number of seconds is selected to allow the user sufficient time to absorb each statement. Alternatively, the user may be prompted to acknowledge each statement before a subsequent statement is synthesized. For example, the script program may include commands which instruct microcontroller 56 to synthesize the phrase “SAY ‘OK’ WHEN YOU ARE READY TO HEAR THE NEXT STATEMENT.” Upon recognizing the reply ‘OK’, microcontroller 56 proceeds to the next speech command in the script program. Movement commands are processed for execution by the motion system in a similar manner.
[0082] In step 408 , the user is reminded to connect toy 26 to telephone jack 22 to download a new script program. Microcontroller 56 synthesizes through speaker 64 “PLEASE CONNECT ME TO THE TELEPHONE JACK TO GET NEW MESSAGES.” Following step 408 , the script program ends.
[0083] One advantage of the system of the present invention is that it allows each programmable toy to be programmed remotely through the use of script programs. This allows the task performed by each programmable toy to be tailored to the specific needs of a specific end user or group of end users. Moreover, each script program may be easily created, assigned, and downloaded by simply accessing a server through a communication network, such as the Internet. Thus, the invention provides a powerful, convenient, and inexpensive system for communicating messages to a large number of end users.
[0084] FIGS. 11-15 illustrate a second embodiment of the invention in which messages are further customized to each patient end user by merging personal data with the script programs, much like a standard mail merge application. Referring to FIG. 11 , personal data relating to each patient end user is preferably stored in look-up table 34 of database 30 . By way of example, the data may include each patient end user's name, the name of each patient end user's medication or disease, or any other desired data. As in the preferred embodiment, database 30 also stores generic script programs 31 created by script generator 38 .
[0085] In the second embodiment, server 18 includes a data merge program 41 for merging the data stored in table 34 with generic script programs 31 . Data merge program 41 is designed to retrieve selected data from table 34 and to insert the data into statements in generic script programs 31 , thus creating custom script programs 33 . Each custom script program contains a message which is customized to a patient end user. For example, the message may be customized with the patient end user's name, medication name, disease name, etc.
[0086] The operation of the second embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 11-15 . The operation of the second embodiment is similar to the operation of the preferred embodiment except that server 18 transmits custom script programs to each programmable toy rather than generic script programs. FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating the steps included in a software application executed by server 18 according to the second embodiment.
[0087] In step 502 , server 18 determines if new script information has been entered through script entry screen 42 . If new script information has not been entered, server 18 proceeds to step 506 . If new script information has been entered, server 18 proceeds to step 504 . As shown in FIG. 12 , the script information specifies a message, such as a set of statements or phrases, to be communicated to the patient end users. Each statement preferably includes one or more insert commands specifying data from table 34 to be inserted into the statement. The insert commands instruct data merge program 41 to retrieve the specified data from database 30 and to insert the data into the statement. For example, the first statement shown in FIG. 12 includes insert commands instructing the data merge program to insert a patient name and a medication name into the statement.
[0088] Following entry of the statements and insert commands, CREATE SCRIPT button 90 is pressed. When button 90 is pressed, script generator 38 generates a generic script program from the information entered in screen 42 , step 504 . A sample generic script program is illustrated in FIG. 13 . The generic script program includes speech commands to synthesize the statements entered in fields 88 . Each statement preferably includes one or more insert commands specifying data to be inserted into the script program. The generic script program is stored in database 30 .
[0089] In step 506 , server 18 determines if new script assignment information has been entered through assignment screen 44 . If new script assignment information has not been entered, server 18 proceeds to step 512 . If new script assignment information has been entered, server 18 proceeds to step 508 . As shown in FIG. 7 , the script assignment information is entered by selecting a desired script program through check boxes 94 , selecting the patient end users to whom the selected script program is to be assigned through check boxes 96 , and pressing the ASSIGN SCRIPT button 100 .
[0090] When button 100 is pressed, data merge program 41 creates a custom script program for each patient end user selected in check boxes 96 , step 508 . Each custom script program is preferably created by using the selected generic script program as a template. For each patient end user selected, data merge program 41 retrieves from database 30 the data specified in the insert commands. Next, data merge program 41 inserts the data into the appropriate statements in the generic script program to create a custom script program for the patient end user.
[0091] For example, FIG. 14 illustrates a custom script program created from the generic script program of FIG. 13 . Each custom script program is stored in database 30 .
[0092] As each custom script program is generated for a patient end user, script assignor 40 assigns the custom script program to the patient end user, step 510 . This is preferably accomplished by creating a pointer to the custom script program and storing the pointer with the patient end user's unique identification code in table 34 . In step 512 , server 18 determines if any one of the programmable toys is remotely connected to the server. If a programmable toy is connected, server 18 receives from the programmable toy the patient end user's unique identification code in step 514 .
[0093] Server 18 uses the received identification code to retrieve from table 34 the pointer to the custom script program assigned to the patient end user. In step 516 , server 18 retrieves the custom script program from database 30 . In step 518 , server 18 transmits the custom script program to the patient end user's programmable toy. The programmable toy receives and executes the script program in the same manner described in the preferred embodiment. The remaining operation of the second embodiment is analogous to the operation of the preferred embodiment described above.
[0094] Although it is presently preferred to generate a custom script program for each patient end user as soon as script assignment information is received for the patient end user, it is also possible to wait until the patient end user's programmable toys connects to the server before generating the custom script program. This is accomplished by creating and storing a pointer to the generic script program assigned to the patient end user, as previously described in the preferred embodiment. When the patient end user's programmable toy connects to the server, the data merge program creates a custom script program for the patient end user from the generic script program assigned to the patient end user. The custom script program is then transmitted to the patient end user's programmable toy for execution.
[0095] Although the first and second embodiments focus on healthcare applications, the system of the present invention may be used for any messaging application. For example, the system is particularly well suited for advertising. In a third embodiment of the invention, an advertising service is provided with a remote interface to the server for creating and assigning script programs which contain advertising messages. As shown in FIG. 16 , each advertising message may be conveniently entered through script entry screen 42 , like the health-related messages of the preferred embodiment. The operation of the third embodiment is analogous to the operation of the preferred embodiment, except that the talking toys communicate advertising messages rather than health-related messages.
[0096] Of course, the system of the present invention has many other applications. Typically, the user of each programmable toy is a child. In a fourth embodiment of the invention, the child's parent or guardian is provided with a remote interface to the server for creating and assigning script programs which contain messages for the child. As shown in FIG. 17 , each message may be conveniently entered through script entry screen 42 . The operation of the fourth embodiment is analogous to the operation of the preferred embodiment, except that script information is entered in the server by a parent or guardian rather than a healthcare provider.
[0097] Alternatively, the child may be provided with a remote interface to the server to create and assign his or her own script programs. It should also be noted that script programs may be generated from information received from multiple sources, such as a healthcare provider, an advertiser, and a parent. In a fifth embodiment of the invention, the script entry screen includes a respective section for each of the sources to enter a message to be communicated. Each of the sources is provided with a remote interface to the server and a password for accessing the script entry screen. After each source has entered one or more messages in the server, a script program is generated which contains a combination of health-related messages, advertisements, educational messages, or entertainment messages. The remaining operation of the fifth embodiment is analogous to the operation of the preferred embodiment described above.
[0098] Although the above description contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention but merely as illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments. Many other embodiments of the invention are possible. For example, the scripting language and script commands shown are representative of the preferred embodiment. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art many other scripting languages and specific script commands may be used to implement the invention.
[0099] Moreover, the programmable device need not be embodied as a doll. The toys may be embodied as action figures, robots, or any other type of toy. Further, each programmable toy need not include a control button for triggering speech output. In alternative embodiments, speech is triggered by other mechanisms, such as voice prompts, the absence of the user's voice, position sensitive sensors, switches, or the like. Specific techniques for triggering speech in a programmable toy are well known in the art. In addition, the system of the present invention is not limited to healthcare applications.
[0100] The system may be used in any application which involves the communication of messages, including advertising, education, or entertainment. Of course, various combinations of these applications are also possible. For example, messages from multiple sources may be combined to generate script programs which contain a combination of health-related messages, advertisements, or educational messages. Further, the system may include any number of remote interfaces for entering and assigning script programs, and any number of programmable toys for delivering messages.
[0101] More generally, the programmable device need not be a toy.
[0102] For example, the programmable device may be a handheld computing device adapted to control and monitor an athlete end user's performance during athletic training. The device may monitor the athlete end user's heart rate and lactose levels. The device may be remotely programmed by a trainer end user or automated system with instructions for training for a specific athletic event based on data collected by the handheld device.
[0103] The programmable device may be a household appliance such as a refrigerator that monitors its contents. A remote end user such as a service that delivers groceries could reprogram the refrigerator as necessary to reflect delivered goods.
[0104] The programmable device may also be an industrial motion control system such as a robotic welding machine. An engineer in charge of the product being welded may change its design and remotely generate a new command program for the robotic welding machine in response to the design changes.
[0105] The programmable device may be an HVAC system that communicates with a remote weather monitoring system that generates a new command program for the HVAC system in response to changes in the weather.
[0106] The embodiments of the present invention disclosed above are merely an illustrative, and not exhaustive, list of the environments in which the present invention may be applied. Therefore, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the examples given, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents. | A motion control system including at least one patient device, a server, and a workstation. The medical user uses the workstation to operate the software application to generate at least one script program, assign at least one script program to at least one associated patient user, convert each assigned script program into at least one control program, and transfer the at least one control program to the at least one patient device in the possession of the associated patient user. Each script program is associated with at least one notification sequence related to medical care of at least one patient user. Each notification sequence contains at least one instruction phrase and at least one movement. The patient device performs the at least one notification sequence related to medical care such that each associated patient user perceives the at least one instruction phrase and the at least one movement and transmits to the server verification data acknowledging perception of the performance of the at least one notification sequence by each associated patient user. | Analyze the document's illustrations and descriptions to summarize the main idea's core structure and function. | [
"RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application (Attorney's Ref.",
"No. P216758) is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 12/240,098 filed Sep. 29, 2008.",
"[0002] U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 12/240,098 is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 10/966,848 filed Oct. 14, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,853,645 which issued Dec. 14, 2010.",
"[0003] U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 10/966,848 is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 09/780,316 filed Feb. 9, 2001, now abandoned.",
"[0004] U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 09/780,316 claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.",
"No. 60/181,577, filed Feb. 10, 2000.",
"[0005] U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 09/780,316 is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 08/944,529, filed Oct. 7, 1997, now abandoned.",
"[0006] All related applications cited in this Related Applications section, including the subject matter thereof, are incorporated herein by reference.",
"TECHNICAL FIELD [0007] The present invention relates to control systems for programmable devices and, more particularly, to the generation and distribution of control commands that control the operation of programmable devices.",
"BACKGROUND [0008] A wide variety of devices contain a combination of software and hardware that control the operation of the device.",
"These devices will be referred to herein as programmable devices.",
"Programmable devices include a wide variety of items such as toys, industrial motion control systems, exercise equipment, medical devices, household appliances, HVAC systems, and the like.",
"[0009] A common characteristic of such programmable devices is that they are programmed to perform a limited number of predetermined tasks.",
"For example, a toy may be programmed to speak, move, or react to external stimulation in a predetermined manner.",
"An industrial motion control system is programmed to assemble parts in a precise, repetitive manner.",
"A household appliance may be programmed to perform one or more cooking or cleaning tasks.",
"An HVAC system will be programmed to control a heating element and heat distribution systems to obtain a desired air temperature.",
"[0010] Some programmable devices contain means for allowing the end user to control the functionality of the system to a limited degree.",
"In the context of a toy, the end user may operate a switch or joystick to select a manner of movement.",
"An HVAC system will normally allow the end user to set the desired temperature.",
"In most cases, however, the input of the end user is limited to changing variables or selecting from among a plurality of stand-alone programs.",
"[0011] Programmable devices thus take many forms but have certain common characteristics.",
"A programmable device includes some form of memory for storing control commands that define a predetermined command program.",
"The command program may accept input from the user or contain discrete sub-programs from which the end user may select, but the end user may not modify the command program.",
"[0012] A programmable device further comprises a processor capable of executing the command program and generating control signals.",
"To reduce manufacturing costs, the processor is normally an inexpensive dedicated processor with relatively limited capabilities and resources.",
"[0013] A programmable device will also comprise control hardware that performs a desired task as defined by the control signals.",
"The control hardware can be as simple as an LED or speaker that generates light or sound or as complicated as a multi-axis industrial motion control device that performs a complex welding procedure.",
"[0014] The relevance of the present invention is particularly significant given the varying degrees of technical skill possessed by the various patient end users involved in the design, manufacturing, and use of a typical programmable device.",
"The user of a programmable device must be assumed to have little or no capability to create the command programs necessary to operate a programmable device.",
"Certainly a typical child using a toy will not have the skills necessary to create command program for that toy.",
"Even a highly trained technician operating an industrial motion control system typically will likely not have the skill to program the system to perform a desired task.",
"[0015] Accordingly, in this application the term “end user”",
"will refer to a person who uses a programmable device but cannot be assumed to have the expertise to create a command program for that programmable device.",
"[0016] In contrast, the term “programmer”",
"will be used herein to refer to a person having the expertise to create a command program for a particular programmable device.",
"The skill level and background of the programmer will vary depending upon the specific programmable device;",
"the term programmer is thus not intended to define a particular level of expertise, but is instead defined in relation to the specific programmable device.",
"[0017] With some programmable devices, the programmer has no direct contact with the end user.",
"For example, a programmer of a toy or household appliance will typically not have direct contact with the end user.",
"A programmer of an HVAC system or industrial motion control system may, on the other hand, have contact with the end user.",
"[0018] Without direct contact with the end user, the programmer must anticipate what task the end user will desire of the programmable device.",
"Even with direct contact, the programmer may not fully comprehend the desired task, or the desired task may change after the command program has been created.",
"In either case, obtaining the services of the programmer to modify the command program is likely to be difficult and expensive, if not impossible.",
"[0019] In general, while the end user may not be able to create a command program, the end user will be able to define the desired task.",
"A technician operating an industrial motion control system will likely be able to observe that a change in the operation of the system will increase product yield or speed up the manufacturing process.",
"Even a child might be able to determine that a doll that walks should also be able to jump.",
"[0020] The term “end user”",
"may include any other person involved with a programmable device without the technical expertise to qualify as a programmer of that device.",
"For example, a medical device may be used by a patient and controlled by a caregiver, neither of which would have the expertise to be considered a programmer;",
"both the patient and the caregiver would be considered end users in the present application.",
"[0021] The purpose of the present invention is to facilitate the generation and distribution of command programs for programmable devices.",
"In particular, the present invention is designed to allow an end user of a particular programmable device to define a desired task, interact with a remote computer over a communications network to generate a command program, and then download the command program into the programmable device over the communications network.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0022] The present invention may be embodied as a motion control system comprising at least one patient device, a server, and a workstation.",
"Each patient device is in the possession of at least one patient user and is configured to operate based on at least one control program.",
"The server is operatively connected to the at least one patient device and is configured to store a database of script programs and comprises a software application for facilitating the generation of script programs.",
"The workstation is operatively connected to the server and defines a remote interface for allowing a medical user to operate the software application.",
"The medical user uses the workstation to operate the software application to generate at least one script program, assign at least one script program to at least one associated patient user, convert each assigned script program into at least one control program, and transfer the at least one control program to the at least one patient device in the possession of the associated patient user.",
"Each script program is associated with at least one notification sequence related to medical care of at least one patient user.",
"Each notification sequence contains at least one instruction phrase and at least one movement.",
"Each associated patient user operates the patient device in the possession of the associated user such that the patient device performs the at least one notification sequence related to medical care such that each associated patient user perceives the at least one instruction phrase and the at least one movement, and transmits to the server verification data acknowledging perception of the performance of the at least one notification sequence by each associated patient user.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0023] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a networked system according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.",
"[0024] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the interaction of the components of the system of FIG. 1 .",
"[0025] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a remotely programmable talking toy of the system of FIG. 1 .",
"[0026] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the components of the talking toy of FIG. 3 .",
"[0027] FIG. 5 is a script entry screen according to the preferred embodiment of the invention.",
"[0028] FIG. 6 is a listing of a sample script program according to the preferred embodiment of the invention.",
"[0029] FIG. 7 is a script assignment screen according to the preferred embodiment of the invention.",
"[0030] FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating the steps included in a software application executed by the server of FIG. 1 according to the preferred embodiment of the invention.",
"[0031] FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating the steps included in a control program executed by the talking toy of FIG. 3 according to the preferred embodiment of the invention.",
"[0032] FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating the steps included in the script program of FIG. 6 .",
"[0033] FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating the interaction of the server of FIG. 1 with the talking toy of FIG. 3 according to a second embodiment of the invention.",
"[0034] FIG. 12 is a script entry screen according to the second embodiment of the invention.",
"[0035] FIG. 13 is a listing of a generic script program according to the second embodiment of the invention.",
"[0036] FIG. 14 is a listing of a custom script program according to the second embodiment of the invention.",
"[0037] FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating the steps included in a software application executed by the server of FIG. 1 according to the second embodiment of the invention.",
"[0038] FIG. 16 is a script entry screen according to an alternative embodiment of the invention.",
"[0039] FIG. 17 is a script entry screen according to another embodiment of the invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0040] The present invention may be embodied in any programmable device.",
"The present invention will be described below in the context of a toy that may be programmed to speak or move in a desired fashion.",
"The present invention has application to other programmable devices, and the scope of the present invention should be determined by the claims appended hereto and not the following discussion.",
"[0041] The invention may be embodied as a networked system including one or more programmable toys that can be controlled to perform a desired task such as move and/or communicate messages to end users.",
"In contrast to conventional programmable toys whose desired task is programmed during manufacture or through the insertion of external media, the programmable toys of the present invention are programmed remotely through the use of script programs.",
"The script programs allow flexible and dynamic updating of the movement of or messages delivered by the toys, as well as convenient tailoring of toy movement and/or the communicated messages to the needs of particular end users.",
"[0042] In an example embodiment of the invention disclosed below, the end users as described above are patients and healthcare providers, and the programmable toys are remotely programmed to encourage healthy behavior in the patients.",
"The terms “patient”",
"and “health care provider”",
"will be used below interchangeably with the term end user.",
"[0043] In the present exemplary embodiment, the programmable toys may be programmed to encourage children to take their medicine or to tolerate difficult healthcare regimens.",
"The encouragement can take the form of a request audibly delivered to the patient in the form of speech and feedback in the form of movement when the request is followed.",
"[0044] As generally discussed throughout this application, the system of the present invention is equally well suited for purposes other than healthcare, such as industrial motion control systems, exercise equipment, HVAC systems, advertising, home appliances, education, entertainment, or any other application which involves the control of programmable devices to perform a desired task for an end user.",
"[0045] The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1-7 .",
"Referring to FIG. 1 , a networked system 16 includes a server 18 and a workstation 20 connected to server 18 through a communication network 24 .",
"Server 18 is preferably a world wide web server and communication network 24 is preferably the Internet.",
"It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that server 18 may comprise a single stand-alone computer or multiple computers distributed throughout a network.",
"Workstation 20 is preferably a personal computer, remote terminal, or web TV unit connected to server 18 via the Internet.",
"Workstation 20 functions as a remote interface for entering in server 18 the end task to be performed for the benefit of the end user.",
"[0046] System 16 also includes first and second programmable toys 26 and 28 .",
"Each programmable toy interacts with a patient end user in accordance with script programs received from server 18 .",
"Each programmable toy is connected to server 18 through communication network 24 , preferably the Internet.",
"Alternatively, the programmable toys may be placed in communication with server 18 via wireless communication networks, cellular networks, telephone networks, or any other network which allows each programmable toy to exchange data with server 18 .",
"For clarity of illustration, only two programmable toys are shown in FIG. 1 .",
"It is to be understood that system 16 may include any number of programmable toys for communicating messages to any number of patient end users.",
"[0047] In general, a healthcare provider end user will operate the workstation 20 , a programmer will design and operate the server 18 , and the patient end user will use the toys 26 and 28 .",
"[0048] FIG. 2 shows server 18 , workstation 20 , and programmable toy 26 in greater detail.",
"Server 18 includes a database 30 for storing script programs 32 .",
"The script programs are executed by the programmable toys to communicate messages to the patients.",
"Database 30 further includes a look-up table 34 .",
"Table 34 contains a list of the patients who are to receive messages, and for each of the patient end user, a unique identification code and a respective pointer to the script program assigned to the end user.",
"Each programmable toy is designed to execute assigned script programs which it receives from server 18 .",
"[0049] FIGS. 3-4 show the structure of each programmable toy according to the preferred embodiment.",
"For clarity, only programmable toy 26 is illustrated since each programmable toy of the exemplary preferred embodiment has substantially identical structure to toy 26 .",
"Referring to FIG. 3 , toy 26 is preferably embodied as a doll, such as a teddy bear.",
"Alternatively, toy 26 may be embodied as an action figure, robot, or any other desired toy.",
"[0050] Toy 26 includes a modem jack 46 for connecting the toy to a telephone jack 22 through a connection cord 48 .",
"Toy 26 also includes first and second user control buttons 50 and 52 .",
"Button 50 is pressed to instruct the toy to execute a script program.",
"Button 52 is pressed to instruct the toy to establish a communication link to the server and download a new script program.",
"In alternative embodiments, the control buttons may be replaced by switches, keys, sensors, or any other type of interface suitable for receiving user input.",
"[0051] FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the internal components of toy 26 .",
"Toy 26 includes an audio processor chip 54 , which is preferably an RSC-164 chip commercially available from Sensory Circuits Inc. of 1735 N. First Street, San Jose, Calif.",
"95112.",
"Audio processor chip 54 has a microcontroller 56 for executing script programs received from the server.",
"A memory 58 is connected to microcontroller 56 .",
"Memory 58 stores the end user's unique identification code, script programs received from the server, and a script interpreter used by microcontroller 56 to execute the script programs.",
"[0052] The script interpreter translates script commands into the native processor code of microcontroller 56 .",
"Specific techniques for translating and executing script commands in this manner are well known in the art.",
"Memory 58 also stores a control program executed by microcontroller 56 to perform various control functions which are described in the operation section below.",
"Memory 58 is preferably a non-volatile memory, such as a serial EEPROM.",
"[0053] Toy 26 also includes a modem 85 which is connected between microcontroller 56 and modem jack 46 .",
"Modem 85 operates under the control of microcontroller 56 to establish communication links to the server through the communication network and to exchange data with the server.",
"The data includes the end user's unique identification code which modem 85 transmits to the server, as well as assigned script programs which modem 85 receives from the server.",
"Modem 85 is preferably a complete 28 .",
"8 K modem commercially available from Cermetek, although any suitable modem may be used.",
"[0054] Toy 26 further includes a speaker 64 and a microphone 66 .",
"Audio processor chip 54 has built in speech synthesis functionality for audibly communicating messages and prompts to an end user through speaker 64 .",
"For speech synthesis, chip 54 includes a digital to analog converter (DAC) 60 and an amplifier 62 .",
"DAC 60 and amplifier 62 drive speaker 64 under the control of microcontroller 56 to communicate the messages and prompts.",
"[0055] Audio processor chip 54 also has built in speech recognition functionality for recognizing responses spoken into microphone 66 .",
"Audio signals received through microphone 66 are converted to electrical signals and sent to a preamp and gain control circuit 68 .",
"Circuit 68 is controlled by an automatic gain control circuit 70 , which is in turn controlled by microcontroller 56 .",
"After being amplified by preamp 68 , the electrical signals enter chip 54 and pass through a multiplexer 72 and an analog to digital converter (ADC) 74 .",
"The resulting digital signals pass through a digital logic circuit 76 and enter microcontroller 56 for speech recognition.",
"[0056] Audio processor chip 54 also includes a RAM 80 for short term memory storage and a ROM 82 which stores audio sounds for speech synthesis and programs executed by microcontroller 56 to perform speech recognition and speech synthesis.",
"Chip 54 operates at a clock speed determined by a crystal 84 .",
"Chip 54 further includes a clock 78 which provides the current date and time to microcontroller 56 .",
"Microcontroller 56 is also connected to control buttons 50 and 52 to receive user input.",
"Toy 26 is preferably powered by one or more batteries (not shown).",
"Alternatively, the toy may be powered by a standard wall outlet.",
"Both methods for supplying power to a toy are well known in the art.",
"[0057] The toy 26 further comprises a motion system 79 that receives control signals from the microcontroller 56 .",
"The motion system 79 can be similar to the motion system used in the “FURBY”",
"doll;",
"this system 79 allows the toy 26 to shake, move its hands and feet, and open and close its mouth and eyes.",
"The motion system 79 is well-known in the art, but is conventionally preprogrammed at the factory for particular ranges and sequences of movement.",
"[0058] Referring again to FIG. 2 , server 18 includes a controlling software application 36 which is executed by server 18 to perform the various functions described below.",
"The controlling software application 36 may be a system for generating a sequence of control commands based on an application program for motion control systems such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,867,385 and 5,691,897 to Brown et al.",
", which are incorporated herein by reference.",
"[0059] The controlling software application 36 includes a script generator 38 and a script assignor 40 .",
"Script generator 38 is designed to generate script programs 32 from script information entered through workstation 20 .",
"The script programs 32 are a specific type of command program such as those typically executed by programmable devices.",
"The script programs 32 contain the information necessary for the microcontroller 56 to cause the toy 26 to perform a desired task.",
"[0060] The script information is entered through a script entry screen 42 .",
"In the preferred embodiment, script entry screen 42 is implemented as a web page on server 18 .",
"Workstation 20 includes a web browser for accessing the web page to enter the script information.",
"[0061] FIG. 5 illustrates a sample script entry screen 42 as it appears on workstation 20 .",
"Screen 42 includes a script name field 86 for specifying the name of a script program to be generated.",
"Screen 42 also includes entry fields 88 for entering information defining the desired task, such as a message containing instructions from the healthcare provider end user to be communicated to the patient end user and a movement to be performed when patient end user complies with the instructions.",
"[0062] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary set of statements which encourage the end user to comply with his or her diabetes care regimen.",
"However, it is to be understood that any type of desired task may be entered in screen 42 , including movement, sounds, or other messages such as advertisements, educational messages, and entertainment messages.",
"Screen 42 further includes a CREATE SCRIPT button 90 for instructing the script generator to generate a script program from the information entered in screen 42 .",
"Screen 42 also includes a CANCEL button 92 for canceling the information entered.",
"[0063] In the preferred embodiment, each script program created by the script generator conforms to the standard file format used on UNIX systems.",
"In the standard file format, each command is listed in the upper case and followed by a colon.",
"Every line in the script program is terminated by a linefeed character {LF}, and only one command is placed on each line.",
"The last character in the script program is a UNIX end of file character {EOF}.",
"Table 1 shows an exemplary listing of script commands used in the preferred embodiment of the invention.",
"[0000] TABLE 1 SCRIPT COMMANDS Command Description SPEAK: {words} {LF} Synthesize the words following the SPEAK command.",
"RECOGNIZE: {word} {LF} Recognize the word following the RECOGNIZE command.",
"DELAY: t {LF} Wait a period of seconds specified by time parameter t. [0064] The script commands illustrated in Table 1 are representative of the preferred embodiment and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.",
"After consideration of the ensuing description, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art many other suitable scripting languages and sets of script commands may be used to implement the invention.",
"[0065] Script generator 38 preferably stores a script program template which it uses to create each script program.",
"To generate a script program, script generator 38 inserts into the template the information entered in screen 42 .",
"For example, FIG. 6 illustrates a sample script program created by the script generator from the script information shown in FIG. S. The script program includes speech commands to synthesize the phrases or statements entered in fields 88 .",
"The steps included in the script program are also shown in the flow chart of FIG. 10 and will be discussed in the operation section below.",
"[0066] Referring again to FIG. 2 , script assignor 40 is for assigning script programs 32 to the patient end users.",
"Script programs 32 are assigned in accordance with script assignment information entered through workstation 30 .",
"The script assignment information is entered through a script assignment screen 44 , which is preferably implemented as a web page on server 18 .",
"[0067] FIG. 7 illustrates a sample script assignment screen 44 as it appears on workstation 20 .",
"Screen 44 includes check boxes 94 for selecting a script program to be assigned and check boxes 96 for selecting the patient end users to whom the script program is to be assigned.",
"Screen 44 also includes an ASSIGN SCRIPT button 100 for entering the assignments.",
"When button 100 is pressed, the script assignor creates and stores for each patient end user selected in check boxes 96 a respective pointer to the script program selected in check boxes 94 .",
"Each pointer is stored in the look-up table of the database.",
"Screen 44 further includes an ADD SCRIPT button 98 for adding a new script program and a DELETE SCRIPT button 102 for deleting a script program.",
"[0068] The operation of the preferred embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 1-10 .",
"FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating the steps included in the software application executed by server 18 .",
"In step 202 , server 18 determines if new script information has been entered through script entry screen 42 .",
"If new script information has not been entered, server 18 proceeds to step 206 .",
"If new script information has been entered, server 18 proceeds to step 204 .",
"[0069] In the preferred embodiment, the script information is entered in server 18 by one or more healthcare provider end users, such as a physician or case manager assigned to the patient, as generally discussed above.",
"Of course, any person desiring to communicate with the end users may be granted access to the server to create and assign script programs.",
"[0070] Further, it is to be understood that the system may include any number of remote interfaces for entering script generation and script assignment information in server 18 .",
"In a toy created for entertainment rather than healthcare purposes, a child may log on to the server 18 , custom design a script program, and download the program into the toy.",
"[0071] As shown in FIG. 5 , the script information specifies a desired task, such as a message containing a set of statements or phrases, to be communicated to one or more patient end users.",
"The desired task may further comprise movements selected and/or entered in a similar manner.",
"[0072] In step 204 , the script generator 38 generates a script program from the information entered in screen 42 .",
"The script program is stored in database 30 .",
"Steps 202 and 204 are preferably repeated to generate multiple script programs, e.g. a script program for diabetes patients, a script program for asthma patients, etc.",
"Each script program corresponds to a respective one of the sets of statements entered through script entry screen 42 .",
"In step 206 , the server 18 determines if new script assignment information has been entered through assignment screen 44 .",
"If new script assignment information has not been entered, server 18 proceeds to step 210 .",
"If new script assignment information has been entered server 18 proceeds to step 208 .",
"[0073] As shown in FIG. 7 , the script assignment information is entered by the healthcare provider end user by selecting a desired script program through check boxes 94 , selecting the patient end users to whom the selected script program is to be assigned through check boxes 96 , and pressing the ASSIGN SCRIPT button 100 .",
"When button 100 is pressed, script assignor 40 creates for each end user selected in check boxes 96 a respective pointer to the script program selected in check boxes 94 .",
"In step 208 , each pointer is stored in look-up table 34 of database 30 .",
"In step 210 , server 18 determines if any one of the programmable toys is remotely connected to the server.",
"[0074] Each patient end user is preferably provided with his or her own programmable toy which has the end user's unique identification code stored therein.",
"Each patient end user is thus uniquely associated with a respective one of the programmable toys.",
"If none of the programmable toys is connected, server 18 returns to step 202 .",
"If a programmable toy is connected, server 18 receives from the programmable toy the patient end user's unique identification code to retrieve from table 34 the pointer to the script program assigned to the patient end user.",
"In step 214 , server 18 retrieves the assigned script program from database 30 .",
"In step 216 , server 18 transmits the assigned script program to the patient end user's programmable toy through communication network 24 .",
"Following step 216 , the server returns to step 202 .",
"[0075] Each programmable toy is initially programmed with its user's unique identification code, the script interpreter used by the toy to interpret and execute script program commands, and a control program executed by the toy to control its overall operation.",
"The initial programming may be achieved during manufacture or during an initial connection to server 18 .",
"FIG. 9 illustrates the steps included in the control program executed by microcontroller 56 of programmable toy 26 .",
"[0076] In step 302 , microcontroller 56 determines if any user input has been received.",
"In the preferred embodiment, user input is received through control buttons 50 and 52 .",
"Control button 50 is pressed to instruct the programmable toy to move and/or speak, and control button 52 is pressed to instruct the toy to connect to the server and download a new script program.",
"If no user input is received for a predetermined period of time, such as two minutes, toy 26 enters sleep mode in step 304 .",
"The sleep mode conserves battery power while the toy is not in use.",
"Following step 304 , microcontroller 56 returns to step 302 and awaits user input.",
"[0077] If user input has been received, microcontroller 56 determines if the input is a task request, step 306 .",
"If the user has pressed control button 50 , if microcontroller 56 executes the script program last received from the server, step 308 .",
"The steps included in a sample script program are shown in the flow chart of FIG. 10 and will be discussed below.",
"Following step 308 , microcontroller 56 returns to step 302 and awaits new user input.",
"[0078] If the user presses control button 52 requesting a connection to the server, microcontroller 56 attempts to establish a communication link to the server through modem 85 and communication network 24 , step 310 .",
"In step 312 , microcontroller determines if the connection was successful.",
"If the connection failed, the user is prompted to connect toy 26 to telephone jack 22 in step 314 .",
"Microcontroller 56 preferably prompts the user by synthesizing the phrase “PLEASE CONNECT ME TO THE TELEPHONE JACK USING THE CONNECTION CORD AND SAY ‘DONE’ WHEN YOU HAVE FINISHED.”",
"[0079] In step 316 , microcontroller 56 waits until the appropriate reply is received through microphone 66 .",
"Upon recognizing the reply ‘DONE’, microcontroller 56 repeats step 310 to get a successful connection to the server.",
"Once a successful connection is established, microcontroller 56 transmits the unique identification code stored in memory 58 to server 18 in step 318 .",
"[0080] In step 320 , microcontroller 56 receives a new script program from the server through communication network 24 and modem 85 .",
"The new script program is stored in memory 58 for subsequent execution by microcontroller 56 .",
"Following step 320 , microcontroller 56 returns to step 302 and awaits new user input.",
"FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating the steps included in a sample script program executed by microcontroller 56 .",
"In step 402 , microcontroller 56 prompts the user by synthesizing through speaker 64 “SAY ‘OK’ WHEN YOU ARE READY.”",
"In step 404 , microcontroller 56 waits until a reply to the prompt is received through the microphone 66 .",
"When the reply ‘OK’ is recognized, microcontroller 55 proceeds to step 406 .",
"If no reply is received within a predetermined period of time, such as two minutes, toy 26 preferably enters sleep mode until it is reactivated by pressing one of the control buttons.",
"[0081] In step 406 , microcontroller 56 executes successive speech commands to synthesize through speaker 64 the phrases or statements specified in the script program.",
"Referring again to FIG. 6 , the speech commands are preferably separated by delay commands which instruct microcontroller 56 to pause for a number of seconds between statements.",
"The number of seconds is selected to allow the user sufficient time to absorb each statement.",
"Alternatively, the user may be prompted to acknowledge each statement before a subsequent statement is synthesized.",
"For example, the script program may include commands which instruct microcontroller 56 to synthesize the phrase “SAY ‘OK’ WHEN YOU ARE READY TO HEAR THE NEXT STATEMENT.”",
"Upon recognizing the reply ‘OK’, microcontroller 56 proceeds to the next speech command in the script program.",
"Movement commands are processed for execution by the motion system in a similar manner.",
"[0082] In step 408 , the user is reminded to connect toy 26 to telephone jack 22 to download a new script program.",
"Microcontroller 56 synthesizes through speaker 64 “PLEASE CONNECT ME TO THE TELEPHONE JACK TO GET NEW MESSAGES.”",
"Following step 408 , the script program ends.",
"[0083] One advantage of the system of the present invention is that it allows each programmable toy to be programmed remotely through the use of script programs.",
"This allows the task performed by each programmable toy to be tailored to the specific needs of a specific end user or group of end users.",
"Moreover, each script program may be easily created, assigned, and downloaded by simply accessing a server through a communication network, such as the Internet.",
"Thus, the invention provides a powerful, convenient, and inexpensive system for communicating messages to a large number of end users.",
"[0084] FIGS. 11-15 illustrate a second embodiment of the invention in which messages are further customized to each patient end user by merging personal data with the script programs, much like a standard mail merge application.",
"Referring to FIG. 11 , personal data relating to each patient end user is preferably stored in look-up table 34 of database 30 .",
"By way of example, the data may include each patient end user's name, the name of each patient end user's medication or disease, or any other desired data.",
"As in the preferred embodiment, database 30 also stores generic script programs 31 created by script generator 38 .",
"[0085] In the second embodiment, server 18 includes a data merge program 41 for merging the data stored in table 34 with generic script programs 31 .",
"Data merge program 41 is designed to retrieve selected data from table 34 and to insert the data into statements in generic script programs 31 , thus creating custom script programs 33 .",
"Each custom script program contains a message which is customized to a patient end user.",
"For example, the message may be customized with the patient end user's name, medication name, disease name, etc.",
"[0086] The operation of the second embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 11-15 .",
"The operation of the second embodiment is similar to the operation of the preferred embodiment except that server 18 transmits custom script programs to each programmable toy rather than generic script programs.",
"FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating the steps included in a software application executed by server 18 according to the second embodiment.",
"[0087] In step 502 , server 18 determines if new script information has been entered through script entry screen 42 .",
"If new script information has not been entered, server 18 proceeds to step 506 .",
"If new script information has been entered, server 18 proceeds to step 504 .",
"As shown in FIG. 12 , the script information specifies a message, such as a set of statements or phrases, to be communicated to the patient end users.",
"Each statement preferably includes one or more insert commands specifying data from table 34 to be inserted into the statement.",
"The insert commands instruct data merge program 41 to retrieve the specified data from database 30 and to insert the data into the statement.",
"For example, the first statement shown in FIG. 12 includes insert commands instructing the data merge program to insert a patient name and a medication name into the statement.",
"[0088] Following entry of the statements and insert commands, CREATE SCRIPT button 90 is pressed.",
"When button 90 is pressed, script generator 38 generates a generic script program from the information entered in screen 42 , step 504 .",
"A sample generic script program is illustrated in FIG. 13 .",
"The generic script program includes speech commands to synthesize the statements entered in fields 88 .",
"Each statement preferably includes one or more insert commands specifying data to be inserted into the script program.",
"The generic script program is stored in database 30 .",
"[0089] In step 506 , server 18 determines if new script assignment information has been entered through assignment screen 44 .",
"If new script assignment information has not been entered, server 18 proceeds to step 512 .",
"If new script assignment information has been entered, server 18 proceeds to step 508 .",
"As shown in FIG. 7 , the script assignment information is entered by selecting a desired script program through check boxes 94 , selecting the patient end users to whom the selected script program is to be assigned through check boxes 96 , and pressing the ASSIGN SCRIPT button 100 .",
"[0090] When button 100 is pressed, data merge program 41 creates a custom script program for each patient end user selected in check boxes 96 , step 508 .",
"Each custom script program is preferably created by using the selected generic script program as a template.",
"For each patient end user selected, data merge program 41 retrieves from database 30 the data specified in the insert commands.",
"Next, data merge program 41 inserts the data into the appropriate statements in the generic script program to create a custom script program for the patient end user.",
"[0091] For example, FIG. 14 illustrates a custom script program created from the generic script program of FIG. 13 .",
"Each custom script program is stored in database 30 .",
"[0092] As each custom script program is generated for a patient end user, script assignor 40 assigns the custom script program to the patient end user, step 510 .",
"This is preferably accomplished by creating a pointer to the custom script program and storing the pointer with the patient end user's unique identification code in table 34 .",
"In step 512 , server 18 determines if any one of the programmable toys is remotely connected to the server.",
"If a programmable toy is connected, server 18 receives from the programmable toy the patient end user's unique identification code in step 514 .",
"[0093] Server 18 uses the received identification code to retrieve from table 34 the pointer to the custom script program assigned to the patient end user.",
"In step 516 , server 18 retrieves the custom script program from database 30 .",
"In step 518 , server 18 transmits the custom script program to the patient end user's programmable toy.",
"The programmable toy receives and executes the script program in the same manner described in the preferred embodiment.",
"The remaining operation of the second embodiment is analogous to the operation of the preferred embodiment described above.",
"[0094] Although it is presently preferred to generate a custom script program for each patient end user as soon as script assignment information is received for the patient end user, it is also possible to wait until the patient end user's programmable toys connects to the server before generating the custom script program.",
"This is accomplished by creating and storing a pointer to the generic script program assigned to the patient end user, as previously described in the preferred embodiment.",
"When the patient end user's programmable toy connects to the server, the data merge program creates a custom script program for the patient end user from the generic script program assigned to the patient end user.",
"The custom script program is then transmitted to the patient end user's programmable toy for execution.",
"[0095] Although the first and second embodiments focus on healthcare applications, the system of the present invention may be used for any messaging application.",
"For example, the system is particularly well suited for advertising.",
"In a third embodiment of the invention, an advertising service is provided with a remote interface to the server for creating and assigning script programs which contain advertising messages.",
"As shown in FIG. 16 , each advertising message may be conveniently entered through script entry screen 42 , like the health-related messages of the preferred embodiment.",
"The operation of the third embodiment is analogous to the operation of the preferred embodiment, except that the talking toys communicate advertising messages rather than health-related messages.",
"[0096] Of course, the system of the present invention has many other applications.",
"Typically, the user of each programmable toy is a child.",
"In a fourth embodiment of the invention, the child's parent or guardian is provided with a remote interface to the server for creating and assigning script programs which contain messages for the child.",
"As shown in FIG. 17 , each message may be conveniently entered through script entry screen 42 .",
"The operation of the fourth embodiment is analogous to the operation of the preferred embodiment, except that script information is entered in the server by a parent or guardian rather than a healthcare provider.",
"[0097] Alternatively, the child may be provided with a remote interface to the server to create and assign his or her own script programs.",
"It should also be noted that script programs may be generated from information received from multiple sources, such as a healthcare provider, an advertiser, and a parent.",
"In a fifth embodiment of the invention, the script entry screen includes a respective section for each of the sources to enter a message to be communicated.",
"Each of the sources is provided with a remote interface to the server and a password for accessing the script entry screen.",
"After each source has entered one or more messages in the server, a script program is generated which contains a combination of health-related messages, advertisements, educational messages, or entertainment messages.",
"The remaining operation of the fifth embodiment is analogous to the operation of the preferred embodiment described above.",
"[0098] Although the above description contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention but merely as illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments.",
"Many other embodiments of the invention are possible.",
"For example, the scripting language and script commands shown are representative of the preferred embodiment.",
"It will be apparent to one skilled in the art many other scripting languages and specific script commands may be used to implement the invention.",
"[0099] Moreover, the programmable device need not be embodied as a doll.",
"The toys may be embodied as action figures, robots, or any other type of toy.",
"Further, each programmable toy need not include a control button for triggering speech output.",
"In alternative embodiments, speech is triggered by other mechanisms, such as voice prompts, the absence of the user's voice, position sensitive sensors, switches, or the like.",
"Specific techniques for triggering speech in a programmable toy are well known in the art.",
"In addition, the system of the present invention is not limited to healthcare applications.",
"[0100] The system may be used in any application which involves the communication of messages, including advertising, education, or entertainment.",
"Of course, various combinations of these applications are also possible.",
"For example, messages from multiple sources may be combined to generate script programs which contain a combination of health-related messages, advertisements, or educational messages.",
"Further, the system may include any number of remote interfaces for entering and assigning script programs, and any number of programmable toys for delivering messages.",
"[0101] More generally, the programmable device need not be a toy.",
"[0102] For example, the programmable device may be a handheld computing device adapted to control and monitor an athlete end user's performance during athletic training.",
"The device may monitor the athlete end user's heart rate and lactose levels.",
"The device may be remotely programmed by a trainer end user or automated system with instructions for training for a specific athletic event based on data collected by the handheld device.",
"[0103] The programmable device may be a household appliance such as a refrigerator that monitors its contents.",
"A remote end user such as a service that delivers groceries could reprogram the refrigerator as necessary to reflect delivered goods.",
"[0104] The programmable device may also be an industrial motion control system such as a robotic welding machine.",
"An engineer in charge of the product being welded may change its design and remotely generate a new command program for the robotic welding machine in response to the design changes.",
"[0105] The programmable device may be an HVAC system that communicates with a remote weather monitoring system that generates a new command program for the HVAC system in response to changes in the weather.",
"[0106] The embodiments of the present invention disclosed above are merely an illustrative, and not exhaustive, list of the environments in which the present invention may be applied.",
"Therefore, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the examples given, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents."
] |
RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation-in-part of and claims priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/143,039, filed Apr. 29, 2016, which claims priority from and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/160,999, filed May 13, 2015, the disclosure of each of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a connector and cable interconnection, and more specifically to a connector and cable interconnection method and apparatus with improved manufacturing efficiency and electrical performance characteristics.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Coaxial connectors are commonly utilized in RF communications systems. A typical coaxial cable includes an inner conductor, an outer conductor, a dielectric layer that separates the inner and outer conductors, and a jacket that covers the outer conductor. Coaxial cable connectors may be applied to terminate coaxial cables, for example, in communication systems requiring a high level of precision and reliability.
Coaxial connector interfaces provide a connect/disconnect functionality between a cable terminated with a connector bearing the desired connector interface and a corresponding connector with a mating connector interface mounted on an apparatus or on another cable. Typically, one connector will include a structure such as a pin or post connected to an inner conductor and an outer conductor connector body connected to the outer conductor; these are mated with a mating sleeve (for the pin or post of the inner conductor) and another outer conductor connector body of a second connector. Coaxial connector interfaces often utilize a threaded coupling nut or other retainer that draws the connector interface pair into secure electromechanical engagement when the coupling nut (which is captured by one of the connectors) is threaded onto the other connector.
Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,802,710 and 7,900,344, hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties, disclose a technique for attaching a coaxial connector to a coaxial cable. The connector utilizes an insulating disc retained upon the inner contact and against the dielectric layer and outer conductor of the cable. Induction heating of a solder preform wrapped around the outer conductor creates a molten solder pool in a cylindrical solder cavity formed between the outer conductor, the insulating disc and the connector body. The insulating disc prevents the molten solder from migrating out of the cavity, fouling the connector bore and/or shorting the outer and inner conductors.
Commonly-owned U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014/0201989, also incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, illustrates a pedestal with an insulating seat on which the soldering of the outer conductor to the connector body can occur. One issue that can arise with this technique is the formation of air bubbles within the solder; if such bubbles form in locations along the signal path, the electrical performance of the connector interface can be compromised. Thus, it may be desirable to provide a technique that addresses this shortcoming.
SUMMARY
As a first aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a method of forming a solder joint between a coaxial cable and a coaxial connector. The method comprises the steps of: positioning a solder element between an end of an outer conductor of the coaxial cable and a connector body of the connector, wherein the connector includes an insulator with a suction passage; lowering the connector body and insulator onto a mounting structure; melting the solder element to form a solder joint between the outer conductor and the connector body, the solder joint including a lower surface formed by contact with the insulator and/or the insulator; and applying suction to the melting solder element from a suction source to reduce the formation of bubbles within the solder joint, wherein a suction path between the suction source and the solder element includes the suction passage in the insulator.
As a second aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a method for attaching a connector to a coaxial cable, comprising the steps of: positioning a solder element between an end of an outer conductor of the coaxial cable and a connector body of the connector, wherein the connector includes an insulator with a suction passage; positioning the connector body and insulator on a mounting structure; melting the solder element to form a solder joint between the outer conductor and the connector body and/or the insulator, the solder joint including a surface formed by contact with the insulator; and applying suction to the melting solder element to prevent the formation of bubbles within the solder joint, wherein a suction path between the suction source and the solder element includes the suction passage in the insulator.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a cable-connector assembly apparatus and a cable, wherein electrical interconnections, supporting and enclosure structures are removed for clarity.
FIG. 2 is a schematic section view of a connector body seated upon the interface pedestal of the apparatus of FIG. 1 .
FIG. 3 is an enlarged section view of the pedestal and connector body of FIG. 2 with a cable and solder preform inserted therein for solder interconnection.
FIG. 4 is a section view as in FIG. 3 with the solder preform melted to form a solder joint.
FIG. 5 is a section view of a pedestal and connector body according to embodiments of the invention.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged section view of the pedestal and connector body of FIG. 5 along with a coaxial cable joined to the connector body via a solder joint.
FIG. 7 is an end view of an insulator included on a connector according to embodiments of the invention.
FIG. 8 is a cross-section of a connector including the insulator of FIG. 7 in a connector body mounted on an interface pedestal as FIG. 5 .
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which certain embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments that are pictured and described herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. It will also be appreciated that the embodiments disclosed herein can be combined in any way and/or combination to provide many additional embodiments.
Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms that are used in this disclosure have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used in the above description is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used in this disclosure, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that when an element (e.g., a device, circuit, etc.) is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present.
Referring now to the figures, an apparatus 21 for soldering a connector body onto a coaxial cable such as is described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014/0201989, supra, is shown in FIG. 1 . The apparatus includes a pedestal 19 mounted on a base 21 , a clamp 41 for holding a cable 1 in place, and an inductive heating element 37 for heating solder used to attach the connector body to the outer conductor of the cable 1 . FIG. 2 shows a connector body 17 in place on the pedestal 19 , with a step in the connector body 17 resting on a shoulder 25 of the pedestal 19 . A cap 29 , formed of a dielectric, thermally insulative material, is mounted on the upper end of the pedestal 19 to provide thermal insulation to components of the cable 1 during soldering. As a result, the pedestal 19 and cap 29 act as a mounting structure for the connector body 17 . The pedestal 19 includes an inner conductor cavity 39 in its upper surface that is configured to receive the inner contact 11 of the cable 1 during soldering.
As shown in FIG. 3 , a solder preform 15 or other solder element circumscribes the end of the outer conductor 5 of the cable 1 . The connector body 17 is positioned on the pedestal 19 , with the solder cavity 27 of the connector body 17 (formed by the inner surface of the connector body 17 , the upper surface of the cap 29 , and the outer conductor 5 ) located above the pedestal 19 . The cable 1 with the solder preform 15 in place is lowered into the cavity 27 and onto the pedestal 19 , with the inner contact 11 of the cable 1 received in the inner conductor cavity 39 , and the end of the outer conductor 5 and the solder preform 15 abutting the cap 29 . Heat is applied to the end of the cable 1 via the heating element 37 , such that the solder preform 15 melts, flows downwardly within the solder cavity 27 between the inner surface of the connector body 17 , the upper surface of the cap 29 , and the outer conductor 5 , and freezes, thereby forming a solder joint 18 between the outer conductor 5 and the connector body 17 ( FIG. 4 ).
As described above, and as shown in FIG. 4 , in many instances the flowing solder from the solder preform will create bubbles 22 that remain in the frozen solder joint 18 . Such bubbles 22 can adversely impact the electrical performance of the interface between the outer conductor 5 and the connector body 17 , particularly if the bubbles 22 are located in the electrical signal path.
An apparatus that can address the problem introduced by the bubbles 22 is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 . The apparatus 100 includes a pedestal 119 with a cap 129 as described above. However, the upper surface of the cap 129 is covered with a thin membrane 130 that is permeable to air, but is substantially impermeable to solder. Exemplary materials for the thin membrane 130 include woven polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The material selected for the membrane 130 should have sufficient heat resistance that it does not melt at soldering temperatures. In addition, the cap 129 includes one or more vertical grooves 132 in its outer surface such that air channels are formed between the outer surface of the cap 129 and the inner surface of the connector body 17 ′ as the connector body 17 ′ is fitted over the cap 129 .
Referring still to FIGS. 5 and 6 , the pedestal 119 includes one or more vent holes 134 that originate from an empty space 136 below the lower edge of the cap 129 . The vent holes 134 are routed within the pedestal 119 to a vacuum port 138 in the side of the pedestal 119 that attaches to a vacuum source 140 .
In operation, the connector body 17 ′ is positioned on the pedestal 119 as described above (see FIG. 5 ). The cable 1 ′ with the solder preform in place is lowered onto the pedestal 119 . As heat is applied to the solder preform via the heating element discussed above, the vacuum source 140 is activated to apply suction to the solder cavity 127 through the vent holes 134 , the air channels created by the grooves 132 in the cap 129 , and the membrane 130 . As such, as the solder preform melts and freezes, air is drawn from the molten solder through the membrane 130 , which can prevent the formation bubbles in the solder joint 18 ′ (see FIG. 6 ). The reduction or elimination of bubbles within the solder joint 18 ′ can improve the consistency of the electrical properties of the solder joint 18 ′, and in turn those of the cable 1 ′ and connector body 17 ′.
Those skilled in this art will recognize that other variations of the components and techniques described above are possible. For example, the pedestal 119 and/or cap 129 may be replaced with other mounting structures, and in particular with other mounting structures that can help to form a solder cavity with the connector body 17 ′. The path between the vacuum source 140 and the solder cavity 127 provided by the vent holes 134 may be configured differently, or in some instances vacuum may be provided in another manner (see, e.g., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/065,468, filed Mar. 9, 2016, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety). Other variations may also be suitable for use herein.
Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 8 , another connector, designated broadly at 200 , is shown therein. The connector 200 includes a connector body 217 somewhat similar to that discussed above that engages an interface pedestal 219 . However, an insulator 220 is positioned in the connector body 217 and rests on the pedestal 219 . The insulator 220 includes two through holes 222 .
In operation, the connector body 217 with the insulator 220 is positioned on the interface pedestal 219 , with a solder preform in placed on the outer conductor 16 ″ of the cable 1 ″. Suction is applied to the interface pedestal 219 as described above (i.e., via the suction source 240 through the vacuum port 238 ). However, in this instance suction reaches the solder cavity 227 via the through holes 222 , which connect the inner conductor cavity 239 with a cavity 241 within the insulator 220 ). The solder joint 218 forms within the solder cavity 227 with the upper surface of the connector body 217 serving to form one of the surfaces of the solder joint 218 .
This modified technique may be particularly suitable for use with connectors the meet the proposed standard set forth in IEC 4.3/10.
Those skilled in this art will appreciate that other configurations may be suitable. For example, the through holes 222 are illustrated as being bored within the body of the insulator 220 to provide a suction passage through the insulator 220 as part of the suction path between the suction source 240 and the solder joint 218 . However, in some embodiments a suction passage in the insulator 220 to the solder cavity 227 may be provided by holes, recesses, grooves or the like in the outer diameter of the insulator 220 . Alternatively, suction passage to the solder cavity 227 may be achieved by using an insulator with an outer diameter that is slightly less than the inner diameter of the connector body 217 . Combinations of these configurations may also be possible (e.g., a small outer diameter for the insulator may be used for half of the thickness of the insulator, and through holes or recesses used for the other half of the thickness).
In addition, in some embodiments a portion of the upper surface of the insulator 220 may contribute to the formation of at least part of the lower surface of the solder joint 218 .
Further, in some embodiments the upper surface of the pedestal 219 may be covered with a membrane as described above in connection with the pedestal 119 .
While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of the embodiments thereof, and while the embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus, methods, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departure from the spirit or scope of applicant's general inventive concept. Further, it is to be appreciated that improvements and/or modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention as defined by the following claims. | A method of forming a solder joint between a coaxial cable and a coaxial connector includes the steps of: positioning a solder element between an end of an outer conductor of the coaxial cable and a connector body of the connector, wherein the connector includes an insulator with a suction passage; lowering the connector body and insulator onto a mounting structure; melting the solder element to form a solder joint between the outer conductor and the connector body, the solder joint including a lower surface formed by contact with the insulator and/or the connector body; and applying suction to the melting solder element from a suction source to reduce the formation of bubbles within the solder joint, wherein a suction path between the suction source and the solder element includes the suction passage in the insulator. | Identify the most important aspect in the document and summarize the concept accordingly. | [
"RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation-in-part of and claims priority from U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 15/143,039, filed Apr. 29, 2016, which claims priority from and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/160,999, filed May 13, 2015, the disclosure of each of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to a connector and cable interconnection, and more specifically to a connector and cable interconnection method and apparatus with improved manufacturing efficiency and electrical performance characteristics.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Coaxial connectors are commonly utilized in RF communications systems.",
"A typical coaxial cable includes an inner conductor, an outer conductor, a dielectric layer that separates the inner and outer conductors, and a jacket that covers the outer conductor.",
"Coaxial cable connectors may be applied to terminate coaxial cables, for example, in communication systems requiring a high level of precision and reliability.",
"Coaxial connector interfaces provide a connect/disconnect functionality between a cable terminated with a connector bearing the desired connector interface and a corresponding connector with a mating connector interface mounted on an apparatus or on another cable.",
"Typically, one connector will include a structure such as a pin or post connected to an inner conductor and an outer conductor connector body connected to the outer conductor;",
"these are mated with a mating sleeve (for the pin or post of the inner conductor) and another outer conductor connector body of a second connector.",
"Coaxial connector interfaces often utilize a threaded coupling nut or other retainer that draws the connector interface pair into secure electromechanical engagement when the coupling nut (which is captured by one of the connectors) is threaded onto the other connector.",
"Commonly-owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,802,710 and 7,900,344, hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties, disclose a technique for attaching a coaxial connector to a coaxial cable.",
"The connector utilizes an insulating disc retained upon the inner contact and against the dielectric layer and outer conductor of the cable.",
"Induction heating of a solder preform wrapped around the outer conductor creates a molten solder pool in a cylindrical solder cavity formed between the outer conductor, the insulating disc and the connector body.",
"The insulating disc prevents the molten solder from migrating out of the cavity, fouling the connector bore and/or shorting the outer and inner conductors.",
"Commonly-owned U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014/0201989, also incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, illustrates a pedestal with an insulating seat on which the soldering of the outer conductor to the connector body can occur.",
"One issue that can arise with this technique is the formation of air bubbles within the solder;",
"if such bubbles form in locations along the signal path, the electrical performance of the connector interface can be compromised.",
"Thus, it may be desirable to provide a technique that addresses this shortcoming.",
"SUMMARY As a first aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a method of forming a solder joint between a coaxial cable and a coaxial connector.",
"The method comprises the steps of: positioning a solder element between an end of an outer conductor of the coaxial cable and a connector body of the connector, wherein the connector includes an insulator with a suction passage;",
"lowering the connector body and insulator onto a mounting structure;",
"melting the solder element to form a solder joint between the outer conductor and the connector body, the solder joint including a lower surface formed by contact with the insulator and/or the insulator;",
"and applying suction to the melting solder element from a suction source to reduce the formation of bubbles within the solder joint, wherein a suction path between the suction source and the solder element includes the suction passage in the insulator.",
"As a second aspect, embodiments of the invention are directed to a method for attaching a connector to a coaxial cable, comprising the steps of: positioning a solder element between an end of an outer conductor of the coaxial cable and a connector body of the connector, wherein the connector includes an insulator with a suction passage;",
"positioning the connector body and insulator on a mounting structure;",
"melting the solder element to form a solder joint between the outer conductor and the connector body and/or the insulator, the solder joint including a surface formed by contact with the insulator;",
"and applying suction to the melting solder element to prevent the formation of bubbles within the solder joint, wherein a suction path between the suction source and the solder element includes the suction passage in the insulator.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a cable-connector assembly apparatus and a cable, wherein electrical interconnections, supporting and enclosure structures are removed for clarity.",
"FIG. 2 is a schematic section view of a connector body seated upon the interface pedestal of the apparatus of FIG. 1 .",
"FIG. 3 is an enlarged section view of the pedestal and connector body of FIG. 2 with a cable and solder preform inserted therein for solder interconnection.",
"FIG. 4 is a section view as in FIG. 3 with the solder preform melted to form a solder joint.",
"FIG. 5 is a section view of a pedestal and connector body according to embodiments of the invention.",
"FIG. 6 is an enlarged section view of the pedestal and connector body of FIG. 5 along with a coaxial cable joined to the connector body via a solder joint.",
"FIG. 7 is an end view of an insulator included on a connector according to embodiments of the invention.",
"FIG. 8 is a cross-section of a connector including the insulator of FIG. 7 in a connector body mounted on an interface pedestal as FIG. 5 .",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which certain embodiments of the invention are shown.",
"This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments that are pictured and described herein;",
"rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.",
"It will also be appreciated that the embodiments disclosed herein can be combined in any way and/or combination to provide many additional embodiments.",
"Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms that are used in this disclosure have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.",
"The terminology used in the above description is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention.",
"As used in this disclosure, the singular forms “a”, “an”",
"and “the”",
"are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.",
"It will also be understood that when an element (e.g., a device, circuit, etc.) is referred to as being “connected”",
"or “coupled”",
"to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present.",
"In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected”",
"or “directly coupled”",
"to another element, there are no intervening elements present.",
"Referring now to the figures, an apparatus 21 for soldering a connector body onto a coaxial cable such as is described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014/0201989, supra, is shown in FIG. 1 .",
"The apparatus includes a pedestal 19 mounted on a base 21 , a clamp 41 for holding a cable 1 in place, and an inductive heating element 37 for heating solder used to attach the connector body to the outer conductor of the cable 1 .",
"FIG. 2 shows a connector body 17 in place on the pedestal 19 , with a step in the connector body 17 resting on a shoulder 25 of the pedestal 19 .",
"A cap 29 , formed of a dielectric, thermally insulative material, is mounted on the upper end of the pedestal 19 to provide thermal insulation to components of the cable 1 during soldering.",
"As a result, the pedestal 19 and cap 29 act as a mounting structure for the connector body 17 .",
"The pedestal 19 includes an inner conductor cavity 39 in its upper surface that is configured to receive the inner contact 11 of the cable 1 during soldering.",
"As shown in FIG. 3 , a solder preform 15 or other solder element circumscribes the end of the outer conductor 5 of the cable 1 .",
"The connector body 17 is positioned on the pedestal 19 , with the solder cavity 27 of the connector body 17 (formed by the inner surface of the connector body 17 , the upper surface of the cap 29 , and the outer conductor 5 ) located above the pedestal 19 .",
"The cable 1 with the solder preform 15 in place is lowered into the cavity 27 and onto the pedestal 19 , with the inner contact 11 of the cable 1 received in the inner conductor cavity 39 , and the end of the outer conductor 5 and the solder preform 15 abutting the cap 29 .",
"Heat is applied to the end of the cable 1 via the heating element 37 , such that the solder preform 15 melts, flows downwardly within the solder cavity 27 between the inner surface of the connector body 17 , the upper surface of the cap 29 , and the outer conductor 5 , and freezes, thereby forming a solder joint 18 between the outer conductor 5 and the connector body 17 ( FIG. 4 ).",
"As described above, and as shown in FIG. 4 , in many instances the flowing solder from the solder preform will create bubbles 22 that remain in the frozen solder joint 18 .",
"Such bubbles 22 can adversely impact the electrical performance of the interface between the outer conductor 5 and the connector body 17 , particularly if the bubbles 22 are located in the electrical signal path.",
"An apparatus that can address the problem introduced by the bubbles 22 is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 .",
"The apparatus 100 includes a pedestal 119 with a cap 129 as described above.",
"However, the upper surface of the cap 129 is covered with a thin membrane 130 that is permeable to air, but is substantially impermeable to solder.",
"Exemplary materials for the thin membrane 130 include woven polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).",
"The material selected for the membrane 130 should have sufficient heat resistance that it does not melt at soldering temperatures.",
"In addition, the cap 129 includes one or more vertical grooves 132 in its outer surface such that air channels are formed between the outer surface of the cap 129 and the inner surface of the connector body 17 ′ as the connector body 17 ′ is fitted over the cap 129 .",
"Referring still to FIGS. 5 and 6 , the pedestal 119 includes one or more vent holes 134 that originate from an empty space 136 below the lower edge of the cap 129 .",
"The vent holes 134 are routed within the pedestal 119 to a vacuum port 138 in the side of the pedestal 119 that attaches to a vacuum source 140 .",
"In operation, the connector body 17 ′ is positioned on the pedestal 119 as described above (see FIG. 5 ).",
"The cable 1 ′ with the solder preform in place is lowered onto the pedestal 119 .",
"As heat is applied to the solder preform via the heating element discussed above, the vacuum source 140 is activated to apply suction to the solder cavity 127 through the vent holes 134 , the air channels created by the grooves 132 in the cap 129 , and the membrane 130 .",
"As such, as the solder preform melts and freezes, air is drawn from the molten solder through the membrane 130 , which can prevent the formation bubbles in the solder joint 18 ′ (see FIG. 6 ).",
"The reduction or elimination of bubbles within the solder joint 18 ′ can improve the consistency of the electrical properties of the solder joint 18 ′, and in turn those of the cable 1 ′ and connector body 17 ′.",
"Those skilled in this art will recognize that other variations of the components and techniques described above are possible.",
"For example, the pedestal 119 and/or cap 129 may be replaced with other mounting structures, and in particular with other mounting structures that can help to form a solder cavity with the connector body 17 ′.",
"The path between the vacuum source 140 and the solder cavity 127 provided by the vent holes 134 may be configured differently, or in some instances vacuum may be provided in another manner (see, e.g., U.S. patent application Ser.",
"No. 15/065,468, filed Mar. 9, 2016, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety).",
"Other variations may also be suitable for use herein.",
"Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 8 , another connector, designated broadly at 200 , is shown therein.",
"The connector 200 includes a connector body 217 somewhat similar to that discussed above that engages an interface pedestal 219 .",
"However, an insulator 220 is positioned in the connector body 217 and rests on the pedestal 219 .",
"The insulator 220 includes two through holes 222 .",
"In operation, the connector body 217 with the insulator 220 is positioned on the interface pedestal 219 , with a solder preform in placed on the outer conductor 16 ″ of the cable 1 ″.",
"Suction is applied to the interface pedestal 219 as described above (i.e., via the suction source 240 through the vacuum port 238 ).",
"However, in this instance suction reaches the solder cavity 227 via the through holes 222 , which connect the inner conductor cavity 239 with a cavity 241 within the insulator 220 ).",
"The solder joint 218 forms within the solder cavity 227 with the upper surface of the connector body 217 serving to form one of the surfaces of the solder joint 218 .",
"This modified technique may be particularly suitable for use with connectors the meet the proposed standard set forth in IEC 4.3/10.",
"Those skilled in this art will appreciate that other configurations may be suitable.",
"For example, the through holes 222 are illustrated as being bored within the body of the insulator 220 to provide a suction passage through the insulator 220 as part of the suction path between the suction source 240 and the solder joint 218 .",
"However, in some embodiments a suction passage in the insulator 220 to the solder cavity 227 may be provided by holes, recesses, grooves or the like in the outer diameter of the insulator 220 .",
"Alternatively, suction passage to the solder cavity 227 may be achieved by using an insulator with an outer diameter that is slightly less than the inner diameter of the connector body 217 .",
"Combinations of these configurations may also be possible (e.g., a small outer diameter for the insulator may be used for half of the thickness of the insulator, and through holes or recesses used for the other half of the thickness).",
"In addition, in some embodiments a portion of the upper surface of the insulator 220 may contribute to the formation of at least part of the lower surface of the solder joint 218 .",
"Further, in some embodiments the upper surface of the pedestal 219 may be covered with a membrane as described above in connection with the pedestal 119 .",
"While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of the embodiments thereof, and while the embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail.",
"Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art.",
"Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus, methods, and illustrative examples shown and described.",
"Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departure from the spirit or scope of applicant's general inventive concept.",
"Further, it is to be appreciated that improvements and/or modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention as defined by the following claims."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCES
This is a Divisional Application from U.S. nonprovisional application Ser. No. 14/154,214 and claims all priority to the aforementioned application.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to rifle style firearms, and particularly concerns both apparatus and methods for readily and precisely determining the cant of the rifle relative to the target such that the shooter can make appropriate aim adjustments to improve the probability of hitting the target. The location of the cant measurement device is designed to facilitate the shooters assessment of the rifle's cant when viewing other sighting means on the rifle.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Accuracy in placing a projectile onto a target using a rifle requires the shooter to determine three primary elements: 1) distance to the target, 2) the incline of the projectile as it leaves the rifle, and 3) the cant of the rifle at the moment the projectile leaves the rifle. The rifle cant is defined as the degree of rotational tilt the rifle has along the axis of the rifle barrel. Distance and incline are part of “sighting” a rifle to a target and generally require several elements that must be determined by the shooter. Since gravity tends to bring the projectile downward, an incline of the barrel must often be made to hit a target at some distance. Commonly used sights for setting the incline can be a groove or aperture at the rear end of the post or the point at the barrel end-muzzle. Once the shooter determines a point at which the projectile is aimed, the shooter uses one eye to align the post into the groove, which effectively aligns the rifle both horizontally and vertically to the point of aim.
However, such sighting means may not offer the shooter with the degree of accuracy that may be desired. To improve the accuracy of the horizontal and vertical alignment, some rifle assemblies make use of a magnification means, referred to as a scope. A scope typically provides the shooter with a glass view port displaying horizontal and vertical lines in addition to a magnified view of the point of aim. Scopes incorporate vertical and horizontal adjustment means. The shooter simply makes the calculated vertical and horizontal adjustments to account for situational issues such as wind, temperature, and distance and aligns the point of aim with the intersection of these two lines, commonly referred to as cross-hairs. Scopes can contain a system of lines, dots, cross hairs, wires, or electrically projected images which aid aligning the barrel to the point of aim. Scopes are generally mounted on top of the action assembly near the back end of the barrel of the rifle and are attached thereto with some means for adjustment. A common adjustment means is a ring and slotted bar-rail device also known as scope rings and scope bases. These adjustments are typically made at a shooting range or target practice area where the rifle is placed in a holder to ensure proper alignment and target distances are accurately known. Using this method, a rifle and scope can be adjusted to provide the shooter with a high degree of accuracy.
However, using a holder at a shooting range for calibrating a rifle's proper incline as a function of distance to the target often does not represent real world situations where the shooter is either standing or prone with the rifle being held at the time of firing. In these situations, the rifle is often twisted or rotated about the axis of the barrel. The physics of projectile firing is greatly affected by this degree of rotation or “cant” of the rifle at the moment of firing. For example, a left angle of cant tends to result in the shot being to the lower left of the point of aim. Shooters, especially competition target shooters, must compensate for the cant of the rifle to improve shot accuracy.
Various means have been presented in the prior art to provide feedback to the shooter of the degree of cant during their aim. One such example is U.S. Pat. No. 6,813,855 where Pinkley presents an apparatus where among other accompanying pieces, a bubble level is strapped to the rifle stock underneath the scope. Pinlkley's cant compensation method involves the steps of positioning the firearm and scope with a canted reticle system so that its vertical axis is positioned as indicated by the level bubble of the mounted level sub-assembly, positioning the vertical reference shaft sub-assembly a distance from the muzzle end of the firearm. The shooter then rotates the scope on the firearm sufficiently to align the vertical cross hair of the scope reticle system with the distant vertical reference shaft sub-assembly. Lastly, the shooter locks the sighting scope in the corrected position on the firearm.
The prior art attempts to provide the shooter with feedback for the cant of the rifle tend to be attached to the scope and as such are accessories that must be carefully assembled to the scope and are not suitable for shooting situations where speed and durability are required. Also, the prior art cant measurement systems themselves must be thoroughly tested and calibrated by the shooter so that typically only that shooter, with that cant feedback device, on that special rifle, and carefully calibrated by a trained technician can be used to produce the degree of accuracy in critical or competitive shooting environments.
It has been discovered that by locating a pre-calibrated bubble level between the shooter's eye and the scope and carefully machining the bubble level within the rifle system, a reliable cant feedback system can be readily made available to any shooter and repeatable across an entire weapon platform. Also, by carefully embedding the bubble level within the body of the rifle, the cant feedback method can be durable and repeatable for a whole range of shooting applications, especially for the war-fighter.
Additionally, by embedding the cant feedback means into the rifle's stock and providing an accurate measurement of the rifle's cant, calibrating the firearm is greatly facilitated. By placing a plumb line at the desired target calibration distance (100 yards or 100 meters, for example), and then aligning the vertical reticle of the scope with the rifle at zero cant, the scope reticle-aiming reference are “trued” to the cant axis of the rifle. Once this initial process is completed, the rifle and scope are now calibrated for a “zero-cant” condition relative to each other.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention presents an embedded precision level means that provides a true reference to level or plumb allowing for the final cant correction to be made before the shot is taken. The present invention provides the rifle shooter with a tool that greatly enhances “first-round-hit” probabilities and increases overall accuracy. The invention is located so that the rifle shooter does not have to change or disturb his body position to monitor the cant of the rifle.
The invention is machined in to the rifle stock component during a process that is aligned with the horizontal axis of the center line. This horizontal axis is perpendicular to the center line referenced from top to bottom. This axis can also be described as the 3 o'clock to 9 o'clock “cant axis”. This invention can now provide the rifle shooter with one more calculation used in making the prefect shot. This feedback is of critical importance because cant measuring mechanisms of the prior art did not solve the issue of “man-introduced-errors” because the mounting of the cant level indicator is often not performed by a specially trained technician. These specially-trained technicians often included several items installed for reference points with none of them truly being calibrated to the horizontal plane, initially.
The invention presented herein is machined into the assembly on the same plane as the cant axis. The invention location is absolutely true to the Cant Axis because it is machined with computer-aided precision. A set of cant reference gradients is machined into the assembly as well. The Reference gradients allow for duplicating the cant if a “Zero Cant” condition is not achievable. The shooter can perform a quick calculation that formulates the amount of “Point of Aim” adjustment required to successfully engage the target due to the amount of Cant introduced into the rifle. This combination of location, precision machining and calibration feedback allows shooters with much less experience and in situations of duress to greatly improve shot accuracy.
The invention herein presents methods of using the embedded cant indicator to provide a shooter with an optimized and compensated alignment system that maximizes the accuracy and repeatability of hitting the shooter's target and provides a weapon system that achieves this high level of precision compensation between the target and weapon in a most convenient manner.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the invention apparatus located in its position relative to the stock of the rifle and overall weapon platform. The barrel of the rifle and the sighting means are not shown but it is understood to one skilled in the art where these components would be located on this rifle stock assembly;
FIG. 2 top side view of the invention showing the bubble and calibration marks;
FIG. 3 is a left side view of the invention showing the various compartments housing the bubble level and interfacing with the remained of the rifle components;
FIG. 4 is bottom view of the preferred embodiment of the invention indicating length and width dimensions;
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 illustrates the preferred embodiment of the invention as an element of an overall weapon assembly. This weapon assembly is comprised of multiple parts that are bolted together to provide a functioning rifle. In its most basic form, this particular weapon platform is comprised of a central stock 1 , the cant indicator 20 , the butt of the rifle 4 , a recoil absorbing pad 5 . The barrel of the rifle would attach at point 2 . If the shooter desired a scope, it would be attached to the central stock at 6 . As the shooter holds the weapon and views at the target through the scope in a direction parallel to the axis of the rifle barrel, the cant indication would be obtained by glancing downward at a bubble contained within the cant indicator assembly 20 . By using the calibration lines, as will be further described in later Figures, the position of the bubble to the left or right of the center line will indicate the extent with which the rifle is tilted about the axis of the barrel. A shooter can either rotate the weapon to eliminate the cant or make the appropriate adjustment to the point of aim at the target. As has been learned from competition shooting, extreme accuracy of hitting the target typically requires a precisely trained and practiced shooter and a custom-set rifle that is calibrated to the shooters particular method of holding and aiming the firearm. Cant compensation is critical to improving shot accuracy. The special relationship between the shooter and his weapon i.e., knowing where the projectile will travel when aimed this particular way on this particular gun is extremely important high-accuracy shooting. Modern ballistic software-based calculators also have a function that the shooter can input the cant offset and the appropriate aim corrections are computed and displayed. The present invention allows the same level of high-accuracy shooting because every cant indicator is precisely machined and attached to the particular stock design which employs the device. Therefore, a given shooter can pick up any weapon with the invention installed and the cant compensation will be precise and repeatable. Now, a trained shooter has multiple weapons each with a predictable response to cant compensation.
This eliminates the need for a shooter having only one rifle which they can use that is set up by a specialist for high-accuracy shooting. In addition, more shooters can be trained because more weapons would be available with high-accuracy cant compensation systems.
FIG. 2 illustrates a top view of the section of the rifle containing the precision-machined bubble-level system that comprises the invention. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the device is machined out of a solid block of steel 20 . Other materials can also be used depending on the level of cost and durability desired. The dashed lines 21 indicate a tubular cavity that is machined out of the block through from one side but does not extend completely through to the other side. This allows the bubble level tube to be inserted or removed from one side and when pushed in, is held in proper place by contacting the closed end of the cavity. This cavity length is also precisely machined so that the bubble level when inserted is correctly aligned to the gradient markings 29 . The diameter of the cavity is machined with very close tolerances (0.001″ typically) to the diameter of the bubble-level inserted therein. The length and width of the cavity 21 are dictated by the diameter and length of the particular bubble-level incorporated into the weapon system. In one embodiment, the bubble level is 0.375″ in diameter and the length is 1.500.″ An oval-shaped viewport 22 is machined into the top face that allows the shooter to view the bubble level tube that is inserted into the cavity. A bubble-level comprised of a glass or plastic tube sealed on both ends and containing a phosphorous liquid or other fluorescent liquid, but not completely filled, such that a bubble exists within the sealed tube. In this Figure, gradient markings 29 are spaced apart evenly along both the top edge and bottom edge of the viewport 22 . These markings provide a reference point for the shooter to judge the level of cant displayed by the movement of the bubble within the level either to the left or right of true center. The markings are evenly spaced but are primarily for consistent reference and do not represent any actual degree of rotation. Once the shooter practices the firing the weapon in a canted situation, the location of the bubble relative to the left or right count of the markings is sufficient for the shooter to be accurate in cant compensation in other shooting circumstances. The gradients can be converted to actual degree of cant rotation simply by field calibration. This may be desirable, for example, if the shooter is using a ballistics software program that requires degree of rifle cant an input value to the calculation.
FIG. 3 illustrates a side view of the current invention showing the various elements machined into the block of steel 20 or other solid material. Items 23 and 24 are drilled and tapped to receive an attachment means, such as machine screws, for attaching the invention to the section of the stock above the grip of the stock. In the preferred embodiment, these machine screws are ¼″ diameter×⅝″ length and tapped to standard machine threads. All external surfaces of the invention are machined to flat to ensure that the device attaches securely and aligned properly to the other elements of the weapon stock. When in properly place on the weapon stock, these two screws point upward and secure the device to the stock assembly. In the preferred embodiment items 26 and 27 are machined and tapped cavities to receive four attachment means. This attachment means secures and aligns the device from the rear end. In the preferred embodiment, these attachment means are 10/32″ machine bolts. The invention also includes a contact base 25 that extends down below the back end of the central stock. This left side of this extended surface provides a contact surface for attaching a folding hinge piece or any other accessory item bolting on to the back end of the central stock.
In reference to FIG. 4 , the bottom view of the invention shows the two threaded holes 23 and 24 . In addition to securing the invention to the central stock via these attachment means, two ovular sections 26 and 27 are machined out of the invention for receiving similarly-shaped raised sections that are part of the central stock where the invention is placed. This “tongue and groove” style connection means ensures that the invention is properly aligned and located relative to other components that make up the weapon assembly. This connection means also adds strength to the invention to handle the stresses of firing the rifle and the weight of the stock components that are bolted to the invention. In the preferred embodiment, the height and width of the invention is 1.75″ and 1.23″ respectively. However, it is understood that the dimensions of the invention are relative to the size of the bubble level device incorporated into the firearm.
Various other changes may be made to the apparatus in size, proportions, and material of construction without departing from the meaning, scope, or intent of the claims which follow. | A device comprised of bubble level inserted into and secured within a cavity located above the rifle grip and behind the barrel to facilitate the measurement and compensation of the rifle's cant while lining up the rifle's sights. The device is precision machined to allow the bubble to be aligned with the axis of the barrel to produce a true “zero-cant” condition. Graduation markings are placed on either left or right of the bubble level to allow the user to better judge the relative degree of cant. Methods of using the embedded cant indicator for precision shooting are presented. | Briefly describe the main idea outlined in the provided context. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCES This is a Divisional Application from U.S. nonprovisional application Ser.",
"No. 14/154,214 and claims all priority to the aforementioned application.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to rifle style firearms, and particularly concerns both apparatus and methods for readily and precisely determining the cant of the rifle relative to the target such that the shooter can make appropriate aim adjustments to improve the probability of hitting the target.",
"The location of the cant measurement device is designed to facilitate the shooters assessment of the rifle's cant when viewing other sighting means on the rifle.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Accuracy in placing a projectile onto a target using a rifle requires the shooter to determine three primary elements: 1) distance to the target, 2) the incline of the projectile as it leaves the rifle, and 3) the cant of the rifle at the moment the projectile leaves the rifle.",
"The rifle cant is defined as the degree of rotational tilt the rifle has along the axis of the rifle barrel.",
"Distance and incline are part of “sighting”",
"a rifle to a target and generally require several elements that must be determined by the shooter.",
"Since gravity tends to bring the projectile downward, an incline of the barrel must often be made to hit a target at some distance.",
"Commonly used sights for setting the incline can be a groove or aperture at the rear end of the post or the point at the barrel end-muzzle.",
"Once the shooter determines a point at which the projectile is aimed, the shooter uses one eye to align the post into the groove, which effectively aligns the rifle both horizontally and vertically to the point of aim.",
"However, such sighting means may not offer the shooter with the degree of accuracy that may be desired.",
"To improve the accuracy of the horizontal and vertical alignment, some rifle assemblies make use of a magnification means, referred to as a scope.",
"A scope typically provides the shooter with a glass view port displaying horizontal and vertical lines in addition to a magnified view of the point of aim.",
"Scopes incorporate vertical and horizontal adjustment means.",
"The shooter simply makes the calculated vertical and horizontal adjustments to account for situational issues such as wind, temperature, and distance and aligns the point of aim with the intersection of these two lines, commonly referred to as cross-hairs.",
"Scopes can contain a system of lines, dots, cross hairs, wires, or electrically projected images which aid aligning the barrel to the point of aim.",
"Scopes are generally mounted on top of the action assembly near the back end of the barrel of the rifle and are attached thereto with some means for adjustment.",
"A common adjustment means is a ring and slotted bar-rail device also known as scope rings and scope bases.",
"These adjustments are typically made at a shooting range or target practice area where the rifle is placed in a holder to ensure proper alignment and target distances are accurately known.",
"Using this method, a rifle and scope can be adjusted to provide the shooter with a high degree of accuracy.",
"However, using a holder at a shooting range for calibrating a rifle's proper incline as a function of distance to the target often does not represent real world situations where the shooter is either standing or prone with the rifle being held at the time of firing.",
"In these situations, the rifle is often twisted or rotated about the axis of the barrel.",
"The physics of projectile firing is greatly affected by this degree of rotation or “cant”",
"of the rifle at the moment of firing.",
"For example, a left angle of cant tends to result in the shot being to the lower left of the point of aim.",
"Shooters, especially competition target shooters, must compensate for the cant of the rifle to improve shot accuracy.",
"Various means have been presented in the prior art to provide feedback to the shooter of the degree of cant during their aim.",
"One such example is U.S. Pat. No. 6,813,855 where Pinkley presents an apparatus where among other accompanying pieces, a bubble level is strapped to the rifle stock underneath the scope.",
"Pinlkley's cant compensation method involves the steps of positioning the firearm and scope with a canted reticle system so that its vertical axis is positioned as indicated by the level bubble of the mounted level sub-assembly, positioning the vertical reference shaft sub-assembly a distance from the muzzle end of the firearm.",
"The shooter then rotates the scope on the firearm sufficiently to align the vertical cross hair of the scope reticle system with the distant vertical reference shaft sub-assembly.",
"Lastly, the shooter locks the sighting scope in the corrected position on the firearm.",
"The prior art attempts to provide the shooter with feedback for the cant of the rifle tend to be attached to the scope and as such are accessories that must be carefully assembled to the scope and are not suitable for shooting situations where speed and durability are required.",
"Also, the prior art cant measurement systems themselves must be thoroughly tested and calibrated by the shooter so that typically only that shooter, with that cant feedback device, on that special rifle, and carefully calibrated by a trained technician can be used to produce the degree of accuracy in critical or competitive shooting environments.",
"It has been discovered that by locating a pre-calibrated bubble level between the shooter's eye and the scope and carefully machining the bubble level within the rifle system, a reliable cant feedback system can be readily made available to any shooter and repeatable across an entire weapon platform.",
"Also, by carefully embedding the bubble level within the body of the rifle, the cant feedback method can be durable and repeatable for a whole range of shooting applications, especially for the war-fighter.",
"Additionally, by embedding the cant feedback means into the rifle's stock and providing an accurate measurement of the rifle's cant, calibrating the firearm is greatly facilitated.",
"By placing a plumb line at the desired target calibration distance (100 yards or 100 meters, for example), and then aligning the vertical reticle of the scope with the rifle at zero cant, the scope reticle-aiming reference are “trued”",
"to the cant axis of the rifle.",
"Once this initial process is completed, the rifle and scope are now calibrated for a “zero-cant”",
"condition relative to each other.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention presents an embedded precision level means that provides a true reference to level or plumb allowing for the final cant correction to be made before the shot is taken.",
"The present invention provides the rifle shooter with a tool that greatly enhances “first-round-hit”",
"probabilities and increases overall accuracy.",
"The invention is located so that the rifle shooter does not have to change or disturb his body position to monitor the cant of the rifle.",
"The invention is machined in to the rifle stock component during a process that is aligned with the horizontal axis of the center line.",
"This horizontal axis is perpendicular to the center line referenced from top to bottom.",
"This axis can also be described as the 3 o'clock to 9 o'clock “cant axis.”",
"This invention can now provide the rifle shooter with one more calculation used in making the prefect shot.",
"This feedback is of critical importance because cant measuring mechanisms of the prior art did not solve the issue of “man-introduced-errors”",
"because the mounting of the cant level indicator is often not performed by a specially trained technician.",
"These specially-trained technicians often included several items installed for reference points with none of them truly being calibrated to the horizontal plane, initially.",
"The invention presented herein is machined into the assembly on the same plane as the cant axis.",
"The invention location is absolutely true to the Cant Axis because it is machined with computer-aided precision.",
"A set of cant reference gradients is machined into the assembly as well.",
"The Reference gradients allow for duplicating the cant if a “Zero Cant”",
"condition is not achievable.",
"The shooter can perform a quick calculation that formulates the amount of “Point of Aim”",
"adjustment required to successfully engage the target due to the amount of Cant introduced into the rifle.",
"This combination of location, precision machining and calibration feedback allows shooters with much less experience and in situations of duress to greatly improve shot accuracy.",
"The invention herein presents methods of using the embedded cant indicator to provide a shooter with an optimized and compensated alignment system that maximizes the accuracy and repeatability of hitting the shooter's target and provides a weapon system that achieves this high level of precision compensation between the target and weapon in a most convenient manner.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the invention apparatus located in its position relative to the stock of the rifle and overall weapon platform.",
"The barrel of the rifle and the sighting means are not shown but it is understood to one skilled in the art where these components would be located on this rifle stock assembly;",
"FIG. 2 top side view of the invention showing the bubble and calibration marks;",
"FIG. 3 is a left side view of the invention showing the various compartments housing the bubble level and interfacing with the remained of the rifle components;",
"FIG. 4 is bottom view of the preferred embodiment of the invention indicating length and width dimensions;",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIG. 1 illustrates the preferred embodiment of the invention as an element of an overall weapon assembly.",
"This weapon assembly is comprised of multiple parts that are bolted together to provide a functioning rifle.",
"In its most basic form, this particular weapon platform is comprised of a central stock 1 , the cant indicator 20 , the butt of the rifle 4 , a recoil absorbing pad 5 .",
"The barrel of the rifle would attach at point 2 .",
"If the shooter desired a scope, it would be attached to the central stock at 6 .",
"As the shooter holds the weapon and views at the target through the scope in a direction parallel to the axis of the rifle barrel, the cant indication would be obtained by glancing downward at a bubble contained within the cant indicator assembly 20 .",
"By using the calibration lines, as will be further described in later Figures, the position of the bubble to the left or right of the center line will indicate the extent with which the rifle is tilted about the axis of the barrel.",
"A shooter can either rotate the weapon to eliminate the cant or make the appropriate adjustment to the point of aim at the target.",
"As has been learned from competition shooting, extreme accuracy of hitting the target typically requires a precisely trained and practiced shooter and a custom-set rifle that is calibrated to the shooters particular method of holding and aiming the firearm.",
"Cant compensation is critical to improving shot accuracy.",
"The special relationship between the shooter and his weapon i.e., knowing where the projectile will travel when aimed this particular way on this particular gun is extremely important high-accuracy shooting.",
"Modern ballistic software-based calculators also have a function that the shooter can input the cant offset and the appropriate aim corrections are computed and displayed.",
"The present invention allows the same level of high-accuracy shooting because every cant indicator is precisely machined and attached to the particular stock design which employs the device.",
"Therefore, a given shooter can pick up any weapon with the invention installed and the cant compensation will be precise and repeatable.",
"Now, a trained shooter has multiple weapons each with a predictable response to cant compensation.",
"This eliminates the need for a shooter having only one rifle which they can use that is set up by a specialist for high-accuracy shooting.",
"In addition, more shooters can be trained because more weapons would be available with high-accuracy cant compensation systems.",
"FIG. 2 illustrates a top view of the section of the rifle containing the precision-machined bubble-level system that comprises the invention.",
"In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the device is machined out of a solid block of steel 20 .",
"Other materials can also be used depending on the level of cost and durability desired.",
"The dashed lines 21 indicate a tubular cavity that is machined out of the block through from one side but does not extend completely through to the other side.",
"This allows the bubble level tube to be inserted or removed from one side and when pushed in, is held in proper place by contacting the closed end of the cavity.",
"This cavity length is also precisely machined so that the bubble level when inserted is correctly aligned to the gradient markings 29 .",
"The diameter of the cavity is machined with very close tolerances (0.001″ typically) to the diameter of the bubble-level inserted therein.",
"The length and width of the cavity 21 are dictated by the diameter and length of the particular bubble-level incorporated into the weapon system.",
"In one embodiment, the bubble level is 0.375″ in diameter and the length is 1.500.",
"″ An oval-shaped viewport 22 is machined into the top face that allows the shooter to view the bubble level tube that is inserted into the cavity.",
"A bubble-level comprised of a glass or plastic tube sealed on both ends and containing a phosphorous liquid or other fluorescent liquid, but not completely filled, such that a bubble exists within the sealed tube.",
"In this Figure, gradient markings 29 are spaced apart evenly along both the top edge and bottom edge of the viewport 22 .",
"These markings provide a reference point for the shooter to judge the level of cant displayed by the movement of the bubble within the level either to the left or right of true center.",
"The markings are evenly spaced but are primarily for consistent reference and do not represent any actual degree of rotation.",
"Once the shooter practices the firing the weapon in a canted situation, the location of the bubble relative to the left or right count of the markings is sufficient for the shooter to be accurate in cant compensation in other shooting circumstances.",
"The gradients can be converted to actual degree of cant rotation simply by field calibration.",
"This may be desirable, for example, if the shooter is using a ballistics software program that requires degree of rifle cant an input value to the calculation.",
"FIG. 3 illustrates a side view of the current invention showing the various elements machined into the block of steel 20 or other solid material.",
"Items 23 and 24 are drilled and tapped to receive an attachment means, such as machine screws, for attaching the invention to the section of the stock above the grip of the stock.",
"In the preferred embodiment, these machine screws are ¼″ diameter×⅝″ length and tapped to standard machine threads.",
"All external surfaces of the invention are machined to flat to ensure that the device attaches securely and aligned properly to the other elements of the weapon stock.",
"When in properly place on the weapon stock, these two screws point upward and secure the device to the stock assembly.",
"In the preferred embodiment items 26 and 27 are machined and tapped cavities to receive four attachment means.",
"This attachment means secures and aligns the device from the rear end.",
"In the preferred embodiment, these attachment means are 10/32″ machine bolts.",
"The invention also includes a contact base 25 that extends down below the back end of the central stock.",
"This left side of this extended surface provides a contact surface for attaching a folding hinge piece or any other accessory item bolting on to the back end of the central stock.",
"In reference to FIG. 4 , the bottom view of the invention shows the two threaded holes 23 and 24 .",
"In addition to securing the invention to the central stock via these attachment means, two ovular sections 26 and 27 are machined out of the invention for receiving similarly-shaped raised sections that are part of the central stock where the invention is placed.",
"This “tongue and groove”",
"style connection means ensures that the invention is properly aligned and located relative to other components that make up the weapon assembly.",
"This connection means also adds strength to the invention to handle the stresses of firing the rifle and the weight of the stock components that are bolted to the invention.",
"In the preferred embodiment, the height and width of the invention is 1.75″ and 1.23″ respectively.",
"However, it is understood that the dimensions of the invention are relative to the size of the bubble level device incorporated into the firearm.",
"Various other changes may be made to the apparatus in size, proportions, and material of construction without departing from the meaning, scope, or intent of the claims which follow."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an adjustable anchorage, and relates more particularly but not exclusively to an anchorage for a safety net to be utilised during the construction of a building, the net requiring to be reliably anchored to the lower flanges of I-beams forming the skeleton of the building being constructed.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is currently common for buildings, particularly larger commercial premises, to be constructed around a three-dimensional skeleton or framework of steel I-beams which serve to support concrete flooring slabs or metal deck flooring. Most of the framework is usually at a considerable height above ground, and consequently falls present a grave risk of death or injury to construction workers. The injury risk from falls is mitigated by the use of a safety net suspended from the I-beams around the edge of a floor level or other work location in the building. In the United Kingdom, parts 1 and 2 of BS EN 1263 govern such safety nets and their deployment. Part 2 of BS EN 1263 directs that safety nets be attached to horizontal beams by passing a securing rope alternately through the edge of the net and around the beam. While such an attachment procedure can securely anchor the net (if diligently carried out), the procedure presents certain problems, including the substantial time required to reeve the rope many times through the net edges and around the beams, converse difficulties in removing the rope to free the net (aggravated by weathering of the rope) and the loss of fall protection due to the need to remove the rope (and net) for the laying of flooring supported on the top edges of the beams.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide an adjustable anchorage which is capable, inter alia, of being applied to reversibly anchoring a safety net to a horizontal I-beam or similar article in a rapid and simple manner without impeding access to the upper surface of the I-beam during such use of the anchorage. (It is to be understood that in this specification and its accompanying claims, use of the term “I-beam” not only encompasses beams whose transverse cross-section resembles an “I” with bilateral flanges on the top and bottom edges of its central web, but also encompasses beams having other cross-sections though always with bilateral flanges (or their mechanical equivalent) along or near the lower edge of such other forms of beam). It is a further object of the invention to provide an adjustable anchorage capable, inter alia, of being adjusted for efficient utilisation on I-beams whose lower edge bilateral flanges have respective widths in a wide range of widths
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided an adjustable anchorage comprising first and second hook means each capable of being hooked around a respective opposite edge of a bilateral flange, attachment means on at least one of said first and second hook means for the attachment of an article thereto, and adjustable linking means extending between said first and second hook means for mutually linking said first and second hook means in use of said anchorage with said first and second hook means each hooked around a respective opposite edge of the bilateral flange and for thereupon retaining said first and second hook means against the respective opposite edges of the bilateral flange, with the adjustability of said adjustable linking means allowing effective use of the anchorage on various bilateral flanges having respective widths in a substantial range of widths.
Said adjustable linking means preferably has an adjustable length between said first and second hook means. Said adjustable linking means may comprise a strap or web secured at one end thereof to one of said first and second hook means together with clamp means for clamping the strap or web to the other of said first and second hook means at a selected location along the strap or web displaced from said one end of the strap or web. Said adjustable linking means preferably incorporates tensioning means capable of applying tension between said first and second hook means whereby to force said first and second hook means against the respective opposite edges of the bilateral flange in use of the anchorage, and said tensioning means may comprise an overcentre form of said clamp means tending in use to shorten the strap or web between said one end thereof and said selected location thereon. Said adjustable linking means may alternatively comprise mutually interpenetrating tongue and slot means together with latch means functioning to latch the tongue and slot means together at a mutual interpenetration which places the first and second hook means at a selected mutual separation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is an end elevation of a first embodiment;
FIG. 2 is an end elevation of a second embodiment;
FIG. 3 is an end elevation of a third embodiment; and
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the third embodiment from beneath.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring first to FIG. 1, this is a fragmentary end view of an I-beam 10 (only the lower edge being shown), to which a first embodiment of anchorage 100 is attached. As viewed in FIG. 1, the lower edge of the I-beam 10 is formed with a bilateral flange 12 , comprising a right flange 14 and a left flange 16 . The I-beam 10 forms part of the framework of a building (not otherwise shown), and is substantially horizontal at a height above ground level which would make a fall from that height liable to cause serious injury. In order to mitigate the risk of falls, the anchorage 100 , together with several other substantially identical anchorages (nor separately shown), is utilised to suspend a safety net (not shown), as will subsequently be detailed.
The anchorage 100 comprises a first hook 102 and a second hook 104 , each formed from thick steel rod or strip that is suitably protected against corrosion. The free end 106 of the first hook 102 is hooked around the right flange 14 of the I-beam 10 , while the free end 108 of the second hook 104 is hooked around the right flange 16 . As shown in FIG. 1, the anchorage 100 is only partially installed, and the hooks 102 & 104 are not yet fully tightened against the I-beam flange 12 .
A strip 110 of thick fabric webbing is permanently attached to the non-free end 112 of the first hook 102 (i.e. the end of the hook 102 opposite its free end 106 ). The webbing strip 110 extends from the non-free end 112 of the first hook 102 to the non-free end 114 of the second hook 104 (i.e. the end of the hook 104 opposite its free end 108 ) where the strip 110 is threaded through a webbing clamp 116 that is secured to the non-free end 114 . The free end 118 of the webbing strip 110 (i.e. the end of the strip 110 opposite to its end that is attached to the first hook 102 ) hangs freely beyond the clamp 116 to be available for tension to be manually applied as part of the procedure for installing the anchorage 100 , as will subsequently be detailed.
The webbing clamp 116 comprises a pivoting snail cam 120 which can pivot around a pivot pin 122 mounted in the body of the clamp 116 . The snail cam 120 is self-tightening under the tension in the strip 110 which normally occurs between the hooks 102 and 104 in use of the anchorage 100 . Such self-tightening of the webbing clamp 116 normally clamps the webbing strip 110 between the cam 120 and the non-free end 114 of the second hook 104 sufficiently tightly as to prevent movement of the strip 110 , and hence to prevent mutual separation of the hooks 102 and 104 during use of the anchorage 100 . When it is desired to release the clamp 116 (e.g. when the anchorage 100 is to be dismounted from the I-beam 10 ), a lever 124 attached to the pivoting cam 120 is manually pushed (in an upwards direction as viewed in FIG. 1) so as to turn the cam 120 around its pivot pin 122 sufficiently clockwise (as viewed in FIG. 1) as to release the webbing scrip 110 from the clamp 116 , whereupon the hooks 102 and 104 can be manually pulled apart to release them from the flange 12 .
The first hook 102 is formed with a central aperture 126 in which a first loosely fitting net-hooking sling 128 is fitted such that its free end 130 hangs below the anchorage 100 . Similarly, the second hock 104 is also formed with a central aperture 132 in which a second loosely fitting net-hooking sling 134 is fitted such that its free end 136 hangs below the anchorage 100 .
In order to install and use the anchorage 100 (assuming the anchorage 100 initially to be free of the I-beam 100 , and the webbing strip 110 to be threaded through the non-free end 114 of the second hook 104 with a sufficient length between the two hooks 102 and 104 ), the free end 106 of the first hook 102 is hooked around the right flange 14 as shown in FIG. 1, and substantially simultaneously the free end 108 of the second hook 104 is hooked around the left flange 16 . This initial installation step is undertaken such that the hooks 102 and 104 are mutually linked beneath the flange 12 by means of the webbing strip 110 extending between the hooks 102 and 104 as shown in FIG. 1 . Next, the free end 118 of the webbing strip 110 is grasped and pulled to tighten the initially slack webbing strip between the two hooks 102 and 104 , so pulling the hooks 102 and 104 hard against the flanges 14 and 16 respectively. Since the snail cam 120 is self-tightening against movement tending to re-introduce slack into the webbing strip 110 between the hooks 102 and 104 , the webbing clamp 116 will automatically clamp the now slack-free webbing strip 110 , and the hooks 102 and 104 will remain tightly against the flanges 14 and 16 even when this pull on the strip end 118 ceases. When a sufficient number of other anchorages (identical to the anchorage 100 or of a similar design) are installed at distributed locations along the I-beam 10 and/or along adjacent beams, the edges of a safety net (not shown) are hooked over one or both of the free ends 130 and 136 of the net-hooking slings 128 and 134 , and other parts of the safety net edge are similarly hooked onto the other anchorages.
In comparison to the prior art practice of winding a rope repeatedly through the net edges and around the beam, the present invention allows safety net anchorages to be simply and rapidly installed while leaving the upper edges of the beams free to support subsequently laid flooring without requiring the safety net to be removed. Since the length of webbing strip 110 extending between the two hooks 102 and 104 can be easily adjusted in a very wide range of lengths (without the use of tools), the anchorage 100 can be readily adjusted to fit I-beams having widths in a correspondingly wide range of widths, and installed on such different flanges without structural modification.
When the safety net is no longer required, dismounting of the net and its anchorages is similarly simple and rapid.
In suitable circumstances (e.g. if the safety net were provided with its own ties or attachment hooks) the slings 128 and 134 could be omitted, and the safety net directly attached to the hooks 102 and 104 , by way of the apertures 126 and/or 132 or in any other suitable manner.
Turning now to FIG. 2, this is an end view of a second embodiment 200 of anchorage in accordance with the invention. The anchorage 200 is generally similar to the first embodiment 100 , but with certain differences in detail. Those parts of the second embodiment 200 that are identical or analogous to equivalent parts in the first embodiment 100 will be given the same reference numerals, but with the leading “1” replaced by a leading “2”, and the following description of the second embodiment 200 will concentrate on the detail differences with respect to the first embodiment 100 . For a description of any part of the second embodiment 200 not given below, reference should be made to the foregoing description of the identical or analogous part in the first embodiment 100 .
Apart from the anchorage 200 being laterally transposed on the I-beam 10 in comparison to the positioning on the I-beam of the anchorage 100 , the principal difference in the anchorage 200 with respect to the anchorage 100 lies in the detailed structure and functioning of the clamp 216 . As in the clamp 116 , the lever 224 is pivotable around its pivot pin 222 , but in place of the snail cam 120 , the clamp 216 has pins 221 A and 221 B mounted on the lever 224 parallel to the axis of the pivot pin 222 , at different radial distances from the axis of the pivot pin 222 . Another pin 221 C is fixed on the body of the clamp 216 parallel to the axis of the pivot pin 222 , at the body corner opposite to the corner mounting the pivot pin 222 . (The purpose of the pins 221 A, 221 B, & 221 C will be explained below).
A further detail difference in the anchorage 200 with respect to the anchorage 100 lies in the replacement of the net-hooking slings 128 and 134 with respective carabiners 228 and 234 (i.e. strong metal closed-loop shackles with selectively fastenable closures as are commonly employed for securing ends of load-carrying ropes and slings).
In order to set up the anchorage 200 for installation, the carabiner 234 is temporarily removed from the body of the clamp 216 , the lever 224 is pivoted fully clockwise (as viewed in FIG. 1 ), the webbing strip 210 is threaded around the pin 221 C, and then looped twice around the pins 221 A and 221 B in the path shown in FIG. 2 . Initially, the webbing strip 210 is slack between the hooks 202 and 204 . The free end 206 of the first hook 202 is hooked around the I-beam flange 16 , and then the free end 208 of the second hook 204 is hooked around the I-beam flange 14 . All slack in the webbing strip 210 is taken up, and then the lever 224 is swung fully anti-clockwise to the position shown in FIG. 2 . This movement of the lever 224 with the webbing strip 210 entrained around the pins 221 A, 221 B, and 221 C tightens the webbing strip 210 between the two hooks 202 and 204 , and forces the hooks 202 and 204 rightly against the flanges 16 and 14 respectively. Finally the carabiner 234 is re-inserted through the aperture 232 , and through a matching aperture in the heel of the lever 224 ; this locks the lever 224 against movement during use of the anchorage 200 , and so prevents inadvertent dismounting of the anchorage 200 . The safety net (not shown) is attached to the appropriate one of the carabiners 228 and 234 according to the principal direction ( 228 N or 234 N) in which the anchorage 200 is stressed in use.
As with the first embodiment 100 , since the length of webbing strap 210 extending between the two hooks 202 and 204 in the second embodiment 200 is selectively variable in a very wide range of lengths, the anchorage 200 can be easily adjusted (without the use of tools) to fit I-beams having widths in a correspondingly wide range of widths (such as might be found in the framework of a single building, as well as the width variability that might be expected between different building sites).
When the anchorage 200 is no longer required, it is dismounted from the I-beam 10 by reversing the steps of the above-detailed installation procedure.
In suitable circumstances (e.g. if the safety net were provided with its own ties or attachment hooks) the carabiners 228 and 234 could be omitted, and the safety net directly attached to the hooks 202 and 204 , by way of the apertures 226 and/or 232 or in any other suitable manner.
Turning now to FIGS. 3 and 4, FIG. 3 is an end view of a third embodiment 300 of anchorage in accordance with the invention, and FIG. 4 is a plan view of the third embodiment 300 from beneath (with the I-beam 10 and slings 328 , 334 omitted for clarity). The anchorage 300 is similar in principle to the first and second embodiments 100 and 200 , but with certain differences in detail. Those parts of the third embodiment 300 that are identical or analogous to equivalent parts in the first and second embodiments 100 and 200 will be given the same reference numerals, but with the leading “1” or “2” replaced by a leading “3”, and the following description of the third embodiment 300 will concentrate on the detail differences with respect to the first and second embodiments 100 and 200 . For a description of any part of the third embodiment 300 not given below, reference should be made to the foregoing description of the identical or analogous part in the first and second embodiments 100 and 200 .
In FIG. 3 (as in FIG. 2 ), the anchorage 300 is laterally transposed on the I-beam 10 in comparison to FIG. 1 . The anchorage 300 differs from the first and second embodiments 100 and 200 principally in that the straps 110 & 210 and the clamps 116 & 216 of the adjustable linking means (adjustably linking the first and second hooks) are replaced by a tongue 310 on the non-free end 312 of the first hook 302 interpenetrating a buckle-like non-free end 314 of the second hook 304 . As shown in both FIGS. 3 & 4, the buckle end 314 is provided with longitudinally spaced transverse slots 340 and 342 between which the buckle end 314 is double-cranked to sandwich the tongue 310 an the manner of a buckle sandwiching a belt. A side-tab 344 at the distal end of the tongue 310 prevents the tongue 310 from being pulled free of the slotted buckle end 314 .
The near edge of the tongue 310 as viewed in FIG. 3 (the upper edge as viewed in FIG. 4) is formed with a regularly spaced series of rounded notches 346 . In use of the anchorage 300 , the slotted buckle end 314 is latched to the tongue 310 by a latch 316 comprising a longitudinally elongated strip-form detent 348 having a regularly spaced series of projections 350 on the edge of the detent 348 adjacent the tongue notches 346 . The detent 348 is located adjacent one edge of the slotted buckle end 314 (the near edge as viewed in FIG. 3; the upper edge as viewed in FIG. 4 ), longitudinally between the slots 340 & 342 , and sits in the double-cranked portion of the slotted buckle end 314 (which prevents significant longitudinal displacement of the detent 348 with respect to the slotted buckle end 314 ). The detent 348 is laterally movable to a limited extent, and is urged laterally against the notched edge of the tongue 310 by suitable spring means (not shown). Interengagement of the detent projections 350 with the tongue notches 346 latches the buckle end 314 to the tongue 310 , and so inhibits relative movement of the first and second hooks 302 and 304 upon installation of the anchorage 300 (the function of the latch 316 thereby being analogous to the function of the clamps 116 and 216 ).
Installation and use of the anchorage 300 is essentially the same as the previously described installation and use of the first and second embodiments 100 and 200 (apart from the use of the latch 316 in place of the clamps 116 and 216 ). In suitable circumstances (e.g. if the safety net to be anchored by the anchorage 300 had its own ties or attachment hooks) the slings 328 and 334 could be omitted and the safety net directly attached to the hooks 302 and 304 , by way of the apertures 326 and/or 332 or in any other suitable manner. The numbers of notches 346 and/or the numbers of projections 350 can be varied from the respective numbers as shown in FIG. 4; in the limiting case, there may be a single projection and/or a single notch (particularly where the anchorage is designed to fit flanges of a uniform width).
The anchorages of the invention can be utilised for attaching articles other than safety nets (e.g. for the anchorage of tethered body harnesses for individual fall prevention).
While certain modifications and variations of the anchorage in accordance with the invention have been described above, the invention is not restricted thereto, and other modifications and variations can be adopted without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. | An anchorage for anchoring an article to a bilateral flange which can have a width in a wide range of widths. First and second hooks are hooked over opposite flanges and securely retained thereon by a webbing strap of adjustable length extending between the two hooks. The webbing strap is permanently secured at one end to one of the hooks, and extends through a clamp on the other hook. The length of the webbing strap between the two hooks is fully adjustable in a wide range to accommodate the varying flange widths. As an alternative to a webbing strap and clamp, the hooks can be adjustably linked by an interpenetrating tongue and slot or buckle, mutually latched at a selected hook separation by a detent having projections urged into notches on the tongue. The anchorage is particularly suitable for securing a safety net to the lower flange of an I-beam in a steel-framed building under construction, since the anchorage is quick and easy both to install and to dismount while easily accommodating a wide range of beam sizes, and always leaves the top edges of beams free to allow them to support flooring without dismounting the anchorage. | Summarize the patent information, clearly outlining the technical challenges and proposed solutions. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an adjustable anchorage, and relates more particularly but not exclusively to an anchorage for a safety net to be utilised during the construction of a building, the net requiring to be reliably anchored to the lower flanges of I-beams forming the skeleton of the building being constructed.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is currently common for buildings, particularly larger commercial premises, to be constructed around a three-dimensional skeleton or framework of steel I-beams which serve to support concrete flooring slabs or metal deck flooring.",
"Most of the framework is usually at a considerable height above ground, and consequently falls present a grave risk of death or injury to construction workers.",
"The injury risk from falls is mitigated by the use of a safety net suspended from the I-beams around the edge of a floor level or other work location in the building.",
"In the United Kingdom, parts 1 and 2 of BS EN 1263 govern such safety nets and their deployment.",
"Part 2 of BS EN 1263 directs that safety nets be attached to horizontal beams by passing a securing rope alternately through the edge of the net and around the beam.",
"While such an attachment procedure can securely anchor the net (if diligently carried out), the procedure presents certain problems, including the substantial time required to reeve the rope many times through the net edges and around the beams, converse difficulties in removing the rope to free the net (aggravated by weathering of the rope) and the loss of fall protection due to the need to remove the rope (and net) for the laying of flooring supported on the top edges of the beams.",
"OBJECT OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide an adjustable anchorage which is capable, inter alia, of being applied to reversibly anchoring a safety net to a horizontal I-beam or similar article in a rapid and simple manner without impeding access to the upper surface of the I-beam during such use of the anchorage.",
"(It is to be understood that in this specification and its accompanying claims, use of the term “I-beam”",
"not only encompasses beams whose transverse cross-section resembles an “I”",
"with bilateral flanges on the top and bottom edges of its central web, but also encompasses beams having other cross-sections though always with bilateral flanges (or their mechanical equivalent) along or near the lower edge of such other forms of beam).",
"It is a further object of the invention to provide an adjustable anchorage capable, inter alia, of being adjusted for efficient utilisation on I-beams whose lower edge bilateral flanges have respective widths in a wide range of widths SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided an adjustable anchorage comprising first and second hook means each capable of being hooked around a respective opposite edge of a bilateral flange, attachment means on at least one of said first and second hook means for the attachment of an article thereto, and adjustable linking means extending between said first and second hook means for mutually linking said first and second hook means in use of said anchorage with said first and second hook means each hooked around a respective opposite edge of the bilateral flange and for thereupon retaining said first and second hook means against the respective opposite edges of the bilateral flange, with the adjustability of said adjustable linking means allowing effective use of the anchorage on various bilateral flanges having respective widths in a substantial range of widths.",
"Said adjustable linking means preferably has an adjustable length between said first and second hook means.",
"Said adjustable linking means may comprise a strap or web secured at one end thereof to one of said first and second hook means together with clamp means for clamping the strap or web to the other of said first and second hook means at a selected location along the strap or web displaced from said one end of the strap or web.",
"Said adjustable linking means preferably incorporates tensioning means capable of applying tension between said first and second hook means whereby to force said first and second hook means against the respective opposite edges of the bilateral flange in use of the anchorage, and said tensioning means may comprise an overcentre form of said clamp means tending in use to shorten the strap or web between said one end thereof and said selected location thereon.",
"Said adjustable linking means may alternatively comprise mutually interpenetrating tongue and slot means together with latch means functioning to latch the tongue and slot means together at a mutual interpenetration which places the first and second hook means at a selected mutual separation.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: FIG. 1 is an end elevation of a first embodiment;",
"FIG. 2 is an end elevation of a second embodiment;",
"FIG. 3 is an end elevation of a third embodiment;",
"and FIG. 4 is a plan view of the third embodiment from beneath.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring first to FIG. 1, this is a fragmentary end view of an I-beam 10 (only the lower edge being shown), to which a first embodiment of anchorage 100 is attached.",
"As viewed in FIG. 1, the lower edge of the I-beam 10 is formed with a bilateral flange 12 , comprising a right flange 14 and a left flange 16 .",
"The I-beam 10 forms part of the framework of a building (not otherwise shown), and is substantially horizontal at a height above ground level which would make a fall from that height liable to cause serious injury.",
"In order to mitigate the risk of falls, the anchorage 100 , together with several other substantially identical anchorages (nor separately shown), is utilised to suspend a safety net (not shown), as will subsequently be detailed.",
"The anchorage 100 comprises a first hook 102 and a second hook 104 , each formed from thick steel rod or strip that is suitably protected against corrosion.",
"The free end 106 of the first hook 102 is hooked around the right flange 14 of the I-beam 10 , while the free end 108 of the second hook 104 is hooked around the right flange 16 .",
"As shown in FIG. 1, the anchorage 100 is only partially installed, and the hooks 102 &",
"104 are not yet fully tightened against the I-beam flange 12 .",
"A strip 110 of thick fabric webbing is permanently attached to the non-free end 112 of the first hook 102 (i.e. the end of the hook 102 opposite its free end 106 ).",
"The webbing strip 110 extends from the non-free end 112 of the first hook 102 to the non-free end 114 of the second hook 104 (i.e. the end of the hook 104 opposite its free end 108 ) where the strip 110 is threaded through a webbing clamp 116 that is secured to the non-free end 114 .",
"The free end 118 of the webbing strip 110 (i.e. the end of the strip 110 opposite to its end that is attached to the first hook 102 ) hangs freely beyond the clamp 116 to be available for tension to be manually applied as part of the procedure for installing the anchorage 100 , as will subsequently be detailed.",
"The webbing clamp 116 comprises a pivoting snail cam 120 which can pivot around a pivot pin 122 mounted in the body of the clamp 116 .",
"The snail cam 120 is self-tightening under the tension in the strip 110 which normally occurs between the hooks 102 and 104 in use of the anchorage 100 .",
"Such self-tightening of the webbing clamp 116 normally clamps the webbing strip 110 between the cam 120 and the non-free end 114 of the second hook 104 sufficiently tightly as to prevent movement of the strip 110 , and hence to prevent mutual separation of the hooks 102 and 104 during use of the anchorage 100 .",
"When it is desired to release the clamp 116 (e.g. when the anchorage 100 is to be dismounted from the I-beam 10 ), a lever 124 attached to the pivoting cam 120 is manually pushed (in an upwards direction as viewed in FIG. 1) so as to turn the cam 120 around its pivot pin 122 sufficiently clockwise (as viewed in FIG. 1) as to release the webbing scrip 110 from the clamp 116 , whereupon the hooks 102 and 104 can be manually pulled apart to release them from the flange 12 .",
"The first hook 102 is formed with a central aperture 126 in which a first loosely fitting net-hooking sling 128 is fitted such that its free end 130 hangs below the anchorage 100 .",
"Similarly, the second hock 104 is also formed with a central aperture 132 in which a second loosely fitting net-hooking sling 134 is fitted such that its free end 136 hangs below the anchorage 100 .",
"In order to install and use the anchorage 100 (assuming the anchorage 100 initially to be free of the I-beam 100 , and the webbing strip 110 to be threaded through the non-free end 114 of the second hook 104 with a sufficient length between the two hooks 102 and 104 ), the free end 106 of the first hook 102 is hooked around the right flange 14 as shown in FIG. 1, and substantially simultaneously the free end 108 of the second hook 104 is hooked around the left flange 16 .",
"This initial installation step is undertaken such that the hooks 102 and 104 are mutually linked beneath the flange 12 by means of the webbing strip 110 extending between the hooks 102 and 104 as shown in FIG. 1 .",
"Next, the free end 118 of the webbing strip 110 is grasped and pulled to tighten the initially slack webbing strip between the two hooks 102 and 104 , so pulling the hooks 102 and 104 hard against the flanges 14 and 16 respectively.",
"Since the snail cam 120 is self-tightening against movement tending to re-introduce slack into the webbing strip 110 between the hooks 102 and 104 , the webbing clamp 116 will automatically clamp the now slack-free webbing strip 110 , and the hooks 102 and 104 will remain tightly against the flanges 14 and 16 even when this pull on the strip end 118 ceases.",
"When a sufficient number of other anchorages (identical to the anchorage 100 or of a similar design) are installed at distributed locations along the I-beam 10 and/or along adjacent beams, the edges of a safety net (not shown) are hooked over one or both of the free ends 130 and 136 of the net-hooking slings 128 and 134 , and other parts of the safety net edge are similarly hooked onto the other anchorages.",
"In comparison to the prior art practice of winding a rope repeatedly through the net edges and around the beam, the present invention allows safety net anchorages to be simply and rapidly installed while leaving the upper edges of the beams free to support subsequently laid flooring without requiring the safety net to be removed.",
"Since the length of webbing strip 110 extending between the two hooks 102 and 104 can be easily adjusted in a very wide range of lengths (without the use of tools), the anchorage 100 can be readily adjusted to fit I-beams having widths in a correspondingly wide range of widths, and installed on such different flanges without structural modification.",
"When the safety net is no longer required, dismounting of the net and its anchorages is similarly simple and rapid.",
"In suitable circumstances (e.g. if the safety net were provided with its own ties or attachment hooks) the slings 128 and 134 could be omitted, and the safety net directly attached to the hooks 102 and 104 , by way of the apertures 126 and/or 132 or in any other suitable manner.",
"Turning now to FIG. 2, this is an end view of a second embodiment 200 of anchorage in accordance with the invention.",
"The anchorage 200 is generally similar to the first embodiment 100 , but with certain differences in detail.",
"Those parts of the second embodiment 200 that are identical or analogous to equivalent parts in the first embodiment 100 will be given the same reference numerals, but with the leading “1”",
"replaced by a leading “2”, and the following description of the second embodiment 200 will concentrate on the detail differences with respect to the first embodiment 100 .",
"For a description of any part of the second embodiment 200 not given below, reference should be made to the foregoing description of the identical or analogous part in the first embodiment 100 .",
"Apart from the anchorage 200 being laterally transposed on the I-beam 10 in comparison to the positioning on the I-beam of the anchorage 100 , the principal difference in the anchorage 200 with respect to the anchorage 100 lies in the detailed structure and functioning of the clamp 216 .",
"As in the clamp 116 , the lever 224 is pivotable around its pivot pin 222 , but in place of the snail cam 120 , the clamp 216 has pins 221 A and 221 B mounted on the lever 224 parallel to the axis of the pivot pin 222 , at different radial distances from the axis of the pivot pin 222 .",
"Another pin 221 C is fixed on the body of the clamp 216 parallel to the axis of the pivot pin 222 , at the body corner opposite to the corner mounting the pivot pin 222 .",
"(The purpose of the pins 221 A, 221 B, &",
"221 C will be explained below).",
"A further detail difference in the anchorage 200 with respect to the anchorage 100 lies in the replacement of the net-hooking slings 128 and 134 with respective carabiners 228 and 234 (i.e. strong metal closed-loop shackles with selectively fastenable closures as are commonly employed for securing ends of load-carrying ropes and slings).",
"In order to set up the anchorage 200 for installation, the carabiner 234 is temporarily removed from the body of the clamp 216 , the lever 224 is pivoted fully clockwise (as viewed in FIG. 1 ), the webbing strip 210 is threaded around the pin 221 C, and then looped twice around the pins 221 A and 221 B in the path shown in FIG. 2 .",
"Initially, the webbing strip 210 is slack between the hooks 202 and 204 .",
"The free end 206 of the first hook 202 is hooked around the I-beam flange 16 , and then the free end 208 of the second hook 204 is hooked around the I-beam flange 14 .",
"All slack in the webbing strip 210 is taken up, and then the lever 224 is swung fully anti-clockwise to the position shown in FIG. 2 .",
"This movement of the lever 224 with the webbing strip 210 entrained around the pins 221 A, 221 B, and 221 C tightens the webbing strip 210 between the two hooks 202 and 204 , and forces the hooks 202 and 204 rightly against the flanges 16 and 14 respectively.",
"Finally the carabiner 234 is re-inserted through the aperture 232 , and through a matching aperture in the heel of the lever 224 ;",
"this locks the lever 224 against movement during use of the anchorage 200 , and so prevents inadvertent dismounting of the anchorage 200 .",
"The safety net (not shown) is attached to the appropriate one of the carabiners 228 and 234 according to the principal direction ( 228 N or 234 N) in which the anchorage 200 is stressed in use.",
"As with the first embodiment 100 , since the length of webbing strap 210 extending between the two hooks 202 and 204 in the second embodiment 200 is selectively variable in a very wide range of lengths, the anchorage 200 can be easily adjusted (without the use of tools) to fit I-beams having widths in a correspondingly wide range of widths (such as might be found in the framework of a single building, as well as the width variability that might be expected between different building sites).",
"When the anchorage 200 is no longer required, it is dismounted from the I-beam 10 by reversing the steps of the above-detailed installation procedure.",
"In suitable circumstances (e.g. if the safety net were provided with its own ties or attachment hooks) the carabiners 228 and 234 could be omitted, and the safety net directly attached to the hooks 202 and 204 , by way of the apertures 226 and/or 232 or in any other suitable manner.",
"Turning now to FIGS. 3 and 4, FIG. 3 is an end view of a third embodiment 300 of anchorage in accordance with the invention, and FIG. 4 is a plan view of the third embodiment 300 from beneath (with the I-beam 10 and slings 328 , 334 omitted for clarity).",
"The anchorage 300 is similar in principle to the first and second embodiments 100 and 200 , but with certain differences in detail.",
"Those parts of the third embodiment 300 that are identical or analogous to equivalent parts in the first and second embodiments 100 and 200 will be given the same reference numerals, but with the leading “1”",
"or “2”",
"replaced by a leading “3”, and the following description of the third embodiment 300 will concentrate on the detail differences with respect to the first and second embodiments 100 and 200 .",
"For a description of any part of the third embodiment 300 not given below, reference should be made to the foregoing description of the identical or analogous part in the first and second embodiments 100 and 200 .",
"In FIG. 3 (as in FIG. 2 ), the anchorage 300 is laterally transposed on the I-beam 10 in comparison to FIG. 1 .",
"The anchorage 300 differs from the first and second embodiments 100 and 200 principally in that the straps 110 &",
"210 and the clamps 116 &",
"216 of the adjustable linking means (adjustably linking the first and second hooks) are replaced by a tongue 310 on the non-free end 312 of the first hook 302 interpenetrating a buckle-like non-free end 314 of the second hook 304 .",
"As shown in both FIGS. 3 &",
"4, the buckle end 314 is provided with longitudinally spaced transverse slots 340 and 342 between which the buckle end 314 is double-cranked to sandwich the tongue 310 an the manner of a buckle sandwiching a belt.",
"A side-tab 344 at the distal end of the tongue 310 prevents the tongue 310 from being pulled free of the slotted buckle end 314 .",
"The near edge of the tongue 310 as viewed in FIG. 3 (the upper edge as viewed in FIG. 4) is formed with a regularly spaced series of rounded notches 346 .",
"In use of the anchorage 300 , the slotted buckle end 314 is latched to the tongue 310 by a latch 316 comprising a longitudinally elongated strip-form detent 348 having a regularly spaced series of projections 350 on the edge of the detent 348 adjacent the tongue notches 346 .",
"The detent 348 is located adjacent one edge of the slotted buckle end 314 (the near edge as viewed in FIG. 3;",
"the upper edge as viewed in FIG. 4 ), longitudinally between the slots 340 &",
"342 , and sits in the double-cranked portion of the slotted buckle end 314 (which prevents significant longitudinal displacement of the detent 348 with respect to the slotted buckle end 314 ).",
"The detent 348 is laterally movable to a limited extent, and is urged laterally against the notched edge of the tongue 310 by suitable spring means (not shown).",
"Interengagement of the detent projections 350 with the tongue notches 346 latches the buckle end 314 to the tongue 310 , and so inhibits relative movement of the first and second hooks 302 and 304 upon installation of the anchorage 300 (the function of the latch 316 thereby being analogous to the function of the clamps 116 and 216 ).",
"Installation and use of the anchorage 300 is essentially the same as the previously described installation and use of the first and second embodiments 100 and 200 (apart from the use of the latch 316 in place of the clamps 116 and 216 ).",
"In suitable circumstances (e.g. if the safety net to be anchored by the anchorage 300 had its own ties or attachment hooks) the slings 328 and 334 could be omitted and the safety net directly attached to the hooks 302 and 304 , by way of the apertures 326 and/or 332 or in any other suitable manner.",
"The numbers of notches 346 and/or the numbers of projections 350 can be varied from the respective numbers as shown in FIG. 4;",
"in the limiting case, there may be a single projection and/or a single notch (particularly where the anchorage is designed to fit flanges of a uniform width).",
"The anchorages of the invention can be utilised for attaching articles other than safety nets (e.g. for the anchorage of tethered body harnesses for individual fall prevention).",
"While certain modifications and variations of the anchorage in accordance with the invention have been described above, the invention is not restricted thereto, and other modifications and variations can be adopted without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the method of implementing a 2-way wireless spread spectrum communication system and more particularly to such a system in a large multi-storied building.
A typical situation to which this invention is addressed is one where a number of people who occupy space in a large multi-storied building operate computers and have a requirement to interact with each other and have access to each others files and an Internet service provider on a real time basis. In order to satisfy this requirement, these computers must be interconnected in some manner and also connected with an Internet service provider. To accomplish this, a network is created which interconnects the computers through a central unit called a server, which acts as a library for files as well as a traffic controller. The computers and server are connected to each other by means of a series of copper wire or fiberoptic cables. As a result, all equipment is fixed in position, not able to be moved and encumbered by masses of cables which may require the construction of special raceways beneath raised floors. These installations are costly, time consuming to install, and difficult to modify. If computers must be moved to new locations in the building, the installation network of cables, raised floors and any other special construction must be abandoned and a new installation created.
In addition, for any of the computers which are part of the network to be connected to an Internet service provider, a router must be connected to the server and this router must also be connected to a special copper wire or fiberoptic telephone company cable. This equipment and cabling is also fixed in position and would be abandoned if the system location were to be changed. In addition, substantial fees must be paid on an ongoing basis to a telephone company in order to connect the computers through the server to an Internet service provider which are exclusive of any fees paid to the Internet service provider for their service.
An alternate to the creation of cabling networks is wireless communication. However, to date this technique has yielded limited results in that effective communication can only be accomplished for short distances and is subject to interference from spurious signals (noise), loss of transmitted signal strength (attenuation), and areas where no signal can be received (null points). Null points result from reflected signals canceling primary signals under certain conditions. All of these types of interference are present in severe form in large multi-storied buildings as a result of phenomena unique to this environment.
Also, in order to create a wireless link to an Internet service provider, a cable must be installed the entire length of the building which leads to an antenna located on the roof of the building. Each computer or server must then be cable connected to this riser cable in order to communicate outside the building with the wireless Internet service provider.
A major purpose of this invention is to provide an inexpensive and reliable communication link between any number of computers located within a large multi-storied building in a fashion that provides an ability to readily relocate, modify and reconfigure the network within the building.
It is a further purpose of this invention to provide the above objects in a system that would also optionally permit a reliable and simplified access to an Internet service provider.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
In brief, this invention enables effective communication in large multi-story buildings and meets the objectives recited above by use of two-way wireless spread spectrum transmission and reception involving directional polarized antennas coupled to specific transmission paths. Those paths are the stairwell shafts of the building and a zone outside of the building adjacent to the skin of the building which is accessed through the windows of the building.
The construction of large multi-story buildings makes wireless communication within the buildings unreliable because electromagnetic energy is absorbed and reflected in unpredictable and uncontrollable ways.
It has been found that electromagnetic energy will migrate through a building effectively if it can be coupled to two paths which are available in every building. One of these two paths is the stairwells. The other path is a vertical zone adjacent to the skin of the building. sending signals through these two paths provides markedly better results than do other methods.
To couple energy to these unique paths, two types of directional antennas are employed. Both types of antennas are patch type having an included angle of less than 60°. These antennas are deployed to generate a radiation pattern which aims them at the locations where access can be had to the stairwells and the windows.
A first patch type antenna is linear polarized with a horizontal electrical field. This provides enhanced signal strength over substantial distances in part as a result of ground reflections.
A second patch type antenna employs circular polarization. The circular polarization enables the receiver to ignore reflected signals and receive only the primary signal. The circular polarization minimizes the existence of null points.
Both types of antennas direct the electromagnetic energy across a floor to access and transmit through stairwells and out of windows along a vertical zone adjacent to the skin of the building and back in other windows. Reception using similar antenna arrangements receive these signals.
The transmission and reception employs a transceiver using a spread spectrum technique that involves a hybrid frequency hopped/direct sequence modulated signal of a known type such as is disclosed in the text “Spread Spectrum Systems With Commercial Applications”, Robert C. Dixon, 3rd edition, copyright in 1994 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. publisher at 605 3rd Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10158.
The linear polarized antenna and the circular polarized antenna are connected to a switching circuit at the transmitter and the receiver so that the signals generated are transmitted and received as packets of data alternating between the two antennas. The switch is at a predetermined rate that is greater than the hopping rate of the spread spectrum signal.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a large multi-story building showing the coupling of a signal from a station through a stairwell and along the zone adjacent to the outside skin of the building.
FIG. 2 is a highly schematic illustration of transmission paths on particular floors of the FIG. 1 building.
FIG. 3 is a high level block diagram of a multistation system embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating one computer station, one server and a PBX component of the FIG. 3 system showing the antenna arrangement.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the transceiver and switching equipment used at a given station to permit alternate transmission of circular polarized packets and linear polarized packets when in the transmitting mode and alternate reception of circular polarized packets and linear polarized packets when in the receiving mode.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing equipment associated with a server.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing equipment associated with the PBX.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The FIGS. are illustrations and block diagrams showing the components of one embodiment of a system using this invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the system is arranged in a large multi-story building 12 to provide signal transmission along selected paths. Specifically, stairwell shafts 14 and zones 16 located outside the building adjacent to the skin of the building are employed as transmission paths. These paths have been found to enable successful communication between virtually any two locations within the building.
As shown in FIG. 2, each floor 24 in a multi-story large building 12 has access ways to stairwells 14 and windows 28 thereby enabling the coupling of electromagnetic energy (signals) to the stairwell shafts and to the area outside the building that is adjacent to the skin of the building. These stairwells and window access ways also enable electromagnetic energy signals to enter any floor after having been transmitted through the stairwell shafts 14 and the zones 16 outside the building adjacent to the skin of the building.
As shown in FIG. 3, a multiple number of stations having computers 32 located anywhere in a large multi-story building are each coupled to an associated spread spectrum transceiver 34 . These spread spectrum transceivers employ two-way wireless electromagnetic communication over paths that include stairwells 14 and through windows and zones 16 adjacent to the outer skin of the building to and from a spread spectrum transceiver 36 which is associated with a server 38 . The computers 32 that are in communication with one another through the server 38 can be located virtually any place in the building because of their access to stairwells and windows that provide sufficient channels for the spread spectrum electromagnetic radiation.
FIG. 3 shows further communication that can be had through a second spread spectrum transceiver 37 associated with the server 38 to wireless PBX equipment 42 and a spread spectrum transceiver 40 coupled to the wireless PBX 42 . The PBX 42 can be used to provide transmission over a standard land line PBX 41 or through a wireless spread spectrum transceiver 44 .
FIG. 4 shows certain additional details of the FIG. 3 system. Each station transceiver 34 associated with a computer 32 provides transmission to and from the computer 32 throughout two antennas. One of the antennas 46 is a circular polarized directional antenna. The other antenna 48 is a horizontal linear polarized directional antenna.
These antennas 46 and 48 are patch type antennas having an included angle of less than 60°. This antenna design provides enhanced concentration of radiated power along the transmission paths.
The circular polarization of the antennas 46 has been found to minimize the existence of null points. The antennas 48 are linear polarized with a horizontal electric field. The horizontal electric field enhances reflection from the floors of the building along which the electromagnetic energy is directed thereby minimizing energy loss. The signals from both type of antennas 46 , 48 are coupled through the stairwells and windows and thus along the zones adjacent to the outside of the building so that communication can be had through the server 38 between computer stations almost anywhere in the building.
The spread spectrum transceiver 36 associated with the server 38 is appropriately synchronized to the spread spectrum transceivers 34 by known techniques.
In analogous fashion, communication between the server 38 and a wireless PBX 42 is through synchronized spread spectrum transceivers 37 and 40 respectively employing respective circular polarized directional antenna 54 and horizontal linear polarized directional antenna 56 for the transceiver 37 and circular polarized directional antenna 58 and horizontal linear polarized antenna 60 for the transceiver 40 . Also wireless communication with the worldwide Internet is accomplished using transceiver 44 employing antennas 81 and 82 .
FIG. 5 illustrates a computer network adapter used with each computer station 32 . The antennas 46 , 48 provide both transmission of broadcast information from the computer network adapter as well as receipt of broadcast information to the computer network adapter. The reception component of the adapter includes a low noise amplifier 54 , a receiver 55 and a data input module 56 which transfers the demodulated signal to the baseband processor 57 . The transmission component of the adapter includes a data output module 58 which transfers the data to be transmitted from the baseband processor 57 , a transmitter 59 and a higher power output amplifier 60 .
The baseband processor and controller 57 receives information from and transfers information to the computer 32 through an input/output module 62 . The baseband processor and controller 57 gives instructions to the antenna select controller 63 which then switches the two directional polarized antennas 46 , 48 to particular configurations in accordance with these instructions during transmission and reception. The received signal strength indicator 64 measures the relative signal strengths of the signals received by the two directional polarized antennas 46 , 48 and enables only the largest signal to be processed. A diplexer 65 protects the receiving segment of the adapter from signals generated by the transmitting segment. An antenna switching clock 71 , which is a component of the baseband processor and controller, determines when the appropriate timing sequence has been arrived at to enable reception or transmission. It also signals the antenna select control 63 to switch between antennas at each transmitted or received frequency before moving to the next transmitted or received frequency.
FIG. 6 illustrates the network adapter employed with the server 38 in somewhat greater detail. The reception, transmission and processing of information is accomplished in a manner similar to that employed by the computer adapter including the directional polarized set of antennas 50 , 52 , a transceiver 36 including a baseband processor and controller and an input/output module 73 . However, this unit also includes a message memory section 74 which stores requests while earlier requests are being processed. A second set of directional polarized antennas 54 and 56 , transceiver 37 , and message memory section 75 are used to communicate with the wireless PBX 42 . They operate at different frequencies and with different modulation sequences. Therefore, the transceivers 36 and 37 can operate independent of each other.
The channel controller 78 determines which section will receive information from and transfer information to the server through the server network adapter input/output module 73 and thereby regulates the traffic within the server network adapter.
FIG. 7 illustrates the wireless PBX 42 in somewhat greater detail. The antenna and transceiver configurations and method of transferring information to and from the bus 87 are similar to those employed by the computer network adapter (FIG. 5) and the server network adapter (FIG. 6 ). A bus controller 89 determines which transceiver points will be enabled and effects this through the wireless network server assign enable module 88 . This module enables only the transceiver so designated to communicate with the bus 87 . The bus controller 89 also determines which land line PBX 41 or section thereof will be connected to the wireless PBX 42 for transfer of information to and from server network adapters (FIG. 6 ). Coordination of server transceiver ports and land line PBX units is accomplished by the bus controller 89 when assigning the appropriate transceiver port enable 86 and PBX assign enable 90 simultaneously.
A separate transceiver 96 and antennas 81 and 82 tuned to the frequency employed by an Internet service provider is used to communicate with a wireless Internet service provider. An assign enable input 98 will be activated when this feature is employed. | A system for communicating between computers that are at a number of different locations in a large multi-story building in which radio transmission is achieved through stairwell shafts and through windows along a zone outside of the building. This system employs communication through spread spectrum transceivers and a set of directional antennas. At each station, one of the antennas is circular polarized and the other is linear polarized with a horizontal electrical component to facilitate reflection off the floors of the building. The spread spectrum is a hybrid frequency hopped and direct sequence modulated signal. | Analyze the document's illustrations and descriptions to summarize the main idea's core structure and function. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the method of implementing a 2-way wireless spread spectrum communication system and more particularly to such a system in a large multi-storied building.",
"A typical situation to which this invention is addressed is one where a number of people who occupy space in a large multi-storied building operate computers and have a requirement to interact with each other and have access to each others files and an Internet service provider on a real time basis.",
"In order to satisfy this requirement, these computers must be interconnected in some manner and also connected with an Internet service provider.",
"To accomplish this, a network is created which interconnects the computers through a central unit called a server, which acts as a library for files as well as a traffic controller.",
"The computers and server are connected to each other by means of a series of copper wire or fiberoptic cables.",
"As a result, all equipment is fixed in position, not able to be moved and encumbered by masses of cables which may require the construction of special raceways beneath raised floors.",
"These installations are costly, time consuming to install, and difficult to modify.",
"If computers must be moved to new locations in the building, the installation network of cables, raised floors and any other special construction must be abandoned and a new installation created.",
"In addition, for any of the computers which are part of the network to be connected to an Internet service provider, a router must be connected to the server and this router must also be connected to a special copper wire or fiberoptic telephone company cable.",
"This equipment and cabling is also fixed in position and would be abandoned if the system location were to be changed.",
"In addition, substantial fees must be paid on an ongoing basis to a telephone company in order to connect the computers through the server to an Internet service provider which are exclusive of any fees paid to the Internet service provider for their service.",
"An alternate to the creation of cabling networks is wireless communication.",
"However, to date this technique has yielded limited results in that effective communication can only be accomplished for short distances and is subject to interference from spurious signals (noise), loss of transmitted signal strength (attenuation), and areas where no signal can be received (null points).",
"Null points result from reflected signals canceling primary signals under certain conditions.",
"All of these types of interference are present in severe form in large multi-storied buildings as a result of phenomena unique to this environment.",
"Also, in order to create a wireless link to an Internet service provider, a cable must be installed the entire length of the building which leads to an antenna located on the roof of the building.",
"Each computer or server must then be cable connected to this riser cable in order to communicate outside the building with the wireless Internet service provider.",
"A major purpose of this invention is to provide an inexpensive and reliable communication link between any number of computers located within a large multi-storied building in a fashion that provides an ability to readily relocate, modify and reconfigure the network within the building.",
"It is a further purpose of this invention to provide the above objects in a system that would also optionally permit a reliable and simplified access to an Internet service provider.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION In brief, this invention enables effective communication in large multi-story buildings and meets the objectives recited above by use of two-way wireless spread spectrum transmission and reception involving directional polarized antennas coupled to specific transmission paths.",
"Those paths are the stairwell shafts of the building and a zone outside of the building adjacent to the skin of the building which is accessed through the windows of the building.",
"The construction of large multi-story buildings makes wireless communication within the buildings unreliable because electromagnetic energy is absorbed and reflected in unpredictable and uncontrollable ways.",
"It has been found that electromagnetic energy will migrate through a building effectively if it can be coupled to two paths which are available in every building.",
"One of these two paths is the stairwells.",
"The other path is a vertical zone adjacent to the skin of the building.",
"sending signals through these two paths provides markedly better results than do other methods.",
"To couple energy to these unique paths, two types of directional antennas are employed.",
"Both types of antennas are patch type having an included angle of less than 60°.",
"These antennas are deployed to generate a radiation pattern which aims them at the locations where access can be had to the stairwells and the windows.",
"A first patch type antenna is linear polarized with a horizontal electrical field.",
"This provides enhanced signal strength over substantial distances in part as a result of ground reflections.",
"A second patch type antenna employs circular polarization.",
"The circular polarization enables the receiver to ignore reflected signals and receive only the primary signal.",
"The circular polarization minimizes the existence of null points.",
"Both types of antennas direct the electromagnetic energy across a floor to access and transmit through stairwells and out of windows along a vertical zone adjacent to the skin of the building and back in other windows.",
"Reception using similar antenna arrangements receive these signals.",
"The transmission and reception employs a transceiver using a spread spectrum technique that involves a hybrid frequency hopped/direct sequence modulated signal of a known type such as is disclosed in the text “Spread Spectrum Systems With Commercial Applications”, Robert C. Dixon, 3rd edition, copyright in 1994 by John Wiley &",
"Sons, Inc. publisher at 605 3rd Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10158.",
"The linear polarized antenna and the circular polarized antenna are connected to a switching circuit at the transmitter and the receiver so that the signals generated are transmitted and received as packets of data alternating between the two antennas.",
"The switch is at a predetermined rate that is greater than the hopping rate of the spread spectrum signal.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a large multi-story building showing the coupling of a signal from a station through a stairwell and along the zone adjacent to the outside skin of the building.",
"FIG. 2 is a highly schematic illustration of transmission paths on particular floors of the FIG. 1 building.",
"FIG. 3 is a high level block diagram of a multistation system embodiment of the invention.",
"FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating one computer station, one server and a PBX component of the FIG. 3 system showing the antenna arrangement.",
"FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the transceiver and switching equipment used at a given station to permit alternate transmission of circular polarized packets and linear polarized packets when in the transmitting mode and alternate reception of circular polarized packets and linear polarized packets when in the receiving mode.",
"FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing equipment associated with a server.",
"FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing equipment associated with the PBX.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The FIGS. are illustrations and block diagrams showing the components of one embodiment of a system using this invention.",
"As shown in FIG. 1, the system is arranged in a large multi-story building 12 to provide signal transmission along selected paths.",
"Specifically, stairwell shafts 14 and zones 16 located outside the building adjacent to the skin of the building are employed as transmission paths.",
"These paths have been found to enable successful communication between virtually any two locations within the building.",
"As shown in FIG. 2, each floor 24 in a multi-story large building 12 has access ways to stairwells 14 and windows 28 thereby enabling the coupling of electromagnetic energy (signals) to the stairwell shafts and to the area outside the building that is adjacent to the skin of the building.",
"These stairwells and window access ways also enable electromagnetic energy signals to enter any floor after having been transmitted through the stairwell shafts 14 and the zones 16 outside the building adjacent to the skin of the building.",
"As shown in FIG. 3, a multiple number of stations having computers 32 located anywhere in a large multi-story building are each coupled to an associated spread spectrum transceiver 34 .",
"These spread spectrum transceivers employ two-way wireless electromagnetic communication over paths that include stairwells 14 and through windows and zones 16 adjacent to the outer skin of the building to and from a spread spectrum transceiver 36 which is associated with a server 38 .",
"The computers 32 that are in communication with one another through the server 38 can be located virtually any place in the building because of their access to stairwells and windows that provide sufficient channels for the spread spectrum electromagnetic radiation.",
"FIG. 3 shows further communication that can be had through a second spread spectrum transceiver 37 associated with the server 38 to wireless PBX equipment 42 and a spread spectrum transceiver 40 coupled to the wireless PBX 42 .",
"The PBX 42 can be used to provide transmission over a standard land line PBX 41 or through a wireless spread spectrum transceiver 44 .",
"FIG. 4 shows certain additional details of the FIG. 3 system.",
"Each station transceiver 34 associated with a computer 32 provides transmission to and from the computer 32 throughout two antennas.",
"One of the antennas 46 is a circular polarized directional antenna.",
"The other antenna 48 is a horizontal linear polarized directional antenna.",
"These antennas 46 and 48 are patch type antennas having an included angle of less than 60°.",
"This antenna design provides enhanced concentration of radiated power along the transmission paths.",
"The circular polarization of the antennas 46 has been found to minimize the existence of null points.",
"The antennas 48 are linear polarized with a horizontal electric field.",
"The horizontal electric field enhances reflection from the floors of the building along which the electromagnetic energy is directed thereby minimizing energy loss.",
"The signals from both type of antennas 46 , 48 are coupled through the stairwells and windows and thus along the zones adjacent to the outside of the building so that communication can be had through the server 38 between computer stations almost anywhere in the building.",
"The spread spectrum transceiver 36 associated with the server 38 is appropriately synchronized to the spread spectrum transceivers 34 by known techniques.",
"In analogous fashion, communication between the server 38 and a wireless PBX 42 is through synchronized spread spectrum transceivers 37 and 40 respectively employing respective circular polarized directional antenna 54 and horizontal linear polarized directional antenna 56 for the transceiver 37 and circular polarized directional antenna 58 and horizontal linear polarized antenna 60 for the transceiver 40 .",
"Also wireless communication with the worldwide Internet is accomplished using transceiver 44 employing antennas 81 and 82 .",
"FIG. 5 illustrates a computer network adapter used with each computer station 32 .",
"The antennas 46 , 48 provide both transmission of broadcast information from the computer network adapter as well as receipt of broadcast information to the computer network adapter.",
"The reception component of the adapter includes a low noise amplifier 54 , a receiver 55 and a data input module 56 which transfers the demodulated signal to the baseband processor 57 .",
"The transmission component of the adapter includes a data output module 58 which transfers the data to be transmitted from the baseband processor 57 , a transmitter 59 and a higher power output amplifier 60 .",
"The baseband processor and controller 57 receives information from and transfers information to the computer 32 through an input/output module 62 .",
"The baseband processor and controller 57 gives instructions to the antenna select controller 63 which then switches the two directional polarized antennas 46 , 48 to particular configurations in accordance with these instructions during transmission and reception.",
"The received signal strength indicator 64 measures the relative signal strengths of the signals received by the two directional polarized antennas 46 , 48 and enables only the largest signal to be processed.",
"A diplexer 65 protects the receiving segment of the adapter from signals generated by the transmitting segment.",
"An antenna switching clock 71 , which is a component of the baseband processor and controller, determines when the appropriate timing sequence has been arrived at to enable reception or transmission.",
"It also signals the antenna select control 63 to switch between antennas at each transmitted or received frequency before moving to the next transmitted or received frequency.",
"FIG. 6 illustrates the network adapter employed with the server 38 in somewhat greater detail.",
"The reception, transmission and processing of information is accomplished in a manner similar to that employed by the computer adapter including the directional polarized set of antennas 50 , 52 , a transceiver 36 including a baseband processor and controller and an input/output module 73 .",
"However, this unit also includes a message memory section 74 which stores requests while earlier requests are being processed.",
"A second set of directional polarized antennas 54 and 56 , transceiver 37 , and message memory section 75 are used to communicate with the wireless PBX 42 .",
"They operate at different frequencies and with different modulation sequences.",
"Therefore, the transceivers 36 and 37 can operate independent of each other.",
"The channel controller 78 determines which section will receive information from and transfer information to the server through the server network adapter input/output module 73 and thereby regulates the traffic within the server network adapter.",
"FIG. 7 illustrates the wireless PBX 42 in somewhat greater detail.",
"The antenna and transceiver configurations and method of transferring information to and from the bus 87 are similar to those employed by the computer network adapter (FIG.",
"5) and the server network adapter (FIG.",
"6 ).",
"A bus controller 89 determines which transceiver points will be enabled and effects this through the wireless network server assign enable module 88 .",
"This module enables only the transceiver so designated to communicate with the bus 87 .",
"The bus controller 89 also determines which land line PBX 41 or section thereof will be connected to the wireless PBX 42 for transfer of information to and from server network adapters (FIG.",
"6 ).",
"Coordination of server transceiver ports and land line PBX units is accomplished by the bus controller 89 when assigning the appropriate transceiver port enable 86 and PBX assign enable 90 simultaneously.",
"A separate transceiver 96 and antennas 81 and 82 tuned to the frequency employed by an Internet service provider is used to communicate with a wireless Internet service provider.",
"An assign enable input 98 will be activated when this feature is employed."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an automated data storage system having one or a plurality of data accessors, and an apparatus and a method to remove one of those data accessors from the automated data storage system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Automated data storage libraries are known for providing cost effective access to large quantities of stored data. Generally, data storage libraries include a large number of storage slots on which are stored portable data storage media. The typical portable data storage media is a tape cartridge, an optical cartridge, a disk cartridge, and the like. One (or more) accessor typically accesses the data storage media from the storage slots and delivers the accessed media to a data storage drive for reading and/or writing data on the accessed media. Suitable electronics both operate the accessor and operate the data storage drives to transmit and/or receive data from an attached on-line host computer system.
In a conventional automated data storage library, the storage slots are arranged in a planar orthogonal arrangement forming a “wall” of storage slots for holding data storage media. The plane may be a flat plane, or may be a cylindrical plane. To double the storage capacity, two “walls” of storage slots may be provided on either side of the accessor.
A number of different companies manufacture automated data storage libraries today, each model displaying various different features. One example is the IBM 3494 Data Storage Library. Some of the automated data storage libraries have dual or multiple accessors to provide a level of redundancy, in that, one accessor is the “active” accessor and the other may take over the accessor function and be the active accessor.
In many conventional libraries, one of the accessors is always the active accessor, and the other(s) is always spare. For example, in a dual accessor automated data storage library, the active accessor conducts all of the operations to access and move the data storage media, and the other accessor is the spare and is moved out of the active operation area. In other conventional libraries, multiple accessors may share the active operation and no accessors are spare. Occasionally, an accessor may become unavailable, for example, if a component of the accessor must be replaced or repaired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Applicants' invention includes a maintenance robot which can remove from Applicants' automated data storage system an accessor having an attachment slot(s) and retractable wheels. Applicants' maintenance robot includes a frame having a first support member pivotally connected thereto, a plurality of wheels rotatably mounted on said frame, and an attachment device mounted on the first support member. The attachment device is formed such that it can be inserted into, and subsequently removed from the attachment slot(s)located on the accessor. In one embodiment, the attachment device can be raised or lowered.
Applicants' invention also includes an automated data storage system. Applicants' automated data storage system includes at least one data storage library which includes a plurality of data storage media stored in a plurality of storage slots and at least one data storage drive for receiving said data storage media and reading and/or writing data thereon. Applicants' automated data storage system further includes a first rail system located within the data storage library, and one or a plurality of accessors for accessing and transporting the stored media between the individual storage slots and the data storage drive. Each these accessors includes a plurality of retractable wheels and an attachment slot(s). Each of these data accessors are moveably disposed on the first rail system.
Applicants' automated data storage system further includes a second rail system having a first end and a second end, with the first end located adjacent the first rail system. Applicants' maintenance robot is movably disposed on the second rail system.
Applicants' invention further includes a method to remove an accessor from Applicants' automated data storage system. Applicants' method includes the steps of: (i) positioning accessor on the first rail system adjacent the first end of the second rail system, (ii) positioning the maintenance robot on the second rail system adjacent the accessor, (iii) attaching the accessor to the maintenance robot, (iv) retracting the accessor's wheels, and (v) removing the maintenance robot and the attached accessor from the data storage library. In a separate embodiment, Applicants' method also includes a step wherein the maintenance robot lifts/lowers the attached accessor to completely remove that accessor from the first rail system.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be better understood from a reading of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which like reference designators are used to designate like elements, and in which:
FIG. 1 a is a side view of Applicants' data accessor;
FIG. 1 b is a perspective view of the robotic manipulator component of Applicants' data accessor;
FIG. 2 is a side view of Applicants' maintenance robot;
FIG. 3 a is a side view of one embodiment of the support member component of Applicants' maintenance robot;
FIG. 3 b is a side view of one embodiment of the engagement rod component of Applicants' maintenance robot;
FIG. 4 is a side view of a second embodiment of the support member component of Applicants' maintenance robot;
FIG. 5 a is a top view of Applicants' automated data storage system illustrating the first step in Applicants' method to remove a data accessor from a media storage library;
FIG. 5 b is a top view of Applicants' automated data storage system illustrating the second step in Applicants' method to remove a data accessor from a media storage library;
FIG. 5 c is a top view of Applicants' automated data storage system illustrating the third step in Applicants' method to remove a data accessor from a media storage library;
FIG. 5 d is a top view of Applicants' automated data storage system illustrating the fourth step in Applicants' method to remove a data accessor from a media storage library;
FIG. 5 e is a top view of Applicants' automated data storage system illustrating the fifth step in Applicants' method to remove a data accessor from a media storage library; and
FIG. 5 f is a top view of Applicants' automated data storage system illustrating the sixth step in Applicants' method to remove a data accessor from a media storage library.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Turning to FIG. 1 a, accessor 10 includes rectangular frame 16 which has first end 18 , second end 20 , top side 60 , and bottom side 62 . Applicants use the terms “top” and “bottom” for descriptive purposes only, and those terms should not be construed as limiting. Attachment slots 50 and 52 are internally disposed within frame 16 and extend outwardly to communicate with the surface of frame 16 . In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 a , slots 50 and 52 have a rectangular cross section. In other embodiments, slots 50 and 52 have a circular, ovoid, triangular, square, trapezoidal, pentagonal, or hexagonal cross section. Slots 50 and 52 may have the same shape and size, or may have differing shapes and sizes.
Pillar 42 has a first end 40 and a second end 46 . First end 40 connects to bottom side 62 of frame 16 by way of an adhesive joint, a welded joint, metal screws, nuts and bolts, and the like. Wheel assembly 48 is rotatably disposed on second end 46 . Motor 90 is disposed adjacent second end 46 and connects to wheel assembly 48 . Operation of motor 90 in a first direction causes wheel 48 to rotate in a first direction. Operation of motor 90 in a second direction, i.e. the other direction, causes wheel 48 to rotate in a second direction.
Accessing mechanism 44 is movably disposed on pillar 42 such that accessing mechanism 44 travels bi-directionally along pillar 42 between first end 40 and second end 46 . FIG. 1 b shows accessing mechanism 44 is greater detail. Robotic manipulator 49 is mounted on carriage 47 which can move vertically along pillar 42 .
Referring again to FIG. 1 a, a first wheel assembly is disposed adjacent first end 18 of frame 16 such that guide wheel 22 is disposed above top surface 60 . The first wheel assembly comprises guide wheel 22 , retractable support 24 , power lead screw 26 , and gear motor 28 . Gear motor 28 is disposed on bottom side 62 of frame 16 adjacent first end 18 . One end of power lead screw 26 connects to gear motor 28 and the other end extends through frame 16 and connects to retractable support 24 . Retractable support 24 is disposed between power lead screw 26 and wheel 22 , such that retractable support 24 can be partially retracted into frame 16 .
Similarly, a second wheel assembly is disposed adjacent second end 20 of frame 16 such that guide wheel 30 is disposed above top surface 60 . The second wheel assembly comprises guide wheel 30 , retractable support 32 , power lead screw 34 , and gear motor 36 . Gear motor 36 is disposed on bottom side 62 of frame 16 adjacent second end 20 . One end of power lead screw 34 connects to gear motor 36 and the other end extends through frame 16 and connects to retractable support 32 . Retractable support 32 is disposed between power lead screw 34 and wheel 30 , such that retractable support 32 can be partially retracted into frame 16 .
Causing gear motor 28 to turn in a first direction causes wheel 22 to move in a first direction. Causing gear motor 28 to turn in a second direction, i.e. opposite to the first direction, causes wheel 22 to move in the opposite direction. Similarly, activation of gear motor 36 causes wheel 30 to move either upwardly or downwardly.
FIG. 2 shows maintenance robot 100 . Robot 100 includes frame 101 which is formed from top member 108 , bottom member 114 , first side member 116 , and second side member 106 . Applicants use the terms “top” and “bottom” for descriptive purposes only, and those terms should not be construed as limiting. First side member connects to first end 110 of top member 108 and to first end 117 of bottom member 114 . Second side member 106 connects to second end 112 of top member 108 and to second end 118 of bottom member 114 . The connections between top member 108 , bottom member 114 , first side member 116 , and second side member 106 may be formed by welding, mechanical attachments such as metal screws and/or nuts/bolts, adhesive joining, and the like. Top member 108 , bottom member 114 , first side member 116 and second side member 106 may be formed from any rigid material including metal, plastic, wood, and combinations thereof. In preferred embodiments, these members are formed from aluminum or stainless steel. In a most preferred embodiment, these members are formed of Stainless Steel Type-304.
First wheel 120 is rotatably disposed on top member 108 adjacent first end 110 . Second wheel 122 is rotatably disposed on bottom member 114 adjacent first end 117 . Third wheel 124 is rotatably disposed on top member 108 adjacent second end 112 . Fourth wheel 126 is rotatably disposed on bottom member 114 adjacent second end 118 .
First support member 130 has distal end 134 and proximal end 132 . Proximal end 132 is pivotably connected to top member 108 adjacent first end 110 such that first support member 130 can be rotated between a first position and a second position. In the first position, first support member 130 is folded against frame 101 such that first member 130 is parallel to, and adjacent, top member 108 . In the second position, first support member 130 has been rotated 90 degrees outwardly from frame 101 such that first support member 130 is substantially perpendicular to top member 108 . By substantially perpendicular, Applicants mean the angle formed by first support member 130 and top member 108 is about 90 degrees, plus or minus about 10 degrees.
Second support member 136 has top end 138 and bottom end 140 . Top end 138 connects to distal end 134 of first support member 130 using the attachment methods described above. Bottom end 140 is pivotably attached to first side member 116 .
An attachment device is disposed on first support member 130 . In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, this attachment device comprises engaging rod 150 and engaging rod 156 . Engaging rod 150 has proximal end 152 and distal end 154 . Proximal end 152 is attached to first support member 130 such that distal end 154 extends outwardly from first support member 130 and away from frame 101 . Similarly, engaging rod 156 has proximal end 158 and distal end 160 . Proximal end 158 is attached to first support member 130 such that distal end 160 extends outwardly from first support member 130 and away from frame 101 .
Robot 100 is disposed between parallel rails 102 and 104 such that wheels 120 and 124 are movably disposed on rail 102 and wheels 122 and 126 are movably disposed on rail 104 . Motor 170 is disposed on bottom member 114 adjacent end 118 . External shaft 172 extends outwardly from distal end 171 of motor 170 and connects to wheel 126 . Causing motor 170 to rotate in a first direction causes wheel 126 to rotate in a first direction which causes frame 101 to move along rails 102 and 104 in a first direction. Causing first motor 170 to operate in the opposite direction thereby causes wheel 126 to rotate in a second direction which causes frame 101 to move along rails 102 / 104 in the second, i.e. opposite, direction.
Referring to FIG. 3 a , first support member 200 is pivotably connected to top member 108 of frame 101 (FIG. 2 ). Motor 202 is disposed on top member 108 adjacent end 110 . External rotatable shaft 206 extends outwardly from distal end 203 of motor 202 . Pivot gear 208 is disposed on first support member 200 adjacent end 205 . The distal portion of shaft 206 slidingly interconnects with pivot gear 208 such that rotation of shaft 206 in a first direction causes first support member 200 to rotate outwardly from frame 101 . Pivot gear 208 limits the outward rotation of first support member 200 to a second position wherein first support member 200 is substantially perpendicular to frame 101 . By substantially perpendicular, Applicants mean first the angle formed between first support member 200 and frame 101 is about 90 degrees, plus or minus about 10 degrees. Rotation of pivot gear 208 in a second direction, i.e. opposite from the first direction, causes first support member 200 to pivot inwardly toward frame 101 . Pivot gear 208 limits the inward rotation of first support member 200 to a first position wherein first support member 200 is adjacent to and parallel to top member 108 . In this first position, side 201 of first support member 200 faces away from top member 108 .
Motor 220 and rotatable gear 222 are disposed on side 201 of first support member 200 . Engaging rod 224 is mounted in an off-axis configuration to gear 222 . Gear 222 intermeshes with motor 220 , such that operation of motor 220 causes gear 222 to rotate 180 degrees between a first position (shown in FIG. 3 a ) wherein engaging rod 224 is disposed at the bottom of gear 222 , and a second position wherein engaging rod 222 is disposed at the top of gear 222 (not shown in FIG. 3 a ).
Similarly, motor 230 and rotatable gear 232 are disposed on side 201 of first support member 130 outwardly of motor 220 /gear 222 . Engaging rod 234 is mounted in an off-axis configuration to gear 232 . Gear 232 intermeshes with motor 230 , such that operation of motor 230 causes gear 232 to rotate 180 degrees between a first position (shown in FIG. 3 a ) wherein engaging rod 234 is disposed at the bottom of gear 232 , and a second position wherein engaging rod 232 is disposed at the top of gear 232 (not shown in FIG. 3 a ).
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 a , engagement rods 224 and 234 have a circular cross section. In other embodiments of Applicants' invention, engagement rods 224 and 234 have an ovoid, triangular, square, trapezoidal, pentagonal, or hexagonal cross section. Engagement rod 224 may have the same cross section as does engagement rod 234 . In the alternative, engagement rods 224 and 234 may have differing cross sections. Referring to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 b , engagement rod 224 is circular and has a proximal portion 226 having a first diameter d 1 , a middle portion 228 having a second diameter d 2 , and distal portion 232 having a third diameter d 3 . Notch 240 is disposed in middle portion 228 such that d 2 is smaller than either d 1 or d 3 . First diameter d 1 may equal third diameter d 3 , or d 1 may be either greater than or less than d 3 . Regardless of the cross section shape, i.e. square, rectangular, oval, ovoid, trapezoidal, pentagonal, or hexagonal, distance d 2 is shorter than either d 1 or d 3 .
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, proximal end 302 of first support member 300 is pivotably attached to top member 108 . Motor 330 is disposed on top member 108 adjacent end 110 . External rotatable shaft 332 extends outwardly from distal end 331 of motor 330 . Pivot gear 334 limits the outward rotation of first support member 300 to a second position wherein first support member 300 is substantially perpendicular to frame 101 . By substantially perpendicular, Applicants mean first the angle formed between first support member 300 and frame 101 is about 90 degrees, plus or minus about 10 degrees. Rotation of pivot gear 334 in a second direction, i.e. opposite from the first direction, causes first support member 300 to pivot inwardly toward frame 101 . Pivot gear 334 limits the inward rotation of first support member 300 to a first position wherein first support member 300 is adjacent to and parallel to top member 108 . In this first position, side 301 of first support member 300 faces away from top member 130 .
Vertically-movable member 312 is internally disposed within support member 300 such that outer surface 313 is contiguous with side 301 of member 300 . Although vertically-movable member 312 is shown having a trapezoidal shape in FIG. 4 . In other embodiments, vertically movable member 312 can have a square or rectangular shape.
Engagement rod 314 is disposed on side 313 of vertically-movable member 300 . Although engagement rod 314 is shown in FIG. 4 having a circular cross section, engagement rod 314 can also have a triangular, square, rectangular, pentagonal, or hexagonal cross section. In other embodiments of Applicants' invention, engagement rod 314 may have a notched structure as shown in FIG. 3 b.
Motor 310 is disposed on the bottom of member 300 and connects to vertically-movable member 312 . Operation of motor 310 in one direction raises engagement rod 314 while operation of motor 310 in the opposite direction lowers engagement rod 314 .
Vertically-movable member 322 is internally disposed within support member 300 such that outer surface 323 is continuous with side 301 . Although vertically-movable member 322 is shown having a trapezoidal shape in FIG. 4 . In other embodiments, vertically movable member 322 can have a square or rectangular shape.
Engagement rod 324 is disposed on side 313 of vertically-movable member 300 . Although engagement rod 324 is shown in FIG. 4 having a circular cross section, engagement rod 324 can also have a triangular, square, rectangular, pentagonal, or hexagonal cross section. In other embodiments of Applicants' invention, engagement rod 324 may have a notched structure as shown in FIG. 3 b.
Motor 320 is disposed on the bottom of member 300 and connects to vertically-movable member 322 . Operation of motor 320 in one direction raises engagement rod 324 , while operation of motor 320 in the opposite direction lowers engagement rod 324 .
The embodiment shown in FIG. 4 includes two engagement rods, namely rods 314 and 324 . In other embodiments, a single engagement rod or a plurality of engagement rods are used. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, engagement rods 314 and 324 have a similar size and shape. In other embodiments, the one or plurality of engagement rods used may have differing sizes and shapes.
FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of Applicants' invention wherein a maintenance robot, formed as described above, removes an accessor, formed as described above, from a media storage library. FIGS. 5 a through 5 f illustrate the steps of Applicants' method wherein maintenance robot 420 approaches accessor 406 , rotates support member 424 outwardly, attaches accessor 406 to support member 424 , rotates support member 424 inwardly, and carries accessor out of library 402 . Removal of an accessor may be required for a number of purposes, including routine maintenance, repair, and/or modification.
Referring to FIG. 5 a, automated data storage system 400 is shown including media storage library 402 and maintenance bay 408 . Media storage library 402 includes a plurality of media storage slots 450 and 452 in which are stored a plurality of portable data storage media. Media storage library 402 further includes one or a plurality of data storage drives, such as drives 440 and 442 , for reading and/or writing data on the accessed media.
Rail system 404 is internally disposed within library 402 . In a preferred embodiment, rail system 404 includes two parallel rails. Rail system 410 is disposed internally within maintenance bay 408 , and has first end 412 and second end 414 . In a preferred embodiment, rail system 410 includes two parallel rails.
First end 412 of rail system 410 is disposed adjacent to, and substantially perpendicular with, rail system 404 . By substantially perpendicular with, Applicants mean the angle formed between rail system 404 and first end 412 of rail system 410 is about 90 degrees, plus or minus about 10 degrees.
Accessor 406 is movably disposed on rail system 404 , and travels bi-directionally along rail system 404 in the +/−Y direction. Accessor 406 is formed as described above, and as shown in FIG. 1 a. Maintenance robot 420 is formed as described above and as shown in FIG. 2, and comprises frame 422 with pivotable support member 424 disposed thereon. Maintenance robot 420 is movably disposed on rail system 410 and travels bi-directionally along rail system 410 in the +/−X direction.
In FIG. 5 a support member 424 is disposed in a first position wherein member 424 is adjacent to, and parallel to, frame 422 . In addition, maintenance robot 420 is shown disposed adjacent second end 414 of rail system 410 .
Referring now to FIG. 5 b , accessor 406 is positioned adjacent end 412 of rail system 410 , and maintenance robot 420 is positioned adjacent end 412 and adjacent accessor 406 . In the next step as shown in FIG. 5 c, support member 424 is rotated outwardly from frame 422 until substantially perpendicular to frame 422 . “Substantially perpendicular” has the meaning recited above. For purposes of clarity, rail system 410 is not shown in FIGS. 5 c- 5 f. As shown in FIG. 5 c, engagement rods 430 and 432 are disposed on the surface of support member 424 having a facing relationship with accessor 406 .
As shown in FIG. 5 d, robot 420 is next moved on rail system 410 (not shown in FIG, 5 d ) to insert engagement rods 430 and 432 into slots 50 (FIG. 1 a ) and 52 (FIG. 1 a ) disposed on accessor 406 . Referring now to FIG. 1 a , motors 28 and 36 are activated to retract wheels 22 and 30 from rail system 404 . Engagement rods 430 and 432 are then raised (or lowered depending on the orientation of accessor 406 ) to remove wheel 48 (FIG. 1 a ) from rail system 404 .
Referring to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 a , motors 220 and 230 are activated and rotated in such a manner to either raise or lower engagement rods 224 and 234 , thereby raising or lowering accessor 406 , as required to remove wheel 406 from rail system 404 . Referring to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, motors 310 and 320 are activated and operated in such a manner to either raise or lower engagement rods 314 and 324 , thereby raising or lowering accessor 406 , as required to remove wheel 48 from rail system 404 .
After retracting wheels 22 and 30 , and moving wheel 48 , accessor 406 is no longer disposed on rail system 404 . Rather, accessor 406 is now removably attached to maintenance robot 420 .
Referring now to FIG. 5 e, support member 424 is rotated inwardly such that support member 424 , which now carries accessor 406 , returns to its first position, i.e. adjacent to and parallel to frame 422 . Referring to FIG. 5 f, robot 420 , and the attached accessor 406 , are next moved to end 414 of rail system 410 , and thereby, out of library 402 . | Applicants' invention includes an automated data storage system which includes one or more data storage libraries each of which includes one or a plurality of accessors which retrieve data storage media from a plurality of storage slots and deliver that retrieved data storage media to a data storage drive unit, where each of the plurality of accessors includes one or more attachment slots and a plurality of retractable wheels, and a maintenance robot which includes a plurality of wheels and an attachment device which is capable of insertion into, and subsequent removal from, the attachment slot(s) located on each of the accessors. Applicants' invention further includes a method utilizing Applicants' maintenance robot to remove one of Applicants' accessors from a data storage library. | Briefly summarize the main idea's components and working principles as described in the context. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automated data storage system having one or a plurality of data accessors, and an apparatus and a method to remove one of those data accessors from the automated data storage system.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Automated data storage libraries are known for providing cost effective access to large quantities of stored data.",
"Generally, data storage libraries include a large number of storage slots on which are stored portable data storage media.",
"The typical portable data storage media is a tape cartridge, an optical cartridge, a disk cartridge, and the like.",
"One (or more) accessor typically accesses the data storage media from the storage slots and delivers the accessed media to a data storage drive for reading and/or writing data on the accessed media.",
"Suitable electronics both operate the accessor and operate the data storage drives to transmit and/or receive data from an attached on-line host computer system.",
"In a conventional automated data storage library, the storage slots are arranged in a planar orthogonal arrangement forming a “wall”",
"of storage slots for holding data storage media.",
"The plane may be a flat plane, or may be a cylindrical plane.",
"To double the storage capacity, two “walls”",
"of storage slots may be provided on either side of the accessor.",
"A number of different companies manufacture automated data storage libraries today, each model displaying various different features.",
"One example is the IBM 3494 Data Storage Library.",
"Some of the automated data storage libraries have dual or multiple accessors to provide a level of redundancy, in that, one accessor is the “active”",
"accessor and the other may take over the accessor function and be the active accessor.",
"In many conventional libraries, one of the accessors is always the active accessor, and the other(s) is always spare.",
"For example, in a dual accessor automated data storage library, the active accessor conducts all of the operations to access and move the data storage media, and the other accessor is the spare and is moved out of the active operation area.",
"In other conventional libraries, multiple accessors may share the active operation and no accessors are spare.",
"Occasionally, an accessor may become unavailable, for example, if a component of the accessor must be replaced or repaired.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Applicants'",
"invention includes a maintenance robot which can remove from Applicants'",
"automated data storage system an accessor having an attachment slot(s) and retractable wheels.",
"Applicants'",
"maintenance robot includes a frame having a first support member pivotally connected thereto, a plurality of wheels rotatably mounted on said frame, and an attachment device mounted on the first support member.",
"The attachment device is formed such that it can be inserted into, and subsequently removed from the attachment slot(s)located on the accessor.",
"In one embodiment, the attachment device can be raised or lowered.",
"Applicants'",
"invention also includes an automated data storage system.",
"Applicants'",
"automated data storage system includes at least one data storage library which includes a plurality of data storage media stored in a plurality of storage slots and at least one data storage drive for receiving said data storage media and reading and/or writing data thereon.",
"Applicants'",
"automated data storage system further includes a first rail system located within the data storage library, and one or a plurality of accessors for accessing and transporting the stored media between the individual storage slots and the data storage drive.",
"Each these accessors includes a plurality of retractable wheels and an attachment slot(s).",
"Each of these data accessors are moveably disposed on the first rail system.",
"Applicants'",
"automated data storage system further includes a second rail system having a first end and a second end, with the first end located adjacent the first rail system.",
"Applicants'",
"maintenance robot is movably disposed on the second rail system.",
"Applicants'",
"invention further includes a method to remove an accessor from Applicants'",
"automated data storage system.",
"Applicants'",
"method includes the steps of: (i) positioning accessor on the first rail system adjacent the first end of the second rail system, (ii) positioning the maintenance robot on the second rail system adjacent the accessor, (iii) attaching the accessor to the maintenance robot, (iv) retracting the accessor's wheels, and (v) removing the maintenance robot and the attached accessor from the data storage library.",
"In a separate embodiment, Applicants'",
"method also includes a step wherein the maintenance robot lifts/lowers the attached accessor to completely remove that accessor from the first rail system.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be better understood from a reading of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which like reference designators are used to designate like elements, and in which: FIG. 1 a is a side view of Applicants'",
"data accessor;",
"FIG. 1 b is a perspective view of the robotic manipulator component of Applicants'",
"data accessor;",
"FIG. 2 is a side view of Applicants'",
"maintenance robot;",
"FIG. 3 a is a side view of one embodiment of the support member component of Applicants'",
"maintenance robot;",
"FIG. 3 b is a side view of one embodiment of the engagement rod component of Applicants'",
"maintenance robot;",
"FIG. 4 is a side view of a second embodiment of the support member component of Applicants'",
"maintenance robot;",
"FIG. 5 a is a top view of Applicants'",
"automated data storage system illustrating the first step in Applicants'",
"method to remove a data accessor from a media storage library;",
"FIG. 5 b is a top view of Applicants'",
"automated data storage system illustrating the second step in Applicants'",
"method to remove a data accessor from a media storage library;",
"FIG. 5 c is a top view of Applicants'",
"automated data storage system illustrating the third step in Applicants'",
"method to remove a data accessor from a media storage library;",
"FIG. 5 d is a top view of Applicants'",
"automated data storage system illustrating the fourth step in Applicants'",
"method to remove a data accessor from a media storage library;",
"FIG. 5 e is a top view of Applicants'",
"automated data storage system illustrating the fifth step in Applicants'",
"method to remove a data accessor from a media storage library;",
"and FIG. 5 f is a top view of Applicants'",
"automated data storage system illustrating the sixth step in Applicants'",
"method to remove a data accessor from a media storage library.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Turning to FIG. 1 a, accessor 10 includes rectangular frame 16 which has first end 18 , second end 20 , top side 60 , and bottom side 62 .",
"Applicants use the terms “top”",
"and “bottom”",
"for descriptive purposes only, and those terms should not be construed as limiting.",
"Attachment slots 50 and 52 are internally disposed within frame 16 and extend outwardly to communicate with the surface of frame 16 .",
"In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 a , slots 50 and 52 have a rectangular cross section.",
"In other embodiments, slots 50 and 52 have a circular, ovoid, triangular, square, trapezoidal, pentagonal, or hexagonal cross section.",
"Slots 50 and 52 may have the same shape and size, or may have differing shapes and sizes.",
"Pillar 42 has a first end 40 and a second end 46 .",
"First end 40 connects to bottom side 62 of frame 16 by way of an adhesive joint, a welded joint, metal screws, nuts and bolts, and the like.",
"Wheel assembly 48 is rotatably disposed on second end 46 .",
"Motor 90 is disposed adjacent second end 46 and connects to wheel assembly 48 .",
"Operation of motor 90 in a first direction causes wheel 48 to rotate in a first direction.",
"Operation of motor 90 in a second direction, i.e. the other direction, causes wheel 48 to rotate in a second direction.",
"Accessing mechanism 44 is movably disposed on pillar 42 such that accessing mechanism 44 travels bi-directionally along pillar 42 between first end 40 and second end 46 .",
"FIG. 1 b shows accessing mechanism 44 is greater detail.",
"Robotic manipulator 49 is mounted on carriage 47 which can move vertically along pillar 42 .",
"Referring again to FIG. 1 a, a first wheel assembly is disposed adjacent first end 18 of frame 16 such that guide wheel 22 is disposed above top surface 60 .",
"The first wheel assembly comprises guide wheel 22 , retractable support 24 , power lead screw 26 , and gear motor 28 .",
"Gear motor 28 is disposed on bottom side 62 of frame 16 adjacent first end 18 .",
"One end of power lead screw 26 connects to gear motor 28 and the other end extends through frame 16 and connects to retractable support 24 .",
"Retractable support 24 is disposed between power lead screw 26 and wheel 22 , such that retractable support 24 can be partially retracted into frame 16 .",
"Similarly, a second wheel assembly is disposed adjacent second end 20 of frame 16 such that guide wheel 30 is disposed above top surface 60 .",
"The second wheel assembly comprises guide wheel 30 , retractable support 32 , power lead screw 34 , and gear motor 36 .",
"Gear motor 36 is disposed on bottom side 62 of frame 16 adjacent second end 20 .",
"One end of power lead screw 34 connects to gear motor 36 and the other end extends through frame 16 and connects to retractable support 32 .",
"Retractable support 32 is disposed between power lead screw 34 and wheel 30 , such that retractable support 32 can be partially retracted into frame 16 .",
"Causing gear motor 28 to turn in a first direction causes wheel 22 to move in a first direction.",
"Causing gear motor 28 to turn in a second direction, i.e. opposite to the first direction, causes wheel 22 to move in the opposite direction.",
"Similarly, activation of gear motor 36 causes wheel 30 to move either upwardly or downwardly.",
"FIG. 2 shows maintenance robot 100 .",
"Robot 100 includes frame 101 which is formed from top member 108 , bottom member 114 , first side member 116 , and second side member 106 .",
"Applicants use the terms “top”",
"and “bottom”",
"for descriptive purposes only, and those terms should not be construed as limiting.",
"First side member connects to first end 110 of top member 108 and to first end 117 of bottom member 114 .",
"Second side member 106 connects to second end 112 of top member 108 and to second end 118 of bottom member 114 .",
"The connections between top member 108 , bottom member 114 , first side member 116 , and second side member 106 may be formed by welding, mechanical attachments such as metal screws and/or nuts/bolts, adhesive joining, and the like.",
"Top member 108 , bottom member 114 , first side member 116 and second side member 106 may be formed from any rigid material including metal, plastic, wood, and combinations thereof.",
"In preferred embodiments, these members are formed from aluminum or stainless steel.",
"In a most preferred embodiment, these members are formed of Stainless Steel Type-304.",
"First wheel 120 is rotatably disposed on top member 108 adjacent first end 110 .",
"Second wheel 122 is rotatably disposed on bottom member 114 adjacent first end 117 .",
"Third wheel 124 is rotatably disposed on top member 108 adjacent second end 112 .",
"Fourth wheel 126 is rotatably disposed on bottom member 114 adjacent second end 118 .",
"First support member 130 has distal end 134 and proximal end 132 .",
"Proximal end 132 is pivotably connected to top member 108 adjacent first end 110 such that first support member 130 can be rotated between a first position and a second position.",
"In the first position, first support member 130 is folded against frame 101 such that first member 130 is parallel to, and adjacent, top member 108 .",
"In the second position, first support member 130 has been rotated 90 degrees outwardly from frame 101 such that first support member 130 is substantially perpendicular to top member 108 .",
"By substantially perpendicular, Applicants mean the angle formed by first support member 130 and top member 108 is about 90 degrees, plus or minus about 10 degrees.",
"Second support member 136 has top end 138 and bottom end 140 .",
"Top end 138 connects to distal end 134 of first support member 130 using the attachment methods described above.",
"Bottom end 140 is pivotably attached to first side member 116 .",
"An attachment device is disposed on first support member 130 .",
"In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, this attachment device comprises engaging rod 150 and engaging rod 156 .",
"Engaging rod 150 has proximal end 152 and distal end 154 .",
"Proximal end 152 is attached to first support member 130 such that distal end 154 extends outwardly from first support member 130 and away from frame 101 .",
"Similarly, engaging rod 156 has proximal end 158 and distal end 160 .",
"Proximal end 158 is attached to first support member 130 such that distal end 160 extends outwardly from first support member 130 and away from frame 101 .",
"Robot 100 is disposed between parallel rails 102 and 104 such that wheels 120 and 124 are movably disposed on rail 102 and wheels 122 and 126 are movably disposed on rail 104 .",
"Motor 170 is disposed on bottom member 114 adjacent end 118 .",
"External shaft 172 extends outwardly from distal end 171 of motor 170 and connects to wheel 126 .",
"Causing motor 170 to rotate in a first direction causes wheel 126 to rotate in a first direction which causes frame 101 to move along rails 102 and 104 in a first direction.",
"Causing first motor 170 to operate in the opposite direction thereby causes wheel 126 to rotate in a second direction which causes frame 101 to move along rails 102 / 104 in the second, i.e. opposite, direction.",
"Referring to FIG. 3 a , first support member 200 is pivotably connected to top member 108 of frame 101 (FIG.",
"2 ).",
"Motor 202 is disposed on top member 108 adjacent end 110 .",
"External rotatable shaft 206 extends outwardly from distal end 203 of motor 202 .",
"Pivot gear 208 is disposed on first support member 200 adjacent end 205 .",
"The distal portion of shaft 206 slidingly interconnects with pivot gear 208 such that rotation of shaft 206 in a first direction causes first support member 200 to rotate outwardly from frame 101 .",
"Pivot gear 208 limits the outward rotation of first support member 200 to a second position wherein first support member 200 is substantially perpendicular to frame 101 .",
"By substantially perpendicular, Applicants mean first the angle formed between first support member 200 and frame 101 is about 90 degrees, plus or minus about 10 degrees.",
"Rotation of pivot gear 208 in a second direction, i.e. opposite from the first direction, causes first support member 200 to pivot inwardly toward frame 101 .",
"Pivot gear 208 limits the inward rotation of first support member 200 to a first position wherein first support member 200 is adjacent to and parallel to top member 108 .",
"In this first position, side 201 of first support member 200 faces away from top member 108 .",
"Motor 220 and rotatable gear 222 are disposed on side 201 of first support member 200 .",
"Engaging rod 224 is mounted in an off-axis configuration to gear 222 .",
"Gear 222 intermeshes with motor 220 , such that operation of motor 220 causes gear 222 to rotate 180 degrees between a first position (shown in FIG. 3 a ) wherein engaging rod 224 is disposed at the bottom of gear 222 , and a second position wherein engaging rod 222 is disposed at the top of gear 222 (not shown in FIG. 3 a ).",
"Similarly, motor 230 and rotatable gear 232 are disposed on side 201 of first support member 130 outwardly of motor 220 /gear 222 .",
"Engaging rod 234 is mounted in an off-axis configuration to gear 232 .",
"Gear 232 intermeshes with motor 230 , such that operation of motor 230 causes gear 232 to rotate 180 degrees between a first position (shown in FIG. 3 a ) wherein engaging rod 234 is disposed at the bottom of gear 232 , and a second position wherein engaging rod 232 is disposed at the top of gear 232 (not shown in FIG. 3 a ).",
"In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 a , engagement rods 224 and 234 have a circular cross section.",
"In other embodiments of Applicants'",
"invention, engagement rods 224 and 234 have an ovoid, triangular, square, trapezoidal, pentagonal, or hexagonal cross section.",
"Engagement rod 224 may have the same cross section as does engagement rod 234 .",
"In the alternative, engagement rods 224 and 234 may have differing cross sections.",
"Referring to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 b , engagement rod 224 is circular and has a proximal portion 226 having a first diameter d 1 , a middle portion 228 having a second diameter d 2 , and distal portion 232 having a third diameter d 3 .",
"Notch 240 is disposed in middle portion 228 such that d 2 is smaller than either d 1 or d 3 .",
"First diameter d 1 may equal third diameter d 3 , or d 1 may be either greater than or less than d 3 .",
"Regardless of the cross section shape, i.e. square, rectangular, oval, ovoid, trapezoidal, pentagonal, or hexagonal, distance d 2 is shorter than either d 1 or d 3 .",
"In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, proximal end 302 of first support member 300 is pivotably attached to top member 108 .",
"Motor 330 is disposed on top member 108 adjacent end 110 .",
"External rotatable shaft 332 extends outwardly from distal end 331 of motor 330 .",
"Pivot gear 334 limits the outward rotation of first support member 300 to a second position wherein first support member 300 is substantially perpendicular to frame 101 .",
"By substantially perpendicular, Applicants mean first the angle formed between first support member 300 and frame 101 is about 90 degrees, plus or minus about 10 degrees.",
"Rotation of pivot gear 334 in a second direction, i.e. opposite from the first direction, causes first support member 300 to pivot inwardly toward frame 101 .",
"Pivot gear 334 limits the inward rotation of first support member 300 to a first position wherein first support member 300 is adjacent to and parallel to top member 108 .",
"In this first position, side 301 of first support member 300 faces away from top member 130 .",
"Vertically-movable member 312 is internally disposed within support member 300 such that outer surface 313 is contiguous with side 301 of member 300 .",
"Although vertically-movable member 312 is shown having a trapezoidal shape in FIG. 4 .",
"In other embodiments, vertically movable member 312 can have a square or rectangular shape.",
"Engagement rod 314 is disposed on side 313 of vertically-movable member 300 .",
"Although engagement rod 314 is shown in FIG. 4 having a circular cross section, engagement rod 314 can also have a triangular, square, rectangular, pentagonal, or hexagonal cross section.",
"In other embodiments of Applicants'",
"invention, engagement rod 314 may have a notched structure as shown in FIG. 3 b. Motor 310 is disposed on the bottom of member 300 and connects to vertically-movable member 312 .",
"Operation of motor 310 in one direction raises engagement rod 314 while operation of motor 310 in the opposite direction lowers engagement rod 314 .",
"Vertically-movable member 322 is internally disposed within support member 300 such that outer surface 323 is continuous with side 301 .",
"Although vertically-movable member 322 is shown having a trapezoidal shape in FIG. 4 .",
"In other embodiments, vertically movable member 322 can have a square or rectangular shape.",
"Engagement rod 324 is disposed on side 313 of vertically-movable member 300 .",
"Although engagement rod 324 is shown in FIG. 4 having a circular cross section, engagement rod 324 can also have a triangular, square, rectangular, pentagonal, or hexagonal cross section.",
"In other embodiments of Applicants'",
"invention, engagement rod 324 may have a notched structure as shown in FIG. 3 b. Motor 320 is disposed on the bottom of member 300 and connects to vertically-movable member 322 .",
"Operation of motor 320 in one direction raises engagement rod 324 , while operation of motor 320 in the opposite direction lowers engagement rod 324 .",
"The embodiment shown in FIG. 4 includes two engagement rods, namely rods 314 and 324 .",
"In other embodiments, a single engagement rod or a plurality of engagement rods are used.",
"In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, engagement rods 314 and 324 have a similar size and shape.",
"In other embodiments, the one or plurality of engagement rods used may have differing sizes and shapes.",
"FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of Applicants'",
"invention wherein a maintenance robot, formed as described above, removes an accessor, formed as described above, from a media storage library.",
"FIGS. 5 a through 5 f illustrate the steps of Applicants'",
"method wherein maintenance robot 420 approaches accessor 406 , rotates support member 424 outwardly, attaches accessor 406 to support member 424 , rotates support member 424 inwardly, and carries accessor out of library 402 .",
"Removal of an accessor may be required for a number of purposes, including routine maintenance, repair, and/or modification.",
"Referring to FIG. 5 a, automated data storage system 400 is shown including media storage library 402 and maintenance bay 408 .",
"Media storage library 402 includes a plurality of media storage slots 450 and 452 in which are stored a plurality of portable data storage media.",
"Media storage library 402 further includes one or a plurality of data storage drives, such as drives 440 and 442 , for reading and/or writing data on the accessed media.",
"Rail system 404 is internally disposed within library 402 .",
"In a preferred embodiment, rail system 404 includes two parallel rails.",
"Rail system 410 is disposed internally within maintenance bay 408 , and has first end 412 and second end 414 .",
"In a preferred embodiment, rail system 410 includes two parallel rails.",
"First end 412 of rail system 410 is disposed adjacent to, and substantially perpendicular with, rail system 404 .",
"By substantially perpendicular with, Applicants mean the angle formed between rail system 404 and first end 412 of rail system 410 is about 90 degrees, plus or minus about 10 degrees.",
"Accessor 406 is movably disposed on rail system 404 , and travels bi-directionally along rail system 404 in the +/−Y direction.",
"Accessor 406 is formed as described above, and as shown in FIG. 1 a. Maintenance robot 420 is formed as described above and as shown in FIG. 2, and comprises frame 422 with pivotable support member 424 disposed thereon.",
"Maintenance robot 420 is movably disposed on rail system 410 and travels bi-directionally along rail system 410 in the +/−X direction.",
"In FIG. 5 a support member 424 is disposed in a first position wherein member 424 is adjacent to, and parallel to, frame 422 .",
"In addition, maintenance robot 420 is shown disposed adjacent second end 414 of rail system 410 .",
"Referring now to FIG. 5 b , accessor 406 is positioned adjacent end 412 of rail system 410 , and maintenance robot 420 is positioned adjacent end 412 and adjacent accessor 406 .",
"In the next step as shown in FIG. 5 c, support member 424 is rotated outwardly from frame 422 until substantially perpendicular to frame 422 .",
"“Substantially perpendicular”",
"has the meaning recited above.",
"For purposes of clarity, rail system 410 is not shown in FIGS. 5 c- 5 f. As shown in FIG. 5 c, engagement rods 430 and 432 are disposed on the surface of support member 424 having a facing relationship with accessor 406 .",
"As shown in FIG. 5 d, robot 420 is next moved on rail system 410 (not shown in FIG, 5 d ) to insert engagement rods 430 and 432 into slots 50 (FIG.",
"1 a ) and 52 (FIG.",
"1 a ) disposed on accessor 406 .",
"Referring now to FIG. 1 a , motors 28 and 36 are activated to retract wheels 22 and 30 from rail system 404 .",
"Engagement rods 430 and 432 are then raised (or lowered depending on the orientation of accessor 406 ) to remove wheel 48 (FIG.",
"1 a ) from rail system 404 .",
"Referring to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 a , motors 220 and 230 are activated and rotated in such a manner to either raise or lower engagement rods 224 and 234 , thereby raising or lowering accessor 406 , as required to remove wheel 406 from rail system 404 .",
"Referring to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, motors 310 and 320 are activated and operated in such a manner to either raise or lower engagement rods 314 and 324 , thereby raising or lowering accessor 406 , as required to remove wheel 48 from rail system 404 .",
"After retracting wheels 22 and 30 , and moving wheel 48 , accessor 406 is no longer disposed on rail system 404 .",
"Rather, accessor 406 is now removably attached to maintenance robot 420 .",
"Referring now to FIG. 5 e, support member 424 is rotated inwardly such that support member 424 , which now carries accessor 406 , returns to its first position, i.e. adjacent to and parallel to frame 422 .",
"Referring to FIG. 5 f, robot 420 , and the attached accessor 406 , are next moved to end 414 of rail system 410 , and thereby, out of library 402 ."
] |
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The following related applications are hereby incorporated by reference:
[0002] ( 1 ) U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 10/157,243, filed on May 30, 2002 and entitled “Method and Apparatus for Providing Multiple Views of Virtual Documents.”
[0003] ( 2 ) U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 10/159,373, filed on Jun. 03, 2002 and entitled “A System and Method for Generating and Retrieving Different Document Layouts from a Given Content.”
[0004] ( 3 ) U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 10/180,195, filed on Jun. 27, 2002 and entitled “Retrieving Matching Documents by Queries in Any National Language.”
[0005] ( 4 ) U.S. patent application, (YOR920020141), filed on Jul. 23, 2002 and entitled “Method of Search Optimization Based on Generation of Context Focused Queries.”
[0006] ( 5 ) U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 10/209,619 filed on Jul. 31, 2002 and entitled “A Method of Query Routing Optimization.”
[0007] ( 6 ) U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 10/066,346 filed on Feb. 01, 2002 and entitled “Method and System for Searching a Multi-Lingual Database.”
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The present invention relates to database networks. More particularly, the present invention relates to managing keyword searches and search results on database networks.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0009] Internet text retrieval systems accept a statement of requested information in terms of a search query S made up of a plurality of keywords T 1 , T 2 , . . . T i , . . . T n and return a list of documents that match the search query. The need to perform such searches on internet databases has resulted in development of search engines that provide a query interface to the information containing sources and return search results ranked sequentially on how well the listed documents match the search query. However, the various search engines process search interrogations in different ways and as a result the same query will result in different results from the different search engines. Further, with the expansion of the world wide web, databases and search engines available for search have multiplied to the extent that the amount of data available to users has increased dramatically. In addition, the information requested by the searcher can be printed, audio, and/or visual data. This data can be in both analog and digital form, and in a number of different formats, and in multiple machine and natural languages. The type of data and its form, format, and languages may not be what is required or even understood by the searcher, and the results can be incomplete, incomprehensible, imprecise, and varying.
[0010] Because of the above and other considerations, it is difficult to obtain complete, understandable and accurate results from searches for information from all relative sources. Moreover, the information processing resources and man hours necessary to perform such searching can be expensive. What is needed to overcome information overload in a distributed information system is an automated system and method of information retrieval which optimally selects sources or databases of all types that are most likely to provide the best response to a search and tailors the received responses to needs of the searcher.
[0011] Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved query routing system.
[0012] It is further an object of the present invention to provide a query routing system capable of accessing information in numerous forms, formats and languages and capable of providing the information to searchers in other types, formats and languages.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0013] In accordance with the present invention, a search engine system is provided in which inputted data in various configurations is first passed through transitional translation layers which convert the data in its multiple configurations to a common or kernel computer form and language. The data is operated on and stored in the kernel form and language. The operated on data is then outputted through transitional translation layers and provided in the desired format the same or different from the input form and language.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] [0014]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for system organization of an on-line area network;
[0015] [0015]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a private network incorporating the present invention and connected to the network shown in FIG. 1;
[0016] [0016]FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement of information sources, search engines in connection with the translation layers and information kernel of the present invention;
[0017] [0017]FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing details of the kernel of the present invention;
[0018] [0018]FIG. 5 is a schematic flow diagram showing back-end data collection in accordance with the present invention;
[0019] [0019]FIG. 6 is a schematic flow diagram of the handling of a keyword query in accordance with the present invention; and
[0020] [0020]FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the handling of document request query in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0021] Referring now to FIG. 1, communication between a plurality of user computers 100 a to 100 n and a plurality of information servers 102 a to 102 n is accomplished via an on-line service through a wide area network such as the Internet 104 that includes network node servers. The network node servers manage network traffic such as the communications between any given user's computer and an information server.
[0022] The computers 100 are equipped with communications software, including a WWW browser such as the Netscape browser of Netscape Communications Corporation, that allows a shopper to connect and use on-line shopping services via the Internet. The software on a user's computer 100 manages the display of information received from the servers to the user and communicates the user's actions back to the appropriate information servers 102 so that additional display information may be presented to the user or the information acted on. The connections 106 to the network nodes of the Internet may be established via a modem or other means such as a cable connection.
[0023] The servers illustrated in FIG. 1, and discussed hereafter, are those of merchants which, for a fee provide products, services and information over the Internet. While the following discussion is directed at communication between shoppers and such merchants over the Internet, it is generally applicable to any information seeker and any information provider on a network. (For instance, the information provider can be a library such as a University library, a public library or the Library of Congress or other type of information providers.) Information regarding a merchant and the merchant's products is stored in a shopping database 108 to which the merchants servers 102 have access. This may be the merchants own database or a database of a supplier of the merchant. All product information accessible by the merchant servers that is publishable as web pages is indexed and a full-text index database 110 which records the number of occurrences of each of the words and their use in the location. In addition to the servers of individual merchants, and other information providers, there are the servers 114 a to 114 of plurality of search service providers, such as Google of Google, Inc., which providers maintain full text indexes 116 of the products of the individual merchants 102 a to 102 n obtained by interrogating the product information databases 108 of the individual merchants. Some of these search service providers, like Google, are general purpose search providers while others are topic specific search providers.
[0024] The merchants and the search application service providers each may maintain a database of information about shoppers and their buying habits to customize on-line shopping for the shopper. Operations to accomplish a customized electronic shopping environment for the shopper include accumulating data regarding the shopper's preferences. Data relating to the electronic shopping options, such as specific sites and specific products selected by the shopper, entry and exit times for the sites, number of visits to the sites, etc., are recorded and processed by each merchant to create a shopping profile for the shopper. Raw data may then be processed to create a preference profile for the shopper. The profile may also include personal data or characteristics (e.g. age, occupation, address, hobbies) regarding the shopper as provided by the shopper when subscribing to the service or obtained from other sources. Profile data can help in discerning the meaning of words used in a keyword query. For instance, a keyword in the query of a medical doctor could have an entirely different meaning to the use of the same keyword presented by a civil engineer. The data accumulation on the shoppers are placed in the shoppers profile database 112 or 118 of each of the merchants. Each individual shopper's profile in the databases of the merchants and the search application service providers can differ from one to another based on the particular merchant's or service providers experience with the shopper and their profiling software. Data collection may continue during searches made by the shopper so that up-to-date profile data for the shopper is obtained and used.
[0025] With information regarding the shopper involved in the shopping transaction, the merchant is able to meet the needs of the shopper, and the shopper is presented with the opportunity to view and purchase that merchandise that is most likely to be of interest since the merchant's products and services are directed toward those shoppers who have, either directly or indirectly, expressed an interest in them.
[0026] When the search characteristics in the form for key words are entered by the shopper into the space provided on the default or home page of his/her browser, the search engine of the merchant web server 102 does a search of the accessed full text index database 110 or 118 using the key words and gets a list of documents describing those products and services that contain matches to the key words. This list of documents contain basic test ranking Tf (including the number of hits, their location, etc. which are used to order the list of documents) with documents with higher scores at the top. This list is then sent to a ranking module which will apply a ranking algorithm, such as the one described in the article entitled “The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine” by Sergey Brin and Lawrence Page of the Computer Science Department, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif. 94305 (which article is hereby incorporated by reference) to rank the list of documents using the text factors and other rank factors, such as link analysis, popularity, the user's preferences from the users profile, and may also introduce factors reflecting the information, providers biases and interests. A reordered list of documents based on the ranking algorithm is then provided to the user.
[0027] [0027]FIG. 1 shows an information consolidator 120 . An information consolidator obtains information from various ones of the merchant servers 102 and those of the search application service providers 114 and supplies it to a user. The information consolidator may be an independent source for data, or as shown by the dotted lines, associated with either a merchant 102 a providing the data or be the user 100 a obtaining the data. The information consolidator provides added value by modification of the data it receives from its sources. As pointed out, the ranking of data provided by the merchant or search application service provider varies from that provided by raw ranking element data either to be helpful to the user or to add biases of the data provider. The information consolidator may modify that data to remove the biases of the data provider and to add other information helpful to the user. As described herein the information consolidator is on a private network.
[0028] As shown in FIG. 2, the information consolidator 120 is connected in a private intranet network 200 with a server 202 and contains a number of computers 100 , such as those described in FIG. 1, so that the computers 100 can obtain information stored in the internal sources of the private intranet. The intranet 200 is provided with public internet access capability which provides access to services on the public internet 104 and enables the information consolidator to provide services on the internet. A “firewall” 222 separates the public internet 104 from the private intranet 200 allowing only those with the proper ID and password to enter the intranet 200 from the public internet 104 . Internal sources of the intranet 200 are company document management systems 204 , and internal databases 206 . Also, intranet 200 is provided with a speech recognition system 220 capable of responding to compressed digitized data of voice commands and voice dictation provided by the client computers 100 either from an individual computer 100 or a client's network of such computers.
[0029] In accordance with the present invention, the information consolidator 120 contains an integrated search management system 226 which receives queries and information from search engines both in the intranet and internet and accesses information sources other than those that are in the intranet and internet through the computers 100 , PDAs 228 . For example, voice messages transmitted to computer 224 and connected to text by a speech recognition system 220 can be stored in the integrated search management system 226 . The integrated management system contains a central processing unit 230 , a network interface 232 and sufficient random access memory 234 and high density storage 236 to perform its functions.
[0030] As shown in FIG. 3, the integrated search management system 226 has a core or kernel 300 that operates only on data and code in extended markup language (XML) form with characters coded in the Universal Unicode Character set. Data from all possible sources are reduced to a common form before entering the integrated search management system. For instance, HTML pages, text files, and the mentioned voice messages, are converted to common form. Data in the various source forms of the search engines 302 , the information sources 304 and user machines 306 are converted to the XML kernel form in a series of shells containing translators in which the various documents are converted from their source forms to the XML form in the interior translators. The translators 308 are arranged in layers so that they can be shared in the translations between the source languages and the kernel language. When a new source layer is to be added, an additional layer can be provided to translate between the new or modified source language and an existing source language. If an entirely new protocol is to be accommodated, an additional segment 312 of translators 308 and 310 can be added. This provides a search management system with evolving technology with modular use of object oriented program modulars for the translation units 308 and 310 .
[0031] As shown in FIG. 4, the arrangement allows the kernel 300 to contain a minimum number of elements. These elements are:
[0032] The Document Extraction Manager 402 which is responsible for “crawling” the original information sources and extracting the data and document content using an adequate mechanism compatible with the information source and places the data in a format that can be processed by the Searchable Content Manager. U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 10/157,243 filed on May 30, 2002 contains a description of the Document Extraction Manager.
[0033] The Searchable Content Manager 404 which is responsible for processing the data extracted from the information sources and storing it in the Content Repository 406 . The data is stored in a standard format which is preferably based on granular elements/components of the documents. These elements can later be combined to compose coherent documents. A description of process can be found in U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 10/159,373 filed on Jun. 30, 2002.
[0034] The Content Repository 406 which is a searchable library of document components where the elements of the searchable content are stored. The repository has a search index 408 to provide a mechanism to request a specific document, with a given set of attributes such as document view, document type, meta data, etc. Documents are stored in all supported natural languages NL in the content repository and the index contains an inverted index 410 of U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 10/180,195, filed on Jun. 27, 2002 and U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 10/066,346 filed on Feb. 01, 2002, to allow selection of the documents in appropriate languages.
[0035] The Index Manager 412 which is responsible for building and updating the search index 408 by using the appropriate interfaces provided by the search engines, and based on the content stored in the Content Repository. The index manager can handle multiple search indices.
[0036] The Search Management Engine 414 which is primarily responsible for collecting the input parameters for the search query from the Interface Manager component and building a final query object using the configuration information (e.g., search engine parameters), personalization information (e.g., preferred document type), and taxonomy information (e.g., search categories). U.S. patent application, (YOR9-2002-0163), filed on Jul. 23, 2002, contains a description of the Search Management Engine.
[0037] The Access Manager 416 which is the direct interface to the search engine(s). It is responsible for submitting the search queries to the search engine(s) in the adequate format, and collecting the search results to be processed and returned to the user by other components. This can be achieved by using a generic adapter interface facing the internal components, and pluggable adapters facing the different search engines, U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 10/209,619, filed on Jul. 31, 2002, and U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 10/759,373 filed on Jun. 03, 2002, contains a description of the access manager.
[0038] The Layout Manager 418 which is responsible for building and customizing the layout of document content and search results. The content is retrieved from the Content Repository module 406 . The Layout Manager is described in U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 10/159,373, filed on Jun. 03, 2002 contains a description of the Layout Manager.
[0039] The Interface Manager 420 which is responsible for handling the GUI for the user and interfacing with the back-end modules. The inputs and outputs 422 , 424 , 426 , 428 , 430 and 432 to the kernel are the outputs and inputs of the translation stages 310 interfacing with the kernel 300 , respectively.
[0040] Referring now to FIG. 5, documents and other data are extracted from the sources both on the intra and internets by a back-end process of continuously extracting, storing and indexing the data. The document extraction manager 402 goes out to the data sources through the translators 308 and 310 to each of the sources to provide a compatible request to the information source (steps 500 and 502 ). It extracts the data from the source, converts it to XML form in translators 308 and 310 and places the data in the content repository 406 (steps 504 , 506 and 510 ). The index manager 412 generates index data for the extracted document and places it in the content repository along with the data (step 512 ). All supported national languages NL of the document are extracted and stored in the repository and are accessible using the inverted index 410 .
[0041] Referring now to FIG. 6, upon the receipt of a query in the HTTP language (step 600 ), the translators 308 and 310 translate the query to the kernel XML form (step 602 ). The interface manager formulates the query for accessing the content repository 406 (step 604 ) and provides the query to the Search Management engine 414 (steps 606 and 608 ) which obtains customization and configuration data and adds it to that of the query. The customization data personalizes the query to that of the user while the configuration data identifies the source of the particular internet or interanet server providing the data. The access manager 416 generates a hit list for the information (step 610 ) and provides it to the interface manager 420 which changes it to the GUI of the user transmits it to the translators 308 and 310 to convert it to the language of the users interface (step 612 ).
[0042] Referring now to FIG. 7, when a user views the hit list and requests the data with an HTTP document view query (step 700 ) the data is converted to an XML query (step 702 ) and fed to the interface manager 302 for query collection (step 704 ). The information from the interface manager is fed to the layout manager 418 which generates documents from the contents of the content repository 314 (steps 706 and 708 ) and transmits the document to the user through the interface manager 420 and translators 308 and 310 to convert the XML documents to the HTTP form (steps 710 and 712 ) and provides them to the user display (step 714 ).
[0043] Above we have described one embodiment of the invention and modifications of this embodiment may be apparent to those skilled in the art. For instance as pointed out, different languages are easily accommodated by addition of another layer to the translators while entirely different languages can be added by adding an additional segment to access the kernel. Further while XML has been used as the kernel of the languages, other languages, such as GML, html, can be used in place of XML. In addition, the translators are described as translating between XML and HTTP, html, and other connectors can be used. For this reason it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the described embodiment but includes all changes that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. | A search engine system is provided in which inputted data in various configurations is first passed through transitional translation layers which convert the data in its multiple configurations to a common or kernel computer form and language. The data is operated on and stored in the kernel form and language. The operated on data is then outputted through transitional translation layers and provided in the desired format the same or different from the input form and language. | Identify and summarize the most critical technical features from the given patent document. | [
"RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The following related applications are hereby incorporated by reference: [0002] ( 1 ) U.S. patent application, Ser.",
"No. 10/157,243, filed on May 30, 2002 and entitled “Method and Apparatus for Providing Multiple Views of Virtual Documents.”",
"[0003] ( 2 ) U.S. patent application, Ser.",
"No. 10/159,373, filed on Jun. 03, 2002 and entitled “A System and Method for Generating and Retrieving Different Document Layouts from a Given Content.”",
"[0004] ( 3 ) U.S. patent application, Ser.",
"No. 10/180,195, filed on Jun. 27, 2002 and entitled “Retrieving Matching Documents by Queries in Any National Language.”",
"[0005] ( 4 ) U.S. patent application, (YOR920020141), filed on Jul. 23, 2002 and entitled “Method of Search Optimization Based on Generation of Context Focused Queries.”",
"[0006] ( 5 ) U.S. patent application, Ser.",
"No. 10/209,619 filed on Jul. 31, 2002 and entitled “A Method of Query Routing Optimization.”",
"[0007] ( 6 ) U.S. patent application, Ser.",
"No. 10/066,346 filed on Feb. 01, 2002 and entitled “Method and System for Searching a Multi-Lingual Database.”",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0008] The present invention relates to database networks.",
"More particularly, the present invention relates to managing keyword searches and search results on database networks.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0009] Internet text retrieval systems accept a statement of requested information in terms of a search query S made up of a plurality of keywords T 1 , T 2 , .",
"T i , .",
"T n and return a list of documents that match the search query.",
"The need to perform such searches on internet databases has resulted in development of search engines that provide a query interface to the information containing sources and return search results ranked sequentially on how well the listed documents match the search query.",
"However, the various search engines process search interrogations in different ways and as a result the same query will result in different results from the different search engines.",
"Further, with the expansion of the world wide web, databases and search engines available for search have multiplied to the extent that the amount of data available to users has increased dramatically.",
"In addition, the information requested by the searcher can be printed, audio, and/or visual data.",
"This data can be in both analog and digital form, and in a number of different formats, and in multiple machine and natural languages.",
"The type of data and its form, format, and languages may not be what is required or even understood by the searcher, and the results can be incomplete, incomprehensible, imprecise, and varying.",
"[0010] Because of the above and other considerations, it is difficult to obtain complete, understandable and accurate results from searches for information from all relative sources.",
"Moreover, the information processing resources and man hours necessary to perform such searching can be expensive.",
"What is needed to overcome information overload in a distributed information system is an automated system and method of information retrieval which optimally selects sources or databases of all types that are most likely to provide the best response to a search and tailors the received responses to needs of the searcher.",
"[0011] Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved query routing system.",
"[0012] It is further an object of the present invention to provide a query routing system capable of accessing information in numerous forms, formats and languages and capable of providing the information to searchers in other types, formats and languages.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0013] In accordance with the present invention, a search engine system is provided in which inputted data in various configurations is first passed through transitional translation layers which convert the data in its multiple configurations to a common or kernel computer form and language.",
"The data is operated on and stored in the kernel form and language.",
"The operated on data is then outputted through transitional translation layers and provided in the desired format the same or different from the input form and language.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0014] [0014 ]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for system organization of an on-line area network;",
"[0015] [0015 ]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a private network incorporating the present invention and connected to the network shown in FIG. 1;",
"[0016] [0016 ]FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement of information sources, search engines in connection with the translation layers and information kernel of the present invention;",
"[0017] [0017 ]FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing details of the kernel of the present invention;",
"[0018] [0018 ]FIG. 5 is a schematic flow diagram showing back-end data collection in accordance with the present invention;",
"[0019] [0019 ]FIG. 6 is a schematic flow diagram of the handling of a keyword query in accordance with the present invention;",
"and [0020] [0020 ]FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the handling of document request query in accordance with the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0021] Referring now to FIG. 1, communication between a plurality of user computers 100 a to 100 n and a plurality of information servers 102 a to 102 n is accomplished via an on-line service through a wide area network such as the Internet 104 that includes network node servers.",
"The network node servers manage network traffic such as the communications between any given user's computer and an information server.",
"[0022] The computers 100 are equipped with communications software, including a WWW browser such as the Netscape browser of Netscape Communications Corporation, that allows a shopper to connect and use on-line shopping services via the Internet.",
"The software on a user's computer 100 manages the display of information received from the servers to the user and communicates the user's actions back to the appropriate information servers 102 so that additional display information may be presented to the user or the information acted on.",
"The connections 106 to the network nodes of the Internet may be established via a modem or other means such as a cable connection.",
"[0023] The servers illustrated in FIG. 1, and discussed hereafter, are those of merchants which, for a fee provide products, services and information over the Internet.",
"While the following discussion is directed at communication between shoppers and such merchants over the Internet, it is generally applicable to any information seeker and any information provider on a network.",
"(For instance, the information provider can be a library such as a University library, a public library or the Library of Congress or other type of information providers.) Information regarding a merchant and the merchant's products is stored in a shopping database 108 to which the merchants servers 102 have access.",
"This may be the merchants own database or a database of a supplier of the merchant.",
"All product information accessible by the merchant servers that is publishable as web pages is indexed and a full-text index database 110 which records the number of occurrences of each of the words and their use in the location.",
"In addition to the servers of individual merchants, and other information providers, there are the servers 114 a to 114 of plurality of search service providers, such as Google of Google, Inc., which providers maintain full text indexes 116 of the products of the individual merchants 102 a to 102 n obtained by interrogating the product information databases 108 of the individual merchants.",
"Some of these search service providers, like Google, are general purpose search providers while others are topic specific search providers.",
"[0024] The merchants and the search application service providers each may maintain a database of information about shoppers and their buying habits to customize on-line shopping for the shopper.",
"Operations to accomplish a customized electronic shopping environment for the shopper include accumulating data regarding the shopper's preferences.",
"Data relating to the electronic shopping options, such as specific sites and specific products selected by the shopper, entry and exit times for the sites, number of visits to the sites, etc.",
", are recorded and processed by each merchant to create a shopping profile for the shopper.",
"Raw data may then be processed to create a preference profile for the shopper.",
"The profile may also include personal data or characteristics (e.g. age, occupation, address, hobbies) regarding the shopper as provided by the shopper when subscribing to the service or obtained from other sources.",
"Profile data can help in discerning the meaning of words used in a keyword query.",
"For instance, a keyword in the query of a medical doctor could have an entirely different meaning to the use of the same keyword presented by a civil engineer.",
"The data accumulation on the shoppers are placed in the shoppers profile database 112 or 118 of each of the merchants.",
"Each individual shopper's profile in the databases of the merchants and the search application service providers can differ from one to another based on the particular merchant's or service providers experience with the shopper and their profiling software.",
"Data collection may continue during searches made by the shopper so that up-to-date profile data for the shopper is obtained and used.",
"[0025] With information regarding the shopper involved in the shopping transaction, the merchant is able to meet the needs of the shopper, and the shopper is presented with the opportunity to view and purchase that merchandise that is most likely to be of interest since the merchant's products and services are directed toward those shoppers who have, either directly or indirectly, expressed an interest in them.",
"[0026] When the search characteristics in the form for key words are entered by the shopper into the space provided on the default or home page of his/her browser, the search engine of the merchant web server 102 does a search of the accessed full text index database 110 or 118 using the key words and gets a list of documents describing those products and services that contain matches to the key words.",
"This list of documents contain basic test ranking Tf (including the number of hits, their location, etc.",
"which are used to order the list of documents) with documents with higher scores at the top.",
"This list is then sent to a ranking module which will apply a ranking algorithm, such as the one described in the article entitled “The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine”",
"by Sergey Brin and Lawrence Page of the Computer Science Department, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.",
"94305 (which article is hereby incorporated by reference) to rank the list of documents using the text factors and other rank factors, such as link analysis, popularity, the user's preferences from the users profile, and may also introduce factors reflecting the information, providers biases and interests.",
"A reordered list of documents based on the ranking algorithm is then provided to the user.",
"[0027] [0027 ]FIG. 1 shows an information consolidator 120 .",
"An information consolidator obtains information from various ones of the merchant servers 102 and those of the search application service providers 114 and supplies it to a user.",
"The information consolidator may be an independent source for data, or as shown by the dotted lines, associated with either a merchant 102 a providing the data or be the user 100 a obtaining the data.",
"The information consolidator provides added value by modification of the data it receives from its sources.",
"As pointed out, the ranking of data provided by the merchant or search application service provider varies from that provided by raw ranking element data either to be helpful to the user or to add biases of the data provider.",
"The information consolidator may modify that data to remove the biases of the data provider and to add other information helpful to the user.",
"As described herein the information consolidator is on a private network.",
"[0028] As shown in FIG. 2, the information consolidator 120 is connected in a private intranet network 200 with a server 202 and contains a number of computers 100 , such as those described in FIG. 1, so that the computers 100 can obtain information stored in the internal sources of the private intranet.",
"The intranet 200 is provided with public internet access capability which provides access to services on the public internet 104 and enables the information consolidator to provide services on the internet.",
"A “firewall”",
"222 separates the public internet 104 from the private intranet 200 allowing only those with the proper ID and password to enter the intranet 200 from the public internet 104 .",
"Internal sources of the intranet 200 are company document management systems 204 , and internal databases 206 .",
"Also, intranet 200 is provided with a speech recognition system 220 capable of responding to compressed digitized data of voice commands and voice dictation provided by the client computers 100 either from an individual computer 100 or a client's network of such computers.",
"[0029] In accordance with the present invention, the information consolidator 120 contains an integrated search management system 226 which receives queries and information from search engines both in the intranet and internet and accesses information sources other than those that are in the intranet and internet through the computers 100 , PDAs 228 .",
"For example, voice messages transmitted to computer 224 and connected to text by a speech recognition system 220 can be stored in the integrated search management system 226 .",
"The integrated management system contains a central processing unit 230 , a network interface 232 and sufficient random access memory 234 and high density storage 236 to perform its functions.",
"[0030] As shown in FIG. 3, the integrated search management system 226 has a core or kernel 300 that operates only on data and code in extended markup language (XML) form with characters coded in the Universal Unicode Character set.",
"Data from all possible sources are reduced to a common form before entering the integrated search management system.",
"For instance, HTML pages, text files, and the mentioned voice messages, are converted to common form.",
"Data in the various source forms of the search engines 302 , the information sources 304 and user machines 306 are converted to the XML kernel form in a series of shells containing translators in which the various documents are converted from their source forms to the XML form in the interior translators.",
"The translators 308 are arranged in layers so that they can be shared in the translations between the source languages and the kernel language.",
"When a new source layer is to be added, an additional layer can be provided to translate between the new or modified source language and an existing source language.",
"If an entirely new protocol is to be accommodated, an additional segment 312 of translators 308 and 310 can be added.",
"This provides a search management system with evolving technology with modular use of object oriented program modulars for the translation units 308 and 310 .",
"[0031] As shown in FIG. 4, the arrangement allows the kernel 300 to contain a minimum number of elements.",
"These elements are: [0032] The Document Extraction Manager 402 which is responsible for “crawling”",
"the original information sources and extracting the data and document content using an adequate mechanism compatible with the information source and places the data in a format that can be processed by the Searchable Content Manager.",
"U.S. patent application, Ser.",
"No. 10/157,243 filed on May 30, 2002 contains a description of the Document Extraction Manager.",
"[0033] The Searchable Content Manager 404 which is responsible for processing the data extracted from the information sources and storing it in the Content Repository 406 .",
"The data is stored in a standard format which is preferably based on granular elements/components of the documents.",
"These elements can later be combined to compose coherent documents.",
"A description of process can be found in U.S. patent application, Ser.",
"No. 10/159,373 filed on Jun. 30, 2002.",
"[0034] The Content Repository 406 which is a searchable library of document components where the elements of the searchable content are stored.",
"The repository has a search index 408 to provide a mechanism to request a specific document, with a given set of attributes such as document view, document type, meta data, etc.",
"Documents are stored in all supported natural languages NL in the content repository and the index contains an inverted index 410 of U.S. patent application, Ser.",
"No. 10/180,195, filed on Jun. 27, 2002 and U.S. patent application, Ser.",
"No. 10/066,346 filed on Feb. 01, 2002, to allow selection of the documents in appropriate languages.",
"[0035] The Index Manager 412 which is responsible for building and updating the search index 408 by using the appropriate interfaces provided by the search engines, and based on the content stored in the Content Repository.",
"The index manager can handle multiple search indices.",
"[0036] The Search Management Engine 414 which is primarily responsible for collecting the input parameters for the search query from the Interface Manager component and building a final query object using the configuration information (e.g., search engine parameters), personalization information (e.g., preferred document type), and taxonomy information (e.g., search categories).",
"U.S. patent application, (YOR9-2002-0163), filed on Jul. 23, 2002, contains a description of the Search Management Engine.",
"[0037] The Access Manager 416 which is the direct interface to the search engine(s).",
"It is responsible for submitting the search queries to the search engine(s) in the adequate format, and collecting the search results to be processed and returned to the user by other components.",
"This can be achieved by using a generic adapter interface facing the internal components, and pluggable adapters facing the different search engines, U.S. patent application, Ser.",
"No. 10/209,619, filed on Jul. 31, 2002, and U.S. patent application, Ser.",
"No. 10/759,373 filed on Jun. 03, 2002, contains a description of the access manager.",
"[0038] The Layout Manager 418 which is responsible for building and customizing the layout of document content and search results.",
"The content is retrieved from the Content Repository module 406 .",
"The Layout Manager is described in U.S. patent application, Ser.",
"No. 10/159,373, filed on Jun. 03, 2002 contains a description of the Layout Manager.",
"[0039] The Interface Manager 420 which is responsible for handling the GUI for the user and interfacing with the back-end modules.",
"The inputs and outputs 422 , 424 , 426 , 428 , 430 and 432 to the kernel are the outputs and inputs of the translation stages 310 interfacing with the kernel 300 , respectively.",
"[0040] Referring now to FIG. 5, documents and other data are extracted from the sources both on the intra and internets by a back-end process of continuously extracting, storing and indexing the data.",
"The document extraction manager 402 goes out to the data sources through the translators 308 and 310 to each of the sources to provide a compatible request to the information source (steps 500 and 502 ).",
"It extracts the data from the source, converts it to XML form in translators 308 and 310 and places the data in the content repository 406 (steps 504 , 506 and 510 ).",
"The index manager 412 generates index data for the extracted document and places it in the content repository along with the data (step 512 ).",
"All supported national languages NL of the document are extracted and stored in the repository and are accessible using the inverted index 410 .",
"[0041] Referring now to FIG. 6, upon the receipt of a query in the HTTP language (step 600 ), the translators 308 and 310 translate the query to the kernel XML form (step 602 ).",
"The interface manager formulates the query for accessing the content repository 406 (step 604 ) and provides the query to the Search Management engine 414 (steps 606 and 608 ) which obtains customization and configuration data and adds it to that of the query.",
"The customization data personalizes the query to that of the user while the configuration data identifies the source of the particular internet or interanet server providing the data.",
"The access manager 416 generates a hit list for the information (step 610 ) and provides it to the interface manager 420 which changes it to the GUI of the user transmits it to the translators 308 and 310 to convert it to the language of the users interface (step 612 ).",
"[0042] Referring now to FIG. 7, when a user views the hit list and requests the data with an HTTP document view query (step 700 ) the data is converted to an XML query (step 702 ) and fed to the interface manager 302 for query collection (step 704 ).",
"The information from the interface manager is fed to the layout manager 418 which generates documents from the contents of the content repository 314 (steps 706 and 708 ) and transmits the document to the user through the interface manager 420 and translators 308 and 310 to convert the XML documents to the HTTP form (steps 710 and 712 ) and provides them to the user display (step 714 ).",
"[0043] Above we have described one embodiment of the invention and modifications of this embodiment may be apparent to those skilled in the art.",
"For instance as pointed out, different languages are easily accommodated by addition of another layer to the translators while entirely different languages can be added by adding an additional segment to access the kernel.",
"Further while XML has been used as the kernel of the languages, other languages, such as GML, html, can be used in place of XML.",
"In addition, the translators are described as translating between XML and HTTP, html, and other connectors can be used.",
"For this reason it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the described embodiment but includes all changes that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Several types of partition systems comprising upstanding panels and connecting elements are known in the prior art. However each of these prior art partition systems suffers from one or more disadvantages making it less than completely suitable for its intended purpose. For example, in one such system shelves and desk tops are affixed directly to side portions of the panels. In this prior art system it is necessary to constrict the panels of material which is sufficiently heavy to support the weight of such shelves and desk tops. In other prior art systems the connecting elements between adjacent panels are visible, resulting in an unsightly appearance.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a partition system of upstanding acoustical panels supported by elongated standards in which shelves and desk tops included in the system are supported by the standards rather than by the panels.
It is a related object of the invention to provide a partition system of upstanding panels in which the panels are relatively light in weight, and have a high noise reduction coefficient in relation to their weight.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a partition system including a plurality of upstanding panels, in which the connecting elements between end walls of adjacent panels are hidden from view.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a panel for a partition system including an outer fabric sheet which can be readily replaced manually, without need for disassembly of the entire panel.
Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following specification, taken in conjunction with the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a two-panel partition system constructed in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a corner portion of one of the panels of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the standard of FIG. 1, showing portions of two panels secured to the standard;
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along the line 4--4 of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along the line 5--5 of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 6--6 of FIG. 4;
FIG. 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the invention, comprising a four-panel partition system supported by a single standard;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the invention, comprising a single upstanding panel supported by a pair of standards;
FIG. 9 is an enlarged, fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along the line 9--9 of FIG. 8;
FIG. 10 is an exploded, fragmentary perspective view corresponding to FIG. 2, illustrating a standard, a panel, and a key, bracket, pin and clip for securing the panel to the standard; and
FIG. 11 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a fourth embodiment of the invention, illustrating a pair of extruded metal brackets interconnecting end portions of two adjacent panels.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring first to FIGS. 1-4, a preferred embodiment of the partition system 20 of the invention includes three elongated standards 21, 22, 23 and a pair of panels 24,25 secured in an upright position between the standards. Two elongated brackets 26,27 are secured to the middle standard 22, joining that standard with adjacent end walls of the two panels 24,25. Single brackets 28,29 join lateral end walls of the panels 24,25 to the two lateral standards 21,23. Each of the three standards includes a post leveling device 30 threadably received in a bottom end portion.
In the preferred embodiments shown herein, all of the standards and brackets are elongated sections of extruded aluminum posts. The outer surface of each post is bronzed to enhance its appearance. The brackets 26, 27, 28, 29 are generally U-shaped in transverse cross-section and they each include a pair of spaced arms or arm portions 31,32 formed with vertical rows of through slots 33. These slots 33 are sized to accommodate hook portions of brackets (not shown) attached to shelves and desk tops. The partition system 20 is thereby capable of supporting a shelf 35 and a desk top 36 in a wide range of preselected positions, as shown in FIG. 1. The positions and sizes of shelves and desk tops utilized can be adjusted to suit the needs and preferences of each individual user of the system.
In FIG. 4 it is seen that the middle standard 22 includes twelve walls or wall means 38 arranged symmetrically about a generally cylindrical central hub 39. Each wall 38 is generally T-shaped in transverse cross-section and includes a head or head portion 40 spaced from the hub 39, and a neck or neck portion 41 intermediate the hub 39 and head portion 40. The twelve walls 38 form boundaries of twelve symmetrical keyways 42, each of which opens radially outwardly of the standard 22. Each keyway 42 consists of an inner chamber 43 adjacent the hub 39, and a passageway 44 which is narrower than the inner chamber 43.
The brackets 26, 27, 28, 29 each include a generally U-shaped yoke 45 comprising a pair of spaced arms 31, 32 and a bight or bight portion 46. End portions of the arms 31,32 are formed with spaced parallel rails 47, 48 which are generally crescent-shaped in transverse cross-section and sized for longitudinal insertion within corresponding inner chambers 43 of the keyways 42. The arms 31, 32, being narrower than the rails 47, 48, extend through the passageways 44 of the keyways 42.
Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 4 and 10, the bight portion 46 of the yoke is formed with a pair of transverse through openings 49, only one of which is illustrated. These openings 49 are sized to permit passage of a pin means or pin 50 therethrough. The pin 50 is characterized by a shaft 51, a flange 52 extending radially outward of the shaft 51, a projection 53 on an outwardly directed free end of the shaft 51, and screw threads 54 between the flange 52 and a second end of the shaft 51.
Referring now to FIGS. 4, 5 and 10, a key 60 is inserted in a keyway 42 in the standard 21 between the two parallel rails 47, 48 on the bracket 27. This key 60 includes a boss or boss portion 61 adapted for slidable insertion longitudinally within an inner chamber 43 of the keyway 42, and a lug or lug portion 62 narrower than the boss and adapted to project through a passageway 44 of this keyway 42. The lug 62 is formed with an outwardly opening transverse bore 63 having screw threads adapted to mate releasably with corresponding threads 54 on the pin 50.
A bracket 26 is secured to the standard 22 by sliding a pair of rails 47, 48 into a corresponding pair of keyways 42, and by inserting pins 50 through both openings 49 in the bight portion 46 of the bracket 42. Each pin 50 is screwed into the bore 63 of a corresponding key 60 which has been inserted into a keyway 42 bridged by the bracket 26. A principal face of the flange 52 on the pin 50 abuts against an outer face of the bight portion 46 of the bracket 26, thereby firmly securing the bracket 26 to the standard 22. A second bracket 27 is similarly secured to the standard 22, utilizing three other passageways 42.
Each panel 24, 25 is bordered by a segmented, extruded bronzed aluminum frame 64, as illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 10. Top and side segments of the frame 64 are joined through an L-shaped corner bracket 65, as shown in FIG. 10. Clips or clip means 66 are secured to an end face of the frame 64 by means of screws 67, 68 inserted in screw holes 69, 70 in the frame 64. Each clip 66 defines a keyway-shaped opening 71 adapted to accommodate a corresponding projection 53 on a pin 50 extending away from a bracket 27. When two of the projections 53 mate with corresponding openings 71 in the clips 66, the panel 25 is locked securely in abutment with the bracket 27.
Each panel includes a walled core 72 defining a plurality of hollow cells 73. In the preferred embodiments shown, the walls of these cells are constructed of cardboard. The core 72 is flanked on opposed sides by a sound-absorbing layer of light weight fiberglass padding 74 which is spot-glued to sides of the core 72. Outer surfaces of the panels are covered by colored burlap sheets 75 having a flexible plastic backing for increased resistance to fire.
Referring now to FIGS. 2, 4 and 7, marginal perimetric portions of the outer sheet 75 are placed within shallow channels 76 defined by the frame 64. A flexible, hollow tubular plastic spline 77 is wedged within the channels 76 together with margins of the sheets 75. This spline 77 is readily removeable manually, thereby providing a convenient means for replacement or cleaning of the outer sheets 75 without disassembling the entire panel.
Each standard 21 of the invention is adapted to receive and support as many as four brackets and panels, as illustrated in FIG. 7. In this embodiment two additional panels 80,81 have been added to the two panels 24, 25 of FIGS. 1-4.
A single panel version of the partition system of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9. The single panel 24 is supported by a pair of posts 85, 86, each of which is affixed to a floor support 87, 88.
The panels 24, 25 of the invention can be interconnected through special end brackets 90,91 as shown in FIG. 11. These brackets 90,91 are secured to one another through mating tabs 92 and slots 93, as shown, thereby eliminating the need for more expensive standards to interconnect the panels 24, 25. Outer faces of the end brackets are formed with wing tabs 94, 95 defining a wire raceway 96 for bringing electricity to appliances and lamps located on or near the panels.
The foregoing description of preferred embodiments of our invention is for purposes of illustration only, and several of the structural features described may be modified in ways which do not involved any departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims. | A partition system comprising a fixed standard and upstanding acoustical panels, with brackets affixed to the standard for securement of the panels thereto and for support of shelves and desk tops adjacent the panels. Connecting hardware securing panels to the brackets and standard is hidden from view. Panel faces are covered with fabric sheets, and panel frames are formed with outwardly directed channels accommodating splines wedging perimetric edge portions of the fabric sheets therewithin. | Identify and summarize the most critical technical features from the given patent document. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Several types of partition systems comprising upstanding panels and connecting elements are known in the prior art.",
"However each of these prior art partition systems suffers from one or more disadvantages making it less than completely suitable for its intended purpose.",
"For example, in one such system shelves and desk tops are affixed directly to side portions of the panels.",
"In this prior art system it is necessary to constrict the panels of material which is sufficiently heavy to support the weight of such shelves and desk tops.",
"In other prior art systems the connecting elements between adjacent panels are visible, resulting in an unsightly appearance.",
"It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a partition system of upstanding acoustical panels supported by elongated standards in which shelves and desk tops included in the system are supported by the standards rather than by the panels.",
"It is a related object of the invention to provide a partition system of upstanding panels in which the panels are relatively light in weight, and have a high noise reduction coefficient in relation to their weight.",
"It is a further object of the invention to provide a partition system including a plurality of upstanding panels, in which the connecting elements between end walls of adjacent panels are hidden from view.",
"Yet another object of the invention is to provide a panel for a partition system including an outer fabric sheet which can be readily replaced manually, without need for disassembly of the entire panel.",
"Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following specification, taken in conjunction with the drawings.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a two-panel partition system constructed in accordance with the invention;",
"FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a corner portion of one of the panels of FIG. 1;",
"FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the standard of FIG. 1, showing portions of two panels secured to the standard;",
"FIG. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along the line 4--4 of FIG. 3;",
"FIG. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along the line 5--5 of FIG. 4;",
"FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 6--6 of FIG. 4;",
"FIG. 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the invention, comprising a four-panel partition system supported by a single standard;",
"FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the invention, comprising a single upstanding panel supported by a pair of standards;",
"FIG. 9 is an enlarged, fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along the line 9--9 of FIG. 8;",
"FIG. 10 is an exploded, fragmentary perspective view corresponding to FIG. 2, illustrating a standard, a panel, and a key, bracket, pin and clip for securing the panel to the standard;",
"and FIG. 11 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a fourth embodiment of the invention, illustrating a pair of extruded metal brackets interconnecting end portions of two adjacent panels.",
"DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring first to FIGS. 1-4, a preferred embodiment of the partition system 20 of the invention includes three elongated standards 21, 22, 23 and a pair of panels 24,25 secured in an upright position between the standards.",
"Two elongated brackets 26,27 are secured to the middle standard 22, joining that standard with adjacent end walls of the two panels 24,25.",
"Single brackets 28,29 join lateral end walls of the panels 24,25 to the two lateral standards 21,23.",
"Each of the three standards includes a post leveling device 30 threadably received in a bottom end portion.",
"In the preferred embodiments shown herein, all of the standards and brackets are elongated sections of extruded aluminum posts.",
"The outer surface of each post is bronzed to enhance its appearance.",
"The brackets 26, 27, 28, 29 are generally U-shaped in transverse cross-section and they each include a pair of spaced arms or arm portions 31,32 formed with vertical rows of through slots 33.",
"These slots 33 are sized to accommodate hook portions of brackets (not shown) attached to shelves and desk tops.",
"The partition system 20 is thereby capable of supporting a shelf 35 and a desk top 36 in a wide range of preselected positions, as shown in FIG. 1. The positions and sizes of shelves and desk tops utilized can be adjusted to suit the needs and preferences of each individual user of the system.",
"In FIG. 4 it is seen that the middle standard 22 includes twelve walls or wall means 38 arranged symmetrically about a generally cylindrical central hub 39.",
"Each wall 38 is generally T-shaped in transverse cross-section and includes a head or head portion 40 spaced from the hub 39, and a neck or neck portion 41 intermediate the hub 39 and head portion 40.",
"The twelve walls 38 form boundaries of twelve symmetrical keyways 42, each of which opens radially outwardly of the standard 22.",
"Each keyway 42 consists of an inner chamber 43 adjacent the hub 39, and a passageway 44 which is narrower than the inner chamber 43.",
"The brackets 26, 27, 28, 29 each include a generally U-shaped yoke 45 comprising a pair of spaced arms 31, 32 and a bight or bight portion 46.",
"End portions of the arms 31,32 are formed with spaced parallel rails 47, 48 which are generally crescent-shaped in transverse cross-section and sized for longitudinal insertion within corresponding inner chambers 43 of the keyways 42.",
"The arms 31, 32, being narrower than the rails 47, 48, extend through the passageways 44 of the keyways 42.",
"Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 4 and 10, the bight portion 46 of the yoke is formed with a pair of transverse through openings 49, only one of which is illustrated.",
"These openings 49 are sized to permit passage of a pin means or pin 50 therethrough.",
"The pin 50 is characterized by a shaft 51, a flange 52 extending radially outward of the shaft 51, a projection 53 on an outwardly directed free end of the shaft 51, and screw threads 54 between the flange 52 and a second end of the shaft 51.",
"Referring now to FIGS. 4, 5 and 10, a key 60 is inserted in a keyway 42 in the standard 21 between the two parallel rails 47, 48 on the bracket 27.",
"This key 60 includes a boss or boss portion 61 adapted for slidable insertion longitudinally within an inner chamber 43 of the keyway 42, and a lug or lug portion 62 narrower than the boss and adapted to project through a passageway 44 of this keyway 42.",
"The lug 62 is formed with an outwardly opening transverse bore 63 having screw threads adapted to mate releasably with corresponding threads 54 on the pin 50.",
"A bracket 26 is secured to the standard 22 by sliding a pair of rails 47, 48 into a corresponding pair of keyways 42, and by inserting pins 50 through both openings 49 in the bight portion 46 of the bracket 42.",
"Each pin 50 is screwed into the bore 63 of a corresponding key 60 which has been inserted into a keyway 42 bridged by the bracket 26.",
"A principal face of the flange 52 on the pin 50 abuts against an outer face of the bight portion 46 of the bracket 26, thereby firmly securing the bracket 26 to the standard 22.",
"A second bracket 27 is similarly secured to the standard 22, utilizing three other passageways 42.",
"Each panel 24, 25 is bordered by a segmented, extruded bronzed aluminum frame 64, as illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 10.",
"Top and side segments of the frame 64 are joined through an L-shaped corner bracket 65, as shown in FIG. 10.",
"Clips or clip means 66 are secured to an end face of the frame 64 by means of screws 67, 68 inserted in screw holes 69, 70 in the frame 64.",
"Each clip 66 defines a keyway-shaped opening 71 adapted to accommodate a corresponding projection 53 on a pin 50 extending away from a bracket 27.",
"When two of the projections 53 mate with corresponding openings 71 in the clips 66, the panel 25 is locked securely in abutment with the bracket 27.",
"Each panel includes a walled core 72 defining a plurality of hollow cells 73.",
"In the preferred embodiments shown, the walls of these cells are constructed of cardboard.",
"The core 72 is flanked on opposed sides by a sound-absorbing layer of light weight fiberglass padding 74 which is spot-glued to sides of the core 72.",
"Outer surfaces of the panels are covered by colored burlap sheets 75 having a flexible plastic backing for increased resistance to fire.",
"Referring now to FIGS. 2, 4 and 7, marginal perimetric portions of the outer sheet 75 are placed within shallow channels 76 defined by the frame 64.",
"A flexible, hollow tubular plastic spline 77 is wedged within the channels 76 together with margins of the sheets 75.",
"This spline 77 is readily removeable manually, thereby providing a convenient means for replacement or cleaning of the outer sheets 75 without disassembling the entire panel.",
"Each standard 21 of the invention is adapted to receive and support as many as four brackets and panels, as illustrated in FIG. 7. In this embodiment two additional panels 80,81 have been added to the two panels 24, 25 of FIGS. 1-4.",
"A single panel version of the partition system of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9.",
"The single panel 24 is supported by a pair of posts 85, 86, each of which is affixed to a floor support 87, 88.",
"The panels 24, 25 of the invention can be interconnected through special end brackets 90,91 as shown in FIG. 11.",
"These brackets 90,91 are secured to one another through mating tabs 92 and slots 93, as shown, thereby eliminating the need for more expensive standards to interconnect the panels 24, 25.",
"Outer faces of the end brackets are formed with wing tabs 94, 95 defining a wire raceway 96 for bringing electricity to appliances and lamps located on or near the panels.",
"The foregoing description of preferred embodiments of our invention is for purposes of illustration only, and several of the structural features described may be modified in ways which do not involved any departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a divisional application of and claims priority under 35USC120 to U.S. application Ser. No. 08/937,466, filed on Sep. 25, 1997 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,779).
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The field of this invention is UCP3 genes and their use in biotechnology.
BACKGROUND
A mitochondrial protein called uncoupling protein (UCP1) is thought to play an important role in the body's regulation of energy utilization. Such regulation provides wide spread physiological controls including body weight, appetite, glucose metabolism, temperature, immune responses, etc. Mechanistically, UCP1 is thought to create a pathway that allows dissipation of the proton electrochemical gradient across the inner mitochondrial membrane in brown adipose tissue, without coupling to any other energy consuming process (for review, see Nicholis & Locke (1984) Physiol Rev 64, 1-64). Unfortunately, the role of UCP 1 in physiologies such as body weight regulation in large adult mammals such as people, cattle, pigs, etc. is likely to be limited, since there is little brown adipose tissue in such animals.
UCP2 is a second, related uncoupling protein that is much more widely expressed in large adult mammals (see, e.g. Fleury et al. (1997) Nature Genetics 15, 269-272 and Tartaglia et al. (1996) WO96/05861). Consistent with a role in the regulation of energy utilization generally, and in diabetes and obesity in particular, the UCP2 gene is upregulated in response to fat feeding and maps to regions of the human and mouse genomes linked to hyperinsulinaemia and obesity. More recently, a third structurally related UCP gene, hUCP3 has been charaterized and found to be preferentially expressed in skeletal muscle and brown adipose tissues; see, Vidal-Puig et al. (1997) BBRC 235, 79-82 and Boss et al. (1997) FEBS Letters 408, 39-42.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides methods and compositions relating to isolated mUCP3 polypeptides, related nucleic acids, polypeptide domains thereof having mUCP3-specific structure and activity and modulators of mUCP3 function. mUCP3 polypeptides and modulators of mUCP3 expresssion and/or function can regulate mitochodrial respiration and hence provide important regulators of cell metabolism and function. The polypeptides may be produced recombinantly from transformed host cells or extracts from the subject mUCP3 polypeptide encoding nucleic acids or purified from mammalian cells. The invention provides isolated mUCP3 hybridization probes and primers capable of specifically hybridizing with the disclosed mUCP3 genes, mUCP3-specific binding agents such as specific antibodies, and methods of making and using the subject compositions in diagnosis (e.g. genetic hybridization screens for mUCP3 transcripts) and in the biopharmaceutical industry (e.g. as immunogens, reagents for isolating other transcriptional regulators, knockin/out vectors, transgenic animals anc cell lines, reagents for screening chemical libraries for lead pharmacological agents, etc.).
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1 shows the amino acid sequence of a mUCP3a polypeptide (SEQ ID NO:2), indicating mUCP3a-specific sequences and domains in common with hUCP3.
FIGS. 2a-2d show the nucleotide sequence of a mUCP3a-encoding cDNA (SEQ ID NO: 1), indicating mUCP3a-specific sequences and domains in common with hUCP3.
FIG. 3 shows the structures of mUCP3 isoforms a, b and c.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Exemplary nucleotide sequences of natural cDNAs encoding mUCP3 polypeptides are shown as SEQ ID NO: 1, 3 and 5, and their full conceptual translates are shown as SEQ ID NOS:2, 4 and 6, respectively. The mUCP3 polypeptides of the invention include incomplete translates of SEQ ID NOS: 1, 3 and 5 which translates and deletion mutants of SEQ ID NOS:2, 4 and 6 have mUCP3-specific amino acid sequence, binding specificity or function. Preferred translates/deletion mutants comprise at least a 6, preferably at least an 8, more preferably at least a 10, most preferably at least a 12 residue domain of the translates not found in hUCP3. Such domains are readily discernable from alignments of mUCP3 polypeptides and hUCP3. See, e.g. FIG. 1 for the mUCP3a amino acid domains in common (bold) and not in common with hUCP3 and FIGS. 2a-2d for the mUCP3a nucleic acid domains in common (bold) and not in common with the nucleic acid domains of hUCP3.
The subject domains provide mUCP3 domain specific activity or function which are conveniently determined in vitro, cell-based, or in vivo assays: e.g. in vitro binding assays, cell culture assays, in animals (e.g. gene therapy, transgenics, etc.), etc. mUCP3-binding specificity may assayed by binding equilibrium constants (usually at least about 10 7 M -1 , preferably at least about 10 8 M -1 , more preferably at least about 10 9 M -1 ), by the ability of the subject polypeptide to function as negative mutants in mUCP3-expressing cells, to elicit mUCP3 specific antibody in a heterologous host (e.g a rabbit), etc. In any event, the mUCP3 binding specificity of the subject mUCP3 polypeptides necessarily distinguishes that of hUCP3. Preferred peptides demonstrate mUCP3 domain specific activity as assayed by respiratory uncoupling activity, ATP-binding or binding inhibitory activity, mUCP3-specific antibody binding, etc. For example, mUCP3 domain peptides with assay demonstrable mUCP3 domain-specific activities include: SEQ ID NO:2, residues 3-12; SEQ ID NO:2, residues 37-58; SEQ ID NO:2, residues 100-115; SEQ ID NO:2, residues 144-158; SEQ ID NO:2, residues 182-198; SEQ ID NO:2, residues 198-209 SEQ ID NO:2, residues 242-266; SEQ ID NO:2, residues 268-290; and SEQ ID NO:2, residues 297-308.
The subject mUCP3 polypeptides are isolated or pure: an "isolated" polypeptide is unaccompanied by at least some of the material with which it is associated in its natural state. Isolated polypeptides encompass UCP3 polypeptides covalently joined to a non-natural or heterologous component, such as a non-natural amino acid or amino acid sequence or a natural amino acid or sequence other than that which the polypeptide is joined to in a natural protein, and preferably constitutes at least about 0.5%, and more preferably at least about 5% by weight of the total polypeptide in a given sample and a pure polypeptide constitutes at least about 90%, and preferably at least about 99% by weight of the total polypeptide in a given sample. A polypeptide, as used herein, is an polymer of amino acids, generally at least 6 residues, preferably at least about 10 residues, more preferably at least about 25 residues, most preferably at least about 50 residues in length. The mUCP3 polypeptides and polypeptide domains may be synthesized, produced by recombinant technology, or purified from mammalian, preferably murine cells. A wide variety of molecular and biochemical methods are available for biochemical synthesis, molecular expression and purification of the subject compositions, see e.g. Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual (Sambrook, et al. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Current Protocols in Molecular Biology (Eds. Ausubel, et al., Greene Publ. Assoc., Wiley-Interscience, N.Y.) or that are otherwise known in the art.
For example, the invention provides a method of making a polypeptide comprising the steps of introducing an isolated or recombinant nucleic acid encoding a subject polypeptide into a host cell or cellular extract, incubating said host cell or extract under conditions whereby said nucleic acid is expressed as a transcript and said transcript is expressed as a translation product comprising said polypeptide, and isolating said translation product.
The invention provides binding agents specific to the claimed mUCP3 polypeptides, including substrates, agonists, antagonists, natural intracellular binding targets, etc., methods of identifying and making such agents, and their use in pharmaceutical development. Novel mUCP3-specific binding agents include mUCP3-specific receptors, such as somatically recombined polypeptide receptors like specific antibodies or T-cell antigen receptors (see, e.g Harlow and Lane (1988) Antibodies, A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) and other natural intracellular binding agents identified with assays such as one-, two- and three-hybrid screens, non-natural intracellular binding agents identified in screens of chemical libraries such as described below, etc. Agents of particular interest modulate mUCP3 function, e.g. mUCP3-dependent respiratory coupling.
Accordingly, the invention provides methods for modulating respiration involving an mUCP3 gene product comprising the step of modulating mUCP3 activity, e.g. by contacting the cell with an mUCP3-specific binding agent. The cell may reside in culture or in situ, i.e. within the natural host. Preferred inhibitors are orally active in mammalian hosts. For diagnostic uses, the inhibitors or other mUCP3 binding agents are frequently labeled, such as with fluorescent, radioactive, chemiluminescent, or other easily detectable molecules, either conjugated directly to the binding agent or conjugated to a probe specific for the binding agent.
The amino acid sequences of the disclosed mUCP3 polypeptides are used to back-translate mUCP3 polypeptide-encoding nucleic acids optimized for selected expression systems (Holler et al. (1993) Gene 136, 323-328; Martin et al. (1995) Gene 154, 150-166) or used to generate degenerate oligonucleotide primers and probes for use in the isolation of natural mUCP3-encoding nucleic acid sequences ("GCG" software, Genetics Computer Group, Inc, Madison Wis.). mUCP3-encoding nucleic acids used in mUCP3-expression vectors and incorporated into recombinant host cells, e.g. for expression and screening, transgenic animals, e.g. for functional studies such as the efficacy of candidate drugs for disease associated with mUCP3-modulated cell function, etc.
The invention also provides nucleic acid hybridization probes, knockin/out constructs and replication/amplification primers having a mUCP3 CDNA specific sequence comprising SEQ ID NOS:1, 3 and 5, or fragments thereof, and sufficient to effect specific hybridization thereto (i.e. specifically hybridize with SEQ ID NOS:1, 3 and 5 in the presence of the UCP1, UCP2 and hUCP3 cDNA. Such primers or probes are at least 12, preferably at least 24, more preferably at least 36 and most preferably at least 96 bases in length. Demonstrating specific hybridization generally requires stringent conditions, for example, hybridizing in a buffer comprising 30% formamide in 5×SSPE (0.18 M NaCl, 0.01 M NaPO 4 , pH7.7, 0.001 M EDTA) buffer at a temperature of 42° C. and remaining bound when subject to washing at 42° C. with 0.2×SSPE; preferably hybridizing in a buffer comprising 50% formamide in 5×SSPE buffer at a temperature of 42° C. and remaining bound when subject to washing at 42° C. with 0.2×SSPE buffer at 42° C. mUCP3 nucleic acids can also be distinguished using alignment algorithms, such as BLASTX (Altschul et al. (1990) Basic Local Alignment Search Tool, J Mol Biol 215, 403-410).
The subject nucleic acids are of synthetic/non-natural sequences and/or are isolated, i.e. unaccompanied by at least some of the material with which it is associated in its natural state, preferably constituting at least about 0.5%, preferably at least about 5% by weight of total nucleic acid present in a given fraction, and usually recombinant, meaning they comprise a non-natural sequence or a natural sequence joined to nucleotide(s) other than that which it is joined to on a natural chromosome. Recombinant nucleic acids comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NOS:1, 3 and 5, or fragments thereof contain such sequence or fragment at a terminus, immediately flanked by (i.e. contiguous with) a sequence other than that which it is joined to on a natural chromosome, or flanked by a native flanking region fewer than 10 kb, preferably fewer than 2 kb, which is at a terminus or is immediately flanked by a sequence other than that which it is joined to on a natural chromosome. While the nucleic acids are usually RNA or DNA, it is often advantageous to use nucleic acids comprising other bases or nucleotide analogs to provide modified stability, etc.
The subject nucleic acids find a wide variety of applications including use as translatable transcripts, hybridization probes, PCR primers, diagnostic nucleic acids, knock in/out constructs etc.; use in detecting the presence of mUCP3 genes and gene transcripts and in detecting or amplifying nucleic acids encoding additional mUCP3 homologs and structural analogs. In diagnosis, mUCP3 hybridization probes find use in identifying wild-type and mutant mUCP3 alleles in clinical and laboratory samples. In a particular embodiment, mUCP3 nucleic acids are used to modulate cellular expression or intracellular concentration or availability of active mUCP3 by binding and/or recombining with an endogenous mUCP3 gene or gene transcript. Methods for effecting anti-sense hyridization, homologous and non-homologous recombinations, and generating transgenic animals and cell lines are well-established in the art.
The following experimental section and examples are offered by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.
EXAMPLES
1. Cloning of mUCP3 cDNAs
We searched murine EST databases using human UCP2 cDNA sequence to identify a cDNA with sequence similarity to known human and mouse UCP2 cDNA sequences. Isolated, cloning and sequencing of this clone revealed a novel gene designated mUCP3, with greatest sequence similarity to a human UCP3 gene. Since the clone lacked the 5' end UTR and part of the coding sequence, we designed a primer for 5' end RACE of the cDNA sequence using mouse skeletal muscle cDNA (PCR condition: 95° C., 40 sec, 55° C. 2 min, 72° C., 3 min for 30 cycles). Several clones from the RACE PCR contain sequences that overlap with the partial cDNA sequence. A EcoRI tagged forward primer and XbaI tagged reverse primer were used to amplify the full mUCP3 cDNA using mouse skeletal muscle cDNA. A 2.8 kb mUCP3 cDNA was amplified and cloned into pBlue-Script SK. Several smaller fragments (1.5-2 kb) detected in the PCR products in lesser quantities were also cloned and DNA sequencing confirmed that they were alternatively spliced forms of mUCP3 cDNA.
The largest mUCP3 cDNA (mUCP3a) is 2,782 bp long, containing 239 bp 5' end untranslated region, a 816 bp ORF and 1.7 kb 3' end UTR. The mRNA transcript is about 2.8 kb and the translation product contains 308 amino acid residues. It is 85% identical to the hUCP3 and 73% and 54% identical to mUCP2 and mUCP1, respectively, indicating a similar functional roles in uncoupling mitochondrial respiration. Two shorter isoforms, mUCP3b and mUCP3c are 1,949 bp and 1,777 bp, with translation products of 432 and 256 amino acid residues respectively (see, FIG. 3).
2. Expression of mUCP3 cDNAs
Because of the extensive DNA sequence homology between our mUCP3 genes and mUCP2, we designed a set of primers designed for PCR amplification of a 335 bp mUCP3 specific DNA sequence and cloned into pBlue-Script SK. The cloned fragment was labeled through reverse transcription using a T3/T7 Reverse Transcription Kit from Ambion and used as a probe for Northern blot analysis of mUCP3 expression. The mouse multiple tissue blots were purchased from Clontech and Northern analysis was performed using a Northern Max kit purchased from Ambion. Northern analysis revealed specific enhanced expression in heart and especially skeletal muscle tissues as compared with negligble expression in brain, spleen, lung, liver, kidney and testis tissues.
3. Protocol for high throughput mUCP3a--antibody binding assay.
A. Reagents:
Neutralite Avidin: 20 μg/ml in PBS.
Blocking buffer: 5% BSA, 0.5% Tween 20 in PBS; 1 hour at room temperature.
Assay Buffer: 100 mM KCl, 20 mM HEPES pH 7.6, 1 mM MgCl 2 , 1% glycerol, 0.5% NP-40, 50 mM b-mercaptoethanol, 1 mg/ml BSA, cocktail of protease inhibitors.
33 P mUCP3a polypeptide 10× stock: 10 -8 -10 -6 M "cold" mUCP3 supplemented with 200,000-250,000 cpm of labeled mUCP3a (Beckman counter). Place in the 4° C. microfridge during screening.
Protease inhibitor cocktail (1000×): 10 mg Trypsin Inhibitor (BMB #109894), 10 mg Aprotinin (BMB #236624), 25 mg Benzamidine (Sigma #B-6506), 25 mg Leupeptin (BMB #1017128), 10 mg APMSF (BMB #917575), and 2 mM NaVO 3 (Sigma #S-6508) in 10 ml of PBS.
mUCP3-specific antibody: 10 -7 -10 -5 M biotinylated antibody in PBS.
B. Preparation of assay plates:
Coat with 120 μl of stock N-Avidin per well overnight at 4° C.
Wash 2 times with 200 μl PBS.
Block with 150 μl of blocking buffer.
Wash 2 times with 200 μl PBS.
C. Assay:
Add 40 μl assay buffer/well.
Add 10 μl compound or extract.
Add 10 μl 33 P-mUCP3a (20-25,000 cpm/0.1-10 pmoles/well=10 -9 -10 -7 M final cone).
Shake at 25° C. for 15 minutes.
Incubate additional 45 minutes at 25° C.
Add 40 μM biotinylated antibody (0.1-10 pmoles/40 μl in assay buffer)
Incubate 1 hour at room temperature.
Stop the reaction by washing 4 times with 200 μM PBS.
Add 150 μM scintillation cocktail.
Count in Topcount.
D. Controls for all assays (located on each plate):
a. Non-specific binding
b. Soluble (non-biotinylated antibody) at 80% inhibition.
All publications and patent applications cited in this specification are herein incorporated by reference as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the teachings of this invention that certain changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the appended claims.
__________________________________________________________________________# SEQUENCE LISTING- (1) GENERAL INFORMATION:- (iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 6- (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:1:- (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:#pairs (A) LENGTH: 2782 base (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: double (D) TOPOLOGY: linear- (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA#ID NO:1: (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ- GTCAGCTGGT GCACAGGGCC AGTGCCGAGC CAGGGACAGC AGAGACAACA GT - #GAATGGTG 60- AGGCCCGGCC GTCAGATCCT GCTGCTACCT AATGGAGTGG AGCCTTAGGG TG - #GCCCTGCA 120- CTACCCAACC TTGGCTAGAC GCACAGCTTC CTCCCTGAAC TGAAGCAAAA GA - #TTGCCAGG 180- CAAGCTCTCT CCTCGGACCT CCATAGGCAG CAAAGGAACC AGGCCCATTC CC - #CGGGACCA 240- TGGTTGGACT TCAGCCCTCC GAAGTGCCTC CCACAACGGT TGTGAAGTTC CT - #GGGGGCCG 300- GCACTGCGGC CTGTTTTGCG GACCTCCTCA CTTTTCCCCT GGACACCGCC AA - #GGTCCGTC 360- TGCAGATCCA AGGGGAGAAC CCAGGGGCTC AGAGCGTGCA GTACCGCGGT GT - #GCTGGGTA 420- CCATCCTGAC TATGGTGCGC ACAGAGGGTC CCCGCAGCCC CTACAGCGGA CT - #GGTCGCTG 480- GCCTGCACCG CCAGATGAGT TTTGCCTCCA TTCGAATTGG CCTCTACGAC TC - #TGTCAAGC 540- AGTTCTACAC CCCCAAGGGA GCGGACCACT CCAGCGTCGC CATCAGGATT CT - #GGCAGGCT 600- GCACGACAGG AGCCATGGCA GTGACCTGCG CCCAGCCCAC GGATGTGGTG AA - #GGTCCGAT 660- TTCAAGCCAT GATACGCCTG GGAACTGGAG GAGAGAGGAA ATACAGAGGG AC - #TATGGATG 720- CCTACAGAAC CATCGCCAGG GAGGAAGGAG TCAGGGGCCT GTGGAAAGGG AC - #TTGGCCCA 780- ACATCACAAG AAATGCCATT GTCAACTGTG CTGAGATGGT GACCTACGAC AT - #CATCAAGG 840- AGAAGTTGCT GGAGTCTCAC CTGTTTACTG ACAACTTCCC CTGTCACTTT GT - #CTCTGCCT 900- TTGGAGCTGG CTTCTGTGCC ACAGTGGTGG CCTCCCCGGT GGATGTGGTA AA - #GACCCGAT 960- ACATGAACGC TCCCCTAGGC AGGTACCGCA GCCCTCTGCA CTGTATGCTG AA - #GATGGCGG1020- CTCAGGAGGG ACCCACGGCC TTCTACAAAG GATTTGTGCC CTCCTTTCTG CG - #TCTGGGAG1080- CTTGGAACGT GATGATGTTT GTAACATATG AGCAACTGAA GAGGGCCTTA AT - #GAAAGTCC1140- AGGTACTGCG GGAATCTCCG TTTTGAACAA GGCAAGCAGG CTGCCTGAAA CA - #GAACAAAG1200- CGTCTCTGCC CTGGGGACAC AGGCCCACAC GGTCCAAAAC CCTGCACTGC TG - #CTGACACG1260- AGAAACTGAA CTAAAAGAGG AGAGTTTTAG TCCTCCGTGT TTCGTCCTAA AA - #CACCTCTG1320- TTTTGCACTG ACCTGATGGG AAATAAATTA TATTAATTTT TAAACCCCTT CC - #GGTTGGAT1380- GCCTAATATT TAGGCAAGAG ACAACAAAGA AAACCAGAGT CAACTCCCTT GA - #AATGTAGG1440- AATAAAGGAT GCATAATAAA CAGGAAAGGC ACAGGTTTTG AGAAGATCAG CC - #CACAGTGT1500- TGTCCTTGAA TCAAACAAAA TGGTCGGAGG AACCCTTCGG CTTCAGCACA AA - #GAGGTGAC1560- TACAGCCTTC TGGTCACCAG ATGACTCCGC CCCTCTGTAA TGAGTCTGCC AA - #GTAGACTC1620- TATCAAGATT CTGGGGAAAG GAGAAAGAAC ACATTGATAC TGCACAAATG AG - #TGGTGCTG1680- GGCCCACCGA GGACACTGGA GGATGGAGCG TGATCTGGGA TAACAGTCCT TC - #TCTGTCTG1740- CCTCATCAGG GTGTTGGGAA GATAGAAAGC GAAGCAGACA TGGAAGCACT TC - #CTAACAAG1800- GCCTGTCATC GTCATCATCT ACAAATGTAA GCCTGAGGAC AATGTTTTAG GA - #GAGATTCT1860- GTCCAGAGAA GTAGTTTGAG GAAAATGCAG TTTGTAGTGG TAAAGCCATG CA - #CACCTGGA1920- CTGCATGGTA AGGACCAGGG GTGACGGAAG CCATGGGGAT CCGGTGCCTG GT - #AACATCAA1980- AGGGCTGTGG GGGGGGGGGG GCACTGCCTG TCCATCAGTT CAAAGCAGCA GG - #ACTCAGAA2040- TCTCCACCTT AGGGCAAGAA CGAGAACAGC TGCTCTTCTG CCTTCTCTCT CG - #GAGGTTTT2100- CTCATCTCAG GGTCCTACCT GCCAGGCTCC TGACCAGCTC CACCTGCCCA CA - #CTTCCTCC2160- TGCTCTCGCT GCCTTTGGCT GCAGAGCCTT TGCTCCTCCT GTTAAGCCTT CA - #GTCTTCCA2220- TCTGCAAAAG GGAGGGCAAA GCACAGGACC AACTTCCAAG CTTAAAAATG CA - #CATCTGAC2280- AACAAAATGG CTCAGTGGGG TCCATTCATG GGACCCACAT GGTGGAAGGA CA - #GAATGGAC2340- TCTTGCAAAT TGTCCTCTGA CCTCCATTTG AGCGCCCTAT ACATGTGACT GT - #ACATATGT2400- ACAAACACGA TAAAGATGGA AACACATGTA AAAACATAAA AATAAAAAGT TG - #TACTGGAT2460- GTGGTGGTTT GAATGAGATG TTCCTCGTGT CTCGGGCATT TGAAGACTTG CT - #CCCCAGTT2520- GTTGGCGGCT GTTTGGGGAG GCTTAGAAGA TGTGGCCTTT TGGGAAGCAG GG - #TGTCATTG2580- AGGACTGGCT TGGAGAGCCT AAAGATCCGA GGCACTCCCA GTTTCTCTGG TT - #TTTCATTT2640- TGAGGTGTGA GGTCTTATTG GCTGCACCAG TCTCCATGCC TGTCTGTTGC CC - #GGCCTCCT2700- CACCATGATG GACTTTTATC TCTCTGTACT TGTAAGCCCC AAATAAACCT TC - #CATCTGTG2760# 2782AAA AA- (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:2:- (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:#acids (A) LENGTH: 308 amino (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear- (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide#ID NO:2: (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ- Met Val Gly Leu Gln Pro Ser Glu Val Pro Pr - #o Thr Thr Val Val Lys# 15- Phe Leu Gly Ala Gly Thr Ala Ala Cys Phe Al - #a Asp Leu Leu Thr Phe# 30- Pro Leu Asp Thr Ala Lys Val Arg Leu Gln Il - #e Gln Gly Glu Asn Pro# 45- Gly Ala Gln Ser Val Gln Tyr Arg Gly Val Le - #u Gly Thr Ile Leu Thr# 60- Met Val Arg Thr Glu Gly Pro Arg Ser Pro Ty - #r Ser Gly Leu Val Ala#80- Gly Leu His Arg Gln Met Ser Phe Ala Ser Il - #e Arg Ile Gly Leu Tyr# 95- Asp Ser Val Lys Gln Phe Tyr Thr Pro Lys Gl - #y Ala Asp His Ser Ser# 110- Val Ala Ile Arg Ile Leu Ala Gly Cys Thr Th - #r Gly Ala Met Ala Val# 125- Thr Cys Ala Gln Pro Thr Asp Val Val Lys Va - #l Arg Phe Gln Ala Met# 140- Ile Arg Leu Gly Thr Gly Gly Glu Arg Lys Ty - #r Arg Gly Thr Met Asp145 1 - #50 1 - #55 1 -#60- Ala Tyr Arg Thr Ile Ala Arg Glu Glu Gly Va - #l Arg Gly Leu Trp Lys# 175- Gly Thr Trp Pro Asn Ile Thr Arg Asn Ala Il - #e Val Asn Cys Ala Glu# 190- Met Val Thr Tyr Asp Ile Ile Lys Glu Lys Le - #u Leu Glu Ser His Leu# 205- Phe Thr Asp Asn Phe Pro Cys His Phe Val Se - #r Ala Phe Gly Ala Gly# 220- Phe Cys Ala Thr Val Val Ala Ser Pro Val As - #p Val Val Lys Thr Arg225 2 - #30 2 - #35 2 -#40- Tyr Met Asn Ala Pro Leu Gly Arg Tyr Arg Se - #r Pro Leu His Cys Met# 255- Leu Lys Met Ala Ala Gln Glu Gly Pro Thr Al - #a Phe Tyr Lys Gly Phe# 270- Val Pro Ser Phe Leu Arg Leu Gly Ala Trp As - #n Val Met Met Phe Val# 285- Thr Tyr Glu Gln Leu Lys Arg Ala Leu Met Ly - #s Val Gln Val Leu Arg# 300- Glu Ser Pro Phe305- (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:3:- (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:#pairs (A) LENGTH: 1949 base (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: double (D) TOPOLOGY: linear- (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA#ID NO:3: (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ- GTCAGCTGGT GCACAGGGCC AGTGCCGAGC CAGGGACAGC AGAGACAACA GT - #GAATGGTG 60- AGGCCCGGCC GTCAGATCCT GCTGCTACCT AATGGAGTGG AGCCTTAGGG TG - #GCCCTGCA 120- CTACCCAACC TTGGCTAGAC GCACAGCTTC CTCCCTGAAC TGAAGCAAAA GA - #TTGCCAGG 180- CAAGCTCTCT CCTCGGACCT CCATAGGCAG CAAAGGAACC AGGCCCATTC CC - #CGGGACCA 240- TGGTTGGACT TCAGCCCTCC GAAGTGCCTC CCACAACGGT TGTGAAGTTC CT - #GGGGGCCG 300- GCACTGCGGC CTGTTTTGCG GACCTCCTCA CTTTTCCCCT GGACACCGCC AA - #GGTCCGTC 360- TGCAGATCCA AGGGGAGAAC CCAGGGGCTC AGAGCGTGCA GTACCGCGGT GT - #GCTGGGTA 420- CCATCCTGAC TATGGTGCGC ACAGAGGGTC CCCGCAGCCC CTACAGCGGA CT - #GGTCGCTG 480- GCCTGCACCG CCAGATGAGT TTTGCCTCCA TTCGAATTGG CCTCTACGAC TC - #TGTCAAGC 540- AGTTCTACAC CCCCAAGGGA GCGGACCACT CCAGCGTCGC CATCAGGATT CT - #GGCAGGCT 600- GCACGACAGG AGCCATGGCA GTGACCTGCG CCCAGCCCAC GGATGTGGTG AA - #GGTCCGAT 660- TTCAAGCCAT GATACGCCTG GGAACTGGAG GAGAGAGGAA ATACAGAGGG AC - #TATGGATG 720- CCTACAGAAC CATCGCCAGG GAGGAAGGAG TCAGGGGCCT GTGGAAAGGG AC - #TTGGCCCA 780- ACATCACAAG AAATGCCATT GTCAACTGTG CTGAGATGGT GACCTACGAC AT - #CATCAAGG 840- AGAAGTTGCT GGAGTCTCAC CTGTTTACTG ACAACTTCCC CTGTCACTTT GT - #CTCTGCCT 900- TTGGAGCTGG CTTCTGTGCC ACAGTGGTGG CCTCCCCGGT GGATGTGGTA AA - #GACCCGAT 960- ACATGAACGC TCCCCTAGGC AGGTACCGCA GCCCTCTGCA CTGTATGCTG AA - #GATGGTGG1020- CTCAGGAGGG ACCCACGGCC TTCTACAAAG GATTTGTGCC CTCCTTTCTG CG - #TCTGGGAG1080- CTTGGAACGT GATGATGTTT GTAACATATG AGCAACTGAA GAGGGCCTTA AT - #GAAAGTCC1140- AGGGTGTTGG GAAGATAGAA AGCGAAGCAG ACATGGAAGC ACTTCCTAAC AA - #GGCCTGTC1200- ATCGTCATCA TCTACAAATG GCAAGAACGA GAACAGCTGC TCTTCTGCCC TC - #TCTCTCGG1260- AGGTTTTCTC ATCTCAGGGT CCTACCTGCC AGGCTCCTGA CCAGCTCCAC CT - #GCCCACAC1320- TTCCTCCTGC TCTCGCTGCC TTTGGCTGCA GAGCCTTTGC TCCTCCTGTT AA - #GCCTTCAG1380- TCTTCCATCT GCAAAAGGGA GGGCAAAGCA CAGGACCAAC TTCCAAGCTT AA - #AAATGCAC1440- ATCTGACAAC AAAATGGCTC AGTGGGGTCC ATTCATGGGA CCCACATGGT GG - #AAGGACAG1500- AATGGACTCT TGCAAATTGT CCTCTGACCT CCATTTGAGC GCCCTATACA TG - #TGACTGTA1560- CATATGTACA AACACGATAA AGATGGAAAC ACATGTAAAA ACATAAAAAT AA - #AAAGTTGT1620- ACTGGATGTG GTGGTTTGAA TGAGATGTTC CTCGTGTCTC GGGCATTTGA AG - #ACTTGCTC1680- CCCAGTTGTT GGCGGCTGTT TGGGGAGGCT TAGAAGATGT GGCCTTTTGG GA - #AGCAGGGT1740- GTCATTGAGG ACTGGCTTGG AGAGCCTAAA GATCCGAGGC ACTCCCAGTT TC - #TCTGGTTT1800- TTCATTTTGA GGTGTGAGGT CTTATTGGCT GCACCAGTCT CCATGCCTGT CT - #GTTGCCCG1860- GCCTCCTCAC CATGATGGAC TTTTATCTCT CTGTACTTGT AAGCCCCAAA TA - #AACCTTCC1920# 1949 AAAA AAAAAAAAA- (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:4:- (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:#acids (A) LENGTH: 432 amino (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear- (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide#ID NO:4: (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ- Met Val Gly Leu Gln Pro Ser Glu Val Pro Pr - #o Thr Thr Val Val Lys# 15- Phe Leu Gly Ala Gly Thr Ala Ala Cys Phe Al - #a Asp Leu Leu Thr Phe# 30- Pro Leu Asp Thr Ala Lys Val Arg Leu Gln Il - #e Gln Gly Glu Asn Pro# 45- Gly Ala Gln Ser Val Gln Tyr Arg Gly Val Le - #u Gly Thr Ile Leu Thr# 60- Met Val Arg Thr Glu Gly Pro Arg Ser Pro Ty - #r Ser Gly Leu Val Ala#80- Gly Leu His Arg Gln Met Ser Phe Ala Ser Il - #e Arg Ile Gly Leu Tyr# 95- Asp Ser Val Lys Gln Phe Tyr Thr Pro Lys Gl - #y Ala Asp His Ser Ser# 110- Val Ala Ile Arg Ile Leu Ala Gly Cys Thr Th - #r Gly Ala Met Ala Val# 125- Thr Cys Ala Gln Pro Thr Asp Val Val Lys Va - #l Arg Phe Gln Ala Met# 140- Ile Arg Leu Gly Thr Gly Gly Glu Arg Lys Ty - #r Arg Gly Thr Met Asp145 1 - #50 1 - #55 1 -#60- Ala Tyr Arg Thr Ile Ala Arg Glu Glu Gly Va - #l Arg Gly Leu Trp Lys# 175- Gly Thr Trp Pro Asn Ile Thr Arg Asn Ala Il - #e Val Asn Cys Ala Glu# 190- Met Val Thr Tyr Asp Ile Ile Lys Glu Lys Le - #u Leu Glu Ser His Leu# 205- Phe Thr Asp Asn Phe Pro Cys His Phe Val Se - #r Ala Phe Gly Ala Gly# 220- Phe Cys Ala Thr Val Val Ala Ser Pro Val As - #p Val Val Lys Thr Arg225 2 - #30 2 - #35 2 -#40- Tyr Met Asn Ala Pro Leu Gly Arg Tyr Arg Se - #r Pro Leu His Cys Met# 255- Leu Lys Met Val Ala Gln Glu Gly Pro Thr Al - #a Phe Tyr Lys Gly Phe# 270- Val Pro Ser Phe Leu Arg Leu Gly Ala Trp As - #n Val Met Met Phe Val# 285- Thr Tyr Glu Gln Leu Lys Arg Ala Leu Met Ly - #s Val Gln Gly Val Gly# 300- Lys Ile Glu Ser Glu Ala Asp Met Glu Ala Le - #u Pro Asn Lys Ala Cys305 3 - #10 3 - #15 3 -#20- His Arg His His Leu Gln Met Ala Arg Thr Ar - #g Thr Ala Ala Leu Leu# 335- Pro Ser Leu Ser Glu Val Phe Ser Ser Gln Gl - #y Pro Thr Cys Gln Ala# 350- Pro Asp Gln Leu His Leu Pro Thr Leu Pro Pr - #o Ala Leu Ala Ala Phe# 365- Gly Cys Arg Ala Phe Ala Pro Pro Val Lys Pr - #o Ser Val Phe His Leu# 380- Gln Lys Gly Gly Gln Ser Thr Gly Pro Thr Se - #r Lys Leu Lys Asn Ala385 3 - #90 3 - #95 4 -#00- His Leu Thr Thr Lys Trp Leu Ser Gly Val Hi - #s Ser Trp Asp Pro His# 415- Gly Gly Arg Thr Glu Trp Thr Leu Ala Asn Cy - #s Pro Leu Thr Ser Ile# 430- (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:5:- (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:#pairs (A) LENGTH: 1777 base (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: double (D) TOPOLOGY: linear- (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA#ID NO:5: (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ- GTCAGCTGGT GCACAGGGCC AGTGCCGAGC CAGGGACAGC AGAGACAACA GT - #GAATGGTG 60- AGGCCCGGCC GTCAGATCCT GCTGCTACCT AATGGAGTGG AGCCTTAGGG TG - #GCCCTGCA 120- CTACCCAACC TTGGCTAGAC GCACAGCTTC CTCCCTGAAC TGAAGCAAAA GA - #TTGCCAGG 180- CAAGCTCTCT CCTCGGACCT CCATAGGCAG CAAAGGAACC AGGCCCATTC CC - #CGGGACCA 240- TGGTTGGACT TCAGCCCTCC GAAGTGCCTC CCACAACGGT TGTGAAGTTC CT - #GGGGGCCG 300- GCACTGCGGC CTGTTTTGCG GACCTCCTCA CTTTTCCCCT GGACACCGCC AA - #GGTCCGTC 360- TGCAGATCCA AGGGGAGAAC CCAGGGGCTC AGAGCGTGCA GTACCGCGGT GT - #GCTGGGTA 420- CCATCCTGAC TATGGTGCGC ACAGAGGGTC CCCGCAGCCC CTACAGCGGA CT - #GGTCGCTG 480- GCCTGCACCG CCAGATGAGT TTTGCCTCCA TTCGAATTGG CCTCTACGAC TC - #TGTCAAGC 540- AGTTCTACAC CCCCAAGGGA GCGGACCACT CCAGCGTCGC CATCAGGATT CT - #GGCAGGCT 600- GCACGACAGG AGCCATGGCA GTGACCTGCG CCCAGCCCAC GGATGTGGTG AA - #GGTCCGAT 660- TTCAAGCCAT GATACGCCTG GGAACTGGAG GAGAGAGGAA ATACAGAGGG AC - #TATGGATG 720- CCTACAGAAC CATCGCCAGG GAGGAAGGAG TCAGGGGCCT GTGGAAAGGG AC - #TTGGCCCA 780- ACATCACAAG AAATGCCATT GTCAACTGTG CTGAGATGGT GACCTACGAC AT - #CATCAAGG 840- AGAAGTTGCT GGAGTCTCAC CTGTTTACTG ACAACTTCCC CTGTCACTTT GT - #CTCTGCCT 900- TTGGAGCTGG CTTCTGTGCC ACAGTGGTGG CCTCCCCGGT GGATGTGGTA AA - #GACCCGAT 960- ACATGAACGC TCCCCTAGGC AGGTACCGCA GCAGGACTCA GAATCTTTAG GG - #AATTGTTA1020- GGACTGGTAA AAGAATTTCC ACCTTAGGGC AAGAACGAGA ACAGCTGCTC TT - #CTGCCTTC1080- TCTCTCGGAG GTTTTCTCAT CTCAGGGTCC TACCTGCCAG GCTCCTGACC AG - #CTCCACCT1140- GCCCACACTT CCTCCTGCTC TCGCTGCCTT TGGCTGCAGA GCCTTTGCTC CT - #CCTGTTAA1200- GCCTTCAGTC TTCCATCTGC AAAAGGGAGG GCAAAGCACA GGACCAACTT CC - #AAGCTTAA1260- AAATGCACAT CTGACAACAA AATGGCTCAG TGGGGTCCAT TCATGGGACC CA - #CATGGTGG1320- AAGGACAGAA TGGACTCTTG CAAATTGTCC TCTGACCTCC ATTTGAGCGC CC - #TATACATG1380- TGACTGTACA TATGTACAAA CACGATAAAG ATGGAAACAC ATGTAAAAAC AT - #AAAAATAA1440- AAAGTTGTAC TGGATGTGGT GGTTTGAATG AGATGTTCCT CGTGTCTCGG GC - #ATTTGAAG1500- ACTTGCTCCC CAGTTGTTGG CGGCTGTTTG GGGAGGCTTA GAAGATGTGG CC - #TTTTGGGA1560- AGCAGGGTGT CATTGAGGAC TGGCTTGGAG AGCCTAAAGA TCCGAGGCAC TC - #CCAGTTTC1620- TCTGGTTTTT CATTTTGAGG TGTGAGGTCT TATTGGCTGC ACCAGTCTCC AT - #GCCTGTCT1680- GTTGCCCGGC CTCCTCACCA TGATGGACTT TTATCTCTCT GTACTTGTAA GC - #CCCAAATA1740# 1777 AAAA AAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAA- (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:6:- (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:#acids (A) LENGTH: 256 amino (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear- (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide#ID NO:6: (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ- Met Val Gly Leu Gln Pro Ser Glu Val Pro Pr - #o Thr Thr Val Val Lys# 15- Phe Leu Gly Ala Gly Thr Ala Ala Cys Phe Al - #a Asp Leu Leu Thr Phe# 30- Pro Leu Asp Thr Ala Lys Val Arg Leu Gln Il - #e Gln Gly Glu Asn Pro# 45- Gly Ala Gln Ser Val Gln Tyr Arg Gly Val Le - #u Gly Thr Ile Leu Thr# 60- Met Val Arg Thr Glu Gly Pro Arg Ser Pro Ty - #r Ser Gly Leu Val Ala#80- Gly Leu His Arg Gln Met Ser Phe Ala Ser Il - #e Arg Ile Gly Leu Tyr# 95- Asp Ser Val Lys Gln Phe Tyr Thr Pro Lys Gl - #y Ala Asp His Ser Ser# 110- Val Ala Ile Arg Ile Leu Ala Gly Cys Thr Th - #r Gly Ala Met Ala Val# 125- Thr Cys Ala Gln Pro Thr Asp Val Val Lys Va - #l Arg Phe Gln Ala Met# 140- Ile Arg Leu Gly Thr Gly Gly Glu Arg Lys Ty - #r Arg Gly Thr Met Asp145 1 - #50 1 - #55 1 -#60- Ala Tyr Arg Thr Ile Ala Arg Glu Glu Gly Va - #l Arg Gly Leu Trp Lys# 175- Gly Thr Trp Pro Asn Ile Thr Arg Asn Ala Il - #e Val Asn Cys Ala Glu# 190- Met Val Thr Tyr Asp Ile Ile Lys Glu Lys Le - #u Leu Glu Ser His Leu# 205- Phe Thr Asp Asn Phe Pro Cys His Phe Val Se - #r Ala Phe Gly Ala Gly# 220- Phe Cys Ala Thr Val Val Ala Ser Pro Val As - #p Val Val Lys Thr Arg225 2 - #30 2 - #35 2 -#40- Tyr Met Asn Ala Pro Leu Gly Arg Tyr Arg Se - #r Arg Thr Gln Asn Leu# 255__________________________________________________________________________ | The invention provides methods and compositions relating to a novel family of UCP3 polypeptides and related nucleic acids involved in metabolic regulation. The polypeptides may be produced recombinantly from transformed host cells from the disclosed mUCP3 encoding nucleic acids or purified from mammalian cells. The invention provides isolated mUCP3 hybridization probes, knock-out/in constructs and primers capable of specifically hybridizing with the disclosed mUCP3 genes, mUCP3-specific binding agents such as specific antibodies, animals and cells modified with the subject mUCP3 nucleic acids, and methods of making and using the subject compositions in the biopharmaceutical industry. | Briefly summarize the main idea's components and working principles as described in the context. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a divisional application of and claims priority under 35USC120 to U.S. application Ser.",
"No. 08/937,466, filed on Sep. 25, 1997 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,779).",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION The field of this invention is UCP3 genes and their use in biotechnology.",
"BACKGROUND A mitochondrial protein called uncoupling protein (UCP1) is thought to play an important role in the body's regulation of energy utilization.",
"Such regulation provides wide spread physiological controls including body weight, appetite, glucose metabolism, temperature, immune responses, etc.",
"Mechanistically, UCP1 is thought to create a pathway that allows dissipation of the proton electrochemical gradient across the inner mitochondrial membrane in brown adipose tissue, without coupling to any other energy consuming process (for review, see Nicholis &",
"Locke (1984) Physiol Rev 64, 1-64).",
"Unfortunately, the role of UCP 1 in physiologies such as body weight regulation in large adult mammals such as people, cattle, pigs, etc.",
"is likely to be limited, since there is little brown adipose tissue in such animals.",
"UCP2 is a second, related uncoupling protein that is much more widely expressed in large adult mammals (see, e.g. Fleury et al.",
"(1997) Nature Genetics 15, 269-272 and Tartaglia et al.",
"(1996) WO96/05861).",
"Consistent with a role in the regulation of energy utilization generally, and in diabetes and obesity in particular, the UCP2 gene is upregulated in response to fat feeding and maps to regions of the human and mouse genomes linked to hyperinsulinaemia and obesity.",
"More recently, a third structurally related UCP gene, hUCP3 has been charaterized and found to be preferentially expressed in skeletal muscle and brown adipose tissues;",
"see, Vidal-Puig et al.",
"(1997) BBRC 235, 79-82 and Boss et al.",
"(1997) FEBS Letters 408, 39-42.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention provides methods and compositions relating to isolated mUCP3 polypeptides, related nucleic acids, polypeptide domains thereof having mUCP3-specific structure and activity and modulators of mUCP3 function.",
"mUCP3 polypeptides and modulators of mUCP3 expresssion and/or function can regulate mitochodrial respiration and hence provide important regulators of cell metabolism and function.",
"The polypeptides may be produced recombinantly from transformed host cells or extracts from the subject mUCP3 polypeptide encoding nucleic acids or purified from mammalian cells.",
"The invention provides isolated mUCP3 hybridization probes and primers capable of specifically hybridizing with the disclosed mUCP3 genes, mUCP3-specific binding agents such as specific antibodies, and methods of making and using the subject compositions in diagnosis (e.g. genetic hybridization screens for mUCP3 transcripts) and in the biopharmaceutical industry (e.g. as immunogens, reagents for isolating other transcriptional regulators, knockin/out vectors, transgenic animals anc cell lines, reagents for screening chemical libraries for lead pharmacological agents, etc.).",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIG. 1 shows the amino acid sequence of a mUCP3a polypeptide (SEQ ID NO:2), indicating mUCP3a-specific sequences and domains in common with hUCP3.",
"FIGS. 2a-2d show the nucleotide sequence of a mUCP3a-encoding cDNA (SEQ ID NO: 1), indicating mUCP3a-specific sequences and domains in common with hUCP3.",
"FIG. 3 shows the structures of mUCP3 isoforms a, b and c. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Exemplary nucleotide sequences of natural cDNAs encoding mUCP3 polypeptides are shown as SEQ ID NO: 1, 3 and 5, and their full conceptual translates are shown as SEQ ID NOS:2, 4 and 6, respectively.",
"The mUCP3 polypeptides of the invention include incomplete translates of SEQ ID NOS: 1, 3 and 5 which translates and deletion mutants of SEQ ID NOS:2, 4 and 6 have mUCP3-specific amino acid sequence, binding specificity or function.",
"Preferred translates/deletion mutants comprise at least a 6, preferably at least an 8, more preferably at least a 10, most preferably at least a 12 residue domain of the translates not found in hUCP3.",
"Such domains are readily discernable from alignments of mUCP3 polypeptides and hUCP3.",
"See, e.g. FIG. 1 for the mUCP3a amino acid domains in common (bold) and not in common with hUCP3 and FIGS. 2a-2d for the mUCP3a nucleic acid domains in common (bold) and not in common with the nucleic acid domains of hUCP3.",
"The subject domains provide mUCP3 domain specific activity or function which are conveniently determined in vitro, cell-based, or in vivo assays: e.g. in vitro binding assays, cell culture assays, in animals (e.g. gene therapy, transgenics, etc.), etc.",
"mUCP3-binding specificity may assayed by binding equilibrium constants (usually at least about 10 7 M -1 , preferably at least about 10 8 M -1 , more preferably at least about 10 9 M -1 ), by the ability of the subject polypeptide to function as negative mutants in mUCP3-expressing cells, to elicit mUCP3 specific antibody in a heterologous host (e.",
"g a rabbit), etc.",
"In any event, the mUCP3 binding specificity of the subject mUCP3 polypeptides necessarily distinguishes that of hUCP3.",
"Preferred peptides demonstrate mUCP3 domain specific activity as assayed by respiratory uncoupling activity, ATP-binding or binding inhibitory activity, mUCP3-specific antibody binding, etc.",
"For example, mUCP3 domain peptides with assay demonstrable mUCP3 domain-specific activities include: SEQ ID NO:2, residues 3-12;",
"SEQ ID NO:2, residues 37-58;",
"SEQ ID NO:2, residues 100-115;",
"SEQ ID NO:2, residues 144-158;",
"SEQ ID NO:2, residues 182-198;",
"SEQ ID NO:2, residues 198-209 SEQ ID NO:2, residues 242-266;",
"SEQ ID NO:2, residues 268-290;",
"and SEQ ID NO:2, residues 297-308.",
"The subject mUCP3 polypeptides are isolated or pure: an "isolated"",
"polypeptide is unaccompanied by at least some of the material with which it is associated in its natural state.",
"Isolated polypeptides encompass UCP3 polypeptides covalently joined to a non-natural or heterologous component, such as a non-natural amino acid or amino acid sequence or a natural amino acid or sequence other than that which the polypeptide is joined to in a natural protein, and preferably constitutes at least about 0.5%, and more preferably at least about 5% by weight of the total polypeptide in a given sample and a pure polypeptide constitutes at least about 90%, and preferably at least about 99% by weight of the total polypeptide in a given sample.",
"A polypeptide, as used herein, is an polymer of amino acids, generally at least 6 residues, preferably at least about 10 residues, more preferably at least about 25 residues, most preferably at least about 50 residues in length.",
"The mUCP3 polypeptides and polypeptide domains may be synthesized, produced by recombinant technology, or purified from mammalian, preferably murine cells.",
"A wide variety of molecular and biochemical methods are available for biochemical synthesis, molecular expression and purification of the subject compositions, see e.g. Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual (Sambrook, et al.",
"Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Current Protocols in Molecular Biology (Eds.",
"Ausubel, et al.",
", Greene Publ.",
"Assoc.",
", Wiley-Interscience, N.Y.) or that are otherwise known in the art.",
"For example, the invention provides a method of making a polypeptide comprising the steps of introducing an isolated or recombinant nucleic acid encoding a subject polypeptide into a host cell or cellular extract, incubating said host cell or extract under conditions whereby said nucleic acid is expressed as a transcript and said transcript is expressed as a translation product comprising said polypeptide, and isolating said translation product.",
"The invention provides binding agents specific to the claimed mUCP3 polypeptides, including substrates, agonists, antagonists, natural intracellular binding targets, etc.",
", methods of identifying and making such agents, and their use in pharmaceutical development.",
"Novel mUCP3-specific binding agents include mUCP3-specific receptors, such as somatically recombined polypeptide receptors like specific antibodies or T-cell antigen receptors (see, e.g Harlow and Lane (1988) Antibodies, A Laboratory Manual, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) and other natural intracellular binding agents identified with assays such as one-, two- and three-hybrid screens, non-natural intracellular binding agents identified in screens of chemical libraries such as described below, etc.",
"Agents of particular interest modulate mUCP3 function, e.g. mUCP3-dependent respiratory coupling.",
"Accordingly, the invention provides methods for modulating respiration involving an mUCP3 gene product comprising the step of modulating mUCP3 activity, e.g. by contacting the cell with an mUCP3-specific binding agent.",
"The cell may reside in culture or in situ, i.e. within the natural host.",
"Preferred inhibitors are orally active in mammalian hosts.",
"For diagnostic uses, the inhibitors or other mUCP3 binding agents are frequently labeled, such as with fluorescent, radioactive, chemiluminescent, or other easily detectable molecules, either conjugated directly to the binding agent or conjugated to a probe specific for the binding agent.",
"The amino acid sequences of the disclosed mUCP3 polypeptides are used to back-translate mUCP3 polypeptide-encoding nucleic acids optimized for selected expression systems (Holler et al.",
"(1993) Gene 136, 323-328;",
"Martin et al.",
"(1995) Gene 154, 150-166) or used to generate degenerate oligonucleotide primers and probes for use in the isolation of natural mUCP3-encoding nucleic acid sequences ("GCG"",
"software, Genetics Computer Group, Inc, Madison Wis.).",
"mUCP3-encoding nucleic acids used in mUCP3-expression vectors and incorporated into recombinant host cells, e.g. for expression and screening, transgenic animals, e.g. for functional studies such as the efficacy of candidate drugs for disease associated with mUCP3-modulated cell function, etc.",
"The invention also provides nucleic acid hybridization probes, knockin/out constructs and replication/amplification primers having a mUCP3 CDNA specific sequence comprising SEQ ID NOS:1, 3 and 5, or fragments thereof, and sufficient to effect specific hybridization thereto (i.e. specifically hybridize with SEQ ID NOS:1, 3 and 5 in the presence of the UCP1, UCP2 and hUCP3 cDNA.",
"Such primers or probes are at least 12, preferably at least 24, more preferably at least 36 and most preferably at least 96 bases in length.",
"Demonstrating specific hybridization generally requires stringent conditions, for example, hybridizing in a buffer comprising 30% formamide in 5×SSPE (0.18 M NaCl, 0.01 M NaPO 4 , pH7.7, 0.001 M EDTA) buffer at a temperature of 42° C. and remaining bound when subject to washing at 42° C. with 0.2×SSPE;",
"preferably hybridizing in a buffer comprising 50% formamide in 5×SSPE buffer at a temperature of 42° C. and remaining bound when subject to washing at 42° C. with 0.2×SSPE buffer at 42° C. mUCP3 nucleic acids can also be distinguished using alignment algorithms, such as BLASTX (Altschul et al.",
"(1990) Basic Local Alignment Search Tool, J Mol Biol 215, 403-410).",
"The subject nucleic acids are of synthetic/non-natural sequences and/or are isolated, i.e. unaccompanied by at least some of the material with which it is associated in its natural state, preferably constituting at least about 0.5%, preferably at least about 5% by weight of total nucleic acid present in a given fraction, and usually recombinant, meaning they comprise a non-natural sequence or a natural sequence joined to nucleotide(s) other than that which it is joined to on a natural chromosome.",
"Recombinant nucleic acids comprising the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NOS:1, 3 and 5, or fragments thereof contain such sequence or fragment at a terminus, immediately flanked by (i.e. contiguous with) a sequence other than that which it is joined to on a natural chromosome, or flanked by a native flanking region fewer than 10 kb, preferably fewer than 2 kb, which is at a terminus or is immediately flanked by a sequence other than that which it is joined to on a natural chromosome.",
"While the nucleic acids are usually RNA or DNA, it is often advantageous to use nucleic acids comprising other bases or nucleotide analogs to provide modified stability, etc.",
"The subject nucleic acids find a wide variety of applications including use as translatable transcripts, hybridization probes, PCR primers, diagnostic nucleic acids, knock in/out constructs etc.",
"use in detecting the presence of mUCP3 genes and gene transcripts and in detecting or amplifying nucleic acids encoding additional mUCP3 homologs and structural analogs.",
"In diagnosis, mUCP3 hybridization probes find use in identifying wild-type and mutant mUCP3 alleles in clinical and laboratory samples.",
"In a particular embodiment, mUCP3 nucleic acids are used to modulate cellular expression or intracellular concentration or availability of active mUCP3 by binding and/or recombining with an endogenous mUCP3 gene or gene transcript.",
"Methods for effecting anti-sense hyridization, homologous and non-homologous recombinations, and generating transgenic animals and cell lines are well-established in the art.",
"The following experimental section and examples are offered by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.",
"EXAMPLES 1.",
"Cloning of mUCP3 cDNAs We searched murine EST databases using human UCP2 cDNA sequence to identify a cDNA with sequence similarity to known human and mouse UCP2 cDNA sequences.",
"Isolated, cloning and sequencing of this clone revealed a novel gene designated mUCP3, with greatest sequence similarity to a human UCP3 gene.",
"Since the clone lacked the 5'",
"end UTR and part of the coding sequence, we designed a primer for 5'",
"end RACE of the cDNA sequence using mouse skeletal muscle cDNA (PCR condition: 95° C., 40 sec, 55° C. 2 min, 72° C., 3 min for 30 cycles).",
"Several clones from the RACE PCR contain sequences that overlap with the partial cDNA sequence.",
"A EcoRI tagged forward primer and XbaI tagged reverse primer were used to amplify the full mUCP3 cDNA using mouse skeletal muscle cDNA.",
"A 2.8 kb mUCP3 cDNA was amplified and cloned into pBlue-Script SK.",
"Several smaller fragments (1.5-2 kb) detected in the PCR products in lesser quantities were also cloned and DNA sequencing confirmed that they were alternatively spliced forms of mUCP3 cDNA.",
"The largest mUCP3 cDNA (mUCP3a) is 2,782 bp long, containing 239 bp 5'",
"end untranslated region, a 816 bp ORF and 1.7 kb 3'",
"end UTR.",
"The mRNA transcript is about 2.8 kb and the translation product contains 308 amino acid residues.",
"It is 85% identical to the hUCP3 and 73% and 54% identical to mUCP2 and mUCP1, respectively, indicating a similar functional roles in uncoupling mitochondrial respiration.",
"Two shorter isoforms, mUCP3b and mUCP3c are 1,949 bp and 1,777 bp, with translation products of 432 and 256 amino acid residues respectively (see, FIG. 3).",
"Expression of mUCP3 cDNAs Because of the extensive DNA sequence homology between our mUCP3 genes and mUCP2, we designed a set of primers designed for PCR amplification of a 335 bp mUCP3 specific DNA sequence and cloned into pBlue-Script SK.",
"The cloned fragment was labeled through reverse transcription using a T3/T7 Reverse Transcription Kit from Ambion and used as a probe for Northern blot analysis of mUCP3 expression.",
"The mouse multiple tissue blots were purchased from Clontech and Northern analysis was performed using a Northern Max kit purchased from Ambion.",
"Northern analysis revealed specific enhanced expression in heart and especially skeletal muscle tissues as compared with negligble expression in brain, spleen, lung, liver, kidney and testis tissues.",
"Protocol for high throughput mUCP3a--antibody binding assay.",
"A. Reagents: Neutralite Avidin: 20 μg/ml in PBS.",
"Blocking buffer: 5% BSA, 0.5% Tween 20 in PBS;",
"1 hour at room temperature.",
"Assay Buffer: 100 mM KCl, 20 mM HEPES pH 7.6, 1 mM MgCl 2 , 1% glycerol, 0.5% NP-40, 50 mM b-mercaptoethanol, 1 mg/ml BSA, cocktail of protease inhibitors.",
"33 P mUCP3a polypeptide 10× stock: 10 -8 -10 -6 M "cold"",
"mUCP3 supplemented with 200,000-250,000 cpm of labeled mUCP3a (Beckman counter).",
"Place in the 4° C. microfridge during screening.",
"Protease inhibitor cocktail (1000×): 10 mg Trypsin Inhibitor (BMB #109894), 10 mg Aprotinin (BMB #236624), 25 mg Benzamidine (Sigma #B-6506), 25 mg Leupeptin (BMB #1017128), 10 mg APMSF (BMB #917575), and 2 mM NaVO 3 (Sigma #S-6508) in 10 ml of PBS.",
"mUCP3-specific antibody: 10 -7 -10 -5 M biotinylated antibody in PBS.",
"B. Preparation of assay plates: Coat with 120 μl of stock N-Avidin per well overnight at 4° C. Wash 2 times with 200 μl PBS.",
"Block with 150 μl of blocking buffer.",
"Wash 2 times with 200 μl PBS.",
"C. Assay: Add 40 μl assay buffer/well.",
"Add 10 μl compound or extract.",
"Add 10 μl 33 P-mUCP3a (20-25,000 cpm/0.1-10 pmoles/well=10 -9 -10 -7 M final cone).",
"Shake at 25° C. for 15 minutes.",
"Incubate additional 45 minutes at 25° C. Add 40 μM biotinylated antibody (0.1-10 pmoles/40 μl in assay buffer) Incubate 1 hour at room temperature.",
"Stop the reaction by washing 4 times with 200 μM PBS.",
"Add 150 μM scintillation cocktail.",
"Count in Topcount.",
"D. Controls for all assays (located on each plate): a. Non-specific binding b. Soluble (non-biotinylated antibody) at 80% inhibition.",
"All publications and patent applications cited in this specification are herein incorporated by reference as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.",
"Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the teachings of this invention that certain changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the appended claims.",
"__________________________________________________________________________# SEQUENCE LISTING- (1) GENERAL INFORMATION:- (iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 6- (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:1:- (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:#pairs (A) LENGTH: 2782 base (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: double (D) TOPOLOGY: linear- (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA#ID NO:1: (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ- GTCAGCTGGT GCACAGGGCC AGTGCCGAGC CAGGGACAGC AGAGACAACA GT - #GAATGGTG 60- AGGCCCGGCC GTCAGATCCT GCTGCTACCT AATGGAGTGG AGCCTTAGGG TG - #GCCCTGCA 120- CTACCCAACC TTGGCTAGAC GCACAGCTTC CTCCCTGAAC TGAAGCAAAA GA - #TTGCCAGG 180- CAAGCTCTCT CCTCGGACCT CCATAGGCAG CAAAGGAACC AGGCCCATTC CC - #CGGGACCA 240- TGGTTGGACT TCAGCCCTCC GAAGTGCCTC CCACAACGGT TGTGAAGTTC CT - #GGGGGCCG 300- GCACTGCGGC CTGTTTTGCG GACCTCCTCA CTTTTCCCCT GGACACCGCC AA - #GGTCCGTC 360- TGCAGATCCA AGGGGAGAAC CCAGGGGCTC AGAGCGTGCA GTACCGCGGT GT - #GCTGGGTA 420- CCATCCTGAC TATGGTGCGC ACAGAGGGTC CCCGCAGCCC CTACAGCGGA CT - #GGTCGCTG 480- GCCTGCACCG CCAGATGAGT TTTGCCTCCA TTCGAATTGG CCTCTACGAC TC - #TGTCAAGC 540- AGTTCTACAC CCCCAAGGGA GCGGACCACT CCAGCGTCGC CATCAGGATT CT - #GGCAGGCT 600- GCACGACAGG AGCCATGGCA GTGACCTGCG CCCAGCCCAC GGATGTGGTG AA - #GGTCCGAT 660- TTCAAGCCAT GATACGCCTG GGAACTGGAG GAGAGAGGAA ATACAGAGGG AC - #TATGGATG 720- CCTACAGAAC CATCGCCAGG GAGGAAGGAG TCAGGGGCCT GTGGAAAGGG AC - #TTGGCCCA 780- ACATCACAAG AAATGCCATT GTCAACTGTG CTGAGATGGT GACCTACGAC AT - #CATCAAGG 840- AGAAGTTGCT GGAGTCTCAC CTGTTTACTG ACAACTTCCC CTGTCACTTT GT - #CTCTGCCT 900- TTGGAGCTGG CTTCTGTGCC ACAGTGGTGG CCTCCCCGGT GGATGTGGTA AA - #GACCCGAT 960- ACATGAACGC TCCCCTAGGC AGGTACCGCA GCCCTCTGCA CTGTATGCTG AA - #GATGGCGG1020- CTCAGGAGGG ACCCACGGCC TTCTACAAAG GATTTGTGCC CTCCTTTCTG CG - #TCTGGGAG1080- CTTGGAACGT GATGATGTTT GTAACATATG AGCAACTGAA GAGGGCCTTA AT - #GAAAGTCC1140- AGGTACTGCG GGAATCTCCG TTTTGAACAA GGCAAGCAGG CTGCCTGAAA CA - #GAACAAAG1200- CGTCTCTGCC CTGGGGACAC AGGCCCACAC GGTCCAAAAC CCTGCACTGC TG - #CTGACACG1260- AGAAACTGAA CTAAAAGAGG AGAGTTTTAG TCCTCCGTGT TTCGTCCTAA AA - #CACCTCTG1320- TTTTGCACTG ACCTGATGGG AAATAAATTA TATTAATTTT TAAACCCCTT CC - #GGTTGGAT1380- GCCTAATATT TAGGCAAGAG ACAACAAAGA AAACCAGAGT CAACTCCCTT GA - #AATGTAGG1440- AATAAAGGAT GCATAATAAA CAGGAAAGGC ACAGGTTTTG AGAAGATCAG CC - #CACAGTGT1500- TGTCCTTGAA TCAAACAAAA TGGTCGGAGG AACCCTTCGG CTTCAGCACA AA - #GAGGTGAC1560- TACAGCCTTC TGGTCACCAG ATGACTCCGC CCCTCTGTAA TGAGTCTGCC AA - #GTAGACTC1620- TATCAAGATT CTGGGGAAAG GAGAAAGAAC ACATTGATAC TGCACAAATG AG - #TGGTGCTG1680- GGCCCACCGA GGACACTGGA GGATGGAGCG TGATCTGGGA TAACAGTCCT TC - #TCTGTCTG1740- CCTCATCAGG GTGTTGGGAA GATAGAAAGC GAAGCAGACA TGGAAGCACT TC - #CTAACAAG1800- GCCTGTCATC GTCATCATCT ACAAATGTAA GCCTGAGGAC AATGTTTTAG GA - #GAGATTCT1860- GTCCAGAGAA GTAGTTTGAG GAAAATGCAG TTTGTAGTGG TAAAGCCATG CA - #CACCTGGA1920- CTGCATGGTA AGGACCAGGG GTGACGGAAG CCATGGGGAT CCGGTGCCTG GT - #AACATCAA1980- AGGGCTGTGG GGGGGGGGGG GCACTGCCTG TCCATCAGTT CAAAGCAGCA GG - #ACTCAGAA2040- TCTCCACCTT AGGGCAAGAA CGAGAACAGC TGCTCTTCTG CCTTCTCTCT CG - #GAGGTTTT2100- CTCATCTCAG GGTCCTACCT GCCAGGCTCC TGACCAGCTC CACCTGCCCA CA - #CTTCCTCC2160- TGCTCTCGCT GCCTTTGGCT GCAGAGCCTT TGCTCCTCCT GTTAAGCCTT CA - #GTCTTCCA2220- TCTGCAAAAG GGAGGGCAAA GCACAGGACC AACTTCCAAG CTTAAAAATG CA - #CATCTGAC2280- AACAAAATGG CTCAGTGGGG TCCATTCATG GGACCCACAT GGTGGAAGGA CA - #GAATGGAC2340- TCTTGCAAAT TGTCCTCTGA CCTCCATTTG AGCGCCCTAT ACATGTGACT GT - #ACATATGT2400- ACAAACACGA TAAAGATGGA AACACATGTA AAAACATAAA AATAAAAAGT TG - #TACTGGAT2460- GTGGTGGTTT GAATGAGATG TTCCTCGTGT CTCGGGCATT TGAAGACTTG CT - #CCCCAGTT2520- GTTGGCGGCT GTTTGGGGAG GCTTAGAAGA TGTGGCCTTT TGGGAAGCAG GG - #TGTCATTG2580- AGGACTGGCT TGGAGAGCCT AAAGATCCGA GGCACTCCCA GTTTCTCTGG TT - #TTTCATTT2640- TGAGGTGTGA GGTCTTATTG GCTGCACCAG TCTCCATGCC TGTCTGTTGC CC - #GGCCTCCT2700- CACCATGATG GACTTTTATC TCTCTGTACT TGTAAGCCCC AAATAAACCT TC - #CATCTGTG2760# 2782AAA AA- (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:2:- (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:#acids (A) LENGTH: 308 amino (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear- (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide#ID NO:2: (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ- Met Val Gly Leu Gln Pro Ser Glu Val Pro Pr - #o Thr Thr Val Val Lys# 15- Phe Leu Gly Ala Gly Thr Ala Ala Cys Phe Al - #a Asp Leu Leu Thr Phe# 30- Pro Leu Asp Thr Ala Lys Val Arg Leu Gln Il - #e Gln Gly Glu Asn Pro# 45- Gly Ala Gln Ser Val Gln Tyr Arg Gly Val Le - #u Gly Thr Ile Leu Thr# 60- Met Val Arg Thr Glu Gly Pro Arg Ser Pro Ty - #r Ser Gly Leu Val Ala#80- Gly Leu His Arg Gln Met Ser Phe Ala Ser Il - #e Arg Ile Gly Leu Tyr# 95- Asp Ser Val Lys Gln Phe Tyr Thr Pro Lys Gl - #y Ala Asp His Ser Ser# 110- Val Ala Ile Arg Ile Leu Ala Gly Cys Thr Th - #r Gly Ala Met Ala Val# 125- Thr Cys Ala Gln Pro Thr Asp Val Val Lys Va - #l Arg Phe Gln Ala Met# 140- Ile Arg Leu Gly Thr Gly Gly Glu Arg Lys Ty - #r Arg Gly Thr Met Asp145 1 - #50 1 - #55 1 -#60- Ala Tyr Arg Thr Ile Ala Arg Glu Glu Gly Va - #l Arg Gly Leu Trp Lys# 175- Gly Thr Trp Pro Asn Ile Thr Arg Asn Ala Il - #e Val Asn Cys Ala Glu# 190- Met Val Thr Tyr Asp Ile Ile Lys Glu Lys Le - #u Leu Glu Ser His Leu# 205- Phe Thr Asp Asn Phe Pro Cys His Phe Val Se - #r Ala Phe Gly Ala Gly# 220- Phe Cys Ala Thr Val Val Ala Ser Pro Val As - #p Val Val Lys Thr Arg225 2 - #30 2 - #35 2 -#40- Tyr Met Asn Ala Pro Leu Gly Arg Tyr Arg Se - #r Pro Leu His Cys Met# 255- Leu Lys Met Ala Ala Gln Glu Gly Pro Thr Al - #a Phe Tyr Lys Gly Phe# 270- Val Pro Ser Phe Leu Arg Leu Gly Ala Trp As - #n Val Met Met Phe Val# 285- Thr Tyr Glu Gln Leu Lys Arg Ala Leu Met Ly - #s Val Gln Val Leu Arg# 300- Glu Ser Pro Phe305- (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:3:- (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:#pairs (A) LENGTH: 1949 base (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: double (D) TOPOLOGY: linear- (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA#ID NO:3: (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ- GTCAGCTGGT GCACAGGGCC AGTGCCGAGC CAGGGACAGC AGAGACAACA GT - #GAATGGTG 60- AGGCCCGGCC GTCAGATCCT GCTGCTACCT AATGGAGTGG AGCCTTAGGG TG - #GCCCTGCA 120- CTACCCAACC TTGGCTAGAC GCACAGCTTC CTCCCTGAAC TGAAGCAAAA GA - #TTGCCAGG 180- CAAGCTCTCT CCTCGGACCT CCATAGGCAG CAAAGGAACC AGGCCCATTC CC - #CGGGACCA 240- TGGTTGGACT TCAGCCCTCC GAAGTGCCTC CCACAACGGT TGTGAAGTTC CT - #GGGGGCCG 300- GCACTGCGGC CTGTTTTGCG GACCTCCTCA CTTTTCCCCT GGACACCGCC AA - #GGTCCGTC 360- TGCAGATCCA AGGGGAGAAC CCAGGGGCTC AGAGCGTGCA GTACCGCGGT GT - #GCTGGGTA 420- CCATCCTGAC TATGGTGCGC ACAGAGGGTC CCCGCAGCCC CTACAGCGGA CT - #GGTCGCTG 480- GCCTGCACCG CCAGATGAGT TTTGCCTCCA TTCGAATTGG CCTCTACGAC TC - #TGTCAAGC 540- AGTTCTACAC CCCCAAGGGA GCGGACCACT CCAGCGTCGC CATCAGGATT CT - #GGCAGGCT 600- GCACGACAGG AGCCATGGCA GTGACCTGCG CCCAGCCCAC GGATGTGGTG AA - #GGTCCGAT 660- TTCAAGCCAT GATACGCCTG GGAACTGGAG GAGAGAGGAA ATACAGAGGG AC - #TATGGATG 720- CCTACAGAAC CATCGCCAGG GAGGAAGGAG TCAGGGGCCT GTGGAAAGGG AC - #TTGGCCCA 780- ACATCACAAG AAATGCCATT GTCAACTGTG CTGAGATGGT GACCTACGAC AT - #CATCAAGG 840- AGAAGTTGCT GGAGTCTCAC CTGTTTACTG ACAACTTCCC CTGTCACTTT GT - #CTCTGCCT 900- TTGGAGCTGG CTTCTGTGCC ACAGTGGTGG CCTCCCCGGT GGATGTGGTA AA - #GACCCGAT 960- ACATGAACGC TCCCCTAGGC AGGTACCGCA GCCCTCTGCA CTGTATGCTG AA - #GATGGTGG1020- CTCAGGAGGG ACCCACGGCC TTCTACAAAG GATTTGTGCC CTCCTTTCTG CG - #TCTGGGAG1080- CTTGGAACGT GATGATGTTT GTAACATATG AGCAACTGAA GAGGGCCTTA AT - #GAAAGTCC1140- AGGGTGTTGG GAAGATAGAA AGCGAAGCAG ACATGGAAGC ACTTCCTAAC AA - #GGCCTGTC1200- ATCGTCATCA TCTACAAATG GCAAGAACGA GAACAGCTGC TCTTCTGCCC TC - #TCTCTCGG1260- AGGTTTTCTC ATCTCAGGGT CCTACCTGCC AGGCTCCTGA CCAGCTCCAC CT - #GCCCACAC1320- TTCCTCCTGC TCTCGCTGCC TTTGGCTGCA GAGCCTTTGC TCCTCCTGTT AA - #GCCTTCAG1380- TCTTCCATCT GCAAAAGGGA GGGCAAAGCA CAGGACCAAC TTCCAAGCTT AA - #AAATGCAC1440- ATCTGACAAC AAAATGGCTC AGTGGGGTCC ATTCATGGGA CCCACATGGT GG - #AAGGACAG1500- AATGGACTCT TGCAAATTGT CCTCTGACCT CCATTTGAGC GCCCTATACA TG - #TGACTGTA1560- CATATGTACA AACACGATAA AGATGGAAAC ACATGTAAAA ACATAAAAAT AA - #AAAGTTGT1620- ACTGGATGTG GTGGTTTGAA TGAGATGTTC CTCGTGTCTC GGGCATTTGA AG - #ACTTGCTC1680- CCCAGTTGTT GGCGGCTGTT TGGGGAGGCT TAGAAGATGT GGCCTTTTGG GA - #AGCAGGGT1740- GTCATTGAGG ACTGGCTTGG AGAGCCTAAA GATCCGAGGC ACTCCCAGTT TC - #TCTGGTTT1800- TTCATTTTGA GGTGTGAGGT CTTATTGGCT GCACCAGTCT CCATGCCTGT CT - #GTTGCCCG1860- GCCTCCTCAC CATGATGGAC TTTTATCTCT CTGTACTTGT AAGCCCCAAA TA - #AACCTTCC1920# 1949 AAAA AAAAAAAAA- (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:4:- (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:#acids (A) LENGTH: 432 amino (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear- (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide#ID NO:4: (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ- Met Val Gly Leu Gln Pro Ser Glu Val Pro Pr - #o Thr Thr Val Val Lys# 15- Phe Leu Gly Ala Gly Thr Ala Ala Cys Phe Al - #a Asp Leu Leu Thr Phe# 30- Pro Leu Asp Thr Ala Lys Val Arg Leu Gln Il - #e Gln Gly Glu Asn Pro# 45- Gly Ala Gln Ser Val Gln Tyr Arg Gly Val Le - #u Gly Thr Ile Leu Thr# 60- Met Val Arg Thr Glu Gly Pro Arg Ser Pro Ty - #r Ser Gly Leu Val Ala#80- Gly Leu His Arg Gln Met Ser Phe Ala Ser Il - #e Arg Ile Gly Leu Tyr# 95- Asp Ser Val Lys Gln Phe Tyr Thr Pro Lys Gl - #y Ala Asp His Ser Ser# 110- Val Ala Ile Arg Ile Leu Ala Gly Cys Thr Th - #r Gly Ala Met Ala Val# 125- Thr Cys Ala Gln Pro Thr Asp Val Val Lys Va - #l Arg Phe Gln Ala Met# 140- Ile Arg Leu Gly Thr Gly Gly Glu Arg Lys Ty - #r Arg Gly Thr Met Asp145 1 - #50 1 - #55 1 -#60- Ala Tyr Arg Thr Ile Ala Arg Glu Glu Gly Va - #l Arg Gly Leu Trp Lys# 175- Gly Thr Trp Pro Asn Ile Thr Arg Asn Ala Il - #e Val Asn Cys Ala Glu# 190- Met Val Thr Tyr Asp Ile Ile Lys Glu Lys Le - #u Leu Glu Ser His Leu# 205- Phe Thr Asp Asn Phe Pro Cys His Phe Val Se - #r Ala Phe Gly Ala Gly# 220- Phe Cys Ala Thr Val Val Ala Ser Pro Val As - #p Val Val Lys Thr Arg225 2 - #30 2 - #35 2 -#40- Tyr Met Asn Ala Pro Leu Gly Arg Tyr Arg Se - #r Pro Leu His Cys Met# 255- Leu Lys Met Val Ala Gln Glu Gly Pro Thr Al - #a Phe Tyr Lys Gly Phe# 270- Val Pro Ser Phe Leu Arg Leu Gly Ala Trp As - #n Val Met Met Phe Val# 285- Thr Tyr Glu Gln Leu Lys Arg Ala Leu Met Ly - #s Val Gln Gly Val Gly# 300- Lys Ile Glu Ser Glu Ala Asp Met Glu Ala Le - #u Pro Asn Lys Ala Cys305 3 - #10 3 - #15 3 -#20- His Arg His His Leu Gln Met Ala Arg Thr Ar - #g Thr Ala Ala Leu Leu# 335- Pro Ser Leu Ser Glu Val Phe Ser Ser Gln Gl - #y Pro Thr Cys Gln Ala# 350- Pro Asp Gln Leu His Leu Pro Thr Leu Pro Pr - #o Ala Leu Ala Ala Phe# 365- Gly Cys Arg Ala Phe Ala Pro Pro Val Lys Pr - #o Ser Val Phe His Leu# 380- Gln Lys Gly Gly Gln Ser Thr Gly Pro Thr Se - #r Lys Leu Lys Asn Ala385 3 - #90 3 - #95 4 -#00- His Leu Thr Thr Lys Trp Leu Ser Gly Val Hi - #s Ser Trp Asp Pro His# 415- Gly Gly Arg Thr Glu Trp Thr Leu Ala Asn Cy - #s Pro Leu Thr Ser Ile# 430- (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:5:- (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:#pairs (A) LENGTH: 1777 base (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: double (D) TOPOLOGY: linear- (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA#ID NO:5: (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ- GTCAGCTGGT GCACAGGGCC AGTGCCGAGC CAGGGACAGC AGAGACAACA GT - #GAATGGTG 60- AGGCCCGGCC GTCAGATCCT GCTGCTACCT AATGGAGTGG AGCCTTAGGG TG - #GCCCTGCA 120- CTACCCAACC TTGGCTAGAC GCACAGCTTC CTCCCTGAAC TGAAGCAAAA GA - #TTGCCAGG 180- CAAGCTCTCT CCTCGGACCT CCATAGGCAG CAAAGGAACC AGGCCCATTC CC - #CGGGACCA 240- TGGTTGGACT TCAGCCCTCC GAAGTGCCTC CCACAACGGT TGTGAAGTTC CT - #GGGGGCCG 300- GCACTGCGGC CTGTTTTGCG GACCTCCTCA CTTTTCCCCT GGACACCGCC AA - #GGTCCGTC 360- TGCAGATCCA AGGGGAGAAC CCAGGGGCTC AGAGCGTGCA GTACCGCGGT GT - #GCTGGGTA 420- CCATCCTGAC TATGGTGCGC ACAGAGGGTC CCCGCAGCCC CTACAGCGGA CT - #GGTCGCTG 480- GCCTGCACCG CCAGATGAGT TTTGCCTCCA TTCGAATTGG CCTCTACGAC TC - #TGTCAAGC 540- AGTTCTACAC CCCCAAGGGA GCGGACCACT CCAGCGTCGC CATCAGGATT CT - #GGCAGGCT 600- GCACGACAGG AGCCATGGCA GTGACCTGCG CCCAGCCCAC GGATGTGGTG AA - #GGTCCGAT 660- TTCAAGCCAT GATACGCCTG GGAACTGGAG GAGAGAGGAA ATACAGAGGG AC - #TATGGATG 720- CCTACAGAAC CATCGCCAGG GAGGAAGGAG TCAGGGGCCT GTGGAAAGGG AC - #TTGGCCCA 780- ACATCACAAG AAATGCCATT GTCAACTGTG CTGAGATGGT GACCTACGAC AT - #CATCAAGG 840- AGAAGTTGCT GGAGTCTCAC CTGTTTACTG ACAACTTCCC CTGTCACTTT GT - #CTCTGCCT 900- TTGGAGCTGG CTTCTGTGCC ACAGTGGTGG CCTCCCCGGT GGATGTGGTA AA - #GACCCGAT 960- ACATGAACGC TCCCCTAGGC AGGTACCGCA GCAGGACTCA GAATCTTTAG GG - #AATTGTTA1020- GGACTGGTAA AAGAATTTCC ACCTTAGGGC AAGAACGAGA ACAGCTGCTC TT - #CTGCCTTC1080- TCTCTCGGAG GTTTTCTCAT CTCAGGGTCC TACCTGCCAG GCTCCTGACC AG - #CTCCACCT1140- GCCCACACTT CCTCCTGCTC TCGCTGCCTT TGGCTGCAGA GCCTTTGCTC CT - #CCTGTTAA1200- GCCTTCAGTC TTCCATCTGC AAAAGGGAGG GCAAAGCACA GGACCAACTT CC - #AAGCTTAA1260- AAATGCACAT CTGACAACAA AATGGCTCAG TGGGGTCCAT TCATGGGACC CA - #CATGGTGG1320- AAGGACAGAA TGGACTCTTG CAAATTGTCC TCTGACCTCC ATTTGAGCGC CC - #TATACATG1380- TGACTGTACA TATGTACAAA CACGATAAAG ATGGAAACAC ATGTAAAAAC AT - #AAAAATAA1440- AAAGTTGTAC TGGATGTGGT GGTTTGAATG AGATGTTCCT CGTGTCTCGG GC - #ATTTGAAG1500- ACTTGCTCCC CAGTTGTTGG CGGCTGTTTG GGGAGGCTTA GAAGATGTGG CC - #TTTTGGGA1560- AGCAGGGTGT CATTGAGGAC TGGCTTGGAG AGCCTAAAGA TCCGAGGCAC TC - #CCAGTTTC1620- TCTGGTTTTT CATTTTGAGG TGTGAGGTCT TATTGGCTGC ACCAGTCTCC AT - #GCCTGTCT1680- GTTGCCCGGC CTCCTCACCA TGATGGACTT TTATCTCTCT GTACTTGTAA GC - #CCCAAATA1740# 1777 AAAA AAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAA- (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:6:- (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS:#acids (A) LENGTH: 256 amino (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear- (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide#ID NO:6: (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ- Met Val Gly Leu Gln Pro Ser Glu Val Pro Pr - #o Thr Thr Val Val Lys# 15- Phe Leu Gly Ala Gly Thr Ala Ala Cys Phe Al - #a Asp Leu Leu Thr Phe# 30- Pro Leu Asp Thr Ala Lys Val Arg Leu Gln Il - #e Gln Gly Glu Asn Pro# 45- Gly Ala Gln Ser Val Gln Tyr Arg Gly Val Le - #u Gly Thr Ile Leu Thr# 60- Met Val Arg Thr Glu Gly Pro Arg Ser Pro Ty - #r Ser Gly Leu Val Ala#80- Gly Leu His Arg Gln Met Ser Phe Ala Ser Il - #e Arg Ile Gly Leu Tyr# 95- Asp Ser Val Lys Gln Phe Tyr Thr Pro Lys Gl - #y Ala Asp His Ser Ser# 110- Val Ala Ile Arg Ile Leu Ala Gly Cys Thr Th - #r Gly Ala Met Ala Val# 125- Thr Cys Ala Gln Pro Thr Asp Val Val Lys Va - #l Arg Phe Gln Ala Met# 140- Ile Arg Leu Gly Thr Gly Gly Glu Arg Lys Ty - #r Arg Gly Thr Met Asp145 1 - #50 1 - #55 1 -#60- Ala Tyr Arg Thr Ile Ala Arg Glu Glu Gly Va - #l Arg Gly Leu Trp Lys# 175- Gly Thr Trp Pro Asn Ile Thr Arg Asn Ala Il - #e Val Asn Cys Ala Glu# 190- Met Val Thr Tyr Asp Ile Ile Lys Glu Lys Le - #u Leu Glu Ser His Leu# 205- Phe Thr Asp Asn Phe Pro Cys His Phe Val Se - #r Ala Phe Gly Ala Gly# 220- Phe Cys Ala Thr Val Val Ala Ser Pro Val As - #p Val Val Lys Thr Arg225 2 - #30 2 - #35 2 -#40- Tyr Met Asn Ala Pro Leu Gly Arg Tyr Arg Se - #r Arg Thr Gln Asn Leu# 255__________________________________________________________________________"
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims the benefits of the filing of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/255,930 filed Oct. 29, 2009. The complete disclosures of the aforementioned related patent applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to aryl substituted arylindenopyrimidines and their therapeutic and prophylactic uses. Disorders treated and/or prevented include neurodegenerative and movement disorders ameliorated by antagonizing Adenosine A 2A receptors. The present application is directed to a subset of a genus of compounds, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,468,373 B2.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Adenosine is a purine nucleotide produced by all metabolically active cells within the body. Adenosine exerts its effects via four subtypes of cell surface receptors (A1, A 2A , A2b and A3), which belong to the G protein coupled receptor superfamily. A1 and A3 couple to inhibitory G protein, while A 2A and A2b couple to stimulatory G protein. A 2A receptors are mainly found in the brain, both in neurons and glial cells (highest level in the striatum and nucleus accumbens, moderate to high level in olfactory tubercle, hypothalamus, and hippocampus etc. regions).
[0004] In peripheral tissues, A 2A receptors are found in platelets, neutrophils, vascular smooth muscle and endothelium. The striatum is the main brain region for the regulation of motor activity, particularly through its innervation from dopaminergic neurons originating in the substantial nigra. The striatum is the major target of the dopaminergic neuron degeneration in patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD). Within the striatum, A 2A receptors are co-localized with dopamine D2 receptors, suggesting an important site for the integration of adenosine and dopamine signaling in the brain.
[0005] Adenosine A 2A receptor blockers may provide a new class of antiparkinsonian agents (Impagnatiello, F.; Bastia, E.; Ongini, E.; Monopoli, A. Emerging Therapeutic Targets, 2000, 4, 635).
[0006] Antagonists of the A 2A receptor are potentially useful therapies for the treatment of addiction. Major drugs of abuse (opiates, cocaine, ethanol, and the like) either directly or indirectly modulate dopamine signaling in neurons particularly those found in the nucleus accumbens, which contain high levels of A 2A adenosine receptors. Dependence has been shown to be augmented by the adenosine signaling pathway, and it has been shown that administration of an A 2A receptor antagonist redues the craving for addictive substances (“The Critical Role of Adenosine A 2A Receptors and Gi βγ Subunits in Alcoholism and Addiction: From Cell Biology to Behavior”, by Ivan Diamond and Lina Yao, (The Cell Biology of Addiction, 2006, pp 291-316) and “Adaptations in Adenosine Signaling in Drug Dependence: Therapeutic Implications”, by Stephen P. Hack and Macdonald J. Christie, Critical Review in Neurobiology, Vol. 15, 235-274 (2003)). See also Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research (2007), 31(8), 1302-1307.
[0007] An A 2A receptor antagonist could be used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) since caffeine (a non selective adenosine antagonist) can be useful for treating ADHD, and there are many interactions between dopamine and adenosine neurons. Clinical Genetics (2000), 58(1), 31-40 and references therein.
[0008] A selective A 2A antagonist could be used to treat migraine both acutely and prophylactically. Selective adenosine antagonists have shown activity in both acute and prophylactic animal models for migraine (“Effects of K-056, a novel selective adenosine A 2A antagonist in animal models of migraine,” by Kurokawa M. et. al., Abstract from Neuroscience 2009).
[0009] Antagonists of the A 2A receptor are potentially useful therapies for the treatment of depression. A 2A antagonists are known to induce activity in various models of depression including the forced swim and tail suspension tests. The positive response is mediated by dopaminergic transmission and is caused by a prolongation of escape-directed behavior rather than by a motor stimulant effect. Neurology (2003), 61(suppl 6) S82-S87.
[0010] Antagonists of the A 2A receptor are potentially useful therapies for the treatment of anxiety. A 2A antagonist have been shown to prevent emotional/anxious responses in vivo. Neurobiology of Disease (2007), 28(2) 197-205.
[0011] A 2A antagonists have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,468,373 B2, US 2009/0054429 A1, and references therein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The genus of compounds disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,468,373 B2 have mixed A 2A and A1 receptor antagonism activity. For many disorders for which A 2A receptor antagonism is therapeutically useful, the A1 receptor activity is unwanted and may contribute to side effects or even oppose the beneficial effect of the compound primary A 2A activity. This invention provides a small group of compounds covered by the genus described in the parent case but that have been found to have surprising and unexpected selectivity for the A 2A receptor. The selected group of compounds of the present invention have A 2A /A1 activity ratios of at least 50/1, whereas the average member of the genus has an A 2A /A1 activity ratio of 1/1. Thus, compounds of the present invention are expected to have much greater therapeutic efficacy and/or fewer side effects.
[0013] Selected aryl substituted arylindenopyrimidines of Formula A display unusually high selectivity for A 2A over A1 receptor antagonism.
[0000]
[0000] wherein:
X is C═O;
[0014] R 2 is phenyl;
R 4 is NH 2 ; and
[0015] R 3 is aryl;
said arylindenopyrimidines of Formula A are selected form the group consisting of:
[0000]
[0000] and solvates, hydrates, tautomers, and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof;
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0016] The invention provides arylindenopyrimidines of Formula A JNJ-39928122.
[0000]
[0000] wherein:
X is C═O;
[0017] R 2 is phenyl;
R 4 is NH 2 ; and
[0018] R 3 is aryl;
said arylindenopyrimidines of Formula A are selected form the group consisting of:
[0000]
[0000] and solvates, hydrates, tautomers, and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof;
[0019] This invention further provides a method of treating a subject having a disorder ameliorated by antagonizing Adenosine A 2A receptors, which comprises administering to the subject a therapeutically effective dose of a compound of claim 1 .
[0020] This invention further provides a method of preventing a disorder ameliorated by antagonizing Adenosine A 2A receptors in a subject, comprising of administering to the subject a prophylactically effective dose of a compound of claim 1 either preceding or subsequent to an event anticipated to cause a disorder ameliorated by antagonizing Adenosine A 2A receptors in the subject.
[0021] The instant compounds can be isolated and used as free bases. They can also be isolated and used as pharmaceutically acceptable salts.
[0022] Examples of such salts include hydrobromic, hydroiodic, hydrochloric, perchloric, sulfuric, maleic, fumaric, malic, tartaric, citric, adipic, benzoic, mandelic, methanesulfonic, hydroethanesulfonic, benzenesulfonic, oxalic, palmoic, 2 naphthalenesulfonic, p-toluenesulfonic, cyclohexanesulfamic and saccharic.
[0023] This invention also provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising a compound of claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
[0024] Pharmaceutically acceptable carriers are well known to those skilled in the art and include, but are not limited to, from about 0.01 to about 0.1 M and preferably 0.05 M phosphate buyer or 0.8% saline. Such pharmaceutically acceptable carriers can be aqueous or non-aqueous solutions, suspensions and emulsions. Examples of non-aqueous solvents are propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, vegetable oils such as olive oil, and injectable organic esters such as ethyl oleate. Aqueous carriers include water, ethanol, alcoholic/aqueous solutions, glycerol, emulsions or suspensions, including saline and buffered media. Oral carriers can be elixirs, syrups, capsules, tablets and the like. The typical solid carrier is an inert substance such as lactose, starch, glucose, methyl-cellulose, magnesium stearate, dicalcium phosphate, mannitol and the like. Parenteral carriers include sodium chloride solution, Ringer's dextrose, dextrose and sodium chloride, lactated Ringer's and fixed oils. Intravenous carriers include fluid and nutrient replenishers, electrolyte replenishers such as those based on Ringer's dextrose and the like.
[0025] Preservatives and other additives can also be present, such as, for example, antimicrobials, antioxidants, chelating agents, inert gases and the like. All carriers can be mixed as needed with disintegrants, diluents, granulating agents, lubricants, binders and the like using conventional techniques known in the art.
[0026] This invention further provides a method of treating a subject having a condition ameliorated by antagonizing Adenosine A 2A receptors, which comprises administering to the subject a therapeutically effective dose of a compound of claim 1 .
[0027] In one embodiment, the disorder is a neurodegenerative or movement disorder. Examples of disorders treatable by the instant pharmaceutical composition include, without limitation, Parkinson's Disease, Huntington's Disease, Multiple System Atrophy, Corticobasal Degeneration, Alzheimer's Disease, and Senile Dementia.
[0028] In one preferred embodiment, the disorder is Parkinson's disease.
[0029] As used herein, the term “subject” includes, without limitation, any animal or artificially modified animal having a disorder ameliorated by antagonizing adenosine A 2A receptors. In a preferred embodiment, the subject is a human.
[0030] Administering a compound of claim 1 can be effected or performed using any of the various methods known to those skilled in the art. The compounds of claim 1 can be administered, for example, intravenously, intramuscularly, orally and subcutaneously.
[0031] In the preferred embodiment, compounds of claim 1 are administered orally. Additionally, administration can comprise giving the subject a plurality of dosages over a suitable period of time. Such administration regimens can be determined according to routine methods.
[0032] As used herein, a “therapeutically effective dose” of a pharmaceutical composition is an amount sufficient to stop, reverse or reduce the progression of a disorder. A “prophylactically effective dose” of a pharmaceutical composition is an amount sufficient to prevent a disorder, i.e., eliminate, ameliorate and/or delay the disorder's onset. Methods are known in the art for determining therapeutically and prophylactically effective doses for compounds of claim 1 . The effective dose for administering the pharmaceutical composition to a human, for example, can be determined mathematically from the results of animal studies.
[0033] In one embodiment, the therapeutically and/or prophylactically effective dose is a dose sufficient to deliver from about 0.001 mg/kg of body weight to about 200 mg/kg of body weight of a compound of claim 1 . In another embodiment, the therapeutically and/or prophylactically effective dose is a dose sufficient to deliver from about 0.05 mg/kg of body weight to about 50 mg/kg of body weight. More specifically, in one embodiment, oral doses range from about 0.05 mg/kg to about 100 mg/kg daily. In another embodiment, oral doses range from about 0.05 mg/kg to about 50 mg/kg daily, and in a further embodiment, from about 0.05 mg/kg to about 20 mg/kg daily. In yet another embodiment, infusion doses range from about 1.0 μg/kg/min to about 10 mg/kg/min of inhibitor, admixed with a pharmaceutical carrier over a period ranging from about several minutes to about several days. In a further embodiment, for topical administration, the instant compound can be combined with a pharmaceutical carrier at a drug/carrier ratio of from about 0.001 to about 0.1.
[0034] The invention also provides a method of treating addiction in a mammal, comprising administering a therapeutically effective dose of a compound of claim 1 .
[0035] The invention also provides a method of treating ADHD in a mammal, comprising administering a therapeutically effective dose of a compound of claim 1 .
[0036] The invention also provides a method of treating depression in a mammal, comprising administering a therapeutically effective dose of a compound of claim 1 .
[0037] The invention also provides a method of treating anxiety in a mammal, comprising administering a therapeutically effective dose of a compound of claim 1 .
[0038] The invention also provides a method of treating migraine in a mammal, comprising administering a therapeutically effective dose of a compound of claim 1 .
DEFINITIONS AND NOMENCLATURE
[0039] Unless otherwise noted, under standard nomenclature used throughout this disclosure the terminal portion of the designated side chain is described first, followed by the adjacent functionality toward the point of attachment.
[0040] As used herein, the following chemical terms shall have the meanings as set forth in the following paragraphs: “independently”, when in reference to chemical substituents, shall mean that when more than one substituent exists, the substituents may be the same or different.
[0041] “Alkyl” shall mean straight, cyclic and branched-chain alkyl. Unless otherwise stated, the alkyl group will contain 1-20 carbon atoms. Unless otherwise stated, the alkyl group may be optionally substituted with one or more groups such as halogen, OH, CN, mercapto, nitro, amino, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl, C 1 -C 8 -alkoxyl, C 1 -C 8 -alkylthio, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl-amino, di(C 1 -C 8 -alkyl)amino, (mono-, di-, tri-, and per-) halo-alkyl, formyl, carboxy, alkoxycarbonyl, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl-CO—O—, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl-CO—NH—, carboxamide, hydroxamic acid, sulfonamide, sulfonyl, thiol, aryl, aryl(c 1 -c 8 )alkyl, heterocyclyl, and heteroaryl.
[0042] “Alkoxy” shall mean —O-alkyl and unless otherwise stated, it will have 1-8 carbon atoms.
[0043] “Halogen” shall mean fluorine, chlorine, bromine or iodine; “PH” or “Ph” shall mean phenyl; “Ac” shall mean acyl; “Bn” shall mean benzyl.
[0044] The term “acyl” as used herein, whether used alone or as part of a substituent group, means an organic radical having 2 to 6 carbon atoms (branched or straight chain) derived from an organic acid by removal of the hydroxyl group. The term “Ac” as used herein, whether used alone or as part of a substituent group, means acetyl.
[0045] “Aryl” or “Ar,” whether used alone or as part of a substituent group, is a carbocyclic aromatic radical including, but not limited to, phenyl, 1- or 2-naphthyl and the like. The carbocyclic aromatic radical may be substituted by independent replacement of 1 to 5 of the hydrogen atoms thereon with halogen, OH, CN, mercapto, nitro, amino, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl, C 1 -C 8 -alkoxyl, C 1 -C 8 -alkylthio, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl-amino, di(C 1 -C 8 -alkyl)amino, (mono-, di-, tri-, and per-) halo-alkyl, formyl, carboxy, alkoxycarbonyl, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl-CO—O—, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl-CO—NH—, or carboxamide. Illustrative aryl radicals include, for example, phenyl, naphthyl, biphenyl, fluorophenyl, difluorophenyl, benzyl, benzoyloxyphenyl, carboethoxyphenyl, acetylphenyl, ethoxyphenyl, phenoxyphenyl, hydroxyphenyl, carboxyphenyl, trifluoromethylphenyl, methoxyethylphenyl, acetamidophenyl, tolyl, xylyl, dimethylcarbamylphenyl and the like. “Ph” or “PH” denotes phenyl.
[0046] Whether used alone or as part of a substituent group, “heteroaryl” refers to a cyclic, fully unsaturated radical having from five to ten ring atoms of which one ring atom is selected from S, O, and N; 0-2 ring atoms are additional heteroatoms independently selected from S, O, and N; and the remaining ring atoms are carbon. The radical may be joined to the rest of the molecule via any of the ring atoms. Exemplary heteroaryl groups include, for example, pyridinyl, pyrazinyl, pyrimidinyl, pyridazinyl, pyrroyl, pyrazolyl, imidazolyl, thiazolyl, oxazolyl, isoxazolyl, thiadiazolyl, triazolyl, triazinyl, oxadiazolyl, thienyl, furanyl, quinolinyl, isoquinolinyl, indolyl, isothiazolyl, 2-oxazepinyl, azepinyl, N-oxo-pyridyl, 1-dioxothienyl, benzothiazolyl, benzoxazolyl, benzothienyl, quinolinyl-N-oxide, benzimidazolyl, benzopyranyl, benzisothiazolyl, benzisoxazolyl, benzodiazinyl, benzofurazanyl, benzothiopyranyl, indazolyl, indolizinyl, benzofuryl, chromonyl, coumarinyl, cinnolinyl, quinoxalinyl, indazolyl, pyrrolopyridinyl, furopyridinyl (such as furo[2,3-c]pyridinyl, furo[3,2-b]pyridinyl, or furo[2,3-b]pyridinyl), imidazopyridinyl (such as imidazo[4,5-b]pyridinyl or imidazo[4,5-c]pyridinyl), naphthyridinyl, phthalazinyl, purinyl, pyridopyridyl, quinazolinyl, thienofuryl, thienopyridyl, thienothienyl, and furyl. The heteroaryl group may be substituted by independent replacement of 1 to 5 of the hydrogen atoms thereon with halogen, OH, CN, mercapto, nitro, amino, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl, C 1 -C 8 -alkoxyl, C 1 -C 8 -alkylthio, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl-amino, di(C 1 -C 8 -alkyl)amino, (mono-, di-, tri-, and per-) halo-alkyl, formyl, carboxy, alkoxycarbonyl, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl-CO—O—, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl-CO—NH—, or carboxamide. Heteroaryl may be substituted with a mono-oxo to give for example a 4-oxo-1H-quinoline.
[0047] The terms “heterocycle,” “heterocyclic,” and “heterocyclo” refer to an optionally substituted, fully or partially saturated cyclic group which is, for example, a 4- to 7-membered monocyclic, 7- to 1′-membered bicyclic, or 10- to 15-membered tricyclic ring system, which has at least one heteroatom in at least one carbon atom containing ring. Each ring of the heterocyclic group containing a heteroatom may have 1, 2, or 3 heteroatoms selected from nitrogen atoms, oxygen atoms, and sulfur atoms, where the nitrogen and sulfur heteroatoms may also optionally be oxidized. The nitrogen atoms may optionally be quaternized. The heterocyclic group may be attached at any heteroatom or carbon atom.
[0048] Exemplary monocyclic heterocyclic groups include pyrrolidinyl; oxetanyl; pyrazolinyl; imidazolinyl; imidazolidinyl; oxazolyl; oxazolidinyl; isoxazolinyl; thiazolidinyl; isothiazolidinyl; tetrahydrofuryl; piperidinyl; piperazinyl; 2-oxopiperazinyl; 2-oxopiperidinyl; 2-oxopyrrolidinyl; 4-piperidonyl; tetrahydropyranyl; tetrahydrothiopyranyl; tetrahydrothiopyranyl sulfone; morpholinyl; thiomorpholinyl; thiomorpholinyl sulfoxide; thiomorpholinyl sulfone; 1,3-dioxolane; dioxanyl; thietanyl; thiiranyl; and the like. Exemplary bicyclic heterocyclic groups include quinuclidinyl; tetrahydroisoquinolinyl; dihydroisoindolyl; dihydroquinazolinyl (such as 3,4-dihydro-4-oxo-quinazolinyl); dihydrobenzofuryl; dihydrobenzothienyl; dihydrobenzothiopyranyl; dihydrobenzothiopyranyl sulfone; dihydrobenzopyranyl; indolinyl; isochromanyl; isoindolinyl; piperonyl; tetrahydroquinolinyl; and the like.
[0049] Substituted aryl, substituted heteroaryl, and substituted heterocycle may also be substituted with a second substituted-aryl, a second substituted-heteroaryl, or a second substituted-heterocycle to give, for example, a 4-pyrazol-1-yl-phenyl or 4-pyridin-2-yl-phenyl.
[0050] Designated numbers of carbon atoms (e.g., C 1-8 ) shall refer independently to the number of carbon atoms in an alkyl or cycloalkyl moiety or to the alkyl portion of a larger substituent in which alkyl appears as its prefix root.
EXAMPLES
[0051] Compounds of Formula A can be prepared by methods known to those who are skilled in the art. The following reaction scheme is only meant to represent an example of the invention and is in no way meant to limit the invention.
[0000]
[0052] Scheme 1 illustrates the synthetic route leading to compound A. Starting with 7-methoxy indanone I and following the path indicated by the arrows, condensation under basic conditions with arylaldehydes affords the benzylidene II. The benzylidene II is then reacted with guanidine (free base) that gives the intermediate amino pyrimidine III and is directly oxidized to the corresponding ketone IV by bubbling air through the basic N-methylpyrrolidinone (NMP) solution. Demethylation can be accomplished by heating IV in NMP in the presence of LiCl to give the corresponding phenol V. The phenol V can be converted to corresponding triflate VI by treatment with N-phenyltriflimide under basic conditions in dimethylformamide (DMF). Finally, the triflate VI is reacted with boronic esters of formula R 2 B(OR) 2 to afford compounds of formula A.
[0000]
[0053] Scheme 2 illustrates the synthetic route leading to compounds of formula A, where R 3 is an alkylpiperazinyl substituted phenyl. Starting from piperazine I, prepared according to scheme 1, is alkylated with alkyl halides in N-methylpyrrolidinone (NMP) to afford compounds of formula A.
Example 1
2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-{4-[4-(3,3,3-trifluoro-propyl)-piperazin-1-yl]-phenyl}-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one
Example 1
Step a
2-(4-Fluoro-benzylidene)-7-methoxy-indan-1-one
[0054]
[0055] An aqueous solution (2 mL) of NaOH (615 mg, 15.4 mmol) was added dropwise to an ethanol (EtOH) solution (13 mL) of 7-methoxy-indan-1-one (2.0 g, 12.3 mmol) and 4-fluoro-benzaldehyde (1.4 mL, 12.9 mmol). A precipitate formed immediately. The resulting slurry was stirred vigorously for 0.5 h. The slurry was cooled in an ice bath, filtered, and washed with cold EtOH. The collected solid was dried in vacuo to give the title compound that was used without further purification.
Example 1
Step b
4-(4-Fluoro-phenyl)-9-methoxy-5H-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-2-ylamine
[0056]
[0057] Powdered NaOH (2.5 g, 62.5 mmol) was added to an EtOH solution (50 mL) of guanidine hydrochloride (5.9 g, 61.6 mmol). After 30 min the sodium chloride was filtered off and the filtrate was added to an EtOH suspension (20 mL) of 2-(4-fluoro-benzylidene)-7-methoxy-indan-1-one (3.3 g, 12.3 mmol). The resulting mixture was heated to reflux overnight. The homogeneous solution was cooled in ice for 30 minutes and filtered to give the title compound which was used without further purification.
Example 1
Step c
2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-methoxy-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one
[0058]
[0059] Powdered NaOH (96 mg, 2.4 mmol) was added to a NMP solution (10 mL) of 4-(4-Fluoro-phenyl)-9-methoxy-5H-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-2-ylamine (740 mg, 2.4 mmol). The resulting mixture was heated to 80° C. and air was bubbled through the solution. After 16 hours the mixture was cooled to room temperature, water was added and the resulting precipitate was filtered and washed with water and cold EtOH. The solid was dried in vacuo to give the title compound that was used without further purification.
Example 1
Step d
2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-hydroxy-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one
[0060]
[0061] Solid LiCl (384 mg, 9.1 mmol) was added to an NMP solution (2.5 mL) of 2-amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-methoxy-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one (485 mg, 1.5 mmol) and water (0.05 mL) and the mixture was heated to 180° C. in the microwave. After 2 hours the mixture was diluted with THF and EtOAc, washed with water and brine, dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), and dry packed onto silica gel. Chromatography gave the title compound.
Example 1
Step e
Trifluoro-methanesulfonic acid 2-amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-5-oxo-5H-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-9-yl ester
[0062]
[0063] Solid t-BuOK (potassium tert-butoxide, 877 mg, 7.8 mmol) was added to a DMF solution (30 mL) of 2-amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-hydroxy-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one (2.0 g, 6.5 mmol). After 20 min, solid PhN(Tf) 2 (phenyl bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonamide, 2.5 g, 6.8 mmol) was added. After 3 hours water was added and the resulting precipitate was filtered off and washed with water. The solid was dissolved in THF and dry packed onto silica gel. Column chromatography gave the title compound.
Example 1
Step f
2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-(4-piperazin-1-yl-phenyl)-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one
[0064]
[0065] Solid Pd(dppf)Cl 2 (dichloro[1,1′-ferrocenylbis(diphenyl-phosphine)]palladium(II), 47 mg, 0.06 mmol) was added to a dioxane/water solution (4 mL/1 mL) of 1-[4-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-[1,3,2]dioxaborolan-2-yl)-phenyl]-piperazine (213 mg, 0.75 mmol), trifluoro-methanesulfonic acid 2-amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-5-oxo-5H-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-9-yl ester (250 mg, 0.57 mmol), and K 2 CO 3 (158 mg, 1.14 mmol) and the mixture was heated to 85° C. After 5 hours the mixture was cooled, diluted with water and the resulting precipitate was filtered. The collected solid was dissolved in THF and MeOH then dry packed onto silica gel. Column chromatography gave the title compound.
Example 1
Step g
2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-{4-[4-(3,3,3-trifluoro-propyl)-piperazin-1-yl]-phenyl}-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one
[0066]
[0067] Neat 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-iodo-propane was added to an NMP solution (10 mL) of 2-amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-(4-piperazin-1-yl-phenyl)-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one (1.4 g, 2.7 mmol) and i-Pr 2 NEt (2.3 mL, 13.3 mmol) and the mixture was heated to 70° C. After 16 hours the mixture was cooled, diluted with water and the resulting precipitate was filtered. The collected solid was dissolved in THF and dry packed onto silica gel. Column chromatography gave the title compound. 1 H NMR (CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.04-8.13 (m, 2H), 7.70 (dd, J=6.8, 1.5 Hz, 1 H), 7.45-7.59 (m, 4H), 7.12-7.22 (m, 2H), 7.00 (d, J=8.7 Hz, 2H), 5.47 (br. s., 2 H), 3.27-3.37 (m, 4H), 2.62-2.75 (m, 6H), 2.28-2.48 ppm (m, 2H); MS m/e 548 (M+H).
Example 2
2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-[4-(4-isobutyl-piperazin-1-yl)-phenyl]-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one
[0068]
[0069] The title compound was prepared using 1-iodo-2-methyl-propane in place of 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-iodo-propane as described in Example 1. 1 H NMR(CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.01-8.16 (m, 2H), 7.69 (dd, J=6.6, 1.7 Hz, 1H), 7.46-7.60 (m, 4 H), 7.10-7.23 (m, 2H), 7.00 (d, J=9.0 Hz, 2H), 5.48 (br. s., 2H), 3.22-3.41 (m, 4 H), 2.52-2.68 (m, 4H), 2.16 (d, J=7.5 Hz, 2H), 1.84 (dt, J=13.6, 6.8 Hz, 1H), 0.94 ppm (d, J=6.4 Hz, 6H); MS m/e 508 (M+H).
Example 3
2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-(3-fluoro-phenyl)-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one
[0070]
[0071] A solution of trifluoro-methanesulfonic acid 2-amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-5-oxo-5H-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-9-yl ester (prepared as described in Example 1) (150 mg, 0.34 mmol), 3-fluoro-phenylboronic acid (70 mg, 0.51 mmol), (PPh 3 ) 4 Pd (tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(0), 20 mg, 0.02 mmol), and K 2 CO 3 (99 mg, 0.72 mmol) in dioxane (1 mL) and toluene (1 mL) was heated to 180° C. by microwave irradiation. After 30 min the mixture was cooled to room temperature, and purified via column chromatography to give the title compound. 1 H NMR (DMSO-d 6 , 400 MHz): δ=8.00-8.07 (m, 2H), 7.64-7.73 (m, 2H), 7.58 (dd, J=5.4, 3.4 Hz, 1H), 7.40-7.53 (m, 3H), 7.29-7.37 (m, 2H), 7.26 ppm (d, J=1.2 Hz, 1H); MS m/e 386 (M+H).
Example 4
2-Amino-9-[4-(4-benzyl-piperazin-1-yl)-phenyl]-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one
[0072]
[0073] The title compound was prepared using bromomethyl-benzene in place of 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-iodo-propane as described in Example 1. 1 H NMR(CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.04-8.13 (m, 2H), 7.69 (dd, J=6.6, 1.7 Hz, 1H), 7.46-7.58 (m, 4 H), 7.33-7.41 (m, 4H), 7.17 (t, J=8.9 Hz, 3H), 6.99 (d, J=8.7 Hz, 2H), 5.42 (br. s., 2H), 3.61 (s, 2H), 3.33 (t, J=4.9 Hz, 4H), 2.58-2.72 ppm (m, 4H); MS m/e 542 (M+H).
Example 5
2-Amino-9-{4-[4-(1-ethyl-propyl)-piperazin-1-yl]-phenyl}-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one
[0074]
[0075] The title compound was prepared using 3-bromo-pentane in place of 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-iodo-propane as described in Example 1. 1 H NMR(CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.05-8.14 (m, 2H), 7.69 (dd, J=6.4, 1.9 Hz, 1H), 7.47-7.57 (m, 4H), 7.12-7.22 (m, 2H), 7.00 (d, J=9.0 Hz, 2H), 5.45 (br. s., 2H), 3.22-3.35 (m, 4H), 2.72 (br. s., 4H), 2.24 (s, 1H), 1.38 (d, J=7.5 Hz, 2H), 1.20-1.30 (m, 2H), 0.94 ppm (t, J=7.3 Hz, 6H); MS m/e 522 (M+H).
Example 6
2-Amino-9-[4-(4-sec-butyl-piperazin-1-yl)-phenyl]-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one
[0076]
[0077] The title compound was prepared using 2-bromo-butane in place of 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-iodo-propane as described in Example 1. 1 H NMR(CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.01-8.14 (m, 2H), 7.69 (dd, J=6.4, 1.9 Hz, 1H), 7.45-7.60 (m, 4H), 7.11-7.22 (m, 2H), 7.00 (d, J=9.0 Hz, 2H), 5.47 (br. s., 2H), 3.30 (t, J=4.9 Hz, 4H), 2.62-2.82 (m, 4H), 2.52 (br. s., 1H), 1.61-1.71 (m, 1H), 1.28-1.43 (m, 1H), 1.04 (d, J=6.8 Hz, 3H), 0.94 ppm (t, J=7.5 Hz, 3H); MS m/e 508 (M+H).
Example 7
2-Amino-9-[4-(4-cyclopropylmethyl-piperazin-1-yl)-phenyl]-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one
[0078]
[0079] The title compound was prepared using bromomethyl-cyclopropane in place of 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-iodo-propane as described in Example 1. 1 H NMR(CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.02-8.14 (m, 2H), 7.70 (dd, J=6.8, 1.9 Hz, 1H), 7.47-7.59 (m, 4H), 7.12-7.22 (m, 2H), 7.01 (d, J=8.7 Hz, 2H), 5.44 (br. s., 2H), 3.31-3.43 (m, 4H), 2.68-2.86 (m, 4H), 2.38 (br. s., 2H), 0.88-1.02 (m, 1H), 0.51-0.65 (m, 2H), 0.13-0.21 ppm (m, 2H); MS m/e 506 (M+H).
Example 8
2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-{4-[4-(2-methoxy-ethyl)-piperazin-1-yl]-phenyl}-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one
[0080]
[0081] The title compound was prepared using 1-bromo-2-methoxy-ethane in place of 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-iodo-propane as described in Example 1. 1 H NMR(CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.04-8.15 (m, 2H), 7.70 (dd, J=6.8, 1.9 Hz, 1H), 7.47-7.59 (m, 4H), 7.13-7.22 (m, 2H), 7.00 (d, J=9.0 Hz, 2H), 5.47 (br. s., 2H), 3.61 (t, J=5.5 Hz, 2H), 3.39 (s, 3H), 3.32-3.38 (m, 4H), 2.65-2.86 ppm (m, 6H); MS m/e 510 (M+H).
Example 9
2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-[4-(4-isopropyl-piperazin-1-yl)-phenyl]-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one
[0082]
[0083] The title compound was prepared using 2-iodo-propane in place of 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-iodo-propane as described in Example 1. 1 H NMR(CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.03-8.14 (m, 2H), 7.69 (dd, J=6.4, 1.9 Hz, 1H), 7.47-7.59 (m, 4H), 7.11-7.22 (m, 2H), 7.01 (d, J=8.7 Hz, 2H), 5.43 (br. s., 2H), 3.28-3.39 (m, 4H), 2.74 (br. s., 4H), 1.52-1.65 (m, 1H), 1.13 ppm (d, J=6.4 Hz, 6H); MS m/e 494 (M+H).
Example 10
4-[2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-5-oxo-5H-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-9-yl]-benzonitrile
[0084]
[0085] The title compound was prepared using 4-cyano-phenylboronic acid in place of 3-fluoro-phenylboronic acid as described in Example 3. 1 H NMR (DMSO-d 6 , 400 MHz): δ=8.06-8.14 (m, 2H), 7.96 (d, J=8.3 Hz, 2H), 7.88 (d, J=8.3 Hz, 2H), 7.76-7.82 (m, 2H), 7.64-7.71 (m, 1H), 7.40 ppm (t, J=8.9 Hz, 2H); MS m/e 393 (M+H).
Example 11
2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-{4-[4-(3-methyl-butyl)-piperazin-1-yl]-phenyl}-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one
[0086]
[0087] The title compound was prepared using 1-iodo-3-methyl-butane in place of 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-iodo-propane as described in Example 1. 1 H NMR(CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.01-8.14 (m, 2H), 7.69 (dd, J=6.6, 1.7 Hz, 1H), 7.44-7.59 (m, 4H), 7.12-7.22 (m, 2H), 7.01 (d, J=9.0 Hz, 2H), 5.46 (br. s., 2H), 3.29-3.36 (m, 4H), 2.61-2.70 (m, 4H), 2.40-2.48 (m, 2H), 1.41-1.51 (m, 2H), 1.21-1.30 (m, 1 H), 0.94 ppm (d, J=6.8 Hz, 6H); MS m/e 522 (M+H).
Example 12
2-Amino-9-[4-(4-ethyl-piperazin-1-yl)-phenyl]-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one
[0088]
[0089] The title compound was prepared using iodo-ethane in place of 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-iodo-propane as described in Example 1. 1 H NMR(CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.03-8.14 (m, 2H), 7.69 (dd, J=6.6, 1.7 Hz, 1H), 7.52 (dt, J=8.9, 6.1 Hz, 4H), 7.12-7.21 (m, 2H), 7.01 (d, J=8.7 Hz, 2H), 5.45 (br. s., 2H), 3.27-3.40 (m, 4H), 2.61-2.73 (m, 4H), 2.44-2.58 (m, 2H), 1.16 ppm (t, J=7.3 Hz, 3H); MS m/e 480 (M+H).
Example 13
2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-[4-(2-morpholin-4-yl-ethoxy)-phenyl]-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one
[0090]
[0091] The title compound was prepared using 4-(2-morpholinoethoxy)phenylboronic acid in place of 1-[4-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-[1,3,2]dioxaborolan-2-yl)-phenyl]-piperazine as described in Example 1. 1 H NMR(CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.00-8.18 (m, 2H), 7.72 (d, J=7.2 Hz, 1H), 7.42-7.61 (m, 4H), 7.10-7.23 (m, 2H), 6.93-7.06 (m, 2H), 5.43 (br. s., 2H), 4.21 (t, J=5.7 Hz, 2H), 3.73-3.82 (m, 4H), 2.87 (t, J=5.7 Hz, 2H), 2.57-2.68 ppm (m, 4H); MS m/e 497 (M+H).
Example 14
2-Amino-4,9-diphenyl-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one
[0092]
[0093] The title compound was prepared using phenylboronic acid in place of 3-fluoro-phenylboronic acid as described in Example 3. 1 H NMR (DMSO-d 6 , 400 MHz): δ=7.88-7.96 (m, 2H), 7.41-7.73 ppm (m, 12H); MS m/e 350 (M+H).
Example 15
2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-[4-(4-propyl-piperazin-1-yl)-phenyl]-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one
[0094]
[0095] The title compound was prepared using 1-iodo-propane in place of 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-iodo-propane as described in Example 1. 1 H NMR(CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.04-8.13 (m, 2H), 7.69 (dd, J=6.8, 1.9 Hz, 1H), 7.47-7.58 (m, 4H), 7.12-7.22 (m, 2H), 6.96-7.04 (m, 2H), 5.44 (br. s., 2H), 3.28-3.38 (m, 4H), 2.60-2.70 (m, 4H), 2.34-2.44 (m, 2H), 1.51-1.64 (m, 2H), 0.95 ppm (t, J=7.3 Hz, 3H); MS m/e 494 (M+H).
Example 16
2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-m-tolyl-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one
[0096]
[0097] The title compound was prepared using 3-methyl-phenylboronic acid in place of 3-fluoro-phenylboronic acid as described in Example 3. 1 H NMR (DMSO-d 6 , 400 MHz): δ=7.99-8.08 (m, 2H), 7.63-7.71 (m, 2H), 7.52-7.60 (m, 1H), 7.38-7.46 (m, 2 H), 7.29-7.38 (m, 3H), 7.24 (d, J=7.6 Hz, 1H), 2.40 ppm (s, 3H); MS m/e 382 (M+H).
Example 17
2-Amino-9-(4-methoxy-phenyl)-4-phenyl-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one
[0098]
[0099] The title compound was prepared using 4-methoxy-phenylboronic acid in place of 3-fluoro-phenylboronic acid as described in Example 3. 1 H NMR (DMSO-d 6 , 400 MHz): δ=7.93 (dd, J=8.3, 1.5 Hz, 2H), 7.46-7.69 (m, 9H), 6.99-7.05 (m, 2H), 3.84 ppm (s, 3H); MS m/e 380 (M+H).
Biological Assays and Activity
Lip and Binding Assay for Adenosine A 2A Receptor
[0100] Ligand binding assay of adenosine A 2A receptor was performed using plasma membrane of HEK293 cells containing human A 2A adenosine receptor (PerkinElmer, RB-HA 2A ) and radioligand [ 3 H]CGS21680 (PerkinElmer, NET1021). Assay was set up in 96-well polypropylene plate in total volume of 200 μl by sequentially adding 20 μL 1:20 diluted membrane, 130 μL assay buffer (50 mM Tris.HCl, pH7.4 10 mM MgCl 2 , 1 mM EDTA) containing [ 3 H] CGS21680, 50 μL diluted compound (4×) or vehicle control in assay buffer. Nonspecific binding was determined by 80 mM NECA. Reaction was carried out at room temperature for 2 hours before filtering through 96-well GF/C filter plate pre-soaked in 50 mM Tris.HCl, pH7.4 containing 0.3% polyethylenimine. Plates were then washed 5 times with cold 50 mM Tris.HCl, pH7.4, dried and sealed at the bottom. Microscintillation fluid 30 μL was added to each well and the top sealed. Plates were counted on Packard Topcount for [ 3 H]. Data was analyzed in Microsoft Excel and GraphPad Prism programs. (Varani, K.; Gessi, S.; Dalpiaz, A.; Borea, P. A. British Journal of Pharmacology, 1996, 117, 1693)
Adenosine A 2A Receptor Functional Assay (A 2A GAL2)
[0101] To initiate the functional assay, cryopreserved CHO-K1 cells overexpressing the human adenosine A 2A receptor and containing a cAMP inducible beta-galactosidase reporter gene were thawed, centrifuged, DMSO containing media removed, and then seeded with fresh culture media into clear 384-well tissue culture treated plates (BD #353961) at a concentration of 10K cells/well. Prior to assay, these plates were cultured for two days at 37° C., 5% CO 2 , 90% Rh. On the day of the functional assay, culture media was removed and replaced with 45 μL assay medium (Hams/F-12 Modified (Mediatech # 10-080CV) supplemented w/0.1% BSA). Test compounds were diluted and 11 point curves created at a 1000× concentration in 100% DMSO. Immediately after addition of assay media to the cell plates, 50 nL of the appropriate test compound antagonist or agonist control curves were added to cell plates using a Cartesian Hummingbird. Compound curves were allowed to incubate at room temperature on cell plates for approximately 15 minutes before addition of a 15 nM NECA (Sigma E2387) agonist challenge (5 μL volume). A control curve of NECA, a DMSO/Media control, and a single dose of Forskolin (Sigma F3917) were also included on each plate. After additions, cell plates were allowed to incubate at 37° C., 5% CO 2 , 90% Rh for 5.5-6 hours. After incubation, media were removed, and cell plates were washed 1×50 μL with DPBS w/o Ca & Mg (Mediatech 21-031-CV). Into dry wells, 20 μL of 1× Reporter Lysis Buffer (Promega E3971 (diluted in dH 2 O from 5× stock)) was added to each well and plates frozen at −20° C. overnight. For β-galactosidase enzyme colorimetric assay, plates were thawed out at room temperature and 20 μL 2× assay buffer (Promega) was added to each well. Color was allowed to develop at 37° C., 5% CO 2 , 90% Rh for 1-1.5 hours or until reasonable signal appeared. The colorimetric reaction was stopped with the addition of 60 μL/well 1M sodium carbonate. Plates were counted at 405 nm on a SpectraMax Microplate Reader (Molecular Devices). Data was analyzed in Microsoft Excel and IC/EC50 curves were fit using a standardized macro.
Adenosine A1 Receptor Functional Assay (A1GAL2)
[0102] To initiate the functional assay, cryopreserved CHO-K1 cells overexpressing the human adenosine A1 receptor and containing a cAMP inducible beta-galactosidase reporter gene were thawed, centrifuged, DMSO containing media removed, and then seeded with fresh culture media into clear 384-well tissue culture treated plates (BD #353961) at a concentration of 10K cells/well. Prior to assay, these plates were cultured for two days at 37° C., 5% CO 2 , 90% Rh. On the day of the functional assay, culture media was removed and replaced with 45 μL assay medium (Hams/F-12 Modified (Mediatech # 10-080CV) supplemented w/0.1% BSA). Test compounds were diluted and 11 point curves created at a 1000× concentration in 100% DMSO. Immediately after addition of assay media to the cell plates, 50 nL of the appropriate test compound antagonist or agonist control curves were added to cell plates using a Cartesian Hummingbird. Compound curves were allowed to incubate at room temperature on cell plates for approximately 15 minutes before addition of a 4 nM r-PIA (Sigma P4532)/1 uM Forskolin (Sigma F3917) agonist challenge (5 μL volume). A control curve of r-PIA in 1 uM Forskolin, a DMSO/Media control, and a single dose of Forskolin were also included on each plate. After additions, cell plates were allowed to incubate at 37° C., 5% CO 2 , 90% Rh for 5.5-6 hours. After incubation, media was removed, and cell plates were washed 1×50 μL with DPBS w/o Ca & Mg (Mediatech 21-031-CV). Into dry wells, 20 μL of 1× Reporter Lysis Buffer (Promega E3971 (diluted in dH 2 O from 5× stock)) was added to each well and plates frozen at −20° C. overnight. For β-galactosidase enzyme colorimetric assay, plates were thawed out at room temperature and 20 μL 2× assay buffer (Promega) was added to each well. Color was allowed to develop at 37° C., 5% CO 2 , 90% Rh for 1-1.5 hours or until reasonable signal appeared. The colorimetric reaction was stopped with the addition of 60 μL/well 1M sodium carbonate. Plates were counted at 405 nm on a SpectraMax Microplate Reader (Molecular Devices). Data was analyzed in Microsoft Excel and IC/EC50 curves were fit using a standardized macro.
A 2A Assay Data
[0103] Compounds of Formula A displayed surprising and unexpected selectivity for A 2A over A1 receptor antagonism.
[0000]
Example
A 2A Gal2 (μM)
A1Gal2 (μM)
A1/A 2A
1
0.0018
5.5
3055.56
2
0.0071
4.2
591.549
3
0.026
8.9
342.308
4
0.01
3.1
310
5
0.023
4.2
182.609
6
0.0098
1.4
142.857
7
0.0083
1.1
131.69
8
0.0018
0.23
127.778
9
0.016
1.8
112.5
10
0.0026
0.27
103.846
11
0.011
1.1
100
12
0.01
0.76
76
13
0.0039
0.27
69.2308
14
0.0086
0.57
66.2791
15
0.0087
0.52
59.7701
16
0.031
1.8
58.0645
17
0.0063
0.33
52.381
[0104] While the foregoing specification teaches the principles of the present invention, with examples provided for the purpose of illustration, it will be understood that the practice of the invention encompasses all of the usual variations, adaptations and/or modifications as come within the scope of the following Claims and their equivalents.
[0105] All publications disclosed in the above specification are hereby incorporated by reference in full. | This invention relates to a novel arylindenopyrimidine, A, and its therapeutic and prophylactic uses. Disorders treated and/or prevented include Parkinson's Disease
wherein X, R 2 , R 3 , and R 4 are as defined in the specification. | Identify the most important claim in the given context and summarize it | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application claims the benefits of the filing of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/255,930 filed Oct. 29, 2009.",
"The complete disclosures of the aforementioned related patent applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.",
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates to aryl substituted arylindenopyrimidines and their therapeutic and prophylactic uses.",
"Disorders treated and/or prevented include neurodegenerative and movement disorders ameliorated by antagonizing Adenosine A 2A receptors.",
"The present application is directed to a subset of a genus of compounds, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,468,373 B2.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Adenosine is a purine nucleotide produced by all metabolically active cells within the body.",
"Adenosine exerts its effects via four subtypes of cell surface receptors (A1, A 2A , A2b and A3), which belong to the G protein coupled receptor superfamily.",
"A1 and A3 couple to inhibitory G protein, while A 2A and A2b couple to stimulatory G protein.",
"A 2A receptors are mainly found in the brain, both in neurons and glial cells (highest level in the striatum and nucleus accumbens, moderate to high level in olfactory tubercle, hypothalamus, and hippocampus etc.",
"regions).",
"[0004] In peripheral tissues, A 2A receptors are found in platelets, neutrophils, vascular smooth muscle and endothelium.",
"The striatum is the main brain region for the regulation of motor activity, particularly through its innervation from dopaminergic neurons originating in the substantial nigra.",
"The striatum is the major target of the dopaminergic neuron degeneration in patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD).",
"Within the striatum, A 2A receptors are co-localized with dopamine D2 receptors, suggesting an important site for the integration of adenosine and dopamine signaling in the brain.",
"[0005] Adenosine A 2A receptor blockers may provide a new class of antiparkinsonian agents (Impagnatiello, F.;",
"Bastia, E.;",
"Ongini, E.;",
"Monopoli, A. Emerging Therapeutic Targets, 2000, 4, 635).",
"[0006] Antagonists of the A 2A receptor are potentially useful therapies for the treatment of addiction.",
"Major drugs of abuse (opiates, cocaine, ethanol, and the like) either directly or indirectly modulate dopamine signaling in neurons particularly those found in the nucleus accumbens, which contain high levels of A 2A adenosine receptors.",
"Dependence has been shown to be augmented by the adenosine signaling pathway, and it has been shown that administration of an A 2A receptor antagonist redues the craving for addictive substances (“The Critical Role of Adenosine A 2A Receptors and Gi βγ Subunits in Alcoholism and Addiction: From Cell Biology to Behavior”, by Ivan Diamond and Lina Yao, (The Cell Biology of Addiction, 2006, pp 291-316) and “Adaptations in Adenosine Signaling in Drug Dependence: Therapeutic Implications”, by Stephen P. Hack and Macdonald J. Christie, Critical Review in Neurobiology, Vol. 15, 235-274 (2003)).",
"See also Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research (2007), 31(8), 1302-1307.",
"[0007] An A 2A receptor antagonist could be used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) since caffeine (a non selective adenosine antagonist) can be useful for treating ADHD, and there are many interactions between dopamine and adenosine neurons.",
"Clinical Genetics (2000), 58(1), 31-40 and references therein.",
"[0008] A selective A 2A antagonist could be used to treat migraine both acutely and prophylactically.",
"Selective adenosine antagonists have shown activity in both acute and prophylactic animal models for migraine (“Effects of K-056, a novel selective adenosine A 2A antagonist in animal models of migraine,” by Kurokawa M. et.",
"al.",
", Abstract from Neuroscience 2009).",
"[0009] Antagonists of the A 2A receptor are potentially useful therapies for the treatment of depression.",
"A 2A antagonists are known to induce activity in various models of depression including the forced swim and tail suspension tests.",
"The positive response is mediated by dopaminergic transmission and is caused by a prolongation of escape-directed behavior rather than by a motor stimulant effect.",
"Neurology (2003), 61(suppl 6) S82-S87.",
"[0010] Antagonists of the A 2A receptor are potentially useful therapies for the treatment of anxiety.",
"A 2A antagonist have been shown to prevent emotional/anxious responses in vivo.",
"Neurobiology of Disease (2007), 28(2) 197-205.",
"[0011] A 2A antagonists have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,468,373 B2, US 2009/0054429 A1, and references therein.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0012] The genus of compounds disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,468,373 B2 have mixed A 2A and A1 receptor antagonism activity.",
"For many disorders for which A 2A receptor antagonism is therapeutically useful, the A1 receptor activity is unwanted and may contribute to side effects or even oppose the beneficial effect of the compound primary A 2A activity.",
"This invention provides a small group of compounds covered by the genus described in the parent case but that have been found to have surprising and unexpected selectivity for the A 2A receptor.",
"The selected group of compounds of the present invention have A 2A /A1 activity ratios of at least 50/1, whereas the average member of the genus has an A 2A /A1 activity ratio of 1/1.",
"Thus, compounds of the present invention are expected to have much greater therapeutic efficacy and/or fewer side effects.",
"[0013] Selected aryl substituted arylindenopyrimidines of Formula A display unusually high selectivity for A 2A over A1 receptor antagonism.",
"[0000] [0000] wherein: X is C═O;",
"[0014] R 2 is phenyl;",
"R 4 is NH 2 ;",
"and [0015] R 3 is aryl;",
"said arylindenopyrimidines of Formula A are selected form the group consisting of: [0000] [0000] and solvates, hydrates, tautomers, and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof;",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0016] The invention provides arylindenopyrimidines of Formula A JNJ-39928122.",
"[0000] [0000] wherein: X is C═O;",
"[0017] R 2 is phenyl;",
"R 4 is NH 2 ;",
"and [0018] R 3 is aryl;",
"said arylindenopyrimidines of Formula A are selected form the group consisting of: [0000] [0000] and solvates, hydrates, tautomers, and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof;",
"[0019] This invention further provides a method of treating a subject having a disorder ameliorated by antagonizing Adenosine A 2A receptors, which comprises administering to the subject a therapeutically effective dose of a compound of claim 1 .",
"[0020] This invention further provides a method of preventing a disorder ameliorated by antagonizing Adenosine A 2A receptors in a subject, comprising of administering to the subject a prophylactically effective dose of a compound of claim 1 either preceding or subsequent to an event anticipated to cause a disorder ameliorated by antagonizing Adenosine A 2A receptors in the subject.",
"[0021] The instant compounds can be isolated and used as free bases.",
"They can also be isolated and used as pharmaceutically acceptable salts.",
"[0022] Examples of such salts include hydrobromic, hydroiodic, hydrochloric, perchloric, sulfuric, maleic, fumaric, malic, tartaric, citric, adipic, benzoic, mandelic, methanesulfonic, hydroethanesulfonic, benzenesulfonic, oxalic, palmoic, 2 naphthalenesulfonic, p-toluenesulfonic, cyclohexanesulfamic and saccharic.",
"[0023] This invention also provides a pharmaceutical composition comprising a compound of claim 1 and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.",
"[0024] Pharmaceutically acceptable carriers are well known to those skilled in the art and include, but are not limited to, from about 0.01 to about 0.1 M and preferably 0.05 M phosphate buyer or 0.8% saline.",
"Such pharmaceutically acceptable carriers can be aqueous or non-aqueous solutions, suspensions and emulsions.",
"Examples of non-aqueous solvents are propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, vegetable oils such as olive oil, and injectable organic esters such as ethyl oleate.",
"Aqueous carriers include water, ethanol, alcoholic/aqueous solutions, glycerol, emulsions or suspensions, including saline and buffered media.",
"Oral carriers can be elixirs, syrups, capsules, tablets and the like.",
"The typical solid carrier is an inert substance such as lactose, starch, glucose, methyl-cellulose, magnesium stearate, dicalcium phosphate, mannitol and the like.",
"Parenteral carriers include sodium chloride solution, Ringer's dextrose, dextrose and sodium chloride, lactated Ringer's and fixed oils.",
"Intravenous carriers include fluid and nutrient replenishers, electrolyte replenishers such as those based on Ringer's dextrose and the like.",
"[0025] Preservatives and other additives can also be present, such as, for example, antimicrobials, antioxidants, chelating agents, inert gases and the like.",
"All carriers can be mixed as needed with disintegrants, diluents, granulating agents, lubricants, binders and the like using conventional techniques known in the art.",
"[0026] This invention further provides a method of treating a subject having a condition ameliorated by antagonizing Adenosine A 2A receptors, which comprises administering to the subject a therapeutically effective dose of a compound of claim 1 .",
"[0027] In one embodiment, the disorder is a neurodegenerative or movement disorder.",
"Examples of disorders treatable by the instant pharmaceutical composition include, without limitation, Parkinson's Disease, Huntington's Disease, Multiple System Atrophy, Corticobasal Degeneration, Alzheimer's Disease, and Senile Dementia.",
"[0028] In one preferred embodiment, the disorder is Parkinson's disease.",
"[0029] As used herein, the term “subject”",
"includes, without limitation, any animal or artificially modified animal having a disorder ameliorated by antagonizing adenosine A 2A receptors.",
"In a preferred embodiment, the subject is a human.",
"[0030] Administering a compound of claim 1 can be effected or performed using any of the various methods known to those skilled in the art.",
"The compounds of claim 1 can be administered, for example, intravenously, intramuscularly, orally and subcutaneously.",
"[0031] In the preferred embodiment, compounds of claim 1 are administered orally.",
"Additionally, administration can comprise giving the subject a plurality of dosages over a suitable period of time.",
"Such administration regimens can be determined according to routine methods.",
"[0032] As used herein, a “therapeutically effective dose”",
"of a pharmaceutical composition is an amount sufficient to stop, reverse or reduce the progression of a disorder.",
"A “prophylactically effective dose”",
"of a pharmaceutical composition is an amount sufficient to prevent a disorder, i.e., eliminate, ameliorate and/or delay the disorder's onset.",
"Methods are known in the art for determining therapeutically and prophylactically effective doses for compounds of claim 1 .",
"The effective dose for administering the pharmaceutical composition to a human, for example, can be determined mathematically from the results of animal studies.",
"[0033] In one embodiment, the therapeutically and/or prophylactically effective dose is a dose sufficient to deliver from about 0.001 mg/kg of body weight to about 200 mg/kg of body weight of a compound of claim 1 .",
"In another embodiment, the therapeutically and/or prophylactically effective dose is a dose sufficient to deliver from about 0.05 mg/kg of body weight to about 50 mg/kg of body weight.",
"More specifically, in one embodiment, oral doses range from about 0.05 mg/kg to about 100 mg/kg daily.",
"In another embodiment, oral doses range from about 0.05 mg/kg to about 50 mg/kg daily, and in a further embodiment, from about 0.05 mg/kg to about 20 mg/kg daily.",
"In yet another embodiment, infusion doses range from about 1.0 μg/kg/min to about 10 mg/kg/min of inhibitor, admixed with a pharmaceutical carrier over a period ranging from about several minutes to about several days.",
"In a further embodiment, for topical administration, the instant compound can be combined with a pharmaceutical carrier at a drug/carrier ratio of from about 0.001 to about 0.1.",
"[0034] The invention also provides a method of treating addiction in a mammal, comprising administering a therapeutically effective dose of a compound of claim 1 .",
"[0035] The invention also provides a method of treating ADHD in a mammal, comprising administering a therapeutically effective dose of a compound of claim 1 .",
"[0036] The invention also provides a method of treating depression in a mammal, comprising administering a therapeutically effective dose of a compound of claim 1 .",
"[0037] The invention also provides a method of treating anxiety in a mammal, comprising administering a therapeutically effective dose of a compound of claim 1 .",
"[0038] The invention also provides a method of treating migraine in a mammal, comprising administering a therapeutically effective dose of a compound of claim 1 .",
"DEFINITIONS AND NOMENCLATURE [0039] Unless otherwise noted, under standard nomenclature used throughout this disclosure the terminal portion of the designated side chain is described first, followed by the adjacent functionality toward the point of attachment.",
"[0040] As used herein, the following chemical terms shall have the meanings as set forth in the following paragraphs: “independently”, when in reference to chemical substituents, shall mean that when more than one substituent exists, the substituents may be the same or different.",
"[0041] “Alkyl”",
"shall mean straight, cyclic and branched-chain alkyl.",
"Unless otherwise stated, the alkyl group will contain 1-20 carbon atoms.",
"Unless otherwise stated, the alkyl group may be optionally substituted with one or more groups such as halogen, OH, CN, mercapto, nitro, amino, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl, C 1 -C 8 -alkoxyl, C 1 -C 8 -alkylthio, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl-amino, di(C 1 -C 8 -alkyl)amino, (mono-, di-, tri-, and per-) halo-alkyl, formyl, carboxy, alkoxycarbonyl, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl-CO—O—, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl-CO—NH—, carboxamide, hydroxamic acid, sulfonamide, sulfonyl, thiol, aryl, aryl(c 1 -c 8 )alkyl, heterocyclyl, and heteroaryl.",
"[0042] “Alkoxy”",
"shall mean —O-alkyl and unless otherwise stated, it will have 1-8 carbon atoms.",
"[0043] “Halogen”",
"shall mean fluorine, chlorine, bromine or iodine;",
"“PH”",
"or “Ph”",
"shall mean phenyl;",
"“Ac”",
"shall mean acyl;",
"“Bn”",
"shall mean benzyl.",
"[0044] The term “acyl”",
"as used herein, whether used alone or as part of a substituent group, means an organic radical having 2 to 6 carbon atoms (branched or straight chain) derived from an organic acid by removal of the hydroxyl group.",
"The term “Ac”",
"as used herein, whether used alone or as part of a substituent group, means acetyl.",
"[0045] “Aryl”",
"or “Ar,” whether used alone or as part of a substituent group, is a carbocyclic aromatic radical including, but not limited to, phenyl, 1- or 2-naphthyl and the like.",
"The carbocyclic aromatic radical may be substituted by independent replacement of 1 to 5 of the hydrogen atoms thereon with halogen, OH, CN, mercapto, nitro, amino, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl, C 1 -C 8 -alkoxyl, C 1 -C 8 -alkylthio, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl-amino, di(C 1 -C 8 -alkyl)amino, (mono-, di-, tri-, and per-) halo-alkyl, formyl, carboxy, alkoxycarbonyl, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl-CO—O—, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl-CO—NH—, or carboxamide.",
"Illustrative aryl radicals include, for example, phenyl, naphthyl, biphenyl, fluorophenyl, difluorophenyl, benzyl, benzoyloxyphenyl, carboethoxyphenyl, acetylphenyl, ethoxyphenyl, phenoxyphenyl, hydroxyphenyl, carboxyphenyl, trifluoromethylphenyl, methoxyethylphenyl, acetamidophenyl, tolyl, xylyl, dimethylcarbamylphenyl and the like.",
"“Ph”",
"or “PH”",
"denotes phenyl.",
"[0046] Whether used alone or as part of a substituent group, “heteroaryl”",
"refers to a cyclic, fully unsaturated radical having from five to ten ring atoms of which one ring atom is selected from S, O, and N;",
"0-2 ring atoms are additional heteroatoms independently selected from S, O, and N;",
"and the remaining ring atoms are carbon.",
"The radical may be joined to the rest of the molecule via any of the ring atoms.",
"Exemplary heteroaryl groups include, for example, pyridinyl, pyrazinyl, pyrimidinyl, pyridazinyl, pyrroyl, pyrazolyl, imidazolyl, thiazolyl, oxazolyl, isoxazolyl, thiadiazolyl, triazolyl, triazinyl, oxadiazolyl, thienyl, furanyl, quinolinyl, isoquinolinyl, indolyl, isothiazolyl, 2-oxazepinyl, azepinyl, N-oxo-pyridyl, 1-dioxothienyl, benzothiazolyl, benzoxazolyl, benzothienyl, quinolinyl-N-oxide, benzimidazolyl, benzopyranyl, benzisothiazolyl, benzisoxazolyl, benzodiazinyl, benzofurazanyl, benzothiopyranyl, indazolyl, indolizinyl, benzofuryl, chromonyl, coumarinyl, cinnolinyl, quinoxalinyl, indazolyl, pyrrolopyridinyl, furopyridinyl (such as furo[2,3-c]pyridinyl, furo[3,2-b]pyridinyl, or furo[2,3-b]pyridinyl), imidazopyridinyl (such as imidazo[4,5-b]pyridinyl or imidazo[4,5-c]pyridinyl), naphthyridinyl, phthalazinyl, purinyl, pyridopyridyl, quinazolinyl, thienofuryl, thienopyridyl, thienothienyl, and furyl.",
"The heteroaryl group may be substituted by independent replacement of 1 to 5 of the hydrogen atoms thereon with halogen, OH, CN, mercapto, nitro, amino, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl, C 1 -C 8 -alkoxyl, C 1 -C 8 -alkylthio, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl-amino, di(C 1 -C 8 -alkyl)amino, (mono-, di-, tri-, and per-) halo-alkyl, formyl, carboxy, alkoxycarbonyl, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl-CO—O—, C 1 -C 8 -alkyl-CO—NH—, or carboxamide.",
"Heteroaryl may be substituted with a mono-oxo to give for example a 4-oxo-1H-quinoline.",
"[0047] The terms “heterocycle,” “heterocyclic,” and “heterocyclo”",
"refer to an optionally substituted, fully or partially saturated cyclic group which is, for example, a 4- to 7-membered monocyclic, 7- to 1′-membered bicyclic, or 10- to 15-membered tricyclic ring system, which has at least one heteroatom in at least one carbon atom containing ring.",
"Each ring of the heterocyclic group containing a heteroatom may have 1, 2, or 3 heteroatoms selected from nitrogen atoms, oxygen atoms, and sulfur atoms, where the nitrogen and sulfur heteroatoms may also optionally be oxidized.",
"The nitrogen atoms may optionally be quaternized.",
"The heterocyclic group may be attached at any heteroatom or carbon atom.",
"[0048] Exemplary monocyclic heterocyclic groups include pyrrolidinyl;",
"oxetanyl;",
"pyrazolinyl;",
"imidazolinyl;",
"imidazolidinyl;",
"oxazolyl;",
"oxazolidinyl;",
"isoxazolinyl;",
"thiazolidinyl;",
"isothiazolidinyl;",
"tetrahydrofuryl;",
"piperidinyl;",
"piperazinyl;",
"2-oxopiperazinyl;",
"2-oxopiperidinyl;",
"2-oxopyrrolidinyl;",
"4-piperidonyl;",
"tetrahydropyranyl;",
"tetrahydrothiopyranyl;",
"tetrahydrothiopyranyl sulfone;",
"morpholinyl;",
"thiomorpholinyl;",
"thiomorpholinyl sulfoxide;",
"thiomorpholinyl sulfone;",
"1,3-dioxolane;",
"dioxanyl;",
"thietanyl;",
"thiiranyl;",
"and the like.",
"Exemplary bicyclic heterocyclic groups include quinuclidinyl;",
"tetrahydroisoquinolinyl;",
"dihydroisoindolyl;",
"dihydroquinazolinyl (such as 3,4-dihydro-4-oxo-quinazolinyl);",
"dihydrobenzofuryl;",
"dihydrobenzothienyl;",
"dihydrobenzothiopyranyl;",
"dihydrobenzothiopyranyl sulfone;",
"dihydrobenzopyranyl;",
"indolinyl;",
"isochromanyl;",
"isoindolinyl;",
"piperonyl;",
"tetrahydroquinolinyl;",
"and the like.",
"[0049] Substituted aryl, substituted heteroaryl, and substituted heterocycle may also be substituted with a second substituted-aryl, a second substituted-heteroaryl, or a second substituted-heterocycle to give, for example, a 4-pyrazol-1-yl-phenyl or 4-pyridin-2-yl-phenyl.",
"[0050] Designated numbers of carbon atoms (e.g., C 1-8 ) shall refer independently to the number of carbon atoms in an alkyl or cycloalkyl moiety or to the alkyl portion of a larger substituent in which alkyl appears as its prefix root.",
"EXAMPLES [0051] Compounds of Formula A can be prepared by methods known to those who are skilled in the art.",
"The following reaction scheme is only meant to represent an example of the invention and is in no way meant to limit the invention.",
"[0000] [0052] Scheme 1 illustrates the synthetic route leading to compound A. Starting with 7-methoxy indanone I and following the path indicated by the arrows, condensation under basic conditions with arylaldehydes affords the benzylidene II.",
"The benzylidene II is then reacted with guanidine (free base) that gives the intermediate amino pyrimidine III and is directly oxidized to the corresponding ketone IV by bubbling air through the basic N-methylpyrrolidinone (NMP) solution.",
"Demethylation can be accomplished by heating IV in NMP in the presence of LiCl to give the corresponding phenol V. The phenol V can be converted to corresponding triflate VI by treatment with N-phenyltriflimide under basic conditions in dimethylformamide (DMF).",
"Finally, the triflate VI is reacted with boronic esters of formula R 2 B(OR) 2 to afford compounds of formula A. [0000] [0053] Scheme 2 illustrates the synthetic route leading to compounds of formula A, where R 3 is an alkylpiperazinyl substituted phenyl.",
"Starting from piperazine I, prepared according to scheme 1, is alkylated with alkyl halides in N-methylpyrrolidinone (NMP) to afford compounds of formula A. Example 1 2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-{4-[4-(3,3,3-trifluoro-propyl)-piperazin-1-yl]-phenyl}-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one Example 1 Step a 2-(4-Fluoro-benzylidene)-7-methoxy-indan-1-one [0054] [0055] An aqueous solution (2 mL) of NaOH (615 mg, 15.4 mmol) was added dropwise to an ethanol (EtOH) solution (13 mL) of 7-methoxy-indan-1-one (2.0 g, 12.3 mmol) and 4-fluoro-benzaldehyde (1.4 mL, 12.9 mmol).",
"A precipitate formed immediately.",
"The resulting slurry was stirred vigorously for 0.5 h. The slurry was cooled in an ice bath, filtered, and washed with cold EtOH.",
"The collected solid was dried in vacuo to give the title compound that was used without further purification.",
"Example 1 Step b 4-(4-Fluoro-phenyl)-9-methoxy-5H-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-2-ylamine [0056] [0057] Powdered NaOH (2.5 g, 62.5 mmol) was added to an EtOH solution (50 mL) of guanidine hydrochloride (5.9 g, 61.6 mmol).",
"After 30 min the sodium chloride was filtered off and the filtrate was added to an EtOH suspension (20 mL) of 2-(4-fluoro-benzylidene)-7-methoxy-indan-1-one (3.3 g, 12.3 mmol).",
"The resulting mixture was heated to reflux overnight.",
"The homogeneous solution was cooled in ice for 30 minutes and filtered to give the title compound which was used without further purification.",
"Example 1 Step c 2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-methoxy-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one [0058] [0059] Powdered NaOH (96 mg, 2.4 mmol) was added to a NMP solution (10 mL) of 4-(4-Fluoro-phenyl)-9-methoxy-5H-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-2-ylamine (740 mg, 2.4 mmol).",
"The resulting mixture was heated to 80° C. and air was bubbled through the solution.",
"After 16 hours the mixture was cooled to room temperature, water was added and the resulting precipitate was filtered and washed with water and cold EtOH.",
"The solid was dried in vacuo to give the title compound that was used without further purification.",
"Example 1 Step d 2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-hydroxy-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one [0060] [0061] Solid LiCl (384 mg, 9.1 mmol) was added to an NMP solution (2.5 mL) of 2-amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-methoxy-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one (485 mg, 1.5 mmol) and water (0.05 mL) and the mixture was heated to 180° C. in the microwave.",
"After 2 hours the mixture was diluted with THF and EtOAc, washed with water and brine, dried (Na 2 SO 4 ), and dry packed onto silica gel.",
"Chromatography gave the title compound.",
"Example 1 Step e Trifluoro-methanesulfonic acid 2-amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-5-oxo-5H-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-9-yl ester [0062] [0063] Solid t-BuOK (potassium tert-butoxide, 877 mg, 7.8 mmol) was added to a DMF solution (30 mL) of 2-amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-hydroxy-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one (2.0 g, 6.5 mmol).",
"After 20 min, solid PhN(Tf) 2 (phenyl bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonamide, 2.5 g, 6.8 mmol) was added.",
"After 3 hours water was added and the resulting precipitate was filtered off and washed with water.",
"The solid was dissolved in THF and dry packed onto silica gel.",
"Column chromatography gave the title compound.",
"Example 1 Step f 2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-(4-piperazin-1-yl-phenyl)-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one [0064] [0065] Solid Pd(dppf)Cl 2 (dichloro[1,1′-ferrocenylbis(diphenyl-phosphine)]palladium(II), 47 mg, 0.06 mmol) was added to a dioxane/water solution (4 mL/1 mL) of 1-[4-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-[1,3,2]dioxaborolan-2-yl)-phenyl]-piperazine (213 mg, 0.75 mmol), trifluoro-methanesulfonic acid 2-amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-5-oxo-5H-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-9-yl ester (250 mg, 0.57 mmol), and K 2 CO 3 (158 mg, 1.14 mmol) and the mixture was heated to 85° C. After 5 hours the mixture was cooled, diluted with water and the resulting precipitate was filtered.",
"The collected solid was dissolved in THF and MeOH then dry packed onto silica gel.",
"Column chromatography gave the title compound.",
"Example 1 Step g 2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-{4-[4-(3,3,3-trifluoro-propyl)-piperazin-1-yl]-phenyl}-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one [0066] [0067] Neat 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-iodo-propane was added to an NMP solution (10 mL) of 2-amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-(4-piperazin-1-yl-phenyl)-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one (1.4 g, 2.7 mmol) and i-Pr 2 NEt (2.3 mL, 13.3 mmol) and the mixture was heated to 70° C. After 16 hours the mixture was cooled, diluted with water and the resulting precipitate was filtered.",
"The collected solid was dissolved in THF and dry packed onto silica gel.",
"Column chromatography gave the title compound.",
"1 H NMR (CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.04-8.13 (m, 2H), 7.70 (dd, J=6.8, 1.5 Hz, 1 H), 7.45-7.59 (m, 4H), 7.12-7.22 (m, 2H), 7.00 (d, J=8.7 Hz, 2H), 5.47 (br.",
"s., 2 H), 3.27-3.37 (m, 4H), 2.62-2.75 (m, 6H), 2.28-2.48 ppm (m, 2H);",
"MS m/e 548 (M+H).",
"Example 2 2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-[4-(4-isobutyl-piperazin-1-yl)-phenyl]-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one [0068] [0069] The title compound was prepared using 1-iodo-2-methyl-propane in place of 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-iodo-propane as described in Example 1.",
"1 H NMR(CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.01-8.16 (m, 2H), 7.69 (dd, J=6.6, 1.7 Hz, 1H), 7.46-7.60 (m, 4 H), 7.10-7.23 (m, 2H), 7.00 (d, J=9.0 Hz, 2H), 5.48 (br.",
"s., 2H), 3.22-3.41 (m, 4 H), 2.52-2.68 (m, 4H), 2.16 (d, J=7.5 Hz, 2H), 1.84 (dt, J=13.6, 6.8 Hz, 1H), 0.94 ppm (d, J=6.4 Hz, 6H);",
"MS m/e 508 (M+H).",
"Example 3 2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-(3-fluoro-phenyl)-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one [0070] [0071] A solution of trifluoro-methanesulfonic acid 2-amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-5-oxo-5H-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-9-yl ester (prepared as described in Example 1) (150 mg, 0.34 mmol), 3-fluoro-phenylboronic acid (70 mg, 0.51 mmol), (PPh 3 ) 4 Pd (tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(0), 20 mg, 0.02 mmol), and K 2 CO 3 (99 mg, 0.72 mmol) in dioxane (1 mL) and toluene (1 mL) was heated to 180° C. by microwave irradiation.",
"After 30 min the mixture was cooled to room temperature, and purified via column chromatography to give the title compound.",
"1 H NMR (DMSO-d 6 , 400 MHz): δ=8.00-8.07 (m, 2H), 7.64-7.73 (m, 2H), 7.58 (dd, J=5.4, 3.4 Hz, 1H), 7.40-7.53 (m, 3H), 7.29-7.37 (m, 2H), 7.26 ppm (d, J=1.2 Hz, 1H);",
"MS m/e 386 (M+H).",
"Example 4 2-Amino-9-[4-(4-benzyl-piperazin-1-yl)-phenyl]-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one [0072] [0073] The title compound was prepared using bromomethyl-benzene in place of 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-iodo-propane as described in Example 1.",
"1 H NMR(CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.04-8.13 (m, 2H), 7.69 (dd, J=6.6, 1.7 Hz, 1H), 7.46-7.58 (m, 4 H), 7.33-7.41 (m, 4H), 7.17 (t, J=8.9 Hz, 3H), 6.99 (d, J=8.7 Hz, 2H), 5.42 (br.",
"s., 2H), 3.61 (s, 2H), 3.33 (t, J=4.9 Hz, 4H), 2.58-2.72 ppm (m, 4H);",
"MS m/e 542 (M+H).",
"Example 5 2-Amino-9-{4-[4-(1-ethyl-propyl)-piperazin-1-yl]-phenyl}-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one [0074] [0075] The title compound was prepared using 3-bromo-pentane in place of 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-iodo-propane as described in Example 1.",
"1 H NMR(CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.05-8.14 (m, 2H), 7.69 (dd, J=6.4, 1.9 Hz, 1H), 7.47-7.57 (m, 4H), 7.12-7.22 (m, 2H), 7.00 (d, J=9.0 Hz, 2H), 5.45 (br.",
"s., 2H), 3.22-3.35 (m, 4H), 2.72 (br.",
"s., 4H), 2.24 (s, 1H), 1.38 (d, J=7.5 Hz, 2H), 1.20-1.30 (m, 2H), 0.94 ppm (t, J=7.3 Hz, 6H);",
"MS m/e 522 (M+H).",
"Example 6 2-Amino-9-[4-(4-sec-butyl-piperazin-1-yl)-phenyl]-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one [0076] [0077] The title compound was prepared using 2-bromo-butane in place of 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-iodo-propane as described in Example 1.",
"1 H NMR(CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.01-8.14 (m, 2H), 7.69 (dd, J=6.4, 1.9 Hz, 1H), 7.45-7.60 (m, 4H), 7.11-7.22 (m, 2H), 7.00 (d, J=9.0 Hz, 2H), 5.47 (br.",
"s., 2H), 3.30 (t, J=4.9 Hz, 4H), 2.62-2.82 (m, 4H), 2.52 (br.",
"s., 1H), 1.61-1.71 (m, 1H), 1.28-1.43 (m, 1H), 1.04 (d, J=6.8 Hz, 3H), 0.94 ppm (t, J=7.5 Hz, 3H);",
"MS m/e 508 (M+H).",
"Example 7 2-Amino-9-[4-(4-cyclopropylmethyl-piperazin-1-yl)-phenyl]-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one [0078] [0079] The title compound was prepared using bromomethyl-cyclopropane in place of 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-iodo-propane as described in Example 1.",
"1 H NMR(CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.02-8.14 (m, 2H), 7.70 (dd, J=6.8, 1.9 Hz, 1H), 7.47-7.59 (m, 4H), 7.12-7.22 (m, 2H), 7.01 (d, J=8.7 Hz, 2H), 5.44 (br.",
"s., 2H), 3.31-3.43 (m, 4H), 2.68-2.86 (m, 4H), 2.38 (br.",
"s., 2H), 0.88-1.02 (m, 1H), 0.51-0.65 (m, 2H), 0.13-0.21 ppm (m, 2H);",
"MS m/e 506 (M+H).",
"Example 8 2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-{4-[4-(2-methoxy-ethyl)-piperazin-1-yl]-phenyl}-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one [0080] [0081] The title compound was prepared using 1-bromo-2-methoxy-ethane in place of 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-iodo-propane as described in Example 1.",
"1 H NMR(CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.04-8.15 (m, 2H), 7.70 (dd, J=6.8, 1.9 Hz, 1H), 7.47-7.59 (m, 4H), 7.13-7.22 (m, 2H), 7.00 (d, J=9.0 Hz, 2H), 5.47 (br.",
"s., 2H), 3.61 (t, J=5.5 Hz, 2H), 3.39 (s, 3H), 3.32-3.38 (m, 4H), 2.65-2.86 ppm (m, 6H);",
"MS m/e 510 (M+H).",
"Example 9 2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-[4-(4-isopropyl-piperazin-1-yl)-phenyl]-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one [0082] [0083] The title compound was prepared using 2-iodo-propane in place of 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-iodo-propane as described in Example 1.",
"1 H NMR(CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.03-8.14 (m, 2H), 7.69 (dd, J=6.4, 1.9 Hz, 1H), 7.47-7.59 (m, 4H), 7.11-7.22 (m, 2H), 7.01 (d, J=8.7 Hz, 2H), 5.43 (br.",
"s., 2H), 3.28-3.39 (m, 4H), 2.74 (br.",
"s., 4H), 1.52-1.65 (m, 1H), 1.13 ppm (d, J=6.4 Hz, 6H);",
"MS m/e 494 (M+H).",
"Example 10 4-[2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-5-oxo-5H-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-9-yl]-benzonitrile [0084] [0085] The title compound was prepared using 4-cyano-phenylboronic acid in place of 3-fluoro-phenylboronic acid as described in Example 3.",
"1 H NMR (DMSO-d 6 , 400 MHz): δ=8.06-8.14 (m, 2H), 7.96 (d, J=8.3 Hz, 2H), 7.88 (d, J=8.3 Hz, 2H), 7.76-7.82 (m, 2H), 7.64-7.71 (m, 1H), 7.40 ppm (t, J=8.9 Hz, 2H);",
"MS m/e 393 (M+H).",
"Example 11 2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-{4-[4-(3-methyl-butyl)-piperazin-1-yl]-phenyl}-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one [0086] [0087] The title compound was prepared using 1-iodo-3-methyl-butane in place of 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-iodo-propane as described in Example 1.",
"1 H NMR(CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.01-8.14 (m, 2H), 7.69 (dd, J=6.6, 1.7 Hz, 1H), 7.44-7.59 (m, 4H), 7.12-7.22 (m, 2H), 7.01 (d, J=9.0 Hz, 2H), 5.46 (br.",
"s., 2H), 3.29-3.36 (m, 4H), 2.61-2.70 (m, 4H), 2.40-2.48 (m, 2H), 1.41-1.51 (m, 2H), 1.21-1.30 (m, 1 H), 0.94 ppm (d, J=6.8 Hz, 6H);",
"MS m/e 522 (M+H).",
"Example 12 2-Amino-9-[4-(4-ethyl-piperazin-1-yl)-phenyl]-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one [0088] [0089] The title compound was prepared using iodo-ethane in place of 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-iodo-propane as described in Example 1.",
"1 H NMR(CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.03-8.14 (m, 2H), 7.69 (dd, J=6.6, 1.7 Hz, 1H), 7.52 (dt, J=8.9, 6.1 Hz, 4H), 7.12-7.21 (m, 2H), 7.01 (d, J=8.7 Hz, 2H), 5.45 (br.",
"s., 2H), 3.27-3.40 (m, 4H), 2.61-2.73 (m, 4H), 2.44-2.58 (m, 2H), 1.16 ppm (t, J=7.3 Hz, 3H);",
"MS m/e 480 (M+H).",
"Example 13 2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-[4-(2-morpholin-4-yl-ethoxy)-phenyl]-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one [0090] [0091] The title compound was prepared using 4-(2-morpholinoethoxy)phenylboronic acid in place of 1-[4-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-[1,3,2]dioxaborolan-2-yl)-phenyl]-piperazine as described in Example 1.",
"1 H NMR(CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.00-8.18 (m, 2H), 7.72 (d, J=7.2 Hz, 1H), 7.42-7.61 (m, 4H), 7.10-7.23 (m, 2H), 6.93-7.06 (m, 2H), 5.43 (br.",
"s., 2H), 4.21 (t, J=5.7 Hz, 2H), 3.73-3.82 (m, 4H), 2.87 (t, J=5.7 Hz, 2H), 2.57-2.68 ppm (m, 4H);",
"MS m/e 497 (M+H).",
"Example 14 2-Amino-4,9-diphenyl-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one [0092] [0093] The title compound was prepared using phenylboronic acid in place of 3-fluoro-phenylboronic acid as described in Example 3.",
"1 H NMR (DMSO-d 6 , 400 MHz): δ=7.88-7.96 (m, 2H), 7.41-7.73 ppm (m, 12H);",
"MS m/e 350 (M+H).",
"Example 15 2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-[4-(4-propyl-piperazin-1-yl)-phenyl]-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one [0094] [0095] The title compound was prepared using 1-iodo-propane in place of 1,1,1-trifluoro-3-iodo-propane as described in Example 1.",
"1 H NMR(CHLOROFORM-d, 300 MHz): δ=8.04-8.13 (m, 2H), 7.69 (dd, J=6.8, 1.9 Hz, 1H), 7.47-7.58 (m, 4H), 7.12-7.22 (m, 2H), 6.96-7.04 (m, 2H), 5.44 (br.",
"s., 2H), 3.28-3.38 (m, 4H), 2.60-2.70 (m, 4H), 2.34-2.44 (m, 2H), 1.51-1.64 (m, 2H), 0.95 ppm (t, J=7.3 Hz, 3H);",
"MS m/e 494 (M+H).",
"Example 16 2-Amino-4-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-9-m-tolyl-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one [0096] [0097] The title compound was prepared using 3-methyl-phenylboronic acid in place of 3-fluoro-phenylboronic acid as described in Example 3.",
"1 H NMR (DMSO-d 6 , 400 MHz): δ=7.99-8.08 (m, 2H), 7.63-7.71 (m, 2H), 7.52-7.60 (m, 1H), 7.38-7.46 (m, 2 H), 7.29-7.38 (m, 3H), 7.24 (d, J=7.6 Hz, 1H), 2.40 ppm (s, 3H);",
"MS m/e 382 (M+H).",
"Example 17 2-Amino-9-(4-methoxy-phenyl)-4-phenyl-indeno[1,2-d]pyrimidin-5-one [0098] [0099] The title compound was prepared using 4-methoxy-phenylboronic acid in place of 3-fluoro-phenylboronic acid as described in Example 3.",
"1 H NMR (DMSO-d 6 , 400 MHz): δ=7.93 (dd, J=8.3, 1.5 Hz, 2H), 7.46-7.69 (m, 9H), 6.99-7.05 (m, 2H), 3.84 ppm (s, 3H);",
"MS m/e 380 (M+H).",
"Biological Assays and Activity Lip and Binding Assay for Adenosine A 2A Receptor [0100] Ligand binding assay of adenosine A 2A receptor was performed using plasma membrane of HEK293 cells containing human A 2A adenosine receptor (PerkinElmer, RB-HA 2A ) and radioligand [ 3 H]CGS21680 (PerkinElmer, NET1021).",
"Assay was set up in 96-well polypropylene plate in total volume of 200 μl by sequentially adding 20 μL 1:20 diluted membrane, 130 μL assay buffer (50 mM Tris.",
"HCl, pH7.4 10 mM MgCl 2 , 1 mM EDTA) containing [ 3 H] CGS21680, 50 μL diluted compound (4×) or vehicle control in assay buffer.",
"Nonspecific binding was determined by 80 mM NECA.",
"Reaction was carried out at room temperature for 2 hours before filtering through 96-well GF/C filter plate pre-soaked in 50 mM Tris.",
"HCl, pH7.4 containing 0.3% polyethylenimine.",
"Plates were then washed 5 times with cold 50 mM Tris.",
"HCl, pH7.4, dried and sealed at the bottom.",
"Microscintillation fluid 30 μL was added to each well and the top sealed.",
"Plates were counted on Packard Topcount for [ 3 H].",
"Data was analyzed in Microsoft Excel and GraphPad Prism programs.",
"(Varani, K.;",
"Gessi, S.;",
"Dalpiaz, A.;",
"Borea, P. A. British Journal of Pharmacology, 1996, 117, 1693) Adenosine A 2A Receptor Functional Assay (A 2A GAL2) [0101] To initiate the functional assay, cryopreserved CHO-K1 cells overexpressing the human adenosine A 2A receptor and containing a cAMP inducible beta-galactosidase reporter gene were thawed, centrifuged, DMSO containing media removed, and then seeded with fresh culture media into clear 384-well tissue culture treated plates (BD #353961) at a concentration of 10K cells/well.",
"Prior to assay, these plates were cultured for two days at 37° C., 5% CO 2 , 90% Rh.",
"On the day of the functional assay, culture media was removed and replaced with 45 μL assay medium (Hams/F-12 Modified (Mediatech # 10-080CV) supplemented w/0.1% BSA).",
"Test compounds were diluted and 11 point curves created at a 1000× concentration in 100% DMSO.",
"Immediately after addition of assay media to the cell plates, 50 nL of the appropriate test compound antagonist or agonist control curves were added to cell plates using a Cartesian Hummingbird.",
"Compound curves were allowed to incubate at room temperature on cell plates for approximately 15 minutes before addition of a 15 nM NECA (Sigma E2387) agonist challenge (5 μL volume).",
"A control curve of NECA, a DMSO/Media control, and a single dose of Forskolin (Sigma F3917) were also included on each plate.",
"After additions, cell plates were allowed to incubate at 37° C., 5% CO 2 , 90% Rh for 5.5-6 hours.",
"After incubation, media were removed, and cell plates were washed 1×50 μL with DPBS w/o Ca &",
"Mg (Mediatech 21-031-CV).",
"Into dry wells, 20 μL of 1× Reporter Lysis Buffer (Promega E3971 (diluted in dH 2 O from 5× stock)) was added to each well and plates frozen at −20° C. overnight.",
"For β-galactosidase enzyme colorimetric assay, plates were thawed out at room temperature and 20 μL 2× assay buffer (Promega) was added to each well.",
"Color was allowed to develop at 37° C., 5% CO 2 , 90% Rh for 1-1.5 hours or until reasonable signal appeared.",
"The colorimetric reaction was stopped with the addition of 60 μL/well 1M sodium carbonate.",
"Plates were counted at 405 nm on a SpectraMax Microplate Reader (Molecular Devices).",
"Data was analyzed in Microsoft Excel and IC/EC50 curves were fit using a standardized macro.",
"Adenosine A1 Receptor Functional Assay (A1GAL2) [0102] To initiate the functional assay, cryopreserved CHO-K1 cells overexpressing the human adenosine A1 receptor and containing a cAMP inducible beta-galactosidase reporter gene were thawed, centrifuged, DMSO containing media removed, and then seeded with fresh culture media into clear 384-well tissue culture treated plates (BD #353961) at a concentration of 10K cells/well.",
"Prior to assay, these plates were cultured for two days at 37° C., 5% CO 2 , 90% Rh.",
"On the day of the functional assay, culture media was removed and replaced with 45 μL assay medium (Hams/F-12 Modified (Mediatech # 10-080CV) supplemented w/0.1% BSA).",
"Test compounds were diluted and 11 point curves created at a 1000× concentration in 100% DMSO.",
"Immediately after addition of assay media to the cell plates, 50 nL of the appropriate test compound antagonist or agonist control curves were added to cell plates using a Cartesian Hummingbird.",
"Compound curves were allowed to incubate at room temperature on cell plates for approximately 15 minutes before addition of a 4 nM r-PIA (Sigma P4532)/1 uM Forskolin (Sigma F3917) agonist challenge (5 μL volume).",
"A control curve of r-PIA in 1 uM Forskolin, a DMSO/Media control, and a single dose of Forskolin were also included on each plate.",
"After additions, cell plates were allowed to incubate at 37° C., 5% CO 2 , 90% Rh for 5.5-6 hours.",
"After incubation, media was removed, and cell plates were washed 1×50 μL with DPBS w/o Ca &",
"Mg (Mediatech 21-031-CV).",
"Into dry wells, 20 μL of 1× Reporter Lysis Buffer (Promega E3971 (diluted in dH 2 O from 5× stock)) was added to each well and plates frozen at −20° C. overnight.",
"For β-galactosidase enzyme colorimetric assay, plates were thawed out at room temperature and 20 μL 2× assay buffer (Promega) was added to each well.",
"Color was allowed to develop at 37° C., 5% CO 2 , 90% Rh for 1-1.5 hours or until reasonable signal appeared.",
"The colorimetric reaction was stopped with the addition of 60 μL/well 1M sodium carbonate.",
"Plates were counted at 405 nm on a SpectraMax Microplate Reader (Molecular Devices).",
"Data was analyzed in Microsoft Excel and IC/EC50 curves were fit using a standardized macro.",
"A 2A Assay Data [0103] Compounds of Formula A displayed surprising and unexpected selectivity for A 2A over A1 receptor antagonism.",
"[0000] Example A 2A Gal2 (μM) A1Gal2 (μM) A1/A 2A 1 0.0018 5.5 3055.56 2 0.0071 4.2 591.549 3 0.026 8.9 342.308 4 0.01 3.1 310 5 0.023 4.2 182.609 6 0.0098 1.4 142.857 7 0.0083 1.1 131.69 8 0.0018 0.23 127.778 9 0.016 1.8 112.5 10 0.0026 0.27 103.846 11 0.011 1.1 100 12 0.01 0.76 76 13 0.0039 0.27 69.2308 14 0.0086 0.57 66.2791 15 0.0087 0.52 59.7701 16 0.031 1.8 58.0645 17 0.0063 0.33 52.381 [0104] While the foregoing specification teaches the principles of the present invention, with examples provided for the purpose of illustration, it will be understood that the practice of the invention encompasses all of the usual variations, adaptations and/or modifications as come within the scope of the following Claims and their equivalents.",
"[0105] All publications disclosed in the above specification are hereby incorporated by reference in full."
] |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a metalwood type golf club head, and in particular, to a metalwood club head having an improved reinforced outer support system.
The majority of wood type golf club heads manufactured today are made of various types of metals and other suitable materials and are formed with a hosel, a club head body formed by a metal shell having thin side walls and upper crowns, connected to a more substantial or reinforced frontal ball striking face to absorb the impact of a golf ball when it is struck by the club head. Typically, the metal shell is then interfaced or joined with a stronger sole plate to complete the club head. Normally, there is no substantial support means to reinforce the side walls and the thin upper crown sections of a club head. Thus, the overall structure of the club head, with an inner reinforced ball striking face, and thinner unreinforced surrounding outer shell sections do not minimize overall adverse club head feel or distortions that occur when off center ball contact is made.
Furthermore, metalwood club heads currently are being made larger and larger to induce a golfer to purchase a golf club in the belief that the larger heads make it easier to contact a golf ball. Such larger heads have still thinner side walls and are typically made of stronger metal such as titanium and other suitable materials. However, the larger club heads require more surrounding reinforcement means to produce a solid feel and stability at impact for greater accuracy and further distance. Various attempts have been made to reinforce metalwood type club heads, mostly to support the interior of the shell, particularly behind the club face and under the upper crown surface of the club head. Limited success has been provided by these efforts to improve club head stability at impact when a golf ball is struck.
Prior art U.S. patents disclosing various reinforcing systems. U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,399 to Raymont reinforces the rear inner surface of the ball striking face with a honeycomb structure. U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,754 to Zebelean shows a metalwood golf club head having inner reinforcing ribs which extend internally below the top crown and form a bridge to the ball striking face. U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,145 to Schmidt shows a hollow metalwood club head reinforced by an internal metal ridge integral with the front wall and extending longitudinally and downwardly from a central region toward the heel and toe portions of the club head.
My own U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,230, reinforces the interior of a metalwood with a first mass located behind the ball striking face and a second mass under the upper or crown surface of the club head. Another of my own U.S. Patents, U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,279 includes a peripheral weighting and reinforcement system that provides additional mass along the majority of the interface of the ball striking face and the crown of the club head. A metalwood golf club currently marketed by McHenery Metals, shows an outer reinforcing member adjacent the rear surface of the club head.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The metalwood reinforced outer support system of the present invention provides an outer longitudinal reinforcing or brace member attached to the outer surfaces of the metalwood shell body at various locations including the side wall surfaces, rear surfaces, top surface, bottom surface and hosel. A first embodiment includes a single reinforced outer supporting, ribbon shaped, band forming a brace member and extending across the side walls from the toe section, across the rear section, the heel section and onto the hosel of the club head. This reinforcing system forms a unitized bracing structure overlaying the outer surfaces and surrounding the club head from the heel to the toe sections. Additional embodiments include an auxiliary band shaped support located across the sole parallel to the club face which connects to opposing sections of the primary reinforced outer support at the heel and toe sections.
Another embodiment includes a skimmer sole located perpendicular to the club face which is connected to the reinforcing brace at the rear surface of the club head. This embodiment provides a more unitized outer support system since it overlays the side walls of the heel and toe sections, rear section and sole. The structure produces a much firmer and stronger club head that offers a formidable encircling support system that resists stress, buckling, twisting, shock, vibration and other adverse club head distortions that can occur at impact during the execution of a high velocity golf swing.
Other embodiments provide a single or dual auxiliary support band that overlays the crown surfaces of the club head in a front to rear direction. The auxiliary support band structure is connected to the support brace encircling the side walls and rear section of the club head between the heel and the toe.
Still other preferred embodiments of the reinforced outer support system include various combinations of the above described support structures. This unusual metalwood support construction provides a unique reinforcing outer support system that surrounds and overlays the critical surfaces of the club head that are most vulnerable to damaging effects of stress, cracking, buckling, vibration, and other diverse distortions that can often occur when ball contact occurs off of the center of the ball striking face. The superior structure of all the embodiments of the present invention provides substantial mass to adequately reinforce the specific outer surfaces of the critical areas that are affected and can be accomplished without increasing the overall thickness and weight of the side walls and crown of the club head.
Among the objects of the present invention are the provision of a metalwood type golf club head that provides improved performance by reinforcing the normally weaker outer body shell sections of a metalwood type club head.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of a metalwood having an improved outer support system for added strength and club head stability at impact.
To achieve the objects and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the invention embodies a metalwood type golf club head comprising a club head body including a heel, toe, bottom sole, upper surface, ball striking face and a rear surface wherein the ball striking face intersects with a forwardmost progression of the bottom sole to define a leading edge; and a hosel integrally connected to the club head body. The improvement is the use of a reinforced outer support system, preferably extending from the toe, around the rear to the heel and onto the hosel which forms an outer unitized reinforced, ribbon shaped structure surrounding the club head body, thereby providing greater stability of the club head at impact, producing more solid shots for increased accuracy and longer distances. The structure greatly minimizes adverse club head distortions such as buckling of side walls, twisting and torquing, knock-back, shock to the hands of the golfer and excess vibration when high velocity swings impact a golf ball on the club face. In addition to providing substantial reinforcement to all critical areas of the club head, the outer support system may be formed with significant preferred mass to permit precise distribution of club head weight to more effectively alter the preferred location for the center of gravity to produce the desired feel and improve performance characteristics. The reinforced outer support system also creates a club head that visibly reveals where its formidable unique support members are located to provide superior advantages not found in any other metalwood type club heads.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when viewed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which set forth certain embodiments of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a front elevational view of a golf club head in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view thereof.
FIG. 3 is a heel end elevational view thereof.
FIG. 4 is a toe end elevational view thereof.
FIG. 5 is a rear elevational view of a second embodiment in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a heel end view of the embodiment of FIG. 5.
FIG. 7 is a toe end elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 5.
FIG. 8 is a heel end elevational view of a third embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a rear end elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 8.
FIG. 10 is a toe end elevational view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the embodiment of FIG. 10.
FIG. 12 is a heel end elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 10.
FIG. 13 is a rear elevational view of a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 14 is a toe end elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 13.
FIG. 15 is a heel end elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 13.
FIG. 16 is a bottom view of the embodiment of FIG. 10.
FIG. 17 is a bottom view of a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 18 is a top perspective view of a seventh embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 19 is a heel elevational view elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 18.
FIG. 20 is a toe elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 18.
FIG. 21 is a rear elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 18.
FIG. 22 is a bottom view of an eighth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 23 is a rear elevational view of a ninth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 24 is a heel elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 23.
FIG. 25 is a toe elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 23.
FIG. 26 is a bottom view of the embodiment of FIG. 23.
FIG. 27 shows a front perspective view of a tenth embodiment of a golf club head in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 28 is a rear elevational view of the golf club of FIG. 27.
FIG. 29 is a rear elevational view of an eleventh embodiment of a golf club head in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 30 is a bottom view of a twelfth embodiment of a golf club head in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 31 is a heel side elevational view of a thirteenth embodiment of a golf club head in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 32 is a toe side elevational view of a fourteenth embodiment of a golf club head in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 33 is a heel side view of the golf club head of FIG. 32.
FIG. 34 is a bottom view of a fifteenth embodiment of a golf club head in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 35 is a bottom perspective view of a sixteenth embodiment of a golf club head in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 36 is a bottom perspective view of a seventeenth embodiment of a golf club head in accordance with the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein. It should be understood, however, that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, the details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limited, but merely as the basis for the claims and as a basis for teaching one skilled in the art how to make and/or use the invention.
Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1-4 show a first embodiment of a metalwood type golf club head 10 in accordance with the present invention. The club head 10 includes a club head body 12 and hosel 14. The club head body 12 is conventional and includes a heel 16, heel side wall 17, toe 18, toe side wall 19, ball striking face 20, top surface 22, bottom or sole surface 24 and rear surface 26. The improvement resides in an elongated ribbon shaped brace or support 28 which extends from a point adjacent the ball striking face 20 on the toe 18, wraps around the rear surface 26, to the heel 16 and upwardly onto the hosel 14 on a rear portion thereof, terminating at a top edge 30 adjacent an opening 32 for insertion of a conventional golf club shaft, not shown.
This arrangement provides a unitized connection between the toe 18, rear surface 26, heel 16 and hosel 14, which sections are connected by the elongated ribbon shaped brace 28.
FIG. 5, 6 and 7 illustrate a second embodiment of a golf club head 100 in accordance with the present invention. In this embodiment, the club head 100 is identical to that described with respect to FIGS. 1-4, including an elongated ribbon shaped support brace 128 and further includes a skimmer 140 on the bottom sole 124 which extends upwardly across the rear surface 126 and connects with the support band 128 further stabilizing the golf club head 100.
FIGS. 8 and 9 show a third embodiment of a golf club head 200 in accordance with the present invention. This embodiment is identical to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-4, with the exception that a reinforcing band 228 extends upwardly onto a side surface of the hosel 214.
FIGS. 10-12 show a fourth embodiment of a golf club head 300 which is identical to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, with the exception of a secondary reinforcement band 340 extending across the bottom surface 324 and connecting to the reinforcement band 328 at a point adjacent the toe 318 the heel 316 of the club head 300.
FIGS. 13-16 show a fifth embodiment of a golf club head 400 which is identical to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 10-12, with the addition of a skimmer 450 located on the bottom surface 424 and connected between auxiliary support band 440 and support band 428 at the rear surface 426 of the club head 400. The skimmer 450 extends in a front to rear direction from the auxiliary band 440 to the rear surface 426.
FIG. 17 shows a sixth embodiment of a golf club head 500 in accordance with the present invention which is identical to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 13-16 with the exception that the skimmer 550 extends from the ball striking face 520 to the rear surface 526, interrupting the auxiliary support band 540.
FIGS. 18-21 show a seventh embodiment of a golf club head 600 in accordance with the present invention. Again, this embodiment is identical to the embodiments described in FIGS. 1-4, with the addition of a pair of auxiliary brace or support members 640 extending across the top or upper surface 622 of the club head 600 from a point adjacent the ball striking face 620 onto the rear surface 626 and connecting with a support band 628. In this embodiment, the auxiliary bands 640 further reinforce the upper surface 622 of the club head.
FIG. 22 shows an eighth embodiment of a golf club head 700 in accordance with the present invention which is similar to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 18-21 and further includes two skimmer members 750 and 752 formed on a bottom surface 724 which connect to a second auxiliary support band 742 and brace member 728.
FIGS. 23-26 show a ninth embodiment of a golf club head 800 in accordance with the present invention which is identical to the embodiment described in FIG. 22 and further includes a skimmer 850 formed on the bottom surface 824 which connects an auxiliary support band 842 and a support band 828. As with the previous embodiments, auxiliary bands 840 extend across the top surface 822 and connect with band 828 on the rear surface 826. Thus, this embodiment provides a totally unitized club head construction wherein support members extend on the top surface, bottom surface, side and rear surfaces and hosel of the club head 800.
FIGS. 27 and 28 show a tenth embodiment of a golf club head 900 in accordance with the present invention. The club head is similar in all respects to the club heads described hereinabove, except for the outer reinforcing support members including a single top surface member 910 formed on the top surface 912 of the club head 900 which interconnects to another reinforcing outer support member 920 located on the rear surface 924 and extending upwardly to the hosel 914 of the club head 900. The upper support member extends from adjacent the club face 924 to the rear 916 of the club head 900.
FIG. 29 shows an eleventh embodiment of a golf club head 1000 in accordance with the present invention and includes a reinforcing outer support system formed of a pair of separated support members 1012 and 1014 located on the rear 1016 of the club head. The support members are in line with each other and are separated at the rearwardmost portion 1016 of the club head 1000.
FIG. 30 shows a twelfth embodiment of a golf club head 1100 in accordance with the present invention including a wide and thicker reinforcing support member 1110 extending from the hosel 1112 across the bottom 1114 to the toe 1116 portion. The location of the support member 1110 locates a greater mass toward the front of the club head adjacent the bottom of the club head body. This additional mass permits the club to make more effective, solid shots particularly from fairway bunker rough and other tight lies and adverse ball positions. The structure produces greater club head stability and accuracy with a minimum loss of distance for balls hit under such normally penalizing conditions. In this embodiment, a skimmer 1120 joins the wider, raised massive support member 1110. This unique combination minimizes thin shots when ball contact occurs at the lower portion of the ball striking face 1124 on the club head 1100 because of the increased mass and energy transfer at this point.
FIGS. 31-36 show various embodiments of golf club heads having reinforcing outer surface systems in combination with various ground engaging skimmer structures to control the movement of the club head as it is swung and engages the ground support surface. It will be appreciated that these club heads are particularly adapted for use with fairway type woods having increased loft to facilitate getting a golf ball airborne when it is struck from an adverse lie condition.
Referring to FIG. 31, a thirteenth embodiment of a golf club head 1200 includes an outer reinforcing support band 1210 and a skimmer 1212 extending downwardly and rearwardly from the club face 1214 toward the rear 1216 of the club head 1200. The skimmer 1212 includes a hump or bulge 1213 just past the center on the bottom surface which permits the club head to tilt backward increasing the face loft which facilitates getting the ball airborne from fairways, bunkers, sand traps and thick turf.
FIGS. 32 and 33 show a fourteenth embodiment of a golf club head 1300 including a reinforcing outer support member 1310 and a ground engaging skimmer 1312 which slopes downwardly and rearwardly from the club face 1314 and further extends upwardly at the rear 1316 of the club head.
FIG. 34 shows a fifteenth embodiment of a golf club head 1400 in accordance with the present invention including an outer reinforcing support member 1410 and a triangular or wedge shaped sole skimmer 1412 across the sole 1414 of the club head 1400. The skimmer 1412 includes a hump 1416 located toward the rearward end of the skimmer 1412. As seen in the drawing, the skimmer is wider adjacent the club face 1418 and tapers progressively narrower toward the rear 1420 of the club head.
FIG. 35 shows a sixteenth embodiment of a golf club head 1500 in accordance with the present invention including an outer reinforcing band 1510 and a ground surface skimmer 1512 having a hump 1514 extending to and connecting with the band 1510 at the rear 1516 of the club head.
FIG. 36 shows a seventeenth embodiment of a golf club head 1600 in accordance with the present invention. The club head includes an outer reinforcing support member 1610 and a wedge shaped sole skimmer 1612 having a narrow end adjacent the club face 1614 and becoming progressively wider toward the rear 1616 of the club head 1600.
While various preferred embodiments have been shown and described, it will be understood that there is no intent to limit the invention by such disclosure, but rather, is intended to cover all modifications and alternate constructions falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. | A metalwood type golf club head is disclosed having a reinforced outer support system formed of elongated support bands providing additional strength and mass on the outer side walls, rear, bottom and crown areas for added overall club head strength, increased stability and control when ball contact occurs during a high velocity club head swing. | Summarize the key points of the given document. | [
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a metalwood type golf club head, and in particular, to a metalwood club head having an improved reinforced outer support system.",
"The majority of wood type golf club heads manufactured today are made of various types of metals and other suitable materials and are formed with a hosel, a club head body formed by a metal shell having thin side walls and upper crowns, connected to a more substantial or reinforced frontal ball striking face to absorb the impact of a golf ball when it is struck by the club head.",
"Typically, the metal shell is then interfaced or joined with a stronger sole plate to complete the club head.",
"Normally, there is no substantial support means to reinforce the side walls and the thin upper crown sections of a club head.",
"Thus, the overall structure of the club head, with an inner reinforced ball striking face, and thinner unreinforced surrounding outer shell sections do not minimize overall adverse club head feel or distortions that occur when off center ball contact is made.",
"Furthermore, metalwood club heads currently are being made larger and larger to induce a golfer to purchase a golf club in the belief that the larger heads make it easier to contact a golf ball.",
"Such larger heads have still thinner side walls and are typically made of stronger metal such as titanium and other suitable materials.",
"However, the larger club heads require more surrounding reinforcement means to produce a solid feel and stability at impact for greater accuracy and further distance.",
"Various attempts have been made to reinforce metalwood type club heads, mostly to support the interior of the shell, particularly behind the club face and under the upper crown surface of the club head.",
"Limited success has been provided by these efforts to improve club head stability at impact when a golf ball is struck.",
"Prior art U.S. patents disclosing various reinforcing systems.",
"U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,399 to Raymont reinforces the rear inner surface of the ball striking face with a honeycomb structure.",
"U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,754 to Zebelean shows a metalwood golf club head having inner reinforcing ribs which extend internally below the top crown and form a bridge to the ball striking face.",
"U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,145 to Schmidt shows a hollow metalwood club head reinforced by an internal metal ridge integral with the front wall and extending longitudinally and downwardly from a central region toward the heel and toe portions of the club head.",
"My own U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,230, reinforces the interior of a metalwood with a first mass located behind the ball striking face and a second mass under the upper or crown surface of the club head.",
"Another of my own U.S. Patents, U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,279 includes a peripheral weighting and reinforcement system that provides additional mass along the majority of the interface of the ball striking face and the crown of the club head.",
"A metalwood golf club currently marketed by McHenery Metals, shows an outer reinforcing member adjacent the rear surface of the club head.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The metalwood reinforced outer support system of the present invention provides an outer longitudinal reinforcing or brace member attached to the outer surfaces of the metalwood shell body at various locations including the side wall surfaces, rear surfaces, top surface, bottom surface and hosel.",
"A first embodiment includes a single reinforced outer supporting, ribbon shaped, band forming a brace member and extending across the side walls from the toe section, across the rear section, the heel section and onto the hosel of the club head.",
"This reinforcing system forms a unitized bracing structure overlaying the outer surfaces and surrounding the club head from the heel to the toe sections.",
"Additional embodiments include an auxiliary band shaped support located across the sole parallel to the club face which connects to opposing sections of the primary reinforced outer support at the heel and toe sections.",
"Another embodiment includes a skimmer sole located perpendicular to the club face which is connected to the reinforcing brace at the rear surface of the club head.",
"This embodiment provides a more unitized outer support system since it overlays the side walls of the heel and toe sections, rear section and sole.",
"The structure produces a much firmer and stronger club head that offers a formidable encircling support system that resists stress, buckling, twisting, shock, vibration and other adverse club head distortions that can occur at impact during the execution of a high velocity golf swing.",
"Other embodiments provide a single or dual auxiliary support band that overlays the crown surfaces of the club head in a front to rear direction.",
"The auxiliary support band structure is connected to the support brace encircling the side walls and rear section of the club head between the heel and the toe.",
"Still other preferred embodiments of the reinforced outer support system include various combinations of the above described support structures.",
"This unusual metalwood support construction provides a unique reinforcing outer support system that surrounds and overlays the critical surfaces of the club head that are most vulnerable to damaging effects of stress, cracking, buckling, vibration, and other diverse distortions that can often occur when ball contact occurs off of the center of the ball striking face.",
"The superior structure of all the embodiments of the present invention provides substantial mass to adequately reinforce the specific outer surfaces of the critical areas that are affected and can be accomplished without increasing the overall thickness and weight of the side walls and crown of the club head.",
"Among the objects of the present invention are the provision of a metalwood type golf club head that provides improved performance by reinforcing the normally weaker outer body shell sections of a metalwood type club head.",
"Another object of the present invention is the provision of a metalwood having an improved outer support system for added strength and club head stability at impact.",
"To achieve the objects and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the invention embodies a metalwood type golf club head comprising a club head body including a heel, toe, bottom sole, upper surface, ball striking face and a rear surface wherein the ball striking face intersects with a forwardmost progression of the bottom sole to define a leading edge;",
"and a hosel integrally connected to the club head body.",
"The improvement is the use of a reinforced outer support system, preferably extending from the toe, around the rear to the heel and onto the hosel which forms an outer unitized reinforced, ribbon shaped structure surrounding the club head body, thereby providing greater stability of the club head at impact, producing more solid shots for increased accuracy and longer distances.",
"The structure greatly minimizes adverse club head distortions such as buckling of side walls, twisting and torquing, knock-back, shock to the hands of the golfer and excess vibration when high velocity swings impact a golf ball on the club face.",
"In addition to providing substantial reinforcement to all critical areas of the club head, the outer support system may be formed with significant preferred mass to permit precise distribution of club head weight to more effectively alter the preferred location for the center of gravity to produce the desired feel and improve performance characteristics.",
"The reinforced outer support system also creates a club head that visibly reveals where its formidable unique support members are located to provide superior advantages not found in any other metalwood type club heads.",
"Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when viewed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which set forth certain embodiments of the invention.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a front elevational view of a golf club head in accordance with the present invention.",
"FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view thereof.",
"FIG. 3 is a heel end elevational view thereof.",
"FIG. 4 is a toe end elevational view thereof.",
"FIG. 5 is a rear elevational view of a second embodiment in accordance with the present invention.",
"FIG. 6 is a heel end view of the embodiment of FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a toe end elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 5. FIG. 8 is a heel end elevational view of a third embodiment of the present invention.",
"FIG. 9 is a rear end elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is a toe end elevational view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.",
"FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the embodiment of FIG. 10.",
"FIG. 12 is a heel end elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 10.",
"FIG. 13 is a rear elevational view of a fifth embodiment of the present invention.",
"FIG. 14 is a toe end elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 13.",
"FIG. 15 is a heel end elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 13.",
"FIG. 16 is a bottom view of the embodiment of FIG. 10.",
"FIG. 17 is a bottom view of a sixth embodiment of the present invention.",
"FIG. 18 is a top perspective view of a seventh embodiment of the present invention.",
"FIG. 19 is a heel elevational view elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 18.",
"FIG. 20 is a toe elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 18.",
"FIG. 21 is a rear elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 18.",
"FIG. 22 is a bottom view of an eighth embodiment of the present invention.",
"FIG. 23 is a rear elevational view of a ninth embodiment of the present invention.",
"FIG. 24 is a heel elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 23.",
"FIG. 25 is a toe elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 23.",
"FIG. 26 is a bottom view of the embodiment of FIG. 23.",
"FIG. 27 shows a front perspective view of a tenth embodiment of a golf club head in accordance with the present invention.",
"FIG. 28 is a rear elevational view of the golf club of FIG. 27.",
"FIG. 29 is a rear elevational view of an eleventh embodiment of a golf club head in accordance with the present invention.",
"FIG. 30 is a bottom view of a twelfth embodiment of a golf club head in accordance with the present invention.",
"FIG. 31 is a heel side elevational view of a thirteenth embodiment of a golf club head in accordance with the present invention.",
"FIG. 32 is a toe side elevational view of a fourteenth embodiment of a golf club head in accordance with the present invention.",
"FIG. 33 is a heel side view of the golf club head of FIG. 32.",
"FIG. 34 is a bottom view of a fifteenth embodiment of a golf club head in accordance with the present invention.",
"FIG. 35 is a bottom perspective view of a sixteenth embodiment of a golf club head in accordance with the present invention.",
"FIG. 36 is a bottom perspective view of a seventeenth embodiment of a golf club head in accordance with the present invention.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein.",
"It should be understood, however, that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms.",
"Therefore, the details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limited, but merely as the basis for the claims and as a basis for teaching one skilled in the art how to make and/or use the invention.",
"Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1-4 show a first embodiment of a metalwood type golf club head 10 in accordance with the present invention.",
"The club head 10 includes a club head body 12 and hosel 14.",
"The club head body 12 is conventional and includes a heel 16, heel side wall 17, toe 18, toe side wall 19, ball striking face 20, top surface 22, bottom or sole surface 24 and rear surface 26.",
"The improvement resides in an elongated ribbon shaped brace or support 28 which extends from a point adjacent the ball striking face 20 on the toe 18, wraps around the rear surface 26, to the heel 16 and upwardly onto the hosel 14 on a rear portion thereof, terminating at a top edge 30 adjacent an opening 32 for insertion of a conventional golf club shaft, not shown.",
"This arrangement provides a unitized connection between the toe 18, rear surface 26, heel 16 and hosel 14, which sections are connected by the elongated ribbon shaped brace 28.",
"FIG. 5, 6 and 7 illustrate a second embodiment of a golf club head 100 in accordance with the present invention.",
"In this embodiment, the club head 100 is identical to that described with respect to FIGS. 1-4, including an elongated ribbon shaped support brace 128 and further includes a skimmer 140 on the bottom sole 124 which extends upwardly across the rear surface 126 and connects with the support band 128 further stabilizing the golf club head 100.",
"FIGS. 8 and 9 show a third embodiment of a golf club head 200 in accordance with the present invention.",
"This embodiment is identical to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-4, with the exception that a reinforcing band 228 extends upwardly onto a side surface of the hosel 214.",
"FIGS. 10-12 show a fourth embodiment of a golf club head 300 which is identical to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, with the exception of a secondary reinforcement band 340 extending across the bottom surface 324 and connecting to the reinforcement band 328 at a point adjacent the toe 318 the heel 316 of the club head 300.",
"FIGS. 13-16 show a fifth embodiment of a golf club head 400 which is identical to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 10-12, with the addition of a skimmer 450 located on the bottom surface 424 and connected between auxiliary support band 440 and support band 428 at the rear surface 426 of the club head 400.",
"The skimmer 450 extends in a front to rear direction from the auxiliary band 440 to the rear surface 426.",
"FIG. 17 shows a sixth embodiment of a golf club head 500 in accordance with the present invention which is identical to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 13-16 with the exception that the skimmer 550 extends from the ball striking face 520 to the rear surface 526, interrupting the auxiliary support band 540.",
"FIGS. 18-21 show a seventh embodiment of a golf club head 600 in accordance with the present invention.",
"Again, this embodiment is identical to the embodiments described in FIGS. 1-4, with the addition of a pair of auxiliary brace or support members 640 extending across the top or upper surface 622 of the club head 600 from a point adjacent the ball striking face 620 onto the rear surface 626 and connecting with a support band 628.",
"In this embodiment, the auxiliary bands 640 further reinforce the upper surface 622 of the club head.",
"FIG. 22 shows an eighth embodiment of a golf club head 700 in accordance with the present invention which is similar to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 18-21 and further includes two skimmer members 750 and 752 formed on a bottom surface 724 which connect to a second auxiliary support band 742 and brace member 728.",
"FIGS. 23-26 show a ninth embodiment of a golf club head 800 in accordance with the present invention which is identical to the embodiment described in FIG. 22 and further includes a skimmer 850 formed on the bottom surface 824 which connects an auxiliary support band 842 and a support band 828.",
"As with the previous embodiments, auxiliary bands 840 extend across the top surface 822 and connect with band 828 on the rear surface 826.",
"Thus, this embodiment provides a totally unitized club head construction wherein support members extend on the top surface, bottom surface, side and rear surfaces and hosel of the club head 800.",
"FIGS. 27 and 28 show a tenth embodiment of a golf club head 900 in accordance with the present invention.",
"The club head is similar in all respects to the club heads described hereinabove, except for the outer reinforcing support members including a single top surface member 910 formed on the top surface 912 of the club head 900 which interconnects to another reinforcing outer support member 920 located on the rear surface 924 and extending upwardly to the hosel 914 of the club head 900.",
"The upper support member extends from adjacent the club face 924 to the rear 916 of the club head 900.",
"FIG. 29 shows an eleventh embodiment of a golf club head 1000 in accordance with the present invention and includes a reinforcing outer support system formed of a pair of separated support members 1012 and 1014 located on the rear 1016 of the club head.",
"The support members are in line with each other and are separated at the rearwardmost portion 1016 of the club head 1000.",
"FIG. 30 shows a twelfth embodiment of a golf club head 1100 in accordance with the present invention including a wide and thicker reinforcing support member 1110 extending from the hosel 1112 across the bottom 1114 to the toe 1116 portion.",
"The location of the support member 1110 locates a greater mass toward the front of the club head adjacent the bottom of the club head body.",
"This additional mass permits the club to make more effective, solid shots particularly from fairway bunker rough and other tight lies and adverse ball positions.",
"The structure produces greater club head stability and accuracy with a minimum loss of distance for balls hit under such normally penalizing conditions.",
"In this embodiment, a skimmer 1120 joins the wider, raised massive support member 1110.",
"This unique combination minimizes thin shots when ball contact occurs at the lower portion of the ball striking face 1124 on the club head 1100 because of the increased mass and energy transfer at this point.",
"FIGS. 31-36 show various embodiments of golf club heads having reinforcing outer surface systems in combination with various ground engaging skimmer structures to control the movement of the club head as it is swung and engages the ground support surface.",
"It will be appreciated that these club heads are particularly adapted for use with fairway type woods having increased loft to facilitate getting a golf ball airborne when it is struck from an adverse lie condition.",
"Referring to FIG. 31, a thirteenth embodiment of a golf club head 1200 includes an outer reinforcing support band 1210 and a skimmer 1212 extending downwardly and rearwardly from the club face 1214 toward the rear 1216 of the club head 1200.",
"The skimmer 1212 includes a hump or bulge 1213 just past the center on the bottom surface which permits the club head to tilt backward increasing the face loft which facilitates getting the ball airborne from fairways, bunkers, sand traps and thick turf.",
"FIGS. 32 and 33 show a fourteenth embodiment of a golf club head 1300 including a reinforcing outer support member 1310 and a ground engaging skimmer 1312 which slopes downwardly and rearwardly from the club face 1314 and further extends upwardly at the rear 1316 of the club head.",
"FIG. 34 shows a fifteenth embodiment of a golf club head 1400 in accordance with the present invention including an outer reinforcing support member 1410 and a triangular or wedge shaped sole skimmer 1412 across the sole 1414 of the club head 1400.",
"The skimmer 1412 includes a hump 1416 located toward the rearward end of the skimmer 1412.",
"As seen in the drawing, the skimmer is wider adjacent the club face 1418 and tapers progressively narrower toward the rear 1420 of the club head.",
"FIG. 35 shows a sixteenth embodiment of a golf club head 1500 in accordance with the present invention including an outer reinforcing band 1510 and a ground surface skimmer 1512 having a hump 1514 extending to and connecting with the band 1510 at the rear 1516 of the club head.",
"FIG. 36 shows a seventeenth embodiment of a golf club head 1600 in accordance with the present invention.",
"The club head includes an outer reinforcing support member 1610 and a wedge shaped sole skimmer 1612 having a narrow end adjacent the club face 1614 and becoming progressively wider toward the rear 1616 of the club head 1600.",
"While various preferred embodiments have been shown and described, it will be understood that there is no intent to limit the invention by such disclosure, but rather, is intended to cover all modifications and alternate constructions falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims."
] |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a trailer light connection system, and more particularly relates to connector components thereof which provide easy and reliable installation.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Trailer light connector systems are well known in the art. The systems differ slightly depending upon the model and type of towing vehicle.
In a pick-up truck for example, the factory installs, as original equipment, electrical wiring for the cab and electrical wiring for the chassis. The cab wiring and chassis wiring are electrically interconnected by a plug having male terminals and a plug having female terminals cooperatively coupled as a plug set to complete the electrical circuit therebetween.
A T-shaped connector may selectively be interposed between the plugs of the plug set to retain the overall vehicle circuit while providing a tap for electrical power to a trailer. T-shaped connectors of this type have been commercially available from the assignee of the present invention and from its predecessor in interest, Olathe Automotive Wiring Company. The prior art T-shaped connector included a plurality of individual insulated wires extending outwardly from the T-shaped connector body for the trailer tap. These insulated tap wires from the T-shaped connector body were then hard wired to the vehicle end of a trailer wiring system. This hard wiring of the trailer tap to the trailer wiring system was inconvenient and time consuming and required care and experience in matching the tap wires of the T-shaped connector to like wires in the trailer wiring system. In addition, at times, special tools, such as a soldering gun, were required to complete the hard wiring process.
Another type of trailer light connection system utilizing a different type of T-shaped connector is shown in Hopkins et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,524. The T-shaped connector has a body with three terminals. The first terminal is adapted for connection to a male vehicle wiring plug, the second terminal is adapted for connection to a female vehicle wiring plug to complete the vehicle electrical circuit, and the third terminal (constituting a tap plug) provides a source of electrical power for the trailer. A wiring harness having a first harness plug is removably coupled to the tap plug at one end and is coupled to the trailer light system at its other end to complete the electrical connection between the vehicle and the trailer.
The T-shaped connectors described in Hopkins U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,524 contribute important advantages to a connection system using modular components. The modular system facilitates connecting the trailer light electrical system with the towing vehicle electrical system and reduces the number of stockkeeping units needed. However, the T-shaped connectors shown in the patent lack a certain amount of flexibility in being able to provide a standarized tap plug which can be used with trailers having backup lights and with trailers which do not. More particularly, a tap plug having four terminals is typically used to provide power from a towing vehicle to a trailer with backup lights. The four terminals provide right and left turn signal functions, brake light functions and back-up light functions, respectively.
However, if the trailer does not have backup lights, only three of the terminals are necessary, and consequently, the extra conductor leading from the T-shaped connector for the backup lights on the trailer is unused. In this case, the unused conductor is typically cut, and the cut portion leading from the tap plug is stripped and connected to a ground on the towing vehicle to provide an electrical ground between the trailer and the towing vehicle. This hard wiring, however, can be inconvenient and time consuming to install, and does not always provide a reliable electrical connection.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a new and useful trailer light connection system that may be quickly and reliably installed without special tools. The trailer light connection system includes a T-shaped connector having a body with three terminals, wherein the first terminal is designed to be connected to a male vehicle wiring plug and a second terminal is adapted to be connected to a female vehicle wiring plug to complete the vehicle electrical circuit. A third terminal constituting a tap plug is connected to the body by a plurality of insulated conductors to provide a source of electrical power from the vehicle to the trailer. One of the conductors can be disconnected from the T-shaped connector and connected to a grounded receptacle on the vehicle to provide a grounded connection between the trailer and the towing vehicle. A wiring harness having a first harness plug can be removably coupled to the tap plug on the T-shaped connector on one end and to the trailer wiring system at the other end to complete the electrical connection between the vehicle and the trailer. Alternatively, the tap plug can be coupled directly to the trailer wiring system if the insulated conductors are long enough and the respective plugs are compatible.
Three of the insulated conductors leading from the body of the T-shaped connector to the tap plug provide power for the right and left turn signals and the brake lights, respectively. A fourth insulated conductor from the T-shaped connector includes a relatively short first conductor portion with a female receptacle which can be removably connected to a male plug on a relatively longer second conductor portion leading to the tap plug to provide power for the back-up lights on the trailer. In an alternative second embodiment, the T-shape connector body may have a female receptacle selectively to receive a male plug on the vehicle end of the fourth insulated conductor.
If the trailer does not include back-up lights, the male plug on the second portion of the fourth conductor can be unplugged from the female receptacle on the first portion. The male plug on the second portion of the fourth conductor is then removably connected to a grounded female receptacle on the vehicle to electrically ground the trailer to the vehicle. An insulated sheath can then be located over the female receptacle on the first portion of the fourth conductor to prevent damage to the female receptacle. In the alternative embodiment, if the trailer does not include back-up lights, the male plug at the vehicle end of the fourth conductor is disconnected from the T-shape connector body and is then connected to the grounded female receptacle on the vehicle to ground the trailer to the vehicle.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a T-shaped connector in a trailer light connection set for towing vehicles having a plug-in tap connection.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a standardized T-shaped connector which can be used both with trailers having back-up lights and with trailers without backup lights, and which can be interchanged therebetween.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings which form a part of the specification.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a bottom, partial perspective of the pick-up truck and trailer illustrating a trailer light connection system including a modular T-shaped connector of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the modular T-shaped connector of FIG. 1, with the wiring and electrical connections in the connector body being schematically illustrated, and the connection to a ground receptacle being shown in phantom;
FIG. 3 is an end view of one terminal on the T-shaped connector of FIG. 2, taken substantially along the plane described by the lines 3--3 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is an end view of a second terminal on the T-shaped connector of FIG. 2, taken substantially along the plane described by the lines 4--4 in FIG. 2; and
FIG. 5 is a plan view of a second embodiment of the modular T-shaped connector, with the wiring and electrical connections of the fourth conductor between the connector body and tap plug being shown in phantom, and the selective connection of the fourth conductor to a ground receptacle on the vehicle being shown in full lines.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to the drawings, and initially to FIG. 1, a trailer 10 is mechanically removably connected to a pick-up truck 20 by means of a trailer yoke 30. The electrical lighting system of the pick-up truck may be readily coupled to the electrical lighting system of the trailer by the trailer light connection system of the present invention.
To this end, the pick-up truck 20 includes as original equipment two separate electrical systems which are normally plugged together. The cab of the pick-up truck 20 will include an electrical system terminating in a plug 61. The truck body or chassis will have an electrical system terminating in a plug 62. Plugs 61 and 62 are normally held together by cooperating male and female terminals to couple the two electrical systems together into one overall electrical circuit for the vehicle. The specific form and size of the plugs 61 and 62 and of their respective male and female terminals may vary from model to model and/or from year to year.
To provide a trailer tap into the electrical circuit of the pick-up truck 20, a T-shaped connector, indicated generally at 63, is inserted between plugs 61 and 62. In FIGS. 2-4, a T-shaped connector for use with a Ford pick-up truck from model years 1980 to date is shown as illustrative of the concepts of the present invention. The T-shaped connector 63 includes a molded plastic body 64, preferably made of black PVC type material. The T-shaped molded body 64 has a first male terminal, indicated generally at 65, a second female terminal, indicated generally at 66 and a third trailer tap terminal, indicated generally at 67. The third trailer tap terminal 67 is connected to but spaced remotely from the body of the T-shaped connector.
The first male terminal 65 includes four spaced male terminal blades or prongs 69A-69D. These blades 69A-69D are mounted in and extend outwardly from the T-shaped body 64. The blades 69 are surrounded by a shroud or skirt 70 integrally formed with the molded body 64. The skirt 70 preferably has three circumferentially spaced outwardly extending key ways 71 formed therein. These key-ways cooperate with outwardly projecting ribs on plug 62 to properly orient and guide the plug 62 relative to first terminal means 65. The plug 62 has four female terminal receptacles which respectively receive the male blades 69 when the plug 62 is fully received in shroud 70.
The second terminal 66 includes four spaced female terminal receptacles 73A-73D. These female receptacles receive the male terminal blades on the plug 61. Plug 61 has a configuration corresponding to the first terminal 65 and has a skirt thereon which surrounds the second terminal 66 when the plugs are connected together. The plug 61 is properly oriented and guided by a rib 74 on body 64 cooperating with a key-way in the inner wall of the protective skirt on plug 61.
The third terminal 67, which provides the electrical tap for the trailer, is connected to the body 64 by insulated conductors 78A"-78D". The third terminal of the T-shaped connector includes three female receptacle terminals 75A-75C and a male terminal 76.
As shown, electrical wires are embedded in the T-shaped connector body 64 electrically interconnecting the three terminal means. To this end, electrical wire 78A extends from male blade 69A in the first terminal and is connected together (e.g., spliced) with wire 78A'. Spliced wires 78A and 78A' electrically interconnect male blade 69A in the first terminal with female receptacle 73A in the second terminal. First insulated conductor 78A" is connected to and leads from spliced wires 78A and 78A' to female receptacle terminal 75A on the tap plug 67. Wires 78A and 78A' and first conductor 78A" thereby have a common conductive contact to form a closed or continuous circuit between the male terminal blade 69A of the first terminal 65, the female receptacle contact 75A of the third terminal 67 and the female receptacle 73a of the second terminal 66.
The other functionally corresponding terminal blades and female terminal receptacles in the three terminals are similarly wired as illustrated. Specifically, spliced wires 78B and 78B' interconnect male terminal 69B of the first terminal to female terminal receptacle 73B of the second terminal; and second insulated conductor 78B" is connected to and leads from spliced wires 78B and 78B' to female receptacle 75B of the third terminal. Spliced wires 78C and 78C' interconnect male terminal 69c of the first terminal with female terminal receptacle 73C of the second terminal; and third insulated conductor 78C" is connected to and leads from spliced wires 78C and 78C' to the female receptacle 75C of the third terminal. Finally, spliced wires 78D and 78D' interconnect male terminal 69D of the first terminal to female terminal receptacle 73D on the second terminal; and fourth insulated conductor 78D" is connected to and leads from spliced wires 78D and 78D' to male terminal 76 on the third terminal.
Fourth insulated conductor 78D" includes a first, relatively short conductor portion 80, and a second, relatively longer conductor portion 80'. The first and second conductor portions 80 and 80' of fourth insulated conductor 78D" are selectively electrically connected together. For example, first conductor portion 80 can have a female receptacle 81 on its free end, and the second conductor portion 80' can have a male plug 81, such as a round or flat blade, on its free end. The male plug 81' is designed to selectively mate with and be held within the female receptacle 81 to complete and electrically couple the first and second portions to form the fourth conductor 78D".
As will be apparent from the above, when female plug 62 is connected to the first terminal 65 and the male plug 61 is connected to the second terminal 66, the interposed T-shaped connector 63 maintains electrical circuit continuity for the overall vehicle between the chassis electrical system and the cab electrical system, while providing an activated third terminal as a tap for electrical power to the trailer lighting system. The cooperating ribs and keyways on the plugs and T-shaped connector ensure that terminals of like function are coupled to maintain the lighting integrity of the system.
The third terminal 67 is in the form of a tap plug which may readily be plugged into the cooperating plug 12 on the lead end of the trailer wiring harness 14. Plug 12 has three male terminals and a female receptacle terminal cooperatively interfitting in the proper electrical and mechanical orientation with the terminals on the third terminal 67 of the T-shaped connector 63. Thus, the trailer wiring harness can be easily and rapidly plugged into the T-shaped connector to provide a reliable electrical connection for the trailer. The other or rear end of the trailer wiring harness 14 has a plug 16 that cooperatively mates with a plug 17 on the trailer wiring system to complete the electrical lighting circuit between the pick-up truck 20 and the trailer 10. Alternatively, if the four conductors 78A"-78D" are long enough and plug 17 on the trailer wiring system is compatible with tap plug 67 on the T-shape connector, the wiring harness 14 may be dispensed with by directly coupling plug 17 on the trailer system to tap plug 67 on the T-shape connector.
The T-shaped connector shown in FIG. 2 is for a four wire trailer light electrical system having backup lights. As described previously, the wires 78A, 78A' and first conductor 78A" provide power for the tail and brake lights of the trailer. The wires 78B, 78B' and conductor 78B" provide power for the right turn signal on the trailer; while wires 78C, 78C' and third conductor 78C" provide power for the left turn signal on the trailer. The wires 78D, 78D' and conductor 78D" provide power to the back-up lights on the trailer through male terminal 76.
For a three wire trailer light electrical system which does not have a back-up light circuit, fourth conductor 78D" is not used, and hence this conductor can be disconnected from the trailer. However, it is also important to maintain a proper ground between the trailer and the towing vehicle. Accordingly, male plug 81' on the second conductor portion 80' can be removed from female receptacle 81 on the first conductor portion 80. The seoond conductor portion 80' is then repositioned so that male plug 81' can be connected to a remote grounded receptacle 85 (see FIG. 2). The grounded receptacle 85 can comprise a ring terminal or other means which is electrically connected (e.g., bolted) to a ground on the towing vehicle. The male plug 81' can cooperatively mate with the grounded receptacle 85 to connect the second conductor portion 80' of the fourth conductor to ground, and hence ground the trailer to the towing vehicle. This grounded connection is provided through the wiring harness, tap plug and fourth conductor to the vehicle. An insulating sheath 86 can be provided over the open female receptacle 81 on first conductor portion 80 to prevent water or other damage to the female receptacle.
Alternately, according to a second embodiment of the invention as shown in FIG. 5, the fourth conductor 78D" can comprise a single conductor extending from tap plug 67 to a plug connection with the body of the T-shaped connector 63. In this embodiment, conductor 78D" includes male plug 81' on its selectively free end. The male plug 81' may be fittingly received in female receptacle 81 located in the body of the T-shaped connector. As described previously, plug 81' can be removed from female receptacle 81 when connecting the trailer light connection system to a trailer without backup lights. Fourth conductor 78D" is then repositioned so that male plug 81' can be inserted within grounded receptacle 85 to provide a grounded connection between the trailer and the towing vehicle. Additionally, an insulated plug (not shown) can be located in open female receptacle 81 to prevent damage to the receptacle.
It will be appreciated that the T-shape connector of the present invention can be readily interchanged between trailer lighting systems with or without backup lights. For example, to convert from a trailer without backup lights to a trailer with backup lights, the fourth conductor is merely reconnected between the tap plug 67 and the connector body 64, and the tap plug is then coupled to a complementary plug on the harness or trailer wiring system.
In either of the embodiments described above, the third terminal 67 is of an identical size and configuration for each T-shaped connector 63. Thus, even though the T-shaped connector may otherwise vary in size and/or terminal configuration for the first and second terminal means depending upon the vehicle manufacture and model year, the third terminal or trailer tap is identical for each and every T-shaped connector. Moreover, the third terminal can be used with both three and four wire trailer lighting systems. By standardizing the third terminal and all T-shaped connectors, a modular trailer light connection system is provided for pick-ups or other trucks. The standardized third terminal allows the number of stock keeping units required for trailer wiring harnesses to be reduced, while providing an easy to use system.
It will be apparent from the foregoing that changes may be made to the details of construction and configuration of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the following claims. | A trailer light connection system includes a T-shaped connector having three terminals including a modularized tap plug as the third terminal for direct or indirect connection to the trailer lighting system. One of the conductors leading to the tap plug can be selectively disconnected from the first and second terminals and then reconnected to a ground receptacle on the vehicle to ground the trailer to the towing vehicle when the trailer does not have a back-up light system. By standardizing the system components and modularizing the tap plug connections, the trailer light system of the present invention reduces the number of stock keeping units required while simplifying system installation. | Briefly summarize the main idea's components and working principles as described in the context. | [
"FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to a trailer light connection system, and more particularly relates to connector components thereof which provide easy and reliable installation.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Trailer light connector systems are well known in the art.",
"The systems differ slightly depending upon the model and type of towing vehicle.",
"In a pick-up truck for example, the factory installs, as original equipment, electrical wiring for the cab and electrical wiring for the chassis.",
"The cab wiring and chassis wiring are electrically interconnected by a plug having male terminals and a plug having female terminals cooperatively coupled as a plug set to complete the electrical circuit therebetween.",
"A T-shaped connector may selectively be interposed between the plugs of the plug set to retain the overall vehicle circuit while providing a tap for electrical power to a trailer.",
"T-shaped connectors of this type have been commercially available from the assignee of the present invention and from its predecessor in interest, Olathe Automotive Wiring Company.",
"The prior art T-shaped connector included a plurality of individual insulated wires extending outwardly from the T-shaped connector body for the trailer tap.",
"These insulated tap wires from the T-shaped connector body were then hard wired to the vehicle end of a trailer wiring system.",
"This hard wiring of the trailer tap to the trailer wiring system was inconvenient and time consuming and required care and experience in matching the tap wires of the T-shaped connector to like wires in the trailer wiring system.",
"In addition, at times, special tools, such as a soldering gun, were required to complete the hard wiring process.",
"Another type of trailer light connection system utilizing a different type of T-shaped connector is shown in Hopkins et al.",
", U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,524.",
"The T-shaped connector has a body with three terminals.",
"The first terminal is adapted for connection to a male vehicle wiring plug, the second terminal is adapted for connection to a female vehicle wiring plug to complete the vehicle electrical circuit, and the third terminal (constituting a tap plug) provides a source of electrical power for the trailer.",
"A wiring harness having a first harness plug is removably coupled to the tap plug at one end and is coupled to the trailer light system at its other end to complete the electrical connection between the vehicle and the trailer.",
"The T-shaped connectors described in Hopkins U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,524 contribute important advantages to a connection system using modular components.",
"The modular system facilitates connecting the trailer light electrical system with the towing vehicle electrical system and reduces the number of stockkeeping units needed.",
"However, the T-shaped connectors shown in the patent lack a certain amount of flexibility in being able to provide a standarized tap plug which can be used with trailers having backup lights and with trailers which do not.",
"More particularly, a tap plug having four terminals is typically used to provide power from a towing vehicle to a trailer with backup lights.",
"The four terminals provide right and left turn signal functions, brake light functions and back-up light functions, respectively.",
"However, if the trailer does not have backup lights, only three of the terminals are necessary, and consequently, the extra conductor leading from the T-shaped connector for the backup lights on the trailer is unused.",
"In this case, the unused conductor is typically cut, and the cut portion leading from the tap plug is stripped and connected to a ground on the towing vehicle to provide an electrical ground between the trailer and the towing vehicle.",
"This hard wiring, however, can be inconvenient and time consuming to install, and does not always provide a reliable electrical connection.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a new and useful trailer light connection system that may be quickly and reliably installed without special tools.",
"The trailer light connection system includes a T-shaped connector having a body with three terminals, wherein the first terminal is designed to be connected to a male vehicle wiring plug and a second terminal is adapted to be connected to a female vehicle wiring plug to complete the vehicle electrical circuit.",
"A third terminal constituting a tap plug is connected to the body by a plurality of insulated conductors to provide a source of electrical power from the vehicle to the trailer.",
"One of the conductors can be disconnected from the T-shaped connector and connected to a grounded receptacle on the vehicle to provide a grounded connection between the trailer and the towing vehicle.",
"A wiring harness having a first harness plug can be removably coupled to the tap plug on the T-shaped connector on one end and to the trailer wiring system at the other end to complete the electrical connection between the vehicle and the trailer.",
"Alternatively, the tap plug can be coupled directly to the trailer wiring system if the insulated conductors are long enough and the respective plugs are compatible.",
"Three of the insulated conductors leading from the body of the T-shaped connector to the tap plug provide power for the right and left turn signals and the brake lights, respectively.",
"A fourth insulated conductor from the T-shaped connector includes a relatively short first conductor portion with a female receptacle which can be removably connected to a male plug on a relatively longer second conductor portion leading to the tap plug to provide power for the back-up lights on the trailer.",
"In an alternative second embodiment, the T-shape connector body may have a female receptacle selectively to receive a male plug on the vehicle end of the fourth insulated conductor.",
"If the trailer does not include back-up lights, the male plug on the second portion of the fourth conductor can be unplugged from the female receptacle on the first portion.",
"The male plug on the second portion of the fourth conductor is then removably connected to a grounded female receptacle on the vehicle to electrically ground the trailer to the vehicle.",
"An insulated sheath can then be located over the female receptacle on the first portion of the fourth conductor to prevent damage to the female receptacle.",
"In the alternative embodiment, if the trailer does not include back-up lights, the male plug at the vehicle end of the fourth conductor is disconnected from the T-shape connector body and is then connected to the grounded female receptacle on the vehicle to ground the trailer to the vehicle.",
"It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a T-shaped connector in a trailer light connection set for towing vehicles having a plug-in tap connection.",
"It is another object of the present invention to provide a standardized T-shaped connector which can be used both with trailers having back-up lights and with trailers without backup lights, and which can be interchanged therebetween.",
"These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings which form a part of the specification.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a bottom, partial perspective of the pick-up truck and trailer illustrating a trailer light connection system including a modular T-shaped connector of the present invention;",
"FIG. 2 is a plan view of the modular T-shaped connector of FIG. 1, with the wiring and electrical connections in the connector body being schematically illustrated, and the connection to a ground receptacle being shown in phantom;",
"FIG. 3 is an end view of one terminal on the T-shaped connector of FIG. 2, taken substantially along the plane described by the lines 3--3 of FIG. 2;",
"FIG. 4 is an end view of a second terminal on the T-shaped connector of FIG. 2, taken substantially along the plane described by the lines 4--4 in FIG. 2;",
"and FIG. 5 is a plan view of a second embodiment of the modular T-shaped connector, with the wiring and electrical connections of the fourth conductor between the connector body and tap plug being shown in phantom, and the selective connection of the fourth conductor to a ground receptacle on the vehicle being shown in full lines.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, and initially to FIG. 1, a trailer 10 is mechanically removably connected to a pick-up truck 20 by means of a trailer yoke 30.",
"The electrical lighting system of the pick-up truck may be readily coupled to the electrical lighting system of the trailer by the trailer light connection system of the present invention.",
"To this end, the pick-up truck 20 includes as original equipment two separate electrical systems which are normally plugged together.",
"The cab of the pick-up truck 20 will include an electrical system terminating in a plug 61.",
"The truck body or chassis will have an electrical system terminating in a plug 62.",
"Plugs 61 and 62 are normally held together by cooperating male and female terminals to couple the two electrical systems together into one overall electrical circuit for the vehicle.",
"The specific form and size of the plugs 61 and 62 and of their respective male and female terminals may vary from model to model and/or from year to year.",
"To provide a trailer tap into the electrical circuit of the pick-up truck 20, a T-shaped connector, indicated generally at 63, is inserted between plugs 61 and 62.",
"In FIGS. 2-4, a T-shaped connector for use with a Ford pick-up truck from model years 1980 to date is shown as illustrative of the concepts of the present invention.",
"The T-shaped connector 63 includes a molded plastic body 64, preferably made of black PVC type material.",
"The T-shaped molded body 64 has a first male terminal, indicated generally at 65, a second female terminal, indicated generally at 66 and a third trailer tap terminal, indicated generally at 67.",
"The third trailer tap terminal 67 is connected to but spaced remotely from the body of the T-shaped connector.",
"The first male terminal 65 includes four spaced male terminal blades or prongs 69A-69D.",
"These blades 69A-69D are mounted in and extend outwardly from the T-shaped body 64.",
"The blades 69 are surrounded by a shroud or skirt 70 integrally formed with the molded body 64.",
"The skirt 70 preferably has three circumferentially spaced outwardly extending key ways 71 formed therein.",
"These key-ways cooperate with outwardly projecting ribs on plug 62 to properly orient and guide the plug 62 relative to first terminal means 65.",
"The plug 62 has four female terminal receptacles which respectively receive the male blades 69 when the plug 62 is fully received in shroud 70.",
"The second terminal 66 includes four spaced female terminal receptacles 73A-73D.",
"These female receptacles receive the male terminal blades on the plug 61.",
"Plug 61 has a configuration corresponding to the first terminal 65 and has a skirt thereon which surrounds the second terminal 66 when the plugs are connected together.",
"The plug 61 is properly oriented and guided by a rib 74 on body 64 cooperating with a key-way in the inner wall of the protective skirt on plug 61.",
"The third terminal 67, which provides the electrical tap for the trailer, is connected to the body 64 by insulated conductors 78A"-78D".",
"The third terminal of the T-shaped connector includes three female receptacle terminals 75A-75C and a male terminal 76.",
"As shown, electrical wires are embedded in the T-shaped connector body 64 electrically interconnecting the three terminal means.",
"To this end, electrical wire 78A extends from male blade 69A in the first terminal and is connected together (e.g., spliced) with wire 78A'.",
"Spliced wires 78A and 78A'",
"electrically interconnect male blade 69A in the first terminal with female receptacle 73A in the second terminal.",
"First insulated conductor 78A"",
"is connected to and leads from spliced wires 78A and 78A'",
"to female receptacle terminal 75A on the tap plug 67.",
"Wires 78A and 78A'",
"and first conductor 78A"",
"thereby have a common conductive contact to form a closed or continuous circuit between the male terminal blade 69A of the first terminal 65, the female receptacle contact 75A of the third terminal 67 and the female receptacle 73a of the second terminal 66.",
"The other functionally corresponding terminal blades and female terminal receptacles in the three terminals are similarly wired as illustrated.",
"Specifically, spliced wires 78B and 78B'",
"interconnect male terminal 69B of the first terminal to female terminal receptacle 73B of the second terminal;",
"and second insulated conductor 78B"",
"is connected to and leads from spliced wires 78B and 78B'",
"to female receptacle 75B of the third terminal.",
"Spliced wires 78C and 78C'",
"interconnect male terminal 69c of the first terminal with female terminal receptacle 73C of the second terminal;",
"and third insulated conductor 78C"",
"is connected to and leads from spliced wires 78C and 78C'",
"to the female receptacle 75C of the third terminal.",
"Finally, spliced wires 78D and 78D'",
"interconnect male terminal 69D of the first terminal to female terminal receptacle 73D on the second terminal;",
"and fourth insulated conductor 78D"",
"is connected to and leads from spliced wires 78D and 78D'",
"to male terminal 76 on the third terminal.",
"Fourth insulated conductor 78D"",
"includes a first, relatively short conductor portion 80, and a second, relatively longer conductor portion 80'.",
"The first and second conductor portions 80 and 80'",
"of fourth insulated conductor 78D"",
"are selectively electrically connected together.",
"For example, first conductor portion 80 can have a female receptacle 81 on its free end, and the second conductor portion 80'",
"can have a male plug 81, such as a round or flat blade, on its free end.",
"The male plug 81'",
"is designed to selectively mate with and be held within the female receptacle 81 to complete and electrically couple the first and second portions to form the fourth conductor 78D".",
"As will be apparent from the above, when female plug 62 is connected to the first terminal 65 and the male plug 61 is connected to the second terminal 66, the interposed T-shaped connector 63 maintains electrical circuit continuity for the overall vehicle between the chassis electrical system and the cab electrical system, while providing an activated third terminal as a tap for electrical power to the trailer lighting system.",
"The cooperating ribs and keyways on the plugs and T-shaped connector ensure that terminals of like function are coupled to maintain the lighting integrity of the system.",
"The third terminal 67 is in the form of a tap plug which may readily be plugged into the cooperating plug 12 on the lead end of the trailer wiring harness 14.",
"Plug 12 has three male terminals and a female receptacle terminal cooperatively interfitting in the proper electrical and mechanical orientation with the terminals on the third terminal 67 of the T-shaped connector 63.",
"Thus, the trailer wiring harness can be easily and rapidly plugged into the T-shaped connector to provide a reliable electrical connection for the trailer.",
"The other or rear end of the trailer wiring harness 14 has a plug 16 that cooperatively mates with a plug 17 on the trailer wiring system to complete the electrical lighting circuit between the pick-up truck 20 and the trailer 10.",
"Alternatively, if the four conductors 78A"-78D"",
"are long enough and plug 17 on the trailer wiring system is compatible with tap plug 67 on the T-shape connector, the wiring harness 14 may be dispensed with by directly coupling plug 17 on the trailer system to tap plug 67 on the T-shape connector.",
"The T-shaped connector shown in FIG. 2 is for a four wire trailer light electrical system having backup lights.",
"As described previously, the wires 78A, 78A'",
"and first conductor 78A"",
"provide power for the tail and brake lights of the trailer.",
"The wires 78B, 78B'",
"and conductor 78B"",
"provide power for the right turn signal on the trailer;",
"while wires 78C, 78C'",
"and third conductor 78C"",
"provide power for the left turn signal on the trailer.",
"The wires 78D, 78D'",
"and conductor 78D"",
"provide power to the back-up lights on the trailer through male terminal 76.",
"For a three wire trailer light electrical system which does not have a back-up light circuit, fourth conductor 78D"",
"is not used, and hence this conductor can be disconnected from the trailer.",
"However, it is also important to maintain a proper ground between the trailer and the towing vehicle.",
"Accordingly, male plug 81'",
"on the second conductor portion 80'",
"can be removed from female receptacle 81 on the first conductor portion 80.",
"The seoond conductor portion 80'",
"is then repositioned so that male plug 81'",
"can be connected to a remote grounded receptacle 85 (see FIG. 2).",
"The grounded receptacle 85 can comprise a ring terminal or other means which is electrically connected (e.g., bolted) to a ground on the towing vehicle.",
"The male plug 81'",
"can cooperatively mate with the grounded receptacle 85 to connect the second conductor portion 80'",
"of the fourth conductor to ground, and hence ground the trailer to the towing vehicle.",
"This grounded connection is provided through the wiring harness, tap plug and fourth conductor to the vehicle.",
"An insulating sheath 86 can be provided over the open female receptacle 81 on first conductor portion 80 to prevent water or other damage to the female receptacle.",
"Alternately, according to a second embodiment of the invention as shown in FIG. 5, the fourth conductor 78D"",
"can comprise a single conductor extending from tap plug 67 to a plug connection with the body of the T-shaped connector 63.",
"In this embodiment, conductor 78D"",
"includes male plug 81'",
"on its selectively free end.",
"The male plug 81'",
"may be fittingly received in female receptacle 81 located in the body of the T-shaped connector.",
"As described previously, plug 81'",
"can be removed from female receptacle 81 when connecting the trailer light connection system to a trailer without backup lights.",
"Fourth conductor 78D"",
"is then repositioned so that male plug 81'",
"can be inserted within grounded receptacle 85 to provide a grounded connection between the trailer and the towing vehicle.",
"Additionally, an insulated plug (not shown) can be located in open female receptacle 81 to prevent damage to the receptacle.",
"It will be appreciated that the T-shape connector of the present invention can be readily interchanged between trailer lighting systems with or without backup lights.",
"For example, to convert from a trailer without backup lights to a trailer with backup lights, the fourth conductor is merely reconnected between the tap plug 67 and the connector body 64, and the tap plug is then coupled to a complementary plug on the harness or trailer wiring system.",
"In either of the embodiments described above, the third terminal 67 is of an identical size and configuration for each T-shaped connector 63.",
"Thus, even though the T-shaped connector may otherwise vary in size and/or terminal configuration for the first and second terminal means depending upon the vehicle manufacture and model year, the third terminal or trailer tap is identical for each and every T-shaped connector.",
"Moreover, the third terminal can be used with both three and four wire trailer lighting systems.",
"By standardizing the third terminal and all T-shaped connectors, a modular trailer light connection system is provided for pick-ups or other trucks.",
"The standardized third terminal allows the number of stock keeping units required for trailer wiring harnesses to be reduced, while providing an easy to use system.",
"It will be apparent from the foregoing that changes may be made to the details of construction and configuration of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the following claims."
] |
FEDERAL RESEARCH STATEMENT
[0001] The conditions under which this invention was made are such as to entitle the Government of the United States under paragraph I(a) of Executive Order 10096, as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force, to the entire right, title and interest therein, including foreign rights.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention is in the field of very large optical apertures, and in particular in the use of shape-retaining thin film membrane mirrors of optical quality.
[0003] Various focusing mirror systems fabricated from a reflective metallized membrane are known in the prior art. Commonly, a differential pressure is established between an enclosed area behind the reflective surface and the ambient pressure to control the contour of the flexible reflective surface. The curvature is controlled by various means, such as: an electropneumatic control system (U.S. Pat. No. 4,179,193); an actuator pushing or pulling on a rear membrane (U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,998): an actuator in physical contact with the rear surface of the membrane (U.S. Pat. No. 4,422,723); a double membrane with a partial vacuum between with a complex edge tensioning system to vary the curvature (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,680,262 and 5,552,006); and a curvature determined by uniform differential pressure applied to a membrane with a non-uniform radial distribution of thickness or a uniform membrane loaded with a non-uniform differential pressure obtained by localized electrostatic or magnetic pressure (U.S. Pat. No. 4,046,462).
[0004] Most of the aforementioned inventions are designed for solar energy concentrators. The surfaces obtained do not approach the optical quality required of an astronomical telescope. The next step toward imaging quality are telescopes having less than ˜200 waves of low-spatial-frequency surface error. Telescopes having this level of surface error can be compensated with real time monochromatic holography, requiring spatial light modulator resolutions of no more than 40 lines per mm. This situation should produce a near-diffraction limited image. Very large optical apertures, particularly for space-based systems, could benefit from lightweight, optical quality membrane mirrors. Potential applications include astronomy, imaging and surveillance, and laser beam projection.
[0005] Optical quality membrane mirrors have been demonstrated (U.S. Pat. No. 6,113,242) wherein a film is mounted on an optically flat circular ring and stretched over a smaller optically flat circular ring. Pressure or vacuum is separately applied to both the inner disk and the outer annulus to produce a doubly-curved optical quality surface in the inner disk. In the atmosphere, pulling a partial vacuum on the underside of the membrane mirror creates a pressure differential. For use in space, a pressure chamber that is bounded by the mirrored surface and a clear polyimide sheet creates the curvature of the optic. The combination of these two sheets is referred to as a lenticular. The use of a clear sheet or inflatable canopy to maintain the necessary pressure to deform the membrane in space entails several problems. Large strains are required, which can put undue structural requirements on the supporting structure. In addition, the canopy itself can refract the incoming radiation or otherwise interfere with various potential missions, such as laser beam propagation.
[0006] It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical quality parabolic membrane mirror for use in space that can be collapsed for launch and resume its shape when deployed in space.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] A very large aperture optical membrane mirror for use in space is disclosed along with its method of fabrication. The membrane substrate material is first cast on a spinning, inverted (i.e. concave) mandrel that has the basic desired shaped (i.e., parabolic). Stress-inducing and optically reflective coatings are applied after the substrate has cured. This insures that the membrane mirror keeps its shape after it is detached from the mandrel, and provides a highly reflective surface for the operating wavelength band. A rim structure can be attached to the membrane while still in the mandrel for attachment to other structures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] The various features of novelty that characterize the invention are specifically pointed out in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages, and specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated.
[0009] [0009]FIG. 1 illustrates the spinning inverted mandrel method with the fast curing substrate material being added.
[0010] [0010]FIG. 2 shows a cross-section of the substrate membrane and stress coating.
[0011] [0011]FIG. 3 illustrates the ring structure being attached to the membrane in the mandrel.
[0012] [0012]FIG. 4 shows the free-standing parabolic membrane mirror held by the ring structure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] A large aperture membrane mirror for space-based optical applications is disclosed along with a method for fabricating it. Basically, the membrane mirror substrate material is cast on a spinning, inverted mandrel to impart the basic parabolic shape desired. Optically reflective and stress-inducing coatings are then applied to insure the membrane mirror is highly reflective and returns to the desired shape after deployment.
[0014] When a liquid contained in a cylindrical enclosure is rotated about the cylindrical axis, the liquid surface takes the shape of a parabola. The idea of using this effect with mercury to create a large reflective surface originated at the University of Laval. This effect has also been used, for example, at the University of Arizona to create a large glass telescope mirror blank by allowing molten glass to slowly cool while rotating.
[0015] In the present invention, the rotating liquid is used as an inverted mandrel into which is poured a hard curing liquid to form the membrane mirror substrate (FIG. 1). For example, water might be used in the spinning container and a fast curing liquid polymer, e.g., CP1, used as the membrane mirror substrate. This method has several advantages over a regular mandrel method. The irregularities of the mandrel will not be impressed upon the surface of the reflective (top) side of the membrane. In addition, this method is affordable and scalable to very large diameters of the membrane mirror.
[0016] Simply creating a large parabolic-shaped film is not sufficient, however. Boundary control and in-plane stresses are needed to uniquely determine the shape of the membrane mirror. A certain amount of in-plane strain is required for an optical membrane to perform optimally. Additionally, a global stress state must be imposed, allowing small movements of the inner and outer boundary to influence the overall shape of the mirror. Hence the substrate membrane must be strained into its final configuration. A variety of technologies and techniques afford an opportunity to stress the membrane. Examples are inflation, boundary manipulation, shape memory alloys, electrostatic control, piezoelectric or bi-morph material, hydrostatic forces, rotational forces, stress coatings and others. In the present invention, optical stress coatings are applied to exert the necessary in-plane stress to the membrane. This gives the membrane a unique deterministic shape while maintaining the flexibility to be packaged for transport into orbit and to return to its desired shape once unpacked. The negative effects of optical coating stress are well-understood, and have been studied and documented for years by optical coatings experts. Now this knowledge will be applied to finalizing the figure of a near-optimal-shape film
[0017] Once the membrane substrate material has hardened, a reflective optical stress coating is applied to the substrate material, prior to removing the membrane substrate from the inverted mandrel, to stiffen the membrane (FIG. 2). The thickness of the membrane substrate is on the order of a few 10″s of micrometers and provides insufficient stiffness to maintain the desired parabolic shape upon removal from the mandrel. A variety of stress coatings can be applied, e.g., SiO 2 or Zirconia/Silica. In addition, these stress coatings can be applied several times to increase the thickness as necessary to maintain the desired shape.
[0018] A ring structure can then be attached to the outer rim of the membrane mirror and the membrane mirror removed from the mandrel (FIG. 3). In this way one obtains a free-standing, compliant parabolic membrane mirror (FIG. 4).
[0019] While a diffraction-limited optical surface can only be approached with this membrane mirror, very good optical tolerances can be produced. Adaptive optics image correction techniques can be used on large space telescopes to compensate for any slight irregularities. | A method for fabricating an optical quality, free-standing, compliant parabolic membrane mirror is described using an inverted parabolic mandrel created by rotating a liquid confined to a cylindrical container, forming a membrane substrate by pouring into the mandrel a fast curing liquid polymer and applying a reflective optical stress coating once the substrate has hardened. | Concisely explain the essential features and purpose of the concept presented in the passage. | [
"FEDERAL RESEARCH STATEMENT [0001] The conditions under which this invention was made are such as to entitle the Government of the United States under paragraph I(a) of Executive Order 10096, as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force, to the entire right, title and interest therein, including foreign rights.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention is in the field of very large optical apertures, and in particular in the use of shape-retaining thin film membrane mirrors of optical quality.",
"[0003] Various focusing mirror systems fabricated from a reflective metallized membrane are known in the prior art.",
"Commonly, a differential pressure is established between an enclosed area behind the reflective surface and the ambient pressure to control the contour of the flexible reflective surface.",
"The curvature is controlled by various means, such as: an electropneumatic control system (U.S. Pat. No. 4,179,193);",
"an actuator pushing or pulling on a rear membrane (U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,998): an actuator in physical contact with the rear surface of the membrane (U.S. Pat. No. 4,422,723);",
"a double membrane with a partial vacuum between with a complex edge tensioning system to vary the curvature (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,680,262 and 5,552,006);",
"and a curvature determined by uniform differential pressure applied to a membrane with a non-uniform radial distribution of thickness or a uniform membrane loaded with a non-uniform differential pressure obtained by localized electrostatic or magnetic pressure (U.S. Pat. No. 4,046,462).",
"[0004] Most of the aforementioned inventions are designed for solar energy concentrators.",
"The surfaces obtained do not approach the optical quality required of an astronomical telescope.",
"The next step toward imaging quality are telescopes having less than ˜200 waves of low-spatial-frequency surface error.",
"Telescopes having this level of surface error can be compensated with real time monochromatic holography, requiring spatial light modulator resolutions of no more than 40 lines per mm.",
"This situation should produce a near-diffraction limited image.",
"Very large optical apertures, particularly for space-based systems, could benefit from lightweight, optical quality membrane mirrors.",
"Potential applications include astronomy, imaging and surveillance, and laser beam projection.",
"[0005] Optical quality membrane mirrors have been demonstrated (U.S. Pat. No. 6,113,242) wherein a film is mounted on an optically flat circular ring and stretched over a smaller optically flat circular ring.",
"Pressure or vacuum is separately applied to both the inner disk and the outer annulus to produce a doubly-curved optical quality surface in the inner disk.",
"In the atmosphere, pulling a partial vacuum on the underside of the membrane mirror creates a pressure differential.",
"For use in space, a pressure chamber that is bounded by the mirrored surface and a clear polyimide sheet creates the curvature of the optic.",
"The combination of these two sheets is referred to as a lenticular.",
"The use of a clear sheet or inflatable canopy to maintain the necessary pressure to deform the membrane in space entails several problems.",
"Large strains are required, which can put undue structural requirements on the supporting structure.",
"In addition, the canopy itself can refract the incoming radiation or otherwise interfere with various potential missions, such as laser beam propagation.",
"[0006] It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical quality parabolic membrane mirror for use in space that can be collapsed for launch and resume its shape when deployed in space.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0007] A very large aperture optical membrane mirror for use in space is disclosed along with its method of fabrication.",
"The membrane substrate material is first cast on a spinning, inverted (i.e. concave) mandrel that has the basic desired shaped (i.e., parabolic).",
"Stress-inducing and optically reflective coatings are applied after the substrate has cured.",
"This insures that the membrane mirror keeps its shape after it is detached from the mandrel, and provides a highly reflective surface for the operating wavelength band.",
"A rim structure can be attached to the membrane while still in the mandrel for attachment to other structures.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0008] The various features of novelty that characterize the invention are specifically pointed out in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.",
"For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages, and specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated.",
"[0009] [0009 ]FIG. 1 illustrates the spinning inverted mandrel method with the fast curing substrate material being added.",
"[0010] [0010 ]FIG. 2 shows a cross-section of the substrate membrane and stress coating.",
"[0011] [0011 ]FIG. 3 illustrates the ring structure being attached to the membrane in the mandrel.",
"[0012] [0012 ]FIG. 4 shows the free-standing parabolic membrane mirror held by the ring structure.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0013] A large aperture membrane mirror for space-based optical applications is disclosed along with a method for fabricating it.",
"Basically, the membrane mirror substrate material is cast on a spinning, inverted mandrel to impart the basic parabolic shape desired.",
"Optically reflective and stress-inducing coatings are then applied to insure the membrane mirror is highly reflective and returns to the desired shape after deployment.",
"[0014] When a liquid contained in a cylindrical enclosure is rotated about the cylindrical axis, the liquid surface takes the shape of a parabola.",
"The idea of using this effect with mercury to create a large reflective surface originated at the University of Laval.",
"This effect has also been used, for example, at the University of Arizona to create a large glass telescope mirror blank by allowing molten glass to slowly cool while rotating.",
"[0015] In the present invention, the rotating liquid is used as an inverted mandrel into which is poured a hard curing liquid to form the membrane mirror substrate (FIG.",
"1).",
"For example, water might be used in the spinning container and a fast curing liquid polymer, e.g., CP1, used as the membrane mirror substrate.",
"This method has several advantages over a regular mandrel method.",
"The irregularities of the mandrel will not be impressed upon the surface of the reflective (top) side of the membrane.",
"In addition, this method is affordable and scalable to very large diameters of the membrane mirror.",
"[0016] Simply creating a large parabolic-shaped film is not sufficient, however.",
"Boundary control and in-plane stresses are needed to uniquely determine the shape of the membrane mirror.",
"A certain amount of in-plane strain is required for an optical membrane to perform optimally.",
"Additionally, a global stress state must be imposed, allowing small movements of the inner and outer boundary to influence the overall shape of the mirror.",
"Hence the substrate membrane must be strained into its final configuration.",
"A variety of technologies and techniques afford an opportunity to stress the membrane.",
"Examples are inflation, boundary manipulation, shape memory alloys, electrostatic control, piezoelectric or bi-morph material, hydrostatic forces, rotational forces, stress coatings and others.",
"In the present invention, optical stress coatings are applied to exert the necessary in-plane stress to the membrane.",
"This gives the membrane a unique deterministic shape while maintaining the flexibility to be packaged for transport into orbit and to return to its desired shape once unpacked.",
"The negative effects of optical coating stress are well-understood, and have been studied and documented for years by optical coatings experts.",
"Now this knowledge will be applied to finalizing the figure of a near-optimal-shape film [0017] Once the membrane substrate material has hardened, a reflective optical stress coating is applied to the substrate material, prior to removing the membrane substrate from the inverted mandrel, to stiffen the membrane (FIG.",
"2).",
"The thickness of the membrane substrate is on the order of a few 10″s of micrometers and provides insufficient stiffness to maintain the desired parabolic shape upon removal from the mandrel.",
"A variety of stress coatings can be applied, e.g., SiO 2 or Zirconia/Silica.",
"In addition, these stress coatings can be applied several times to increase the thickness as necessary to maintain the desired shape.",
"[0018] A ring structure can then be attached to the outer rim of the membrane mirror and the membrane mirror removed from the mandrel (FIG.",
"3).",
"In this way one obtains a free-standing, compliant parabolic membrane mirror (FIG.",
"4).",
"[0019] While a diffraction-limited optical surface can only be approached with this membrane mirror, very good optical tolerances can be produced.",
"Adaptive optics image correction techniques can be used on large space telescopes to compensate for any slight irregularities."
] |
RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a Continuation of U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 10/341,524, filed Jan. 13, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,672,235 issued Jan. 6, 2004 which is a Continuation of U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 10/032,619, filed Nov. 1, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,189 issued Jan. 21, 2003, which is a Continuation-In-Part Application of U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 09/676,900, filed on Oct. 2, 2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,494,156 issued Dec. 17, 2002, which claims provisional priority to U.S. Provisional Pat. application Ser. No. 60/165,421, filed on Nov. 13, 1999.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The History of Petrochemical Transportation
Because of the wide diversity of locations where oil is harvested from earths' underground reservoirs, it is necessary to transport the crude oil from a land or sea-based location to many sites across the globe for refinement. History books have recorded massive spillage of crude and catastrophic ecological damage during this transportation phase because of hull failure of the vessel transporting the crude. While oil spill prevention is the primary purpose of this invention, the invention contemplates the prevention of spills of various types of liquids and gasses, primarily in the petrochemical industry.
Currently Used Technology
Currently, only one transport process is being considered to significantly lower the risk of ecological damage resulting from the breach in the hull integrity of petrochemical transport vehicles: The Double Hull. Oil tankers built now and in the future are required by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA '90) to use double hulled construction to reduce the risk of oil spills due to grounding and collision, and the resulting adverse impact on the environment. Although the use of double hulls is a step in the right direction, it does not fully eliminate the likelihood of oil spills since the inner hull can still be penetrated in major accidents. Major oil spills, such as the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill at Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Ak., can have devastating impacts on the environment, and the cost of oil recovery and restoration of the environment can be extremely high. Although the double hull is currently perceived by the public and political figures as the most “politically correct” solution to the problem, after lengthy review of the options available, the double-hull concept is flawed and still capable of failure for the same reasons as the single hull. Even with the destruction of the entire remaining existing fleet of tankers, barges, and intermediate vessels and the expenditure of billions of dollars for the construction of The Double-Hull vessels, it is a fact that the Double-Hull vessel is still capable of being pierced or crushed by an incoming object when the force of that object exceeds the strength of the hulls. The Double-hull proponents merely hope that two hulls are enough. Recent history reaffirms that even two hulls are not enough. Even with this knowledge, the petrochemical industry, driven by legislative momentum, a massively powerful and financially well-endowed lobbying organization and the ongoing voluntary implementation of the Double-Hull vessels into the current transportation, there appears to be a feeling among the major petrochemical interests that the cost of correcting the flaw in the vessel construction problem would not find a receptive market. Once again, the industry appears to accept petrochemical cargo spillage as “another risk of doing business.”
Previous patents have struggled admittedly to only minimize the risk of hull breach with the use of various forms of bladders and reinforcement. Yet, each such patent admits that the loss of cargo would occur should both the bladder and its reinforcement be pierced during a hull breach.
This present invention allows the existing fleet of small, medium and large, single-hull and double-hull vessels that function as petrochemical transport vessels on various scales of magnitude, and VLCC (Very Large Crude Carriers) having single hulls to be converted and retrofitted to become more ecologically safe and physically predictable to unexpected hull pressures. Because of the custom nature of this invention, it is applicable to varying sizes of vessels.
The present invention also contemplates additional features for improving the integrity of the overall system during acts of war or attacks by criminals or terrorists who are attempting to cause oil spills by either dropping bombs, artillery shells, or the like on the upper surfaces of the ship, as well as impacting the sides and the underneath portions of the ship with torpedoes.
Some of The Savings Expected By Using Existing Retrofitted Vessels
By using the existing retrofitted vessels with this invention:
1) Literally billions of dollars will be saved that would have been used in constructing the new and vastly more expensive replacement vessels. The money saved can be invested at a much higher rate of return yielding greater profits than would have been lost in the purchase of new vessels before the existing ones actually require replacement due to extinction or mechanical failures. 2) The additional fuel necessary to move the heavier mass of double-hull tankers will be conserved while payload volume of transported crude will be maintained. When this savings is considered for every journey of every vessel during the lifetime of the vessel until mandatory replacement, this is a major environmental and financial savings making worldwide utilization of this invention even more feasible. 3) The ship scrap debris created from the unnecessary destruction (usually sinking to the ocean floor) of the entire world fleet of tankers will lessen the environmental impact on the world's refuse problem and the presence of sea-junk with its oxidation and ionic release into the sea. 4) And, the industry will have finally dealt with the actual petrochemical transport containment issues rather than just minimizing the risk but admitting the potential for failure of the other containment inventions. The potential damage to the environment as well as the financial outlay for clean-up or bio-remediation of spilled product is just too great to risk by not dealing with the actual problem at hand.
Positive Aspects of Utilizing This Invention
There are many positive reasons for utilization of this invention within the existing fleet of single-hull tankers that have been retrofitted with this present invention;
1) Improvement of existing vessels to deal with unexpected hull integrity problems; 2) Prevention of ecological tragedy that accompanies petrochemical spills; 3) Re-integration of vessel transport cell integrity following a hull breach where sea water enters the vessel; 4) Pre-Containment of Off-loaded crude; 5) Multiple-back-up system for off-loading of over-pressurized compartment contents; 6) Installation of invention with minimal time of vessel out of service; 7) Lower vessel hold maintenance costs; 8) Ability to change cargo type with more ease and safety from cross-contamination; 9) More safety to cleaning personnel of transport cells; and 10) Ability to protect off-loaded product from harm's way.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved cargo ship.
Another object of the present invention is to prevent hydrocarbon spills, or spills of other types of cargo, in the event the hull of a ship is breached.
An advantage of the present invention is a means for containing a hydrocarbon cargo, or other type of cargo, even after the hull or double hull of a ship is breached.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, a method and apparatus are provided for containing cargo carried aboard a cargo carrier comprising a non-permeable, flexible bladder mounted within the carrier and in which the cargo is disposed and having an outlet port containing one or more check valves which allow the transported cargo to exit through such one or more check valves in the event the bladder is contacted by one or more objects which would otherwise cause the bladder to burst and spill the contents.
Therefore, in one embodiment the invention discloses an apparatus for containing cargo during a hull breach on a ship which comprises a non-permeable, flexible bladder mounted within the ship in which the cargo is disposed and a skeleton adjacent to the flexible bladder comprised of a plurality of relatively moveable elements for supporting the flexible bladder. The skeleton may be flexible and conformable to a shape of the flexible bladder. The plurality of relatively moveable elements forming the skeleton, in one embodiment, may comprise metallic links and/or metallic plates. There may be interconnecting metallic links mounted to the metallic plates.
This it should be appreciated that there has been described and illustrated herein new and improved methods and apparatus for preventing the spill of transported cargo aboard an oil tanker. However, the invention contemplates the use of such methods and apparatus for preventing the spills of various cargo materials on other means of transportation, for example, on barges, aircraft which are used as tankers for refueling other aircraft while in flight, tanker trucks which are used to transport oil or other fluid cargos over the highway system, and the like.
The invention may include means for permitting flow from the bladder to compensate for a sudden increase in pressure in the bladder caused by a hull breach. In one embodiment, a pressure sensitive valve is secured to the non-permeable flexible bladder. One or more pressure sensitive valves is operable to open to release the cargo in response to a sudden increase in pressure in the non-permeable bladder due to the hull breach. The valve may close once the pressure is reduced to a normal value to seal the remaining cargo within the flexible bladder.
In one presently preferred embodiment, a plurality of tanks are provided wherein each tank may be much smaller than the flexible bladder. The pressure sensitive valve may then release the cargo into the plurality of tanks to take care of the overflow due to the hull breach. Preferably, each of the plurality of tanks is expandable so that storage is compact. A header may be provided for receiving the cargo from the pressure sensitive valve responsive to the hull breach. As the header is filled, the expandable tanks are filled with the excess.
In operation, the present invention provides methods for containing cargo during a hull breach on a ship. The method may comprise such steps as releasing cargo from a flexible container through a valve in response to increased pressure in the flexible container produced by the hull breach and directing the released cargo into the header on the ship. The method may comprise other steps such as filling at least one expandable tank, preferably with the released cargo in the header and may comprise releasing the at least one expandable tank overboard after being filled with the released cargo. The method preferably includes supporting the flexible container with a plurality of support elements flexibly interconnected together.
In other words, an apparatus is provided for containing cargo during a hull breach on a ship which preferably comprises elements such as a non-permeable bladder mounted within the ship in which the cargo is disposed, a flexible support structure in surrounding relationship to the non-permeable bladder, and a valve secured to the bladder. The valve is preferably operable to open for releasing the cargo through the valve responsive to a hull breach. The flexible support structure may take on many forms such as a plurality or elements moveably linked together. In a preferred embodiment, at least one expandable tank may be provided which is placed in communication with the valve for filling in response to the hull breach. In one embodiment of the invention, the valve is responsively opened by an increase in pressure caused by the hull breach. A header pipe is secured to the valve for receiving the cargo and directing the cargo, if necessary, to a plurality of expandable tanks which are secured to the header for receiving the cargo therefrom.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is cut away view of a ship hull containing the apparatus according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a top view of a ship without the deck showing the deck hull hanging device and the meso-skeleton structure according to the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a view of the meso-skeleton structure of the present invention installed in a ship and viewed from one end (stem view) of the ship;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the meso-skeleton according to the present invention installed in the hull of a ship;
FIG. 5 is a side view of a ship showing the bladder according to the present invention in the ship;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the containment system in the hull of a ship with the bladder and meso-skeleton installed;
FIG. 7 is an end view of a ship showing the bladder and meso skeleton installed in the ship with the transported product in the bladder;
FIG. 8 is a side view of one embodiment of an offloading system according to the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a top view of one embodiment according to the present invention of an off-loading system over a particular ship hold;
FIG. 10 is another embodiment according to the present invention of an off-loading system;
FIG. 11 is an end view of the ship with one embodiment according to the present invention of the off-loading system installed on the ship;
FIG. 1A is a side view of the basic meso-skeleton unit according to the present invention;
FIG. 1B contains two views of the knuckle device according to the present invention that joins the meso-skeleton together;
FIG. 12A is a conventional double-hull tanker which can be fitted with an apparatus in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 12B is a top plan view of the tanker illustrated in FIG. 12A ;
FIGS. 13 , 14 and 15 illustrate a plan view, transverse section, and an inboard view of the tanker illustrated in FIGS. 12A and 12B , respectively, with the apparatus in accordance with the present invention installed inside the cargo tanks illustrated in FIGS. 12A and 12B ;
FIG. 16 illustrates a stiffener used to form structure within the apparatus in accordance with the present invention;
FIGS. 17 (A)–(E) illustrates a meso-skeleton configuration of steel plates and steel chain links which provide a portion of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIGS. 18 ( a ) and ( b ) further shows the ship illustrated in FIGS. 12A and 12B and including the apparatus in accordance with the present invention installed therein;
FIG. 19 illustrates in a diagrammatic manner the effect of grounding a ship upon the bottom of the water through which the ship is traveling;
FIG. 20 illustrates the effect of a side collision between the tanker illustrated in FIGS. 12 (A) and (B) and another sea-going vessel;
FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view of additional materials used in helping to resist the effect on the sides and bottom of a tanker resulting from terrorists' attacks or other acts of war;
FIG. 22 illustrates schematically pillows which can be used to replace the loose powdered materials illustrated in FIG. 21 ; and
FIG. 23 illustrates, partly in cross-section, an elevated view of laminated materials which are used to strengthen the upper deck of the ship in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The following definitions are used in describing this invention:
Meso-skeleton is the protective, intentionally deformable infrastructure that has been developed to lay passively against the ships hull in the hold. The meso-skeleton occupies minimal space in the hold yet provides an important force distribution protective function at the moment of hull breach.
Meso-skeleton elements (add as FIG. 1A the Triangle with the knuckle joints) have tubular members 200 with meso-skeleton element joints, articulating condyle member 201 , and also knuckle joints 202 . Further the tubular members have sleeves 204 over the tubular members.
Meso-skeleton element joints 202 are shaped as a knuckle that will allow the three contacting ball elements of adjoining meso-skeleton elements to have wide range of motions in multiple axes.
Skeleton strips (not shown) are created using a connecting sleeve (not shown) that in a preferred embodiment can be latched over tubular members 200 to connect two tubular members together creating the meso-skeleton 100 using Sleeve Connectors 205 , otherwise, the knuckle/meso-skeleton element joints join the basic elements together. FIG. 2 shows the Deck hull hanging device 103 having a rod 105 , at least one plate 104 , but preferably a plurality of plates. There are intermediate rivets 106 that attach the plate to the deck's hull and support structure.
The ships bulkheads 101 serve as interrupters of cells into functioning units.
FIG. 3 shows the deck hull hanging device 103 with at least two support struts 132 and 134 .
FIG. 4 shows the entry port 102 for the bladder attached to the deck hull.
FIGS. 5 and 6 show bladder 136 contained in the hold of a ship.
Bladder neck 138 is positioned to extend up into the port 102 .
FIG. 7 shows the bladder support means 140 . The pressure sensitive valve 142 is shown as well.
FIG. 1A shows the equilateral triangles used to create the meso-skeleton. They contain tubular members 200 , a tubular sleeve 204 and sliding connecting means 200 , 201 and 202 .
The Offloading Device is shown in FIGS. 8 through 11 . Particularly in FIG. 8 , are shown the compressed capsules 144 for receiving product. A five-way offloading device is depicted in FIG. 9 and a parallel offloading device is depicted in FIG. 8 and FIG. 10 . The offloading troughs 110 which transport the loaded capsules 144 for storage or further deployment are shown in FIGS. 8 and 10 .
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for Hull breach containment system.
The following is the detailed description of the invention.
Meso-skeleton elements:
The Offloading Device is shown in FIGS. 8 through 11 . Particularly in FIG. 8 , are shown the compressed capsules 144 for receiving product. A six-way offloading device is depicted in FIG. 9 and a parallel offloading device is depicted in FIG. 8 and FIG. 10 . The offloading troughs 110 which transport the loaded capsules 144 for storage or further deployment are shown in FIGS. 8 and 10 .
The equilateral triangles are preferably stainless steel, and preferably solid, however, strong or reinforced hollow members can be used within the scope of this invention. The triangles could be made of legs that are tubular, rectangular, or octagonal in shape. Other shapes may be usable within the scope of the present invention, provided they can be jointed together with the unique tubular joints.
The preferable size of the meso-skeleton element is 1 foot length per leg in the preferred embodiment, but size could vary from being as short as 6 inches to as long as 18 inches. Longer or shorter legs may be used. However, such longer length legs would need to be constructed from graphite composite or ultra strong materials so that the meso-skeleton element ( FIG. 1B ) does not deform upon itself when pressure is applied to it as a functioning unit.
The tubular members of the meso-skeleton may additionally be covered in a tubular sleeve 204 , preferably from a rolled sheet metal, preferably the same material as the tubular members, however, a coated sleeve, such as powder coated steel, or silicon, or elastomeric or polymeric lined material which would prevent corrosion of the tubular members and permit additional rolling of the tubular members against the unique bladder combination without tearing the tubular member and relieving the possibility of any adhesion of the tubular member against the bladder.
Optionally, the meso-skeleton elements could be construed of solid triangular materials or otherwise that have strong supporting sides. The solid element could be a fabric, which would cover the side structural elements and provide further cushioning against the bladder. The cover for the bladder could for example, be fabricated from leather, cloth, plastic or other flexible materials. As a specific example, the cover could be fabricated from the KEVLAR product manufactured by or on behalf of I.E. duPont de Nemours and Company of Wilmington, Del. KEVLAR is the trademark of Dupont. The KEVLAR material is a flexible, synthetic fiber of high tensile strength which has been used to make bullet proof vests among other things. Suffice it to say at this point that the function served by the cover which is formed by the meso-skeleton elements of this present invention could also be performed by various other materials to allow intruding objects such as another boat hull to push against the cover and hence against the bladder to perform the various objects of this present invention.
Meso-skeleton element joints:
The legs of the triangles are connected together with rotatable joints 202 , similar to a knuckle type joint, permitting multi-axis rotation of three connections as well as translation of force from each leg through the joint.
Skeleton Strips:
Meso-skeleton elements are prejoined into skeleton strips. In the preferred embodiment, the strips are created to either be one, two, three or more meso-skeleton elements wide (as in FIG. 4 ) strips which can be anywhere from 5 elements up to 150 elements or more in length. The strips are attached at one end to a deck hull hanging device ( FIGS. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , and 11 ) and then the strips are connected together by tack welding 134 , and fitted against the side of the interior of the hull.
The meso-skeleton strips can be connected together by placing a connecting sleeve 205 FIG. 1B around the sleeved tubular member of adjoining skeleton strips thereby containing two sleeved tubular members on one connecting sleeve. The connecting sleeve could be a hinged device capable of clamping over the sleeves for easy installation in the field.
Deck Hull Hanging Device
The deck hull-hanging device comprises a series of flat rectangular plates 104 that extend from the bow of the ship to the stern, and each plate specifically extends from the edge of one bulkhead in the hold of the ship to the edge of the next bulkhead in the hold of the ship. The plates are placed as close as possible to the edge of the ship's hull-deck interface. The plates extend from bow to stern on each side of the ship, both the starboard side and the port side. It is even contemplated that this device could be used to extend across the stern of the ship as well and provide protection on all exposed sides of the vessel. It is possible that the plates could be stopped prior to meeting at the bow, as the bow compartment typically does not hold cargo such as oil or similar materials.
The plates are bolted, riveted or welded to the superstructure of the deck, so that the deck hull-hanging device maximizes the support of the plates while connected to the meso-skeleton. A main hanging support rod 105 is placed under the deck in the hold and in line with the plates that are on the deck. The rod is connected to each plate via a bolt which extends from the rod through the deck, through the plate and is bolted, welded or riveted to the plates. If the plates do not extend the full length of the ship, it is contemplated that two rods would be used within the scope of the present invention within each cargo compartment of the hold. The deck plates that support the hanging support rod are intended to provide weight transfer or load transfer in the vertical plane.
A support strut 134 ( FIGS. 2 , 3 , 4 , and 11 ) for connecting the rod to the interior hull of the ship is used in the preferred embodiment so as to provide weight transfer or load transfer laterally which impact the rod due to stresses on the meso-skeleton. Depending on the weight of the meso-skeleton, it may be possible to not use the support strut and only use the deck plates to support the rod holding the meso-skeleton. At least two support struts per rod are contemplated, but additional support struts can be used depending on the size of the hold of the ship. Preferably, each time the rod is connected to the deck, a support strut should be used against the interior hull of the vessel.
The support strut can be welded to the hull, rivets or otherwise connected to the interior hull of the ship.
Sliding connecting means 205 FIG. 1B , such as a stainless steel loop or a coated metal loop, or similar slidable mechanism can be used to hold the meso-skeleton onto the rod. The sliding connecting means attaches to the meso-skeleton by fitting over the tubular sleeve of the meso-skeleton element that is parallel to the rod.
Bladder 136 :
A bladder ( FIG. 5 ) having a neck and at least one bladder support means is used with this invention. The bladder is preferably made of a strong material, such as rubber, KEVLAR, PEEK, PFTE or a similar super strong flexible, fabric-like material. Teflon-coated nylons or other coated polymeric materials may be usable within the scope of the present invention if they are strong, resistant to both salt water and hydrocarbon degradation and other chemical corrosion. Woven and non-woven materials may be usable within the scope of the present invention.
The bladder is preferably custom designed in size to exactly match the size dimensions of the ship hold into which it is to reside. The bladder is designed so that it is contained laterally and interiorly by the meso-skeleton structure. The bladder is lowered through a deck port into the hold and then partially inflated so that the bladder lies against the meso-skeleton which has already been inserted in the hull of the ship. Cargo, such as oil, water, fertilizer, grain, or other fluids, including wine or beer, could be then flowed into the bladder through a conventional fill and discharge port, preferably, located on the top surface of the bladder. Remaining air is then evacuated form within the bladder to provide a bladder containing only cargo. The bladder is then sealed such as with a pressure sensitive valve 142 that is capable of monitoring and maintaining the pressure on the cargo at the predetermined setting.
The bladder is preferably shaped much like a balloon. The thickness of the bladder material preferably runs from 0.25 inches in thickness to approximately 1 inch in thickness. The bladder may be made of one single material or could be laminate structure. The bladder materials need to be flexible and capable of sustaining high tensile strengths anticipated in a hull breach condition.
Preferably the bladder material is nonflammable or at least flame resistant.
The bladder is preferably designed with a support means 140 that can be used to lift the bladder into and out of the hold of the ship. The support means is preferably attached to at least one side of the bladder and is strong enough to support an empty bladder during installation or removal.
A pressure sensitive valve 142 preferably conventional a one-way check valve which allows fluid to flow only out of the bladder located in the port which permits cargo to exit the bladder through the neck of the bladder. This pressure sensitive valve is contemplated to be a pressure sensing and monitoring device to monitor the pressure on the cargo in the bladder as well as a valve which can be automatically opened if pressure of the cargo reaches a certain set value or can be manually operated, depending on the needs of the ship's crew. This pressure sensitive valve is directly connected to the offloading device.
In the most preferred embodiment, it is contemplated that the pressure sensitive valve would be designed to operate in a “fail-safe” mode, and that it could open to offload cargo into the Offloading Device should the crew be unable or unwilling to open the valve when pressure on the cargo in the bladder reached certain critical limits.
Offloading Device
In this invention, if the meso-skeleton structure is installed, the bladder is in place and the cargo or product is placed in the bladder and if the hull of the ship is breached, the following steps in accordance with the present invention occur to prevent cargo contamination into the sea surrounding the ship. First, a deformation of the hull occurs inwardly because of the hull breach. The meso-skeleton is moved, applying pressure uniformly on the bladder. The sensor in the neck of the bladder detects a change in pressure on the bladder contents and opens the valve. Cargo moves through the valve and is distributed into at least one offloading tube. In the preferred embodiment, six offloading tubes are contemplated for use with each ship hold that is contained by bulkheads.
In each offloading tube, are compressed capsules that have at one end, a flapper valve for receiving cargo. Cargo is moved into the capsules, the capsules expand to fill capacity and are then either stored on the deck of the ship or launched into the water into a tethered containment device, such as fisherman's netting supported by buoys, or other floatation devices which would keep the cargo afloat. Assuming the oil or other transported cargo has a lower specific gravity than water, the cargo will float on top of the water in its capsules. The tethered containment device can be tied to the ship, or tethered to a remotely operated vehicle to move the cargo in the now expanded capsules away from the ship so as to prevent damage to the containment devices from the ship itself or from the hazard that caused the hull breach.
In one embodiment, the offloading system can comprise one or more troughs designed to receive and convey the compressed capsules The once filled capsules would continue through the trough system to a platform which would be launched onto the water's surface. The launch could either be tethered to the ship or be moved by remote operation away from the ship or area of potential hazard to the contained material. Once enough cargo is removed to equalize pressure in the hold, the pressure sensitive valve closes and thereby reestablishes containment of the remaining cargo in the bladder in the hold. Should water flow into the hold due to the hull breach, that water can enter the hold without contaminating the cargo in the bladder to enable the ship to somewhat stabilize in that compartment.
The invention is illustrated with reference to a specific embodiment; however, modifications of the embodiment are contemplated, for example, as in accord with the following even more preferred embodiment.
The embodiment of FIGS. 12–20 is comprised of the following components:
(a) Customized bladders that will be installed into each oil tank. They will be formed to fit the internal tank structure and be flexible enough to deform without rupture in the event of a grounding or collision. (b) Meso-skeleton system that will surround and passively support the bladders in each cargo tank independently, protect the bladders from rupture, and deform superficially with the bladders. The meso-skeleton will wrap around internal tank structure as needed, but is not attached other than at the main deck. (c) Oil overflow containment system deployed on the tanker deck that will contain the oil flowing out of the bladders in case of deformation of the cargo tank boundary due to grounding or collision.
The system according to the invention is generally intended to work in the event of an accident as follows: During a collision or grounding of sufficient magnitude, the tanker's double hull or double bottom is ruptured. As a result of this hull penetration, the bladder and meso-skeleton deform as necessary, with the meso-skeleton providing a flexible yet protective barrier that prevents damage to the bladder itself. The volume of oil displaced by this penetration does not, therefore, flow out of the hull breach, but is instead squeezed out of the bladder through a neck at the top of the tank and into a large diameter header pipe above the main deck. If similar damage occurs to other cargo tanks, additional oil is forced from the respective bladders into the header pipe. If the resulting volume of displaced oil exceeds the volume of the header pipe itself, then a series of expandable bags which are attached to the header pipe will be filled as needed. Once filled, these bags can then be launched overboard until they can be safely retrieved.
The description of each component of the system is provided in the following paragraphs.
The baseline ship 300 used to describe the system is a typical 125,000 DWT double hull tanker. A sketch of this tanker is shown in FIGS. 12(A) and (B). The ship 300 has two cargo tanks 302 and 304 across and has a double hulled construction in accordance with OPA '90. The width between hulls is 6′-8″ (2 M), while the double bottom 306 is 9′-10″ (3 M) in height. This ship 300 has been selected for this installation of the system according to this invention because it is representative of tankers in the Alaska to California trade. This trading route runs along one of the most environmentally sensitive coastal areas of the United States.
The tanker 300 utilized for the system description is a conventional, longitudinally framed tanker. The cargo tanks are bounded fore and aft by transverse bulkheads 308 and 310 and on the sides by the centerline longitudinal bulkhead 312 (inboard) and the ship's double hull 314 (outboard). Transverse web frames 316 are spaced 15′ apart. The outboard bulkhead, after bulkhead, and tank bottom are essentially smooth plates (stiffening outside) for each tank. FIGS. 13 , 14 and 15 provide a plan view, a transverse section, and an inboard view of the tanker, respectively, with the bladder and meso-skeleton inside each cargo tank represented by the heavy lines in each sketch.
The bladder and meso-skeleton system will wrap around the large stiffeners (i.e., web frames and horizontal stringers 138 ) as shown in FIGS. 13 , 14 and 15 , but not around the numerous smaller stiffeners—as shown in FIG. 16 —for practical considerations. In FIG. 16 , the L-shape bulkhead stiffener 500 is used in conjunction with the inner bottom 502 and the centerline bulkhead 312 to provide stability to the meso-skeleton 137 and the bladder 136 . FIG. 18 shows the arrangement of the oil overflow containment system according to the present invention.
System Components
The purpose of the bladder system is to contain the oil from each tank in the event the tank boundary is pierced by either grounding or collision. Each bladder will be made of a flexible material, preferably fabricated from rubber, or other elastomeric material, or plastic or fiber, or combinations thereof, that can be custom designed to fit into, and conform to the internal contours of, each tank. The interchangeability of bladders would allow for replacement according to changes in cargo types. Each bladder will have one or more necks at the top of the tank to permit oil to flow out of the bladder and into the header pipe quickly in the event of an accident. Seawater entering the tank through a hull breach will, for the most part, remain isolated from the remaining oil by the bladder.
The bladder is required to be:
1. deformable 2. Very large (capacity approximately equal to that of tank itself) and able to conform to tank boundaries 3. Fitted with necked opening(s) at the top 4. Resistant to saltwater, hydrocarbon degradation and other chemical corrosion 5. Able to withstand a given head pressure, for example, 30 psi head pressure 6. Installable and removable through a hinged access in the main deck 7. Long-lasting
Meso-Skeleton
The purpose of the meso-skeleton 137 , illustrated in detail in FIG. 17 , is to provide the bladders of a tanker with the necessary protection in the event of various types of potential collisions. For any given tank, the meso-skeleton will provide protection along the four-bulkhead perimeter of the tank as well as along the tank's innerbottom. The portions of the meso-skeleton along each bulkhead will be supported from structural supports installed near the main deck level.
The meso-skeleton is required to be:
8. Deformable 9. Able to prevent damage to bladder 10. Able to support pressure from the bladder under normal conditions and in the event of a collision 11. Able to resist salt and other chemical corrosion 12. As lightweight as possible 13. Able to be supported along the sides by main deck. Similar supports should exist on each side of the transverse bulkheads.
Several meso-skeleton configurations were investigated using chain links and a combination of chain links and small rounded plates. Chain links were investigated because they allow rotation in three directions, which is needed to help the meso-skeleton deform easily and prevent rupture of the bladder. The preferred configuration is discussed herein below.
Oil Overflow Containment System
The purpose of the oil overflow containment system is to collect oil that has been evacuated from the bladder system after the inner hull of the tanker has been deformed inward by grounding or a collision. The major components of this system include:
1) Overflow pipes connected to the bladders' necks 140 on one end and to the header pipe on the other end. 2) A large diameter header pipe 330 deployed on the main deck of the tanker. 3) Multiple iridescent, expandable bags 332 located along the header pipe 330 with a conventional radio beacon/strobe (not illustrated) attached to each for ease of location. Oil evacuated from the bladder(s) in the event of an accident will be contained within the bags 332 , which can be, in turn, maintained within the tanker, or deployed and launched into the water for later retrieval.
A sketch of the oil overflow containment system is presented in FIG. 18 . Overflow pipes 335 will be provided 1, 2, or 3 per tank, depending on the size of the tank and the anticipated rate of oil evacuation. Overflow pipes will be provided with check valves to prevent cargo shifting between tanks in rough seas. The expandable bags 332 will be provided with gate valves 334 and quick disconnecting devices so they can self-disconnect when full. One such bag 333 is illustrated in FIG. 18B as being filled.
SYSTEM OPERATION AND CONCEPT CALCULATIONS
In the unfortunate event of a tanker running aground or colliding with another ship, the system is intended to prevent an outflow of oil into the water even if a double hull tank boundary has been breached. During such an event, either the tank's innerbottom or a tank bulkhead is assumed to deform inward and compress the tank's meso-skeleton and bladder. The meso-skeleton is intended to provide a shielding effect for the bladder that will prevent it from being ruptured even as it's compressed. This compression at the time of the accident forces a volume of oil out of the affected bladder through openings at the top of the tank. The volume of this displaced oil is proportional to the extent of the inner hull penetration. The oil removed from the bladder system is then collected by the oil overflow containment system.
Meso-skeleton Concept Calculations
The most promising meso-skeleton configuration of those investigated is show in FIG. 17 . It was the lightest in weight while still providing the strength necessary to withstand the design head pressures. It consists of a series of rounded steel plates 400 that are joined together via detachable steel chain links 402 . This configuration permits the meso-skeleton to deform when needed during a collision, as well as to conveniently form itself around the major structural stiffening members of the tank (i.e., web frames and horizontal bulkhead stingers 138 ).
Preliminary calculations were made to size the meso-skeleton system components to provide analysis of the system. Two basic cases were considered in the analysis:
Determination of the meso-skeleton's ability to withstand the normal operating hydrostatic pressure of the bladder pushing against the meso-skeleton in between bulkhead stiffeners at the bottom of a tank. Determination of the meso-skeleton's ability to support the bladder in the event of a grounding collision which leaves a long opening in the innerbottom structure that must be spanned by the meso-skeleton.
Assuming the use of stainless steel (CRES 316 alloy) for corrosion resistance (galvanized mild steel may also be used provided its yield strength equals or exceeds the 32 ksi of CRES 316 ), it was found that at least ½″ (0.52″ diameter) chain links 402 are required to satisfy both scenarios. See FIG. 17 for details of the links and plates.
Oil Overflow Collection Concept Calculations
The responses of the oil overflow containment system were investigated for two different types of accidents: (1) grounding; and (2) side collision. These two different types of tanker accidents are illustrated in FIGS. 19 and 20 , respectively. The responses of the oil overflow containment system to these accidents are discussed herein below.
System Response to Tanker Grounding
It was assumed that all tanks on one side of the tanker, either port or starboard, are subjected to raking damage from a pinnacle rock 600 that penetrates 20′ into the ship from the bottom of the keel. As the ship progresses forward, this rock tears through successive tanks. This represents a major grounding event that, without recovery provided by the system, could potentially result in a substantial oil spill. The following assumptions were made:
5 percent of all tanks' volume on one side of the ship is forced out of the meso-skeleton and bladder system. This oil will be displaced upward and flow through the overflow pipes to the header pipe and then to the expandable bags illustrated in FIG. 18 . The ship's initial speed was 15 knots. The ship is fully loaded at zero trim. The ship will come to rest approximately 1500 feet after initially hitting the rock. As the ship's velocity steadily decreases during the impact, the impact time for each affected tank was calculated. The pinnacle of rock impacts each successive tank for longer times as the ship slows down.
The following is a summary of the analysis:
1) Header pipe diameter will be about 9 feet 2) Overflow pipe diameter will be about 6 feet 3) Most tanks will require multiple overflow pipes due to the short impact time. 4) One hundred expandable bags, each about 17 feet in length and weighing about 8 tons when full, will be required, or 5) Twenty-eight expandable bags, each about 73 feet long and weighing about 30 tons when fill, will be required to recover the oil flowing out of the bladders. 6) Each expandable bag will be filled through a 1-foot diameter pipe.
The expandable bags can be released overboard after being filled. These bags will float because the specific gravity of oil is less than that of seawater. They will be recovered from the sea by a lightering ship by means of a crane or netted and towed by a tugboat to shore.
System Response to Tanker Side Collision
This type of accident is the most demanding on the oil overflow containment system. FIG. 20 shows the type of side collision that was investigated. It shows a ship 700 of about the same size as the baseline tanker striking and penetrating the inner hull of one tank 302 . This represents the most severe type of side collision terms of the rate of oil evacuation from the tank. Due to the Speed of the impact for the affected tank, a large quantity of oil must be transferred from the tank and into the oil overflow containment system in a very small amount of time. In attempting to accommodate the most severe of potential collisions, the flow rate of oil out of the bladder became somewhat high for containment purposes. Therefore, there was calculated the maximum acceptable severity of a side impact collision, given the system that survives a grounding accident. The supporting calculations indicate that the system can take a side collision resulting in 7 percent overflow of one tank, as shown in FIG. 20 , with an impact time of 6 seconds. Side collisions that result in larger overflows or shorter impact times require the bladder to have more overflow pipes to accommodate the high flow rate of oil leaving the bladder. The side collision that the oil overflow system can withstand (7% overflow in 6 seconds) is nevertheless a severe collision. If more than one tank is penetrated because the striking ship collides with the tanker at a different angle, rather than perpendicular to the ship, or if it collides with the tanker at a different longitudinal location, then the oil outflow per tank would be less and the system would be able to handle the overflow.
IMPACTS ON EXISTING TANKER DESIGN
Incorporation of the system according to the invention on existing double hull tankers will impact the design and operation of these ships in several ways. The major system impacts are described below.
Cargo Oil Piping System—Cargo fill, drain, and stripping systems will need to be modified so that routine filling and removal of cargo may be accomplished with the bladder system installed. To be compatible with the free floating bladder/skeleton concept, these systems should preferably not penetrate the bladder except from above. Rigid elements leading to the bottom of the tank would also negate the system by possibly puncturing the bladder in an accident. Cost—Fabrication and installation of the various components of the system are likely to be very expensive. In particular, the assembly of the meso-skeleton will be quite labor intensive and likely to be costly. Additional cost impacts will result from the structural modifications to the Main Deck to install the hinged access doors, from the additional overhaul period necessary to install the system, and from any other modifications or removals of existing ships structure, piping equipment that may also be necessary to facilitate the installation of the system. Reduced Cargo Carrying Capacity—Due to the fact that the bladder and meso-skeleton system will not wrap around the smaller bulkhead and deck stiffeners, and due to the actual volume of the bladder and meso-skeleton themselves, a percentage of the cargo tank volume can, most likely, not be utilized for oil. For the baseline tanker considered in this report, the overall tank capacity will be reduced by approximately 6%. This figure will vary for tankers of differing sizes or configurations. Loss of Available Deck Space—Available space on the Main Deck will be significantly reduced by the presence of the oil overflow containment system header pipe and the clearance necessary for the attached containment bags to expand and be transferred over the side of the ship. Tank Preservation—With the bladder system in place, the interior tank structure will no longer be in direct contact with the oil, but instead will be exposed to a damp, salty, and corrosive atmosphere. Preservative coatings will need to be applied in the tank spaces. These coatings will need to be frequently renewed as a result of metal-to-metal contact between the meso-skeleton and the tank structure that will probably harm the coatings. Deck Access—Large hatches will need to be provided in the main deck, above each cargo tank, to facilitate the initial installation of the meso-skeleton and the installation and removal of the containment system bladders. Inert Gas System—The existing inert gas system for tanks would have to be modified to provide for inert gas both inside and outside of the bladders. Although the bladder system will normally isolate the cargo from the internal tank structure, and thereby reduce the chance of an explosion during an accident, it is likely that over time, small quantities of fuel or vapor, originating from the area of the bladder/overflow pipe attachment, will accumulate in the atmosphere outside of the bag but inside the tank. Such vapors could be ignited form a spark generated from the metal-to-metal contact of the meso-skeleton against the tank structure. Tank Cleaning System—It may be possible to remove the tank cleaning system if it is feasible to change the bladders easily and inexpensively. Inspection Safety—The ability to remove the bladders while in port would reduce the danger currently experienced for inspection personnel exposed to dangerous solvents within an enclosed area. However, the length of time needed to conduct inspections will increase because the presence of the meso-skeleton will make inspection of the tank structure more difficult to accomplish (impossible without moving meso-skeleton aside). Reduced Full Load Ship Displacement—Although the bladder and meso-skeleton add weight to the ship, this addition is more than offset by the reduction in weight resulting from the reduced quantity of oil being carried. The resulting full load ship displacement will be about 4400 LT less than a similar tanker that is not outfitted with the system. This quantity will also vary for tankers of differing sizes or configurations. This reduced full load ship displacement may result in a slight increase in fuel economy for the tanker. A conventional cargo heating system should be provided for the bladder to facilitate removal of oil.
The system which has been described herein above has for the most part been a system for handling high mass, low velocity, large momentum hull breaches which would endanger the ability of a tanker to handle a hull breach. It has become increasingly more important and necessary to augment the above described system to include protection from low mass, high velocity projectiles which could approach a vessel not only from under the sea in the unlikely form of a torpedo but also more likely above the water line in the form of a missile, a bomb or another explosive projectile.
Because it will be necessary to strip the deck of the ship during the retrofitting of the systems described herein to install the deck portals, which will house bladder nipple extensions, at the time of reinstalling the deck a new projectile resistant deck will be installed as described herein below. The deck in accordance with the invention, is a lightweight, laminated structure as described with respect to FIGS. 21 , 22 and 23 . Referring first to FIG. 23 , the outer surface of the upper deck comprises a metallic layer 800 , for example, fabricated from carbon steel, and is preferably several inches thick. Immediately underneath the metallic layer 800 is a thick, belted fabric, material 802 , for example, being 0.5″ to 1.0″ thick, fabricated from Kevlar, with the layer 802 attached to the outer unit rim. A layer 804 comprises approximately 5 to 7 inches of sodium bicarbonate powder or some other suitable oxygen scavenger which may simply be comprised of powdered sodium bicarbonate or may be in the form of pillows containing sodium bicarbonate powder described hereinafter with respect to FIG. 22 . The next layer is layer 806 which is also a thick (0.5″ to 1.0″), belted fabric interface fabricated, for example, from Kevlar. Immediately beneath the fabric layer 806 is another metallic layer 808 , for example fabricated from carbon steel. Passing through the laminated structure of FIG. 23 is the pipe section 812 which is used to fill and discharge oil or other liquids from within the bladder 810 .
Referring now to FIG. 21 , there is illustrated in cross-sectional view a portion of a side or bottom of the bladder 810 which has on its exterior surface 813 a first fabric layer 814 , for example, Kevlar, a layer of powdered sodium bicarbonate 816 , a meso-skeleton layer 817 disposed within the layer 816 , and the second fabric layer 818 , for example, Kevlar. As illustrated in FIG. 21 , the two fabric layers 814 and 818 have between them a layer of the sodium bicarbonate 816 and the meso-skeleton layer 817 . Without some form of intervention, the powdered sodium bicarbonate would drift downwardly causing the layers 814 and 818 to come closer together and perhaps even touch. Accordingly, the layers 814 and 818 are separated by a plurality of plastic spacers 820 which, if desired, can be spaced along the entire length of the laminate structure illustrated in FIG. 21 . It should be appreciated that the structure of FIG. 21 completely surrounds the bladder 810 , other than for its top surface.
As illustrated in FIG. 22 , an alternative mode for deployment of the oxygen scavenger layers 804 and 816 is illustrated in FIG. 21 and includes a plurality of pillows 822 which contain sodium bicarbonate powder or another oxygen scavenger, foam, for example, which can be stacked between the layers 814 and 818 of FIG. 21 in place of the loose, powdered sodium bicarbonate illustrated in FIG. 21 . This eliminates the need for using the spacers 820 .
In summary, by having the structure illustrated in FIG. 23 above the top surface of the bladder 810 and by having the structure illustrated in FIGS. 21 or 22 around the lateral portions of the bladder 810 and beneath the bladder 810 , the bladder 810 is thus surrounded by the laminated structures of FIG. 21–23 and serves as a resistance against terrorism on the top surface of the deck, and the structure illustrated in FIGS. 21 and 22 , completely surrounding the bladder 810 beneath the upper structure of the ship's deck, there is an increased resistance to attacks, either in war or as against acts of terrorism involving the use of bombs, missiles, torpedoes, or the like. In this process, a projectile will first encounter the ballistic cloth if it comes in from the side or underneath the bladder and will then engage the sodium bicarbonate. The projectile will then encounter the meso-skeleton itself and then again the fire retardant powder and finally the inner layer of ballistic cloth before gaining access to the containment bladder. Should a fire be involved, the fire retardant, typically an oxygen scavenging powder or foam, will minimize the support of combustion which would otherwise ignite the cargo being transported. | A means for transportation is disclosed, where the means includes a ballistic protection structures associated with a flexible bladder cargo isolation system. A ballistic protection system for protecting means of transportation from ballistic attacks is also disclosed. | Identify and summarize the most critical technical features from the given patent document. | [
"RELATED APPLICATION This application is a Continuation of U.S. Pat. application Ser.",
"No. 10/341,524, filed Jan. 13, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,672,235 issued Jan. 6, 2004 which is a Continuation of U.S. Pat. application Ser.",
"No. 10/032,619, filed Nov. 1, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,189 issued Jan. 21, 2003, which is a Continuation-In-Part Application of U.S. Pat. application Ser.",
"No. 09/676,900, filed on Oct. 2, 2000 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,494,156 issued Dec. 17, 2002, which claims provisional priority to U.S. Provisional Pat. application Ser.",
"No. 60/165,421, filed on Nov. 13, 1999.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The History of Petrochemical Transportation Because of the wide diversity of locations where oil is harvested from earths'",
"underground reservoirs, it is necessary to transport the crude oil from a land or sea-based location to many sites across the globe for refinement.",
"History books have recorded massive spillage of crude and catastrophic ecological damage during this transportation phase because of hull failure of the vessel transporting the crude.",
"While oil spill prevention is the primary purpose of this invention, the invention contemplates the prevention of spills of various types of liquids and gasses, primarily in the petrochemical industry.",
"Currently Used Technology Currently, only one transport process is being considered to significantly lower the risk of ecological damage resulting from the breach in the hull integrity of petrochemical transport vehicles: The Double Hull.",
"Oil tankers built now and in the future are required by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA '90) to use double hulled construction to reduce the risk of oil spills due to grounding and collision, and the resulting adverse impact on the environment.",
"Although the use of double hulls is a step in the right direction, it does not fully eliminate the likelihood of oil spills since the inner hull can still be penetrated in major accidents.",
"Major oil spills, such as the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill at Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Ak.",
", can have devastating impacts on the environment, and the cost of oil recovery and restoration of the environment can be extremely high.",
"Although the double hull is currently perceived by the public and political figures as the most “politically correct”",
"solution to the problem, after lengthy review of the options available, the double-hull concept is flawed and still capable of failure for the same reasons as the single hull.",
"Even with the destruction of the entire remaining existing fleet of tankers, barges, and intermediate vessels and the expenditure of billions of dollars for the construction of The Double-Hull vessels, it is a fact that the Double-Hull vessel is still capable of being pierced or crushed by an incoming object when the force of that object exceeds the strength of the hulls.",
"The Double-hull proponents merely hope that two hulls are enough.",
"Recent history reaffirms that even two hulls are not enough.",
"Even with this knowledge, the petrochemical industry, driven by legislative momentum, a massively powerful and financially well-endowed lobbying organization and the ongoing voluntary implementation of the Double-Hull vessels into the current transportation, there appears to be a feeling among the major petrochemical interests that the cost of correcting the flaw in the vessel construction problem would not find a receptive market.",
"Once again, the industry appears to accept petrochemical cargo spillage as “another risk of doing business.”",
"Previous patents have struggled admittedly to only minimize the risk of hull breach with the use of various forms of bladders and reinforcement.",
"Yet, each such patent admits that the loss of cargo would occur should both the bladder and its reinforcement be pierced during a hull breach.",
"This present invention allows the existing fleet of small, medium and large, single-hull and double-hull vessels that function as petrochemical transport vessels on various scales of magnitude, and VLCC (Very Large Crude Carriers) having single hulls to be converted and retrofitted to become more ecologically safe and physically predictable to unexpected hull pressures.",
"Because of the custom nature of this invention, it is applicable to varying sizes of vessels.",
"The present invention also contemplates additional features for improving the integrity of the overall system during acts of war or attacks by criminals or terrorists who are attempting to cause oil spills by either dropping bombs, artillery shells, or the like on the upper surfaces of the ship, as well as impacting the sides and the underneath portions of the ship with torpedoes.",
"Some of The Savings Expected By Using Existing Retrofitted Vessels By using the existing retrofitted vessels with this invention: 1) Literally billions of dollars will be saved that would have been used in constructing the new and vastly more expensive replacement vessels.",
"The money saved can be invested at a much higher rate of return yielding greater profits than would have been lost in the purchase of new vessels before the existing ones actually require replacement due to extinction or mechanical failures.",
"2) The additional fuel necessary to move the heavier mass of double-hull tankers will be conserved while payload volume of transported crude will be maintained.",
"When this savings is considered for every journey of every vessel during the lifetime of the vessel until mandatory replacement, this is a major environmental and financial savings making worldwide utilization of this invention even more feasible.",
"3) The ship scrap debris created from the unnecessary destruction (usually sinking to the ocean floor) of the entire world fleet of tankers will lessen the environmental impact on the world's refuse problem and the presence of sea-junk with its oxidation and ionic release into the sea.",
"4) And, the industry will have finally dealt with the actual petrochemical transport containment issues rather than just minimizing the risk but admitting the potential for failure of the other containment inventions.",
"The potential damage to the environment as well as the financial outlay for clean-up or bio-remediation of spilled product is just too great to risk by not dealing with the actual problem at hand.",
"Positive Aspects of Utilizing This Invention There are many positive reasons for utilization of this invention within the existing fleet of single-hull tankers that have been retrofitted with this present invention;",
"1) Improvement of existing vessels to deal with unexpected hull integrity problems;",
"2) Prevention of ecological tragedy that accompanies petrochemical spills;",
"3) Re-integration of vessel transport cell integrity following a hull breach where sea water enters the vessel;",
"4) Pre-Containment of Off-loaded crude;",
"5) Multiple-back-up system for off-loading of over-pressurized compartment contents;",
"6) Installation of invention with minimal time of vessel out of service;",
"7) Lower vessel hold maintenance costs;",
"8) Ability to change cargo type with more ease and safety from cross-contamination;",
"9) More safety to cleaning personnel of transport cells;",
"and 10) Ability to protect off-loaded product from harm's way.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an improved cargo ship.",
"Another object of the present invention is to prevent hydrocarbon spills, or spills of other types of cargo, in the event the hull of a ship is breached.",
"An advantage of the present invention is a means for containing a hydrocarbon cargo, or other type of cargo, even after the hull or double hull of a ship is breached.",
"In the preferred embodiment of the invention, a method and apparatus are provided for containing cargo carried aboard a cargo carrier comprising a non-permeable, flexible bladder mounted within the carrier and in which the cargo is disposed and having an outlet port containing one or more check valves which allow the transported cargo to exit through such one or more check valves in the event the bladder is contacted by one or more objects which would otherwise cause the bladder to burst and spill the contents.",
"Therefore, in one embodiment the invention discloses an apparatus for containing cargo during a hull breach on a ship which comprises a non-permeable, flexible bladder mounted within the ship in which the cargo is disposed and a skeleton adjacent to the flexible bladder comprised of a plurality of relatively moveable elements for supporting the flexible bladder.",
"The skeleton may be flexible and conformable to a shape of the flexible bladder.",
"The plurality of relatively moveable elements forming the skeleton, in one embodiment, may comprise metallic links and/or metallic plates.",
"There may be interconnecting metallic links mounted to the metallic plates.",
"This it should be appreciated that there has been described and illustrated herein new and improved methods and apparatus for preventing the spill of transported cargo aboard an oil tanker.",
"However, the invention contemplates the use of such methods and apparatus for preventing the spills of various cargo materials on other means of transportation, for example, on barges, aircraft which are used as tankers for refueling other aircraft while in flight, tanker trucks which are used to transport oil or other fluid cargos over the highway system, and the like.",
"The invention may include means for permitting flow from the bladder to compensate for a sudden increase in pressure in the bladder caused by a hull breach.",
"In one embodiment, a pressure sensitive valve is secured to the non-permeable flexible bladder.",
"One or more pressure sensitive valves is operable to open to release the cargo in response to a sudden increase in pressure in the non-permeable bladder due to the hull breach.",
"The valve may close once the pressure is reduced to a normal value to seal the remaining cargo within the flexible bladder.",
"In one presently preferred embodiment, a plurality of tanks are provided wherein each tank may be much smaller than the flexible bladder.",
"The pressure sensitive valve may then release the cargo into the plurality of tanks to take care of the overflow due to the hull breach.",
"Preferably, each of the plurality of tanks is expandable so that storage is compact.",
"A header may be provided for receiving the cargo from the pressure sensitive valve responsive to the hull breach.",
"As the header is filled, the expandable tanks are filled with the excess.",
"In operation, the present invention provides methods for containing cargo during a hull breach on a ship.",
"The method may comprise such steps as releasing cargo from a flexible container through a valve in response to increased pressure in the flexible container produced by the hull breach and directing the released cargo into the header on the ship.",
"The method may comprise other steps such as filling at least one expandable tank, preferably with the released cargo in the header and may comprise releasing the at least one expandable tank overboard after being filled with the released cargo.",
"The method preferably includes supporting the flexible container with a plurality of support elements flexibly interconnected together.",
"In other words, an apparatus is provided for containing cargo during a hull breach on a ship which preferably comprises elements such as a non-permeable bladder mounted within the ship in which the cargo is disposed, a flexible support structure in surrounding relationship to the non-permeable bladder, and a valve secured to the bladder.",
"The valve is preferably operable to open for releasing the cargo through the valve responsive to a hull breach.",
"The flexible support structure may take on many forms such as a plurality or elements moveably linked together.",
"In a preferred embodiment, at least one expandable tank may be provided which is placed in communication with the valve for filling in response to the hull breach.",
"In one embodiment of the invention, the valve is responsively opened by an increase in pressure caused by the hull breach.",
"A header pipe is secured to the valve for receiving the cargo and directing the cargo, if necessary, to a plurality of expandable tanks which are secured to the header for receiving the cargo therefrom.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is cut away view of a ship hull containing the apparatus according to the present invention;",
"FIG. 2 is a top view of a ship without the deck showing the deck hull hanging device and the meso-skeleton structure according to the present invention;",
"FIG. 3 is a view of the meso-skeleton structure of the present invention installed in a ship and viewed from one end (stem view) of the ship;",
"FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the meso-skeleton according to the present invention installed in the hull of a ship;",
"FIG. 5 is a side view of a ship showing the bladder according to the present invention in the ship;",
"FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the containment system in the hull of a ship with the bladder and meso-skeleton installed;",
"FIG. 7 is an end view of a ship showing the bladder and meso skeleton installed in the ship with the transported product in the bladder;",
"FIG. 8 is a side view of one embodiment of an offloading system according to the present invention;",
"FIG. 9 is a top view of one embodiment according to the present invention of an off-loading system over a particular ship hold;",
"FIG. 10 is another embodiment according to the present invention of an off-loading system;",
"FIG. 11 is an end view of the ship with one embodiment according to the present invention of the off-loading system installed on the ship;",
"FIG. 1A is a side view of the basic meso-skeleton unit according to the present invention;",
"FIG. 1B contains two views of the knuckle device according to the present invention that joins the meso-skeleton together;",
"FIG. 12A is a conventional double-hull tanker which can be fitted with an apparatus in accordance with the present invention;",
"FIG. 12B is a top plan view of the tanker illustrated in FIG. 12A ;",
"FIGS. 13 , 14 and 15 illustrate a plan view, transverse section, and an inboard view of the tanker illustrated in FIGS. 12A and 12B , respectively, with the apparatus in accordance with the present invention installed inside the cargo tanks illustrated in FIGS. 12A and 12B ;",
"FIG. 16 illustrates a stiffener used to form structure within the apparatus in accordance with the present invention;",
"FIGS. 17 (A)–(E) illustrates a meso-skeleton configuration of steel plates and steel chain links which provide a portion of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;",
"FIGS. 18 ( a ) and ( b ) further shows the ship illustrated in FIGS. 12A and 12B and including the apparatus in accordance with the present invention installed therein;",
"FIG. 19 illustrates in a diagrammatic manner the effect of grounding a ship upon the bottom of the water through which the ship is traveling;",
"FIG. 20 illustrates the effect of a side collision between the tanker illustrated in FIGS. 12 (A) and (B) and another sea-going vessel;",
"FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view of additional materials used in helping to resist the effect on the sides and bottom of a tanker resulting from terrorists'",
"attacks or other acts of war;",
"FIG. 22 illustrates schematically pillows which can be used to replace the loose powdered materials illustrated in FIG. 21 ;",
"and FIG. 23 illustrates, partly in cross-section, an elevated view of laminated materials which are used to strengthen the upper deck of the ship in accordance with the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The following definitions are used in describing this invention: Meso-skeleton is the protective, intentionally deformable infrastructure that has been developed to lay passively against the ships hull in the hold.",
"The meso-skeleton occupies minimal space in the hold yet provides an important force distribution protective function at the moment of hull breach.",
"Meso-skeleton elements (add as FIG. 1A the Triangle with the knuckle joints) have tubular members 200 with meso-skeleton element joints, articulating condyle member 201 , and also knuckle joints 202 .",
"Further the tubular members have sleeves 204 over the tubular members.",
"Meso-skeleton element joints 202 are shaped as a knuckle that will allow the three contacting ball elements of adjoining meso-skeleton elements to have wide range of motions in multiple axes.",
"Skeleton strips (not shown) are created using a connecting sleeve (not shown) that in a preferred embodiment can be latched over tubular members 200 to connect two tubular members together creating the meso-skeleton 100 using Sleeve Connectors 205 , otherwise, the knuckle/meso-skeleton element joints join the basic elements together.",
"FIG. 2 shows the Deck hull hanging device 103 having a rod 105 , at least one plate 104 , but preferably a plurality of plates.",
"There are intermediate rivets 106 that attach the plate to the deck's hull and support structure.",
"The ships bulkheads 101 serve as interrupters of cells into functioning units.",
"FIG. 3 shows the deck hull hanging device 103 with at least two support struts 132 and 134 .",
"FIG. 4 shows the entry port 102 for the bladder attached to the deck hull.",
"FIGS. 5 and 6 show bladder 136 contained in the hold of a ship.",
"Bladder neck 138 is positioned to extend up into the port 102 .",
"FIG. 7 shows the bladder support means 140 .",
"The pressure sensitive valve 142 is shown as well.",
"FIG. 1A shows the equilateral triangles used to create the meso-skeleton.",
"They contain tubular members 200 , a tubular sleeve 204 and sliding connecting means 200 , 201 and 202 .",
"The Offloading Device is shown in FIGS. 8 through 11 .",
"Particularly in FIG. 8 , are shown the compressed capsules 144 for receiving product.",
"A five-way offloading device is depicted in FIG. 9 and a parallel offloading device is depicted in FIG. 8 and FIG. 10 .",
"The offloading troughs 110 which transport the loaded capsules 144 for storage or further deployment are shown in FIGS. 8 and 10 .",
"The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for Hull breach containment system.",
"The following is the detailed description of the invention.",
"Meso-skeleton elements: The Offloading Device is shown in FIGS. 8 through 11 .",
"Particularly in FIG. 8 , are shown the compressed capsules 144 for receiving product.",
"A six-way offloading device is depicted in FIG. 9 and a parallel offloading device is depicted in FIG. 8 and FIG. 10 .",
"The offloading troughs 110 which transport the loaded capsules 144 for storage or further deployment are shown in FIGS. 8 and 10 .",
"The equilateral triangles are preferably stainless steel, and preferably solid, however, strong or reinforced hollow members can be used within the scope of this invention.",
"The triangles could be made of legs that are tubular, rectangular, or octagonal in shape.",
"Other shapes may be usable within the scope of the present invention, provided they can be jointed together with the unique tubular joints.",
"The preferable size of the meso-skeleton element is 1 foot length per leg in the preferred embodiment, but size could vary from being as short as 6 inches to as long as 18 inches.",
"Longer or shorter legs may be used.",
"However, such longer length legs would need to be constructed from graphite composite or ultra strong materials so that the meso-skeleton element ( FIG. 1B ) does not deform upon itself when pressure is applied to it as a functioning unit.",
"The tubular members of the meso-skeleton may additionally be covered in a tubular sleeve 204 , preferably from a rolled sheet metal, preferably the same material as the tubular members, however, a coated sleeve, such as powder coated steel, or silicon, or elastomeric or polymeric lined material which would prevent corrosion of the tubular members and permit additional rolling of the tubular members against the unique bladder combination without tearing the tubular member and relieving the possibility of any adhesion of the tubular member against the bladder.",
"Optionally, the meso-skeleton elements could be construed of solid triangular materials or otherwise that have strong supporting sides.",
"The solid element could be a fabric, which would cover the side structural elements and provide further cushioning against the bladder.",
"The cover for the bladder could for example, be fabricated from leather, cloth, plastic or other flexible materials.",
"As a specific example, the cover could be fabricated from the KEVLAR product manufactured by or on behalf of I.E. duPont de Nemours and Company of Wilmington, Del.",
"KEVLAR is the trademark of Dupont.",
"The KEVLAR material is a flexible, synthetic fiber of high tensile strength which has been used to make bullet proof vests among other things.",
"Suffice it to say at this point that the function served by the cover which is formed by the meso-skeleton elements of this present invention could also be performed by various other materials to allow intruding objects such as another boat hull to push against the cover and hence against the bladder to perform the various objects of this present invention.",
"Meso-skeleton element joints: The legs of the triangles are connected together with rotatable joints 202 , similar to a knuckle type joint, permitting multi-axis rotation of three connections as well as translation of force from each leg through the joint.",
"Skeleton Strips: Meso-skeleton elements are prejoined into skeleton strips.",
"In the preferred embodiment, the strips are created to either be one, two, three or more meso-skeleton elements wide (as in FIG. 4 ) strips which can be anywhere from 5 elements up to 150 elements or more in length.",
"The strips are attached at one end to a deck hull hanging device ( FIGS. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , and 11 ) and then the strips are connected together by tack welding 134 , and fitted against the side of the interior of the hull.",
"The meso-skeleton strips can be connected together by placing a connecting sleeve 205 FIG. 1B around the sleeved tubular member of adjoining skeleton strips thereby containing two sleeved tubular members on one connecting sleeve.",
"The connecting sleeve could be a hinged device capable of clamping over the sleeves for easy installation in the field.",
"Deck Hull Hanging Device The deck hull-hanging device comprises a series of flat rectangular plates 104 that extend from the bow of the ship to the stern, and each plate specifically extends from the edge of one bulkhead in the hold of the ship to the edge of the next bulkhead in the hold of the ship.",
"The plates are placed as close as possible to the edge of the ship's hull-deck interface.",
"The plates extend from bow to stern on each side of the ship, both the starboard side and the port side.",
"It is even contemplated that this device could be used to extend across the stern of the ship as well and provide protection on all exposed sides of the vessel.",
"It is possible that the plates could be stopped prior to meeting at the bow, as the bow compartment typically does not hold cargo such as oil or similar materials.",
"The plates are bolted, riveted or welded to the superstructure of the deck, so that the deck hull-hanging device maximizes the support of the plates while connected to the meso-skeleton.",
"A main hanging support rod 105 is placed under the deck in the hold and in line with the plates that are on the deck.",
"The rod is connected to each plate via a bolt which extends from the rod through the deck, through the plate and is bolted, welded or riveted to the plates.",
"If the plates do not extend the full length of the ship, it is contemplated that two rods would be used within the scope of the present invention within each cargo compartment of the hold.",
"The deck plates that support the hanging support rod are intended to provide weight transfer or load transfer in the vertical plane.",
"A support strut 134 ( FIGS. 2 , 3 , 4 , and 11 ) for connecting the rod to the interior hull of the ship is used in the preferred embodiment so as to provide weight transfer or load transfer laterally which impact the rod due to stresses on the meso-skeleton.",
"Depending on the weight of the meso-skeleton, it may be possible to not use the support strut and only use the deck plates to support the rod holding the meso-skeleton.",
"At least two support struts per rod are contemplated, but additional support struts can be used depending on the size of the hold of the ship.",
"Preferably, each time the rod is connected to the deck, a support strut should be used against the interior hull of the vessel.",
"The support strut can be welded to the hull, rivets or otherwise connected to the interior hull of the ship.",
"Sliding connecting means 205 FIG. 1B , such as a stainless steel loop or a coated metal loop, or similar slidable mechanism can be used to hold the meso-skeleton onto the rod.",
"The sliding connecting means attaches to the meso-skeleton by fitting over the tubular sleeve of the meso-skeleton element that is parallel to the rod.",
"Bladder 136 : A bladder ( FIG. 5 ) having a neck and at least one bladder support means is used with this invention.",
"The bladder is preferably made of a strong material, such as rubber, KEVLAR, PEEK, PFTE or a similar super strong flexible, fabric-like material.",
"Teflon-coated nylons or other coated polymeric materials may be usable within the scope of the present invention if they are strong, resistant to both salt water and hydrocarbon degradation and other chemical corrosion.",
"Woven and non-woven materials may be usable within the scope of the present invention.",
"The bladder is preferably custom designed in size to exactly match the size dimensions of the ship hold into which it is to reside.",
"The bladder is designed so that it is contained laterally and interiorly by the meso-skeleton structure.",
"The bladder is lowered through a deck port into the hold and then partially inflated so that the bladder lies against the meso-skeleton which has already been inserted in the hull of the ship.",
"Cargo, such as oil, water, fertilizer, grain, or other fluids, including wine or beer, could be then flowed into the bladder through a conventional fill and discharge port, preferably, located on the top surface of the bladder.",
"Remaining air is then evacuated form within the bladder to provide a bladder containing only cargo.",
"The bladder is then sealed such as with a pressure sensitive valve 142 that is capable of monitoring and maintaining the pressure on the cargo at the predetermined setting.",
"The bladder is preferably shaped much like a balloon.",
"The thickness of the bladder material preferably runs from 0.25 inches in thickness to approximately 1 inch in thickness.",
"The bladder may be made of one single material or could be laminate structure.",
"The bladder materials need to be flexible and capable of sustaining high tensile strengths anticipated in a hull breach condition.",
"Preferably the bladder material is nonflammable or at least flame resistant.",
"The bladder is preferably designed with a support means 140 that can be used to lift the bladder into and out of the hold of the ship.",
"The support means is preferably attached to at least one side of the bladder and is strong enough to support an empty bladder during installation or removal.",
"A pressure sensitive valve 142 preferably conventional a one-way check valve which allows fluid to flow only out of the bladder located in the port which permits cargo to exit the bladder through the neck of the bladder.",
"This pressure sensitive valve is contemplated to be a pressure sensing and monitoring device to monitor the pressure on the cargo in the bladder as well as a valve which can be automatically opened if pressure of the cargo reaches a certain set value or can be manually operated, depending on the needs of the ship's crew.",
"This pressure sensitive valve is directly connected to the offloading device.",
"In the most preferred embodiment, it is contemplated that the pressure sensitive valve would be designed to operate in a “fail-safe”",
"mode, and that it could open to offload cargo into the Offloading Device should the crew be unable or unwilling to open the valve when pressure on the cargo in the bladder reached certain critical limits.",
"Offloading Device In this invention, if the meso-skeleton structure is installed, the bladder is in place and the cargo or product is placed in the bladder and if the hull of the ship is breached, the following steps in accordance with the present invention occur to prevent cargo contamination into the sea surrounding the ship.",
"First, a deformation of the hull occurs inwardly because of the hull breach.",
"The meso-skeleton is moved, applying pressure uniformly on the bladder.",
"The sensor in the neck of the bladder detects a change in pressure on the bladder contents and opens the valve.",
"Cargo moves through the valve and is distributed into at least one offloading tube.",
"In the preferred embodiment, six offloading tubes are contemplated for use with each ship hold that is contained by bulkheads.",
"In each offloading tube, are compressed capsules that have at one end, a flapper valve for receiving cargo.",
"Cargo is moved into the capsules, the capsules expand to fill capacity and are then either stored on the deck of the ship or launched into the water into a tethered containment device, such as fisherman's netting supported by buoys, or other floatation devices which would keep the cargo afloat.",
"Assuming the oil or other transported cargo has a lower specific gravity than water, the cargo will float on top of the water in its capsules.",
"The tethered containment device can be tied to the ship, or tethered to a remotely operated vehicle to move the cargo in the now expanded capsules away from the ship so as to prevent damage to the containment devices from the ship itself or from the hazard that caused the hull breach.",
"In one embodiment, the offloading system can comprise one or more troughs designed to receive and convey the compressed capsules The once filled capsules would continue through the trough system to a platform which would be launched onto the water's surface.",
"The launch could either be tethered to the ship or be moved by remote operation away from the ship or area of potential hazard to the contained material.",
"Once enough cargo is removed to equalize pressure in the hold, the pressure sensitive valve closes and thereby reestablishes containment of the remaining cargo in the bladder in the hold.",
"Should water flow into the hold due to the hull breach, that water can enter the hold without contaminating the cargo in the bladder to enable the ship to somewhat stabilize in that compartment.",
"The invention is illustrated with reference to a specific embodiment;",
"however, modifications of the embodiment are contemplated, for example, as in accord with the following even more preferred embodiment.",
"The embodiment of FIGS. 12–20 is comprised of the following components: (a) Customized bladders that will be installed into each oil tank.",
"They will be formed to fit the internal tank structure and be flexible enough to deform without rupture in the event of a grounding or collision.",
"(b) Meso-skeleton system that will surround and passively support the bladders in each cargo tank independently, protect the bladders from rupture, and deform superficially with the bladders.",
"The meso-skeleton will wrap around internal tank structure as needed, but is not attached other than at the main deck.",
"(c) Oil overflow containment system deployed on the tanker deck that will contain the oil flowing out of the bladders in case of deformation of the cargo tank boundary due to grounding or collision.",
"The system according to the invention is generally intended to work in the event of an accident as follows: During a collision or grounding of sufficient magnitude, the tanker's double hull or double bottom is ruptured.",
"As a result of this hull penetration, the bladder and meso-skeleton deform as necessary, with the meso-skeleton providing a flexible yet protective barrier that prevents damage to the bladder itself.",
"The volume of oil displaced by this penetration does not, therefore, flow out of the hull breach, but is instead squeezed out of the bladder through a neck at the top of the tank and into a large diameter header pipe above the main deck.",
"If similar damage occurs to other cargo tanks, additional oil is forced from the respective bladders into the header pipe.",
"If the resulting volume of displaced oil exceeds the volume of the header pipe itself, then a series of expandable bags which are attached to the header pipe will be filled as needed.",
"Once filled, these bags can then be launched overboard until they can be safely retrieved.",
"The description of each component of the system is provided in the following paragraphs.",
"The baseline ship 300 used to describe the system is a typical 125,000 DWT double hull tanker.",
"A sketch of this tanker is shown in FIGS. 12(A) and (B).",
"The ship 300 has two cargo tanks 302 and 304 across and has a double hulled construction in accordance with OPA '90.",
"The width between hulls is 6′-8″ (2 M), while the double bottom 306 is 9′-10″ (3 M) in height.",
"This ship 300 has been selected for this installation of the system according to this invention because it is representative of tankers in the Alaska to California trade.",
"This trading route runs along one of the most environmentally sensitive coastal areas of the United States.",
"The tanker 300 utilized for the system description is a conventional, longitudinally framed tanker.",
"The cargo tanks are bounded fore and aft by transverse bulkheads 308 and 310 and on the sides by the centerline longitudinal bulkhead 312 (inboard) and the ship's double hull 314 (outboard).",
"Transverse web frames 316 are spaced 15′ apart.",
"The outboard bulkhead, after bulkhead, and tank bottom are essentially smooth plates (stiffening outside) for each tank.",
"FIGS. 13 , 14 and 15 provide a plan view, a transverse section, and an inboard view of the tanker, respectively, with the bladder and meso-skeleton inside each cargo tank represented by the heavy lines in each sketch.",
"The bladder and meso-skeleton system will wrap around the large stiffeners (i.e., web frames and horizontal stringers 138 ) as shown in FIGS. 13 , 14 and 15 , but not around the numerous smaller stiffeners—as shown in FIG. 16 —for practical considerations.",
"In FIG. 16 , the L-shape bulkhead stiffener 500 is used in conjunction with the inner bottom 502 and the centerline bulkhead 312 to provide stability to the meso-skeleton 137 and the bladder 136 .",
"FIG. 18 shows the arrangement of the oil overflow containment system according to the present invention.",
"System Components The purpose of the bladder system is to contain the oil from each tank in the event the tank boundary is pierced by either grounding or collision.",
"Each bladder will be made of a flexible material, preferably fabricated from rubber, or other elastomeric material, or plastic or fiber, or combinations thereof, that can be custom designed to fit into, and conform to the internal contours of, each tank.",
"The interchangeability of bladders would allow for replacement according to changes in cargo types.",
"Each bladder will have one or more necks at the top of the tank to permit oil to flow out of the bladder and into the header pipe quickly in the event of an accident.",
"Seawater entering the tank through a hull breach will, for the most part, remain isolated from the remaining oil by the bladder.",
"The bladder is required to be: 1.",
"deformable 2.",
"Very large (capacity approximately equal to that of tank itself) and able to conform to tank boundaries 3.",
"Fitted with necked opening(s) at the top 4.",
"Resistant to saltwater, hydrocarbon degradation and other chemical corrosion 5.",
"Able to withstand a given head pressure, for example, 30 psi head pressure 6.",
"Installable and removable through a hinged access in the main deck 7.",
"Long-lasting Meso-Skeleton The purpose of the meso-skeleton 137 , illustrated in detail in FIG. 17 , is to provide the bladders of a tanker with the necessary protection in the event of various types of potential collisions.",
"For any given tank, the meso-skeleton will provide protection along the four-bulkhead perimeter of the tank as well as along the tank's innerbottom.",
"The portions of the meso-skeleton along each bulkhead will be supported from structural supports installed near the main deck level.",
"The meso-skeleton is required to be: 8.",
"Deformable 9.",
"Able to prevent damage to bladder 10.",
"Able to support pressure from the bladder under normal conditions and in the event of a collision 11.",
"Able to resist salt and other chemical corrosion 12.",
"As lightweight as possible 13.",
"Able to be supported along the sides by main deck.",
"Similar supports should exist on each side of the transverse bulkheads.",
"Several meso-skeleton configurations were investigated using chain links and a combination of chain links and small rounded plates.",
"Chain links were investigated because they allow rotation in three directions, which is needed to help the meso-skeleton deform easily and prevent rupture of the bladder.",
"The preferred configuration is discussed herein below.",
"Oil Overflow Containment System The purpose of the oil overflow containment system is to collect oil that has been evacuated from the bladder system after the inner hull of the tanker has been deformed inward by grounding or a collision.",
"The major components of this system include: 1) Overflow pipes connected to the bladders'",
"necks 140 on one end and to the header pipe on the other end.",
"2) A large diameter header pipe 330 deployed on the main deck of the tanker.",
"3) Multiple iridescent, expandable bags 332 located along the header pipe 330 with a conventional radio beacon/strobe (not illustrated) attached to each for ease of location.",
"Oil evacuated from the bladder(s) in the event of an accident will be contained within the bags 332 , which can be, in turn, maintained within the tanker, or deployed and launched into the water for later retrieval.",
"A sketch of the oil overflow containment system is presented in FIG. 18 .",
"Overflow pipes 335 will be provided 1, 2, or 3 per tank, depending on the size of the tank and the anticipated rate of oil evacuation.",
"Overflow pipes will be provided with check valves to prevent cargo shifting between tanks in rough seas.",
"The expandable bags 332 will be provided with gate valves 334 and quick disconnecting devices so they can self-disconnect when full.",
"One such bag 333 is illustrated in FIG. 18B as being filled.",
"SYSTEM OPERATION AND CONCEPT CALCULATIONS In the unfortunate event of a tanker running aground or colliding with another ship, the system is intended to prevent an outflow of oil into the water even if a double hull tank boundary has been breached.",
"During such an event, either the tank's innerbottom or a tank bulkhead is assumed to deform inward and compress the tank's meso-skeleton and bladder.",
"The meso-skeleton is intended to provide a shielding effect for the bladder that will prevent it from being ruptured even as it's compressed.",
"This compression at the time of the accident forces a volume of oil out of the affected bladder through openings at the top of the tank.",
"The volume of this displaced oil is proportional to the extent of the inner hull penetration.",
"The oil removed from the bladder system is then collected by the oil overflow containment system.",
"Meso-skeleton Concept Calculations The most promising meso-skeleton configuration of those investigated is show in FIG. 17 .",
"It was the lightest in weight while still providing the strength necessary to withstand the design head pressures.",
"It consists of a series of rounded steel plates 400 that are joined together via detachable steel chain links 402 .",
"This configuration permits the meso-skeleton to deform when needed during a collision, as well as to conveniently form itself around the major structural stiffening members of the tank (i.e., web frames and horizontal bulkhead stingers 138 ).",
"Preliminary calculations were made to size the meso-skeleton system components to provide analysis of the system.",
"Two basic cases were considered in the analysis: Determination of the meso-skeleton's ability to withstand the normal operating hydrostatic pressure of the bladder pushing against the meso-skeleton in between bulkhead stiffeners at the bottom of a tank.",
"Determination of the meso-skeleton's ability to support the bladder in the event of a grounding collision which leaves a long opening in the innerbottom structure that must be spanned by the meso-skeleton.",
"Assuming the use of stainless steel (CRES 316 alloy) for corrosion resistance (galvanized mild steel may also be used provided its yield strength equals or exceeds the 32 ksi of CRES 316 ), it was found that at least ½″ (0.52″ diameter) chain links 402 are required to satisfy both scenarios.",
"See FIG. 17 for details of the links and plates.",
"Oil Overflow Collection Concept Calculations The responses of the oil overflow containment system were investigated for two different types of accidents: (1) grounding;",
"and (2) side collision.",
"These two different types of tanker accidents are illustrated in FIGS. 19 and 20 , respectively.",
"The responses of the oil overflow containment system to these accidents are discussed herein below.",
"System Response to Tanker Grounding It was assumed that all tanks on one side of the tanker, either port or starboard, are subjected to raking damage from a pinnacle rock 600 that penetrates 20′ into the ship from the bottom of the keel.",
"As the ship progresses forward, this rock tears through successive tanks.",
"This represents a major grounding event that, without recovery provided by the system, could potentially result in a substantial oil spill.",
"The following assumptions were made: 5 percent of all tanks'",
"volume on one side of the ship is forced out of the meso-skeleton and bladder system.",
"This oil will be displaced upward and flow through the overflow pipes to the header pipe and then to the expandable bags illustrated in FIG. 18 .",
"The ship's initial speed was 15 knots.",
"The ship is fully loaded at zero trim.",
"The ship will come to rest approximately 1500 feet after initially hitting the rock.",
"As the ship's velocity steadily decreases during the impact, the impact time for each affected tank was calculated.",
"The pinnacle of rock impacts each successive tank for longer times as the ship slows down.",
"The following is a summary of the analysis: 1) Header pipe diameter will be about 9 feet 2) Overflow pipe diameter will be about 6 feet 3) Most tanks will require multiple overflow pipes due to the short impact time.",
"4) One hundred expandable bags, each about 17 feet in length and weighing about 8 tons when full, will be required, or 5) Twenty-eight expandable bags, each about 73 feet long and weighing about 30 tons when fill, will be required to recover the oil flowing out of the bladders.",
"6) Each expandable bag will be filled through a 1-foot diameter pipe.",
"The expandable bags can be released overboard after being filled.",
"These bags will float because the specific gravity of oil is less than that of seawater.",
"They will be recovered from the sea by a lightering ship by means of a crane or netted and towed by a tugboat to shore.",
"System Response to Tanker Side Collision This type of accident is the most demanding on the oil overflow containment system.",
"FIG. 20 shows the type of side collision that was investigated.",
"It shows a ship 700 of about the same size as the baseline tanker striking and penetrating the inner hull of one tank 302 .",
"This represents the most severe type of side collision terms of the rate of oil evacuation from the tank.",
"Due to the Speed of the impact for the affected tank, a large quantity of oil must be transferred from the tank and into the oil overflow containment system in a very small amount of time.",
"In attempting to accommodate the most severe of potential collisions, the flow rate of oil out of the bladder became somewhat high for containment purposes.",
"Therefore, there was calculated the maximum acceptable severity of a side impact collision, given the system that survives a grounding accident.",
"The supporting calculations indicate that the system can take a side collision resulting in 7 percent overflow of one tank, as shown in FIG. 20 , with an impact time of 6 seconds.",
"Side collisions that result in larger overflows or shorter impact times require the bladder to have more overflow pipes to accommodate the high flow rate of oil leaving the bladder.",
"The side collision that the oil overflow system can withstand (7% overflow in 6 seconds) is nevertheless a severe collision.",
"If more than one tank is penetrated because the striking ship collides with the tanker at a different angle, rather than perpendicular to the ship, or if it collides with the tanker at a different longitudinal location, then the oil outflow per tank would be less and the system would be able to handle the overflow.",
"IMPACTS ON EXISTING TANKER DESIGN Incorporation of the system according to the invention on existing double hull tankers will impact the design and operation of these ships in several ways.",
"The major system impacts are described below.",
"Cargo Oil Piping System—Cargo fill, drain, and stripping systems will need to be modified so that routine filling and removal of cargo may be accomplished with the bladder system installed.",
"To be compatible with the free floating bladder/skeleton concept, these systems should preferably not penetrate the bladder except from above.",
"Rigid elements leading to the bottom of the tank would also negate the system by possibly puncturing the bladder in an accident.",
"Cost—Fabrication and installation of the various components of the system are likely to be very expensive.",
"In particular, the assembly of the meso-skeleton will be quite labor intensive and likely to be costly.",
"Additional cost impacts will result from the structural modifications to the Main Deck to install the hinged access doors, from the additional overhaul period necessary to install the system, and from any other modifications or removals of existing ships structure, piping equipment that may also be necessary to facilitate the installation of the system.",
"Reduced Cargo Carrying Capacity—Due to the fact that the bladder and meso-skeleton system will not wrap around the smaller bulkhead and deck stiffeners, and due to the actual volume of the bladder and meso-skeleton themselves, a percentage of the cargo tank volume can, most likely, not be utilized for oil.",
"For the baseline tanker considered in this report, the overall tank capacity will be reduced by approximately 6%.",
"This figure will vary for tankers of differing sizes or configurations.",
"Loss of Available Deck Space—Available space on the Main Deck will be significantly reduced by the presence of the oil overflow containment system header pipe and the clearance necessary for the attached containment bags to expand and be transferred over the side of the ship.",
"Tank Preservation—With the bladder system in place, the interior tank structure will no longer be in direct contact with the oil, but instead will be exposed to a damp, salty, and corrosive atmosphere.",
"Preservative coatings will need to be applied in the tank spaces.",
"These coatings will need to be frequently renewed as a result of metal-to-metal contact between the meso-skeleton and the tank structure that will probably harm the coatings.",
"Deck Access—Large hatches will need to be provided in the main deck, above each cargo tank, to facilitate the initial installation of the meso-skeleton and the installation and removal of the containment system bladders.",
"Inert Gas System—The existing inert gas system for tanks would have to be modified to provide for inert gas both inside and outside of the bladders.",
"Although the bladder system will normally isolate the cargo from the internal tank structure, and thereby reduce the chance of an explosion during an accident, it is likely that over time, small quantities of fuel or vapor, originating from the area of the bladder/overflow pipe attachment, will accumulate in the atmosphere outside of the bag but inside the tank.",
"Such vapors could be ignited form a spark generated from the metal-to-metal contact of the meso-skeleton against the tank structure.",
"Tank Cleaning System—It may be possible to remove the tank cleaning system if it is feasible to change the bladders easily and inexpensively.",
"Inspection Safety—The ability to remove the bladders while in port would reduce the danger currently experienced for inspection personnel exposed to dangerous solvents within an enclosed area.",
"However, the length of time needed to conduct inspections will increase because the presence of the meso-skeleton will make inspection of the tank structure more difficult to accomplish (impossible without moving meso-skeleton aside).",
"Reduced Full Load Ship Displacement—Although the bladder and meso-skeleton add weight to the ship, this addition is more than offset by the reduction in weight resulting from the reduced quantity of oil being carried.",
"The resulting full load ship displacement will be about 4400 LT less than a similar tanker that is not outfitted with the system.",
"This quantity will also vary for tankers of differing sizes or configurations.",
"This reduced full load ship displacement may result in a slight increase in fuel economy for the tanker.",
"A conventional cargo heating system should be provided for the bladder to facilitate removal of oil.",
"The system which has been described herein above has for the most part been a system for handling high mass, low velocity, large momentum hull breaches which would endanger the ability of a tanker to handle a hull breach.",
"It has become increasingly more important and necessary to augment the above described system to include protection from low mass, high velocity projectiles which could approach a vessel not only from under the sea in the unlikely form of a torpedo but also more likely above the water line in the form of a missile, a bomb or another explosive projectile.",
"Because it will be necessary to strip the deck of the ship during the retrofitting of the systems described herein to install the deck portals, which will house bladder nipple extensions, at the time of reinstalling the deck a new projectile resistant deck will be installed as described herein below.",
"The deck in accordance with the invention, is a lightweight, laminated structure as described with respect to FIGS. 21 , 22 and 23 .",
"Referring first to FIG. 23 , the outer surface of the upper deck comprises a metallic layer 800 , for example, fabricated from carbon steel, and is preferably several inches thick.",
"Immediately underneath the metallic layer 800 is a thick, belted fabric, material 802 , for example, being 0.5″ to 1.0″ thick, fabricated from Kevlar, with the layer 802 attached to the outer unit rim.",
"A layer 804 comprises approximately 5 to 7 inches of sodium bicarbonate powder or some other suitable oxygen scavenger which may simply be comprised of powdered sodium bicarbonate or may be in the form of pillows containing sodium bicarbonate powder described hereinafter with respect to FIG. 22 .",
"The next layer is layer 806 which is also a thick (0.5″ to 1.0″), belted fabric interface fabricated, for example, from Kevlar.",
"Immediately beneath the fabric layer 806 is another metallic layer 808 , for example fabricated from carbon steel.",
"Passing through the laminated structure of FIG. 23 is the pipe section 812 which is used to fill and discharge oil or other liquids from within the bladder 810 .",
"Referring now to FIG. 21 , there is illustrated in cross-sectional view a portion of a side or bottom of the bladder 810 which has on its exterior surface 813 a first fabric layer 814 , for example, Kevlar, a layer of powdered sodium bicarbonate 816 , a meso-skeleton layer 817 disposed within the layer 816 , and the second fabric layer 818 , for example, Kevlar.",
"As illustrated in FIG. 21 , the two fabric layers 814 and 818 have between them a layer of the sodium bicarbonate 816 and the meso-skeleton layer 817 .",
"Without some form of intervention, the powdered sodium bicarbonate would drift downwardly causing the layers 814 and 818 to come closer together and perhaps even touch.",
"Accordingly, the layers 814 and 818 are separated by a plurality of plastic spacers 820 which, if desired, can be spaced along the entire length of the laminate structure illustrated in FIG. 21 .",
"It should be appreciated that the structure of FIG. 21 completely surrounds the bladder 810 , other than for its top surface.",
"As illustrated in FIG. 22 , an alternative mode for deployment of the oxygen scavenger layers 804 and 816 is illustrated in FIG. 21 and includes a plurality of pillows 822 which contain sodium bicarbonate powder or another oxygen scavenger, foam, for example, which can be stacked between the layers 814 and 818 of FIG. 21 in place of the loose, powdered sodium bicarbonate illustrated in FIG. 21 .",
"This eliminates the need for using the spacers 820 .",
"In summary, by having the structure illustrated in FIG. 23 above the top surface of the bladder 810 and by having the structure illustrated in FIGS. 21 or 22 around the lateral portions of the bladder 810 and beneath the bladder 810 , the bladder 810 is thus surrounded by the laminated structures of FIG. 21–23 and serves as a resistance against terrorism on the top surface of the deck, and the structure illustrated in FIGS. 21 and 22 , completely surrounding the bladder 810 beneath the upper structure of the ship's deck, there is an increased resistance to attacks, either in war or as against acts of terrorism involving the use of bombs, missiles, torpedoes, or the like.",
"In this process, a projectile will first encounter the ballistic cloth if it comes in from the side or underneath the bladder and will then engage the sodium bicarbonate.",
"The projectile will then encounter the meso-skeleton itself and then again the fire retardant powder and finally the inner layer of ballistic cloth before gaining access to the containment bladder.",
"Should a fire be involved, the fire retardant, typically an oxygen scavenging powder or foam, will minimize the support of combustion which would otherwise ignite the cargo being transported."
] |
ORIGIN OF THE INVENTION
The invention described herein was made by employees of the U.S. Government and may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.
This is a continuation-in-part of patent application Ser. No. 189,234, filed Sept. 22, 1980, now abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Flexible electrical circuits are presently being used commercially in computers, cameras, telephone and PBX systems, medical equipment controls and in automobile radios. These reliable interconnection devices save space and assembly time and it is anticipated that additional uses in aerospace and other applications will be forthcoming now that electronic designers no longer regard flexible circuits as experimental but accept such circuitry as reliable. One problem that has limited their use is the ability of present flexible circuits to remain reliable under extreme temperature variations. This unreliability is due to the low thermal stability of the adhesives presently used in flexible circuit laminates. There is a definite need in the aerospace industry for reliable flexible electrical circuitry for utilizing adhesives of high thermal stability for severe temperature and pressure environments such as may be encountered in applications on missiles; aircraft and spacecraft.
Linear aromatic polyimides derived from polyamic acid precursors are excellent candidates as adhesives for such applications because they are thermally stable at temperatures between 477 K. (400° F.) and 589 K. (600° F.), flexible, and light in weight.
A problem exists, however, in using such derived adhesives to bond polyimide film to itself or to metal surfaces, such as is desired for various circuitry applications, due to the evolution of unwanted volatiles. Such volatiles can be the result of condensation reaction by-products and/or excess solvent, both of which cause difficulties in the preparation of large-area, void-free laminates. Unless features such as porous or permeable films are used (see Bratton, U.S. Pat. No. 3,449,193), sucn volatiles lead to the formation of voids and unlaminated areas in the material.
A process for laminating large areas of void-free high temperature polyimide film is needed for aerospace applications. Several years ago, a particular need for a flexible, high temperature adhesive to bond ultra-thin polyimide film was presented by the proposed NASA Solar Sail Program. A flexible adhesive was needed for joining strips of 0.002 μm (0.08 mil) DuPont polyimide Kapton® H Film at intervals across each sail blade measuring 8 meters by 7350 meters in length. Kapton® is available in various thicknesses and is a trademark of the DuPont Company for a linear polyimide film formed from pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) and 4,4'-oxydianiline (ODA). Several linear polyimide adhesives were developed for this application using the following monomers: ##STR1##
The adhesives identified as LARC-2, 3, and 4, and formulated as shown in Table I, were prepared in a nontoxic ether solvent and proved successful in bonding 1/4-inch overlaps of thin polyimide Kapton® film. The adhesives themselves showed good thermal stability when subjected to temperatures of 575 K. in excess of 500 hours and the adhesive bonds also showed excellent retention of strength after aging 6000 hours at elevated temperature. Although these 1/4-inch polyimide bonds were not entirely "void-free", the adhesives were far stronger than the films they joined. A more complete description of these adhesives is found in the January 1979 issue of Adhesive Age, pp. 35-39, which is incorporated herein by reference.
TABLE I______________________________________KAPTON ® ADHESIVES Amic Acid T.sub.gResin Formulation n.sub.inh K (°F.)______________________________________LARC-2 BTDA 0.70 520 3,3'-DABP (477)LARC-3 2 BTDA/1 PMDA 0.63 542 3,3'-DABP (516)LARC-4 3 BTDA/1 PMDA 0.50 570 4,4'-DABP (567)______________________________________
The 1/4-inch overlap of the polyimide bonds described above is small enough in area to provide escape for a large portion of volatiles. A definite need still exists for a method for joining larger areas of polyimide film, so as to produce 100% void-free laminates.
Void-free laminates of thin polyimide film are deemed useful in high temperature packaging or encapsulating for the purpose of environmental protection. The "through-the-thickness" (TTT) strength of thick commercial polyimide film, Kapton® for example, is very poor and prohibits the use thereof in certain applications. However, by use of the present invention, thick laminates of the commercially thin film can be produced without decreasing the individual layer (TTT) strength and thereby yield a thick polyimide laminate having improved physical property characteristics. It is also anticipated that polyimide film and laminates thereof constructed according to the present invention will prove useful as coatings wherein, the polyimide film is primed with an adhesive in accordance with this invention, and the film bonded to different substrates to serve as a protective high temperature resistant coating thereon.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved process for bonding high temperature polyimide film.
Another object of the present invention is a method for preparing flexible, large-area, 100% void-free laminates from polyimide film.
Another object of the present invention is an improved method for laminating polyimide film to itself and/or to metal surfaces for ultimate use in flexible circuit applications.
An additional object of the present invention is the use of a thermoplastic bonding process to make laminates free of solvents and voids to obtain high temperature resistant polyimide laminate structures.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide void-free polyimide and polyimide-metal laminates.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, the foregoing and additional objects are attained by coating at least one surface of the polyimide film to be laminated with a thin layer of a linear polyamic acid adhesive solution, subjecting the coated film to temperature to effect substantially complete imidization of the adhesive, and thermoplastically bonding or laminating the coated film with another coated or uncoated polyimide film using temperature and pressure. As an alternate process, polyamic acid adhesive film may be imidized by preheating to form a free film of polyimide adhesive prior to being placed between the polyimide film layers. When using either process to produce flexible circuits, a conductive metal film layer can be interposed between layers of the polyimide film or bonded to one or both sides of one layer of polyimide film. Also, a laminate can be formed of two layers of conductive metal film bonded together by an intermediate layer of the imidized adhesive. The resulting structure is an essentially void-free laminate having one or more layers of polyimide film bonded to one or more layers of metal.
As used herein, it will be understood that the term "imidize" or "imidized" means substantially complete imidization.
A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily apparent by reference to the following detailed description and specific examples and when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a graphic illustration of the thermal stability of the adhesives employed in the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a graphic illustration of the adhesive strength exhibited by the adhesive bonds of the present invention when exposed to elevated temperatures;
FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of the liquid adhesive applied to one sheet of a pair of polyimide film sections to be bonded according to the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 illustrating the use of an imidized adhesive film as the bonding agent between two sheets of polyimide film;
FIG. 5a is a schematic illustration of a metal layer positioned between two sheets of adhesive coated polyimide films prior to pressure molding thereof to encase the metal film;
FIG. 5b is an illustration similar to FIG. 5a illustrating the use of imidized polyimide adhesive film as the adhesive agent;
FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of the mold assembly for laminating two layers of polyimide film according to the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of multiple layers of polyimide film in position for laminating according to the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a sectional view of still another embodiment of the present invention having two layers of metal bonded together by an intermediate layer of imidized adhesive;
FIG. 9a is a sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention having a layer of metal film bonded to a layer of polyimide film by an intermediate layer of imidized adhesive;
FIG. 9b is a sectional view of still another embodiment of the present invention having a central layer of polyimide film bonded or sandwiched between two outer layers of metal film by two intermediate layers of imidized adhesive;
FIGS. 9c and 9d show the embodiments of FIGS. 9a and 9b with the addition of protective layers of polyimide film; and
FIG. 9e is a sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention wherein two layers of aluminum/chrome metallized polyimide film are bonded together by an intermediate layer of imidized adhesive.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a graphic illustration of the excellent thermal stability properties of the various adhesives employed in the present invention when subjected to temperatures of 575 K. for an excess of 500 hours. FIG. 2 shows a graphic illustration of the retention of strength for the various adhesives after 6000 hours exposure at elevated temperature.
One process for producing large-area polyimide film laminates according to the present invention involves the following steps: (1) the polyimide film to be laminated is primed with a thin coat of a linear polyamic acid adhesive solution; (2) the primed polyimide film is then imidized by preheating to 493 K. (428° F.) in air for one hour to remove excess solvent and convert the polyamic acid adhesive to the more stable polyimide; (3) the imidized film is then thermoplastically bonded to another sheet of primed film or unprimed film, as shown in FIG. 3, in a steel mold (FIG. 6) at 616 K. (650° F.) for five minutes under 50-300 psi pressure; and (4) the polyimide film laminate is cooled under pressure before removing from the mold. The resulting laminate is clear yellow, extremely flexible, and 100% void-free. It cannot be peeled and attempts at peeling the laminate cause failure to occur in the film itself.
A second process for producing large area polyimide film laminates according to the present invention involves the following steps: (1) a thin film of the polyamic acid adhesive is fabricated by casting the solution on a flat surface; (2) the polyamic acid adhesive film is thermally imidized to the polyimide by heating in air to 493 K. (428° F.) for one hour; (3) the adhesive film is then stripped from the casting surface and placed between two sheets of polyimide film to be laminated, as shown in FIG. 4; (4) the sandwich prepared as in step 3 is placed in a steel mold (FIG. 6) and thermoplastically laminated at 616 K. (650° F.) for five minutes under 50-300 psi pressure; and (5) the polyimide laminate is cooled under pressure.
Successful laminates prepared by the processes described in the present invention were made from polyimide film using the following film thicknesses: 0.013 mm (0.5 mil), 0.025 mm (1 mil), 0.076 mm (3 l mil), and 0.127 mm (5 mil). However, other film thicknesses should also produce good laminates. The film was cleaned prior to bonding with a cloth containing ethanol. Any other solvent useful in removing dust particles, fingerprints, etc. should be acceptable in preparing the film for lamination. Although DuPont's Kapton® H film was used to produce the polyimide film laminates described in most of the Examples herein, other linear aromatic polyimide films may also be used for lamination by the process of the present invention.
For example, polyimide film which may be employed in the lamination process of the present invention are selected from the group of polyimides having the following structure: ##STR2## where Ar is either of ##STR3## where Z is selected from ##STR4## and Ar' is either of ##STR5## where Z' is selected from ##STR6##
The thermoplastic polyimide adhesives used for fabricating the laminates described in the present invention were prepared using the linear aromatic LARC polyamic acid solutions in Table I. The LARC-2, 3, and 4 solutions were used at a concentration of 15% solids in N,N'-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) or bis(2-methoxyethyl)ether (diglyme). Other useful solvents may include amide-type solvents such as N,N-dimethylformamide, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, and dimethylsulfoxide or ether-type solvents such as tetrahydrofuran, m- and p-dioxane, and 1,2-bis(2-methoxyethoxy)ethane. Also, other solids concentrations can be used as long as adequate flow characteristics are maintained to form a thin film.
The imidizing step should be varied depending upon the adhesive and solvent used. When DMAc was used as a solvent for the adhesive, imidization was achieved by heating the adhesive film or polyimide film coated with adhesive directly in air to 493 K. (428° F.) and holding at temperature for one hour. However, when diglyme was used as the adhesive solvent, it was necessary to carry out the imidization more slowly so as not to foam the adhesive. The imidization for diglyme-containing adhesives consisted of heating in air one-half hour at 373 K. (212° F.), one hour at 452 K. (356° F.), and one hour at 493 K. (428° F.). Ultimate success in obtaining a void-free laminate depends on the imidization step for substantially complete removal of solvent and the substantially complete thermal conversion of the adhesive polyamic acid to the polyimide prior to laminating.
Although the LARC polyamic acids were used as adhesives for the specific example illustrations of the present invention, other linear aromatic polyamic acids/polyimides may be employed as long as they are processed correctly to ensure substantially complete solvent removal and imidization. Also, a candidate adhesive solution for the lamination process described herein must produce a polyimide with a glass transition temperature (or softening temperature) low enough so as to remain processable during lamination.
Although 616 K. (650° F.) was specified as the laminating temperature in the above processes, longer time at a lower temperature or shorter time at a higher temperature could also be used to prepare a laminate of the same quality. When a laminating temperature of 644 K. (700° F.) was used for five minutes, the resulting laminate was very dark indicating that decomposition of the polymers had begun to occur. Best results were obtained when the press was preheated to 505 K. (450° F.) before inserting the laminate mold. The temperature of the press platens was then raised directly to 616 K. (650° F.) and held for five minutes. The platens were air-cooled to within 373 K. (212° F.) before opening.
Successful lamination of the polyimide film occurred using pressures of 50 psi, 150 psi, and 300 psi. Lower pressures might be used if pressure were applied evenly. Pressures as high as 1000 psi were attempted, but with no visible improvement in the quality of the resulting laminate. For best results, the pressure was applied as soon as the laminate mold was placed between the preheated platens; and that same pressure was maintained until after the platens had cooled. Bumping (release of pressure followed by reapplying the same pressure) was attempted on several of the laminates after the maximum temperature was reached. The bumping technique often used to allow the escape of excess volatiles proved to be unnecessary in the preparation of 100% void-free laminates and was discarded. The ultimate success in achieving a well-consolidated polyimide laminate was found to be dependent upon attaining an even distribution of pressure. The use of several layers of woven glass fabric (FIG. 6) between the polyimide film laminate and the steel mold served to evenly distribute the pressure on the laminate. The laminating process was also carried out with a vacuum bag surrounding the laminate mold, but evacuating the system did not produce better laminates.
The above described processes for laminating polyimide film are also used to prepare metal-containing laminates for use as flexible circuits and the like. The first process may be adapted by placing a conductive metal sheet or foil between two sheets of polyimide film that has been primed with adhesive and imidized shown in FIG. 5a. The second described process may be modified by placing a sheet of imidized adhesive film and polyimide film to be laminated on both sides of the metal forming a sandwich as shown in FIG. 5b. Although, aluminum, brass, copper, chromium, titanium, and stainless steel have been successfully laminated to polyimide film using the process, other metals, metal alloys or metal-coated film may be employed and are considered within the scope of this invention. The metals need only to be degreased with a solvent such as ethanol or methylethylketone prior to laminating, although a more strenuous surface preparation may be used when desired. Suitable flexible electrical circuits are prepared from the polyimide-metal laminates.
Polyimide film laminates have been prepared using the above described processes that vary in size from 77.4 cm 2 (12 in 2 ) to 645 cm 2 (100 in 2 ). Larger area laminates can be made using the present processes as long as the entire area of lamination receives even temperature and pressure. The thickness of the laminate may also be varied. An 8-ply polyimide film laminate (FIG. 7) was successfully prepared that was 100% void-free and flexible. Thicker laminates can be fabricated as long as the temperature and pressure demands are met.
FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the present invention wherein two layers of metal sheet or foil are bonded together by an intermediate layer of polyimide adhesive. The adhesive may be either coated on one or both internally facing metal surfaces as a polyamic acid and then imidized prior to bonding; or, the adhesive layer may be formed as a free film, as previously described. The various layers are stacked up in the order shown and then subjected to heat and pressure to effect void-free thermoplastic bonding as more fully discussed above.
FIGS. 9a and 9b shows two more embodiments of the present invention particularly suitable for use in making flexible printed circuitry. In the embodiment of FIG. 9a a laminate is formed of a layer of metal, preferably copper, bonded to a layer of polyimide film, such as Kapton®, by an intermediate layer of polyimide adhesive. The various layers are stacked up in the order shown and then subjected to heat and pressure to effect void-free thermoplastic bonding as more fully discussed above. In the embodiment of FIG. 9b, a laminate is formed of a layer of polyimide film, such as Kapton®, sandwiched between outer layers of metal, preferably copper. An intermediate layer of polyimide adhesive bonds each layer of metal to the intermediate layer of polyimide film. The adhesive may be coated onto either the metal or polyimide film surfaces as a polyamic acid and then fully imidized prior to bonding; or, the adhesive layer may be formed as a free film, as previously described. The various layers are stacked up in the order shown and then subjected to heat and pressure to effect void-free thermoplastic bonding as more fully discussed above.
The laminates of FIGS. 9a and 9b are formed into circuit elements by any known printed circuit or similar known techniques. After formation of the desired circuit pattern on one or both metal layers; the metal layers of the embodiment of FIGS 9a and 9b may be covered with a protective insulating layer of polyimide film bonded to the metal layer by another layer of polyimide adhesive formed by imidization of a polyamic acid as discussed above. With regard to the embodiment of FIG. 9a, the addition of that protective layer of polyimide film would result in a laminate as shown in FIG. 9c, which is essentially as in the embodiment of FIG. 5a, wherein the central metal layer was in the form of a desired circuit pattern rather than being a continuous monolithic sheet or layer. Similarly, the addition of that protective layer of polyimide film to each outer circuit layer of the embodiment of FIG. 9b would result in a laminate as shown in FIG. 9d.
The laminate of FIG. 9e is formed by bonding aluminum and/or chromium-metallized polyimide film using the imidized adhesive of the present invention. Such a formulation is particularly useful in large space structural applications where adhesive joints are needed to bond large areas of metallized polyimide film.
It is, of course, understood that other laminates of any desired number of layers of metal and polyimide film can be constructed according to the present invention.
SPECIFIC EXAMPLES
Example 1
A 7.6 cm (3 in.)×10.2 cm (4 In.) polyimide film laminate was prepared from 0.076 mm (3 mil) Kapton® H Film using LARC-2 (Table I) polyamic acid in diglyme as an adhesive. The Kapton® film was brush-coated at room temperature with the LARC-2 adhesive solution and placed in a low humidity environment (approximately 20%) for fifteen minutes. The Kapton® film primed with adhesive was then heated in a forced air oven for one-half hour at 373 K. (212° F.), one hour at 453 K. (356° F.), and one hour at 493 K. (428° F.) to complete imidization. The primed and imidized film was cooled to within 373 K. (212° F.) before removing from the oven. At this stage the adhesive coating was free of excess solvent, thermally imidized, and measured approximately 0.013 mm (0.5 mil) in thickness.
The laminate was then assembled as shown in FIG. 6 in a steel mold previously sprayed with a suitable release agent (Teflon, Freekote, or the like), and inserted between press platens preheated to 505 K. (450° F.). A pressure of 300 psi was applied and maintained. The mold was heated directly to 616 K. (650° F.) and the temperature held for five minutes. The laminate was cooled under pressure to 373 K. (212° F.).
The resulting laminate was clear yellow, entirely flexible, and 100% void-free. Peeling was attempted but failure occurred first in the polyimide film.
Example 2
A 7.6 cm (3 in)×10.9 cm (4 in) polyimide film laminate was prepared from 0.025 mm (1 mil) Kapton® film using LARC-2 adhesive in DMAc. An adhesive film was prepared by casting a 15% DMAc solution of LARC-2 onto a glass plate and imidizing in a forced air oven at 493 K. (428° F.) for one hour. The oven was cooled to within 373 K. (212° F.) before removing the glass plate. The plate was then immersed under tap water and the 0.025 mm (1 mil) thick adhesive film was removed from the plate and dried. The adhesive film was sandwiched between two sheets of Kapton® film (FIG. 4) with two layers of cloth on each side of the laminate and placed in a steel mold as illustrated in FIG. 6. The laminating process and results were the same as for Example 1.
Example 3
A Kapton® laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 1 using LARC-3 in diglyme as the adhesive solution.
Example 4
A Kapton® laminate was prepared as in Example 1 combining a sheet of unprimed Kapton® with a sheet of adhesive-primed Kapton®. Coating only one of the Kapton® sheets with adhesive made no difference in the resulting laminate, which was flexible and void-free.
Example 5
A large area, 25.4 cm (10 in)×25.4 cm (10 in), Kapton® laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 1.
Example 6
A Kapton® laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 1 using a pressure of 50 psi throughout the lamination.
Example 7
A Kapton® laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 1 using 0.013 mm (0.5 mil) Kapton®.
Example 8
A Kapton® laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 1 using 0.127 mm (5 mil) Kapton®.
Example 9
A Kapton® laminate comprised of eight plies was successfully prepared as in Example 1. The eight plies were assembled as shown in FIG. 7.
Example 10
A Kapton®/aluminum/Kapton® laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 1. The laminate was assembled according to the diagram in FIG. 5a using thin commercial aluminum foil as the metal.
Example 11
A Kapton®/brass/Kapton® laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 10.
Example 12
A Kapton®/copper/Kapton® laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 10.
Example 13
A Kapton®/stainless steel/Kapton® laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 10.
Example 14
A 7.6 cm (3 in)×10.2 cm (4 in) polyimide film laminate was prepared using 0.025 mm (1 mil) BTDA+ODA polyimide film with LARC-2 polyamic acid in diglyme as an adhesive.
The BTDA+ODA polyimide film to be laminated was prepared by reacting a 1:1 stoichiometric ratio of 4,4'-benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) and 4,4'-oxydianiline (ODA) in DMAc at 15% solids by weight. The resulting high molecular weight polyamic acid which gave an inherent viscosity of 1.14 was cast onto a glass plate and heated in a forced air oven one hour at 300° C. The polyimide (BTDA+ODA) film which was formed on curing was removed from the plate and used as an adherend for the LARC-2 adhesive.
Example 15
A titanium/adhesive/titanium laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 1. The laminate was assembled as shown in FIG. 8 using 20 mil thick 6Al-4V titanium adherends as the metal.
Example 16
A laminate of aluminum/chrome-metallized (via vapor deposition) Kapton® film was prepared successfully by the method of Example 1. The laminate was assembled as shown in FIG. 9e with the Kapton® film surface metallized with 150 Å chromium being bonded to a Kapton® film surface metallized with 1000 Å aluminum.
Example 17
A Kapton®/copper laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 1. The laminate was assembled according to the diagram in FIG. 9a using 1 mil thick commercial copper foil as the metal and 3 mil Kapton® film.
Example 18
A copper/Kapton®/copper laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 1. The laminate was assembled according to the diagram in FIG. 9b using 1 mil thick commercial copper foil as the metal and 3 mil Kapton® film. The LaRC-2 adhesive was applied to both sides of the Kapton® film and imidized prior to bonding.
The foregoing specific Examples are exemplary and are not to be considered as exhaustive but merely to illustrate applicants' invention without serving as limitations thereon.
Obviously, there are many variations and modifications of the present invention in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described. | High temperature polyimide film laminates and a process for fabricating large-area, void-free polyimide laminate structures wherein multiple-ply polyimide film laminates may be constructed without decreasing the individual film strength and wherein layers of metal foil may be laminated between polyimide film layers to yield a flexible high temperature resistant structure having capabilities for use as flexible electric circuits, in aerospace applications, and the like. | Briefly outline the background technology and the problem the invention aims to solve. | [
"ORIGIN OF THE INVENTION The invention described herein was made by employees of the U.S. Government and may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.",
"This is a continuation-in-part of patent application Ser.",
"No. 189,234, filed Sept.",
"22, 1980, now abandoned.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Flexible electrical circuits are presently being used commercially in computers, cameras, telephone and PBX systems, medical equipment controls and in automobile radios.",
"These reliable interconnection devices save space and assembly time and it is anticipated that additional uses in aerospace and other applications will be forthcoming now that electronic designers no longer regard flexible circuits as experimental but accept such circuitry as reliable.",
"One problem that has limited their use is the ability of present flexible circuits to remain reliable under extreme temperature variations.",
"This unreliability is due to the low thermal stability of the adhesives presently used in flexible circuit laminates.",
"There is a definite need in the aerospace industry for reliable flexible electrical circuitry for utilizing adhesives of high thermal stability for severe temperature and pressure environments such as may be encountered in applications on missiles;",
"aircraft and spacecraft.",
"Linear aromatic polyimides derived from polyamic acid precursors are excellent candidates as adhesives for such applications because they are thermally stable at temperatures between 477 K. (400° F.) and 589 K. (600° F.), flexible, and light in weight.",
"A problem exists, however, in using such derived adhesives to bond polyimide film to itself or to metal surfaces, such as is desired for various circuitry applications, due to the evolution of unwanted volatiles.",
"Such volatiles can be the result of condensation reaction by-products and/or excess solvent, both of which cause difficulties in the preparation of large-area, void-free laminates.",
"Unless features such as porous or permeable films are used (see Bratton, U.S. Pat. No. 3,449,193), sucn volatiles lead to the formation of voids and unlaminated areas in the material.",
"A process for laminating large areas of void-free high temperature polyimide film is needed for aerospace applications.",
"Several years ago, a particular need for a flexible, high temperature adhesive to bond ultra-thin polyimide film was presented by the proposed NASA Solar Sail Program.",
"A flexible adhesive was needed for joining strips of 0.002 μm (0.08 mil) DuPont polyimide Kapton® H Film at intervals across each sail blade measuring 8 meters by 7350 meters in length.",
"Kapton® is available in various thicknesses and is a trademark of the DuPont Company for a linear polyimide film formed from pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) and 4,4'-oxydianiline (ODA).",
"Several linear polyimide adhesives were developed for this application using the following monomers: ##STR1## The adhesives identified as LARC-2, 3, and 4, and formulated as shown in Table I, were prepared in a nontoxic ether solvent and proved successful in bonding 1/4-inch overlaps of thin polyimide Kapton® film.",
"The adhesives themselves showed good thermal stability when subjected to temperatures of 575 K. in excess of 500 hours and the adhesive bonds also showed excellent retention of strength after aging 6000 hours at elevated temperature.",
"Although these 1/4-inch polyimide bonds were not entirely "void-free", the adhesives were far stronger than the films they joined.",
"A more complete description of these adhesives is found in the January 1979 issue of Adhesive Age, pp. 35-39, which is incorporated herein by reference.",
"TABLE I______________________________________KAPTON ® ADHESIVES Amic Acid T.sub.",
"gResin Formulation n.sub.",
"inh K (°F.)______________________________________LARC-2 BTDA 0.70 520 3,3'-DABP (477)LARC-3 2 BTDA/1 PMDA 0.63 542 3,3'-DABP (516)LARC-4 3 BTDA/1 PMDA 0.50 570 4,4'-DABP (567)______________________________________ The 1/4-inch overlap of the polyimide bonds described above is small enough in area to provide escape for a large portion of volatiles.",
"A definite need still exists for a method for joining larger areas of polyimide film, so as to produce 100% void-free laminates.",
"Void-free laminates of thin polyimide film are deemed useful in high temperature packaging or encapsulating for the purpose of environmental protection.",
"The "through-the-thickness"",
"(TTT) strength of thick commercial polyimide film, Kapton® for example, is very poor and prohibits the use thereof in certain applications.",
"However, by use of the present invention, thick laminates of the commercially thin film can be produced without decreasing the individual layer (TTT) strength and thereby yield a thick polyimide laminate having improved physical property characteristics.",
"It is also anticipated that polyimide film and laminates thereof constructed according to the present invention will prove useful as coatings wherein, the polyimide film is primed with an adhesive in accordance with this invention, and the film bonded to different substrates to serve as a protective high temperature resistant coating thereon.",
"It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved process for bonding high temperature polyimide film.",
"Another object of the present invention is a method for preparing flexible, large-area, 100% void-free laminates from polyimide film.",
"Another object of the present invention is an improved method for laminating polyimide film to itself and/or to metal surfaces for ultimate use in flexible circuit applications.",
"An additional object of the present invention is the use of a thermoplastic bonding process to make laminates free of solvents and voids to obtain high temperature resistant polyimide laminate structures.",
"Yet another object of the present invention is to provide void-free polyimide and polyimide-metal laminates.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, the foregoing and additional objects are attained by coating at least one surface of the polyimide film to be laminated with a thin layer of a linear polyamic acid adhesive solution, subjecting the coated film to temperature to effect substantially complete imidization of the adhesive, and thermoplastically bonding or laminating the coated film with another coated or uncoated polyimide film using temperature and pressure.",
"As an alternate process, polyamic acid adhesive film may be imidized by preheating to form a free film of polyimide adhesive prior to being placed between the polyimide film layers.",
"When using either process to produce flexible circuits, a conductive metal film layer can be interposed between layers of the polyimide film or bonded to one or both sides of one layer of polyimide film.",
"Also, a laminate can be formed of two layers of conductive metal film bonded together by an intermediate layer of the imidized adhesive.",
"The resulting structure is an essentially void-free laminate having one or more layers of polyimide film bonded to one or more layers of metal.",
"As used herein, it will be understood that the term "imidize"",
"or "imidized"",
"means substantially complete imidization.",
"A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily apparent by reference to the following detailed description and specific examples and when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein: BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a graphic illustration of the thermal stability of the adhesives employed in the present invention;",
"FIG. 2 is a graphic illustration of the adhesive strength exhibited by the adhesive bonds of the present invention when exposed to elevated temperatures;",
"FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of the liquid adhesive applied to one sheet of a pair of polyimide film sections to be bonded according to the present invention;",
"FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 illustrating the use of an imidized adhesive film as the bonding agent between two sheets of polyimide film;",
"FIG. 5a is a schematic illustration of a metal layer positioned between two sheets of adhesive coated polyimide films prior to pressure molding thereof to encase the metal film;",
"FIG. 5b is an illustration similar to FIG. 5a illustrating the use of imidized polyimide adhesive film as the adhesive agent;",
"FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of the mold assembly for laminating two layers of polyimide film according to the present invention;",
"FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of multiple layers of polyimide film in position for laminating according to the present invention;",
"FIG. 8 is a sectional view of still another embodiment of the present invention having two layers of metal bonded together by an intermediate layer of imidized adhesive;",
"FIG. 9a is a sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention having a layer of metal film bonded to a layer of polyimide film by an intermediate layer of imidized adhesive;",
"FIG. 9b is a sectional view of still another embodiment of the present invention having a central layer of polyimide film bonded or sandwiched between two outer layers of metal film by two intermediate layers of imidized adhesive;",
"FIGS. 9c and 9d show the embodiments of FIGS. 9a and 9b with the addition of protective layers of polyimide film;",
"and FIG. 9e is a sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention wherein two layers of aluminum/chrome metallized polyimide film are bonded together by an intermediate layer of imidized adhesive.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a graphic illustration of the excellent thermal stability properties of the various adhesives employed in the present invention when subjected to temperatures of 575 K. for an excess of 500 hours.",
"FIG. 2 shows a graphic illustration of the retention of strength for the various adhesives after 6000 hours exposure at elevated temperature.",
"One process for producing large-area polyimide film laminates according to the present invention involves the following steps: (1) the polyimide film to be laminated is primed with a thin coat of a linear polyamic acid adhesive solution;",
"(2) the primed polyimide film is then imidized by preheating to 493 K. (428° F.) in air for one hour to remove excess solvent and convert the polyamic acid adhesive to the more stable polyimide;",
"(3) the imidized film is then thermoplastically bonded to another sheet of primed film or unprimed film, as shown in FIG. 3, in a steel mold (FIG.",
"6) at 616 K. (650° F.) for five minutes under 50-300 psi pressure;",
"and (4) the polyimide film laminate is cooled under pressure before removing from the mold.",
"The resulting laminate is clear yellow, extremely flexible, and 100% void-free.",
"It cannot be peeled and attempts at peeling the laminate cause failure to occur in the film itself.",
"A second process for producing large area polyimide film laminates according to the present invention involves the following steps: (1) a thin film of the polyamic acid adhesive is fabricated by casting the solution on a flat surface;",
"(2) the polyamic acid adhesive film is thermally imidized to the polyimide by heating in air to 493 K. (428° F.) for one hour;",
"(3) the adhesive film is then stripped from the casting surface and placed between two sheets of polyimide film to be laminated, as shown in FIG. 4;",
"(4) the sandwich prepared as in step 3 is placed in a steel mold (FIG.",
"6) and thermoplastically laminated at 616 K. (650° F.) for five minutes under 50-300 psi pressure;",
"and (5) the polyimide laminate is cooled under pressure.",
"Successful laminates prepared by the processes described in the present invention were made from polyimide film using the following film thicknesses: 0.013 mm (0.5 mil), 0.025 mm (1 mil), 0.076 mm (3 l mil), and 0.127 mm (5 mil).",
"However, other film thicknesses should also produce good laminates.",
"The film was cleaned prior to bonding with a cloth containing ethanol.",
"Any other solvent useful in removing dust particles, fingerprints, etc.",
"should be acceptable in preparing the film for lamination.",
"Although DuPont's Kapton® H film was used to produce the polyimide film laminates described in most of the Examples herein, other linear aromatic polyimide films may also be used for lamination by the process of the present invention.",
"For example, polyimide film which may be employed in the lamination process of the present invention are selected from the group of polyimides having the following structure: ##STR2## where Ar is either of ##STR3## where Z is selected from ##STR4## and Ar'",
"is either of ##STR5## where Z'",
"is selected from ##STR6## The thermoplastic polyimide adhesives used for fabricating the laminates described in the present invention were prepared using the linear aromatic LARC polyamic acid solutions in Table I. The LARC-2, 3, and 4 solutions were used at a concentration of 15% solids in N,N'-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) or bis(2-methoxyethyl)ether (diglyme).",
"Other useful solvents may include amide-type solvents such as N,N-dimethylformamide, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, and dimethylsulfoxide or ether-type solvents such as tetrahydrofuran, m- and p-dioxane, and 1,2-bis(2-methoxyethoxy)ethane.",
"Also, other solids concentrations can be used as long as adequate flow characteristics are maintained to form a thin film.",
"The imidizing step should be varied depending upon the adhesive and solvent used.",
"When DMAc was used as a solvent for the adhesive, imidization was achieved by heating the adhesive film or polyimide film coated with adhesive directly in air to 493 K. (428° F.) and holding at temperature for one hour.",
"However, when diglyme was used as the adhesive solvent, it was necessary to carry out the imidization more slowly so as not to foam the adhesive.",
"The imidization for diglyme-containing adhesives consisted of heating in air one-half hour at 373 K. (212° F.), one hour at 452 K. (356° F.), and one hour at 493 K. (428° F.).",
"Ultimate success in obtaining a void-free laminate depends on the imidization step for substantially complete removal of solvent and the substantially complete thermal conversion of the adhesive polyamic acid to the polyimide prior to laminating.",
"Although the LARC polyamic acids were used as adhesives for the specific example illustrations of the present invention, other linear aromatic polyamic acids/polyimides may be employed as long as they are processed correctly to ensure substantially complete solvent removal and imidization.",
"Also, a candidate adhesive solution for the lamination process described herein must produce a polyimide with a glass transition temperature (or softening temperature) low enough so as to remain processable during lamination.",
"Although 616 K. (650° F.) was specified as the laminating temperature in the above processes, longer time at a lower temperature or shorter time at a higher temperature could also be used to prepare a laminate of the same quality.",
"When a laminating temperature of 644 K. (700° F.) was used for five minutes, the resulting laminate was very dark indicating that decomposition of the polymers had begun to occur.",
"Best results were obtained when the press was preheated to 505 K. (450° F.) before inserting the laminate mold.",
"The temperature of the press platens was then raised directly to 616 K. (650° F.) and held for five minutes.",
"The platens were air-cooled to within 373 K. (212° F.) before opening.",
"Successful lamination of the polyimide film occurred using pressures of 50 psi, 150 psi, and 300 psi.",
"Lower pressures might be used if pressure were applied evenly.",
"Pressures as high as 1000 psi were attempted, but with no visible improvement in the quality of the resulting laminate.",
"For best results, the pressure was applied as soon as the laminate mold was placed between the preheated platens;",
"and that same pressure was maintained until after the platens had cooled.",
"Bumping (release of pressure followed by reapplying the same pressure) was attempted on several of the laminates after the maximum temperature was reached.",
"The bumping technique often used to allow the escape of excess volatiles proved to be unnecessary in the preparation of 100% void-free laminates and was discarded.",
"The ultimate success in achieving a well-consolidated polyimide laminate was found to be dependent upon attaining an even distribution of pressure.",
"The use of several layers of woven glass fabric (FIG.",
"6) between the polyimide film laminate and the steel mold served to evenly distribute the pressure on the laminate.",
"The laminating process was also carried out with a vacuum bag surrounding the laminate mold, but evacuating the system did not produce better laminates.",
"The above described processes for laminating polyimide film are also used to prepare metal-containing laminates for use as flexible circuits and the like.",
"The first process may be adapted by placing a conductive metal sheet or foil between two sheets of polyimide film that has been primed with adhesive and imidized shown in FIG. 5a.",
"The second described process may be modified by placing a sheet of imidized adhesive film and polyimide film to be laminated on both sides of the metal forming a sandwich as shown in FIG. 5b.",
"Although, aluminum, brass, copper, chromium, titanium, and stainless steel have been successfully laminated to polyimide film using the process, other metals, metal alloys or metal-coated film may be employed and are considered within the scope of this invention.",
"The metals need only to be degreased with a solvent such as ethanol or methylethylketone prior to laminating, although a more strenuous surface preparation may be used when desired.",
"Suitable flexible electrical circuits are prepared from the polyimide-metal laminates.",
"Polyimide film laminates have been prepared using the above described processes that vary in size from 77.4 cm 2 (12 in 2 ) to 645 cm 2 (100 in 2 ).",
"Larger area laminates can be made using the present processes as long as the entire area of lamination receives even temperature and pressure.",
"The thickness of the laminate may also be varied.",
"An 8-ply polyimide film laminate (FIG.",
"7) was successfully prepared that was 100% void-free and flexible.",
"Thicker laminates can be fabricated as long as the temperature and pressure demands are met.",
"FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the present invention wherein two layers of metal sheet or foil are bonded together by an intermediate layer of polyimide adhesive.",
"The adhesive may be either coated on one or both internally facing metal surfaces as a polyamic acid and then imidized prior to bonding;",
"or, the adhesive layer may be formed as a free film, as previously described.",
"The various layers are stacked up in the order shown and then subjected to heat and pressure to effect void-free thermoplastic bonding as more fully discussed above.",
"FIGS. 9a and 9b shows two more embodiments of the present invention particularly suitable for use in making flexible printed circuitry.",
"In the embodiment of FIG. 9a a laminate is formed of a layer of metal, preferably copper, bonded to a layer of polyimide film, such as Kapton®, by an intermediate layer of polyimide adhesive.",
"The various layers are stacked up in the order shown and then subjected to heat and pressure to effect void-free thermoplastic bonding as more fully discussed above.",
"In the embodiment of FIG. 9b, a laminate is formed of a layer of polyimide film, such as Kapton®, sandwiched between outer layers of metal, preferably copper.",
"An intermediate layer of polyimide adhesive bonds each layer of metal to the intermediate layer of polyimide film.",
"The adhesive may be coated onto either the metal or polyimide film surfaces as a polyamic acid and then fully imidized prior to bonding;",
"or, the adhesive layer may be formed as a free film, as previously described.",
"The various layers are stacked up in the order shown and then subjected to heat and pressure to effect void-free thermoplastic bonding as more fully discussed above.",
"The laminates of FIGS. 9a and 9b are formed into circuit elements by any known printed circuit or similar known techniques.",
"After formation of the desired circuit pattern on one or both metal layers;",
"the metal layers of the embodiment of FIGS 9a and 9b may be covered with a protective insulating layer of polyimide film bonded to the metal layer by another layer of polyimide adhesive formed by imidization of a polyamic acid as discussed above.",
"With regard to the embodiment of FIG. 9a, the addition of that protective layer of polyimide film would result in a laminate as shown in FIG. 9c, which is essentially as in the embodiment of FIG. 5a, wherein the central metal layer was in the form of a desired circuit pattern rather than being a continuous monolithic sheet or layer.",
"Similarly, the addition of that protective layer of polyimide film to each outer circuit layer of the embodiment of FIG. 9b would result in a laminate as shown in FIG. 9d.",
"The laminate of FIG. 9e is formed by bonding aluminum and/or chromium-metallized polyimide film using the imidized adhesive of the present invention.",
"Such a formulation is particularly useful in large space structural applications where adhesive joints are needed to bond large areas of metallized polyimide film.",
"It is, of course, understood that other laminates of any desired number of layers of metal and polyimide film can be constructed according to the present invention.",
"SPECIFIC EXAMPLES Example 1 A 7.6 cm (3 in.)×10.2 cm (4 In.) polyimide film laminate was prepared from 0.076 mm (3 mil) Kapton® H Film using LARC-2 (Table I) polyamic acid in diglyme as an adhesive.",
"The Kapton® film was brush-coated at room temperature with the LARC-2 adhesive solution and placed in a low humidity environment (approximately 20%) for fifteen minutes.",
"The Kapton® film primed with adhesive was then heated in a forced air oven for one-half hour at 373 K. (212° F.), one hour at 453 K. (356° F.), and one hour at 493 K. (428° F.) to complete imidization.",
"The primed and imidized film was cooled to within 373 K. (212° F.) before removing from the oven.",
"At this stage the adhesive coating was free of excess solvent, thermally imidized, and measured approximately 0.013 mm (0.5 mil) in thickness.",
"The laminate was then assembled as shown in FIG. 6 in a steel mold previously sprayed with a suitable release agent (Teflon, Freekote, or the like), and inserted between press platens preheated to 505 K. (450° F.).",
"A pressure of 300 psi was applied and maintained.",
"The mold was heated directly to 616 K. (650° F.) and the temperature held for five minutes.",
"The laminate was cooled under pressure to 373 K. (212° F.).",
"The resulting laminate was clear yellow, entirely flexible, and 100% void-free.",
"Peeling was attempted but failure occurred first in the polyimide film.",
"Example 2 A 7.6 cm (3 in)×10.9 cm (4 in) polyimide film laminate was prepared from 0.025 mm (1 mil) Kapton® film using LARC-2 adhesive in DMAc.",
"An adhesive film was prepared by casting a 15% DMAc solution of LARC-2 onto a glass plate and imidizing in a forced air oven at 493 K. (428° F.) for one hour.",
"The oven was cooled to within 373 K. (212° F.) before removing the glass plate.",
"The plate was then immersed under tap water and the 0.025 mm (1 mil) thick adhesive film was removed from the plate and dried.",
"The adhesive film was sandwiched between two sheets of Kapton® film (FIG.",
"4) with two layers of cloth on each side of the laminate and placed in a steel mold as illustrated in FIG. 6. The laminating process and results were the same as for Example 1.",
"Example 3 A Kapton® laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 1 using LARC-3 in diglyme as the adhesive solution.",
"Example 4 A Kapton® laminate was prepared as in Example 1 combining a sheet of unprimed Kapton® with a sheet of adhesive-primed Kapton®.",
"Coating only one of the Kapton® sheets with adhesive made no difference in the resulting laminate, which was flexible and void-free.",
"Example 5 A large area, 25.4 cm (10 in)×25.4 cm (10 in), Kapton® laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 1.",
"Example 6 A Kapton® laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 1 using a pressure of 50 psi throughout the lamination.",
"Example 7 A Kapton® laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 1 using 0.013 mm (0.5 mil) Kapton®.",
"Example 8 A Kapton® laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 1 using 0.127 mm (5 mil) Kapton®.",
"Example 9 A Kapton® laminate comprised of eight plies was successfully prepared as in Example 1.",
"The eight plies were assembled as shown in FIG. 7. Example 10 A Kapton®/aluminum/Kapton® laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 1.",
"The laminate was assembled according to the diagram in FIG. 5a using thin commercial aluminum foil as the metal.",
"Example 11 A Kapton®/brass/Kapton® laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 10.",
"Example 12 A Kapton®/copper/Kapton® laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 10.",
"Example 13 A Kapton®/stainless steel/Kapton® laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 10.",
"Example 14 A 7.6 cm (3 in)×10.2 cm (4 in) polyimide film laminate was prepared using 0.025 mm (1 mil) BTDA+ODA polyimide film with LARC-2 polyamic acid in diglyme as an adhesive.",
"The BTDA+ODA polyimide film to be laminated was prepared by reacting a 1:1 stoichiometric ratio of 4,4'-benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) and 4,4'-oxydianiline (ODA) in DMAc at 15% solids by weight.",
"The resulting high molecular weight polyamic acid which gave an inherent viscosity of 1.14 was cast onto a glass plate and heated in a forced air oven one hour at 300° C. The polyimide (BTDA+ODA) film which was formed on curing was removed from the plate and used as an adherend for the LARC-2 adhesive.",
"Example 15 A titanium/adhesive/titanium laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 1.",
"The laminate was assembled as shown in FIG. 8 using 20 mil thick 6Al-4V titanium adherends as the metal.",
"Example 16 A laminate of aluminum/chrome-metallized (via vapor deposition) Kapton® film was prepared successfully by the method of Example 1.",
"The laminate was assembled as shown in FIG. 9e with the Kapton® film surface metallized with 150 Å chromium being bonded to a Kapton® film surface metallized with 1000 Å aluminum.",
"Example 17 A Kapton®/copper laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 1.",
"The laminate was assembled according to the diagram in FIG. 9a using 1 mil thick commercial copper foil as the metal and 3 mil Kapton® film.",
"Example 18 A copper/Kapton®/copper laminate was successfully prepared as in Example 1.",
"The laminate was assembled according to the diagram in FIG. 9b using 1 mil thick commercial copper foil as the metal and 3 mil Kapton® film.",
"The LaRC-2 adhesive was applied to both sides of the Kapton® film and imidized prior to bonding.",
"The foregoing specific Examples are exemplary and are not to be considered as exhaustive but merely to illustrate applicants'",
"invention without serving as limitations thereon.",
"Obviously, there are many variations and modifications of the present invention in the light of the above teachings.",
"It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described."
] |
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates generally to microlens arrays and optical lenses, and more particularly to methods for manufacturing microlens arrays or non-spherical lenses.
[0003] 2. Related Art
[0004] Microlens arrays provide optical versatility in a miniature package for imaging applications. Traditionally, a microlens is defined as a lens with a diameter less than one millimeter; however, a lens having a diameter as large as five millimeters or more has sometimes also been considered a microlens.
[0005] There are many conventional methods for manufacturing microlens arrays, such as using reflow or diffusion. FIGS. 1A-1C show a typical sequence of steps for making a microlens array by depositing material, patterning, and reflowing. In FIG. 1A , a photosensitive layer 10 , such as a photosensitive resin, is formed on a planarization layer 12 over a silicon substrate (not shown). The material of the photosensitive layer is used to form the microlens array. In FIG. 1B , photosensitive layer 10 is patterned to form an array of shapes, such as rectangles, stripes, or squares 14 , where the shapes are located where the individual microlenses will be formed. Patterning, for example, can be with a conventional mask and photoresist process, where a photoresist is deposited on photosensitive layer 10 , exposed through a mask having opaque areas, developing (or removing) selected portions of the photoresist, and etching areas of photosensitive layer 10 left exposed by the photoresist. Squares 14 are then heated sufficiently to cause them to reflow, thereby forming an array of semi-spherical microlenses 16 , as shown in FIG. 1C .
[0006] However, microlens arrays made by thermal reflowing, as described above, have several disadvantages. Typically, photosensitive resins contain components which absorb proportionally more light in the blue region of the visible spectrum. As a result, the color spectrum is distorted, producing an image that is more “yellowish” than it should be. This color distortion increases with time due to oxidation of the resin. Another disadvantage is that the resolution with which the photosensitive resin can be patterned is limited by the thickness of the resin layer. The thicker the resin layer, the farther apart the microlenses in the array, which reduces the light collection efficiency of the array. On the other hand, the resin layer must be thick enough so that, when reflowed, the sag of the resultant microlenses is sufficient to cause the desired focusing effect. Consequently, it is difficult to obtain the highest possible collection efficiency with microlens arrays fabricated in this manner. Yet another disadvantage results from the fact that as the curvature radius of the microlens becomes small, the incident light is focused on a point near the microlens. Thus, the photosensitive layer is patterned to be square or rectangular in shape according to the shape of a cell, using a mask that is simply divided into opaque regions and light-transmissive regions, and is thermally treated to form a microlens. Thus, a curvature radius of the microlens is decreased. Moreover, because a microlens formed in a rectangular shape has a significant difference between its curvature radius in the width and the length directions, it is difficult to focus incident light on the corresponding photodiode without error, and a part of the light is focused on the planarization layer or color filter layer between the photodiode and the microlens, causing loss of light and deterioration of sensitivity and resolution.
[0007] Another conventional method of forming microlens arrays is by diffusion, such as described in “Light Coupling Characteristics of Planar Microlens”, by M. Oikawa et al., Proc. SPIE, 1544, 1991, pp. 226-237, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. FIGS. 2A-2G showsteps for forming a microlens array using two types of diffusion. In FIG. 2A , a glass substrate 20 is provided. In FIG. 2B , a metal film 22 is deposited on glass substrate 20 . Metal film 22 is then patterned, such as with conventional processes, to remove portions 24 where individual microlenses are to be formed, as shown in FIG. 2C . FIGS. 2D and 2E show one type of further processing, where the exposed areas 24 are diffused with an appropriate dopant and energy ( FIG. 2D ) and then the remaining metal is removed and the surface is polished, such as with a chemical or machine polish, to form microlenses 26 ( FIG. 2E ). FIGS. 2F and 2G show another type of further processing, where ions, protons, or other suitable molecules are used to bombard (e.g., with low energy) ( FIG. 2F ) and diffuse into substrate 20 and the remaining metal portions removed and the irradiated portions “swelled” ( FIG. 2G ), such as with an organic vapor, to form microlenses 28 . The result is a high numeral aperture planar microlens array. One disadvantage to forming microlens arrays using diffusion is that control of the thickness along the optical axis is limited.
[0008] Microlens arrays are typically used with an underlying array of sensors, such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) or charge couple device (CCD) sensors, to form an imaging device. The microlenses collect and focus light onto corresponding sensors. The microlenses significantly improve the light sensitivity of the imaging device by collecting light from a large light collecting area and focusing it on a small light sensitive area of the sensor (i.e., pixel). One conventional method of generating an image signal is shown in FIG. 3 . Light rays 30 are collected and focused by a microlens layer 32 comprising an array of microlenses 34 overlying a planarization layer 36 , such as formed by processes described above. After passing through planarization layer 36 , light rays 30 are filtered by color filters 38 in a filter layer 40 , with each color filter allowing only light of a specific color to pass, such as red, green, and blue (RGB). Light through the filters are then passed through a sensor layer 42 , comprising an array of sensors 44 , such as photodiodes or CCD devices. A processor (not shown) combines signals from the sensors to create a color image.
[0009] Such an arrangement of microlenses, filters, and sensors has several disadvantages. Several processing steps are needed to form the separate microlens layer 32 , filter layer 40 , and sensor layer 42 , which increase cost and time. The layers also increase the separation between the microlenses and the sensors, which can increase crosstalk between pixels, due in part to light impinging on adjacent sensors instead of the desired sensor.
[0010] In addition to microlenses, high quality non-spherical lenses are also critical components to many applications in the imaging field. They are widely used in optical systems for controlling critical light propagation and correcting image color quality, such as in professional cameras and video imaging equipment. However, the fabrication of non-spherical lenses is complicated and can only be done through skilled manual operation by highly trained professionals. Unlike spherical lenses which can be manufactured quickly by using conventional machines, non-spherical or specially sized or shaped lenses are typically shaped and polished manually and frequently individually. This can be time consuming and costly.
[0011] Accordingly, there is a need for an improved lens, microlens, or array and method of manufacturing such, including non-spherical lenses, that overcomes the disadvantages of conventional lens arrays or non-spherical lenses and related processes, such as described above. Further, there is a need for an integrated microlens array and sensor array that overcomes the disadvantages as described above with conventional microlens/sensor devices.
SUMMARY
[0012] The present invention provides improved microlens arrays or non-spherical lenses and processes of forming microlens arrays or non-spherical lenses. In one aspect, the microlens array is formed on a sensor array, resulting in an integrated microlens/sensor device.
[0013] According to one embodiment, an array of sensors is first fabricated on a substrate. A dielectric layer, such as a spin-on polymer (e.g., polyimide) or an oxide (e.g., SiO 2 ) is deposited over the sensor array. A patterning photosensitive dielectric layer, such as a spin-on photoresist, is next formed over the dielectric layer. Selected portions of the patterning layer are removed to expose areas of the dielectric layer overlying the individual sensors where microlenses are to be formed. The exposed portions are then processed to form curved recesses, such as by using a wet etch, a grey-scale mask, or a shadow mask. The curved recesses may have a controlled shape and range from a shallow recess to a deep spherical recess, depending on the desired characteristics of the microlens. Remaining portions of the patterning layer are then removed. An inorganic lens material having a higher refractive index than the underlying dielectric layer, such as SiO 2 , SiO x N y , Si 3 N 4 , TiO 2 , or a polymer, is deposited over the dielectric layer to form an integrated array of microlenses and sensors. The layer of lens material may be polished, if desired.
[0014] In other embodiments, the dielectric layer can be deposited over any substrate and does not have to be a sensor array. In such embodiments, the process forms and/or can be used to make plastic molding templates to form individual spherical or non-spherical lenses, or an array of spherical and/or non-spherical microlenses of any desired shape or shapes. The process of the present invention allows a lens or microlens array to be formed with different shaped non-spherical and/or spherical lenses. This gives the lens manufacturer more flexibility to fabricate many additional types of lens arrays at discount prices.
[0015] The present invention provides numerous advantages over conventional microlens arrays and methods. Since the microlens array is formed directly onto the sensor array with fewer processing steps than conventional methods, microlens/sensor devices of the present invention are easier and less expensive to fabricate than conventional devices. The focal length of the microlenses can be controlled depending on the type of dielectric materials used for the microlenses and/or process control (i.e., curvature of the lens elements.)
[0016] The present invention also provides improved sensor sensitivity due to the ability to make non-spherical lenses using wet etching, grey-scale mask or shadow mask processing. Another advantage is that using non-organic lens materials extends the reliability or useful lifetime of the microlens. The color quality of the image produced by the sensor is also improved because the lens material does not have the adverse characteristics of resin-containing materials, which as discussed above, can absorb proportionally more blue light to make the image yellowier than desired. Yet another advantage the current invention provides is that the resulting microlens/sensor device is thinner and more resistant to environmental effects because the microlens array acts as a protection layer for the sensor elements.
[0017] The resulting microlens array may be used with devices for a variety of application, from a small display screen for a camera, a digital camera sensor, a personal digital assistant, or a laptop to a large display screen for a projection screen, a wall-sized display screen, or a billboard-sized display screen. The processing or fabrication of the array/sensor unit allows high throughput with consistent characteristics between each array/sensor unit.
[0018] The scope of the invention is defined by the claims, which are incorporated into this section by reference. A more complete understanding of embodiments of the present invention will be afforded to those skilled in the art, as well as a realization of additional advantages thereof, by a consideration of the following detailed description of one or more embodiments. Reference will be made to the appended sheets of drawings that will first be described briefly.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] FIGS. 1A-1C show a typical sequence of steps for making a microlens array by reflowing according to a conventional process;
[0020] FIGS. 2A-2E show steps for forming a microlens array using one type of diffusion according to a conventional process;
[0021] FIGS. 2A-2C and 2 F- 2 G show steps for forming a microlens array using another type of conventional process;
[0022] FIG. 3 shows one type of conventional microlens array and sensor array device;
[0023] FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a process for fabricating a microlens array onto a sensor array according to one embodiment of the present invention;
[0024] FIGS. 5A-5G show various stages of a process for fabricating a microlens/sensor array according to one embodiment;
[0025] FIGS. 6A and 6B show a grey scale mask and characteristic of a grey scale mask, respectively, for use in one embodiment of the invention;
[0026] FIGS. 7A-7C show various stages of a process for forming controlled curvature recesses using a grey scale mask according to one embodiment; and
[0027] FIG. 8 is an angled view of a microlens array according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[0028] Embodiments of the present invention and their advantages are best understood by referring to the detailed description that follows. It should be appreciated that like reference numerals are used to identify like elements illustrated in one or more of the figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0029] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method 400 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention for fabricating a microlens array or a non-spherical lens. A substrate is first provided in step 402 , where the substrate may include an array of CMOS or CCD sensors. The sensor array may be any suitable size, ranging from small screen applications to large display devices. A dielectric layer is then deposited on the substrate in step 404 . A patterning layer, such as a spin-on photoresist or other photosensitive material, is deposited on the dielectric layer in step 406 . Selected portions of the patterning layer are removed, such as by conventional photolithography processing, in step 408 . The removed portions expose areas of the dielectric layer where the microlenses or non-spherical lenses are to be formed. With embodiments having a sensor array, the exposed areas correspond to locations of individual sensor elements.
[0030] In step 410 , the exposed portions of the dielectric layer are selectively etched, such as with a wet etch, a grey scale mask, or shadow mask, to form controlled curved recesses. The curved recesses deepest in the center and taper up toward the sides or circumference. The etching does not remove all the dielectric material such that the underlying substrate or sensors are exposed. Further, the curved recesses can be any suitable shape, such as semi-spherical or non-spherical, depending on the application. The remaining portions of the patterning layer are removed in step 412 , and the resulting template is ready for further processing steps or can be used for plastic molding of specially designed lenses. When the template is to be continued for further processing, a layer of inorganic lens material is deposited over dielectric layer, in step 414 , to fill in the curved recesses. The lens material, in one embodiment, has a refractive index higher than that of the dielectric layer. Examples of suitable lens materials include, but are not limited to, SiO 2 , SiO x N y , Si 3 N 4 , TiO 2 , a polymer, or plastics in the case of plastic molding. The layer of lens material may then be polished if necessary.
[0031] FIGS. 5A-5G show various stages of fabricating a microlens array according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 5A shows a top view of a substrate 500 onto which the microlens array will be formed. In one embodiment, substrate 500 is a glass or silicon substrate, in which the resulting device is a microlens array. In another embodiment, substrate 500 is a sensor array formed on top of a supporting substrate, such as glass or silicon, in which the resulting device is an integrated sensor/microlens array. The sensor array can be an array of CMOS or CCD sensors, such as photodiodes or other sensor elements. Fabrication of the sensor array is with conventional methods. FIG. 5A shows the embodiment where a sensor array 502 with individual sensor elements 504 is formed on a supporting substrate 506 . A dielectric layer 508 , such as an oxide (e.g., SiO 2 , TiO 2 ), nitride (e.g., SiO x N y ), spin-on polymer, is deposited on sensor array 502 , as shown in FIG. 5B . The thickness of the dielectric layer 508 depends on specific application requirements. In one embodiment for integrated sensor/microlens array, dielectric layer 508 is between 1 μm and several millimeters thick. In another embodiment for individual non-spherical lens, dielectric layer 508 can be up to one centimeter or thicker.
[0032] Next, in FIG. 5C , a patterning layer 510 is deposited over dielectric layer 508 , where patterning layer 510 will be used to expose portions of the dielectric layer where microlenses or non-spherical lenses will be formed. Patterning layer 510 is a photosensitive dielectric material and is selected based on the type of patterning process used. For example, for a photolithography process, patterning layer 510 can be a spin-on photoresist or other photosensitive material. The desired pattern can then formed on patterning layer 510 by exposure through a photomask. The photomask, if the photoresist is positive, may have an array of circular openings, where the circular openings correspond to locations of the microlenses to be formed. If the microlenses are to have different shapes and/or sizes, the individual openings of the photomask can be adjusted accordingly. Exposed portions of patterning layer 510 are then removed to expose portions 512 of dielectric layer 508 where microlenses or non-spherical lenses are to be formed, as shown in FIG. 5D . With an underlying sensor array, portions 512 correspond to individual sensor elements 504 .
[0033] In FIG. 5E , exposed portions 512 of dielectric layer 508 are then etched to form curved recesses 514 overlying sensor elements 504 . Curved recesses 514 can be semi-spherical, as shown in FIG. 5F , which is a top view of FIG. 5E . As noted above, the shape of individual curved recesses 514 can be varied according to the microlens application. Further, curved recesses 514 are formed, in one embodiment, by controlled etches, such as a wet etch or etching after patterning using a grey scale mask or shadow mask. Other etching processes for tapered etching may also be suitable with the present invention. The depth and taper of the etch also determines the optical characteristics, such as focal length, of the microlens or lens. Thus, by controlling the etch of the dielectric layer, different types of microlens arrays can be easily fabricated.
[0034] FIGS. 6A and 6B and 7 A- 7 C show a method of forming controlled curved recesses using a grey scale mask process according to one embodiment. FIG. 6A shows an example of one opening 600 of a grey scale mask, where a typical grey scale mask will have many such openings 600 separated by opaque sections in between. A grey scale mask lets different amounts of light through different radius locations of the opening, such as shown in FIG. 6B . The degree of grey at different radii of the opening 600 on the grey scale mask determines the degree of light exposure at corresponding locations of the underlying photosensitive dielectric such as photoresist. As shown, less light passes through radially outward from the center of the opening, from a maximum of approximately 100% at the center to approximately 0% at the edge or outer circumference. The light transmission curve “a” can be any suitable shape for forming the desired microlens or lens.
[0035] FIGS. 7A-7C show a sequence of steps using a grey scale mask to form the controlled curved recesses. In FIG. 7A , a small portion of patterning layer 510 (such as a positive photoresist) is exposed through one opening 600 of a grey scale mask. Note that the portions between openings of the grey scale mask in the x-direction are opaque. Patterning layer 510 is developed and a dry etch is performed to transfer the exposed pattern to underlying dielectric layer 508 , as shown in FIGS. 7B and 7C , to form curved recesses 514 . Thus, by controlling the scale of the grey on the grey scale mask and dry etch, both spherical and non-spherical microlenses and lenses of different designs can be formed quickly and inexpensively.
[0036] Depending on the type of patterning and etch, curved recesses 514 may need to be treated to smooth out irregularities on the surface of the curved recesses. The “roughness” of the curved recesses should be small compared to the wavelength of the visible light. In one embodiment, the roughness should be approximately 1/10 the wavelength of the visible light. “Roughness” as defined herein refers to the distance or variation between peaks and troughs on the surface of the curved recesses. For example, when using dry etch to form curved recesses 514 , a quick wet etch or wash may be added to smooth out any roughness of the surface of curved recesses 514 . An alternative to the quick wet etch is to coat the surface of curved recesses 514 with a thin dielectric material of the same refractive index as underlying dielectric layer 508 . Other suitable methods to smooth out the surface areas of the recesses 514 include those such as properly designed chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) and the like.
[0037] After forming curved recesses 514 of dielectric layer 508 (and polished if necessary), the structure can be used as a template for making plastic lenses through plastic molding, or to continue further processing for microlens/sensor integration. For plastic molding of lenses, multiple templates of the same pattern design and curved shapes or different design and shapes may be used depending on specific applications. When used for microlens/sensor integration, referring back to FIG. 5G , after curved recesses 514 of dielectric layer 508 are formed (and polished if necessary), a layer of transparent lens material 516 is deposited, as shown in FIG. 5G , to form the microlens array. In one embodiment, the lens material is inorganic and has a higher index of refraction than that of underlying dielectric layer 508 . Some suitable materials for lens material 516 include dielectrics, such as SiO 2 , SiO x N y , Si 3 N 4 , TiO 2 , a polymer, plastics or a combination of them. Thus, depending on the microlens requirements, dielectric layer 508 and lens material 516 are selected accordingly. In one embodiment, the deposited thickness of lens material 516 is approximately the same as the depth at the center of the curved recesses or thicker depending on the application requirement. Use of inorganic lens materials, as opposed to resin-based reflow processes, produces lenses that create a truer color image. That is, there is no extra absorption in the blue spectrum, which produces yellowier images. Further, forming the microlens by deposition instead of diffusion provides better control of the lens shape and the thickness along the optical axis. After deposition of lens material 516 , the upper surface can be polished to produce a flat smooth surface if necessary.
[0038] FIG. 8 is an angled view of a microlens array 800 having integrated sensors/microlenses. Transparent lens material 516 can act as a protection layer for the underlying microlenses 802 and sensor array 502 . Each microlens 802 corresponds to an underlying sensor element 808 , which are supported by substrate 506 . Light entering microlens array 800 is directed toward individual sensors in the sensor array by corresponding microlenses 802 . The process of making the microlens array allows more light to be received by the sensors, thereby improving image sensitivity and color quality. However, as noted above, microlens array 800 or an individual non-spherical lens does not require an underlying array of sensors.
[0039] The present invention allows a microlens array or individual lens having non-spherical or different sized/shaped microlenses/lens to be manufactured easily. In conventional processes for making non-spherical or specially sized or shaped lenses, the lenses are typically shaped and polished manually and sometimes individually. This can be costly in terms of time and effort. On the other hand, spherical lens arrays can be manufactured quickly by using conventional machines. However, the machines do not allow non-spherical lenses to be formed nor do they allow lenses of different shapes or sizes to be formed on the same array. Advantageously, the present invention allows microlens arrays or lenses having non-spherical microlenses or lenses of different shapes or sizes to be made quickly and inexpensively.
[0040] Embodiments described above illustrate but do not limit the invention. It should also be understood that numerous modifications and variations are possible in accordance with the principles of the present invention. For example, the above embodiments describe the use of a patterning layer over a dielectric layer. However, the dielectric layer can be excluded if the patterning photosensitive dielectric layer can be directly used to form usable curved recesses or to form the curved recesses using other means such as suitable chemical processes or ion beam sputtering and the like. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is defined only by the following claims. | Systems and methods are provided for a lens or microlens array or non-spherical lens with or without an integrated sensor unit. A dielectric between a substrate and a lens material has curved recesses, which are filled in by the lens material. Light enters the lens material layer and is focused by the curved recess portions. | Identify the most important aspect in the document and summarize the concept accordingly. | [
"BACKGROUND [0001] 1.",
"Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates generally to microlens arrays and optical lenses, and more particularly to methods for manufacturing microlens arrays or non-spherical lenses.",
"[0003] 2.",
"Related Art [0004] Microlens arrays provide optical versatility in a miniature package for imaging applications.",
"Traditionally, a microlens is defined as a lens with a diameter less than one millimeter;",
"however, a lens having a diameter as large as five millimeters or more has sometimes also been considered a microlens.",
"[0005] There are many conventional methods for manufacturing microlens arrays, such as using reflow or diffusion.",
"FIGS. 1A-1C show a typical sequence of steps for making a microlens array by depositing material, patterning, and reflowing.",
"In FIG. 1A , a photosensitive layer 10 , such as a photosensitive resin, is formed on a planarization layer 12 over a silicon substrate (not shown).",
"The material of the photosensitive layer is used to form the microlens array.",
"In FIG. 1B , photosensitive layer 10 is patterned to form an array of shapes, such as rectangles, stripes, or squares 14 , where the shapes are located where the individual microlenses will be formed.",
"Patterning, for example, can be with a conventional mask and photoresist process, where a photoresist is deposited on photosensitive layer 10 , exposed through a mask having opaque areas, developing (or removing) selected portions of the photoresist, and etching areas of photosensitive layer 10 left exposed by the photoresist.",
"Squares 14 are then heated sufficiently to cause them to reflow, thereby forming an array of semi-spherical microlenses 16 , as shown in FIG. 1C .",
"[0006] However, microlens arrays made by thermal reflowing, as described above, have several disadvantages.",
"Typically, photosensitive resins contain components which absorb proportionally more light in the blue region of the visible spectrum.",
"As a result, the color spectrum is distorted, producing an image that is more “yellowish”",
"than it should be.",
"This color distortion increases with time due to oxidation of the resin.",
"Another disadvantage is that the resolution with which the photosensitive resin can be patterned is limited by the thickness of the resin layer.",
"The thicker the resin layer, the farther apart the microlenses in the array, which reduces the light collection efficiency of the array.",
"On the other hand, the resin layer must be thick enough so that, when reflowed, the sag of the resultant microlenses is sufficient to cause the desired focusing effect.",
"Consequently, it is difficult to obtain the highest possible collection efficiency with microlens arrays fabricated in this manner.",
"Yet another disadvantage results from the fact that as the curvature radius of the microlens becomes small, the incident light is focused on a point near the microlens.",
"Thus, the photosensitive layer is patterned to be square or rectangular in shape according to the shape of a cell, using a mask that is simply divided into opaque regions and light-transmissive regions, and is thermally treated to form a microlens.",
"Thus, a curvature radius of the microlens is decreased.",
"Moreover, because a microlens formed in a rectangular shape has a significant difference between its curvature radius in the width and the length directions, it is difficult to focus incident light on the corresponding photodiode without error, and a part of the light is focused on the planarization layer or color filter layer between the photodiode and the microlens, causing loss of light and deterioration of sensitivity and resolution.",
"[0007] Another conventional method of forming microlens arrays is by diffusion, such as described in “Light Coupling Characteristics of Planar Microlens”, by M. Oikawa et al.",
", Proc.",
"SPIE, 1544, 1991, pp. 226-237, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.",
"FIGS. 2A-2G showsteps for forming a microlens array using two types of diffusion.",
"In FIG. 2A , a glass substrate 20 is provided.",
"In FIG. 2B , a metal film 22 is deposited on glass substrate 20 .",
"Metal film 22 is then patterned, such as with conventional processes, to remove portions 24 where individual microlenses are to be formed, as shown in FIG. 2C .",
"FIGS. 2D and 2E show one type of further processing, where the exposed areas 24 are diffused with an appropriate dopant and energy ( FIG. 2D ) and then the remaining metal is removed and the surface is polished, such as with a chemical or machine polish, to form microlenses 26 ( FIG. 2E ).",
"FIGS. 2F and 2G show another type of further processing, where ions, protons, or other suitable molecules are used to bombard (e.g., with low energy) ( FIG. 2F ) and diffuse into substrate 20 and the remaining metal portions removed and the irradiated portions “swelled”",
"( FIG. 2G ), such as with an organic vapor, to form microlenses 28 .",
"The result is a high numeral aperture planar microlens array.",
"One disadvantage to forming microlens arrays using diffusion is that control of the thickness along the optical axis is limited.",
"[0008] Microlens arrays are typically used with an underlying array of sensors, such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) or charge couple device (CCD) sensors, to form an imaging device.",
"The microlenses collect and focus light onto corresponding sensors.",
"The microlenses significantly improve the light sensitivity of the imaging device by collecting light from a large light collecting area and focusing it on a small light sensitive area of the sensor (i.e., pixel).",
"One conventional method of generating an image signal is shown in FIG. 3 .",
"Light rays 30 are collected and focused by a microlens layer 32 comprising an array of microlenses 34 overlying a planarization layer 36 , such as formed by processes described above.",
"After passing through planarization layer 36 , light rays 30 are filtered by color filters 38 in a filter layer 40 , with each color filter allowing only light of a specific color to pass, such as red, green, and blue (RGB).",
"Light through the filters are then passed through a sensor layer 42 , comprising an array of sensors 44 , such as photodiodes or CCD devices.",
"A processor (not shown) combines signals from the sensors to create a color image.",
"[0009] Such an arrangement of microlenses, filters, and sensors has several disadvantages.",
"Several processing steps are needed to form the separate microlens layer 32 , filter layer 40 , and sensor layer 42 , which increase cost and time.",
"The layers also increase the separation between the microlenses and the sensors, which can increase crosstalk between pixels, due in part to light impinging on adjacent sensors instead of the desired sensor.",
"[0010] In addition to microlenses, high quality non-spherical lenses are also critical components to many applications in the imaging field.",
"They are widely used in optical systems for controlling critical light propagation and correcting image color quality, such as in professional cameras and video imaging equipment.",
"However, the fabrication of non-spherical lenses is complicated and can only be done through skilled manual operation by highly trained professionals.",
"Unlike spherical lenses which can be manufactured quickly by using conventional machines, non-spherical or specially sized or shaped lenses are typically shaped and polished manually and frequently individually.",
"This can be time consuming and costly.",
"[0011] Accordingly, there is a need for an improved lens, microlens, or array and method of manufacturing such, including non-spherical lenses, that overcomes the disadvantages of conventional lens arrays or non-spherical lenses and related processes, such as described above.",
"Further, there is a need for an integrated microlens array and sensor array that overcomes the disadvantages as described above with conventional microlens/sensor devices.",
"SUMMARY [0012] The present invention provides improved microlens arrays or non-spherical lenses and processes of forming microlens arrays or non-spherical lenses.",
"In one aspect, the microlens array is formed on a sensor array, resulting in an integrated microlens/sensor device.",
"[0013] According to one embodiment, an array of sensors is first fabricated on a substrate.",
"A dielectric layer, such as a spin-on polymer (e.g., polyimide) or an oxide (e.g., SiO 2 ) is deposited over the sensor array.",
"A patterning photosensitive dielectric layer, such as a spin-on photoresist, is next formed over the dielectric layer.",
"Selected portions of the patterning layer are removed to expose areas of the dielectric layer overlying the individual sensors where microlenses are to be formed.",
"The exposed portions are then processed to form curved recesses, such as by using a wet etch, a grey-scale mask, or a shadow mask.",
"The curved recesses may have a controlled shape and range from a shallow recess to a deep spherical recess, depending on the desired characteristics of the microlens.",
"Remaining portions of the patterning layer are then removed.",
"An inorganic lens material having a higher refractive index than the underlying dielectric layer, such as SiO 2 , SiO x N y , Si 3 N 4 , TiO 2 , or a polymer, is deposited over the dielectric layer to form an integrated array of microlenses and sensors.",
"The layer of lens material may be polished, if desired.",
"[0014] In other embodiments, the dielectric layer can be deposited over any substrate and does not have to be a sensor array.",
"In such embodiments, the process forms and/or can be used to make plastic molding templates to form individual spherical or non-spherical lenses, or an array of spherical and/or non-spherical microlenses of any desired shape or shapes.",
"The process of the present invention allows a lens or microlens array to be formed with different shaped non-spherical and/or spherical lenses.",
"This gives the lens manufacturer more flexibility to fabricate many additional types of lens arrays at discount prices.",
"[0015] The present invention provides numerous advantages over conventional microlens arrays and methods.",
"Since the microlens array is formed directly onto the sensor array with fewer processing steps than conventional methods, microlens/sensor devices of the present invention are easier and less expensive to fabricate than conventional devices.",
"The focal length of the microlenses can be controlled depending on the type of dielectric materials used for the microlenses and/or process control (i.e., curvature of the lens elements.) [0016] The present invention also provides improved sensor sensitivity due to the ability to make non-spherical lenses using wet etching, grey-scale mask or shadow mask processing.",
"Another advantage is that using non-organic lens materials extends the reliability or useful lifetime of the microlens.",
"The color quality of the image produced by the sensor is also improved because the lens material does not have the adverse characteristics of resin-containing materials, which as discussed above, can absorb proportionally more blue light to make the image yellowier than desired.",
"Yet another advantage the current invention provides is that the resulting microlens/sensor device is thinner and more resistant to environmental effects because the microlens array acts as a protection layer for the sensor elements.",
"[0017] The resulting microlens array may be used with devices for a variety of application, from a small display screen for a camera, a digital camera sensor, a personal digital assistant, or a laptop to a large display screen for a projection screen, a wall-sized display screen, or a billboard-sized display screen.",
"The processing or fabrication of the array/sensor unit allows high throughput with consistent characteristics between each array/sensor unit.",
"[0018] The scope of the invention is defined by the claims, which are incorporated into this section by reference.",
"A more complete understanding of embodiments of the present invention will be afforded to those skilled in the art, as well as a realization of additional advantages thereof, by a consideration of the following detailed description of one or more embodiments.",
"Reference will be made to the appended sheets of drawings that will first be described briefly.",
"BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0019] FIGS. 1A-1C show a typical sequence of steps for making a microlens array by reflowing according to a conventional process;",
"[0020] FIGS. 2A-2E show steps for forming a microlens array using one type of diffusion according to a conventional process;",
"[0021] FIGS. 2A-2C and 2 F- 2 G show steps for forming a microlens array using another type of conventional process;",
"[0022] FIG. 3 shows one type of conventional microlens array and sensor array device;",
"[0023] FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a process for fabricating a microlens array onto a sensor array according to one embodiment of the present invention;",
"[0024] FIGS. 5A-5G show various stages of a process for fabricating a microlens/sensor array according to one embodiment;",
"[0025] FIGS. 6A and 6B show a grey scale mask and characteristic of a grey scale mask, respectively, for use in one embodiment of the invention;",
"[0026] FIGS. 7A-7C show various stages of a process for forming controlled curvature recesses using a grey scale mask according to one embodiment;",
"and [0027] FIG. 8 is an angled view of a microlens array according to one embodiment of the present invention.",
"[0028] Embodiments of the present invention and their advantages are best understood by referring to the detailed description that follows.",
"It should be appreciated that like reference numerals are used to identify like elements illustrated in one or more of the figures.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0029] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method 400 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention for fabricating a microlens array or a non-spherical lens.",
"A substrate is first provided in step 402 , where the substrate may include an array of CMOS or CCD sensors.",
"The sensor array may be any suitable size, ranging from small screen applications to large display devices.",
"A dielectric layer is then deposited on the substrate in step 404 .",
"A patterning layer, such as a spin-on photoresist or other photosensitive material, is deposited on the dielectric layer in step 406 .",
"Selected portions of the patterning layer are removed, such as by conventional photolithography processing, in step 408 .",
"The removed portions expose areas of the dielectric layer where the microlenses or non-spherical lenses are to be formed.",
"With embodiments having a sensor array, the exposed areas correspond to locations of individual sensor elements.",
"[0030] In step 410 , the exposed portions of the dielectric layer are selectively etched, such as with a wet etch, a grey scale mask, or shadow mask, to form controlled curved recesses.",
"The curved recesses deepest in the center and taper up toward the sides or circumference.",
"The etching does not remove all the dielectric material such that the underlying substrate or sensors are exposed.",
"Further, the curved recesses can be any suitable shape, such as semi-spherical or non-spherical, depending on the application.",
"The remaining portions of the patterning layer are removed in step 412 , and the resulting template is ready for further processing steps or can be used for plastic molding of specially designed lenses.",
"When the template is to be continued for further processing, a layer of inorganic lens material is deposited over dielectric layer, in step 414 , to fill in the curved recesses.",
"The lens material, in one embodiment, has a refractive index higher than that of the dielectric layer.",
"Examples of suitable lens materials include, but are not limited to, SiO 2 , SiO x N y , Si 3 N 4 , TiO 2 , a polymer, or plastics in the case of plastic molding.",
"The layer of lens material may then be polished if necessary.",
"[0031] FIGS. 5A-5G show various stages of fabricating a microlens array according to one embodiment of the invention.",
"FIG. 5A shows a top view of a substrate 500 onto which the microlens array will be formed.",
"In one embodiment, substrate 500 is a glass or silicon substrate, in which the resulting device is a microlens array.",
"In another embodiment, substrate 500 is a sensor array formed on top of a supporting substrate, such as glass or silicon, in which the resulting device is an integrated sensor/microlens array.",
"The sensor array can be an array of CMOS or CCD sensors, such as photodiodes or other sensor elements.",
"Fabrication of the sensor array is with conventional methods.",
"FIG. 5A shows the embodiment where a sensor array 502 with individual sensor elements 504 is formed on a supporting substrate 506 .",
"A dielectric layer 508 , such as an oxide (e.g., SiO 2 , TiO 2 ), nitride (e.g., SiO x N y ), spin-on polymer, is deposited on sensor array 502 , as shown in FIG. 5B .",
"The thickness of the dielectric layer 508 depends on specific application requirements.",
"In one embodiment for integrated sensor/microlens array, dielectric layer 508 is between 1 μm and several millimeters thick.",
"In another embodiment for individual non-spherical lens, dielectric layer 508 can be up to one centimeter or thicker.",
"[0032] Next, in FIG. 5C , a patterning layer 510 is deposited over dielectric layer 508 , where patterning layer 510 will be used to expose portions of the dielectric layer where microlenses or non-spherical lenses will be formed.",
"Patterning layer 510 is a photosensitive dielectric material and is selected based on the type of patterning process used.",
"For example, for a photolithography process, patterning layer 510 can be a spin-on photoresist or other photosensitive material.",
"The desired pattern can then formed on patterning layer 510 by exposure through a photomask.",
"The photomask, if the photoresist is positive, may have an array of circular openings, where the circular openings correspond to locations of the microlenses to be formed.",
"If the microlenses are to have different shapes and/or sizes, the individual openings of the photomask can be adjusted accordingly.",
"Exposed portions of patterning layer 510 are then removed to expose portions 512 of dielectric layer 508 where microlenses or non-spherical lenses are to be formed, as shown in FIG. 5D .",
"With an underlying sensor array, portions 512 correspond to individual sensor elements 504 .",
"[0033] In FIG. 5E , exposed portions 512 of dielectric layer 508 are then etched to form curved recesses 514 overlying sensor elements 504 .",
"Curved recesses 514 can be semi-spherical, as shown in FIG. 5F , which is a top view of FIG. 5E .",
"As noted above, the shape of individual curved recesses 514 can be varied according to the microlens application.",
"Further, curved recesses 514 are formed, in one embodiment, by controlled etches, such as a wet etch or etching after patterning using a grey scale mask or shadow mask.",
"Other etching processes for tapered etching may also be suitable with the present invention.",
"The depth and taper of the etch also determines the optical characteristics, such as focal length, of the microlens or lens.",
"Thus, by controlling the etch of the dielectric layer, different types of microlens arrays can be easily fabricated.",
"[0034] FIGS. 6A and 6B and 7 A- 7 C show a method of forming controlled curved recesses using a grey scale mask process according to one embodiment.",
"FIG. 6A shows an example of one opening 600 of a grey scale mask, where a typical grey scale mask will have many such openings 600 separated by opaque sections in between.",
"A grey scale mask lets different amounts of light through different radius locations of the opening, such as shown in FIG. 6B .",
"The degree of grey at different radii of the opening 600 on the grey scale mask determines the degree of light exposure at corresponding locations of the underlying photosensitive dielectric such as photoresist.",
"As shown, less light passes through radially outward from the center of the opening, from a maximum of approximately 100% at the center to approximately 0% at the edge or outer circumference.",
"The light transmission curve “a”",
"can be any suitable shape for forming the desired microlens or lens.",
"[0035] FIGS. 7A-7C show a sequence of steps using a grey scale mask to form the controlled curved recesses.",
"In FIG. 7A , a small portion of patterning layer 510 (such as a positive photoresist) is exposed through one opening 600 of a grey scale mask.",
"Note that the portions between openings of the grey scale mask in the x-direction are opaque.",
"Patterning layer 510 is developed and a dry etch is performed to transfer the exposed pattern to underlying dielectric layer 508 , as shown in FIGS. 7B and 7C , to form curved recesses 514 .",
"Thus, by controlling the scale of the grey on the grey scale mask and dry etch, both spherical and non-spherical microlenses and lenses of different designs can be formed quickly and inexpensively.",
"[0036] Depending on the type of patterning and etch, curved recesses 514 may need to be treated to smooth out irregularities on the surface of the curved recesses.",
"The “roughness”",
"of the curved recesses should be small compared to the wavelength of the visible light.",
"In one embodiment, the roughness should be approximately 1/10 the wavelength of the visible light.",
"“Roughness”",
"as defined herein refers to the distance or variation between peaks and troughs on the surface of the curved recesses.",
"For example, when using dry etch to form curved recesses 514 , a quick wet etch or wash may be added to smooth out any roughness of the surface of curved recesses 514 .",
"An alternative to the quick wet etch is to coat the surface of curved recesses 514 with a thin dielectric material of the same refractive index as underlying dielectric layer 508 .",
"Other suitable methods to smooth out the surface areas of the recesses 514 include those such as properly designed chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) and the like.",
"[0037] After forming curved recesses 514 of dielectric layer 508 (and polished if necessary), the structure can be used as a template for making plastic lenses through plastic molding, or to continue further processing for microlens/sensor integration.",
"For plastic molding of lenses, multiple templates of the same pattern design and curved shapes or different design and shapes may be used depending on specific applications.",
"When used for microlens/sensor integration, referring back to FIG. 5G , after curved recesses 514 of dielectric layer 508 are formed (and polished if necessary), a layer of transparent lens material 516 is deposited, as shown in FIG. 5G , to form the microlens array.",
"In one embodiment, the lens material is inorganic and has a higher index of refraction than that of underlying dielectric layer 508 .",
"Some suitable materials for lens material 516 include dielectrics, such as SiO 2 , SiO x N y , Si 3 N 4 , TiO 2 , a polymer, plastics or a combination of them.",
"Thus, depending on the microlens requirements, dielectric layer 508 and lens material 516 are selected accordingly.",
"In one embodiment, the deposited thickness of lens material 516 is approximately the same as the depth at the center of the curved recesses or thicker depending on the application requirement.",
"Use of inorganic lens materials, as opposed to resin-based reflow processes, produces lenses that create a truer color image.",
"That is, there is no extra absorption in the blue spectrum, which produces yellowier images.",
"Further, forming the microlens by deposition instead of diffusion provides better control of the lens shape and the thickness along the optical axis.",
"After deposition of lens material 516 , the upper surface can be polished to produce a flat smooth surface if necessary.",
"[0038] FIG. 8 is an angled view of a microlens array 800 having integrated sensors/microlenses.",
"Transparent lens material 516 can act as a protection layer for the underlying microlenses 802 and sensor array 502 .",
"Each microlens 802 corresponds to an underlying sensor element 808 , which are supported by substrate 506 .",
"Light entering microlens array 800 is directed toward individual sensors in the sensor array by corresponding microlenses 802 .",
"The process of making the microlens array allows more light to be received by the sensors, thereby improving image sensitivity and color quality.",
"However, as noted above, microlens array 800 or an individual non-spherical lens does not require an underlying array of sensors.",
"[0039] The present invention allows a microlens array or individual lens having non-spherical or different sized/shaped microlenses/lens to be manufactured easily.",
"In conventional processes for making non-spherical or specially sized or shaped lenses, the lenses are typically shaped and polished manually and sometimes individually.",
"This can be costly in terms of time and effort.",
"On the other hand, spherical lens arrays can be manufactured quickly by using conventional machines.",
"However, the machines do not allow non-spherical lenses to be formed nor do they allow lenses of different shapes or sizes to be formed on the same array.",
"Advantageously, the present invention allows microlens arrays or lenses having non-spherical microlenses or lenses of different shapes or sizes to be made quickly and inexpensively.",
"[0040] Embodiments described above illustrate but do not limit the invention.",
"It should also be understood that numerous modifications and variations are possible in accordance with the principles of the present invention.",
"For example, the above embodiments describe the use of a patterning layer over a dielectric layer.",
"However, the dielectric layer can be excluded if the patterning photosensitive dielectric layer can be directly used to form usable curved recesses or to form the curved recesses using other means such as suitable chemical processes or ion beam sputtering and the like.",
"Accordingly, the scope of the invention is defined only by the following claims."
] |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims benefit of Provisional application U.S. Ser. No. 60/412,367, filed on Sep. 20, 2002, entitled “Computer Controlled De-Clip-Shadow Mask Removal Machine.”
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a Controlled Collapse Chip Connection (C 4 ) manufacturer's ability to reduce operational expense during a delicate mask removal wafer handling process.
A shadow mask is a mask that is utilized for disposing structures on a silicon substrate through metal evaporation. During fabrication, the silicon wafer and mask can be held together using a Top Ring Assembly (TRA). The TRA can be bound together by a plurality of expandable clips. When the clips are compressed, they provide enough force to secure the assembly together. During a metal evaporation process, the shadow mask becomes adhered to a silicon wafer. After the process, the operator can manually remove the metal clips that bind the TRA. Such manual removal typically results in safety and efficiency limitations because the clips are small, difficult to maneuver, and sharp. As such, these clips are difficult to handle and can possibly cut through an operator's clean room glove resulting in an injury to the operator's hand. In such a situation, the operator would have to exit the clean room, treat the wound, throw away the cut gloves and perform a re-qualification procedure to return back to the clean room.
Further, it is believed that the current manual method yields a potential 1.5 to 3.0 million-dollar per/year loss in damaged products due to “kinking” of masks during the removal process.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Once the clips are removed, the mask must be separated from the wafer. The current method for doing so is a manual process in which the operator peels the mask from the wafer by hand. In the past, the thickness and hole density in the masks were not enough to cause much difficulty in removing the mask; the operator could manually remove them without much effort. As technology advanced, so did the trend to make components smaller and thinner, resulting in a less structurally sound and more delicate mask product. Delicate masks carry a greater expense and have proven to be easier to damage during the manual removal process. The more delicate masks have made the removal operation more difficult, creating new problems. Damaged shadow masks can greatly affect production costs due to limited availability or the requirement to have high inventories. It would be beneficial to automate both the clip removal and the mask removal process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An objective of the present invention is to automate the removal of the shadow mask from the silicon wafer after the metal evaporation process. The heretofore utilized manual process is replaced with an automated system as described by the present invention that encompasses a new computer controlled de-clip-shadow mask removal machine that overcomes the limitations and problems associated with the prior art method and systems. This removal machine includes an automated, computer controlled, fully programmable machine to remove retaining clips and separate a shadow mask from semiconductor wafer after a special metal evaporation process. Using such an invention, various industries (such as the semiconductor industry) could significantly reduce the amount of money lost in damaged products. With a controlled environment, twenty-four shifts could produce consistent, high-output results. The machine includes a designated location for the operator to place the TRA. Once the TRA is fully nested, stainless steel pushers can remove the clips at the receipt of a command (via, for example, a press of a button). The system employs two or three axis of motion to address the mask removal issues and accommodates a variety of different wafer sizes by slightly modifying a vacuum chuck, a de-clip station and a program described further below. Such wafer sizes range, for example, from about a 4 inch diameter to about a 12 inch diameter. An advantage to a computer-controlled machine will be that each action will have a higher degree of repeatable precision. The machine would further increase safety and virtually eliminate mask damage. Once acceptable parameters are established and programmed, the machine maybe integrated with existing systems to improve overall productivity.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective front right isometric view of the machine according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective rear right isometric view of the machine of FIG. 1 according to the present invention;
FIG. 3 is an exploded left isometric view of the de-clip station of FIG. 1 according to the present invention;
FIG. 3A is an enlarged view of a portion of the apparatus shown in FIG. 3 ;
FIG. 4 is a perspective left view of a horizontal (wedge) assembly according to the present invention; and
FIG. 5 is an exploded left isometric view of a vertical slide assembly according to the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to FIG. 1 , there is illustrated a perspective front right isometric view of a computer controlled de-clip-shadow mask removal machine 90 according to the present invention. The rigid frame assembly 100 , with its clean room safe, anti-static ESD wheels 101 , makes this machine both stable and portable. The de-clip station 200 with its alignment pins 201 ( FIG. 3 ) and alignment slots 202 ( FIG. 3 ) make placement of the TRA 600 consistent and reliable. Position of the horizontal assembly 300 is shown as an example only and may be positioned in a variety of locations such as on either side of or behind the de-clip station 200 . The human-machine interface (HMI) 104 may be a monitor, such as a touch screen monitor, which interacts between an operator (not shown) and the machine 90 . The program displays graphics, instructions, and other information relevant to that particular stage. The operator may select an appropriate command via an input such as a “button” on a touch screen or a voice recognition system to advance to a next stage of operation. A quick-connect air inlet adapter 102 is used to supply air to the system. This single air standard 110-wall socket plug 103 can be used to supply power to the entire system 90 or a power source can be self-contained within the system. Further, the incoming power source for the machine 90 may vary to suit different plants.
Referring now to FIG. 2 , there is illustrated a perspective rear right isometric view of the machine 90 . A vacuum generator 105 creates a vacuum from the incoming air source coming through the inlet adapter 102 and supplies vacuum to a vacuum chuck 503 (FIG. 5 ). The machine 90 uses vacuum to hold the wafer 603 ( FIG. 3 ) on the vacuum chuck 503 during rotation. A vacuum sensor 106 is computer controlled to insure proper pressure is maintained for each type of wafer 603 being processed.
Referring now to FIG. 3 and FIG. 3A , there is illustrated an exploded left isometric view of the de-clip station 200 . The TRA 600 is placed on the de-clip station 200 and oriented by the alignment pins 201 . The TRA is comprised of a top ring 601 and a bottom clip 604 , between which are disposed a mask 602 over a wafer 603 . The rings 601 and 604 are held together by clips 605 . The alignment slots 202 act as a go-no-go gage helping to insure that the clips 605 are in the right orientation for removing. A number of actuators 205 (for example, about 2 about 12 and preferably 6), controlled by a valve 206 , push an equal number of the de-clip blocks 203 in an outward direction for removal thereof. Such de-clip blocks 203 include a slot 204 that can completely remove the clips 605 from the retaining pins 201 . The clip shield 210 prevents the removed clips 605 from being projected out of the nest area protecting the operator. The clips 605 can safely fall down the ramps 207 into a funnel 208 and to a removable clip tray 209 .
Referring now to FIG. 4 , there is illustrated a perspective left isometric of the horizontal assembly 300 . This axis consists of a horizontal slide 302 , which propels the de-masking wedge 303 . The de-masking wedge 303 makes contact with the mask 602 , (FIG. 3 ). The de-masking wedge 303 then moves towards the center to dislodge the wafer 603 from the mask 602 . Such movements may be performed at a plurality of speeds and preferably at a slower speed. The position of the de-masking wedge 303 may be programmed and precisely controlled by the servomotor 301 .
Referring now to FIG. 5 , there is illustrated an exploded left isometric view of both the vertical assembly 400 and the rotation assembly 500 . The vertical assembly 400 consists of a vertical slide 402 and servomotor 401 mounted underneath the de-clip station 200 to provide controlled vertical motion for the vacuum chuck 503 . The o-ring 504 on the vacuum chuck 503 seals both the mask 602 and the wafer 603 via the vacuum generator 105 ( FIG. 2 ) through the vacuum distributor 502 . The vertical position of the vacuum chuck 503 , relative to the de-masking wedge 303 ( FIG. 4 ) may be programmed and precisely controlled by servomotor 401 . The speed at which the rotation assembly 500 spins the vacuum chuck 503 is programmed and precisely controlled by servomotor 501 . The positional bearing 211 ( FIG. 3 ) stabilizes the position of the rotation assembly 500 .
Operational Flow
The following describes the operation of the de-mask station, it being understood that the steps in the operation may be performed either in the presented order or in any other order according to the present invention. Initially, the operator follows the computer images and instructions on the HMI 104 . The HMI 104 may prompt the operator to select the mask type with which to run for the current operation. The operator may then be prompted to manually place a top ring assembly 600 on top of the de-clip station 200 using the alignment pins 201 as a guide and the alignment slots 202 as a gage to insure proper repeatability. The machine 90 can simultaneously remove all the clips 605 from the TRA 600 based on an appropriate received command. This action frees the top ring 601 from the bottom ring 604 . The machine's computer or controller 107 can send a signal to activate the onboard vacuum generator 105 to secure the wafer 603 to the vacuum chuck 503 via the vacuum distributor 502 . The operator may then manually remove the top ring 601 from the TRA 600 . An appropriate command, shown on the display of the HMI 104 , may then be input by the operator to advance to the next step.
At the next step, in response to changing images and brief descriptions on the display of the HMI 104 that are presented to the operator, the machine 90 may perform a series of steps that may not require operator intervention. The machine 90 will lift the wafer 603 and the mask 602 up to a particular position at a particular speed with the assembly 400 (which may be programmed, set by the operator, static and/or dynamic, for example), using a computer driven vertical slide 402 . The machine's horizontal servomotor 301 can then move the horizontal slide 302 to a particular position at a particular speed (which may be programmed, set by the operator, static and/or dynamic, for example) thus placing the de-masking wedge 303 slightly under the rotating mask 602 . The machine's rotation servomotor 501 can spin the computer driven rotation axis 500 at a particular speed (which may be programmed, set by the operator, static and/or dynamic, for example). The vertical assembly 400 can lower the vacuum chuck 503 to a particular position at a particular speed (which may be programmed, set by the operator, static and/or dynamic, for example).
After positioning th de-masking wedge 303 as noted, the de-masking wedge 303 may move toward the center of the mask 602 at a particular speed (which may be programmed, set by the operator, static and/or dynamic, for example). The de-masking wedge 303 can peel the mask 602 from the wafer 603 until it is completely separated from the wafer 603 . Once the mask 602 is free, the machine's computer or controller 107 will stop all motors in motion. The HMI 104 can prompt the operator to then remove the mask 602 from the wafer 603 . Following the images and instructions on the display, the operator initiates the appropriate commands, which send the de-masking wedge 303 back to a horizontal retract position. The machine's vertical servomotor 401 lowers the vacuum chuck 503 to a vertical retract position. The machine's computer or controller 107 will turn off the vacuum generator 105 to enable the operator to remove the wafer 603 and the bottom ring 604 from the de-clip station 200 . Speeds for initial and retract positions may vary. The HMI 104 will prompt the operator to change the mask type, re-run the same mask type, or to completely end the cycle.
As a summary, the computer controlled de-clips-shadow mask removal machine of the present invention may comprise at least one of the following elements that may perform at least one of a following functions:
1. a rigid frame constructed of welded fabrication and/or structural metal extrusion. 2. a computer or controller to control the de-clip action and de-masking process. 3. the computer or controller may store appropriate programmable speeds and position settings to accommodate various mask types, into separate subprogram(s) or receipt(s). 4. a touch screen or push button HMI with graphic and/or text display to interact with operator(s). 5. the computer or controller may store the speeds and position settings to accommodate various the mask types, into separate the subprograms or recipes. 6. the de-clip station comprising at least one of a following elements from a group consisting of:
at least one alignment pin and alignment slot for reliable removal of clips; a nesting area to secure a bottom ring; computer controlled actuators (pneumatic, electro-pneumatic or electronic) to proper de-clip blocks to remove the clips; the program to activate the computer controlled actuators to remove the clips; a clip shield to contain the clips after propelled from the nest area; ramps to guide the clips down funnel out of the de-clip station; and a removable tray located under the de-clip station to contain the clips after de-clip sequence.
7. A vacuum chuck to hold the wafer by vacuum; the system shall regulate range of vacuum between, for example, 30 in/Hg to about −60.00 in/Hg, and preferably about −10 in/Hg to about −30.00 in/Hg. 8. The system may employ three axis of motion to remove the mask from the wafer.
a vertical axis to raise and lower the vacuum chuck to the programmable distance(s) from the wafer, ranging between, for example, −5.00 inches to about 10.00 inches, and preferably about −1.00 inches to about 2.99 inches traveling at speeds ranging between, for example, 0.50 inches per second to about 750.00 inches per second, and preferably about 5.00 inches per second to about 300.00 inches per second, best suited for safety of the wafer and efficiency for production. a rotation axis to spin the vacuum chuck at the programmable speeds ranging between, for example, 5.00 rpm to about 5000.00 rpm, and preferably about 25.00 rpm to about 2000.00 rpm, best suited to minimize friction force required for the wedge to remove the mask and efficiency for production. a horizontal axis to move the wedge in a horizontal direction between the mask and the wafer to separate the two, while simultaneously spinning the vacuum chuck; the programmable distance(s) from the wafer center, ranging between, for example, 0.005 inches to about 15.99 inches, and preferably about 0.05 inches to about 8.99 inches traveling at speeds ranging between, for example, 1.00 inches per second to about 500.00 inches per second, and preferably about 10.00 inches per second to about 250.00 inches per second, best suited for safety of the wafer and efficiency for production.
The HMI 104 , may perform at least one of a following step from a group consisting of: (a) shall display images and/or instructions to prompt the operator(s) to follow entire sequence easily; (b), the interface will prohibit the operator(s) from accessing sensitive data; (c), only certified administrators will have access to the critical files/recipes and settings and (d) the operator(s) will select the subprogram(s) or recipe(s) for the appropriate the mask type; (e) the try will have a removable drawer for convenient storage of the clips once removed; (f) the vertical programmed positions will keep the wedge at a close, yet safe distance from the wafer to keep from inducing a stress that may kink the masks; (g) the vertical positions and speeds will be programmed in the recipes; (h) the rotation speeds will be programmed in the recipes; and (i) the horizontal positions and speeds will be programmed in the recipes, which shall be recalled in a program by the program to produce consistent results of high productivity in removing the clips and the mask from the wafer after the metal evaporation process.
Although the preferred embodiment has been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. | A method for separating a mask from the surface of a semiconductor wafer comprises first mounting a mask/wafer combination on a rotatable surface and then rotating the rotatable surface. A separating device is inserted at the edge of the mask between the two mating services of the mask and the semiconductor wafer. The semiconductor device is then urged upward toward the rotating center of the mask/wafer combination while the rotatable surface is rotating. | Briefly outline the background technology and the problem the invention aims to solve. | [
"CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims benefit of Provisional application U.S. Ser.",
"No. 60/412,367, filed on Sep. 20, 2002, entitled “Computer Controlled De-Clip-Shadow Mask Removal Machine.”",
"TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a Controlled Collapse Chip Connection (C 4 ) manufacturer's ability to reduce operational expense during a delicate mask removal wafer handling process.",
"A shadow mask is a mask that is utilized for disposing structures on a silicon substrate through metal evaporation.",
"During fabrication, the silicon wafer and mask can be held together using a Top Ring Assembly (TRA).",
"The TRA can be bound together by a plurality of expandable clips.",
"When the clips are compressed, they provide enough force to secure the assembly together.",
"During a metal evaporation process, the shadow mask becomes adhered to a silicon wafer.",
"After the process, the operator can manually remove the metal clips that bind the TRA.",
"Such manual removal typically results in safety and efficiency limitations because the clips are small, difficult to maneuver, and sharp.",
"As such, these clips are difficult to handle and can possibly cut through an operator's clean room glove resulting in an injury to the operator's hand.",
"In such a situation, the operator would have to exit the clean room, treat the wound, throw away the cut gloves and perform a re-qualification procedure to return back to the clean room.",
"Further, it is believed that the current manual method yields a potential 1.5 to 3.0 million-dollar per/year loss in damaged products due to “kinking”",
"of masks during the removal process.",
"BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Once the clips are removed, the mask must be separated from the wafer.",
"The current method for doing so is a manual process in which the operator peels the mask from the wafer by hand.",
"In the past, the thickness and hole density in the masks were not enough to cause much difficulty in removing the mask;",
"the operator could manually remove them without much effort.",
"As technology advanced, so did the trend to make components smaller and thinner, resulting in a less structurally sound and more delicate mask product.",
"Delicate masks carry a greater expense and have proven to be easier to damage during the manual removal process.",
"The more delicate masks have made the removal operation more difficult, creating new problems.",
"Damaged shadow masks can greatly affect production costs due to limited availability or the requirement to have high inventories.",
"It would be beneficial to automate both the clip removal and the mask removal process.",
"SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An objective of the present invention is to automate the removal of the shadow mask from the silicon wafer after the metal evaporation process.",
"The heretofore utilized manual process is replaced with an automated system as described by the present invention that encompasses a new computer controlled de-clip-shadow mask removal machine that overcomes the limitations and problems associated with the prior art method and systems.",
"This removal machine includes an automated, computer controlled, fully programmable machine to remove retaining clips and separate a shadow mask from semiconductor wafer after a special metal evaporation process.",
"Using such an invention, various industries (such as the semiconductor industry) could significantly reduce the amount of money lost in damaged products.",
"With a controlled environment, twenty-four shifts could produce consistent, high-output results.",
"The machine includes a designated location for the operator to place the TRA.",
"Once the TRA is fully nested, stainless steel pushers can remove the clips at the receipt of a command (via, for example, a press of a button).",
"The system employs two or three axis of motion to address the mask removal issues and accommodates a variety of different wafer sizes by slightly modifying a vacuum chuck, a de-clip station and a program described further below.",
"Such wafer sizes range, for example, from about a 4 inch diameter to about a 12 inch diameter.",
"An advantage to a computer-controlled machine will be that each action will have a higher degree of repeatable precision.",
"The machine would further increase safety and virtually eliminate mask damage.",
"Once acceptable parameters are established and programmed, the machine maybe integrated with existing systems to improve overall productivity.",
"DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective front right isometric view of the machine according to the present invention;",
"FIG. 2 is a perspective rear right isometric view of the machine of FIG. 1 according to the present invention;",
"FIG. 3 is an exploded left isometric view of the de-clip station of FIG. 1 according to the present invention;",
"FIG. 3A is an enlarged view of a portion of the apparatus shown in FIG. 3 ;",
"FIG. 4 is a perspective left view of a horizontal (wedge) assembly according to the present invention;",
"and FIG. 5 is an exploded left isometric view of a vertical slide assembly according to the present invention.",
"DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to FIG. 1 , there is illustrated a perspective front right isometric view of a computer controlled de-clip-shadow mask removal machine 90 according to the present invention.",
"The rigid frame assembly 100 , with its clean room safe, anti-static ESD wheels 101 , makes this machine both stable and portable.",
"The de-clip station 200 with its alignment pins 201 ( FIG. 3 ) and alignment slots 202 ( FIG. 3 ) make placement of the TRA 600 consistent and reliable.",
"Position of the horizontal assembly 300 is shown as an example only and may be positioned in a variety of locations such as on either side of or behind the de-clip station 200 .",
"The human-machine interface (HMI) 104 may be a monitor, such as a touch screen monitor, which interacts between an operator (not shown) and the machine 90 .",
"The program displays graphics, instructions, and other information relevant to that particular stage.",
"The operator may select an appropriate command via an input such as a “button”",
"on a touch screen or a voice recognition system to advance to a next stage of operation.",
"A quick-connect air inlet adapter 102 is used to supply air to the system.",
"This single air standard 110-wall socket plug 103 can be used to supply power to the entire system 90 or a power source can be self-contained within the system.",
"Further, the incoming power source for the machine 90 may vary to suit different plants.",
"Referring now to FIG. 2 , there is illustrated a perspective rear right isometric view of the machine 90 .",
"A vacuum generator 105 creates a vacuum from the incoming air source coming through the inlet adapter 102 and supplies vacuum to a vacuum chuck 503 (FIG.",
"5 ).",
"The machine 90 uses vacuum to hold the wafer 603 ( FIG. 3 ) on the vacuum chuck 503 during rotation.",
"A vacuum sensor 106 is computer controlled to insure proper pressure is maintained for each type of wafer 603 being processed.",
"Referring now to FIG. 3 and FIG. 3A , there is illustrated an exploded left isometric view of the de-clip station 200 .",
"The TRA 600 is placed on the de-clip station 200 and oriented by the alignment pins 201 .",
"The TRA is comprised of a top ring 601 and a bottom clip 604 , between which are disposed a mask 602 over a wafer 603 .",
"The rings 601 and 604 are held together by clips 605 .",
"The alignment slots 202 act as a go-no-go gage helping to insure that the clips 605 are in the right orientation for removing.",
"A number of actuators 205 (for example, about 2 about 12 and preferably 6), controlled by a valve 206 , push an equal number of the de-clip blocks 203 in an outward direction for removal thereof.",
"Such de-clip blocks 203 include a slot 204 that can completely remove the clips 605 from the retaining pins 201 .",
"The clip shield 210 prevents the removed clips 605 from being projected out of the nest area protecting the operator.",
"The clips 605 can safely fall down the ramps 207 into a funnel 208 and to a removable clip tray 209 .",
"Referring now to FIG. 4 , there is illustrated a perspective left isometric of the horizontal assembly 300 .",
"This axis consists of a horizontal slide 302 , which propels the de-masking wedge 303 .",
"The de-masking wedge 303 makes contact with the mask 602 , (FIG.",
"3 ).",
"The de-masking wedge 303 then moves towards the center to dislodge the wafer 603 from the mask 602 .",
"Such movements may be performed at a plurality of speeds and preferably at a slower speed.",
"The position of the de-masking wedge 303 may be programmed and precisely controlled by the servomotor 301 .",
"Referring now to FIG. 5 , there is illustrated an exploded left isometric view of both the vertical assembly 400 and the rotation assembly 500 .",
"The vertical assembly 400 consists of a vertical slide 402 and servomotor 401 mounted underneath the de-clip station 200 to provide controlled vertical motion for the vacuum chuck 503 .",
"The o-ring 504 on the vacuum chuck 503 seals both the mask 602 and the wafer 603 via the vacuum generator 105 ( FIG. 2 ) through the vacuum distributor 502 .",
"The vertical position of the vacuum chuck 503 , relative to the de-masking wedge 303 ( FIG. 4 ) may be programmed and precisely controlled by servomotor 401 .",
"The speed at which the rotation assembly 500 spins the vacuum chuck 503 is programmed and precisely controlled by servomotor 501 .",
"The positional bearing 211 ( FIG. 3 ) stabilizes the position of the rotation assembly 500 .",
"Operational Flow The following describes the operation of the de-mask station, it being understood that the steps in the operation may be performed either in the presented order or in any other order according to the present invention.",
"Initially, the operator follows the computer images and instructions on the HMI 104 .",
"The HMI 104 may prompt the operator to select the mask type with which to run for the current operation.",
"The operator may then be prompted to manually place a top ring assembly 600 on top of the de-clip station 200 using the alignment pins 201 as a guide and the alignment slots 202 as a gage to insure proper repeatability.",
"The machine 90 can simultaneously remove all the clips 605 from the TRA 600 based on an appropriate received command.",
"This action frees the top ring 601 from the bottom ring 604 .",
"The machine's computer or controller 107 can send a signal to activate the onboard vacuum generator 105 to secure the wafer 603 to the vacuum chuck 503 via the vacuum distributor 502 .",
"The operator may then manually remove the top ring 601 from the TRA 600 .",
"An appropriate command, shown on the display of the HMI 104 , may then be input by the operator to advance to the next step.",
"At the next step, in response to changing images and brief descriptions on the display of the HMI 104 that are presented to the operator, the machine 90 may perform a series of steps that may not require operator intervention.",
"The machine 90 will lift the wafer 603 and the mask 602 up to a particular position at a particular speed with the assembly 400 (which may be programmed, set by the operator, static and/or dynamic, for example), using a computer driven vertical slide 402 .",
"The machine's horizontal servomotor 301 can then move the horizontal slide 302 to a particular position at a particular speed (which may be programmed, set by the operator, static and/or dynamic, for example) thus placing the de-masking wedge 303 slightly under the rotating mask 602 .",
"The machine's rotation servomotor 501 can spin the computer driven rotation axis 500 at a particular speed (which may be programmed, set by the operator, static and/or dynamic, for example).",
"The vertical assembly 400 can lower the vacuum chuck 503 to a particular position at a particular speed (which may be programmed, set by the operator, static and/or dynamic, for example).",
"After positioning th de-masking wedge 303 as noted, the de-masking wedge 303 may move toward the center of the mask 602 at a particular speed (which may be programmed, set by the operator, static and/or dynamic, for example).",
"The de-masking wedge 303 can peel the mask 602 from the wafer 603 until it is completely separated from the wafer 603 .",
"Once the mask 602 is free, the machine's computer or controller 107 will stop all motors in motion.",
"The HMI 104 can prompt the operator to then remove the mask 602 from the wafer 603 .",
"Following the images and instructions on the display, the operator initiates the appropriate commands, which send the de-masking wedge 303 back to a horizontal retract position.",
"The machine's vertical servomotor 401 lowers the vacuum chuck 503 to a vertical retract position.",
"The machine's computer or controller 107 will turn off the vacuum generator 105 to enable the operator to remove the wafer 603 and the bottom ring 604 from the de-clip station 200 .",
"Speeds for initial and retract positions may vary.",
"The HMI 104 will prompt the operator to change the mask type, re-run the same mask type, or to completely end the cycle.",
"As a summary, the computer controlled de-clips-shadow mask removal machine of the present invention may comprise at least one of the following elements that may perform at least one of a following functions: 1.",
"a rigid frame constructed of welded fabrication and/or structural metal extrusion.",
"a computer or controller to control the de-clip action and de-masking process.",
"the computer or controller may store appropriate programmable speeds and position settings to accommodate various mask types, into separate subprogram(s) or receipt(s).",
"a touch screen or push button HMI with graphic and/or text display to interact with operator(s).",
"the computer or controller may store the speeds and position settings to accommodate various the mask types, into separate the subprograms or recipes.",
"the de-clip station comprising at least one of a following elements from a group consisting of: at least one alignment pin and alignment slot for reliable removal of clips;",
"a nesting area to secure a bottom ring;",
"computer controlled actuators (pneumatic, electro-pneumatic or electronic) to proper de-clip blocks to remove the clips;",
"the program to activate the computer controlled actuators to remove the clips;",
"a clip shield to contain the clips after propelled from the nest area;",
"ramps to guide the clips down funnel out of the de-clip station;",
"and a removable tray located under the de-clip station to contain the clips after de-clip sequence.",
"A vacuum chuck to hold the wafer by vacuum;",
"the system shall regulate range of vacuum between, for example, 30 in/Hg to about −60.00 in/Hg, and preferably about −10 in/Hg to about −30.00 in/Hg.",
"The system may employ three axis of motion to remove the mask from the wafer.",
"a vertical axis to raise and lower the vacuum chuck to the programmable distance(s) from the wafer, ranging between, for example, −5.00 inches to about 10.00 inches, and preferably about −1.00 inches to about 2.99 inches traveling at speeds ranging between, for example, 0.50 inches per second to about 750.00 inches per second, and preferably about 5.00 inches per second to about 300.00 inches per second, best suited for safety of the wafer and efficiency for production.",
"a rotation axis to spin the vacuum chuck at the programmable speeds ranging between, for example, 5.00 rpm to about 5000.00 rpm, and preferably about 25.00 rpm to about 2000.00 rpm, best suited to minimize friction force required for the wedge to remove the mask and efficiency for production.",
"a horizontal axis to move the wedge in a horizontal direction between the mask and the wafer to separate the two, while simultaneously spinning the vacuum chuck;",
"the programmable distance(s) from the wafer center, ranging between, for example, 0.005 inches to about 15.99 inches, and preferably about 0.05 inches to about 8.99 inches traveling at speeds ranging between, for example, 1.00 inches per second to about 500.00 inches per second, and preferably about 10.00 inches per second to about 250.00 inches per second, best suited for safety of the wafer and efficiency for production.",
"The HMI 104 , may perform at least one of a following step from a group consisting of: (a) shall display images and/or instructions to prompt the operator(s) to follow entire sequence easily;",
"(b), the interface will prohibit the operator(s) from accessing sensitive data;",
"(c), only certified administrators will have access to the critical files/recipes and settings and (d) the operator(s) will select the subprogram(s) or recipe(s) for the appropriate the mask type;",
"(e) the try will have a removable drawer for convenient storage of the clips once removed;",
"(f) the vertical programmed positions will keep the wedge at a close, yet safe distance from the wafer to keep from inducing a stress that may kink the masks;",
"(g) the vertical positions and speeds will be programmed in the recipes;",
"(h) the rotation speeds will be programmed in the recipes;",
"and (i) the horizontal positions and speeds will be programmed in the recipes, which shall be recalled in a program by the program to produce consistent results of high productivity in removing the clips and the mask from the wafer after the metal evaporation process.",
"Although the preferred embodiment has been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims."
] |
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